Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 476 - 60

Chapter 476: Chapter 60

Jiang Ning saw his family ancestor kneel down and was so frightened that he quickly jumped aside. Before he could understand what was happening, a Jiang family cultivator hiding in the dark had already grabbed him out from a distance.

The Jiang family cultivators and the officers all turned their eyes to the main hall.

With a cold snort from Chi Yu Zi, all eyes receded like a tide, but the private exchanges of divine thoughts did not stop.

Half a month ago, Jiang Ning had already been bragging about entertaining a Jiang family ancestor and the True Martial Demon Cleansing Venerable at his home.

Few believed the former because the Jiang family only had a history of about eight hundred years, and any random Taoist temple in the cultivation world could be much older. The latter’s reputation was extraordinary, capable of making children stop crying.

The first reaction of the Jiang family direct line was to see it as a joke.

Then, Jiang Ning actually brought the people back, and the Second Ancestor indeed came out to greet them. Only then did everyone realize something was wrong.

Could it be that the Jiang family really had a reclusive ancestor? And with the True Martial Demon Cleansing Venerable accompanying him, what kind of divine being could they be?

Doubt remained in their hearts, but the strong did not need to explain.

Gu Wen and Chi Yu Zi sat openly in the main hall, accepting the kneeling of the Jiang family ancestor, and no one found anything inappropriate.

The main hall fell into an eerie silence.

Jiang Jucai’s forehead was sweating, and the sound of his heartbeat was unusually clear.

The Qingyi Daoist in front of him merely watched quietly, but it gave him the feeling of being crushed by a mountain. More fear stemmed from the fact that the Chi Venerable and Gu Wen were together, coupled with the recent frequent activities of the True Martial Palace in Danqing State.

He didn’t know how much Gu Wen had already known but understood that there was no way he could avoid it.

Just Chi Venerable alone was not something the Jiang family could resist, not to mention Mr. Wen, who seemed omnipotent in his memory.

"Returning to Void cultivation, your talent is quite good. Reaching the Returning to Void stage at eight hundred years old also makes you a dragon and phoenix among people, with hopes of achieving Mahayana in the future."

Gu Wen scrutinized him, his gaze piercing through Jiang Jucai’s entire cultivation, finding no demonic aura.

On the contrary, it was a very pure cultivation technique from the Upper Pure Sect, and his aura was extremely pure and thick.

Not only was he not a pill junkie, but he also had the bearing of a Heavenly Pride.

"When I sent you out back then, I didn’t expect you to have such a talent. I just gave you and your father five hundred years of longevity as a fulfillment."

Jiang Jucai regained his senses, still kneeling, and kowtowed, "The achievements I have today are all thanks to Mr. Wen."

"I didn’t know Mr. Wen had escaped and returned to Danqing State. It was a great offense not to welcome you from afar, and I deeply regret it."

He had inquired about Gu Wen’s whereabouts, but with his level, it was hard to know the full picture. He only knew that Gu Wen was trapped by some great deity during his quest for immortality and was unlikely to come out.

Jiang Jucai naturally felt depressed and distressed hearing that. No matter what, Gu Wen was still his elder and had led him onto the immortal path. As long as he wasn’t ungrateful, he would surely feel gratitude in his heart.

Now seeing Gu Wen again, his emotions were mixed with joy and fear.

Gu Wen lifted Jiang Jucai with his hand and said, "It’s been less than a year since I escaped. It’s normal for cultivators who go into seclusion for decades at a time not to know."

There was a saying in the cultivation world: "Familiar with the name but not the face, never seen the person."

Everyone in the world knows Yuqing, but few know Gu Wen and Hong Chen. Everyone knows Qingcang, but those who know Li Yunshang are extremely few.

Those who can see him and know his identity are only a handful in the world.

The cultivation world has no internet, and even half of the people have never seen the Buddha’s face. Most live in deep mountains and forests, and it is normal to not communicate with the outside world for decades.

Gu Wen thought that if he didn’t visit people himself, even if he sat in the Jade Palace, former acquaintances might not know he had come out.

