Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 155 - 123: The Dispute between Gu Wen and the Three Pure Daoist

Chapter 155: Chapter 123: The Dispute between Gu Wen and the Three Pure Daoist

Lan Yongning didn’t say much, simply showing Gu Wen the sect protector’s message.

The gist of it was that a Venerable had personally arrived, ordering him to monitor Gu Wen and their movements, and he chose to betray his own ancestor.

Gu Wen, not understanding the Venerable’s relationship with the various forces in the Cultivation World, sought out Jun Yan. The latter, upon hearing Lan Yongning’s words, wasn’t surprised but looked at him with interest, saying, "You’re quite clever, thinking of betting on both sides?"

"I am acquainted with Fellow Daoist Red Dust, and with the sect leader Venerable, we are merely from the same sect. Although he is my master’s master, I am not from the sect leader Venerable’s lineage."

Lan Yongning could not deny it, and what he revealed was the intricate and complex divisions of factions within the Cultivation World.

There are the Three Religions and numerous sects, Buddhist, Daoist, and Demons mixed together, and within the sects, there are also different factions and powers.

"Sounding good, but I guess you wouldn’t have informed us if there hadn’t been the True Sword Dao."

Jun Yan mercilessly exposed the other party, but Lan Yongning noticed the way he spoke and asked with some surprise, "Fellow Daoist Jun also wants to join the Sanqing Taoist Sect?"

Could it be that the Heavenly Girl has promised him an Immortality Pill? But there’s simply not enough Immortality Pill to go around; otherwise, the Daoist Sect would have long recruited many great powers from other sects to work together against other sects.

Not everyone needs an entire Immortality Pill; if the Sanqing Taoist Sect could offer some roots as a promise to other great powers in the Daoist community, most would still accept it.

But the Daoist Sect is not offering, which means there are no extra Immortality Pills to be distributed, and even they themselves might not get enough.

Lan Yongning didn’t believe that a Daoist Saint Land would fall into a besieged situation because of a momentary greed.

Jun Yan said, "You don’t need to know. Are you thinking of joining as well?"

"I fear I cannot devote my life to accompany the gentlemen in this endeavor," replied Lan Yongning.

Naturally, Lan Yongning would not agree; even if he were promised an Immortality Pill, he couldn’t possibly join the ranks of the Sanqing Taoist Sect.

One reason was that his sect would not allow it; second, it was extremely dangerous. Once he joined them, that would mean directly intervening in the struggle among the great Venerables of the Cultivation World, while his own goal was also to become a Venerable.

Against such level of power, even great talent is useless.

For example, when it comes to the Dao foundation, those who can become Venerables are almost all of the nine level foundation, at least Seventh Level fulfilled.

Thousands of years of heritage, higher level Dao foundation, as well as the legendary, unreachable Divine Skills; the younger generation is almost impossible to surpass.

Jun Yan did not continue confronting head-on and asked, "The present Heavenly Venerable of the Liuyun Sect is Yunxia Venerable, skilled in Arrays, able to turn clouds into arrays and draw power from heaven and earth. I remember she’s not young anymore."

"Six thousand years old, suffering the decline of a Heavenly Person," Lan Yongning said candidly: "Although she took sides with Qingcang Immortal in the past, I suspect that her visit this time is more likely ominous, at least to demand benefits."

"Between life and death lies great terror, and when Qingcang Immortal was around, she wasn’t yet a Venerable. She probably couldn’t even speak up, so how could there be any affection?"

Jun Yan, with disdain in his voice, scoffed at the likes of Venerables.

He had a multitude of such beings inside him — not a hundred, then at least fifty. As long as one hasn’t transcended into immortality, no matter the realm, all are mortals, unable to transcend the secular world.

Having seen such old creatures’ unworthiness, he naturally found it hard to muster any respect.

"Moreover, I’ve heard from an Old Demon that your Venerable’s past deeds weren’t so honorable, she framed her own senior brother for a chance."

"Such idle rumors should not be spoken, Fellow Daoist Jun."

Lan Yongning was somewhat displeased. Although he felt no affinity with his sect’s ancient ancestor—with the Venerable being in seclusion all the year, having met him only three times—he couldn’t allow anyone to insult him.

"Heh, go ahead and ask him yourself."

