Kunlun Immortal Realm

Right, he had forgotten the cola was meant for him!

Mo Chuan was somewhat speechless and was about to explain when Wei Lai brought it to his lips and tipped his head back to drink.

The cola entered his mouth.

His expression shifted slightly. The sensation exploding across his taste buds was an exquisite flavor he had never tasted in his life.

Icy cold, sweet and refreshing, rushing straight into his nostrils.

Wei Lai set down the cola in surprise, thinking that it would be wonderful if his master could drink his fill of this.

Perhaps he should swallow his pride and ask for one to take back for his master to try?

"I say, did a donkey kick you in the head? Everyone had already run away, so why did you come back?"

A complaint rang out, interrupting Wei Lai's wandering thoughts.

"Life is like dew; one must know white from black! If this humble scholar had fled alone, how would he have differed from birds and beasts?"

Wei Lai put down the cola and answered with a solemn face.

Mo Chuan had no response.

Though his life had been short, he had met quite a few people. It was not as though he had never encountered foolishly kind people before, but under the threat of death, someone who could still resolutely and generously march toward righteousness—honestly, he had never seen one.

"Fellow Daoist, may I ask where this is?" Wei Lai asked curiously.

"Where do you think this is?" Mo Chuan asked meaningfully in return.

Hearing this, Wei Lai carefully surveyed his surroundings and unconsciously walked toward where the daylight was brightest.

That was the rooftop.

Before he even approached, his pupils abruptly contracted.

Beyond the clear glass walls, exquisite buildings rose from the ground one after another, as though mountain peaks had been carved into shape.

Some were entirely like crystal, glittering brilliantly beneath the sun.

With a cultivator's eyesight, he could even see wisps of human activity through several windows.

This sight shook Wei Lai to the core, and he was just about to step forward for a closer look...

When his expression suddenly changed dramatically.

He only felt an immense force abruptly descend between heaven and earth, crazily squeezing and tearing at his body.

"Fellow Daoist, why does this humble scholar feel that heaven and earth..."

Wei Lai asked in astonishment, but before he could finish, the world suddenly went black.

A long, sighing lament faintly reached his ears.

"This place truly does not welcome outsiders..."

Outsiders?

As Wei Lai wrestled with his doubts, his vision immediately returned to normal. Yet those strange buildings had already vanished.

In their place stood a barren mountain.

Looking around, where was Fellow Daoist Ming Chen?

"Was I... sent back?"

As Wei Lai's heart trembled, he suddenly sensed something unusual at his chest. Taking it out, he found that the Mother-Child Talisman his master had given him was growing hot.

He hurriedly activated it and waited where he stood.

Not long afterward, an elk suddenly emerged from the mountain shrubs and walked toward him.

"What happened? Why did the Propitious Saint True Lord Talisman shatter?"

The elk stared at Wei Lai—and actually spoke in human words!

Wei Lai knew that his master had used the Divine Movement Technique to send out his Primordial Spirit, shrink the earth by a thousand miles, and possess the elk's body. He hurriedly cupped his hands and bowed.

"Disciple Wei Lai greets Master! In reply to Master, not long ago, this disciple encountered a thousand-year Flying Zombie near Tuoyun Mountain in Jiang City..."

"A thousand-year Flying Zombie? No wonder the Propitious Saint True Lord Talisman shattered!"

The elk was greatly shocked. He circled Wei Lai, examining him from side to side. Only after seeing that his disciple was unharmed did he finally let out a breath.

"What exactly happened? Tell me quickly." The elk urged him.

"Yes!"

Wei Lai hurriedly recounted his encounter with Mo Chuan from beginning to end.

As for the ghost marriage, the Nabo, the hidden coffin, even the lair of great evil... he summarized all those experiences in a few words. But when he reached the part about visiting Lord Black Armor, he described it in meticulous detail.

He tried hard to recall Mo Chuan's every move and gesture.

No one knew a son better than his father. The elk understood his disciple's temperament well and listened with close attention.

"...The moment that thousand-year Flying Zombie emerged, it spoke the word 'Kunlun.' Then Fellow Daoist Ming Chen urged this disciple to leave, saying outright that he had a way to escape."

"This disciple's mind was cowed by the Flying Zombie, and cowardly thoughts arose in his heart. He fled in panic."

At this point, shame appeared on Wei Lai's face. Yet he faced his Dao Heart directly and continued to lay bare his heart.

"Not long after this disciple escaped the village, he deeply felt that his words and deeds did not match, disgracing the sect. He was no different from birds and beasts, so he turned around and returned to the village."

"Just as this disciple entered the village, he happened to see the thousand-year Flying Zombie attempting to drain Fellow Daoist Ming Chen's blood qi. In furious rage, this disciple used the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder Talisman."

"Unexpectedly, that thousand-year Flying Zombie's body was astonishingly tough. It did not fear the thunder talisman in the slightest and charged forward. The Propitious Saint True Lord Talisman shattered into dust at that moment."

"This disciple thought his death had come and was preparing to free his body and emerge as a Yin Spirit to escape. Yet amid the spinning of heaven and earth, in the blink of an eye, he arrived in a... wondrous room!"

"A room?"

Even with Wei Lai's master's composure, he cried out in surprise upon hearing this.

"That is correct, a room!"

"That room was about ten feet high and forty feet wide, with strings of crystal beads above. Before this disciple stood a black mirror, bright enough to reflect a person. In the middle was a table with writing brushes, ink, yellow paper, and scattered fragments of talismans. Rolls of Daoist scriptures lay casually piled across the floor."