He looked left, observed again, and turned to the ground.

"Jucai, where is your father?"

Jiang Jucai was tense, but answered expressionlessly, "Father is in life-or-death seclusion, seeking a breakthrough opportunity, and cannot be contacted for now."

"He is now at the Nascent Soul stage, preparing for Divine Separation?"

"Correct, my father’s talent is average, but he cultivates extremely diligently. I haven’t seen him much in the past few centuries."

"Diligent? If he were diligent, cows wouldn’t need to be driven to plow the fields."

Gu Wen let out a few light laughs. Even with his cultivation, Jiang Jucai’s heartbeat quickened a bit at the moment.

Because he was lying.

Jiang Fugui’s cultivation was not lazy, but could not be called diligent either. In his father’s words, ’Living this long in my life is enough, no need to ask for more. A person should know contentment.’

But now Jiang Jucai couldn’t let Gu Wen see Jiang Fugui, or everything would be in vain.

"However, he was indeed very diligent about beneficial matters. Cultivation is always good."

Jiang Jucai wiped his sweat mentally and smiled, "If my father knew Mr. Wen was visiting, he would surely break out of seclusion. He has been thinking about you these past centuries."

"We’ll meet eventually, no need to rush."

Gu Wen shook his head, seemingly not eager to see Jiang Fugui and turned to inquire about the Jiang family’s matters.

Learning about the development of the Jiang family, relying on the privileges they obtained from the Daoist Sect, the Jiang family had achieved significant success in business today.

The Pill Alliance they controlled was equivalent to the top pill merchant of the Human Race, purchasing pills from major Pill Sects and then distributing them to each state, earning a huge amount of wealth through the price difference.

The Jiang family used this wealth to transform Danqing State, turning the Flame Mountain devastated by earth fire for millions of years into green mountains and converting scorched earth into farmland.

After hundreds of years, Danqing State was now a scene of peace and prosperity, repeatedly praised by the Daoist Sect.

Jiang Fugui also became the only legendary figure in the world who could sit and converse with great powers with merely Golden Core stage cultivation.

Because he had money and knew how to spend it.

Even Chi Yu Zi nodded and said, "A mere Golden Core can sit with great powers from all sides. Truly an unprecedented wonder."

Relying solely on Gu Wen’s grace would at most ensure his prosperity and peace, but it couldn’t allow him to possess the wealth of the world and remain unharmed.

Gu Wen said, "If you possess mountains of gold and silver, everyone will covet you. On the contrary, if you spend it on others, everyone will thank you. If you have money, you must have fame. Having money without fame will lead to death sooner or later."

"That’s because the strength is insufficient," Chi Yu Zi said. "I see that demoness possesses Qianfeng Tower, and the wealth in her pocket is no less than the Jiang family’s, yet no one causes her trouble."

Jiang Jucai nodded deeply in agreement.

Having struggled in the cultivation world for so many years, and establishing himself as a cultivation family, he had faced much disdain and discrimination from the numerous long-established sects.

In the eyes of the sects, no matter how wealthy the Jiang family was, they were just "filthy beggars."

After some casual talks, Jiang Jucai gradually became less nervous, and Gu Wen even proposed to meet the current members of the Jiang family.

This made Jiang Jucai overjoyed, prompting him to urgently summon the Jiang family’s direct descendants, instructing the most outstanding cultivators to come.

Gu Wen saw a total of thirty people, including Jiang Jucai, another Returning Void True Monarch who had married into the family. The rest consisted of three Nascent Souls, dozens of Golden Core Stage cultivators, and over a thousand Foundation Establishments.

Such numbers were not uncommon in sects. Most third-class sects were stronger than the Jiang family, but as a family, they could be considered the best in the world.

After all, strength did not rely on hereditary lineage; narrow family concepts could never compare to sects that disregarded one’s origins.

And without exception, these people all practiced the most orthodox Mystical Sect cultivation techniques, without any trace of demonic aura.

Chi Yu Zi stood on the side, frowning, making the descendants of the Jiang family who came to kneel before him extremely nervous.

