Chapter 404: Chapter 349: The Prince Enters, Donghua Teaches the Law
For Song Lin, eighty days had passed within, while only eight days had elapsed in the outside world.
Donghua Jungle.
A horse-drawn carriage arrived at this moment.
The steed bore bright red dragon horns, its four hooves stepping on flames, and the carriage itself was adorned with dragon patterns exclusive to the royal family.
The driver lifted the curtain, and a slender fifteen-year-old boy with sharp, clear eyes stepped out.
He curiously observed the grand hall and temple before him.
Immortal energy drifted through the air, immortals riding clouds; it matched his imagination of what an immortal’s dwelling would be like.
Wu Yi was encountering Taoists and this enigmatic world for the first time.
From the moment Wu Yi left the estate, he had made up his mind to abandon the fight for the throne and turn to immortal cultivation instead.
Direct descendants of the royal family seldom cultivated; most relied on consuming pills to strengthen their bodies, with emperors living at most to a hundred years old.
Even with spell training, the upper limit was the Qi Refinement Realm.
This is because the lifespan of the Qi Refinement stage is two hundred years, and many Qi Refining Taoists don’t even reach two hundred years.
Anyone surpassing the Qi Refinement stage would lose eligibility to compete for the throne and be immediately sent to their fiefdom to govern.
This was the consensus established by the Taoist Schools.
Otherwise, if an emperor lived for thousands of years, the Dragon Head Taoist Alliance would dominate the seat for far too long.
Of course, the Taoist Alliance would offer compensations for emperors who died of old age.
During a reign, emperors would build mausoleums, which were a type of underground master array personally enchanted by the Dragon Head Heavenly Master. After death, they could live for a thousand years and move freely, enjoying much greater liberty than regular underground masters.
After Wu Yi stepped out of the carriage, the driver immediately sped up, disappearing into the horizon in an instant, unwilling to linger even for a moment.
"Who goes there?"
The patrolling Taoist soldiers noticed the unfamiliar youth.
Wu Yi, devoid of the arrogance typical of royal descendants, elegantly cupped his hands and replied, "I am Wu Yi, younger brother to your Capital Institute’s lecturer. May I trouble you to deliver this message?"
The soldiers dared not delay and quickly reported to Qingyu.
Soon, a golden sword flew out from within the jungle.
The golden sword hovered in front of Wu Yi before slowly descending to the level of his ankles.
Wu Yi’s heart stirred, sensing its meaning, and without hesitation, he stepped onto it.
Shik!
The golden sword sharply angled straight upward, soaring a thousand zhang into the sky.
Wu Yi screamed in panic.
Though he thought he might fall, the sword attached tightly to his soles like a magnet, and he felt no sense of losing balance or weightlessness.
After a brief bout of fear, Wu Yi calmed down and began to enjoy the feeling of effortless freedom.
Since the untimely passing of his mother, he hadn’t laughed like this in many years.
The royal family lacked the warmth of ordinary familial relations, offering instead eternal struggles of interest and cutthroat schemes where a single misstep could lead to utter ruin.
This journey was for two purposes—learning spells and, upon mastering them, personally uncovering the truth behind his mother’s death.
"Thank you, Sister Yu."
Wu Yi whispered to himself.
In the next instant, Wu Yi appeared before Qingyu.
"Welcome."
Qingyu greeted him warmly with a smile.
"Greetings, Sister Yu."
Wu Yi stepped forward, bowed deeply, and paid his respects.
He exhibited impeccable manners and an air of a gentleman, as though the childish spirit from moments ago had never surfaced.
"Donghua Jungle follows strict regulations. Even though you’re my younger brother, you must still pass the scrutiny of the Heart Inquiry Road to enter the sect for cultivation."
The only help Qingyu could offer was to secure Wu Yi a spot in the evaluation process.
"Rules govern all things; I understand completely, Sister."
Wu Yi expressed no objection.
As expected, Wu Yi passed the test and even reached the end of the path.
The Taoists guarding the Heart Inquiry Road were astonished that a fifteen-year-old youth possessed such unshakable resolve.
From that day forward, Wu Yi became a Taoist disciple of Donghua Jungle.
Surprisingly, Wu Yi did not immediately start cultivating spells; instead, he locked himself away to read the precepts and memorize Taoist scriptures.
His reasoning was simple—"Understand before acting; build wisdom first, then train in Taoist Skills."
...
Blessed Land.
Song Lin had reached the pinnacle of his state.
The entirety of his being was bathed in Ziwei Energy, with a mysterious Ziwei Dao Pattern glowing at the center of his brow.
Name: Song Lin
Realm: Late-stage Purple Mansion (Three Flowers Gathering at the Top)
Years of Taoist Practice: 750.
Divine Skills:
Celestial Star Pivot Thirty-Six Cloud Seal Talisman, Little Three Emperors Scripture, North Emperor Black Law, Five Qi Chaoyuan to Life Spirit Scripture, 72 Transformations, Donghua Taoist Soldiers Xuanzi Secret Book, North Emperor Xuantian Technique, Nine-Transformation Golden Pill Secret Technique, Nine-Transformation Copper Skin Iron Bone Immortal Technique (Sixth Transformation Perfection), Shenxiao Thunder Skill, Heavenly Escape Sword Scripture...
Blessings: [Emperor Seal] [Moon Cultivation Great Witch] [Temple Blessing] [Golden Crow Yang Pattern] [Emperor’s Qi Observation Skill] [North Pole Ziwei Dao Pattern]...
Items: Nine Elders Immortal Capital Seal, Supreme Elder’s Eight Trigrams Furnace, Emperor Sword, Dragon Mansion Jade Gourd, Yellow God Secret Chapter...
