Chapter 505

Chapter 505: The Immortal in the Heart

Fifty years ago.

The ancestor of Immortal Gate disappeared along with the martial arts of the Qiao family in the flowing waters of the Sky Piercing River, leaving only the dying Master Qiao Xin of Peach Blossom Villa.

From that moment on, the era of the Qiao family came to an end, and the legendary tales of martial arts were shattered by Qiao Xin’s words, leaving the following fifty years full of uncertainty not meant for outsiders.

Now, fifty years later, the situation has changed completely.

"Since you and I are aware of the unusual events in the Sky Piercing River, it is natural that Immortal Gate knows as well," Founding Emperor Yan said calmly.

"As for whether this matter is serious or light, and whether a living being truly returned from the Sky Piercing River, we will investigate, and Immortal Gate will surely investigate too."

"The truth can wait, Immortal Gate will take the first step to gather information."

The techniques of the immortal path have been passed down since ancient times, and there are many kinds. In terms of gathering information, martial arts cannot compare.

However, in Founding Emperor Yan’s view, he could follow behind Immortal Gate and indirectly judge the truth of the matter by their reactions.

If the ancestor of Immortal Gate has returned, they will surely act arrogantly; but if a member of the Qiao family, who has not perished, returns…

"Our ancestor is still very wise and thoughtful," Emperor Wuping praised.

Founding Emperor Yan gained the world from the back of a horse in his youth, but now, at three or four hundred years old, he is no longer the reckless man he once was.

He immediately gave the order:

"Send the Flying Fish Guard to investigate."

"We need to investigate not only the Sky Piercing River but also the movements of Immortal Gate!"

…………………..

In the land of Jiu Province, the landscape varies.

Zhong Province has fertile soil and plains, with a dense population, making it an excellent place for worship in the eyes of Immortal Gate.

In contrast, mountainous regions like Southeast Province and Northwest Prefecture have always been vast with few people.

Years ago, the Yunxiao Sect and Tongtian Sword Sect that occupied this area were weaker than Immortal Gate.

However, Qiao Mu did not expect that when he returned to Jiu Province, the Tongtian Sword Sect, which once held sway over the source of Sky Piercing River, had vanished without a trace.

The temple he sensed…

Was not in the bustling city but on a mountain outside the city.

A mountain does not need to be high; it is known for its immortals.

In the mountains, there is a well-known temple, attracting many visitors and worshippers.

At the foot of the temple, next to the main road, Qiao Mu even saw inns and restaurants, as well as vendors selling incense papers along the street.

Although there are not many houses, a small village has clearly formed.

"One stick of incense costs one hundred coins."

"A bundle of a hundred bamboo incense sticks costs fifty coins, all of which are high-quality incense." The vendor began to call out as Qiao Mu approached.

"Sir, who is the current emperor, what is the era name, and how many years has it been?"

Qiao Mu casually grabbed some silver coins from his storage bag, secretly crushed them into small pieces, and handed them to the vendor selling incense on the street, "I want three long incense sticks."

"Are you a wild man from the mountains to ask such a question—" The vendor started to respond but suddenly smiled widely when he saw the silver pieces in Qiao Mu’s hand.

"I don’t know the years in the mountains. With the chaos of recent years, it’s quite normal to forget the era name." The middle-aged vendor handed Qiao Mu three sticks of incense while replying.

"It is now the fifty-second year of Wuping."

Qiao Mu’s gaze fell on the middle-aged vendor, and he paused for a moment, but said nothing more.

"Fifty-second year of Wuping," the Sky Piercing Water Spirit sighed softly.

"It has indeed been fifty years."

"You two don’t know who the current emperor is or the era name, yet you know to come to the temple to worship the gods. What sincerity you have!" the middle-aged vendor exclaimed in surprise.

"That’s true," Qiao Mu said, half-smiling.

"My ancestors have been devout followers of the Soul Predicting Path for eighteen generations; they once traveled far and wide on pilgrimages."

"The Soul Predicting Path?" the Sky Piercing Water Spirit nodded, realizing it.

"The founder of the Soul Predicting Path has indeed saved me from many detours. Looking back, I should be grateful."

The vendor felt very touched by what he heard.

He even took half of the silver coins in his hand and gave them to Qiao Mu, saying that he greatly admired such devoted followers, and as a businessman, he was willing to give a discount.

While they were chatting casually.

Ding ding ding.

At that moment, a melodious bell rang from the temple on the mountain top, spreading through the mountains.

The mountain climbers heard the sound and quickly quickened their pace towards the top.

"The bell has rung, the time for worship has come."

"Today is the first day of the month, unlike any other day. I wonder if I will be able to see the immortal being."

"Hurry up, we must not miss the time."

Qiao Mu’s gaze wandered over the crowd of worshippers.

