Yuntai Peak

It makes sense that the Xiao family hid their most precious treasure in the ginkgo forest. At first glance, the Golden Silver Treasure Tree looks exactly like an ordinary ginkgo tree. However, it is not a naturally growing tree, but a man-made treasure crafted with ingenuity.

Li Fan walked around the tree three times, and could see that the veins on each golden leaf were incredibly lifelike. The trunk, which was as thick as two people could hug, was covered with dense Fa Yin. He could sense that the roots of this precious tree were connected to all the ginkgo trees in the forest. Not only did it disperse its own precious light, making it difficult to detect its true form, but it was also as if it had refined all the ginkgo trees into clones of the treasure. As long as one controlled this precious tree, one could control the entire forest's escape formation, which was truly remarkable.

Previously, Fa Jue mentioned that the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror was a Xuanmen Door Opening magic treasure made from the remains of a fallen spirit. This Golden Silver Treasure Tree is definitely a top-grade treasure, but Li Fan did not sense the existence of the 'object' or the spirit of the artifact, which is probably similar to the situation of the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror.

"Real Person Li, I've reached an agreement with Uncle-Master Jingning. You can store your Dao body in the forest."

"Thank you for your trouble, Fellow Cihui."

With Cihui, who had received an intermediary fee of eight thousand strings of Cihui, acting as guarantor, and Li Fan contributing an additional one thousand strings of gold ingots, along with some Donghua Changchun Pill and Nine Revolutions Mysterious Purple Gold Pill as gifts, and knowing he was only going to visit Yuntai Peak on the way, Abbess Jingning of Iron Apricot Temple Master Jingning naturally had no objection. As long as Li Yaoshi, this wanted criminal from Xun Kingdom, didn't cause trouble on her turf, she didn't want to offend these ruthless people, so she agreed to lend him her magic treasures to send him on his way.

According to Cihui, this Master Jingning is also from the Xiao Family. Although she is only at the Nascent Soul Realm, she is of a high seniority. She was probably once a princess or a noblewoman. Although she has become a nun and no longer cares about worldly affairs, she still has many old friends and connections with the Xuanmen sect. She is also the one who takes care of the Golden Silver Treasure Tree. In that case, the words of the family patriarch are still counted. At least the Zhen Country's retainers should not dare to cause trouble at the Iron Apricot Temple.

Li Fan had also interacted with the Xiao Family and knew the family traditions of these powerful clans. If they looked down on you, you wouldn't even get through the door; but if they feared you, they'd fawn over you relentlessly. Of course, it's also possible that the Xiao Family developed PTSD the moment he heard him claim to be a disciple of the Beichen Sword Sect...

So Li Fan watched as Cihui demonstrated. She took a sachet tied with a red string, then took two talismans. She blew on the talismans, placed one in the sachet, and tossed it aside. The red string flew up automatically and tied to a branch of the Golden Silver Treasure Tree, under a golden leaf. Then she folded the other talisman into a triangle and held it under her tongue. She went to the woods, found an apricot tree, sat cross-legged, and closed her eyes in deep meditation. A gentle breeze came, carrying with it a Cihui full of yellow leaves that enveloped Ci Hui. A bunch of tree roots also wrapped around her, forming a cocoon around her, and she was buried under the roots of the ginkgo tree.

Li Fan observed the surroundings and could sense the aura of Cihui emanating from the ginkgo tree, connecting heaven and earth. He then realized that the other Golden Core cultivators attending the meeting had also concealed their Dao bodies in this forest when their primordial spirits left their bodies. This was indeed safe, with the Golden Silver Treasure Tree and the Xiao Family's troops guarding outside, it was much safer than setting up your own formation.

So Li Fan followed the incantation taught by Cihui and imitated her method. He found a ginkgo tree, meditated with a talisman in his mouth, hid his Dao body under the tree for preservation, and his primordial spirit flew out of his body.

When Li Fan worshipped the Thousand-Faced Immortal, he simply closed his eyes and opened them, instantly reaching the moon. This Treasure Tree was a bit slower, perhaps because it was guiding too many people at the same time, thus slowing down the process. In any case, Li Fan felt as if he were traversing a golden torrent tunnel, rushing along with the current. He even had time to change the appearance of his primordial spirit from Li Fan to Li Yaoshi before being transported through a bright portal to his destination.

"So this is the main mountain of the Beichen Sword Sect, the Yuntai Peak of Jiuyin Mountain...?"

