Chapter 261 - Sneaked in
Taisu Sect was indeed hidden in the void. By setting up the formation, s.p.a.ce was extended from this side of the world.
Even if outsiders knew that Taisu Sect was in the north, but without depending on the mountain or understanding the profound, within the void, even if it was right in front, one could not enter.
The aurora was the ultimate formation that Taisu Sect made use of in combination with the spiritual opportunity of heaven and earth to protect the sect.
For outsiders who did not know, they would simply a.s.sume that it was a natural phenomenon of the world. Even if they observed it closely, they would not be able to relate or to even realize that there was spiritual opportunity circulating in it.
Even if one could spot some oddities, the formation left no trace or trail for anyone to sneak into.
As Shen Lian, who had Taixu Strategy, under Interpromotion and Interrestraint, he could understand the spiritual opportunity of heaven and earth. As the aurora went by his eyes, it was broken down into different trails, revealing the trails of the formation.
The formation formed a huge network which even he could not see the end of it. It kept on extending and changing, and hence it was not easy for him to enter.
However, he was not in a hurry. He simply followed the aurora and never attempted to break into.
If he could follow the aurora for nine days, he would be able to understand how it changed.
Shen Lian then found an extremely covert place, where he took out a Dao talisman. He focused all his spiritual consciousness on the Dao talisman, which transformed into someone who looked exactly like him subsequently.
The talisman contained the celestial art called The Three Incarnations. It was extremely precious. If it was not for a way to retreat, Shen Lian would never use it, as even with Qing Xuan"s size and wealth, this was the only one they had.
The celestial art could at least form three Pow.a.n.g-leveled incarnations, but over the years, he had used up two of them. It could only form one incarnation now, but still, it was precious enough.
Once the talisman was used, the mana of the incarnation would be reduced every day and the existence time would not be longer than thirty days. It was nothing compared to Yanxu"s Free Form Incarnation"s uncountable clones.
Techniques that could help one create incarnations were minimal, and only immortal Zhenren could practice. For Yanxu to obtain Free Form Incarnation was something rare.
The Three Incarnation was strictly not considered as a technique for clones. It was created by Taishang Daoist Master, and one could use it to understand Xuanwei. Unfortunately since ancient times, only few could succeed in this, and to date, it was a technique that was considered extinct.
Shen Lian did not feel bad about using it, as the pinch Qing Xuan was in could not be overcome with one or two Pow.a.n.g masters.
If he sneaked into Taisu Sect without an incarnation, he would have no way to retreat, as such, he had to do it.
This time around he was here to look for Ruoxi. Even if he could not bring her along, he wanted to understand how she was doing, else he could not feel at ease.
As such, even if Taisu Sect was extremely mysterious, he still had to venture into it.
He pumped in his spiritual consciousness into his incarnation. He felt that his body was very light as if he was released from the burden of the body. He felt free but then he lacked an anchor, like a duckweed without something to depend on.
Shen Lian stepped on the void and entered the formation of Taisu Sect based on his calculated bearing.
After taking a few turns and following the spiritual opportunity, he finally felt some vibration at a location. When he fell in, he saw a lake which was reflecting like a mirror. Inside there were clouds and smokes.
Shen Lian"s then used stealth. By twisting the light, he hid his presence.
From far away there came a yellow cloud which was falling. As the mist went away, a yellow-clothed woman whose clothes were adorned with clouds appeared. She looked extremely pretty.
As she stood next to a rock, she looked into the mirror-like water surface. She then took off her clothes and revealed her body. She leaped into the lake.
Although Shen Lian in mid sky had hidden his presence, he still had his five senses. He could not help but frown, as the yellow-clothed woman had a decent cultivation experience and he did not expect her to take a shower in the lake.
In Taisu Sect, the Qi of vitality was comparable to Qing Xuan, and the lake too was filled with spiritual Qi. It was extremely clean, but not as clean as cultivators" body which had been through many cleansing.
Even if there was some dirt on the body, with just some mana, the dirt could be removed. Who needed to shower? It could only be considered as a hobby then.
Shen Lian did not have the hobby of peeking at other"s shower, but as he did not know the situation well since he was sneaking in. He figured that the woman could be a breakthrough for him to find Ruoxi.
However, the situation seemed to be a little bit awkward.
Shen Lian hesitated for a while, then he lifted his finger and light then went pouring down as fast as lightning. It froze the lake around the woman.
If one did not prepare against the Ice Light, even he himself would have suffered. While the yellow-clothed woman seemed like she had some cultivation experience, but in the end, she was only at the standard of Ruhua. As a result, she fell into it easily.
She was shocked, being frozen n.a.k.e.d in the Xuan ice, she did not even know what happened.
Once Shen Lian decided to take action, he did not hesitate. He turned into a mist and went away with the woman and her clothes to another place. It was a cliff that was covered with green ivies, and it was under the shelter of tall pine trees in the surrounding.
