readytorunbook Chapter 217 Immortal Mountain Sect
Chapter 217 Immortal Mountain Sect
"Brother-in-law, thank you for waiting so long."
Bao Yuheng politely bowed to Luo Sifan, who was waiting in front of the jade bed.
His eyes swept over Jiao Qiaoniang's body; with parting imminent, he felt a pang of sadness.
Luo Sifan hurriedly stood up:
"You're too kind, senior!"
The two addressed each other by their own names, and surprisingly, they got along quite well, so Bao Yuheng didn't bother to argue.
“I’ve been stuck here for a long time and have accumulated some wealth. But I can’t take it with me when I ascend to heaven. Now that I have some free time, brother-in-law, you and your family should come with me to take a look and acquire these assets.”
After Bao Yuheng finished explaining, he lightly flicked his fingers, and Luo Sifan and the other person on the bed moved and appeared in a mountain city shrouded in clouds.
This city has no walls, with celestial pavilions nestled among the peaks. They were on a high platform overlooking a particularly beautiful spot.
Luo Sifan looked around and couldn't help but be surprised; this place actually had a bit of the atmosphere of a celestial realm.
Bao Yuheng previously claimed to be an immortal, which doesn't seem to be entirely an exaggeration.
"This place is a bit small, after all, it was just a mysterious cave heaven that I created when I first advanced to the Mahayana stage. I encountered some problems during cultivation and fell halfway through, so this cave heaven was no longer useful. So I simply polished this thing that I used to hide people."
Bao Yuheng took out a mysterious pearl, about the size of a finger, and handed it to Luo Sifan.
This bead is extremely hard, and even with Losfan's keen eyesight, the outline of a fairy mountain can be vaguely seen.
The Xuanjing Cave Heaven, detached from the Dao Body, is no different from an ordinary spiritual artifact. Luo Sifan took it in his hand, poured in spiritual energy, and in a short while, he used the method of refining artifacts to create a core, thus making this Xuanjing Cave Heaven his own.
The immortal mountain trembled slightly, and a faint aura of spiritual energy enveloped it, while Luo Sifan inexplicably exuded a more imposing aura.
Bao Yuheng looked surprised and nodded slightly in approval.
Although Luo Sifan had become the owner of this pearl, he posed no threat to Bao Yuheng. He admired his own judgment in choosing his brother-in-law even more.
With hundreds of buildings and courtyards, the Immortal Pavilion naturally housed many cultivators.
Bao Yuheng led the way with the jade bed, encountering dozens of cultivators along the way. Their cultivation levels, ages, and auras varied greatly. They were all Eastern cultivators who had been lured into the Immortal Tomb by Bao Yuheng over the past thousand years.
Everyone stood respectfully to the side, addressing Bao Yuheng as "Immortal Master," showing utmost reverence for him. As for Luo Sifan, this new face of a young man, they bowed down to him from the bottom of their hearts, daring not to harbor any dissent.
There are still 845 cultivators here. Bao Yuheng has formed a loose sect under the name of Fushan Sect. He usually neglects to manage it and only sends out these Fushan Sect cultivators when there is work to be done.
After giving a brief introduction to the Fushan Sect, Bao Yuheng smiled at Luo Sifan and said:
“I have already communicated with them. From now on, you will be the sect leader. Should I implant soul imprints on them so that you can control these cultivators?”
Luo Sifan's cultivation level was too low. The cultivators of Fushan Sect came from all over the country, were unruly, and most of them were at a higher level than Luo Sifan. Several of them had even reached the Nascent Soul stage and established their own factions within Fushan Sect.
Luo Sifan understood that the art of soul cultivation was Bao Yuheng's forte, so he shook his head and refused. He was unwilling to accept the soul records of more than 800 people into his soul; it would be too noisy.
With the Mysterious Pearl in hand, he could take his time to devise a way to control the Floating Mountain Sect, without being in a hurry.
Bao Yuheng did not force him, saving him from expending his spiritual energy, which would naturally give him a greater chance of ascending to immortality.
Inside the cave at the summit, there is a secluded main hall that has been deserted for a long time, half-hidden in the shadow of the cave rocks.
As Bao Yuheng entered this place, his face unconsciously turned gloomy.
With a creak, the long-sealed hall door was pushed open. Four ever-burning candles hung on the wall, and behind the offering table was a scene that Luo Sifan and Lin Qianxiu were extremely familiar with.
