Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 241 - 168 Chi Ling

Chapter 241: Chapter 168 Chi Ling

Within the Grotto Heaven.

Xuan Yue Demi Immortal silently sat in meditation beneath the Heavenly Altar, speechless and still.

Gu Wen and the others had already gathered together, starting to discuss amongst themselves.

With information from others, Gu Wen gradually learned more about Xuan Yue Demi Immortal.

Founder of the Liuyun Sect, with uncertain strength and unclear identity; even most of the legends about him were useless tales that didn’t aid in understanding the grudges and sentiments between him and Chi Ling.

Because the era was too ancient, Chi Ling and Xuan Yue, the two Demi Immortals, had thrived tens of thousands of years ago, in an era even more remote than the Qingcang Master’s.

This also indirectly made Gu Wen appreciate the extraordinary nature of his own Master—too short had been his time as an Immortal, mere child’s play compared with these old Demi Immortals known for their millennium-long existences.

The Devil Clan raged for eight hundred years; Qingcang became an Immortal for eight hundred years.

It was as if necessitated by fate that the Human Race needed an Immortal to rise and support the heavens, and then such an Immortal emerged.

And according to rumors, the Master even killed three Devil Ancestors, though in the end, he died from the very struggle; being able to kill three beings of the same level with his own power was probably an outstanding feat among Immortals.

The ever-silent Chan Xi suddenly spoke, "I have read an ancient text within the sect, which has records of Liuyun Sect and Sword Control Sect, though I’m not sure if they are true."

"Please, sister, be clear."

Gu Wen didn’t care about the veracity; having historical references was better than blindly speculating.

"The Three Pure Ones existed tens of thousands of years ago, but they had not yet merged into a single sect. My original form was very interested in this period of history, often searching through ancient memories."

"And in the records of the Upper Pure Sect, there is a sentence, ’All Daoist Sects produce The Three Pure Ones.’"

Chan Xi’s brows slightly furrowed; she suddenly realized that there seemed to be a gap in her memories.

Why did the original form collect history? It seemed as though it was searching for something.

On second thought, she felt it was unimportant. Losing part of one’s memories was normal because she herself was not an exact inheritor of the original personality. Over the entire course of the memories, she viewed them from the perspective of a bystander.

Thus, Chan Xi thought of fleeing, as the Daoist memory did not replicate a normal embodiment. Instead, she took a step that other practitioners of the One Qi to Three Pure Ones might need hundreds or even thousands of years to achieve, and directly created a new person.

"After that sentence was a fragmentary scroll, which listed the sects that originated from our Upper Pure Sect, including Liuyun Sect."

All Daoist Sects produce The Three Pure Ones, is Xuan Yue Demi Immortal from Upper Pure origin?

Gu Wen’s face showed his contemplation, and he immediately associated the possibility of them being from the same sect, even linking together the resentment and grievances between the two.

"I recall that the Sanqing Taoist Sect has a branching system, could it be derived from that?"

Inside the Sanqing Taoist Sect, they particularly favored branching out; practically every True Monarch had their own lineages. Some continued on, while others were discontinued due to the long absences of any new True Monarchs.

But isn’t this just creating multiple sects?

Given the immense size, vertical management was impossible.

"Perhaps."

Chan Xi was unsure, and Gu Wen could only turn his gaze to Ao Tang, but the donkey shook its head repeatedly, saying, "I’m not much older than Qingcang."

At that moment, Jun Yan closed his eyes slightly, and soon opened them again. A trace of malevolent energy flashed by, as he said, "I did ask a few of the oldest crazies, but I can’t guarantee the accuracy of the information."

"What did they say?"

"They said Chi Ling was a disciple of Yuqing, who was expelled from the sect for having an affair with a Buddha from the Buddhist Sect."

"....."

Gu Wen furrowed his brow, feeling something was not quite right; it sounded a bit too wild.

But information was better than none, especially since Yu Hua was there, so there was no worry about being overheard.

"What about Xuan Yue Demi Immortal? What incident caused him to have a karmic tie with Chi Ling?"

"Xuan Yue Demi Immortal was a disciple of Upper Pure. He also coveted the Buddhist Buddha, and from love, hatred arose, leading him to expose Chi Ling. Thus, they became enemies. Later, it was discovered that Chi Ling was involved with the contemporary leader of Upper Pure, who was angered by the multitude and was refined into a furnace by the sect’s disciples."

Jun Yan’s earnest response made everyone’s brows furrow as if they had been subjected to some kind of mental contamination.

What kind of wild rumor is this?

Gu Wen could hardly bear it and was about to scold, when he suddenly noticed that Jun Yan was completely breathless.

He focused Sword Intent at his fingertips and stabbed directly into Jun Yan’s waist; in an instant, Jun Yan’s body shuddered, his pupils contracted sharply as he took a deep breath.

