The jade stone split open, revealing a rectangular piece of emerald jade, about seven inches long and an inch thick, with a smooth and lustrous surface.
Within the jade, four ancient seal characters faintly shone through, and upon close inspection, one could see that they were the four characters of He Sha Qi Shu.
Wang Xuan released his divine sense to examine the contents of the jade, but a hazy, multicolored light emanated from the jade, blocking his divine sense from reaching it.
It turned out that there was a restriction on this piece of jade, preventing Wang Xuan from examining it with his divine sense.
Wang Xuan frowned slightly, and a flame appeared out of thin air in his palm. His current cultivation level had reached the realm of martial arts supernatural powers, comparable to a celestial immortal. The power of the Dao fire formed by his technique was no less than that of the legendary Samadhi True Fire.
In just a few breaths, the jade began to melt rapidly, and the five-colored light on it gradually disappeared, eventually turning into seven jade leaf golden chapters.
Wang Xuan then released his divine sense to examine it, and indeed it was a peerless secret manual, which described the Five Elements Great Dao and could be cultivated all the way to the Celestial Immortal Perfection realm.
"I thought the Book of Sand Combination was also a Golden Immortal technique, but I didn't expect it to be a step below. It can only be cultivated to the Perfect Heavenly Immortal realm, which is much weaker than the Pure Yang Sword Technique, but stronger than the Heavenly Escape Sword Technique." Wang Xuan was slightly disappointed, but he still put the Book of Sand Combination away.
If he remembered correctly, two giant siblings lived in the Snake King Temple, both possessing exceptional talent for cultivation. Unfortunately, the story of the Legend of the Swordsmen of Shu Mountain was still about twenty years away, and those siblings probably hadn't even been born yet.
"It's a pity that our Xuantian Holy Sect doesn't have a single disciple in the Shu Mountain World yet. I wonder when we'll be able to open one." Wang Xuan shook his head and put these worries aside.
Now is not the time to comprehend the Book of Sand and Sand, so he immediately took Fairy Jinghuan and flew towards the South China Sea of the Shu Mountain World.
There are many immortal abodes and secret realms in the Shushan world, among which the Ziyun Palace in the South Sea is definitely one of the top-tier immortal abodes.
Because Ziyun Palace is the Daoist temple left behind by the ancient innate deity Tianyi Jinmu in the Shushan world!
Chapter 218 Purple Cloud Palace
The so-called innate deities are the beings that were born from heaven and earth at the beginning of creation!
Every innate deity possesses immense talent, allowing them to cultivate at an astonishing speed, making becoming a god or immortal as easy as eating and drinking.
Although Tianyi Jinmu is certainly not comparable to the top innate gods and demons such as the Three Pure Ones and Nuwa in the prehistoric world, she still cultivated to the Golden Immortal realm before ascending to the Spirit Void Immortal Realm.
As the Daoist temple left behind by the Heavenly Mother Jinmu, Ziyun Palace contains numerous powerful magical treasures and even a scroll called "Zifu Secret Manual," which points directly to the path of the Golden Immortal!
Wang Xuan flew to the South China Sea with Fairy Jinghuan, and soon they found an island in the South China Sea.
This island is the only isolated island in the South China Sea, spanning thousands of miles. Looking around, the vast expanse of calm water stretches to the horizon.
According to the original novel that Wang Xuan had read in his previous life, he knew that this island was called Yingxian Island, which was the gateway to the famous Immortal Palace Ziyun Palace in the South China Sea. It was known to everyone in the entire South China Sea.
At the very center of Yingxian Island stands the Yanguang Pavilion, a uniquely designed structure made entirely of jade and glass, its twelve colors shimmering brightly, making it exceptionally beautiful.
Normally, when cultivators come to visit Ziyun Palace, they must first announce their arrival at Yanguang Pavilion on Yingxian Island and obtain permission before they can enter.
Nowadays, the palace masters of Ziyun Palace are not benevolent people either, especially the third palace master, Sanfeng. Taking advantage of others' weakness after their tribulation, she forcibly took away their nascent souls and enslaved them. She is no different from the demonic path!
That's why Wang Xuan didn't stand on ceremony with them and went straight to their door.
"I am Wu Pan, a disciple of Ziyun Palace. May I ask which fellow Daoist has graced us with their presence?"