Li Fan looked up at the immortal mountain before him, and to be honest, he was a little disappointed. It didn't seem to be much different from the Ink Bamboo Mountain Grotto-Heaven or the Luofeng Mountain- Heaven. It also had flying immortal mountains, countless Immortal Pavilion, celestial birds and rare beasts, flying dragons and auspicious clouds. Did all these Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land use the same template when they were decorating?

Using his Divine Sense to scan the area and then calculating with his fingers, Li Fan also discerned some clues.

If he wasn't mistaken, the immortal mountain he was seeing now was not the actual Yuntai Peak. Of course, most of the rocks and buildings were real, but many formations and illusions were used to create a layer of illusory Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land outside Yuntai Peak.

The real Yuntai Peak should be inside this blessed land of immortals, probably a treasure vault specifically used for storing treasures. The primordial spirits of outside cultivators only linger in the illusion outside. If they want to enter the treasure vault inside the immortal mountain, they probably have to pay ten thousand strings of cash to have someone lead them in.

Li Fan looked around and found himself on a flying fairy island. Behind him was a ginkgo forest, with light shimmering among the branches and leaves, like an open portal. This guiding passage should lead directly to the Iron Apricot Temple.

After a short while, another figure emerged from the shadows in the forest, revealing a bald monk in white robes. However, he had no face; his head had a large hole, like a broken eggshell.

"Fahui?"

"Master, I've kept you waiting. My primordial spirit is on the verge of collapse. Please don't be offended. Hmm? Have you been using your true form all this time? It would be best if your primordial spirit were to transform and conceal itself," Fahui suggested.

"Oh, a true man doesn't change his name or surname. I, Li Yaoshi, have nothing to hide. It's alright as it is," Li Fan said frankly.

Fahui shrugged. "Alright then, Master, follow me. Yuntai Peak is just ahead."

Li Fan followed Fahui as they leaped off the immortal island. They flew with the wind, passing through layers of clouds and traversing the immortal paths of the flying mountains. In the distance, they could see a flying immortal mountain, its peak radiating brilliant light, surrounded by colorful auspicious clouds, and dotted with countless immortal boats and Immortal Pavilion, making it the most prosperous place.

Fahui pointed to a place on auspicious clouds, where many blue phoenix and dragon flags were planted, and a giant dragon boat that looked like a palace, and said, "The Xiao Family's Dharma assembly is being held there. This humble monk may be delayed for a few days. You may take a look around, Master."

If you see any immortal island with three Daoist towers and a peach blossom grove, that's probably the manor on the other side of the Phantom Moon Treasure Mirror, where those female immortals reside. This humble monk remembers that the leading female immortal was named Zichai; perhaps some high-ranking figures in the Xuanmen sect would recognize her. However, this humble monk's cultivation is shallow, and I don't have enough spare money to come here often, so I've never encountered them.

When the Dharma assembly ends, the passage through the Golden Silver Treasure Tree will close. Please remember to return in time, otherwise you may have to fly all the way back to Jiangling."

"Alright, I understand. Please proceed, fellow Daoist."

Knowing the whereabouts of the Heavenly Book is good; it will be found sooner or later. This time, so much money was spent to open a map and come to the main city of the Xuanmen. Li Fan plans to wander Fourth Department first and see what level these Nine Great Xuan Sects are really at.

So Li Fan leisurely strolled Fourth Department.

The Beichen Sword Sect was wiped out over five hundred years ago. Now, Yuntai Peak has become the Xuanmen's office and trading center. All the famous sects of the Central Plains have set up offices and liaison offices here, with each immortal island acting as an embassy. Besides Nascent Soul Stage cultivators like Li Fan, one can occasionally see the souls of Golden Core cultivators, and even Foundation Establishment and Qi Refining cultivators, probably drawn there by Xuanmen's magical artifacts. It seems the Xuanmen has quite a few sects...

Profound Heaven Sword Intent did mention some things about the Xuanmen to Li Fan, but that was all from at least five hundred years ago. It's hard to say how much of it still applies now; at least it didn't mention the Yuntai Peak incident. However, generally speaking, the fundamental and core aspects won't have changed much.

Originally, the Oldest One (玄门) was a rebel army of independent cultivators who followed the Profound Maiden) in an armed uprising against the tyranny of the Immortal Palace. Such rebel armies have always existed, and in essence, they are the same as the Moshan (墨山), Lou Guan), and even the Luo Sect) and Black Lotus Sect), belonging to the illegal, heretical, and independent cultivator rebel organizations defined by the Immortal Palace. However, the vast majority of these rebel armies were defeated and wiped out, or were exiled overseas.

