Chapter 418 - 229: Daoyun

Chapter 418: Chapter 229: Daoyun

Seeing the old Daoist was unwilling to reveal more, Xuzhuang didn’t press the issue. He nodded slowly and said, "I wish to cultivate in Beiji Pavilion. I have already reported this to the sect, so I originally had no intention of disturbing your cultivation, Senior."

"Oh?" The scruffy old Daoist looked Xuzhuang up and down again, surprised. "This old Daoist recalls that you haven’t been cultivating for many years, young friend. Although your progress is astounding, it doesn’t seem like it’s time for you to enter Beiji Pavilion for death-seclusion, is it?"

Xuzhuang smiled slightly. "You may not know this, Senior, but since I began my cultivation, I have often been entangled in various affairs. Now that I finally have some leisure time, I’ve had the thought to screen out all disturbances and cultivate peacefully to sort through my gains."

Of course, Xuzhuang knew his accumulation of Daoist arts was substantial. His cultivation had already reached the threshold of the Nascent Soul Third Layer; it was merely veiled by a thin haze, just within reach.

Therefore, he couldn’t help but entertain the idea of seeking a sliver of opportunity amidst the tranquility after reaching the Third Layer.

"So that’s how it is," the old Daoist replied. "Beiji Pavilion is indeed a fine place for that. You already have experience here, young friend, so this old Daoist won’t accompany you any further. Please, go ahead."

As they spoke, the two arrived before a white jade portal. The old Daoist pointed, opening the portal. Xuzhuang raised his hands in a salute, bade the old Daoist farewell, and entered alone.

The last time Xuzhuang had been to Beiji Pavilion was a century ago. In the past hundred years, however, Beiji Pavilion seemed not to have changed in the slightest. After all, not many people were likely to come and go from this place...

With a cultivator’s memory, he still knew his way around with practiced ease. Xuzhuang passed through the portal alone and followed the cavern path. After a short while, the gloom gave way to light, and the sight of the Arctic Abyssal Gorge, with its ceaselessly falling snow and piercing cold wind, once again met his eyes.

The sun had only just risen, and while the cold air in the Abyssal Gorge was not at its most intense, it was still biting. For the current Xuzhuang, however, it meant nothing; instead, he felt a sense of nostalgia, as if revisiting an old haunt.

Without pausing for long, Xuzhuang summoned his escape light and shot off, piercing through the cold wind and heading straight for the depths of the Abyssal Gorge.

The deeper one went into this Abyssal Gorge, the richer the North Pole Spirit Truth became. This North Pole Spirit Truth was the finest Spiritual Truth in the world, greatly beneficial even to the cultivation of Nascent Soul Cultivators.

However, the reason Beiji Pavilion could become the place of death-seclusion for many Great Cultivators in the sect—a place they chose in a do-or-die effort to achieve a breakthrough—was naturally not just because of the North Pole Spirit Truth.

Legend had it that Beiji Pavilion was specially created by Jade Longevity True Monarch for the sect. It held endless wonders for the cultivation of High-Achieving Cultivators who had reached the Third Layer and mastered their profound arts. Although Xuzhuang didn’t know the full details, that didn’t stop him from pressing as deep as he could.

The depths of the Abyssal Gorge that Xuzhuang had struggled to reach through the biting winds back in his Golden Core days, he now traversed in a mere moment. He sped deeper and deeper, until he felt the chill of the air first recede and then intensify again, changing with the Celestial Time, yet he still hadn’t reached the end.

’To think, at my current speed, it wouldn’t even take a full day to cross the entire Divine Continent. The depth of this Beiji Pavilion is truly beyond my expectations.’

At this point, he hadn’t seen a single cave in the ice walls for quite some time. Xuzhuang suddenly felt that he might have reached a depth rarely attained by his predecessors. He had no particular curiosity to explore to the very end and, after a moment of thought, decided to stop here.

With Xuzhuang’s ability, carving a cave into the ice wall himself would not be difficult. However, the reason he’d decided to stop was that he had just spotted a cave in the ice wall for the first time in a long while. Figuring he might as well save himself the effort, he retracted his escape light and headed inside.

The moment he entered, Xuzhuang’s heart stirred. This cave clearly showed signs of being carved out, with a layout resembling an Immortal Mansion.

Back in his Golden Core days, Xuzhuang had also found an essay of insights on the *Tai Su Formless and Formed Sword Qi* left behind by a predecessor in Beiji Pavilion. It had even helped him comprehend the transformation between the formless and the formed. Now, on another trip to Beiji Pavilion, he had once again stumbled upon a cave where a predecessor had cultivated.

’Am I really this ’fated’?’

Xuzhuang strolled through the ’doorway’, passing through halls and rooms. He hadn’t gone more than dozens of yards when he suddenly stopped in his tracks.

Abruptly, a killing intent, as if condensed into a sword, shot out from the depths of the corridor, aimed straight for the spot between Xuzhuang’s eyebrows.