As soon as Wang Xuan and his group arrived at Yingxian Island, a figure flew over and blocked their path.
This person had an arrogant expression on his face and didn't take Wang Xuan and his group seriously at all.
This is a common problem among the disciples of Ziyun Palace. Most people in Ziyun Palace have a condescending attitude, because they occupy such a celestial abode as Ziyun Palace, and they regard other cultivators in the South China Sea as down-and-outs.
Wang Xuan was too lazy to waste words with this person, so he directly struck out with a palm strike in mid-air, knocking the other person down onto Yingxian Island and knocking him unconscious.
"Oh no! An unwelcome guest has arrived! Everyone prepare to fight!" A faint cry of alarm came from Yingxian Island, followed by the activation of an array.
However, the power of this formation is really not that great. It can only stop some martial artists at the Transcendent Realm. Any Celestial Realm expert could easily break this formation, let alone Wang Xuan.
Wang Xuan casually kicked it, and the formation collapsed instantly, leaving the Ziyun Palace disciples on the island dumbfounded.
"What are you all standing there for? Hurry up and run!" Wang Xuan smiled with a hint of amusement, which instantly snapped the Ziyun Palace disciples out of their daze, and they all used their escape techniques to disappear underground.
Wang Xuan knew perfectly well that beneath the Yan Guang Pavilion lay the passageway leading to the Purple Cloud Palace at the bottom of the sea.
Having reached his level of cultivation, ascending to heaven and descending to earth were mere trifles; earth-遁 (earth-遁 is a type of magical technique) was naturally no challenge for him. He and Fairy Jinghuan each unleashed a beam of light, merging into the ground.
They descended for over a thousand feet before seeing a burst of five-colored smoke blocking their path.
As the Daoist temple left behind by the Heavenly Mother of the First Heaven, how could Ziyun Palace not be protected by a powerful array? The array personally set up by the Heavenly Mother of the First Heaven is far superior to the array on Yingxian Island.
The five-colored haze looks beautiful, but it is actually full of dangers. Even if a master of the Earth Immortal realm enters it, he is very likely to die!
This is because the three palace masters of Ziyun Palace are currently of average cultivation level and cannot unleash much of the power of this great formation. Otherwise, even a Celestial Immortal would need to expend considerable effort to break this formation.
Wang Xuan stopped before the five-colored clouds, coldly staring into them. Within the clouds, someone stared back at him, shouting angrily, "Who are you cultivators, daring to cause trouble in our Purple Cloud Palace? Do you really think we're pushovers?"
The person who spoke was Chu Feng, the current Grand Palace Master of Ziyun Palace. Her cultivation level was also the strongest in Ziyun Palace, having reached the late stage of Earth Immortal. In the Shu Mountain world, apart from a few powerful Heavenly Immortals and senior experts at the Perfect Earth Immortal level, she feared no one.
Even though a formidable enemy has come knocking, Chu Feng is not afraid at all. She doesn't believe that Wang Xuan can break through the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Array surrounding the Purple Cloud Palace.
Wang Xuan said calmly to Chu Feng and the others inside the Purple Cloud Palace, "This Purple Cloud Palace was originally an ancient immortal abode. You only occupied it a few hundred years ago, and the two secret treasures inside have not been discovered to this day. If you are willing to cooperate, I will only take one copy of the 'Purple Mansion Secret Manual,' and the rest of the treasures will be yours."
Wang Xuan, after all, considered himself a Dao Ancestor and wouldn't easily engage in robbery or plunder; after all, he also had his pride.
The previous Hanxu Immortal Mansion and the Hesha Wonder Book of Snake King Temple were both ownerless, and he could take them for himself without any pressure.
But now that Ziyun Palace has an owner, it would be too unseemly to forcibly take it over, so he made this suggestion.
His suggestion was undoubtedly a win-win situation. You have to know that Chu Feng and the others occupied Ziyun Palace for hundreds of years but failed to find the two secret treasures inside. In the end, not only did they benefit the Emei Sect, but they also brought about their own deaths.
If Chu Feng and the others were to cooperate with Wang Xuan now, they would immediately be able to obtain a large number of treasures from the two secret treasures, which would also provide them with more strength when fighting against the Emei Sect in the future.
And Wang Xuan can also get the "Purple Mansion Secret Manual" he wants, wouldn't that be the best of both worlds?