Wei Lai closed his eyes and gestured vaguely with both hands, trying hard to recall that entirely unfamiliar environment.

"Twenty feet to this disciple's left stood a silver-gray cabinet of mysterious iron. Fluorescence glimmered within it, and cold air surged out. Fellow Daoist Ming Chen took out two bamboo-joint-shaped containers, drank one himself, and gave one to this disciple."

"That bamboo-joint container was bright red, smooth, round, and cold throughout, without any seams. This disciple suspected it was made of mysterious iron. It had a circular, ring-shaped aluminum pull tab that could be opened to reveal a small hole. Fellow Daoist Ming Chen called it cola..."

"When this disciple opened it, dark brown liquid immediately surged forth..."

"After drinking it, this disciple only felt cool and sweet, invigorated in spirit and refreshed from head to toe. A clear, crisp vapor even shot straight into his nostrils."

"..."

"This disciple asked Fellow Daoist Ming Chen where this place was."

"Ming Chen smiled and asked this disciple in return where he thought it was."

"This disciple followed the light and arrived before a glass platform. Looking into the distance, he realized that he was inside a hundred-zhang-tall building. Outside stood square palaces of jade and towers of precious stone, with windows but no doors, all decorated with glass and crystal. There were even enormous buildings, wholly like crystal, glittering under the sunlight until they could not be looked at directly!"

"This disciple wanted to ask further, but suddenly felt ill intent arise from heaven and earth, pulling and tearing at him. By the time he regained his senses, he was already in this barren mountain."

Wei Lai described everything with all the words at his command. When he reached the exciting parts, he even danced and gestured wildly.

When he finished, he finally opened his eyes and looked at his master expectantly.

"Master, where was that place?"

The elk said nothing and fell into a long silence. Only after quite some time did he slightly open his animal mouth. "If your master's guess is correct, that was likely the legendary Kunlun Immortal Realm!"

Wei Lai stared wide-eyed in astonishment.

Then he heard his master continue, "From what you have said, that place was bizarre and uncanny, splendid and dazzling! Your master has seen much and heard much, yet has never seen or heard of such a wondrous place."

"That thousand-year Flying Zombie even spoke of Kunlun outright. He must have already glimpsed a few clues!"

"Most importantly, when your master sensed the Propitious Saint True Lord Talisman shatter, he was unexpectedly unable to activate the Mother-Child Talisman. Using the Heavenly Deduction Technique to divine it, you had even leapt beyond the Three Realms and were no longer within the Five Elements."

"What? Just now, this disciple... was not within the Three Realms and Five Elements?" Wei Lai was horrified upon hearing this.

"That is right! With all these signs together, only the legendary Kunlun Immortal Realm could match them! Even if that was not the Kunlun Immortal Realm, it was likely an immortal's abode created by some immortal using the Gourd Heaven Art."

The elk let out a long breath, his mind plunged into immense shock.

"This disciple, this disciple actually stumbled into an immortal realm?"

It was like a bolt from the blue for Wei Lai. His heart surged like stormy waves, unable to calm.

"But... if that was the Kunlun Immortal Realm, then who was Fellow Daoist Ming Chen?"

"From your account, that world had countless buildings and even dazzling crystal skyscrapers. Yet Ming Chen occupied only a remote corner, with merely one spacious room, filled with yellow paper, broken talismans, and Daoist scriptures. He was likely an immortal attendant."

"This time, he may have entered the mortal world to observe its people, to undergo worldly trials, or by an immortal's command, to carry out some other important task."

At this point, the elk suddenly sighed.

"Your master never liked your simple and pure temperament. He let you enter the mortal world for experience, intending to temper you, but never expected that this very temperament would save your life!"

"Since that thousand-year Flying Zombie recognized Kunlun, he certainly would not have let you leave. His not giving chase did not mean he had no means to kill you. Yet you returned after leaving and caught the eye of an immortal attendant, gaining entry into the immortal realm. Truly... every sip and every peck has its karma! What a pity..."

"What is the pity?" Wei Lai hurriedly asked.

"What a pity that you did not bring back even one roll of the Daoist scriptures scattered across the floor." The elk wore an expression of regret.

"Fellow Daoist Ming Chen protected this disciple's life. How could this disciple..."

Before Wei Lai could finish, his expression suddenly collapsed. "...If this disciple had shamelessly asked, perhaps Fellow Daoist Ming Chen really would have given this disciple a roll."

The elk glanced at his disciple and teased, "You regret it?"

Wei Lai remained sullenly silent.

A deep regret that had not appeared even when facing the thousand-year Flying Zombie now sprouted and spread through his heart.

Those Daoist scriptures casually piled beneath the table might have contained supreme and wondrous Dao arts. If he could have asked for even one at random, immortality might have been within reach!

An immortal opportunity that countless people begged for but could not obtain had been wasted by him for nothing. Even with his simple and pure nature, he regretted it beyond measure at this moment!

—Being simple and pure did not mean he was foolish.

"Regret is useless. Wait here. Once your master's true body arrives, we shall go meet that thousand-year Flying Zombie again! Since Fellow Daoist Ming Chen is an immortal attendant, he may well invite his fellow disciples or elder masters to take action and subdue the demon."

After the elk spoke, the spiritual light in his eyes abruptly vanished.

He blankly stared at Wei Lai, who had suddenly appeared before him, then raised his hooves and fled in terror.

Watching the elk flee in panic, Wei Lai's eyes suddenly lit up.

The thousand-year Flying Zombie was still there, and the immortal opportunity had not been lost!

Thanks to "Book Friend 20221008233448295" for the reward!