Chapter 2475: Incense

Ye Chen left but did not depart from the Dao Guan; instead, he headed to the highest peak.

Before leaving, he remembered to untie the ropes binding the fat old Daoist.

His plan was quite reliable: create chaos in Tianjie, stir it up so much that even Daozu could no longer ignore it. If Laozi had traveled thousands of miles to come here, only to be completely snubbed, then it was only fair to make his family enjoy some excitement. If they couldn't take a beating, don't blame him for being too ruthless.

"Where did you meet him?" the fat old Daoist asked, glancing back at the fat old man.

The fat old man was straightforward and recounted everything in detail.

The fat old Daoist listened with endless sighs. What a vast world it was, full of all sorts of wonders. Even a stone that had gained sentience was this outstanding. His own seventy-plus years had truly been wasted.

"Master, should we go invite the great immortal?" the fat old man asked.

"Do you have the money to invite a great immortal?" the fat old Daoist shot him a disdainful look, then gazed toward the peak. "A stone that has gained sentience is still a spiritual treasure of heaven and earth. If it doesn't do evil, why must we eradicate it completely?"

On the other side, Ye Chen had already sat down at the peak and pulled out the ancient scroll introducing Tianjie.

This time, he wasn't just skimming it; he was truly studying it.

As he read, he spotted a familiar term: Tian Court.

That's right, Tianjie had its own Tian Court, which had no connection whatsoever to the Tian Court of Da Chu, nor did it belong to the ancient Tian Court. But it was likely related to the ancient Tian Court, probably established by Daozu Hongjun. In some ways, it followed the systems of the ancient Tian Court.

Daozu was like a hands-off manager; he was the lord of Tianjie, but the master of Tian Court's heavens was not him—it was someone named Yu Di, who nominally governed Tianjie.

"You dare to use the title of Yu Huang Dadi," Ye Chen sighed, stroking his chin. He paid particular attention to Tian Court and thought that once his cultivation reached great heights, he should go stir up trouble in the heavenly palace, enough to make even Daozu unable to look away.

Tianjie was somewhat different from the various mortal realms. It was divided into Upper Xian Realm and Scattered Xian Realm.

The Upper Xian Realm was governed by Tian Court. All the immortals there held various official positions in Tian Court and received salaries. As members of Tian Court, they were protected by it, and their families and cultivation caves were also in the Upper Xian Realm.

As for the Scattered Xian Realm, it was different. It was also divided into factions and had many powerful beings, but they were unwilling to serve as officials in Tian Court—or rather, unwilling to be bound by its rules. Tian Court's heavenly regulations didn't apply to them, but if they faced trouble, they wouldn't receive Tian Court's protection either.

And he, at that moment, was in the Scattered Xian Realm.

But he knew that the division of Tianjie didn't mean the Upper Xian Realm was stronger than the Scattered Xian Realm. The true experts were hidden among the common folk. Excluding Daozu, the Scattered Xian Realm was actually more terrifying than the Upper Xian Realm.

After putting away the ancient scroll, he sat cross-legged and entered a state of cultivation.

Under the clear sky and blazing sun, as he circulated his techniques, radiant light enveloped him. Bathed in the sunlight, the power of the sun merged into his body and was transformed into spiritual energy.

Pop! Pop! Pop!

These sounds echoed frequently throughout the day as he broke through, using the power of the sun to advance steadily until he reached the peak of Lingxu Jing, where he finally stabilized.

Achieving Lingxu Jing in a single day—if this spread in Tianjie, it would surely shock everyone to the point of execution.

Due to his repeated breakthroughs, the Dao Guan and the surrounding spirit mountains were filled with unusual phenomena that day. The local villagers saw them from afar and knelt down, believing it was a divine manifestation from the heavens, about to bestow blessings.

As a result, the already prosperous Dao Guan attracted even more people, including nobles and officials who rode in on horseback to offer incense and pray for good weather, national peace, and prosperity.

Night fell quietly.

Ye Chen still sat at the mountaintop, like an old monk in meditation, his demeanor dignified and serene.

At some point, the fat old Daoist climbed up and hid behind a massive boulder, watching from a distance. Seeing Ye Chen bathed in the glow of stars and moonlight, like a deity, he was utterly shocked.

It wasn't until deep into the night that Ye Chen awoke.

Under the moon, he held a wine flask and quietly gazed up at the stars, still missing his homeland in the various heavens. The feelings of being in a foreign land were indescribable, leaving him utterly alone.

This tribulation was like a full cycle of reincarnation, living another life anew. He didn't know when he would overcome it or if he could pass through safely. It was all uncertain.

When he withdrew his gaze, he looked inward at himself. His dantian was no longer just a dantian; he had transformed it into a dan sea and even opened a shen sea. He could achieve things like this without needing the Kongming Jing.

Unfortunately, he had no special bloodline or origin; he was just an ordinary physique. Beyond that, his body was no longer a saint body but a stone.

However, none of that mattered. What was important was that his memories remained, and so did his insights into the Dao. At a certain level, bloodlines became irrelevant. Even great emperors, those supreme beings, relied on their understanding of the Dao. The treasures he possessed far surpassed any bloodline.

He suddenly recalled a person, that jerk: Ren Wang Fuxi.

In the past, Ren Wang had also undergone a tribulation in Tianjie and became a stone. This made Ye Chen unconsciously wonder if everyone from the Zhoutian lineage who entered the world through tribulation turned into stones.

Another thing was memory; he wasn't sure if Ren Wang had also brought his memories like he did. If so, that would be interesting. This wasn't just a tribulation—it was clearly a rebirth and a chance for heavenly defying fortune from the moment of entry into the world.