Xuzhuang’s expression remained unchanged. From the depths of the corridor, a Kun Dao slowly emerged. Her hair was tied in a high ponytail, and she held a Duster in her arms. At first glance, she looked like a young girl, her face as lovely as a peach blossom, her eyes like rippling autumn waters.

But from her aura and the ancient sorrow in her eyes, Xuzhuang could tell that she must have used a Daoist art or an elixir to preserve her appearance. In reality, her age was likely no small number, and even her vital energy showed signs of decay.

Xuzhuang cupped his hands. "I meant no offense. I only entered so rashly because there were no protective restrictions outside the cave."

Although the Kun Dao was not wearing the standard-issue Daoist Robe of the Tai Su Orthodox Sect, it was impossible for an outsider to be in Beiji Pavilion.

Xuzhuang was not displeased by the Kun Dao’s sudden killing intent, intending only to explain his purpose and clear up the misunderstanding. Unexpectedly, upon hearing his words, she did not retract her killing intent. Instead, her aura seemed to swell.

Xuzhuang’s eyes narrowed. The Kun Dao’s expression changed slightly as she felt an overwhelmingly powerful aura faintly emanate from him—an aura that seemed capable of scattering the pristine snow and splitting glaciers. He asked coolly, "What is the meaning of this, Your Excellency?"

The Kun Dao gave Xuzhuang a deep look, then suddenly withdrew her killing intent and asked coldly, "Who are you?"

Xuzhuang’s brow furrowed slightly. He replied, "I am a twelfth-generation True Disciple: Dao Miaozhi. Should Your Excellency not give me an explanation?"

He had just felt this person’s intense killing intent. With the way her Daoist arts were circulating, she absolutely intended to strike to injure. If she weren’t a fellow sect member, Xuzhuang would not have been so courteous; he would have already captured and interrogated her.

"Dao Miao..." The Kun Dao was silent for a moment before saying, "So you are a True Disciple of the same generation. I am Daoyun. You should have seen my name on the Jade Register."

Perhaps because she hadn’t spoken to anyone in a long time, she paused to think for another moment before slowly adding, "Just now, I was afflicted by a demonic block. Junior Brother, please don’t take offense."

"Daoyun?" Xuzhuang’s brow twitched. He didn’t need to think to place the name. It appeared even before Daochen Zhenren’s on the register. That would make it over fifteen hundred years ago.

Xuzhuang had never expected to meet a fellow True Disciple of his generation from over a thousand years ago.

"So it is Senior Sister before me." Xuzhuang’s tone softened. "However, I observe that your spiritual altar is clear. Your claim of being afflicted by a demonic block doesn’t seem to hold water."

Daoyun’s brow furrowed slightly. This time, she was silent for a long while before suddenly saying, "You’re right. A moment ago, I wanted to kill you."

Before Xuzhuang could ask again, she said coldly, "I do not like seeing outsiders. I do not wish to hear about the outside world. I have no desire to know of its changes."

"For the sake of the Primordial Spirit Dao, I have sat in bitter cultivation here for eight hundred years!"

"For the Primordial Spirit Dao, I burned my bridges, severed all worldly ties, and sat in meditation for centuries without looking back!"

"But then, two hundred years ago, someone came here and shattered my state of mind! It caused me to walk out of my cave several times, and I even removed the restrictions. I was on the verge of giving up and leaving this place."

Xuzhuang gave her a deep look and asked, "If you were so determined and unyielding, why would you be so terrified of seeing an outsider?"

Daoyun’s brow twitched. Xuzhuang had already turned to leave. "It seems you truly are afflicted by a demonic block," he said faintly, and walked out of the cave.

The expression on Daoyun’s beautiful face shifted several times. She suddenly chased after him, shouting, "Stop right there!"

Xuzhuang didn’t stop walking. Only when he reached the cave entrance did he say, "If you have something to ask, Senior Sister, then ask it."

Daoyun asked with difficulty, "Among the twelfth-generation True Disciples, has anyone achieved the Primordial Spirit realm?"

Xuzhuang only said, "I am the last True Disciple of the twelfth generation." With a leap, he vaulted back into the piercing cold wind.

"Primordial Spirit, Primordial Spirit..."

As Xuzhuang flew away as a streak of light, the displeasure in his eyes was gone, replaced only by contemplation.

’Perceive the truth and see the self, illuminate one’s original nature—only then can one leap past the Life and Death Profound Gate and attain eternal life.’

The one true secret to achieving the Primordial Spirit realm was laid out plain as day, yet countless people sought it until death and still failed to attain the Great Dao.

As a True Disciple from over a thousand years ago, Daoyun had been able to form a Top-grade Golden Core, reach the Third Layer, master her profound arts, and had the determination and willpower to sit in meditation in Beiji Pavilion for eight hundred years. How could she possibly be lacking in aptitude, fate, or temperament?

Xuzhuang refused to believe that a person like her had been so mentally unstable from the beginning.

Was the Primordial Spirit Dao simply too illusory and ethereal, or was being entangled by delusion just that terrifying?