Chapter 58: Strange Sculptures, the Penglai Sect of the Daoist Sect

"It is fate, and the will of heaven; it seems your luck, fellow Daoist, has been entirely exhausted."

Jiang Sheng mused with a sense of profound emotion as he pinched the inch-sized fake core in his hand.

He had found nothing of value, such as storage bags, on Sun Chang's person.

Stowing the fake core away, Jiang Sheng gazed at the luxurious He Mansion before him. Sensing the formations surrounding the estate, he couldn't help but frown. "Another Third-Order formation?"

After a moment of thought, Jiang Sheng summoned the Qingping Sword and struck the formation before him with a single slash.

A surge of cyan sword qi erupted, leaving a visible scar upon the flowing water curtain, but the mark vanished in the next instant.

Staring at the formation, Jiang Sheng fell silent for a moment before raising his sword once more. "Even if it means exhausting the spiritual energy within the Jade Green Lotus Platform, I must discover the secrets hidden within this mansion!"

Deep beneath the heavy pressure of the Taiping River, Jiang Sheng continuously unleashed waves of sword qi, causing the spiritual energy in the Jade Green Lotus Platform to dwindle steadily.

Finally, Jiang Sheng carved a breach in the formation. Seizing the opportunity, he flashed into the water mansion. A moment later, the water curtain repaired itself, and the riverbed returned to its silent state.

Entering the luxurious mansion, Jiang Sheng scanned his surroundings before sensing the flow of energy and heading straight for the main hall.

Inside the main hall, two sets of formations met, arranged in a Yin-Yang pattern along the north-south axis. At the southern end sat a prayer mat, and at the northern end stood a statue of the River God.

Clearly, this was the place where incense was received from the thirteen counties.

As Jiang Sheng examined the formation, he noticed something amiss beneath the River God statue.

With a strike of cyan sword qi, he shattered the statue, revealing a small figurine buried directly beneath it.

The figurine had the face of a horse and four arms, holding an iron pestle, an alms bowl, a long sword, and a pagoda. Its upper body was bare, revealing a lean and powerful physique, while its lower body stood upon a black stone as if stepping on a horse's hoof.

The aura emanating from the statue fluctuated between grandeur and something eerie, causing Jiang Sheng an indescribable sense of discomfort.

Using his spiritual energy to pull the figurine toward him, Jiang Sheng saw a line of small characters on its back: "Kalki King."

Merely reciting the name in his mind, Jiang Sheng felt as if a vast and sacred Dharma image had cast a glance at him from ten thousand miles away.

In an instant, he was drenched in a cold sweat!

He immediately sealed the figurine in a jade box and applied a sealing talisman. Only after he could no longer sense its aura did he let out a long breath of relief. "This thing is indeed strange!"

After stowing the jade box, Jiang Sheng glanced toward the prayer mat to the south.

Beneath the River God statue was an eerie figurine; what lay beneath the prayer mat?

There were two storage bags beside the mat. It was clear that during his battle with Jiang Sheng, Sun Chang had packed his entire fortune into them.

After retrieving the storage bags, Jiang Sheng used his sword qi to shred the prayer mat and the stone slab beneath it.

Amidst the wreckage, a golden volume lay there, radiating a brilliant golden light.

Having already been victimized by the figurine once, Jiang Sheng did not dare look directly at the golden volume. He used another jade box to seal it away before continuing his search through the mansion.

The mansion was vast, seemingly built to mimic Sun Chang's former residence in the Qingyun Sect, possessing a grand and magnificent atmosphere.

However, the mansion was clearly a hollow shell. During his fifty years at the bottom of the river, Sun Chang had likely spent his time recuperating in the main hall, never venturing elsewhere.

The only true treasures were the two storage bags, the eerie figurine, and the golden volume.

Having gathered his findings, Jiang Sheng withdrew the flags used to maintain the formation. He watched as the weight of ten thousand tons of river water crushed the mansion, washing it into ruins. Then, he exited the Taiping River and returned to Qingping Mountain.

In less than half a month, the entire cultivation world of Qingzhou knew that the Daoist Jiang Sheng of East County's Qingping Mountain had discovered and slain a long-hidden Golden Core River God!

The news spread like wildfire, with insiders describing Jiang Sheng in mythic terms.

However, the great aristocratic families of East County and the rogue cultivators refused to believe it.

A Purple Mansion stage cultivator defeating a Golden Core?

What a joke!

The gap between the Purple Mansion and Golden Core stages was an insurmountable chasm. Furthermore, once a Golden Core is formed, their magical power is self-sustaining.

How could a Golden Core being, armed with divine abilities, lose to a mere Purple Mansion cultivator in a contest of magical power?

Yet, as the rumors grew, the three great sects of Qingzhou—the Moon-Grasping Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Qingyun Sect—remained silent, and the Chá family, a Purple Mansion clan of East County, said nothing.

The silence of the three Golden Core sects and the Chá family seemed to confirm that the matter was true.

Other Purple Mansion families naturally sent people to East County to investigate, but all their efforts ended in nothingness.

Subsequently, large numbers of rogue cultivators and gentry traveled thousands of miles to Qingping Mountain, hoping to become disciples of Jiang Sheng or at least catch a glimpse of the legendary Daoist.

However, no matter who came, Tian Ming'an had only one response: "My master is not currently at the temple; please leave."

With this, even the most reluctant rogue cultivators and gentry had no choice but to depart.

They assumed Jiang Sheng simply couldn't be bothered with rogue cultivators and mortals.

But even when Purple Mansion families from Qingzhou came to visit, Tian Ming'an gave them the same response.

