[Supreme Prime Minister of the Mystical, Supporting the Teaching of the Three Heavens. On Crane Cry Mountain, he received the true transmission; at the Dragon-Tiger Altar, he left behind wondrous teachings. Three Grotto Registers, spiritual texts of every grade...]
[Twenty-Four Grade Secret Register, delivering salvation to later generations... Male-Female Twin Swords, slaying demons and monsters. Bringing rain and clearing skies, summoning thunder and lightning.]
Old Celestial Master Zhang Zhiwei looked solemn. His wide robes and flowing sleeves had been charred black by heavenly lightning, yet every gesture carried an imposing dignity. He seemed one with heaven and man, of one heart with the universe, as he declared, "Merits fulfilled and practice complete, ascend in broad daylight. Patriarchs of the Three Heavens, support the teaching."
In an instant, golden light blazed forth and shot straight into the clouds. The Golden Light Mantra that had once covered Mount Longhu's Tianshi Mansion now converged at one point, merging chaotically and evolving to its utmost limit, as though a golden-armored deity stood within the Palace of Soaring Clouds.
A seal and a sword flew into the deity's hands. Its Dharma Manifestation was majestic, and the sounds of dragons roaring and tigers howling resounded through Luo Heaven.
A circular radiance appeared. With loose hair and glaring eyes, clad in a Daoist robe and holding an Immortal Sword, it stirred the winds and thunder.
"Damn, I'm fighting Zhang Daoling? Is this for real?"
The faint smile at the corner of Lin Xian's lips slowly faded. For the first time, a serious expression appeared on his face as he scrutinized the Celestial Master Dharma Form.
If Feng Baobao could live forever, then those who had ascended and become immortals since ancient times—Patriarch Bodhidharma, Patriarch Celestial Master Zhang Daoling, Perfected Sanfeng... naturally could not have fallen. They must still exist somewhere in the Human World.
It was merely that ordinary mortals could not seek traces of immortals. Only Dao Lineages passed down by immortals through the generations, such as Mount Longhu, which possessed the Celestial Master Ordination, were qualified to know some of those secrets.
"Reasonable. Too reasonable."
System 10086's mocking voice rang out. "The main quest only required you to defeat the Old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu. It never said which Celestial Master. Tell me, is Zhang Daoling old or not?"
Mount Longhu = Mount Longhu.
Old Celestial Master = Zhang Daoling.
Was there a problem? No problem.
Lin Xian's face darkened. This was not a matter of whether he was old. This was the first-generation Patriarch Celestial Master, the legendary figure who had successfully achieved Feathered Ascension. He was completely different from those worldly mortals who had died in meditation.
At the moment of Feathered Ascension, the phenomena caused by immortals of this world could shatter mountains and split peaks. Who knew what height they could reach after ascending?
Immortals in Shrouding the Heavens had three standards. The highest was the Red Dust Immortal, undying through one's own power. Next came the True Immortal, half reliant on the universe and half reliant on oneself. The lowest were Immortal Two Great Powers, entirely dependent on Longevity Substance and the environment of the Immortal Realm.
After the immortals of this world ascended, what level would they be at? Dao Palace? Immortal Two? Saint Realm?
"So it still comes down to a fight!"
Divine light bloomed in Lin Xian's eyes. Even someone as laid-back as him had his Sea of Bitterness from Shrouding the Heavens stirred awake.
People of Shrouding the Heavens, souls of Shrouding the Heavens—everyone in Shrouding the Heavens was hard-headed.
Cultivation level and strength were all empty. Only fists were real.
You say you're stronger than me? Why don't I believe that? Come on, come on, come on. Let's fight once.
"Fine, fight to the death!" System 10086 clapped and shouted. "Host, keep your spirits up! Well done! Don't embarrass yourself! We're all from the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths. Everyone in Shrouding the Heavens stands above others. What's there to fear?"
"Tom!"
Lin Xian shouted and pressed his palms together. His body and Primordial Spirit both sublimated to their limits, nearly allowing him to glimpse through the mist of the Other Shore. His Sea of Bitterness boiled and surged without end, Divine Runes resonated, and an ancient azure sky faintly emerged!
A star shone as brilliantly as a great sun, yet it gave off platinum starlight that illuminated the mountains and rivers, stunning the world.
Phenomenon—Stars Illuminate the Azure Heavens!
At that moment, Lin Xian stood unmoving. His body was crystalline and translucent, flowing with immortal starlight. He resembled a deity stationed in the Human World, radiating a terrifying aura.
"Supreme Jade Pure King, ruling over the thirty-six heavens, universally transforming the Nine Heavens..."
"Thunder, come!"
