This withered old monk had no magical weapons; he fought purely with his palms. His attacks were accompanied by surging wind and thunder, yet without a sound. One after another, golden Buddhist light shone forth, transforming the entire surrounding world into a golden realm.
The old monk guarding the wordless jade wall was actually slightly superior to Li Ling in terms of cultivation level.
At this moment, Li Ling had drawn both the Dragon-Slaying Sword and the Qiankun Sword. Facing the withered old monk, the swords in his hands moved in countless ways, drawing mysterious trajectories, and always managed to perfectly parry the withered old monk's moves.
However, Li Ling knew that the old monk's realm was too high. The peak of Shangqing and the Taiqing realm seemed to be only a line apart, but the difference was immeasurable. If Li Ling had not already achieved the supreme swordsmanship, he would probably have been at a disadvantage long ago.
After a while, Li Ling received the message from the wooden puppet, knowing that the trip was successful. Sensing the aura of the monks from Tianyin Temple beginning to appear in the distance, he did not hesitate and said leisurely, "It seems that things were difficult today, but there will be plenty of time in the future. Until we meet again!"
After saying that, he changed his footing and quickly disappeared into the forest.
The old monk knew that Li Ling was not easy to deal with, so he did not pursue him. When he returned to the Boundless Jade Wall, he discovered that the "Heavenly Book" inside the jade wall had been activated. Only then did he realize that he had been tricked, but it was too late to give chase.
Meanwhile, Li Ling was already in a courtyard outside Mount Sumeru, looking at the latest volume of the Heavenly Book, Volume 4. The five volumes of the Heavenly Book were now combined into one, all appearing in Li Ling's mind.
The previously fragmented content finally came together completely, and the flawless "Heavenly Book" was finally presented to Li Ling!
Upon seeing this "Heavenly Book," Li Ling unconsciously began to cultivate. As the cultivation technique circulated, the spiritual power of the "Taiji Xuanqing Dao," "Fenxiang Yuce," and "Dafan Prajna" within his body seemed to find their mother's children, gradually merging into the spiritual power that Li Ling had just cultivated.
A sudden realization flashed through Li Ling's mind, and from then on, these three techniques became indistinguishable within him.
At this moment, Li Ling's cultivation also leaped across a major realm, finally reaching the highest level in the world, becoming equal to peerless masters like Dao Xuan from the world of Zhu Xian.
"This 'Heavenly Book' is indeed remarkable, but the cultivation methods in the Immortal Execution World are still different from what I cultivated before. It will take countless years to fully integrate them. The Immortal Execution World does not follow the Golden Core path. But for now, I should return to the Azure Cloud Sect!" Li Ling thought to himself after regaining consciousness.
Although Li Ling traveled around the world of Jade Dynasty, he spent most of his time on Qingyun Mountain, so he had the deepest feelings for this place. However, now that Qi Hao has taken over the position of Dragon Head Peak, Li Ling spends the most time on Little Bamboo Peak.
Speaking of Qi Hao, he was defeated by Li Ling during the Seven Peaks Martial Arts Tournament, and even his immortal sword was cut off. Unexpectedly, after recovering from his injuries, he patiently cultivated and actually broke through to the Shangqing Realm.
After that, Qi Hao never bothered Li Ling again, and Li Ling treated him as if he didn't exist, as if they were destined to never see each other again.
Over the years, Zhang Xiaofan and Tian Ling'er have made some progress. Although Zhang Xiaofan is honest and simple, the two of them spend every day together. At first, Tian Ling'er didn't care, but gradually she also realized Zhang Xiaofan's feelings.
As far as Li Ling knew, the two of them had finally confirmed their feelings for each other during their trip to the Dead Swamp.
When Li Ling returned to Qingyun Sect, the first place he naturally visited was Xiaozhu Peak. He was already very familiar with Lu Xueqi's residence, so he went straight there. However, he found that Lu Xueqi was not alone there; there were also several disciples from Xiaozhu Peak.
These girls were either knitting phoenix coronet and embroidered robes or arranging red wedding dresses, but the one surrounded by everyone in the middle was Wen Min, the senior sister of Xiaozhu Peak!
"So that's it! It turns out she and Song Daren are getting closer to marriage!" A realization flashed through Li Ling's mind, but he didn't show himself immediately. Instead, he waited until after dark, when the female disciples had all left and returned to their residences, before appearing in front of Lu Xueqi.
