"Fairy Jinghuan, help me lift this pillar!" Wang Xuan originally planned to roll up his sleeves and do it himself, but he stopped himself at the last minute. He felt that it was better to let his subordinates do this kind of rough work, and he could just watch from the side.
An incredulous look appeared in Fairy Jinghuan's beautiful eyes. She hadn't expected her boss to be so ruthless, entrusting her with something that required brute force.
Despite her helplessness, Fairy Jinghuan obediently stepped forward, tightly embraced the pillar with both hands, and slowly pulled it up.
"Boom!"
A muffled thunderous sound rang out, as if the ground beneath their feet was shaking.
The main pillar of the Golden Court is an iron needle left behind by Yu the Great in ancient times in the Shu Mountain World, and its weight is far greater than it looks. Fairy Jinghuan gritted her teeth and directly raised her cultivation to the perfect Earth Immortal realm before she could pull up the main pillar of the Golden Court.
Chapter 220 Obtaining the Treasure
After Fairy Jinghuan pulled up the main pillar of the Golden Court, a scorching heat rushed out, instantly raising the temperature inside the Golden Court by dozens of degrees.
It turns out that the main pillar of the Golden Court is connected to a fire eye beneath it, and the main pillar also serves to suppress the underground fire eye. Now that the main pillar of the Golden Court has been pulled out, if this is delayed for too long, the underground fire will surge up and cause a volcanic eruption.
"Fairy, hold onto this pillar first, I'll go down to get the treasure and come back up soon!" Wang Xuan said to Fairy Jinghuan, then jumped down from the fiery eye.
The temperature inside the Fire Eye is extremely high. By the time Wang Xuan landed at the bottom, it had reached a temperature of several thousand degrees. Even steel would melt into molten iron if it fell there.
However, Wang Xuan had already cultivated to the realm of martial arts supernatural powers, and his physical body was incredibly strong. This level of high temperature was nothing more than a tickle to him.
He glanced around through the fiery light, his gaze settling on a luminous, translucent jade sphere on the coral table.
This jade ball is the legacy left behind by the Heavenly Mother, and the "Purple Mansion Secret Manual," which points directly to the Golden Immortal realm, is hidden inside the jade ball.
Wang Xuan reached out to grab the jade ball, but it seemed to be rooted to the spot and he couldn't pick it up at all.
This jade ball contains a restriction left by the Heavenly Mother Jinmu. It cannot be picked up without sincere prayer in one's heart.
"It's just a mere restriction. It's probably been tens of thousands of years, and its power is much weaker than before. How could it possibly be able to stop me?" Wang Xuan sneered. He didn't bother with sincere prayers at all. Instead, he poured his abundant magical power into the jade ball to wear down the restriction inside.
In just five or six breaths, Wang Xuan completely broke the seal on the jade ball. Without looking at it any longer, Wang Xuan threw the jade ball into his spatial ring, then waved his sleeve and collected all the other treasures around him.
After doing all this, Wang Xuan calmly flew upwards and returned to the Golden Court.
While Wang Xuan was down retrieving the treasure, something seemed to have happened inside the Golden Court. Chu Feng and the others all looked at Fairy Jinghuan with fear on their faces, just like little white rabbits seeing a big bad wolf.
Although Wang Xuan hadn't paid attention to what had happened, he could guess even with his eyes closed that Chu Feng and the others had tried to launch a surprise attack while he was down retrieving the treasure, but had been taught a lesson by Fairy Jinghuan.
Fairy Jinghuan was once a master at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm. Although her cultivation dropped a minor realm after losing the world authority of the Dream of the Red Chamber, she still possessed the cultivation of a late-stage Celestial Immortal. Even if she were distracted by clinging to a pillar, she would still have plenty of ways to defeat Chu Feng and the others!
"This is a one-time exception!" Wang Xuan glanced coldly at Chu Feng and the others, warning them, "If there is a next time, then you have no reason to exist."
Chu Feng and the others huddled in a corner, trembling with fear. They were so terrified of being beaten that they dared not harbor any disloyal thoughts.
At the same time, they were also curious about Wang Xuan's identity. After all, even the maids around Wang Xuan had the cultivation of a Celestial Immortal. Could Wang Xuan be a Golden Immortal?