Black smoke began to seep out of Jun Yan’s face, and a ghostly visage veiled over half of his face. He appeared to be possessed, his voice turning hoarse and eerily silent.

"Which generation of the Liuyun Sect’s disciple are you?"

"The three hundred and thirty-eighth generation disciple, may I ask which senior you are?"

"I am the three hundred and twenty-first generation disciple, Chuan Meng."

"I have never heard of such a predecessor in our sect."

"Heh, it’s easy to cover up some things over thousands of years, but not the Cultivation Technique; so many years have passed and this old man has never forgotten the Liuyun Sect’s Technique."

As the Demon stretched out his hand towards Lan Yongning, it was suddenly seized by another hand, and Jun Yan’s voice emerged anew: "Old man, I didn’t say you could teach the art, serve my purposes or go back."

"Ah... so be it, I will listen to you from now on."

Jun Yan ceased to hinder, a strand of Divine Thought flew towards Lan Yongning. He was taken into it within just a few breaths, and his realm remarkably began to loosen.

Lan Yongning’s attitude shifted, bowing respectfully and saying, "Junior Lan Yongning, pays respect to Master Chuan Meng. If there is a chance in the future, I will surely set things right for Master."

Set things right had been brought up.

It seemed to Gu Wen as if a great drama was unfolding, the power struggle in the Cultivation World no less fierce than the battle for a throne, perhaps even more intense.

Venerables were not unique, and the bigger the sect or faction, the more they had. For example, the Sanqing Taoist Sect could essentially be divided into three sects, and each faction of the Three Pure Ones could bring forth a Venerable.

Like Lan Yongning choosing to betray his own ancestor, since he was not directly related to the sect’s Venerable, it was better to avoid the risk of being enemies with Gu Wen.

This meant that Gu Wen now owed Lan Yongning a favor, as for the Liuyun Sect, that would depend on the fate of the sect’s ancestor.

To take ten thousand steps back, it’s as though by helping them, Lan Yongning would guarantee success, as if he himself could become the ancient ancestor.

They were all cunning foxes.

"I do not seek to set things right; I only wish to know... how is Yunxia doing?"

Suddenly the Demon brought up such a statement, and the atmosphere turned strangely awkward for a moment.

With a slap to his face, Jun Yan directly drove the Demon back, sounding a bit annoyed as he said, "Useless trash."

Unable to retort as his own ancient predecessor was insulted, Lan Yongning remained silent but nodded his head.

Jun Yan turned and transmitted a message to Gu Wen, "The information is confirmed, go and mention it to the Heavenly Girl; when the fight starts, it will still depend on her."

Afterwards, Lan Yongning stopped interfering further and went to a corner to cultivate using the power of the Sword Pond.

Gu Wen went up to the ninth level and relayed to Yu Hua the message brought by Lan Yongning.

Rather than showing much interest, she invited Gu Wen to sit beside her, saying, "We have not yet reached a desperate situation. Instead of focusing on these matters, let’s see how your path to immortality is progressing."

"You’ve noticed?"

"I’ve been watching you."

"...."

Gu Wen felt an inexplicable chill down his spine, but the thought that there might always be a few old geezers attacking him in secret also filled him with a sense of security.

He took out the Jade Pendant with most of its stone skin fallen off, revealing a gentle luster underneath.

Yu Hua took it, examined it thoroughly, and said, "This is a Primordial Spirit about to be nurtured out of its shell. If well taken care of, it will greatly benefit your future cultivation."

"What exactly is it?" Gu Wen asked curiously.

"I don’t know. No one knows what a Primordial Spirit will be like before it is born. Go back to your cultivation."

Gu Wen returned to the Sword Pond, while Yu Hua sat still, using the position of Heavenly Spring Mountain to send her Divine Thought directly into the Three Pure Sect.

[Venerable status, eight in number, Mahayana, thirty, with suspected intervention by Immortals, just hand over the root tendrils of the Immortality Pill to avoid catastrophe]

Not enough Venerables to kill her, Mahayanas mere ants, but if they dared to come knocking, they must have something to rely on. According to the message from the Sanqing Taoist Sect, the Immortals mentioned were naturally not the likes of Qingcang Master who could walk directly among the mortal world.

If there was one who could just come down, kill directly, and be done with it, the sect most likely wanted to claim their share of benefits.

