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for Advance Chapter
It was dusk on the tenth day after Xiao Yuan left Xianyun Sect.
"boom!!"
There was a dull sound of thunder in the distance. Xiao Yuan, who was walking on the official road, frowned and thought about something. He looked up and his face changed instantly. He hurriedly took out the map and found that he was hundreds of kilometers away from the next town.
"This is bad. We can't use magic during a thunderstorm. Otherwise, it will easily trigger the thunder in the sky, making the lightning more powerful. The thunder that strikes down on cultivators will be only slightly weaker than the thunder of heavenly tribulation. An ordinary Soul Enlightenment Realm cultivator will be seriously injured by a single lightning strike, and all their magic power will be shattered."
Standing on the official road, Xiao Yuan had a bitter face and could only watch as the thick dark clouds rolled in and soon covered the entire sky.
The heavy rain poured down, soaking him like a drowned chicken, but Xiao Yuan did not dare to use any magic power to block the rain.
Aura is the root of Taoism and the source of heaven and earth. It can react with all things in the world. Practitioners absorb aura and transform it into magic power for their own use, but in essence it still belongs to aura.
During thunderstorms, once strong spiritual fluctuations appear on the ground, the thunderclouds in the sky will be attracted and strike down practitioners, monsters, and ghosts in unison, turning everything into ashes.
Therefore, during thunderstorms, even irrational ghosts will hide.
"Alas, is this the only way I'm going to be in this miserable state for the rest of my life? Will my future be like that old man Li, accomplishing nothing, hiding away in a small place, waiting to die?"
Xiao Yuan, who was soaked all over, was in a very miserable state.
After leaving Xianyun Sect, he originally thought that with the remaining soul of Emperor Qiming contained in a fragment of immortal treasure that he had accidentally obtained not long ago, he would be able to soar to the sky and no longer be dragged down by junk spiritual roots.
But it can bear fruit.
No matter what means Xiao Yuan used to activate the fragments of the magic weapon, even letting his spiritual thoughts sink into the sea of consciousness and closely touching the residual soul of the eternal female immortal emperor in his sea of consciousness, still nothing happened - except for obtaining a little bit of information left by the female emperor, knowing that she was the Qiming Immortal Emperor and that she committed suicide, he knew nothing else.
He and the remnant soul of Emperor Qiming were like people from two different worlds. They had no connection at all, and he could not gain any benefits from the fragments of the immortal treasure.
The remnant soul of the Immortal Emperor, with his eyes closed and head lowered, his hands placed on his knees, gave Xiao Yuan only one feeling: tiredness.
Before the death of Immortal Emperor Qiming's body, it seemed that her heart had already died. Even the trace of her soul that remained in the immortal treasure exuded a strong sense of sadness and desolation.
Xiao Yuan didn't dare to guess, nor could he guess what had happened to the Immortal Emperor Qiming. He now only wanted to gain benefits from this fragment of the immortal treasure and the residual soul of the Immortal Emperor, so as to achieve the Dao Yun realm and become an immortal with his sister Xiyue in the future!
"Alas, Immortal Emperor, oh Immortal Emperor, I, Xiao Yuan, respect you as a person and understand your choice. Even the Immortal Emperor may have his own difficulties that led to his suicide, but you...can't you leave me some benefits?"
"Who knows, maybe in the future I can even fulfill some of your wishes, kid!"
Xiao Yuan lamented in his heart. Although he had been despised since childhood and had developed a heart as strong as forged cold iron, from the extreme excitement after obtaining the fairy treasure, to the joy of rushing to Xianyun Sect to see his sister Xiyue, and now, being drenched by the heavy rain, his heart was filled with confusion and loneliness.
He was confident that his Daoist aspirations would not be dampened by this, but without the help of the Immortal Emperor's residual soul, his future achievements would probably be limited to the Spirit Embryo Realm, and he would be unable to go any further.
Xiao Yuan walked alone along the deserted official road in the heavy rain.
"Boom."
At this moment, a dull bell sound came from the dense forest in the distance. This bell sound was different from other deep and grand bell sounds. It was full of depression and distress, as if it was buzzing in people's hearts. After hearing it, Xiao Yuan was shocked all over. He felt that the bell sound was so similar to his current situation.
On this rainy night, when there was no way forward or backward, such a mournful bell rang out.
"Could it be that a lonely ghost has come to see me off to my grave?"