However, this thought only flashed through their minds for a moment before they quickly forgot about it.
The Shushan World has limited carrying capacity. Cultivators at the Celestial Immortal level must ascend to the Spirit Void Immortal Realm, with only a few Celestial Immortals remaining. Furthermore, if one's cultivation reaches the Golden Immortal level, no matter how many secret techniques one possesses, one will ultimately be rejected by the Heavenly Dao of the Shushan World and forced to ascend to the Spirit Void Immortal Realm, unable to remain in the Shushan World!
"Fairy, you can put that pillar down now." After warning Chu Feng and the others, Wang Xuan noticed that Fairy Jinghuan was still holding onto the Golden Court Pillar and couldn't help but remind her.
Fairy Jinghuan was displeased: "This pillar is clearly a supreme treasure, far more powerful than even top-grade magic weapons. Isn't it a huge waste to just leave it here?"
Wang Xuan thought about it and agreed. After all, this was the Iron Needle that Yu the Great left behind, the same kind of thing as the Ruyi Jingu Bang in the Journey to the West world, just of a lower grade.
So he had to expend some more effort to completely seal the fire eye below, and then put the Dinghai Divine Needle Iron into his spatial ring.
Fairy Disenchantment: "..."
In the end, she gained nothing again; even the pillar she was holding was taken away by Boss Wang, which completely ruined her mood.
Wang Xuan, however, was in high spirits and busy searching for other treasures in the Purple Cloud Palace.
There are two secret treasures in Ziyun Palace. One was left by the innate deity Tianyi Jinmu, which has been taken by Wang Xuan. The other was left by the second master of Ziyun Palace, Dimu, and is hidden at the bottom of Yuchi Lake.
Adhering to the principle of not wasting anything, Wang Xuan, together with Fairy Jinghuan, also plundered the secret treasure left behind by the Earth Mother.
Wang Xuan reached out and slapped the bottom of the lake, instantly shattering all the water into mist that floated before his eyes. Then he made a hand seal, summoning a gust of wind to disperse the mist.
Without the lake's cover, the lakebed was now revealed, where many powerful treasures were hidden, but they were blocked by restrictions.
To obtain the treasure, you must first break those restrictions.
This was a piece of cake for Wang Xuan, since the Earth Mother had only reached the Heavenly Immortal level before ascending to the Spirit Void Immortal Realm, and her cultivation level was about the same as Wang Xuan's now.
However, a moment later, Wang Xuan forcibly broke the restriction, and beams of light shot up from the bottom of the lake and flew towards the horizon.
But those precious lights had only flown a short distance when Wang Xuan calmly collected them without causing the slightest ripple.
Things went much more smoothly than Wang Xuan had imagined. He couldn't help but release his divine sense to scan the surroundings, and he didn't see anything unusual within a radius of a thousand miles.
"It seems that there are too many immortal abodes and secret treasures in the Shu Mountain world. Even though the Emei Sect has become alert, it will be difficult to take care of them all in a short period of time." Wang Xuan realized this and wondered whether he should go and search for other immortal abodes and secret treasures.
However, after thinking about it for a while, he finally gave up on the idea. While there were many treasures in the Shu Mountain world, Wang Xuan didn't lack them; what he needed were top-tier cultivation techniques.
Although he only plundered three immortal mansions after arriving in the Shu Mountain world, he obtained quite a few top-tier cultivation techniques, enough for him to study for a period of time.
It wouldn't be too late for him to acquire top-tier cultivation techniques like the Chi You Three Plates Scripture after he has fully digested what he has gained this time.
Ultimately, Wang Xuan still needs to avoid direct conflict with the masters of the Emei Sect as much as possible.
The three immortals and two elders of the Emei Sect are all celestial immortals. Even though Wang Xuan and the police fairy each have their own trump cards, they are not comparable to ordinary celestial immortals. However, it would be difficult for them to win even if they fought against five opponents.
"Let's play it safe for a while. Once the story of the Legend of the Swordsmen of Shushan begins, and the demonic and unorthodox sects have tied down the Emei Sect's attention, we can then calmly defeat them." Wang Xuan gently stroked the spatial ring on his hand, a confident expression on his face.
By the time the story begins, he will have already absorbed the gains from these immortal abodes and their treasures, and his strength will definitely have increased significantly.
