My Longevity Simulation - Chapter 1280: Secrets of the Blue Feather in Heavenly Capital
Guan Xingxiu spoke eloquently within the flying vessel. At first he was somewhat stiff, but the more he spoke, the more confident he became, as if what he had comprehended were the natural laws of the star sea itself.
“The laws of the star sea can almost be regarded as a higher level substitute for the laws of the Xuanhuang Realm. Therefore, the key to our breakthrough is to find, within this silent and desolate star sea, the corresponding Star Sea Dao that matches our own path of cultivation. Since all of you have achieved Dao Integration, your aptitude cannot be weak. As long as you cast aside your inner fear of the star sea and instead approach it with a calm mind, just as you did in the Xuanhuang Realm, and quietly comprehend it, achieving this should not be too difficult.”
Guan Xingxiu went into detail about how he had sensed his own Star Sea Dao. Just as he was speaking with growing enthusiasm, an extremely anxious voice suddenly interrupted him.
It was Zimu among the survivors.
“Old Guan, suppose, I mean suppose, that within the star sea, the Dao corresponding to what I cultivate no longer exists. What should I do?”
Zimu stared tightly at Guan Xingxiu.
“Does that mean the path ahead is cut off and I can no longer advance?”
Guan Xingxiu fell silent.
The other Dao Integration cultivators present also showed different expressions upon hearing this.
Some turned pale, while others felt secretly relieved.
Because they too had discovered that, perhaps due to the various calamities that once destroyed the Immortal Realm, the laws of the star sea were shattered and incomplete.
It was not that their aptitude was insufficient and they could not sense their corresponding Star Sea Dao.
Rather, that Dao had already vanished from the star sea.
“Perhaps you can try sensing other laws. After all, all paths ultimately lead to the same destination.” Seeing despair beginning to spread, Guan Xingxiu thought for a moment and quickly offered a suggestion.
However, he was immediately refuted without mercy.
“That might work for those below Dao Integration or for cultivators from other worlds. But we Xuanhuang Dao Integration cultivators have already devoured the Spirit of Heaven and Earth and merged our bodies with the laws. Hmph, how could it be so easy to switch to another path?”
“In that case, among us, the one most likely to achieve the highest accomplishment is probably Brother Lan Yu,” a Dao Integration cultivator named Qingshuang suddenly remarked.
The flying vessel instantly fell into silence as everyone’s gaze turned toward Lan Yu.
Lan Yu himself did not deny it.
There was no need.
Because among all the Dao Integration cultivators present, and even within the entire Xuanhuang Realm, he was the most special.
He was the only one who had achieved Dao Integration through the ancient method.
He was not bound to the principles of the Xuanhuang world, which meant that within this silent star sea, any law could be used by him for comprehension and breakthrough.
“I say, Brother Lan Yu, the reason you have not broken through yet is not because you have too many choices and cannot decide, right?”
“Congratulations in advance, Fellow Daoist Lan!”
“Sigh, the new method. Sigh, Heavenly Sovereign.”
For a time, everyone reacted differently.
Lan Yu’s expression remained serious as he casually responded, but inwardly he was puzzled.
Because he had not sensed any Star Sea Dao within the void.
“Could it be that my aptitude is truly this poor, or that I am too old and have already lost all spiritual sensitivity?”
Lan Yu was momentarily dazed.
“Oh, I seem to remember now.”
“I, Wu Fuqiu, never really had much aptitude.”
Lan Yu froze slightly as his thoughts seemed to return to his youth.
At that time, the Immortal Dao was flourishing and the Ten Great Immortal Sects stood tall. He was merely one of countless ordinary cultivators under their rule. His talent was mediocre, and he had no remarkable encounters. The Golden Core realm should have been his limit.
But one day, a moment of curiosity completely changed his fate.
“Fellow Daoist, what is happening ahead with such a grand display?” Wu Fuqiu asked curiously as he looked at the sealed air route ahead and the massive flying boats, each as large as a city, passing overhead one after another.