Like the Great Dao Heavenly Sound, his voice echoed across the heavens. Zhang Zhiwei and the Celestial Master Dharma Form moved almost in perfect unison, their palms facing upward, fingers naturally extended, with the middle and ring fingers of both hands raised upright.
With a final Daoist shout, wind and thunder roared, the heavens changed color, and the vast might of heaven descended—Five Thunder Righteous Method!
"Rumble..."
Rather than retreating, Lin Xian advanced. His Sea of Bitterness, Life Spring, and Divine Bridge formed a Trinity and resonated together as they collided with the boundless heavenly lightning.
In an instant, heaven and earth changed color, the sun and moon lost their light, and only a blinding white radiance remained!
"Clang, clang, clang!"
A bell seemed to ring from beyond the Nine Heavens, ethereal and melodious, carrying a sense of peace and solemnity. Its grand sound echoed in everyone's hearts.
[Main Quest: Defeat the Old Celestial Master on Mount Longhu (Rare) completed] [Progress: Completed] [Evaluation: Excellent] [Normal Reward: Five Thunder Righteous Method] [Excellent Reward: Immortal Special-Effect Halo (Righteous Path Favorability +10, Evil Path Favorability -10)]
"Wow, the drop rate really is high!"
Lin Xian exclaimed in admiration as he accepted the two rewards and simultaneously learned the functions of the Five Thunder Righteous Method and the Immortal Special-Effect Halo.
The Five Thunder Righteous Method used imagined lightning energy and information to connect and merge in sequence with one's heart, liver, lungs, spleen, and kidneys.
This was an immortal art usable even in the Dao Palace Secret Realm. It could temper the Primordial Spirit and body with the five thunders, and even offered a minuscule degree of help in drawing down Heavenly Tribulations.
More importantly, there was the Immortal Special-Effect Halo. It appeared unremarkable, but the function of granting +10 favorability with the righteous path was enough to set one's imagination running wild.
If used well, it would be more useful than an Immortal Artifact!
"Perfect, it's just right for a famous scene. System, put the immortal special effects on me!"
Lin Xian spoke softly. When the white light dispersed, he stood atop five-colored auspicious clouds, his body wreathed in rosy radiance, a circular halo behind his head, appearing before every Otherworlder.
Golden light stretched across the horizon as the sea of clouds churned. A Southern Heavenly Gate rose into view, and faint immortal music drifted from within.
At that moment, every Otherworlder went mad!
Compared to the ethereal immortal, even the mighty and domineering Celestial Master Dharma Form seemed inferior. It was no longer a golden-armored deity, but like a Yellow Turban Warrior serving at the immortal's side, guiding later arrivals toward ascension.
"Acting..."
Zhang Zhiwei's heart suddenly stirred as those two words came to mind. A thoughtful expression appeared on his face. Then he withdrew the Celestial Master Dharma Form, which had already been on the verge of dispersing, and under everyone's expectant gazes, he bowed toward the sky. "Zhang Zhiwei congratulates Perfected Lin on achieving Ascension and becoming an immortal, ascending in broad daylight!"
"The Celestial Master... is quite the veteran actor too." Lin Xian gave him an approving glance. To see through the trick in that flash of lightning, he truly was wise with age.
With the authoritative endorsement of Mount Longhu's Tianshi Mansion, every Otherworlder cast aside the last trace of doubt in their hearts. Even the most unruly among them bowed deeply and respectfully said, "Congratulations to Perfected Lin on attaining the Dao and Immortality, ascending gloriously to the Immortal Realm!"
Voices of congratulations echoed between heaven and earth, lingering over Mount Longhu for a long time.
"Heaven and earth are the inn of all things; time is the passing guest of countless generations. Life drifts like a dream—how much joy can there be?"
"Off I go, off I go!"
Lin Xian laughed freely and was just about to activate his phenomenon and stride through the sky.
Suddenly, the cry of cranes rang out from Mount Longhu. Under the Celestial Master's arrangements, countless white cranes soared into the sky, dancing alongside the immortal as they ascended to heaven!
Sunlight shone everywhere, dyeing the sea of clouds in brilliant gold and jade, as though it were the Heavenly Realm.
It still has to be you, Old Celestial Master! Lin Xian thought. Then he transformed into a streak of white light, shooting into the clouds and entering the illusory Southern Heavenly Gate.
"Clang!"
The great bell rang out leisurely across heaven and earth, bringing the ascension to a perfect close.
All that remained were frenzied Otherworlders who had witnessed an Immortal Vestige, overwhelmed with excitement.
The system's ethereal voice rang out as well.
[Ding dong, famous scene check-in successful] [Event: Ascension and becoming an immortal, ascending in broad daylight] [Evaluation: Recorded in history, sung of for ages] [Reward: Ascension Talisman (one)]
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