Getting the whole Immortality Pill was naturally best, but some root tendrils would also do. Many probably just lacked that one opportunity.

Yu Hua said indifferently, "I have already given the Immortality Pill to Gu Wen to consume."

The Divine Thought from beyond the heavens hesitated for a moment.

[This may well lead to controversy.]

Yu Hua retorted, "Did Uncle Master Yun Miao not cause any controversy by giving down the Life-saving Pearl?"

[Since when does a poor Daoist need the gossip of others to act? If you want to follow suit, you must have the capacity to bear the consequences. You have shown favoritism towards this child multiple times and lost impartiality, causing most True Monarchs of the sect to suspect you.]

"I need to produce results that will shut them up?"

[Just deliver the Immortality Pill to the sect, and all criticisms will be resolved. Alternatively, you could give the Immortality Pill to Daoist. Daoist can suppress everyone, but Gu Wen does not have that reputation.]

"He is not better than Gu Wen."

Yu Hua’s tone was flat and unquestionable, while the other end of the Divine Thought was also no ordinary elder.

Rather than being angered by her belittling the successor of Three Pure Ones, the voice laughed lightly and said:

[The poor Daoist hopes it’s true. The Daoist Sect does not lack geniuses but rather those with the talent to defy the heavens. You have the final say in this matter, but you need to be mindful of the consumption of fate, as the power of Qingcang Master is not something you can withstand.]

"Mhm."

The Divine Thought ceased, leaving no further sound.

Yu Hua gathered her thoughts; she didn’t want to overthink these matters. In the end, it simply came down to throwing one more punch.

Because the Immortality Pill had already been consumed by Gu Wen, reselecting wouldn’t change the result. As long as it was not the Immortality Pill itself, she would let Gu Wen consume it; money couldn’t fix this disaster for anyone.

"Eight months."

Yu Hua murmured in a low voice, her gaze on Gu Wen bubbling in the waters of the Sword Pond below.

It had only been eight months since they’d met, and Gu Wen had already reached Dao Foundation Perfection at the Fourth Level and had even understood the True Sword Dao.

-----------------

Three Pure Mountain.

Gray clouds covered the sky above, concealing the sun for a solid month. The flowers, plants, and trees on the mountain withered, and the several hundred thousand disciples and millions of mortals living on Three Pure Mountain had been in panic for days, with rumors running rampant and rampant theft, robbery, and murder.

At a lofty height reaching into the Nine Heavens, the main peak was covered in countless palaces shrouded by white clouds.

A young Daoist in a simple robe approached the Jade Emperor Hall. Before entering, he heard many whispering Divine Thoughts.

"How can they be so foolish as to give the Life-saving Pearl to some wild kid whose origins we don’t know? Even if he has good aptitude, it’s not right."

"The Daoist Sect is not without equivalent treasures, anything but the Life-saving Pearl should have been given."

Hundreds of people stood on both sides, all of them possessing the cultivation of True Monarchs.

Three Pure Mountain was divided into three factions, each faction into over a hundred branches, each branch into thousands of peaks, forming the colossal entity known as the holy land of Daoism and the foremost of the Human Race.

The True Monarchs quieted down upon seeing the young Daoist, leaving only his footsteps reverberating in the hall.

At the far end, a stern, burly figure dressed in a golden cloud garment, his Daoist charm evident, transformed into a halo of shining radiance.

The Upper Pure Venerable of the Sanqing Taoist Sect, Huayang.

"Yun Miao, how did your talk with the Heavenly Girl go?"

Yun Miao shook his head with a smile and replied, "The Heavenly Girl refused to let the Daoist consume the Immortality Pill."

"What?!"

An uproar erupted below, with surprise, shock, disbelief, and those who already disliked Yu Hua beginning to criticize.

"Silence."

Huayang Venerable suppressed everyone’s voices, his authoritative demeanor hardly changed as he asked, "Why?"

"She thinks Gu Wen is more suitable for consuming it, and she has already given it to him to eat."

"That’s good, then."

Their conversation was brief and neutral.

Huayang Venerable was not angered by Yu Hua’s defiance of his suggestion, and Yunxia Venerable also saw no issue with it.

But the True Monarchs below erupted, with some unable to restrain their anger, and those from the Upper Pure Sect, in particular, were most outraged.

For the Three Pure Daoist was from their Upper Pure Sect.