“Shh, keep your voice down. If you disturb the Ten Great Immortal Sects’ Ceremony of Honoring the Master, you might not even know how you die.”
The fear and reverence in others’ eyes only made Wu Fuqiu more curious.
After half a day, the vast procession of the Ten Great Immortal Sects finally passed, and the air route reopened.
Yet Wu Fuqiu continued to gaze in the direction they had gone, unwilling to leave.
After making inquiries, he learned that this Ceremony of Honoring the Master was a grand event held once every hundred years by the Ten Great Immortal Sects to express gratitude to the Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital for imparting the Dao. Important figures from all ten sects would attend.
Wu Fuqiu did not know who the Grand Mage of Heavenly Capital was.
But even as a wandering cultivator from the wilderness, he had long heard of the immense prestige of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
“If the Ten Great Immortal Sects are already so powerful, just how formidable must the one who imparted the Dao to them be?”
“If I could somehow gain his favor…”
Wu Fuqiu’s mind trembled, and for the first time, an unprecedented ambition arose in his heart.
After repeated deliberation, he ultimately could not rid himself of this obsession.
He set out toward the legendary Heavenly Capital.
After enduring countless hardships to reach its outskirts, his hopes were instantly shattered.
Heavenly Capital itself could not be seen. Only a Source Dao Palace stood among the mountains, faintly visible within the clouds.
At the foot of the mountain were countless young cultivators like him, who had come across great distances seeking opportunities.
Wu Fuqiu was confused.
He knew that Heavenly Capital was the residence of the Grand Mage. But what was this Source Dao Palace?
“You do not even know the Source Dao Palace? Where did this bumpkin come from? The source of all methods, the origin of all paths. Even direct disciples of the Ten Great Immortal Sects must queue obediently here.”
“Think carefully. Who is the Grand Mage? How could someone like him be easily seen by mortals like you? If you want to behold his presence, you must first enter the Source Dao Palace and pray devoutly. If you catch his attention, he will naturally guide you to Heavenly Capital.”
“What, you want to go in as well? Easy. Pay one thousand high grade spirit stones and you can go queue over there.”
Wu Fuqiu was pushed out by the crowd, his mind in disarray.
One thousand high grade spirit stones was enough to purchase a decent Nascent Soul technique. If he had that much wealth, why would he have traveled thousands of miles just to seek an opportunity?
Although he was poor, Wu Fuqiu did not intend to leave.
Because he discovered that there were many others like him who could not afford the fee and thus could not ascend the mountain.
After spending half a month befriending them, he learned an important piece of information.
The so called Source Dao Palace had actually been built later by the Ten Great Immortal Sects and had no real connection to Tiandu.
The true land of the Source Dao referred to this vast region beneath Heavenly Capital. The Ten Great Immortal Sects had simply enclosed a large portion of it and constructed the palace.
However, they had not gone too far and had left a section at the mountain’s base.
“The Grand Mage has not appeared for who knows how many years. They say it is easier to catch his attention on the mountain, but that is just for comfort.”
“Exactly. The Grand Mage stands high above in the heavens. In his eyes, what difference is there between the mountain top and the mountain base?”
Listening to these words, Wu Fuqiu settled down at the foot of the Source Dao Palace.
This stay lasted twenty years.
Some people arrived, others left. Some died with regret. Some, filled with resentment, cursed the Grand Mage and were beaten to death.
Wu Fuqiu also aged from a young man into a middle aged man.
He did not know what had allowed him to persist here all this time.
Perhaps for someone as mediocre as him, it made no difference where he went.
During these years, while he waited, he did not neglect his cultivation. However, without a source of spirit stones, he could only consume his reserves. Although the land of the Source Dao was rich in spiritual qi, it could not sustain so many cultivators drawing from it at once.
Not only did he fail to make progress, he even began to regress.