However, Wang Xuan was being somewhat wishful. The people in Ziyun Palace were arrogant and regarded all the treasures in Ziyun Palace as their own. So why would they share a piece of the pie with Wang Xuan?
Chu Feng demanded menacingly, "Where did you learn about the 'Purple Mansion Manual'? Tell me honestly, and I might spare your life today!"
It turned out that when they opened the Purple Cloud Palace, a scroll of heavenly books flew away, which she regretted for the rest of her life. And the scroll of heavenly books that flew away back then was the "Purple Mansion Secret Manual".
Because she secretly resented her lack of strength back then, which caused her to miss the chance to become a celestial being, she desperately practiced the "Heavenly Demon Manual," hoping to become even stronger. Now, however, she was in a bit of a predicament, often harassed by the Heavenly Demon.
"Sister, why say more? Since these two know the location of our Purple Cloud Palace's secret treasure, let's just arrest them and torture them severely to extract information about the treasure. We'll naturally find the scroll of 'True Explanation of the Purple Mansion'!" Another woman's voice rang out in the Purple Cloud Palace. This voice was arrogant and domineering, clearly indicating that she was a difficult person to deal with.
This person is the third palace master of Ziyun Palace, named Sanfeng. He once forcibly imprisoned and enslaved Lu Rongbo's nascent soul, truly courting death.
You must know that Lu Rongbo is the grand-disciple of the Blissful Immortal Li Jingxu. If the Blissful Immortal finds out, even if there were a hundred more lives in the Purple Cloud Palace, it wouldn't be enough for the Blissful Immortal to kill!
Even Wang Xuan's trip to Ziyun Palace was intended to rescue Lu Rongbo in order to befriend Master Jile. Having a master like Master Jile, a Celestial Immortal at the peak of his cultivation, to help them in future conflicts with the Emei Sect would undoubtedly make things much easier.
Chapter 219 Entering the Purple Cloud Palace
People die for wealth, birds die for food. Don't be fooled by the long lifespans of cultivators; fights over cultivation resources are commonplace.
The three palace masters of Ziyun Palace clearly had no intention of cooperating with Wang Xuan. Instead, they wanted to capture him and torture him to find out the whereabouts of the two secret locations.
The hazy, multicolored glow in front of Wang Xuan began to change, transforming into a mixed, shimmering world of five colors.
From the five-colored radiance, countless rays of light burst forth, condensing into hundreds upon hundreds of shimmering halos. These halos, some horizontal, some vertical, and some diagonally, were all different and attacked Wang Xuan and Fairy Jinghuan.
This is the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Path that protects the Purple Cloud Palace. It is a great formation set up by the Heavenly Mother of the West, and its power is extremely strong. If a celestial being were to preside over this formation, even if Wang Xuan and Fairy Jinghuan joined forces, it would take them half an hour to break it.
However, at this time, the three women of Ziyun Palace who were in charge of the Thousand Mile Divine Sand Path, the First Palace Master Chu Feng, only had the cultivation of the late Earth Immortal stage, while the Second and Third Feng were even less capable, having just reached the early Earth Immortal stage. Even if they joined forces, they could only unleash 30% of the power of the Thousand Mile Divine Sand Path.
Wang Xuan sneered repeatedly. Since the other party did not accept his goodwill and instead wanted to fight him, then he could not be blamed for acting unethically.
He reached out and touched his spatial ring, and a three-inch-tall mountain appeared in his hand, which he then threw towards the five-colored light in front of him.
The small mountain rose with the wind, instantly growing to a size of ten thousand feet, radiating boundless divine power that caused the five-colored rays of light to freeze.
With Wang Xuan's cultivation at the Divine Power Realm, he activated the spiritual treasure and directly struck the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Path of the Purple Cloud Palace, causing it to tremble and show signs of breaking!
"Not good! I didn't expect this person to be so powerful. He is clearly a peerless expert at the Celestial Immortal realm! Not only that, the small mountain in his hand is also excessively powerful!" Chu Feng, the Grand Palace Master of Ziyun Palace, hurriedly warned, her tone filled with unspeakable panic.
The three women of Ziyun Palace were used to ruling the South China Sea and had never clashed with any celestial masters. However, they were also well aware of their own limitations and knew that they were no match for any celestial master.
