Secrets of the Ancestor Realm

Under the cover of darkness, amidst thunder and rain.

Lightning flashed, thunder roared, gales raged, and torrential rain poured down.

Li Qingshan, acting as the patriarch, protected Li Jiusheng and Yu Chaoyang and rushed to the Shangqing Palace.

A journey of thousands of miles can be completed in an instant.

Shangqing Palace stands majestically between heaven and earth.

As dawn approached, the dark clouds in the sky slowly parted, revealing a cascading sunrise that seemed to melt away, shining brightly and dazzlingly amidst the torrential rain.

Nightfall, sunrise, and the torrential rain that pours down like rivers and seas irrigate the majestic mountains and fields. Amidst the myriad peaks and valleys, the dark clouds are torn apart, and the purple and gold hues melt together, creating a dazzling and bright luster that shimmers between heaven and earth.

This scene was like a dream.

"How beautiful!" the Little Fox exclaimed in Li Jiusheng's arms.

"It is indeed beautiful." Li Jiusheng nodded. This scene, with its combination of different elements, made Shangqing Palace look like a fairyland.

"No matter how good other places in the world are, none are as good as Shangqing Palace." Yu Chaoyang excitedly opened his arms. After being away from home for several years, he had finally returned.

Li Qingshan said nothing, but simply led everyone away and disappeared on the spot, returning to the main hall of the Shangqing Palace Sect Master’s Main Hall.

"Master, you and my senior uncle must have something to discuss, so I'll take my leave now." In the Sect Master’s Main Hall, Yu Chaoyang had just landed when he clasped his hands in a fist salute and left, impatient and unwilling to stay any longer.

"Wait!" Li Qingshan said coldly. How could he not know Yu Chaoyang's little scheme? He wanted to leave as soon as possible to avoid punishment.

How is that possible?

Yu Chaoyang obediently stopped, her little face showing a pained expression.

"Go to the Cliff of Reflection the back mountain and face the wall for half a year," Li Qingshan said.

"Half a year? Master, isn't that too long? I still need to pursue Yu Yao," Yu Chaoyang said bitterly.

"Then one year!" Li Qingshan said coldly, giving him no room for negotiation.

"Then let's make it six months, Master and Uncle. Please take care of yourselves. We'll see each other in six months." Yu Chaoyang hurriedly waved his hand, then knelt down and solemnly kowtowed to Li Jiusheng and Li Qingshan.

Li Qingshan's expression was serious; he simply waved his sleeve, signaling him to leave.

Li Jiusheng said, "In the past six months, you have carefully honed the various cultivation techniques I taught you. You have extremely high talent, but your personality is impetuous. If you can take this opportunity to temper your character and cultivate your techniques in seclusion, you may not be inferior to the Hunyuan Dao that the Saintess of Hunyuan Daoist lineage received."

The various cultivation techniques that Li Jiusheng comprehended were all top-tier methods. Yu Chaoyang could truly delve into them, it would be no less than obtaining the inheritance of an ancient Daoist lineage.

Yu Chaoyang nodded and replied earnestly, "This disciple will keep in mind Master Uncle's teachings and will devote myself to cultivation for the next six months."

"Go," Li Qingshan said.

Yu Chaoyang got up and left, heading to the Repentance Cliff of Reflection the back mountain.

After Yu Chaoyang left, Li Qingshan's expression softened, and he sighed, "That brat is so impulsive and reckless; I wonder when he'll mature."

Li Jiusheng laughed and said, "Everyone has a different personality. Yu Chaoyang is just like that by nature. You can't expect him to become as serious as you."

Li Qingshan, "But how will he manage the Shangqing Palace in the future if he acts like this?"

Li Jiusheng said, "Children and grandchildren have their own blessings; it's not certain whether they'll be willing to take over your business."

Li Qingshan shook his head. "Forget it, let him be. As for Senior Brother, his trip to the Southern Ridge Deadly Land fruitful. He has made great progress and broken through to the Venerable realm. It seems that becoming a Patriarch is not far off."

"The Venerable Ninth Heaven, while I have only reached the First Heaven. The task ahead is arduous and the road is long. It is too early to talk about the Patriarch," Li Jiusheng said.

With a wave of his sleeve, Li Qingshan conjured a chessboard in the center of the Sect Master’s Main Hall cushions. The chessboard itself contained black and white chess pieces, as smooth as jade. "Senior brother," he said, "It's been a long time since we played. Let's play a round."

Li Jiusheng readily agreed, sat down at the chessboard, and took the black pieces to make the first move.

Both of them played chess very quickly, chatting as they went.

"Senior brother, can you tell me what happened in this Deadly Land?" Li Qingshan asked.

Li Jiusheng then told Li Qingshan everything that had happened to him after he entered the Deadly Land.

Small Town both illusory and real, strange Temple, the terrifying Bewildering Butterfly Ancient Tree, countless stone tablets concerning the Heavenly Emperor City, and how to befriend the Jin Family and obtain rare divine medicine...

Li Jiusheng explained it all.