Thousands of desolate graves stand on the hill, their lifelike forms behind the offering table resembling both a giant painting and a real burial mound, within easy reach.
On the long offering table, a solitary memorial tablet, about a foot tall, was placed, with the words "Fushan" written on it.
Ten thousand years ago, Bao Yuheng was consumed by jealousy and stole the souls of thousands of people from Fushan. In a single day, the town of Fushan was wiped out. After regaining his senses, Bao Yuheng was filled with remorse and gathered the bodies of the people here, worshipping them for ten thousand years.
Luo Sifan and the others, of course, would not hear Bao Yuheng's unspeakable explanation.
After offering incense and paying respects to the people of Fushan as usual, Bao Yuheng stood up from the prayer mat with a somber expression.
The left wing hall was tightly closed; he rarely ventured there in the past ten thousand years. It was the place where Jiao Qiaoniang nurtured her soul.
The place for nurturing souls in the right wing hall is where the souls of thousands of people from Fushan have been sleeping for ten thousand years. Their physical bodies have long since decayed and are buried on the burial mound behind the offering table.
When Bao Yuheng made his move that day, the only person he spared was Jiao Qiaoniang. In the past ten thousand years, the only person whose soul had left their body and whose physical body had been preserved intact was Jiao Qiaoniang.
Bao Yuheng could perform the technique of merging souls into one body sooner or later. However, the two had become enemies, and their grudges were difficult to resolve, dragging on for ten thousand years.
Now that Jiao Qiaoniang has found someone to rely on, and Bao Yuheng has broken through the obstacles to her ascension to immortality, Bao Yuheng finally has the confidence to return Jiao Qiaoniang's soul to her body, thus severing all ties and separating the mortal and immortal realms.
Breaking open the golden lock on the left wing hall, Bao Yuheng, holding onto the jade bed, strolled in.
Luo Sifan and Mo Qianxiu exchanged glances, not understanding what was going on, but gritted their teeth and followed.
The vast hall was empty except for a pavilion at the head of the hall, which was built of dark stone and resembled a relief sculpture.
On the protruding area, ordinary jewelry used by women was displayed. Over the millennia, only the jade items still retained their luster; the silks, gold, and silver items had decayed and changed color, making it difficult to see their original appearance.
Bao Yuheng, reminded of the person he had met, sighed, stepped forward, and knocked on the door inside the relief. He pressed lightly with his fingertips, and after breaking it open, it slowly opened to reveal a black earthenware jar hidden inside.
The earthenware pot was jet black and shiny, with its body and lid seamlessly integrated. The four handles were decorated with animal patterns, gleaming menacingly.
"The Four Divine Soul Bottle?!"
Lin Qianxiu exclaimed in surprise when she saw the black jar that Bao Yuheng was carefully carrying out.
She had seen many of these ancient artifacts, the Four Divine Soul Bottles, in the royal treasury of Ningyan City, and knew that they were royal-grade burial objects popular in the Eastern Lands tens of thousands of years ago.
The four divine beast patterns, filled with some kind of gemstone, were awe-inspiring, and this was the first time she had ever seen them in person.
After placing the four spirit bottles securely on the offering table, Bao Yuheng glanced at Lin Qianxiu:
"Young lady, you are of high status. You recognized this ancient artifact from the previous dynasty at a glance. Although it is an ordinary item, its power to nurture the soul surpasses that of ordinary spiritual artifacts."
Next, Bao Yuheng placed Jiao Qiaoniang on the jade bed next to the Four Divine Soul Bottles, pondered for a long time, and then looked away from Jiao Qiaoniang's face.
He pointed his finger swiftly, and white mist appeared in the void, gradually thickening until it enveloped the Four Soul Bottles and Jiao Qiaoniang. In an instant, a white mist sphere obscured the bodies of the Four Soul Bottles and Jiao Qiaoniang.
Lin Qianxiu and Luo Sifan's eyesight and divine sense were cut off by a white circular hole, leaving them unable to perceive or know anything.
The creation of the void, isolating heaven and earth, surprised Lin Qianxiu and the other person once again with this Mahayana technique.
Bao Yuheng stood with his eyes closed, his fingertips no longer trembling, and quietly pointed at the white ball.
No sound came from within the white sphere, but Luo Sifan and the other person understood that Jiao Qiaoniang's soul, which had been separated from her body for ten thousand years, was now being brought out of the Four Divine Soul Bottle and returned to her physical body.