Even when elders from the Moon-Grasping, Heavenly Sword, and Qingyun Sects arrived, Tian Ming'an remained steadfast.

This not only confirmed that Jiang Sheng had indeed slain a Golden Core being but also that he was truly absent from Qingping Mountain.

For a time, the cultivators of Qingzhou were curious: where on earth had this High Priest gone?

***

Meanwhile, upon the vast and boundless East Sea, a Daoist in a green robe and jade crown was traveling at high speed.

Eight thousand miles from the shores of the East Sea lay an immortal island called Yuanqiao.

Yuanqiao spanned only a thousand miles, yet it was home to a million living beings.

Half of them were cultivators.

While Yuanqiao seemed not far from the coast, it was difficult for ordinary cultivators to find.

It often only appeared once every hundred years, drawing countless cultivators from the great continents of the Eastern Region to search the seas.

This was because any cultivator who reached Yuanqiao had the opportunity to participate in the sect entrance examination for the Daoist Sect, Penglai.

By crossing the Immortal Ascension Bridge, walking the Path of Heart-Inquiry, and bowing at the Heaven's Gate, one could pass the three trials and join Penglai.

And all three trials were located on Yuanqiao Island.

Once the three trials were passed, one could use Yuanqiao to leap ten thousand miles directly to Penglai.

Currently, Yuanqiao was covered by a massive illusion formation; ordinary beings would see nothing but endless seawater, unable to spot the island at all.

But Jiang Sheng, carrying the token of Penglai, could naturally follow its guidance to find Yuanqiao.

The palm-sized token emitted a soft, clear light, guiding Jiang Sheng through the illusion to reach the island.

Looking upon the familiar mountains, rivers, and mortal towns, Jiang Sheng allowed himself a rare smile.

"I wondered which brat had rushed back so hurriedly; it turns out it's you."

"Jiang boy, why have you come back instead of training out in the world?"

Before the words had even finished, a middle-aged man appeared before Jiang Sheng.

The man had a thick beard and wore blue Daoist robes, possessing a very dignified air.

The aura emanating from him revealed him to be a cultivator of the Nascent Soul stage.

Jiang Sheng smiled and bowed. "Jiang Sheng greets Elder Daoling."

This middle-aged man was one of the Daoist Elders stationed at Yuanqiao, holding the Daoist title of Daoist Master Daoling, with a cultivation level that had reached the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm.

Daolingzi observed Jiang Sheng and smiled with satisfaction. "You, boy, have encountered quite a few opportunities during your travels; to reach the Purple Mansion stage in just a few years."

Jiang Sheng smiled modestly. "A few coincidences; I was actually driven to it by necessity."

Daolingzi waved his hand dismissively. "Enough. Tell me why you have returned."

"Although one can return to the sect at the Purple Mansion stage, you are only at the early stage. I assume you haven't fully gathered the Golden Core Great Medicine. Has something happened to you?"

Jiang Sheng recounted his experiences in Qingzhou, Qi State, and handed the two jade boxes over to Daolingzi.

"Elder Daoling, these items are very strange."

Daolingzi opened the jade box containing the strange figurine, and his expression immediately turned solemn.

"You found this in Qingzhou, Qi State?"

Jiang Sheng nodded.

Daolingzi solemnly took the two jade boxes and said to Jiang Sheng, "Come. I will take you back to Penglai to see the Sect Leader."

Without waiting for Jiang Sheng to respond, Daolingzi grabbed him and, with a single step, they arrived at the eastern side of Yuanqiao.

Between two mountain ranges, a staircase made of jade stretched directly toward the heavens, disappearing into the clouds.

Daolingzi took Jiang Sheng and flew directly into the clouds. Above the clouds, a jade platform spanning a thousand feet sat atop a sea of clouds, featuring a hundred-foot-tall jade gate.

Between two three-zhang-thick stone pillars entwined with dragons, a shimmering light glowed, as if stepping through it would lead to another world.

In front of this jade gate, a female cultivator in flowing cloud-patterned robes was meditating with her eyes closed.

Sensing the newcomers, the female cultivator opened her eyes. "Daolingzi, and the Jiang boy? Has something happened?"

Daolingzi nodded. "Indeed, something has happened. I must take the boy to see my Senior Brother, the Sect Leader, immediately."

The female cultivator tapped the two stone pillars with her magical power. The dragons entwined around the pillars suddenly came to life, shifting their positions within a few breaths.

The shimmering light between the pillars also became clearer.

This was the true path to Penglai; if someone were to charge through blindly, no one knew where they would end up.

Daolingzi led Jiang Sheng into the light. As the world shifted, the familiar scenery reappeared before Jiang Sheng.

He saw three immortal islands suspended in the air, surrounded by vast rays of celestial light and auspicious clouds.

The islands were encircled by a sea of clouds, with waterfalls of seawater cascading from the edges into the East Sea below.

The islands featured layered mountains, towering palaces, and high terraces, with visible paths of rainbow light and clouds, flying cranes, and celestial ships moving constantly.

This was the true Penglai Daoist Sect.

Those three immortal islands had been lifted from the East Sea by the sect's founding ancestor using supreme magical power and placed in the sky.

Subsequent generations of ancestors had laid down layers of formations and modified the islands, creating the magnificent celestial landscape seen today.

Daolingzi led Jiang Sheng directly up the rainbow paths to the summit of Tianshu Peak on the main island.

At the top of this three-thousand-zhang Tianshu Peak lay the sect's main hall.

As Daolingzi brought Jiang Sheng into the main hall, they found a Daoist dressed in golden robes waiting for them.

This was the current Sect Leader of Penglai, Daoist Master Tianshu.