Chapter 160 - 135: The Old Taoist of the East Sea, Bai Yujing, The Female Bodhisattva, The Dragon Maiden Reappears!_l
East Sea.
Traveling east from the Xuan Domain, through the Dao Domain or the Chaotic Domain, one can enter the East Sea.
One hundred and eighty million miles east of the Divine Continent, deep within the East Sea, there lies an island named Penglai, commonly known as the Immortal Island of Penglai.
The Immortal Island of Penglai is massive, nearly thirty million miles in circumference, inhabited by countless beings of the Human Clan, numbering in the trillions.
The island is also home to countless cultivators, with numerous sects and plentiful clans, together forming a vast Cultivation Realm.
In the center of the Immortal Island of Penglai, there stands a Divine Mountain, piercing the clouds, towering hundreds of thousands of feet high, radiating an aura of primeval, simple immensity.
This mountain is named Penglai, the central Divine Mountain of the Immortal Island of Penglai.
Atop the Penglai Divine Mountain, there is a sect, also named “Penglai.” Known as the Penglai Immortal Sect, it is said that in ancient times it produced an Immortal that shook the Eight Hundred Divine Regions. The lineage has been passed down to this day, existing for over a million years.
The Penglai Immortal Sect is the most powerful force on the Immortal Island of Penglai, and the sect everyone on the island aspires to join. There is a saying in the Mortal World, “To be inducted into the Penglai Immortal Sect is to become an Immortal.”
At this moment, atop a floating Immortal Mountain within the Penglai Immortal Sect.
An old Taoist sits in mediation on a cliff, facing the direction of the Divine Continent, beholding the vast East Sea. Although unblemished by a speck of dust, he exudes an air of antiquity as if he had sat here for thousands of years.
Next to him, there is a tattered water jar, only three feet in diameter, containing a loach that barely moves, listless as if long dead.
Upon closer observation, one can find that the loach only stirs once in a great while, seemingly exerting great effort with each movement, taking a long time to recover.
This seven-colored loach is shaped like a dragon, a rare and seldom-seen Seven-colored Dragon Loach, valued far higher than a ten-thousand-year-old Divine Medicine.
In one moment, the meditating old Taoist’s eyelids twitch, and he opens his eyes. Instantaneously, the undulating millions of miles of sea calm down, and the wind and waves quiet.
“Dreaming through a thousand autumns, what year is it tonight?”
The emaciated Taoist sighs, looking at the tattered water jar, and with a swipe of his hand, a series of visions appear.
They depict vast landscapes and rivers, bustling dynasties with crowds like woven textiles, and spirited blessed lands with thriving energies, with the final scene settling on a range of connected mountains.
The mountain range is long and serpentine like a dragon, majestic, emanating an immeasurable and profound glow of creation, seemingly unnoticed by all.
The main peak of this mountain range has been sheared off, revealing the latent grandeur of this thousand-mile dragon landscape that had previously remained concealed.
The emaciated Taoist calculates with his fingers, and after a long while, finally says, “The timing is about right. If this succeeds, from Jiao to dragon, it won’t be long.”
He seems to be muttering to himself, yet also as if speaking to someone else.
The whiskers of the Seven-colored Dragon Loach in the tattered water jar flutter slightly.
The emaciated Taoist swipes his hand and the visions disappear. He sits back down, still facing the Divine Continent, as if he intends to continue his sea-gazing.
“A dragon can enlarge or shrink, rise or conceal. When large, it conjures clouds and mists; when small, it stays hidden and changes form. When it rises, it soars between the universe; when concealed, it lurks within the waves. Now that spring is deep, the dragon rides the changes of time.” As his words fall, the emaciated Taoist once again closes his eyes.
Dao Domain.
This region can be said to be the best within the Qianyuan Divine Province for cultivating the Dao, relatively peaceful and harmonious with few conflicts, where cultivators often engage in profound discussions of the Dao.
Within the Qianyuan Divine Province, there is a widely circulated poem: “Atop the heavens lies Bai Yujing, with its twelve towers and five cities. Immortals touch our crowns, bestowing upon us the secrets of eternal life.”
All these legends of Bai Yujing, the twelve towers, the five cities, and the Immortals, originate from the Dao Domain.
The Dao Domain has eight major powers, led by Bai Yujing, the ancestral court of the Dao Sect. The others—Heaven, Earth, Man, Taixuan, Dragon Tiger, True Martial, and Pure Yang—all originate from Bai Yujing, each pursuing their own path of cultivation.
Bai Yujing is in the heavens, a celestial city suspended high above, invisible, untraceable, unfathomable.
The five cities and twelve towers are on the ground, corresponding to the Five Elements and the twelve branches, acting as the focal points for the grand Dao Sect array, collectively supporting Bai Yujing and concealing it.
The twelve towers are distributed among the five cities, all towering into the clouds. It is said that they can directly reach Bai Yujing, possessing the power to connect heaven and earth.
Legends say that in ancient times, Bai Yujing housed constant presences of Heavenly Immortals, and once an Immortal descended from the ninth heaven to touch the crown of a mortal, bestowing upon them the seeds of the eternal Dao and taking them back to Bai Yujing.
Fifty thousand years later, another Heavenly Immortal from Bai Yujing appeared, whose Sword Dao was extraordinary and saintly. Fond of drinking and composing poetry, he came to be known as the “Poetic Sword Immortal,” leaving behind countless legends in the Qianyuan Divine Province.
Just like the Penglai Immortal Sect, Bai Yujing, although the ancestral court of the Dao Sect, is no longer as splendid as before, the celestial city suspended high above having not appeared in the world for tens of thousands of years.
Yet, the depth of its foundations are such that very few in the Qianyuan Divine Province can compare, perhaps none at all.
At this moment, inside the Breeze Pavilion, two Daoists are exchanging insights. One appears refined and amiable, making others feel as if bathed in a spring breeze, like a piece of jade returning to its natural state. The other looks ordinary, but every move he makes is sharp and unmistakable, like an unsheathed Immortal Sword.
These two individuals are the Second Grandmaster of Bai Yujing and the Third Grandmaster of Bai Yujing.
“The Jiao’s Dragon Ball has appeared, and the Demon Clan dares to reach for it.
Shall I take my sword and make a trip to the Demon Domain!” the ordinary-looking Third Grandmaster says with an overwhelming aura of slaughter in his words.
“No need. It’s just an early-stage Demon King; the forces in the Xuan Domain will handle it,” the Second Grandmaster shakes his head and says softly, somewhat helplessly towards the Third Grandmaster.
His younger fellow disciple has always loved to fight and kill, which is completely at odds with the tranquil and peaceful nature of the Dao Sect. He wonders why their master took him in in the first place.
However, this younger disciple indeed possesses remarkable talent, and his combat ability is astounding, proclaiming himself “undefeated in three thousand years..”