Chapter 317 - Pa.s.sing Away
Ruoxi had been following old Daoist to many abstruse states between heaven and earth to pluck and collect spiritual medicines. The old Daoist had also pa.s.sed on all his subtle Dao techniques and skills to her.
Now, she realized with greater clarity that the spiritual elixir in the cauldron was meant for her. She was so touched that it was ineffable.
Unfortunately, when the elixir was completed, it meant that old Daoist would die.
Old Daoist had already told her long ago that he should have left three hundred years ago. However, due to a strong greed for life, it had been postponed until today. A big mistake was made and it was too late for regrets.
Now, there was no doubt he would pa.s.s away. Yet, he was very pleased.
His Daoist body ruptured and his blood gushed out. He looked pale and haggard, except for his eyes that still seemed at peace and filled with wisdom.
The old Daoist said softly, "When this elixir is done, G.o.d"s punishment would follow, but you don"t have to be afraid. You should just use the Dharma that I"ve taught you earlier on and hide inside the elixir cauldron. Remember to adhere strictly to your conscience.
Ruoxi nodded her head.
The old Daoist looked at the Five Celestials of Guangqing again, especially at Yuming the Honoured Celestial who was related to Lingxiao Palace"s Qi dynamic. His mana was so powerful that it could almost beat old Daoist even while he was in his prime. Unfortunately, when the power reaches its peak, it would then start to decline. According to the natural order, surpluses would be used to fill shortages. In another five hundred years, his circ.u.mstances might not be as good.
That day, the old Daoist could stop the five of them. This was due to a few reasons. Firstly, he would be entering Daoism so the five of them were afraid that he would counterattack when dying. Secondly, they did not dare to come close to avoid involvement, as it would lead to G.o.d"s punishment.
The most important thing was definitely the spiritual elixir. This elixir could reconstruct a Daoist body and thus it would serve as a very big temptation for the immortal Zhenren. Upon getting the elixir, they could construct another innate Daoist body and duplicate themselves. If in the future their original self encountered any serious disaster, they could rely on the spiritual elixir to self-duplicate and be resurrected.
Due to this thought, the five of them did not want to leave, as it might just realize Shen Lian"s primordial spirit celestialism.
The Daoist mind is profound, the human heart is treacherous. As long as this thought was not pure, the old Daoist could go with the flow, bringing about this situation.
Thunder and clouds cl.u.s.tered in the sky. When viewed from afar, it seemed like an enormous lake where the thunderbolts gathered.
The thunderbolts cl.u.s.tered and formed shapes. Some even turned out to be physical forms like the various types of birds and animals, and even the spiritual animals in myths and legends.
Sometimes one or two thunderbolts would spill and strike Lingxiao Palace, leaving the Five Celestials of Guangqing in a state of shock.
Luckily, Lingxiao Palace was built uniquely. Although the outer layer of Dao defense could be easily broken, the inside would not be damaged at all, preventing injuries to any of them.
Although old Daoist was weak and had one foot in the grave, he continued to give out marks of Daoism. The true Samadhi Fire continued to burn even brighter, at the same time there was an abundance of Qi of Dao being infused into the elixir cauldron.
It seemed like the elixir cauldron could not take the old Daoist"s mana and the flame of Samadhi Fire, as there were some fine cracks.
Daoist Dengfeng"s heart ached badly at the sight of his elixir cauldron. This cauldron had been together with him since he entered the Dan Dao when he was still young. Although the cauldron was not some magical talisman, it had been there for a thousand years and so it had sentimental value and was very meaningful to him.
He almost resorted to using Taiyue Real Shape Incantation in order to get the elixir cauldron back.
Fortunately, after cultivating for many years, he could get rid of his selfish thoughts. He remained rational and suppress his urge to do that.
Finally, a place of enlightenment appeared mid-sky. It was a desolate sea of flowers. A b.u.t.terfly fluttered gracefully in the sea of flowers. In the middle of it sat the old Daoist together with Ruoxi.
At this moment, the thunder lake in the sky suddenly collapsed and stroke the area surrounding the elixir cauldron. Instantly, the elixir cauldron was crushed and turned into flying ashes.
This elixir cauldron had been through thousand years of calcination but could not even handle a strike from the thunderbolt of G.o.d"s punishment. This showed how scary the thunderbolt was.
