Dao Equaling the Heavens
Chapter 86 - 75: The Imperial Army’s Arrival, All Sects Surround and Blockade_2

Chapter 86: Chapter 75: The Imperial Army’s Arrival, All Sects Surround and Blockade_2

Gu Wen re-entered meditation to cultivate and internally viewed the Cultivation Technique "Xuanling Tri-Element Qi."

Compared to the Spiritual Jade Body Protection Skill which only protected and strengthened the internal organs and bones, allowing for bloodshed upon attack but not fatal wounds, the Xuanling Tri-Element Qi could leave him unharmed, dividing the skill into Three Levels: [Armored Spirit], [Jade Spirit], [Xuanling].

The First Level, Armored Spirit, condensed a thin layer of ’Armored Spirit’ over the body surface, similar to a cuticle, with a defensive power comparable to chain mail.

It seemed useless at first. Gu Wen’s armor was not even worth mentioning, but the Spirit Armor was weightless and permanent. Moreover, the main purpose of Body Protection Skills was to reduce damage. If one didn’t block or dodge and took the attack head-on, unless there was a huge disparity in strength, even the best Body Protection Skills would be useless.

High-intensity defense meant high consumption, and Gu Wen didn’t want to adopt a turtle strategy; otherwise, what use would his understanding of the Flame Spear be?

With the Armored Spirit, if he were to encounter a sneak attack similar to the one on the ship, Gu Wen could withstand it without dodging.

[Heavenly Marrow for one year]

[Xuanling Tri-Element Qi First Level, requires six years of Heavenly Marrow]

I’m short on money!

Gu Wen entered into deep meditation, cultivating and understanding bit by bit the "Xuanling Tri-Element Qi." In the middle of the night, the White Immortal, who was worshiped in the Mountain God Temple, returned, their movement waking him. It was a habit he had developed over the years; he would awake at the slightest disturbance, even during meditation.

Yu Hua, reading a book beside him, touched his forehead lightly to help smoothen his disturbed Mana and soothed him, "It’s okay, I’m here."

"Subconscious reaction, couldn’t control it...."

Gu Wen explained awkwardly. Yu Hua just smiled and did not delve too deeply into it.

He was just used to being alone and would always need some time to adjust.

The old donkey turned annoyingly and said, "Are you raising a cub? You’re protecting him like a treasure."

You’re not giving yourself a chance to show elder care!

"Shut up."

Yu Hua’s voice suddenly turned cold.

Gu Wen’s spirit relaxed, and he entered deep meditation once again, deeper and more self-forgetting than before.

Having companions was always good; he never thought he should be a lone wolf, as lone wolves among wolves were generally losers.

The night passed without words, and the sky gradually brightened.

Gu Wen and his group packed up their bags and then set out in the morning mist.

Right now, his path was incredibly clear and correct, just follow the trail of the Immortality Pill, and he could complete most of what the Fate Diagram required.

The old donkey nudged Gu Wen and said cheerfully, "Second Ancestor, the journey is long; you can ride on my back and continue to meditate and comprehend the Cultivation Technique."

As he spoke, the donkey had transformed into a large water buffalo, wide enough to sit cross-legged on directly. Although it wasn’t necessary to sit cross-legged, it just facilitated the circulation of Qi Fortune through the Cycle.

"Thank you, senior."

Gu Wen didn’t refuse; in fact, he too wanted to ride a True Dragon, though it had already transformed into a buffalo.

However, Ao Tang’s attitude towards him seemed increasingly warmer, it seems that politeness is always charming.

Gu Wen sat cross-legged on the large water buffalo and re-entered meditation, while Yu Hua beside him frowned slightly but did not say much.

What does this old thing want to do?

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

Traveling for three days, events occurred frequently.

The first day they encountered bandits raiding a village, looting and pillaging; Gu Wen alone killed most of them, earning the worship of the village young and old and receiving a section of rare wood from the home of the old village chief.

The scent was fragrant and lingered for decades; the old village chief had dug it up while plowing the land in his youth. Now in these troubled times, the old village chief feared keeping it might invite fatal disaster, so he presented it to Gu Wen, his lifesaver.

Upon asking Ao Tang, it was known to be an Earth Realm treasure called "Earth Purifying," often used as a sachet in the Cultivation World; female cultivators liked using it.

"Fellow Daoist, do you need the Earth Purifying?"