After Xiao Yuan came to his senses, he smiled bitterly.
In the fantasy novels created by mortals, lonely ghosts love to use various means to seduce passers-by, waiting for an opportunity to devour their souls.
But Xiao Yuan, who was at the Foundation Establishment stage, knew that most wandering ghosts were irrational, and anyone who could strategically use the art of seduction was at least equivalent to a spirit-fetal god leaving the realm.
"Well, I'll go over and take a look."
Xiao Yuan, who was soaked all over, followed the direction where the bell sounded, pushed aside the bushes beside the official road, and walked into the dense forest step by step.
Soon, he saw a dilapidated building standing quietly in the rainy night.
The rain hit the roof, splashing little drops of water, which fell along the ridge, forming curtains of water.
The dilapidated eaves could not block the heavy rain, which kept washing the ancient stone walls. The red paint on the walls had long since peeled off, and the shabby wooden door was half covered. From inside, the sound of "dong", "dong", and "dong" of knocking on the wooden fish kept coming out, proving that this was an ancient temple.
"temple?"
Xiao Yuan inexplicably felt a sense of absurdity.
There are very few temples in the Kyushu Continent. If his father had not once taken him to visit an equally old temple deep in the mountains, where Xiao Yuan had heard the sound of wooden fish, he would probably not recognize that it was a temple, but would have thought that it was some ghost making strange noises.
"Why is the temple bell ringing so late at night?"
The plaque on the dilapidated wooden door could no longer reveal what kind of temple it was. Xiao Yuan became more curious and couldn't help but want to walk in.
But just as he raised his foot, a strong light suddenly burst out from the sky, the darkness was torn apart, and the sky and the earth turned into daytime in an instant.
The dilapidated temple was revealed in the white light.
"Boom!!!"
Xiao Yuan looked up and saw a magic flying boat, accompanied by the sound of thunder that resounded through the sky. It was struck by countless lightning bolts. The barrier of the flying boat flickered and quickly shattered.
Immediately afterwards, an old man jumped out of the flying boat, raised his hand and pressed towards the sky. The violent thunder and the dark clouds in the sky solidified like ice, but the dark clouds in the distance were still restless. The thunder and lightning spread madly in the sky, as if a giant thunder beast was awakening.
"Princess, the thunder is coming, we should land quickly!"
"Okay, as you say." After a pause, the female voice continued, "There is a dilapidated house downstairs, and there is a person in front of the door."
"Princess, do you have any doubts?"
The old man looked down, his sharp gaze seemed to penetrate thousands of meters and hit Xiao Yuan's heart hard, making him take three steps back while holding his chest. If he hadn't forced himself to stand, he would have fallen on the muddy ground.
"He's just a Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator. However, your concerns are not unreasonable, Princess."
The Hengtian Flying Boat is incredibly fast, and it has restrictions imposed by Dao Yunjing himself, which can conceal the fluctuations during its flight and make it impossible for the thunderclouds to detect it.
But just now when the flying boat passed over the thundercloud, it was suddenly struck by a bolt of lightning, triggering a chain reaction, forcing the Hengtian flying boat to land to avoid the violent thunder.
"You all protect the princess, I'll go down and investigate first!"
As soon as he finished speaking, the old man's figure appeared in front of Xiao Yuan, and an inexplicably powerful aura descended, completely enveloping this small world.
"Daoyun, or soul enlightenment?"
Xiao Yuan clenched his hands and hung them in front of him, his face full of helplessness. Tonight was indeed an unlucky day for him. He heard the sound of a bell inexplicably while walking on the road, and then a powerful Soul Bright Realm expert fell from the sky inexplicably, and looked at him with a scrutinizing look.
"Senior, I'm Xiao Yuan, nice to meet you!"
Under the old man's fierce pressure, Xiao Yuan struggled to bow. He was certain that the old man was a cultivator in the Soul Enlightenment Realm, because the magical flying boat in the sky was slowly descending, and the old man was the bodyguard? A servant?
Xiao Yuan groaned in his heart again. He could probably imagine the noble status of the owner of the flying boat, as he could use a powerful Soul Bright Realm expert to lead the way.
What surprised Xiao Yuan was that, from the exquisite flying boat that had landed on the ground and whose divine light had gone out, it was not a Dao Yun realm expert who walked out, but several... maids holding umbrellas?
After the maid comes the master.
"Princess, please get off the boat." A maid said respectfully.