Shen Lian then melted the Xuan ice and threw the clothes to the woman, "Please get dressed first."
Taisu Sect only took in women as students, and all of them were extremely gorgeous. While the woman here was not as gorgeous as Zhao Xiaoyu, she was still beautiful. As she was caught by Shen Lian in the blink of an eye, she was naturally stunned, and as she saw that it was a pretty and delicate man, she was even more horrified. While cultivators tended to have the determination to stay away from l.u.s.t, there was an exception.
Some people liked to cultivate using the method, supplementing Yang with Yin, Buddhist"s Huanxi Chan were even considered as proper techniques. Taisu Sect"s techniques were considered as Xuanmen too. The female cultivators were pure and innocent, but some of them who were out in the world was faced with impudent cultivators who tried to force themselves on them.
However, the Taisu"s techniques were not about peace, most of those people did not end well.
It was the first time that a man was able to sneak into Taisu Sect. For someone to come through the formation, one must be at least Buxu and above.
Her acupoints were all now restricted and hence it was not possible for her to user her mana. Even if she tried to scream, she had to pray that someone could hear her.
She actually knew two or three celestial"s soundproof techniques.
Given that Shen Lian allowed her to get dressed, at least it came to show that he was not one of those evil cultivators.
It was the first time a man had seen her body, she could not help but blush. She cursed that she should not have been out showering today.
Also, as Shen Lian looked gentle, hence she did not feel too disgusted. Furthermore, as it was his incarnation, his Qi was even purer, showing how he was unlike most men in the world.
After she covered up her jade-fair body, she still had watermark on her body as her mana was still restricted. Even her black hair was wet, with her blus.h.i.+ng cheeks, she looked like a drunken lotus covered in dew.
Her beyond the world beauty had no effect on Shen Lian as he was just a clone and as his body was made of Qi, hence it was without gender.
However, he was experienced with worldly matters. Therefore he understood how she felt. He said nothing until she calmed down.
After a while, the yellow-clothed woman asked, "Who are you? Why did you sneak into Taisu Sect?"
Shen Lian said, "Do you know reincarnation of Yuan Jun?"
The yellow-clothed woman was stunned, she asked, "What is the reincarnation of Yuan Jun?"
Shen Lian observed her heartbeat, expression, and emotions – she was not lying.
Shen Lian said, "Did the sect bring back a little girl aged about four to five years old seven years ago. She looks like this and she is my relative."
He pointed his finger at the cliff and then he drew the outline of Ruoxi"s face. Even without color or ink, he still portrayed Ruoxi"s face well.
The yellow-clothed woman looked at the outline of the cliff and she could tell the little girl was full of vitality. Her eyes were big and extremely expressive. She did not know if it was because Shen Lian could draw well, or that she indeed looked like that.
She said, "I"ve never seen her."
Now that she knew Shen Lian was here for someone, and the person was a little girl, she felt less worried. While she was a cultivator, she was still a woman, and she thought if the little girl was his relative, he could not be someone bad. She also admired how he was willing to take such a huge risk to be here.
Shen Lian felt odd as Zhang Ruoxu would not lie to him. The person who took Ruoxi was indeed from Taisu Sect, and it was proven from the three ladies" clothing the other day. He also found a lot of records on Taisu Sect.
The woman then said, "I only came here three years ago, and previously I was from Xuanzhen Temple. Perhaps the little girl is here, but I"ve never seen her."
Xuanzhen Temple was perhaps considered a temple that was served by small countries in the north, a lot of women cultivated there. One could consider it an extension of Taisu Sect, similar to how Longevity Temple was affiliated to Qing Xuan. The difference was that Taisu Sect would have to examine them under close observation for a long time. In fact, rarely did any woman made it in Taisu Sect.
This was also because Taisu Sect applied influence on the north. They made use of the people and tribes in the north to find talented children and train them from young.
If a woman was not brought up since young in Taisu Sect, the chances of her to be a core student was not high. To be able to enter the sect must be due to other factors.
Then a melodious clock rang. Shen Lian saw a palace from far away. The sound came from there.
"You"ve been found out. You should leave soon – the Hall Master is almost a celestial now. If she catches you, you won"t be able to escape," the yellow-clothed woman advised Shen Lian.
Shen Lian thought the Hall Master must be the chief of Taisu Sect.
It was rumored that the Hall Master of Taisu Sect cultivated for less than two hundred years and had been one of the ultimate immortal Zhenren who had no enemy in the world. He could not let her find him before he found Ruoxi.
Other than the Hall Master, there were three more immortal Zhenrens from the previous generation, but as they had been in retreat, they rarely came out. If any immortal Zhenren came out, Shen Lian needed not to look for Ruoxi. He could not even keep his incarnation.