Even if it's two against five, he's fully confident he won't be at a disadvantage!
Chapter 221 First Battle Against the Emei Sect
Wang Xuan had made a great harvest and had no intention of searching for treasures again for the time being. Instead, he planned to properly digest the gains from the secret treasures of the several immortal abodes.
Therefore, he left Ziyun Palace with Fairy Jinghuan and flew towards Hongmu Ridge.
It's worth mentioning that they came as a pair, but returned as a group of three.
Besides Wang Xuan and Fairy Jinghuan, a beautiful female cultivator also accompanied them. That person was Lu Rongbo, the grand-disciple of the Blissful Immortal Li Jingxu. She had already saved the Corpse-Dissolving Immortal and was about to ascend when her primordial spirit was taken away by the Three Phoenixes of Ziyun Palace while she was weak.
Wang Xuan intended to befriend the Blissful Immortal. In addition, Lu Rongbo had once cultivated to the Corpse-Dissolving Immortal realm, which was comparable to a weakened version of the Martial Arts Divine Power realm. If he could cultivate again, he could break through to the Half-Step Celestial Immortal realm in a few years, making him a rare master.
Therefore, Wang Xuan naturally rescued Lu Rongbo, took back the elders of the Xuantian Holy Sect, and returned to Hongmu Ridge with her.
Lu Rongbo's chance to ascend to immortality was ruined by Sanfeng, making them sworn enemies. Yet, she was forced to submit to Sanfeng's every whim, no different from a servant. This humiliation was worse than death for her.
Now that Wang Xuan has saved her from her suffering, she is naturally extremely grateful to him and has no resistance to joining the Xuan Tian Sacred Sect.
The three of them had just traveled more than ten thousand miles from Ziyun Palace when suddenly Wang Xuan and Fairy Jinghuan stopped in their tracks and looked up at the distant horizon.
Two streaks of light flew rapidly toward them, their power so immense that even from a great distance, they could send chills down one's spine!
"Two celestial beings actually came to block our way. If I'm not mistaken, they must be experts from the Emei Sect." Wang Xuan was very certain. He had taken the item that the Emei Sect had reserved, which naturally alerted the experts of the Emei Sect.
At this time, most of the three immortals and two elders of the Emei Sect had split up and were intercepting those who wanted to retrieve the treasures at several secret immortal abodes. Unfortunately for Wang Xuan and his group, they were directly ambushed.
Instead of panicking, Wang Xuan beamed with joy. If it were the Three Immortals and Two Elders of the Emei Sect who made the suggestion, he would naturally turn around and leave immediately, and would never resist to the end.
However, only two of the celestial masters from the Emei Sect came; the others were mostly guarding other immortal abodes and secret treasures.
Wang Xuan was perfectly capable of searching for treasure on his own, so why did he bring Fairy Jinghuan with him? Wasn't it just so that if they encountered experts from the Emei Sect, he would have an ally to fight alongside him?
It's now a two-on-two battle. Fairy Jinghuan's cultivation has reached the late stage of Celestial Immortal, so she can easily defeat either of them. Although Wang Xuan's cultivation is only at the early stage of Divine Power, he has enough spiritual treasures and is confident that he can defeat either of them.
Just as Wang Xuan was mentally assessing the relative strengths of the two sides, the two sword lights in the distance flew over and stopped several hundred meters in front of Wang Xuan and his companions, looking at them with unfriendly expressions.
"Fellow Daoists, you've taken all the treasures from the Hanxu Immortal Mansion and Ziyun Palace in Taihang Mountain, haven't you?" A Daoist priest, about thirty years old and dressed in a Daoist robe, asked.
This person possessed an ethereal, otherworldly aura, yet exuded an aura of authority that commanded respect from all. More importantly, his cultivation was unfathomably profound, surpassing even Wang Xuan's, having reached the peak of the mid-stage Celestial Immortal realm, and likely only a hair's breadth away from the late-stage Celestial Immortal realm!
“There are only a handful of people in the world with such cultivation. If I’m not mistaken, you must be Qi Shuming, the current leader of the Emei Sect and the True Man of Qiankun Zhengqi Miaoyi!” Wang Xuan did not answer the other party’s question, but instead said with a smile.