Song Lin plucked a strand of his hair and transformed it into another avatar.
"Whew, I’ve finally mastered it."
Song Lin thought.
The 72 Transformations successfully entered the introductory level.
From now on, he wouldn’t need to cast an endless array of spells alone—one avatar could perform swordsmanship, another could command Taoist soldiers, and yet another could wield thunder-based techniques.
In short, his combat strength had improved significantly.
Beyond that, he organized his knowledge about alchemy, Taoist soldiers, Sword Dao, thunder-based techniques, and other practices.
Though not yet at the realm where he could alter the heavens and earth, his mastery still equated to a Grandmaster’s level within these fields.
Eight days later.
The central grand hall of Donghua Jungle was decorated with an elaborate magic meeting.
Yellow banners filled the skies, and the resonant sound of dharma bells echoed relentlessly.
The altar for the meeting was circular, with its central platform reserved for Song Lin’s lectures.
Surrounding it were layers of desks which grew increasingly cramped as they extended outward.
Numerous individuals from within and beyond the Taoist Schools were present at the scene.
In the front row sat Donghua Alliance’s two Masters, Yin Spring Palace’s two elders, Chief Shi Yinhua, Evil Exorcism Altar’s Sword Guards, Zhengxin, and Mei Hua, with many seats still available beside them.
Behind them were Jungle Taoists and various Department Directors, among others.
Before long, Long Buddhist arrived with his disciples.
"Huh? Zhi Xin, aren’t you dead yet?"
Long Buddhist exclaimed in surprise.
The man before him bore a striking resemblance to Zhi Xin—fewer facial wrinkles, sharper eyes, and an altered countenance.
Though the changes were significant, any keen observer could tell this was Zhi Xin.
Receiving greetings from his old acquaintance, Zhengxin smiled and replied, "You’re mistaken. I’m called Zhengxin now."
"Alright, Zhengxin it is."
Long Buddhist chuckled and took a seat beside Zhengxin.
Next came Yuzhen Sect’s Lang Xiao Taoist, followed by the Spirit Treasure Sect’s Jiulong Taoist and Guling Taoist.
Weiling Sect’s Long Buddhist also joined.
Then there was Yuanfu Sect’s Gang Dou Taoist.
Yuzhen Sect’s Jiu Ying Taoist made an appearance as well.
The Five Great Taoist Sects dispatched representatives of Master rank to attend.
All carried a noticeable interest in Song Lin, sent—whether directly or subtly—under the guidance of the Taoist Heavenly Masters to investigate him.
Unexpectedly, Chuu Yuying was present as well.
Neither Yunhai’s representatives nor other Masters appeared, nor anyone representing Holy Might Forest’s Yin King.
This signaled that Tianhe did not intend to incite trouble.
In such high-stakes gatherings, even if they caused disturbances, they wouldn’t be able to kill Song Lin but would only disgrace themselves.
So, nominally, they sent Chuu Yuying to observe the situation.
As for hidden moves, those remained unknown.
The attendees sequentially took their seats, leaving less than half a stick of incense time before the magic meeting began.
At that moment, a golden radiance streaked across the skies.
The golden thread resembled a path of light stretched through the void.
This golden glow revealed a horse-drawn carriage.
Transparent as jade, the entire carriage emitted luminosity, with green whirlwinds flanking the wheels and a Black Water Xuan Snake pulling the vehicle at the helm.
The carriage, named Sun Jade Car, spanned dozens of miles in an instant before gracefully halting midair.
Its captivating appearance impressed everyone.
Song Lin, dressed plainly in dark robes, slowly stepped out of the carriage.
"My fellow Taoists, I apologize for keeping you waiting."
Song Lin’s demeanor projected calmness, but in certain eyes, it came off as arrogant.
Several individuals secretly mocked him, determined to teach him a lesson soon.
"Now that everyone is present, let us begin the meeting. Alchemy is vital for cultivation, so I’ll begin with that."
To establish a reputation, one must aim at the highest level.
Song Lin’s alchemical methods were inherited from The Three Pure Ones themselves, with original texts by The Three Pure Ones to back them up.
Aside from Lang Xiao, some Taoists with alchemical knowledge furrowed their brows.
What exactly was this man’s origin?
He spoke with the tone of guiding them in their alchemical pursuits.
Had the discussion not just begun, someone might have already risen to challenge him.
As Song Lin elaborated on the distinctions among alchemical schools—lead-mercury, golden sand, and sulfur-mercury—the attendees began forming preconceptions.
Just as many assumed this was merely a Fireworker Taoist recruitment session, Song Lin abruptly shifted gears.
"True lead existed before the chaos of Heaven and Earth. Lead captured the primordial essence to achieve the earliest form, after which it gradually nourished Heaven and Earth, Yin Yang, the Five Elements, and all living beings...."
Having started straightforwardly, he suddenly escalated the difficulty, raising the threshold drastically.
Besides seasoned alchemy practitioners, most others were utterly baffled.
"Yang Pill represents the maternal Qi of Heaven and Earth; self-mercury embodies the child Qi of Heaven and Earth. When maternal Qi subdues child Qi, do they not unify into one Qi?..."
Without delving into technique or pill recipes, he lectured from "Dao" itself. What kind of person was he?
At that moment, someone stood and exclaimed:
"Theory gained from books remains shallow. Saying and doing are two different matters. If you believe you can impart wisdom to us, why don’t you demonstrate your skill?"
......
(Seeking monthly votes. We’re nearing the end of the month. Let’s aim for a surge with eight thousand characters today.)