Upon seeing Li Ling, Lu Xueqi showed no surprise, but her voice was gentle: "Our senior sister is getting married to Dazhu Peak soon and is preparing her wedding dress. We sisters have been busy laughing and joking, which has kept you waiting here until now."
"You actually knew I was back a while ago?"
"Mm!" Lu Xueqi nodded gently.
Li Ling asked with slight surprise, "How did you know? When I came back, I only encountered two senior brothers patrolling the mountain, and I didn't see anyone inform you."
Lu Xueqi smiled slightly and said, "Perhaps it's just intuition. I had a feeling you would come today."
"I never imagined we were on the same wavelength!" Li Ling said with a smile, taking her hand.
The two sat by the window and chatted for a while, when suddenly Xueqi asked, "Xueqi, when do you think would be a good time for our wedding?"
Lu Xueqi suddenly turned her head and looked at Li Ling: "Why did you suddenly think of this? Didn't you say you stayed here for two years?"
"That's because I saw you holding the wedding dress just now, and you seemed to really like it," Li Ling said with a smile.
"I think it's been the past two years that Senior Sister Shuiyue has been intentionally handing over the affairs of Xiaozhu Peak to you little by little. If you take over Xiaozhu Peak, wouldn't it be like I'm marrying into your family if I marry you?"
"Does getting married sooner mean it won't be the same?" Lu Xueqi said with a mischievous look. "But you don't need to overthink it. All of us sisters really like that wedding dress. And A-Ling, are you really not planning to go back to Dragon Head Peak?"
"Haha, what I've always pursued is to make breakthroughs in cultivation, and even to create a true method for achieving immortality. Compared to that, the position of the head of Dragon Head Peak is insignificant!" Li Ling said with a smile, his arm around Lu Xueqi.
"And right now, all I can think about is how to bring the future leader of Xiaozhu Peak home!"
Although Lu Xueqi said not to overthink it, how could Li Ling possibly take her words seriously? Girls are usually saying one thing and meaning another at times like this, and sure enough, that's exactly what happened next.
Lu Xueqi leaned against Li Ling's chest and said directly, "No matter what, our marriage still needs to be decided by our master. After Senior Sister's marriage is over, you can go and discuss it with our master!"
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Chapter 376: The Great Wizard of Southern Xinjiang
After attending Song Daren and Wen Min's wedding, Li Ling first mentioned his marriage to Lu Xueqi to Shui Yue, who then tentatively set the wedding date for five years later. (More information available on Baidu.)
Those who cultivate the Dao have long lifespans, and Lu Xueqi is still considered young for her age. After the wedding date was set, Li Ling left Qingyun Sect again, sent a message to Xiaobai, and the two of them came to the Southern Frontier together. This time, his target was the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation and the Beast God.
After the Heavenly Emperor's Treasury set up the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation to deal with the Black Water Profound Serpent, Li Ling discovered that the formation diagram of the Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation he obtained from the Profound Fire Altar was still incomplete.
To deal with the Beast God, the complete Eight Fiends Profound Fire Formation was indispensable, so Li Ling contacted Xiao Bai, who was quite familiar with the Southern Frontier, and asked her for help to come to the Southern Frontier.
Qilidong, a remote village on the southern border of Xinjiang.
The Miao people are the largest of the five branches of the Wu ethnic group in southern Xinjiang. Li Ling arrived here with Xiao Bai's help.
Unlike the towering pavilions of the Incense Valley, the Miao people's altar is just a circular altar a little over ten feet high, backed by a cliff, and entirely made of bluestone, weathered and ancient, as if bearing the weight of time.
The current chief of the Miao people was an old man. After exchanging a few words with Xiaobai in a foreign language, the chief agreed to take them into the village to meet the most respected and mysterious shaman of the tribe.
"The Grand Wizard is inside the altar. You will see him if you follow the passage." The clan chief pushed open a heavy stone door and invited Li Ling and Xiao Bai inside.
Upon entering the altar, a gloomy atmosphere immediately enveloped the area, a stark contrast to the bright sunshine outside. The altar appeared simple from the outside, but once inside, the space revealed itself to be vast, having been carved into the mountainside. (Baidu, more information)
There were faint red marks on the stone walls of the altar, which looked like blood smeared on the walls.
In the corners of the stone walls, there were many decorations made from the skulls of ferocious beasts, but fortunately, no human skulls were found.