Gu Wen asked Yu Hua, who shook her head, "I do not favor women’s items, like rouge, powder, sachets, or ornate clothes, and have never worn them."

Ao Tang said, "This land is not good for making medicine, eating it might cause diarrhea. It doesn’t matter for cultivators outside to breathe the air and drink the dew, but here we have to eat grains more or less, you shouldn’t shove it into your mouth."

Hearing that he couldn’t eat, Gu Wen expressed his regret, "It seems I can only wait to encounter Lu Chan and sell it to her."

As soon as he finished speaking, the item was snatched away by Yu Hua.

The next day, as they were walking on the road, the "Yu Hua Radar" suddenly reacted, leading them down a spacious road and straight into the deep mountains and old forests.

They forged through thorny underbrush, encountered wolves and saw tigers, until they found an extremely secluded cave in a mountain recess.

The cave was ten zhang wide, with stalactites constantly dripping water droplets, each droplet shimmering like a flawless gem, forming a small water pool about one meter wide beneath it.

"It stopped here for a while, but it’s been a long time and it left no roots."

Yu Hua lost interest after just one glance.

Ao Tang shook his head and said, "Thousand-year-old Water Spirit, it’s a pity it can’t form a spirit core, tasteless to eat but a pity to waste."

Gu Wen, however, was very interested. After confirming it was non-toxic with them, he bent down and sucked up the water like a cow drinking.

The long-depleted Imperial Pulp was refilled. Within his Qi Sea, besides the Fire Meteor, there was now an additional Yellow River.

Streams of information transmitted from the Fate Diagram.

[Imperial Pulp for twenty years]

That much?

Gu Wen continued to suck, wishing he could lick the stones clean, eventually stabilizing the Imperial Pulp at twenty-five years.

In Bianjing’s Dragon Spring Well of the Water House, it took a month to collect a year’s worth of Imperial Pulp; twenty-five years would require him to guard it for two years. However, considering that the Dragon Spring Well was inexhaustible while the water pit he was drinking from might not refill for a hundred years,

It was a one-time opportunity.

Moreover, without Yu Hua, he probably would never have found this place.

Gu Wen took out the Jade Pendant from his bosom, his Divine Thought probed it briefly, and as always, was repelled.

[Unnamed Taoist Soldier, needs twenty-five years of Imperial Pulp to sever its heavenly fate]

Top-notch treasures all have heavenly fates, each has its owner, and the function of Imperial Pulp is to ignore heavenly fate. Whether it’s a Spiritual Treasure or a Taoist Soldier, as long as Gu Wen can overcome the spiritual nature of the treasure, he can refine it.

However, it’s unknown whether it’s because Gu Wen is not from the main lineage of the Gu family or if, similar to Heavenly Marrow, it varies from person to person, other completely alien Taoist Soldiers might require hundreds to thousands of Imperial Pulp to refine.

But he was closer to his goal now. Next, going to the Sword Washing Pond would allow him to refine the Taoist Soldier and also collect some Imperial Pulp in advance.

Gu Wen and his group arrived quickly and left quickly as well, without disturbing the opportunities here.

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

On the third day, upon entering the Luo River Earth Realm, they encountered villagers on the road who seemed to be part-time bandits.

Seeing Gu Wen seated on Ao Tang, who was a size larger than ordinary water buffaloes, and Yu Hua covered by a plain white silk cloth, the villagers immediately worshipped them. Then, they invited them to enter their village, saying that their village had an Ancestor Spirit which hosted passing Immortals along the road to accumulate good karma.

Entering the village, they saw an ancient tree worshipped in the very center of the village, surrounded by red silk ribbons.

A strand of aged Divine Thought descended.

"An old tree greets the Taoist Heavenly Girl. I wonder, are you entering the Sword Washing Pond?"

"What if I am?" Yu Hua countered,

By now, the whole world knew about the Immortality Pill and the purpose of the Daoist Sect; hiding was meaningless.

The old tree answered, "If you wish to enter, I’m afraid it won’t be easy. The Sword Washing Pond has been sealed by Broken Sword Mountain. And recently, there has been frequent passage of soldiers. It seems the Lord Emperor has laid a trap."

Wherever the army arrived, all sects in the world were blocked.

Gu Wen’s expression darkened momentarily but then relaxed; this just meant there would be no guilt in seizing by force.

They were the ones who had started it.