There were about several hundred worshippers, all coming from the small towns scattered around the nearby mountains.

"Water Spirit, let’s hurry, we don’t want to miss the chance to see the true form of the Immortal."

Qiao Mu encouraged the Sky Piercing Water Spirit beside him, holding the three incense sticks in his hand as he climbed up the steps, blending into the crowd of worshippers.

"It’s been fifty years, let’s see if the Immortal Gate has something new," Qiao Mu muttered to himself.

Standing at the foot of the mountain, he already knew which Immortal Gate the temple at the top belonged to.

He slowly ascended the stone steps, with the sound of pine trees whispering on either side and dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves.

Following the crowd into the temple, the air was filled with incense, and a fresh aroma lingered while low, sincere chants surrounded the space.

He looked up.

Through the faint smoke, in the main hall’s highest place, there stood a tall Immortal Statue, with a kind face, deep eyes, holding a whisk, and wearing a robe.

Below the Immortal Statue, there was a plaque with four big words: Yanshen Great Taoist Lord.

To the left and right of the Yanshen Great Taoist Lord, the Immortal Statues were slightly shorter by two or three inches. Qiao Mu glanced at the names, which were Shaoyin Taoist Lord and Shaoyang Taoist Lord.

Two Soul Changing Taoist Lords, and the so-called "Great Taoist Lord" in the middle, should be the sect leader of the Soul Predicting Path, right?

The territory of the Soul Predicting Path is actually in Southeast Province, which is almost as far away from this Northwest Prefecture as the south is from the north.

Who would have thought that fifty years later, the reach of the Soul Predicting Path would extend this far…

While lost in thought, he noticed a commotion in the crowd of worshippers.

Suddenly, bright rays of light appeared in the sky, and numerous beautiful colors emerged, revealing the ethereal figures of several immortal beings.

The immortals smiled, gently waving their whisks, as a soft spiritual light descended:

"Remove disasters and troubles, open the heart and see the truth."

"The immortal has truly shown their power." The crowd of worshippers bathed in a gentle glow felt an inexplicable comfort and excitement, and some sincere ones nearly broke into tears.

"It’s so touching." Qiao Mu walked into the main hall with a blank expression, following the crowd.

He knew nothing about the path of immortality, but he had seen a lot. Even the flower tricks he had never seen before were mostly familiar to him.

The shadow of the immortal is similar to the spiritual body techniques used on Qingxuan Road in Bei Province in the past.

The radiant light turning into rain briefly stimulated the worshippers, refreshing their minds… such small spells are very easy for a cultivator of the immortal path.

Even though he was among the crowd, he seemed too calm, showing no expression, standing out like a crane among chickens, which made people nearby glance at him.

"Could it be an unruly martial artist causing trouble?" A cultivator guarding the temple frowned.

"Why not worship?" He silently looked at Qiao Mu; although he did not act, he was already applying invisible pressure.

He is testing. If this person does not worship the immortals, then he will look for a chance to act.

As the Taoist spoke, the surrounding worshippers turned their gazes toward him.

This scene made Qiao Mu squint, feeling strangely familiar, as if he had experienced something similar a long time ago.

Now nearly seventy thousand years old, his heart was calm and still. The Taoist’s threats did not cause him any disturbance.

"Alright," Qiao Mu said softly.

"Then I will worship."

To the Taoist’s surprise, Qiao Mu’s attitude was unexpectedly good.

He seriously walked to the incense burner, lit three sticks of incense, and then held them in his hand, slightly tilting his head to look at the many Immortal Statues above.

He slowly but steadily placed the three sticks of incense into the burner, then brought his palms together in front of him.

"Well, great ones, please accept my bow." He faced the Yanshen Great Taoist Lord at the front and slightly bent his body to show respect.

At the moment his body slightly bent.

The Immortal Statues of the Soul Predicting Path in front of him all made cracking sounds and began to crack.

Invisible wisps of clear energy floated out from the cracks in the Immortal Statues, and in that instant, these Immortal Statues lost their spirit; their once lively expressions became stiff, as if they had turned into ordinary stone statues.

The Taoist who spoke earlier had his eyelids twitching wildly.

Above the Taoist temple, the phantom of the immortal in the clouds trembled violently, about to disappear in an instant.

But at that moment.

Qiao Mu, who had not yet bowed, seemed to be in a daze; his palms, which were together, slowly separated and were placed behind him.

"Hmm? Why did you stop?" The Sky Piercing Water Spirit looked over in surprise, but saw Qiao Mu slowly shake his head.

The shadow of the cloud fairy, almost vanished, finally got a moment to breathe and reformed into a human shape.

At the same time, a loud shout came from the entrance of the Taoist temple.

"Do not bow!"