After breathing heavily for a few moments, Jun Yan caught his breath, saying, "Thank you. I had just sought out an old oddity, never expecting this old thing to be so crazed and yet so ferocious."

"Who?"

"The Joyful Buddha."

"....."

Gu Wen really wanted to complain, but thought it a waste of time, and asked, "What you just said, how much of it is true and how much is false?"

Jun Yan replied, "Based on my experience, these old things speak only a tenth of the truth. There might be just one truthful word in their entire sentence."

After a brief exchange, everyone confirmed that Xuan Yue and Chi Ling were both from the Three Pure Dao, with Chi Ling most likely being the inheritor of the Upper Pure at that time.

And the two were from the same sect and had developed significant enmity.

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

Another day passed, the Earth Core Crystal coalesced, and the Grotto Heaven trembled.

Gu Wen, who was meditating, opened his eyes, and the others also emerged from their meditative states.

Chi Yu Zi frowned and said, "Something’s not right, this Earth Core Crystal has gathered too much of the earthly qi, it’s nearing the level of the three souls."

The Earth Core Crystal varied in strength due to her sister’s Divine Soul. The weakest couldn’t even take form, while the strongest—just a single soul—required Chi Yu Zi to fight desperately, and without the Mysterious Female Root, could not be beaten at all.

Yu Hua spoke up, "Your sister left a contingency. Her consciousness has arrived, and she’s watching us right now."

In her eyes, someone was already standing above the Heavenly Altar, quietly looking down on them all.

A streak of golden light emerged, the Earth Core Crystal congregated from the dome, dripping down and directly transforming into a miniature version of Chi Yu Zi.

She was dressed in a crimson silk gown, with wide sleeves fluttering gently in the wind, a golden cord cinched around her waist, barefooted on the bluestone slate of the Heavenly Altar, she stepped towards the stairway, the entire Grotto Heaven filled only with the sound of bare feet touching the ground.

Her phoenix eyes raised slightly, exuding an infinite majesty that crushed down.

"Sister disciple, are you courting death?"

Chi Ling stood atop the Heavenly Altar, with profound immortal sounds falling down, the boundless majesty wrapped within their tone.

Standing below, Demi Immortal Xuan Yue smiled slightly, shaking his head, "It’s because I want to live that I must interfere. So many years have passed, and elder disciple sister is still invariably merciful."

"I should have killed you long ago."

A trace of darkness flashed over Chi Ling’s face, then she turned to look at Chi Yu Zi, their eyes met, the latter full of naked rage and hostility.

Like a small beast with bared fangs and claws, tied up in someone’s hand, to be exploited by others.

At least, that’s what Chi Ling believed, whether it was Xuan Yue or Gu Wen, they were both using her sister.

"Yun Li, I can tolerate your insolence, but you cannot block my path to immortality."

"I just want to live."

Chi Yu Zi took a step and instantly moved to the base of the Heavenly Altar, she walked up head held high, looking straight at her sister at the end, who bore a resemblance to her.

Her sister still maintained a proud posture, looking down on her, even though she was a head shorter than herself.

Strands of golden light began to coil around her, and a thirty-foot-tall Golden Man instantaneously took shape.

"You are alive right now."

"I want freedom."

"What is freedom? I offer you the highest position in the Sword Control Sect, do whatever you want, have whatever you desire. Even if you massacre a city, no one would be able to hold you accountable."

Her arrogant voice fell, accompanied by a fist suddenly thrusting in her face, the Golden Man’s fist heavily smashing towards the four-foot-tall girl in red.

Chi Ling simply raised her hand, seemingly slow and light, and caught the fist that was larger than her face, the air behind her cleared by the punch’s wind.

But her three thousand black hairs did not show the slightest ripple, as if each strand weighed as much as mountains.

"I don’t need it."

Chi Yu Zi’s voice distorted through the Golden Light Spell, becoming more complex and crazed, bloodstained patterns appeared over the golden glow, and it seemed as though a golden winged robe unfolded.

Power surged an echelon higher, the fist slowly pressing forward.

Chi Ling solemnly said, "You will die this way, is it worth it?"

"If it means catching a breath of relief, it’s worth it. And I will live longer than you, a thousand years, ten thousand years, a hundred million years."

The Golden Man’s fist finally crashed onto Chi Ling’s body, her petite figure flew backwards like a cannonball, at a speed imperceptible to the naked eye. The Golden Man followed and vanished from the spot.

In the void, there was only the deafening sound of their fists clashing.

Boom! Boom! Boom!

A quarter of an hour later, two Golden Men appeared above the Heavenly Altar.

One golden like crystal, the other with wings spread, tinged blood-red.

The former was a strolling emperor; the latter, a frenzied prisoner.