"This humble Taoist is none other than Master Miaoyi, Qi Shuming. I did not expect that you, fellow Daoist, would also know my name." Master Miaoyi, Qi Shuming, looked coldly at Wang Xuan: "However, this humble Taoist is of limited knowledge and has never heard of such a person as you. May I ask which sect you belong to?"
Fairy Jinghuan's cultivation had already reached the late stage of Celestial Immortal, surpassing even Master Miaoyi, the leader of the Emei Sect. Wang Xuan had also reached the early stage of Divine Power, equivalent to the early stage of Celestial Immortal in the Immortal Path.
Their cultivation levels are among the best in the entire Shu Mountain world, so they must have a remarkable background. Otherwise, how could they easily cultivate to the Celestial Immortal realm in this Shu Mountain world where spiritual energy is gradually withering?
Master Miaoyi, Qi Shuming, felt a chill in his heart. He knew that the Emei Sect's grand plan for the next millennium had taken a turn for the worse, and a mysterious force had emerged, vying for the opportunity that should have belonged to their Emei Sect.
The Emei Sect has dominated the Shu Mountain world for a thousand years and has long been used to being domineering. How could they tolerate others encroaching on what should belong to them?
Therefore, Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming had already harbored murderous intent, wanting to kill Fairy Jinghuan and Wang Xuan directly, and also find out the mysterious force behind them, eliminating all variables and eradicating the root of the problem.
After exchanging a few words with Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming, Wang Xuan's expression suddenly changed, and he swiftly drew his Qingming Sword to block behind him.
"boom!"
A sharp sword light rose behind Wang Xuan. If it hadn't been blocked by the Azure Nether Sword, it would have chopped off his head!
Wang Xuan scanned the area with his divine sense and discovered that the attacker was an invisible flying sword. The sword was so concealed that even a celestial being's divine sense could hardly detect it; Wang Xuan had almost been ambushed by it just now.
Even though Wang Xuan was already on alert, he could only vaguely sense that there was a place behind him, but his divine sense sensed it was somewhat distorted, vaguely resembling the shape of a flying sword.
"Your Emei Sect is truly despicable! You constantly claim to be a prestigious and righteous sect, yet you're so adept at sneak attacks and ambushes. You are utterly shameless!" Wang Xuan cursed loudly, then touched his brow. Two sword lights, one blue and one purple, flew out from his sea of consciousness and hurtled towards another Celestial Immortal beside Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming.
Although the other party did not introduce himself, Wang Xuan recognized his origin from the flying sword that attacked him.
That man was called the Ascetic Monk, a high-ranking Buddhist monk of the Emei Sect. His invisible sword was extremely mysterious and could injure people without them even realizing it.
However, this ascetic monk's cultivation level was not as high as that of Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming. He had only just broken through to the early stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm, and his cultivation level was comparable to that of Wang Xuan.
He originally planned to ambush and kill Wang Xuan, a weaker opponent, before joining forces with Master Miaoyi and Qi Shuming to besiege Fairy Jinghuan.
If he really succeeds, Fairy Jinghuan is no match for the two of them. After all, Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming is known as the head of the Emei Sect, and he possesses the Nine Condensation Cauldron, a very powerful spiritual treasure!
However, Fairy Jinghuan did not have a suitable magical treasure, and she might not be able to defeat Master Miaoyi Qi Shuming even in a one-on-one fight, let alone when surrounded.
In a short while, Wang Xuan's two flying swords, Purple Lightning and Azure Frost, had already struck in front of the ascetic monk. The sharp sword strikes caused the ascetic monk's expression to change drastically, and he hurriedly withdrew them to defend himself.
Master Miaoyi, Qi Shuming, wanted to help, but was stopped by Fairy Jinghuan.
Two sword beams, one clear and one purple, clashed back and forth, but each time they reached the ascetic monk, they were blocked by an unseen flying sword, which then emitted bursts of dazzling light.
"I'd like to see how many more moves you can withstand!" Wang Xuan sneered. The ascetic monk's invisible sword was only a top-grade magic weapon, not a spiritual treasure, and was only on par with the Purple Lightning and Frost flying swords.
More importantly, the Invisible Sword is clearly better at sneak attacks and ambushes, and its lethality in a head-on confrontation is not as good as the Purple Lightning and Azure Frost flying swords!