In the thunderbolts, there was a waft of exotic fragrance which was hundred times stronger than before.
One of the human-shaped elixirs suddenly appeared.
Xuan Qi was surrounding the human-shaped elixir and the thousands of thunderbolts strikes did not hurt it even a little.
The sea of flowers moved towards the human-shaped elixir.
Yuming the Honoured Celestial smirked and virtually performed an act of catching. Suddenly, an enormous Qing Guang hand appeared in the air. When he had this Xuanqing Qi Grappling Hands, he could even dominate and control the mountains. Last time Huanzhen used to tackle Shen Lian using a technique similar to this but Shen Lian managed to break it.
Yuming the Honoured Celestial"s techniques were definitely way stronger than Daoist Huanzhen. Similarly, the old Daoist"s ability was way better than the old Shen Lian.
The place of enlightenment was captured by Yuming the Honoured Celestial"s Xuanqing Qi Grappling Hands. When the b.u.t.terfly in the place of enlightenment slightly flapped its wings, immediately there was a tornado that broke the Xuanqing Qi Grappling Hands.
This speed exceeded Yuming the Honoured Celestial"s prediction. At that moment, he could only watch as the place of enlightenment filled with a sea of flowers fall into the thunderbolts.
Yuming the Honoured Celestial said, "Let"s seal off this s.p.a.ce."
Upon completing his sentence, the Lingxiao Palace generated a Guangqing fairy gleam that covered the entire void and enclosed the area. At the same time, it stopped the thunderbolts from entering the area to avoid major damage to the Mount Taicang.
The thunderbolts were horrifying. The place of enlightenment filled with a sea of flowers was like a rowboat as small as a piece of tree leaf swaying in the midst of thunderbolts but still moving steadily towards the spiritual elixir.
The old Daoist sat quietly in the sea of flowers and sighed, "b.u.t.terfly enters the dream and I"m in the dream. There is no need to differentiate between dream or reality."
He snapped his finger softly and a crystal clear water droplet flew towards Ruoxi"s body.
At this moment the essence of his mana was considered as a mere worldly possession.
The water droplet fell between Ruoxi"s eyebrows.
Instantly, Ruoxi felt her body filling up with countless vitality. As if even if she was crushed into pieces, she could also recover.
At that moment, the sea of flowers was struck by the thunderbolt. Under the protection of Qing Guang, she crashed into the thunder lake.
When the thunderbolts. .h.i.t her body, the entire void collapsed and they were unable to see inside.
The old Daoist was calmly observing the situation. His body gradually weakened. The b.u.t.terfly was flying around him in laps.
At some corner in Mount Taicang, there was someone who was dressed in spotless white ensemble under a tree with flouris.h.i.+ng camellias. He looked like a flying celestial that descended to the secular mortal world.
It was Yanxu. His eyes saw through the boundless void and noticed the b.u.t.terfly. He curled his lip as if he was sneering at the old Daoist, but at the same time, it also seemed like he was self-mocking.
He held the goblet in his hand and poured the alcohol all over the ground.
He mumbled to himself, "This old man, even if you"re dead, you won"t make it to the heaven. The place you should head to is the h.e.l.l. Farewell."
Upon finis.h.i.+ng his sentence, he stopped looking at the sky full of thunderbolts, nor the spiritual elixir. These were not of his interest.
He disappeared in Mount Taicang.
Then, there was a slight ripple in the void. But at this moment everyone"s attention was captured by the spiritual elixir and n.o.body noticed this.
Through the skylight, Shen Lian who had arrived at miles away from Mount Taicang suddenly sighed and said, "He"s gone."
The old Daoist had disappeared quietly.
Chen Jianmei and Shen Lian only spotted the shadow of the last b.u.t.terfly from afar, which eventually disappeared with no traces.
Then Shen Lian said, "Senior Apprentice-Brother, we will hold up against the five Guangqing celestials for a short while. You should take this opportunity to help me to take Ruoxi away."
He was the real Dao pract.i.tioner. Even if the old Daoist had pa.s.sed away, it did not affect his decision. The fact that he could be so calm and certain that he could hold up against the Five Celestials of Guangqing when he had newly stepped into the immortality stage, any outsider would think that he was out of his mind.
Shen Lian knew his own limits. There must be a reason for his confidence.