Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 167 - 132 Demi Immortal Chi Ling

Chapter 167: Chapter 132 Demi Immortal Chi Ling

Countless people were entering and exiting Fire Cloud Cave more frequently than before. Yet, Fire Cloud Cave was not a single cave, but an interconnected underground Grotto Heaven that stretched across ley lines, reaching as far as ten thousand miles, with its end still unknown to this day.

Seeking an Immortality Pill in this place, imperceptible to the senses, was nearly impossible. Therefore, it was essential for the Daoist Heavenly Girl to obtain the Immortality Pill first, and then it could be contested.

Whether it was ancient monsters willing to risk their lives without understanding the situation, supreme Venerables lurking in the shadows beyond the Dao Realm, Demi-Immortals, or Immortals of a forbidden existence, all inevitably had to go through Yu Hua to get a hold of the Immortality Pill.

The reasons were manifold, but this one point was unavoidable.

Otherwise, Yu Hua wouldn’t have the leisure to search slowly, nor would she be the reliance for Qingcang Immortal to live his second life.

Immortals have always existed, but the only ’living’ Immortal was him alone.

On September 15th, there was still no news from Gu Wen and Yu Hua.

On September 16th, some suspected that the Daoist Heavenly Girl and her party might have used some method to enter Fire Cloud Cave and were now searching for the Immortality Pill.

On September 17th, the Daqian Dynasty began an intense search for the wanted criminal Gu Wen.

All the powers were engulfed by a sense of urgency, and everything began deviating from its original course. With the heavenly secrets of Immortal Land in chaos, the emerging variables caused further unease among the Cultivators.

The True Sword Dao revealed by Gu Wen undoubtedly exacerbated this unease.

Ao Tang, who was lurking in the shadows, grew increasingly anxious as he couldn’t contact Yu Hua, so he had no choice but to contact the Sanqing Taoist Sect openly.

Three Pure Mountain had always been in the same location, but previous communication had been extremely difficult due to a blockade. Now, though, Ao Tang, who had become a headless fly, had no other path to follow.

Utilizing a special item, his Divine Thought flew out of Immortal Land in an instant. It then connected with Three Pure Mountain unimpeded, indicating that the blockade had disappeared.

On the other end was an old Venerable from Yuqing Sect. After a brief exchange of information, Ao Tang learned about the sect’s current situation.

The blockade still persisted, preventing True Monarchs and above from entering or leaving Three Pure Mountain. However, the extended formation that spanned a hundred thousand li surrounding Three Pure Mountain was no longer in existence; at least no longer visibly engaged in a fierce battle.

A battle that engulfed the entire Cultivation World had ceased, all due to the aftermath of the great battle at Heavenly Spring Mountain.

An unnamed Immortal beyond the Void had intervened, clearly breaking the rules and crossing the red line of the Sanqing Taoist Sect.

Yun Miao directly issued a warning: If Immortals interfered again, he would take Three Pure Mountain and collide it with the Jianmu, piercing through the earth’s ley lines and bringing about an end-of-days era for the world.

The Sanqing Taoist Sect didn’t need to know who was responsible; just needed to prove that it could drag everyone down with them.

Ao Tang couldn’t help but sigh: although Yun Miao was a bit rash, in the current situation, they indeed needed such a ruthless leader.

However, this kind of deterrence could only be used once. If it wasn’t acted upon a second time, the reputation would greatly diminish. But, actually colliding with Jianmu would be like losing a thousand to kill eight hundred; for Immortals beyond the Void, even eight hundred might be an overestimation.

Not all Immortals valued their lineage, nor did all Immortals maintain their true self; not all Immortals even had a lineage.

Whenever Immortals were involved, everything seemed to be enshrouded in a thick fog, beyond the mortals’ ability to discern.

At least for the time being, communication with the Sanqing Taoist Sect was restored, and one could obtain various supplies from the sect. Ao Tang remembered that Gu Wen always required a large amount of Pills to maintain his pace of cultivation, consuming more than ten times what others did.

Although the Pills of Immortal Land were unique and invaluable in the outside world, the financially robust Sanqing Taoist Sect could still provide some support.

Subsequently, regarding Ao Tang’s disconnection from the Heavenly Girl, the Daoist Sect could only inform him that her life token showed no signs of distress. As for her exact location, it could not be traced; otherwise, if the sect could trace her, so could others.

Every method and Daoist Skill left a trace.

Left with no other choice, Ao Tang had to continue lying low.

"Ao Tang, senior, there is an item I must ask you to deliver to Gu Wen."

"What is it? Is it urgent?"

"Extremely urgent."

A streak of golden light flew out from Three Pure Mountain, descending directly from the Nine Heavens into Immortal Land, scanned over by countless Divine Thoughts en route.

Ao Tang looked at the hovering blue-white Token in front of him, blinking in puzzlement.

A Yuqing True Disciple Token?

A Venerable from Yuqing Sect said, "The situation was dire before, and I had no capacity to send this out. Now, there’s an opportunity."

Unwritten rules shaped the sect; within the Sanqing Taoist Sect, there were the Three Pure Ones Sect. Below the sect were the main lineage and various other lineages established by great powers, which then branched into Inner and Outer Disciples.

Outer Disciples joined immediately, while Inner Disciples were required to form a Golden Core before the age of three hundred or reach the Nascent Soul cultivation.

The requirements for True and Bloodline Disciples were above the Inner Sect, but depending on different lineages, the general average was a Golden Core at one hundred years old.

The Yuqing Main Lineage was like a special class within high-ranking institutions—scarce in numbers. Outer Disciples had to achieve Golden Core by the age of one hundred, Inner Disciples Nascent Soul at two hundred. Every two hundred years after that, they had to break through a great realm, or else leave the Yuqing Main Lineage.

Either return to their original lineage or, as a Returning to Void cultivator, establish their own.

As for the demands placed upon the main lineage’s True and Bloodline Disciples, there were many, but if one was to describe them, it could only be said that it was difficult for even one to emerge every hundred years.

Three Pure Mountain had millions of mortals, and each year a million age-suitable youths participated in the gate trial, with countless more arriving from all over the world.

Yet only less than thirty thousand of them managed to enter the sect, dispersing among thousands of lineages within the Three Sects, with each lineage admitting just a few dozen people each year.

Out of the tens of thousands of disciples who began cultivating each year, it would take a rotation of a hundred years to maybe produce one Yuqing True Disciple.