The Xuanmen group was the first, or perhaps the only, group to win against the Immortal Palace. They went all in, and under the leadership of the Profound Maiden, they fought their way into the Three Realms, giving the Immortal Emperor a real headache. The direct lineage of the Immortal Venerable was wiped out in this battle, and the Four Kingdoms suffered the most, becoming puppets of noble families and nobles. The Eight Feudal Kingdoms also refused to submit to the imperial rule and began to fight amongst themselves. Since then, no emperor has been able to revive the Immortal Palace.

However, the Profound Maiden had no interest in changing dynasties. After leaving behind nine heavenly books, she ascended to heaven. Profound Maiden remaining followers, as Profound Maiden disciples, inherited the nine heavenly books and began the proper path of immortality.

Until the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book was seized by the Divine Lord, the Xuanmen (Mysterious Sect) existed in a way similar to a traditional cultural academic committee. These people only sought to ascend to immortality like the Profound Maiden and had no interest in ruling the world. Therefore, the Xuanmen was not a mandatory institution, but rather a reading group that gathered every few years to study the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book together.

Because the Heavenly Books were so profound, nine reading groups were initially formed according to the nine volumes of the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book. Furthermore, the disciples recruited were specially selected from those with exceptional comprehension and talent, who were likely to comprehend the Heavenly Books. In addition, the elders of the Mysterious Sect regularly organized assessments of the Five Arts to test and encourage the younger generation to interpret and master the Heavenly Books. This is how the Nine Great Xuan Sects began to take shape.

Later, naturally, there were disagreements about the interpretation of the Heavenly Book, which led to the emergence of many branch sects. However, everyone worshipped the Profound Maiden and cultivated the orthodox immortal path of the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book, thus forming their own Mysterious Sect. As the number of people increased, the seniority rose, and the rules became more stringent, and these elites were indeed strong enough, the Mysterious Sect gradually became a powerful force that could not be ignored in the world.

Later, the conflict arose between the Divine Lord and the Divine Cult over the Xuan Girl Heavenly Book. The Mysterious Sects joined forces with the Divine Cult several times to seize the book, gradually forming the leadership framework of the Nine Great Xuan Sects.

In theory, all sects within the Xuanmen (Daoist sect) are equal. Anyone who joins the Xuanmen can speak at the Heavenly Book Conference and garner support from other sects. However, compared to some sects that have been wiped out and are only mentioned occasionally for scapegoating, the difference in strength between a giant like Emei and others is indeed objective. Therefore, absolute equality does not exist.

Therefore, those in leadership positions within the Xuanmen (mystical sects) are generally the nine strongest sects selected at the Heavenly Book Conference. These nine sects form an organization similar to a standing council.

The leaders of these nine major sects, along with their core elders and disciples, discuss and decide on the various policies and strategies of the Xuanmen, organize disciples to face tribulations, conduct assessments and competitions in the Five Arts, allocate resources from various Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land and grotto-heavens, coordinate the suppression and extermination of demons and monsters, and deal with competition from the Immortal Palace and the Divine Cult, etc.

Today, the nine major schools are Mount Emei, Mount Heng, Mount Song, Mao Mountain, Mount Hotong Mountain, Wangwu Mountain, Danxia Mountain, Magu Mountain, and Penglai Mountain.

Of course, there are also ancient sects under the Xuanmen sect, such as Qingcheng Mountain, Taiyi Mountain, and Daiyue Mountain, whose strength is unfathomable and are well-known in the Central Plains. They are not necessarily inferior to the current nine major sects. It's just that these sects may not appear on the list of the nine major sects every year because their sect leaders are in seclusion, their core disciples are tied up with important matters, or they are busy with things like sword forging and pill refining. Or, it is also possible for a small or medium-sized sect to occasionally produce one or two outstanding sect leaders who replace the old masters of the ancient immortal sects.

If we absolutely had to choose the strongest, then Emei would be the undisputed strongest sect in the Xuanmen sects today, with almost every generation now comprised of giants from the Nine Great Xuan Sects, and its overall strength is unmatched.

This can be seen just by looking at the immortal islands on Yuntai Peak. The largest and highest immortal mountain is the office of the Emei Sect, and it is also the place where the most cultivators gather to pay their respects and seek an audience. Even Nascent Soul Stage cultivators have to wait at the entrance.

Li Fan could also see through the aura that the cultivators from the other eight sects stationed on Yuntai Peak were all at the Transformation Stage, but their aura was still inferior to that of Emei. It was likely that the ones Emei sent to guard Yuntai Peak were all experts at the Enlightenment Stage.