The voice thundered like a lightning strike, turning into visible sound waves that rushed forward, mixed with dark red electric light.

At the entrance of the Taoist temple, an ordinary-looking middle-aged man raised his sword and slashed down, breaking open the temple door.

"Centurion Lu Shun of the Immortal Slaying Army is here. Today, we will destroy the mountain and the temple, clearing out the inhumans!"

Behind him, a group of armored soldiers entered one after another, moving in perfect unison, radiating an inexplicable power.

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit, originally watching the commotion from the back of the crowd, gave a soft exclamation.

"So it’s him?"

The plain-looking middle-aged man at the front was actually the vendor from the mountain who sold incense to Qiao Mu and his companion earlier, and he had chatted with them for a while.

"So, they are fishing," said the Sky Piercing Water Spirit with a click of its tongue.

Suddenly, a hundred soldiers rushed forward, led by a centurion whose large sword gathered immense energy and true strength, transforming into a giant blade that was as tall as a person.

"Slash!"

The sword strike flew through the air, and the already cracked Immortal Statue showed no reaction as it was sliced in half at the waist.

Crack!

The main pillars of the Taoist temple were also cut in half, causing the roof to tilt towards the backyard with a loud noise.

A hundred soldiers lunged forward, entangled with several streaks of light cutting through the air.

Qiao Mu stood in place, looking up at this scene. He remained silent among the crowd.

Before the third hour, the rainbow light fell like raindrops.

Several cultivators in robes had their bodies severed, with headless corpses crashing to the ground and creating shallow craters, while the soldiers held their heads in their hands.

"It’s time to earn military honors." The soldiers sheathed their bloody swords.

"This time was much easier than before… Is it possible that my martial skills have improved without me realizing?"

"Stop talking nonsense; you could only behead the inhuman because of my support. Under the Spiritual Sky Piercing Battle Formation, one equals a hundred, and a hundred equals one. So if you behead one inhuman, it’s as if I have beheaded a hundred, and I should receive honors for a hundred."

"…."

"Stop the chatter; it’s not time to celebrate yet. This is just the first step," said the middle-aged centurion, waving his hand to silence the soldiers.

"The South King once said, it is easy to break a spirit in a temple, but difficult to break the spirit within."

"The inhuman are merely cultivators of the celestial path; causing their bodies and souls to perish is just the first step."

The middle-aged centurion commanded his hundred soldiers to surround the temple completely, blocking all escape routes and not letting anyone leave.

At this moment, there were three to four hundred believers trapped inside the collapsed temple, all filled with inexplicable fear, shaken by the hundred soldiers.

"Come here, you! "The middle-aged centurion pointed at an old man with gray hair.

"Me, me?" The old man nearly wet himself in fear.

"Please spare my life, sir! I have… um, many grandchildren below…"

"You’re panicking a bit too quickly; who wants your life?"

The centurion picked up the Great Taoist Lord statue, which was split in half, and slammed it down on the ground, making the Immortal Statue stand firmly.

"Come on, go up there and urinate on it!" The centurion pointed at the broken Immortal Statue.

"Huh?" The old man with gray hair didn’t understand at first.

The centurion said:

"It’s fine. If this Soul Predicting Path of the Immortals truly cared for people, how could they blame you? It’s all our fault in the Immortal Slaying Army."

"Alright, we will take the blame for disrespecting the immortals, so you can relax and go ahead… if you don’t go now, then don’t go at all."

The old man was suddenly so frightened that he wet himself.

It was just a little that came out in his pants.

He had never dared to disrespect the gods, but first, he had just witnessed the temple being destroyed and the spiritual image of the god vanishing into smoke, along with a group of fierce people attacking.

Secondly, what the centurion said did seem to make some sense… even if it didn’t, at that moment, he would convince himself…

The old man trembled as he walked to the cracked statue of the Yanshen Great Taoist Lord and began to try hard to offer his respect.

At first, he could only squeeze out two or three drops, but for some reason, once he started, it gradually turned into a flood that could not be stopped…

"Come on, next." The centurion looked at the next visitor.

"Don’t worry, everyone gets their turn, one cup each."

He smiled gently and stepped aside from the temple door he was blocking, allowing the white-haired old man to flee in a hurry.

"To pass this way, you need neither money nor life, just two cups of urine! Those with yellow urine come first!"

The centurion chuckled as he said this to himself.

Cutting down the mountain and destroying the temple meant killing the cultivator guarding the temple and breaking the statues, making their power disappear, turning them into clay figures.

By this point, these Immortal Statues were no longer extraordinary… only among their followers did they hold great weight.

It is easy to destroy a temple, but hard to break the immortal within the heart.

What we call "immortal" (仙) is simply a person (亻) on the mountain (山).

Now it’s time for the mountain to collapse.