Not knowing how they had offended this senior.

After seeing everyone,

it seemed normal; if there was a problem, it would have been discovered by now. Cultivators’ auras were the hardest to conceal, and those who could conceal them were not ordinary people.

That night, the Jiang family hosted a grand banquet to welcome Gu Wen.

Jiang Jucai still remembered Gu Wen’s temperament, allowing only those who attended today to participate and strictly forbidding the Jiang family from spreading the news.

Chi Yu Zi drank and packed all the spiritual wine stored by the Jiang family.

At midnight, the banquet dispersed, and both hosts and guests were happy.

Jiang Jucai arranged a guest room for the two, but due to some rumor, only arranged one room.

Gu Wen, as usual, tossed the drunk Chi Yu Zi onto the bed. She burped and said, "Xie won’t be fooled, right? I see that the Jiang family has no problems."

"Fugui has been refined into a zombie."

The room’s candlelight was dim. Gu Wen’s voice floated in, causing Chi Yu Zi to shiver inexplicably. She sobered up halfway and sat up straight, saying, "So he is the problem?"

Gu Wen nodded, then looked down at the floor.

This was not the first time he glanced at the ground. Chi Yu Zi extended her divine thought downward but found nothing unusual. She frowned and asked, "What do you plan to do?"

"Wait and watch. I want to know who is behind all this," Gu Wen said calmly, "Eliminate the evil and remove the root."

"Immortality drives people crazy. It’s hard to say whether it’s Fugui or Jucai who has lost their mind. Regardless, someone always initiates such things. They couldn’t have learned it on their own."

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

In a cave as dark as night, Jiang Jucai walked on a sea of blood, the sound of water steps echoing in the empty space.

Ahead, a faint light suddenly appeared, revealing a person bound by chains, six feet tall, with a green face and fangs, deep black eyes with green pupils, and covered in white hair.

Abominated object, zombie.

To seek immortality, cultivators tried many things. Some believed death was the decay of the flesh, thus creating body refinement and corpse refinement.

As if sensing someone coming, the chains were tugged, and he raised his head to look at Jiang Jucai, whose green face and fangs bore a slight resemblance to Jiang Jucai.

This person was Jiang Fugui.

Jiang Jucai whispered, "Father, Mr. Wen has emerged. He is now three thousand feet above you. You always hoped to see Mr. Wen again before you died; soon, you will see him."

"Hissing..."

Jiang Fugui’s black eyes and green pupils showed some ripples, followed by trembling, with strands of spirit light appearing.

Finally, the black mist and green light in his right eye dissipated, returning to normal white eyes and black pupils.

He opened his mouth, seemingly unable to speak for a long time, stuttering a few times before uttering two hoarse and unpleasant words.

"Jucai... turn back, tell Mr. Wen everything was my fault, the wicked deeds I did, the people I ate, none of it was related to you."

Jiang Jucai shook his head and said, "Mr. Wen did not find out, nor did Chi Venerable. This blood pool is created by a giant of the Demon Path, who is said to be a Half-step Immortal."

"Half-step Immortal so what? Do you know the Twelve Demon Ancestors? Back in the day, Mr. Wen alone could defeat them, let alone a mouse who doesn’t dare to show up after being scared by Qingcang Immortal."

Jiang Fugui’s gaze dropped, his voice growing weaker.

"Even if I broke through to Divine Separation, what difference would it make to live as a zombie? Do you think Mr. Wen wouldn’t find out? Son, you still don’t remember my words, then and now."

"Mr. Wen is not an ordinary person."

"Father, Mr. Wen cannot grant you a millennium’s lifespan, but I can."

Jiang Jucai turned to leave, just as he had left home to join the army years ago.

One hundred and fifty years ago, Jiang Fugui was dying; the Jiang family kept it secret. Jiang Jucai sought treatment from the Heavenly Demon Sect.

Refine his father into a corpse, revive him.

As long as Jiang Fugui reached Divine Separation, he could live another thousand years as a zombie.