At this point, Wu Fuqiu had accepted his fate and no longer held unrealistic hopes.
After all, he had been an orphan since childhood, drifting without support. Having stayed at the foot of the Source Dao Palace for over twenty years, he had grown accustomed to the surroundings and vaguely regarded this place as his home.
Whenever young people arrived full of hope, praying for the Grand Mage’s blessing, he would only smile without saying a word.
It was as if he saw his former self.
However, he did not expose the illusions of these young people.
Because anyone who did so would be completely eliminated by the people of the Ten Great Immortal Sects.
Yet the strange and wondrous nature of the world lay precisely in this.
Just when Wu Fuqiu had already cast aside the thought of the Great Mage’s blessing…
On this day, a boundless seven colored radiance suddenly bloomed across the sky.
Beneath the Source Dao Palace, tens of thousands of cultivators were stunned on the spot.
No one knew who shouted first, the Great Mage has manifested.
Then, in overwhelming excitement and fear, a dense crowd of cultivators knelt across the ground.
Only Wu Fuqiu stood there blankly, his mind completely empty.
“How dare you show disrespect to the Great Mage!”
A streak of sword light, accompanied by an angry shout, flew in from afar.
Just as Wu Fuqiu was about to be beheaded, a blue feather slowly drifted down from the sky.
The white sword light struck first, incomparably fast.
The blue feather descended later, swaying gently and moving extremely slowly.
Yet a strange scene occurred. Before everyone’s eyes, the blue feather actually arrived first and landed on Wu Fuqiu.
The sword light arrived a moment later, but did not sever Wu Fuqiu’s head. Instead, it passed through his body and instantly killed the three kneeling cultivators behind him.
As for Wu Fuqiu himself…
Bathed in the blue feather’s glow, he slowly rose into the air, beyond his control.
Amid the cries of the crowd, he ascended continuously.
Passing over the mountain peak and the Source Dao Palace, piercing through the clouds, he arrived in an instant before a purple gold Dao arena.
Wu Fuqiu felt as if he were in a dream. Only after standing there for a long time did he come back to his senses.
His body trembled with excitement, so much so that he even forgot proper etiquette and pushed the door open directly.
Unlike the sacred Heavenly Capital he had imagined, this place was completely empty.
Silent and lifeless.
Only faint chanting could be heard from within.
Following the direction of the sound, Wu Fuqiu cautiously made his way to the deepest part of the Dao arena.
A simple and ancient purple gold wooden building emitted a faint fragrance.
Wu Fuqiu knelt and paid his respects. After waiting a long time without any response, he gathered his courage and pushed the door open.
The scene inside came into view.
A vague figure sat cross legged, murmuring continuously.
Behind him stood a child in a blue and white Dao robe, eyes closed.
The child had red lips and white teeth, with delicate features, making it impossible to tell whether they were male or female.
However, Wu Fuqiu noticed that the child seemed to have fought someone before. The Dao robe was slightly damaged, with faint traces of blood on it.
Wu Fuqiu did not dare act rashly and once again kowtowed.
But neither the figure nor the child gave any response.
“That figure should be the Great Mage of Heavenly Capital.”
After a long while, Wu Fuqiu gathered his courage, stood up, and imitated the figure, sitting cross legged.
He carefully listened to the continuous chanting.
Gradually, it seemed as if he understood something.
The blue feather that had previously vanished into his body suddenly appeared within his dantian.
“Feather Transformation Technique.”
“Across endless epochs of heaven and earth, countless worlds are born and perish, like feathers drifting in the void.
“Transform the body into a feather, resonate with the world, drift through cycles of life and death, cross calamities, and achieve eternal transcendence.”
Wu Fuqiu listened in a trance, at times frowning, at times filled with joy.
This Myriad Calamities Feather Transformation Technique was far too profound for him, a mere Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Yet even glimpsing a fragment of it brought enlightenment, and his cultivation rose continuously.