In short, Li Fan wandered around twice, essentially getting a glimpse of the strength of the Three Great Sects. He calculated the number of Nascent Soul Stage and Divine Transformation cultivators he sensed at each immortal mountain, and finally drew a rough, obvious conclusion: Ink Bamboo Mountain was truly a rural backwater...

Well, I thought it was a dungeon, but it turns out to be a dragon's nest.

Li Fan couldn't find any immortal island with three Dao Towers and a peach grove for a while. Some immortal islands were also shrouded in a misty barrier, probably because no one was there at the moment. So he simply changed his approach and started looking for people.

Although Yuntai Peak is vast and has many cultivators, compared to the mortal realm, it's actually only the size of a village or town, with a maximum population of a thousand. Surely not that many cultivators would be permanently stationed on Yuntai Peak? But surely one or two would have heard of the name 'Purple Hairpin'?

So Li Fan sensed a fairy island where a dozen or so cultivators had gathered from afar, and flew over to investigate. As he got closer, he discovered it was a platform plaza. There was no trace of illusion magic on it; it was just a fairy island paved with a thick layer of white bricks, as flat and even as a sliced tofu block.

If Li Fan wasn't mistaken, it should be the ancient ruins left over from the era of the Beichen Sword Sect, the Sword Arena, which Profound Heaven Sword Intent often reminisces about.

Tsk tsk, look at these floor tiles, so flat and white. After all, this is a place for sword duels, weathered by wind and lightning, unmoved by sword cuts and fire. What are a mere five hundred years of wind and frost?

It's a pity that these dozen or so Nascent Soul Stage cultivators aren't gathered here to fight swords, but to play chess. What a waste of such a flat piece of land...

Li Fan flew over and peered out, inwardly grumbling, but the cultivators ignored him, continuing their deductions. The chess pieces they used were similar to those in Chinese chess, but larger than a prayer mat, and inscribed with personal names. Li Fan immediately recognized several familiar faces, including many names like "Nangong Moumou," and knew what they were deducing.

This simulates the battlefield of the Kun Country.

The vanguard of the Thunder Department, led by Wen Tianjun, was represented by black pieces and thunder eagle flags. Behind them was the Right General of the Immortal Palace, Junyi Godly Monarch's Western Imperial Guards, represented by white pieces and white White Tiger flags. On the southern left flank, the flags and purple pieces likely represented the reinforcements from the Xun Kingdom, led by General Lu Jie, probably a member of the Lu Family, one of the four great clans. On the northern right flank, the flags of the Zhen Country were Azure Luan, led by a prince of the royal family named Xiao Xuanda. Wang Juncai's name was also among the pieces, suggesting that each piece represented a Nascent Soul Stage Divine General or a unit of combat power.

Further south from the main battlefield, there are two more groups, marked by Vermilion Bird banners and yellow wooden chess pieces with the name "Nangong" written in white, naturally belonging to the Nangong Family. Further south, the Li Country army also uses Vermilion Bird banners, but the chess pieces have names written in black, likely referring to the Ink Bamboo Mountain group.

Facing off against these six armies of the Immortal Palace were the elite troops of the Divine Cult, represented by red flags and red chess pieces. Apart from a small number fighting alongside the Nangong Family on the outer battlefield, the vast majority were confronting the main force of the Immortal Palace. Of course, it was more like a fierce battle than a standoff. It seemed that the Thunder Department's army had completely charged into the Divine Cult's ranks, almost cutting the enemy in two.

Thank goodness, it looks like we won...

Li Fan was about to step forward and ask these cultivators if they had heard of the name Purple Hairpin, but he suddenly paused.

Because he saw another cultivator suddenly fly over, wave his hand, and add a large number of red pieces to the chessboard, completely surrounding the black pieces of the Thunder Department!

Surprisingly, none of the dozen or so cultivators present were shocked by this change; they simply remained expressionless and silently calculated, seemingly waiting for some news.

Then several more cultivators came and removed a large number of white pieces from the chessboard, almost half of them! Even though the Western Imperial Guards were clearly under the protection of friendly forces, this strange turn of events suggests either the Immortal Palace army had fallen into some trap and suffered heavy casualties, or...

"Bah! The mighty Western Imperial Guards! Only sent eight thousand veterans! The rest are just a bunch of rookies to make up the numbers! They're all just drawing salaries without working! They'll be exposed as soon as a tough battle starts!"

A chubby, blue-robed cultivator with a round head suddenly appeared in the arena, kicking away a chess piece labeled 'Junyi Godly Monarch' and cursing loudly.

"The number of people from the cult is wrong! Count them! Count them all! How many people actually came! Where did they come from!"