He took a swig of wine, and besides the starlight, a pure white immortal light appeared on him, incredibly pristine, free of any worldly impurities, even purer than moonlight.

He had seen this immortal light before; it was what had erased his demonic nature.

For some reason, gazing at the pure white immortal light, he suddenly felt a sharp pain in his heart. Vaguely, he seemed to hear a woman's call, full of tenderness.

"What kind of power is this?" Ye Chen murmured to himself, reaching out his hand. A strand of the white immortal light descended and hovered in his palm, feeling warm and familiar.

To this day, he still didn't know where this immortal light came from or who it belonged to. He only knew it was profoundly mysterious, with a purifying force that could erase all worldly filth.

"Don't hide anymore; come over," Ye Chen said leisurely.

Then, he heard a chuckle.

It was the fat old Daoist, emerging from behind the rock and scurrying over. He was quite sensible, carrying a jar of fine wine in one hand—truly aged vintage that he had treasured for decades.

Ye Chen appreciated people who knew what was what and didn't stand on ceremony.

Looking at the fat old Daoist again, Ye Chen found him quite intriguing. He wasn't a cultivator, or rather, he didn't know how to cultivate. The reason he had become a half-immortal was due to xianghuo power—the offerings from the villagers, which were the source of his immortality.

This was quite similar to the Buddhist concept of Nian Li.

"No merit, no reward," Ye Chen said with a smile. "Just say it; what do you want?"

"Can you teach me the methods of immortal cultivation?" the fat old Daoist asked, his eyes full of hope.

"Alright, let's form a good karmic tie." Ye Chen laughed, and a flow of immortal light emerged from his brow, entering the fat old Daoist's mind. It was the most basic method for cultivation and foundation building—more than sufficient.

The sudden addition to his mind startled the fat old Daoist.

After reading it, he immediately knelt down, just like the villagers worshiping a statue, his aged body trembling with excitement. After so many years of seeking, no immortals had been willing to teach him, and now, in his twilight years, he had encountered this opportunity. He was overwhelmed with gratitude.

Ye Chen smiled and waved his hand, sending him down from the mountaintop.

The fat old Daoist felt a brief daze in his mind and found himself back in the Dao Guan, shocked beyond words. Such profound divine abilities could only be performed by highly advanced immortals.

Once again, he bowed respectfully toward the mountaintop. He should feel fortunate that, in his later years, he had met such a benefactor, leaving no regrets before his end.

At the mountaintop, Ye Chen stood up and stretched lazily.

He didn't force another breakthrough from his Lingxu peak cultivation. Advancing too quickly could be counterproductive. If any of his acquaintances from before were here, they certainly wouldn't be used to it, because back in the day, the Tenth Emperor of Da Chu had been struck by lightning all the way through his advancements.

So, his tribulation was different from ordinary ones.

For those undergoing normal tribulations, breakthroughs came with heavenly tribulations, but for him, who carried his memories through the tribulation, there were no heavenly tribulations when advancing realms. He walked an unconventional path.

That night, he left the Dao Guan and traveled through the skies.

The scenery of Tianjie was quite nice, with abundant spiritual energy—and this was only the Scattered Xian Realm. If it were the Upper Xian Realm, it would be even richer, as organized dynasties there must have spirit-gathering immortal arrays, making cultivation resources more plentiful, at least with salaries to claim.

Daozu truly lived up to being the ruler of Tianjie; the derivations of the Dao were incredibly prosperous.

As he traveled, he saw many Dao Guans, mostly in deep mountains and ancient forests. Even at night, the incense was thriving, with smoke curling up. Unfortunately, true cultivators were rare; most were just charlatans.

Boom! Rumbling!

As he flew over a range of mountains, Ye Chen suddenly heard rumbling from the void.

He stopped abruptly, narrowing his eyes and furrowing his brow. This rumbling was familiar; in the various heavens, he heard it every now and then, coming from the primordial Taigu Honghuang. Every time such sounds occurred, an ominous premonition would shroud his heart.

He never expected to hear it in Tianjie as well. It seemed that if it could be heard in the underworld too, the rumbling of Taigu Honghuang echoed through the three realms.

"Hope nothing goes wrong," Ye Chen murmured lightly, worrying about Di Huang and Hongyan. That place wasn't ordinary; a great emperor had died there in ancient times, and a hundred thousand divine generals had been wiped out, which said it all. If something happened, even two great saint bodies might not survive.

"What an odd stone; it's actually cultivated to Lingxu Jing." A sinister laugh rang out, and a cold wind inexplicably swept through the heavens, adding a eerie chill.

Ye Chen turned around and looked in that direction.

There, he saw an old man, hunched over, with disheveled hair, leaning on a dragon-headed cane, his eyes blood-red and his face full of wrinkles. His laughter in the night was particularly frightening. With his insight, he could tell that Ye Chen's true form was a stone.

"Good stuff." Ye Chen's eyes lit up as he stared at the old man's dragon-headed cane. It wasn't an ordinary item; it was forged from a special immortal iron. The old guy was clearly planning to kill and rob, so Ye Chen decided to snatch that cane for himself.

Having just arrived in Tianjie, he lacked a handy weapon, and the cane would do nicely. After melting it down, he could forge a dominating immortal sword with ease.

"The spirit of an odd stone, refined into a pill, would be excellent." The old man chuckled eerily as he approached through the air, extending his withered hand to grab from afar. His cultivation was at Kongming Jing, and he was acting quite arrogantly.