Princess?!
Xiao Yuan couldn't help but open his eyes wide, and his vision was gradually occupied by a noble and elegant figure.
What a nice view.
A tall woman walked down from the flying boat. She was wearing a gorgeous, bright red Liuxian skirt and a golden phoenix hairpin on her head. She looked extremely gorgeous and noble.
With a smile on her lips, she walked down the flying boat. Protected by a group of maids holding umbrellas, she walked up to Xiao Yuan, smiled at him charmingly, and asked in a clear and gentle voice, "Who are you, sir? Where are you from? Where are you going?"
The princess' smile was generous, bright and noble, which made Xiao Yuan stunned.
"You country bumpkin!" a maid standing beside the princess scolded in a delicate voice, "The princess is asking you a question! Why are you standing in front of this shabby house on a rainy night? Tell me, are you planning anything bad?!"
A group of guards armed with swords and knives who came down from the flying boat had already surrounded him. Although they did not dare to use their magic power to protect themselves due to the thunderstorm and could only let the rain wash over them, these guards had extraordinary aura and were at least at the Spirit Embryo Realm. One of them was enough to kill Xiao Yuan on the spot.
"I, I just got here too." Xiao Yuan explained why he came here, and then told about his background, so as to prevent these royal guards from becoming suspicious and killing him with a knife.
"The sound of bells on a rainy night... Bashu, Qingzhou City..."
The princess, wearing a golden phoenix hairpin and a bright red Liuxian skirt, seemed to be lost in thought, as if she believed him. But she suddenly asked, "Do you know what a big event happened in Qingzhou City ten years ago? What was it?"
The guards stared at him intently.
Xiao Yuan subconsciously said, "Could it be that the princess is referring to Sister Xiyue...Fairy Xiyue?"
"Yes, it seems that you are indeed from Qingzhou City."
The princess nodded with a smile, then stopped asking questions and turned to look at the dilapidated house located deep in the mountains.
The sound of the wooden fish continued to come out from the house, clearly reaching the ears of everyone present.
For a long time, the princess did not speak again. She just looked at the house silently, letting the rain pour down on her men. Like Xiao Yuan, the group of people became drenched.
No one dared to speak. The sound of the wooden fish seemed to penetrate into their minds. Everyone felt a sense of weirdness and gripped their weapons tighter.
"Princess."
The old man in the Soul Bright Realm whispered, "Everything is normal in the house, except for a bald old man knocking on a wooden object. I don't know what it is for."
"That's called a wooden fish. The bald man must be a monk. This... is a temple."
"temple?"
It was the first time for the old man and everyone else to come to the temple, and many of them even heard of monks and temples for the first time.
"Come on, let's go in and worship."
The princess in a gorgeous dress moved lightly with lotus steps, and stepped on the muddy ground with a pair of exquisite shoes. When she lifted them up, there was not a trace of mud or water on the soles. Following the exquisite shoes upwards, one could vaguely see a pair of delicate jade feet wrapped in socks, which was very tempting.
Xiao Yuan lowered his eyes and hesitated for a moment, but still chose to follow - staying where he was or leaving directly would arouse suspicion, so it would be better to go in and wait until he was dismissed before leaving.
Strangely, the princess and her maid did not scold him to leave, and allowed Xiao Yuan to follow at the end. The group entered this dilapidated temple.
The temple is not big and is surrounded by walls. There is an incense burner under the eaves in front of the spacious hall. The incense burner is splashed with rainwater and the burnt candlelight is scattered all over the ground.
"Dong", "Dong", "Dong", the crisp sound of the wooden fish continued, and Xiao Yuan couldn't help but shiver. If he were alone, he might not have the courage to enter this temple that exuded an ominous atmosphere. He would probably shout in front of the temple door and make sure it was safe before coming in.
Temples are rare to begin with. If they were occupied by wandering ghosts, he, a mere Foundation Establishment Stage cultivator, would be in great danger.
"Oh."
The princess standing at the front of the crowd smiled softly, clasped her hands together and bowed towards the main hall. She raised her voice and said, "Old Abbot, I am the princess of the Jiuzhou royal family, Xuanyuan Mingzhu. I am passing by this treasure land tonight. Due to the thunderstorm, I cannot continue my journey. I have come to borrow your treasure land to rest for one night."
Xuanyuan Pearl?
Xiao Yuan nodded secretly, not really surprised.