In the cave, Chen Yun had been listening to the outside world.
The voice of Left Qi came, "It's me, an old man. Who are you?"
Yin Wují's tone became respectful, "I am the eldest disciple of Master Yin Shan, who is the founder of the Yin Shan Sect. I greet Mr. Wu Jiao."
Zuo Ci said, "From the peripheral and unorthodox paths, what do you intend to do in the Emei Mountains?"
The side path is usually used as an insult, and if a normal Zen practitioner is insulted like this, no matter who you are, the other party will definitely be angry.
However, the Yin Shan Sect, which belongs to Yin Wuqi, is originally a side path. Even if it boasts of being a side branch, it cannot escape this fact. Moreover, the other party is Zuo Ci Lao Xian, and Yin Wuqi dares not to act rashly.
I only heard him smiling and saying: "Mr. Wu Jiao speaks the truth. I have been following an enemy here to catch him and bring him back to our sect. I hope Mr. Wu can help me."
Hearing this, Chen Yun felt a wave of tension. Whether he could preserve his life depended entirely on the attitude of Zuo Ci.
Zuo Ci paused for a moment, not sure what he was doing.
After about ten seconds, Zuo Ci suddenly said, "This Emmei Mountain is not a place for your left path to enter. Quickly leave, or don't blame me for being unfriendly!"
Yin Wuji dared not say much more, and could only say, "I will withdraw here."
Chen Yun finally breathed a sigh of relief. Fortunately, Zuo Ci did not give the other party face, and he temporarily escaped today.
However, a new problem has arisen.
Yin Wuji may have exited the range of Mount Emei now, but Chen Yun felt that the other party would definitely be waiting nearby.
Once he leaves this mountain, he might be pursued by the other party.
How to get rid of the other party?
Chen Yun is deep in thought, pondering the solution.
Suddenly, a faint golden light shone in the dark cave.
Soon, an old man with a cane, one eye blind, and a slightly limping leg suddenly appeared.
Chen Yun immediately felt on guard.
Who would have thought that the old man was smiling and said, "Is this Chen Pu, a disciple of Zhongli Quan?"
This voice is from Zuo Ci, the old immortal.
Moreover, Chen Yun could analyze from his words that the old man had a deep relationship with his master.
He hurriedly bowed and said, "I am Chen Pu, a disciple of my master. I have seen Mr. Wu Jiao."
Zuo Ci slowly walked forward, "Just now, I used my finger to calculate and found that the person being pursued by that side path is a descendant of an old acquaintance. Therefore, I have driven them away."
Chen Yun only knew then that Zuo Ci drove away Yin Wuji not only because they were pursuing him but also because he had calculated that Chen Yun was a disciple of Zhongli Quan. He quickly thanked him, "Thank you, teacher, for saving my life."
"Never mind." Zuo Ci said while walking towards the front of the cave, "But that young guy named Yin Wuji hasn't left yet. He's still waiting outside Mount Emei. Although I have entered the Dao of immortals and am bound by heavenly rules, I can't do anything to him. Fortunately, there is a passage here that can lead to the outside world. You can leave through it and you will be safe."
Chen Yun hurried to catch up and thanked again, "Thank you, teacher."
"Don't mention it, but there are some magical beasts guarding that passage. Be careful when passing by."
In a few words, Zuo Ci led Chen Yun through more than a dozen twists and turns, finally arriving at a cave entrance.
Zuo Ci pointed to the cave entrance and said, "Follow this path south until you reach about a thousand miles. You will then see another cave entrance, and when you go out, you will reach the slopes of Mount Emei."
Chen Yun thanked him again, but when he finished thanking him and raised his head, he couldn't see the old immortal anywhere.
He secretly worried about the high power of the old immortal, who came and went without a trace.
At the same time, Chen Yun couldn't help but glance towards the direction of the outside world, thinking to himself that with the guidance of the old immortal, he was about to leave this place, while Yin Wuji, that scoundrel, was still unaware and enduringly waiting outside Mount Emei.
Mm, let that dog wait for a few decades or so.
Anyways, he has escaped.
Chen Yun also felt no need to think about Yin Wuji.
He walked out of the cave step by step.
Just as he walked out of the cave.
The air in front of him rippled.
Suddenly, the scenery changed greatly.
Chen Yun saw a cloudy realm with misty clouds and a flock of cranes flying in the distance.
What was even more shocking was that towering peaks floated in the sky, with their unique shapes. Red flowers and green grass were hidden among the white clouds. The clouds and mist displayed a myriad of phenomena, some resembling whirlpools in the sea, while others depicted the images of Vermilion Bird, Blue Dragon, White Tiger, and Black Tortoise. The beauty was beyond description.
As Chen Yun walked forward a few steps, he found that there were numerous waterfalls and springs surrounded by clouds and mist, with the sound of gushing water echoing gently. There were ancient-style pavilions, halls, and buildings built into the mountains, but they looked like mirages. No matter how close he walked, he could never reach them.
Could this be the Xuling Cave Heaven?
Chen Yun couldn't help but pause for a moment.
Mount Emei is a place that is considered sacred by both Taoism and Buddhism.
In Taoism, Mount Emei is one of the thirty-six "Holy Mountain" cave heavens, specifically the seventh, known as "Xuling Cave Heaven" or "Spiritual Lingling Great Marvelous Cave Heaven".
It is rumored that this small cave heaven is under the jurisdiction of a true immortal named Tang Lan, and it contains an endless supply of celestial spiritual roots, mythical beasts, divine birds, and various treasures.
There are also many legends of ordinary people accidentally entering cave heavens and consuming celestial spiritual roots to become immortals overnight.
Chen Yun couldn't help but blink his eyes, thinking to himself: "Do I have a chance to get some treasure in the cave heaven and become more powerful overnight?"