After listening, Li Qingshan exclaimed, "Senior Brother, your trip to this Deadly Land has been incredibly rewarding. You've witnessed different cultivation methods, experienced the strangeness of this Deadly Land, and even glimpsed a corner of the Heavenly Emperor City. It's truly enviable."

Unfortunately, the Deadly Land has restrictions, preventing the patriarch from entering; otherwise, Li Qingshan would really like to go in and explore.

"In what year did this Deadly Land fall?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"I don't know. Some books record it as three thousand years ago, some as five thousand years ago, and some even say seven or eight thousand years ago. There's no concrete evidence," Li Qingshan said. "However, Senior Brother just said that the Deadly Land predates the Heavenly Emperor City, so the three thousand year claim is invalid."

Li Jiusheng nodded. The Deadly Land must have been destroyed before the Heavenly Emperor City, otherwise how could the mountain peak of the Heavenly Emperor City have been embedded in the Deadly Land?

"Finally, what exactly happened deep within that Deadly Land?" Li Jiusheng asked curiously.

Finally, the enormous Heavenly Emperor Phantom caused a catastrophe, forcing them to leave prematurely. Otherwise, Li Jiusheng could have continued to study the Secret technique on the stone tablet, obtain divine medicine, and improve his strength.

"A portion of the ancestral master's primordial spirit was separated and implanted within a young disciple. While exploring the Ruins the Heavenly Emperor City deep within the Deadly Land, he unearthed a terrifying entity that caused this bloodshed," Li Qingshan said, frowning with displeasure.

He also felt that if those people hadn't alerted the enemy and angered some of the taboos of the Heavenly Emperor City, his senior brother's comprehension would have allowed him to obtain several more divine herbs.

"A portion of the ancestral master's primordial spirit has infiltrated it; this is exploiting a loophole in the Deadly Land." Li Jiusheng frowned.

"There are always some people who try to be clever but are short-sighted. This Deadly Land is far from open, and it doesn't welcome patriarchs. They think they're so smart as to sneak in, trying to control the bodies of younger disciples and seize the treasures. Little do they know that even the slightest hint of an Ancestor Realm will alert some strange entity within the Deadly Land, causing it to close Deadly Land and cutting off everyone's chance to find treasure," Li Qingshan said disdainfully.

"Fortunately, the gains this time were not small. Next, I will cultivate in seclusion at the Shangqing Palace to digest these experiences, and my cultivation level will surely rise several more levels." Li Jiusheng said easily. Although he was disappointed, he was very content. At least compared to those cultivators who died in the Deadly Land, he had already gained tremendous benefits.

He also possesses a priceless Ginseng King; consuming it will undoubtedly help him break through his current bottleneck.

"Senior brother, have you decided which path you will take in the future?" Li Qingshan asked after placing his pieces to surround and kill Li Jiusheng.

"What do you mean, which path to take?" Li Jiusheng asked, puzzled, his eyes fixed on the chessboard. As they talked, he found himself surrounded by Li Qingshan.

"Cultivators who haven't reached the Grandmaster Realm are just dabbling in minor things. Only by entering the Ancestor Realm can one truly step onto the door of the cultivation path. Behind that door are countless paths. Every Ancestral Master, after breaking through, will ponder which path they should take to reach even greater realms," Li Qingshan explained.

Li Jiusheng pondered for a long time, realizing it was a dead end, and stopped playing. He looked at Li Qingshan and said, "I'm still far from the Ancestor Realm. Isn't it too early to be thinking about these things?"

Li Qingshan shook his head. "It's not early. Every Venerable One who has the potential to break through to the Ancestral Master level will think about this issue."

"What paths are there within the Ancestor Realm?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"The Daoist path of cultivation, which is the traditional method of cultivation that focuses on the primordial spirit, is a very popular and broad path with countless predecessors' experiences to draw upon," Li Qingshan said.

"Apart from this widest road, the rest of the roads are all somewhat difficult."

"For example, the path of Sword Cultivator that I chose requires my own hard work. There are very few predecessors on this path, and if you want to comprehend it, you need to pave the Path-Opening yourself," Li Qingshan said calmly.

"I understand. Choosing the most orthodox path of cultivation avoids detours and achieves twice the result with half the effort, but the upper limit or potential is far less than that of Path-Opening. However, Path-Opening is extremely risky; a slight misstep can lead to death or even annihilation," Li Jiusheng concluded.

Li Qingshan nodded. "That's exactly right."

"I will consider it carefully, but I don't know what it takes to break through to the Ancestral Master level?" Li Jiusheng asked.

"The laws!" Li Qingshan.

"Laws?" Li Jiusheng pondered the word, his brow furrowing slightly as if deep in thought.

"Before reaching the Ancestor Realm, all the Dao, essence, and power involved in cultivation techniques are merely partial manifestations of the laws. The simplest and most important way to truly enter the Ancestor Realm is to comprehend a complete wisp of the law, master it proficiently, and use it freely," Li Qingshan said.

After speaking, Li Qingshan raised his hand, forming a sword-finger gesture. Above his fingertips, azure energy swirled around him. This azure energy was like a wisp of wind, ever-changing and unpredictable, sometimes rapid, sometimes slow, sometimes gathering, sometimes dispersing, as if it had a life of its own, extremely mysterious.