All they can rely on now is the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Path of the Purple Cloud Palace. If this great formation is broken, they will surely be doomed. Therefore, they are desperately squeezing out all the magical power within their bodies to maximize the power of the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Path.
Wang Xuan remained expressionless. He first used the towering divine mountain to temporarily freeze the five-colored radiance, and then summoned the Kunlun Mirror to open a passage through the Thousand-Mile Divine Sand Road, leading directly into the interior of the Purple Cloud Palace.
No matter how powerful the Thousand Mile Divine Sand Path was, Wang Xuan easily cracked it.
Wang Xuan stepped into the passage, while Fairy Jinghuan quietly followed behind him, like a personal maid, barely noticeable and easily overlooked by others.
As Wang Xuan stormed into the interior of Ziyun Palace, the three palace masters turned pale and their faces showed despair.
Even with the help of the grand formation set up by the ancient Golden Immortals, they were still unable to stop their enemies from entering. Now that they had already stormed into the Purple Cloud Palace, what power did they have to resist?
"Please have pity on us, senior, for our difficult cultivation. Please spare our lives. We are willing to hand over Ziyun Palace to you!" Chu Feng, the Grand Palace Master of Ziyun Palace, was a shrewd person. Seeing that things were going badly, she quickly begged for mercy.
Although Ziyun Palace was desirable, if one couldn't even save their life, then everything would be nothing but fleeting smoke. Therefore, for that sliver of hope, she was willing to offer up Ziyun Palace directly.
"Why didn't you just do this earlier? Why make me go through all this trouble?" Wang Xuan grumbled a few times in dissatisfaction, and without any politeness, accepted Chu Feng's request to take over the Ziyun Palace.
As for Chu Feng and the other two women, although they are a bit ruthless, they are not beyond redemption and there is no need to kill them all.
Back then, they failed to obtain the "Purple Mansion Manual," and in order to further improve their cultivation, they had to cultivate the "Heavenly Demon Manual," which caused their minds to become distorted.
If Wang Xuan were to have them change their cultivation methods now, Chu Feng and Er Feng should be able to recover their twisted personalities. As for San Feng, it's hard to say. After all, she has committed countless evil deeds over the years, and her face has become distorted. Changing her ways won't be easy.
"Fairy Jinghuan, I'll temporarily entrust the management of these cultivators from Ziyun Palace to you, as they will serve as an outer force of our Xuantian Holy Sect." Wang Xuan was too lazy to waste any more words with these people and directly handed them over to Fairy Jinghuan for management.
After glancing at Fairy Jinghuan, the first, second, and third phoenixes were all resentful and their faces showed humiliation.
In their eyes, Fairy Jinghuan was just one of Wang Xuan's maids, seemingly ordinary, with a cultivation level of at most a Loose Immortal. They could kill several of them with a single slap.
Now that the Fairy of Illusion is in charge of them, it's clear that Wang Xuan is intentionally humiliating them!
Wang Xuan didn't bother to explain; he trusted Fairy Jinghuan's abilities. With her cultivation at the peak of the Celestial Immortal realm, subduing a few Earth Immortals would be a piece of cake, wouldn't it?
In other words, Fairy Jinghuan is deliberately concealing her cultivation level and suppressing her aura to the early stage of Loose Immortal. Otherwise, how could Chu Feng and the others dare to show their dissatisfaction on their faces?
Wang Xuan released his divine sense and swept through the Ziyun Palace several times, quickly getting a clear understanding of its general layout.
He ignored Chu Feng and the others and strode towards the Golden Court of Ziyun Palace.
The Golden Court is entirely forged from pure gold from the seabed, its radiance as brilliant as the sun. This pure gold from the seabed is also a top-grade material for forging flying swords and magical treasures. If Wang Xuan were to dismantle this Golden Court to forge magical treasures, he could easily create at least a thousand!
"As expected of a Daoist temple left behind by a primordial deity, it is indeed incredibly wealthy!" Wang Xuan smiled, extremely pleased, because all of this was now his to enjoy.
Inside the Golden Court are fifty massive pillars, each requiring one person to encircle, which corresponds to the number of the Great Derivation.
Forty-nine of them are made of jade, smooth and lustrous, shimmering with a lustrous sheen. Only the central pillar is cast from gold and iron, without any gaps.
Wang Xuan briefly recalled his memories from his previous life and knew that the secret treasure left behind by the Heavenly Mother was located under the central main pillar.