If it's true, that would be a big win.
Of course, just thinking about it is enough, and he doesn't take it too seriously.
Thinking about it, he quickly walked forward along the path on both sides, which were filled with exotic flowers and plants.
To leave this place as quickly as possible, he specially used the wind-controlling technique.
As for the invisibility technique, it's too energy-consuming.
Now he only had about four to five percent of his true essence left.
After leaving the cave heaven, he didn't know what dangers he might encounter.
He dared not waste his true essence randomly.
He tried to maintain a balance where the natural replenishment of true essence was greater than the consumption.
Chen Yun quickly traveled about forty or fifty miles with the wind.
Along the way, he was constantly looking at the beautiful scenery around him.
He saw many exotic flowers and plants, but he didn't see any celestial spiritual roots.
Suddenly, his peripheral vision caught a glimpse of an unusual plant with yellowish-brown stems and purple flowers.
At the time, Chen Yun didn't react in time and ran another hundred or so meters.
But soon he stopped abruptly and turned his head again, full of suspicion, and said: "That plant just now looked like the Herba Caulonaris?"
There is also a plant called Herba Caulonaris in the mortal world, which is a very useful medicinal herb. It is generally believed to have the effects of delaying aging, tonifying the kidney and strengthening Yang, and moistening the intestines for easier defecation.
If it were just a common Herba Caulonaris in the mortal world, it would not be worth Chen Yun's great surprise.
According to Chen Yun's knowledge, there is a celestial spiritual root called Herba Caulonaris that only grows in cave heavenly realms. It has similar effects to the common Herba Caulonaris in the mortal world, but also has many differences.
The Herba Caulonaris that only grows in cave heavenly realms is called the immortal herb. If a person takes it, they can live for an additional eight hundred years.
If a cultivator takes it and cultivates it through their own efforts, not only can they extend their lifespan by eight hundred years, but they can also save tens of years of hard work!
Just thinking about it, Chen Yun's heart couldn't help but pound heavily.
If the strange plant he saw earlier was indeed the immortal herb, then after picking and taking it, he couldn't say for sure that he would suddenly break through to a middle-level wizard, but at least his cultivation would definitely jump to the sixth-grade wizard.
It takes about a year to break through to the sixth-grade wizard by normally taking the essence refining soup.
Chen Yun has been taking the essence refining soup for about four or five months, and it would still take another seven months or so to reach the sixth-grade wizard level.
Most importantly, this is the lower limit of the immortal herb, not the upper limit!
Just thinking about it, Chen Yun's heart was not calm. He hurriedly turned around to see if it was indeed the immortal herb.
Then, something astonishing happened.
To his surprise, he found that he couldn't turn around and walk back. The path seemed to be designed for him to move forward only, and there was no way to go back.
This made him slightly regretful, "If I had known that I couldn't return, I should have walked slower earlier. Now I've missed such an immortal herb."
Wait a minute!
If a Herba Caulonaris appears after walking tens of miles, is there anything else that could be considered a celestial spiritual root in the distance?
Chen Yun's eyes lit up, thinking it was very possible.
He put away his regrets and began to walk slowly on the path.
After walking about one mile, he still hadn't seen any treasures.
After walking another two miles, he still found nothing.
Nevertheless, Chen Yun continued to survey his surroundings, never relaxing.
Finally, after walking about ten miles further, he saw a plant on the side of the road ahead. It was about fifty centimeters tall, gray-white in color with branches and fine ribs, covered with white hairs, and had a feather-shaped compound leaf.
This plant somewhat resembles Astragalus.
Chen Yun's pupil expanded immediately, looking somewhat doubtful, "This...is it the divine Astragalus?"
What is the divine Astragalus?
The divine Astragalus is a variant of Astragalus, born from the essence of mountains and rivers. According to legends, it has powerful effects such as extending life, replenishing qi and boosting Yang, enhancing the body's defense, nourishing essence and blood, and treating serious illnesses.
In simpler terms, consuming such divine Astragalus can add 500 years to one's lifespan, make the physical body stronger, and even cure various diseases that are fatal to mortals.
What moved Chen Yun most was not the fact that the divine Astragalus could only add 500 years to one's lifespan, but its effects on cultivators were far superior to those of Herba Caulonaris.
If he could take it and refine it, reaching the level of a middle-level wizard would not be a dream.
Moreover, because the divine Astragalus has the effect of strengthening the body, Chen Yun's cultivation of "accumulating and refining body essence" would also see a surge in progress, perhaps even allowing him to go from small to medium-level.
Reaching the middle stage of "accumulating and refining body essence" is equivalent to having copper skin and iron bones, invulnerable to blades and bullets!
Chen Yun couldn't help but feel a surge of greed in his heart, wishing he could take it and use it immediately.
However, he quickly calmed down because he remembered what Lu Zi the old immortal had said earlier - there were some guarding beasts in the passage.
Throughout his journey, he hadn't encountered any guarding beasts.
So Chen Yun's first thought was, could it be that there are guarding beasts near such celestial spiritual roots?
However, he hadn't seen any guarding beasts around the divine Astragalus.
Chen Yun searched with his spiritual sense for a while, but still found no guarding beasts.
This time, Chen Yun gained a bit of courage and approached the divine Astragalus at a slow pace.
Thirty steps!
Fifteen steps!
Three steps!
The divine Astragalus is almost within reach, almost as if it can be picked up at any moment.
Chen Yun was overjoyed, there are no guarding beasts?
Apologies for the error in the previous chapter. It seems there was a mistake in identifying the mentor. I had previously mentioned Lu Zi as Ge Hong's mentor, but in fact, Lu Zi should be Ge Xuan's mentor. I have made the correction. Sorry again for any confusion caused.
(Chapter complete)