"Is this the law?" Li Jiusheng looked on curiously.

"Yes, this is a wisp of the Law of Wind. I have studied it for half my life, finally comprehended it, condensed it at my fingertips, and made it my own. This is the foundation upon which I broke through to the level of the Ancestral Master," Li Qingshan said.

"Just a wisp of energy is enough to break through to the Ancestral Master level?" Li Jiusheng exclaimed in surprise.

Li Qingshan nodded. "That's right, Senior Brother, don't underestimate this Law of Wind. You must Daoist magic is extremely vast. The Great Dao of the world is nothing more than being supported by various Laws. The rotation of the sun and moon, the existence of life and death, the four seasons and all things, the waxing and waning of the sun and moon—all of these are operating behind the scenes with the Law. Each Daoist magic is extremely vast and has countless powers. If we cultivators can capture even a wisp of it, we are already considered extremely fortunate."

Li Jiusheng silently memorized these things, and this became the direction of his cultivation from then on.

"Senior brother, the most basic Five Elements Law in this world should be the easiest to comprehend. Everyone can grasp some of it to some extent. You can start with the Five Elements," Li Qingshan said softly.

"I understand." Li Jiusheng nodded, stood up, bid farewell to Li Qingshan, and returned to his secluded residence with the Little Fox.

The Scripture Repository Pavilion!

Once in familiar surroundings, the Little Fox became lively, immediately jumping down from Li Jiusheng's arms and happily exploring the surroundings.

"The Scripture Repository Pavilion is much better. It's chaotic and dangerous outside, and you're such a restless person. I'm always worried about your safety," the Little Fox criticized Li Jiusheng, saying that she had worried about him many times while he was out.

Li Jiusheng smiled, humbly accepting the criticism, and ruffled the Little Fox's fur. "I understand. For the next period of time, we will not go out and will focus on our cultivation."

The Little Fox smiled happily and said with satisfaction, "That's more like it. You haven't taken me with you to cultivate in so long."

Li Jiusheng looked at the mountains and fields, where the rain was moist, the thick fog had dissipated, the morning sun was breaking through, and the purple and gold clouds were flowing, as if paint had been broken and the colors of heaven and earth were richly mixed on a canvas.

It was Morning Light.

"Come, let's begin our cultivation now." Li Jiusheng called to the Little Fox, and in a pavilion outside the Scripture Repository Pavilion, the man and the fox began to slowly practice their fist techniques.

In an instant, the Spiritual Qi from all around was absorbed into Li Jiusheng's body, swirled around once, and then transported into the Little Fox's body to improve its physical constitution.

The Little Fox hummed contentedly, as if basking in the warmest sunlight, or as if she had returned to the feeling of being in her mother's arms.

Its very essence is leaping, its very essence is fluctuating.

After experiencing this thrilling journey, the Little Fox's cultivation level directly broke through to the Late Grandmaster Stage.

Before long, she imitated Li Jiusheng, sitting cross-legged in meditation. All nine tails on her back spread out, fluffy and very cute.

The Nine-tailed Demonic Fox form is gradually being revealed.

Seeing that she was in a meditative state, Li Jiusheng also began to organize his own gains from this experience.

First, there was the Heaven-Severing Sword, obtained from the strange Temple in the illusory Small Town.

Secondly, one can study the Heavenly Immortal Sword, Fallen Immortal Sword, and Absolute Immortal Sword obtained from what appears to be a stone tablet from the Heavenly Emperor City.

Li Jiusheng didn't know if these Four Swords were related to each other, but he knew that if he truly mastered them, their power would far surpass that of the Grandmaster Realm.

"When I fought Dao Taichu, he was arrogant and didn't take me seriously at first. Using normal techniques was still manageable. But once the patriarch got serious, the huge gap in our cultivation levels left me powerless to fight back. Only these few sword strikes could hurt him." Li Jiusheng calmly analyzed his battle with Dao Taichu.

Dao Taichu initially didn't take Li Jiusheng seriously, only wanting to steal the Dragon Whisker Root, which gave Li Jiusheng the opportunity to draw his sword. Later, when he truly got angry and wanted to make a move, he was repelled by these few sword strikes.

The power of these sword strikes delighted Li Jiusheng; they were considered his trump card.

"Regardless of whether these Four Swords are connected, I must carefully study them. The more I understand, the greater their power will be. If I can comprehend them all, even if I am only at the Venerable First Heaven, I can still slay the Ancestor." Li Jiusheng's heart was filled with ambition.

Having witnessed the grandeur of the patriarch, Li Jiusheng was unwilling to linger even at the Venerable Realm.

He sat cross-legged, fully circulating his internal energy. His Purple Mansion Golden Core spun rapidly, constantly revealing the cultivation technique he was practicing.

At this moment, Li Jiusheng embraced all things.

"This battle with Dao Taichu has been very rewarding. I must record these insights in time to nourish my cultivation path." Li Jiusheng murmured to himself, his mind calming down and gradually entering a state of clarity. Unmoved by external things, he began his cultivation with all his heart.