Inquiry about immortality

Chapter 2598 Purple Lake
After reminding Qin Sang, Yuan Zhenjun softened his tone, "Qin Tianjun need not worry too much. Lei Zu's reputation is still intact. As long as you don't enter Qianzhou before you see the true nature of the Dao Court, those forces will not deliberately target you."

So, Qin Sang's biggest concern is Qianzhou, and he has just offended a powerful figure in Qianzhou!
During the Gengchu period, Qin Sang had asked Yuan Zhenjun about the grudges between the Daoist court and Qianzhou.

Senior Zhou's attitude towards the Dao Court was very strange; there must be some unknown secret hidden within. When the Dao Court was destroyed, it was rumored that the enemies were not only from other races, but also from other forces within the human race. Qin Sang suspected that Qianzhou played a special role at that time.

According to Yuan Zhenjun, most of these ancient secrets have been lost to the long river of time, and there are countless mysteries among them. Even the Daoist court itself may not be able to explain them clearly, and they are also searching for certain truths.

What he could tell Qin Sang was that the destruction of the Dao Court was the result of a concentrated outbreak of internal and external troubles. The so-called external troubles referred not only to the alien races, but also to the human race outside the Dao Court! The answer was obvious. The Dao Court was so powerful, yet it was destroyed at the height of its power. Only by being rejected by the Great Zhou could it have rallied so many forces to unite and cause that catastrophe.

Many members of the current Zhou royal family have their fiefdoms in Qianzhou.

Yuan Zhenjun speculated that Qin Sang might have offended a prince of the Great Zhou Dynasty. However, since the Great Zhou royal family used "Ji" as their surname, the "Zhou" in question referred to the "Zhou" of the Great Zhou Dynasty.

Yangpingzhi, the head of the twenty-four main administrative regions of the Daoist court and known as the "main mountain," is considered the "ancestral court" of the Daoist court. It is located in Qianzhou!

No wonder Qin Sang always felt that the Qianzhou Spirit Network was derived from the Daoist Court.

Even without knowing that period of history, one can still glean some insights from it.

The Dao Court has returned to the Great Thousand World and is constantly thinking about restoring its ancestral court. Qianzhou is certainly well aware of the Dao Court's thoughts. Unless it voluntarily cedes its territory, there will inevitably be a war between Qianzhou and the Dao Court.

There is an irreconcilable contradiction between the two. Even if Qin Sang did not offend that Senior Zhou, she still needs to be wary of Qianzhou.

As for other forces, times have changed, and they are unlikely to provoke the Dao Court at the imminent time of the demonic calamity, but Qin Sang would still better act cautiously.

……

Since they were still in the Xunfeng Sea, they were in no hurry to leave and planned to first find out if there were any clues left by Master Lu in this small world.

After discussing for a while, the two summoned Zhen Yin and the others into Yuxian Valley and ordered them to go out and also call up the sect leaders of other sects whose cultivation was below the Nascent Soul stage, and to inquire about the legends and secrets of this world.

Although the path to ascension in this small world has been cut off, the environment is stable and there have been almost no natural disasters. Unless a great war breaks out in the cultivation world, the structure can remain unchanged for a long time, and the sects can pass on their traditions in an orderly manner.

The six major sects, led by Huazhen Temple, are the six ancient sects of this world.

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun found no useful clues from those legends.

The leaders of all the sects and factions had arrived. Over the years, the cultivators of these sects had left their mark on almost the entire world. Based on the descriptions of these sect leaders, Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun finally identified the four forbidden lands.

The so-called Four Forbidden Zones refer to four extremely dangerous places that deter cultivators from venturing into this world. Three of them are on land, and one is underwater.

Seeing their interest in the four forbidden zones, Zhen Yin stepped forward and reported, "The two immortals need not waste time on the three forbidden zones on land. I have already entered these three forbidden zones. They were once battlefields where ancient cultivators fought. After countless years of changes in the celestial phenomena and terrain, they gradually formed forbidden zones. Traces of ancient cultivators' battles can still be found inside."

In his quest for ascension, Zhen Yin traversed the entire realm, and he may be the first Void Refinement cultivator in this world. What ordinary people consider to be impassable places could not stop his progress.

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun exchanged a glance. It seemed that no matter whether it was the Great Thousand World or the Small Thousand World, they could not escape this rule.

"What about the Eye of the East Sea?" Qin Sang asked.

"I didn't find any trace of cultivators in the Eye of the East Sea. I guess this forbidden area might have been formed naturally, but I haven't found anything unusual about it either," Zhen Yin said, shaking his head.

Although Zhen Yin claimed that he had not found anything, Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun still decided to go and investigate themselves, hoping that there might be something that could be hidden from Zhen Yin's eyes.

So they split up. Qin Sang led the sect leaders of various schools to the land, while Yuan Zhenjun and Zhen Yin went to the Eye of the East Sea to explore the entire sea area.

The battle against the demon ended hastily. The leaders of the six major sects ordered the cultivator army to return home. They then ascended to the clouds, and the auspicious cloud, controlled by Qin Sang, flew towards the land.

A moment later, the cultivators in the clouds saw a shadow appear at the edge of their vision. When they realized that this was the land where they lived, exclamations of surprise rose and fell.

With land in sight, three figures appeared out of thin air beside Qin Sang; they were none other than the Three Demons of Chi Lei.

"Follow them back to the mountain gate, peruse the ancient texts, and note down anything that seems illogical..."

After giving some instructions, Qin Sang went alone to the first perilous place.

This desolate place is called Blood River Cave, located on the eastern side of the continent. It is covered with yellow sand and is the most desolate place in the Lesser Thousand Worlds.

Nestled among the sand dunes, a massive opening faces the blazing sun. A faint smell of blood can be detected outside the cave, yet the sunlight cannot dispel the darkness deep within.

Qin Sang hovered above the cave entrance, able to see almost through the entire Blood River Cave at a glance.

Deep within the Blood River Cave.

A deserted island is surrounded by a river of blood, the crimson waters constantly giving birth to all sorts of strange monsters. Within the island lies a lair, home to the most powerful demon in the Blood River Cave.

It is the king of this demonic cave. It looks like a human, but its body is covered with blood-red bone armor, and three sharp bone spikes extend from its back, making it extremely ferocious.

Other monsters dared not approach the isolated island; it was sleeping soundly in its lair, completely unaware of Qin Sang's gaze.

Just as Zhen Yin said, this dangerous place is nothing special.

Qin Sang raised her head, stared at the blazing sun for a moment, her gaze following the movement of the clouds in the sky, as if observing the workings of the Great Dao.

The world as seen by him and Yuan Zhenjun was completely different from the world as seen by those low-level cultivators. However, when they tried to explore this world from the perspective of the Great Dao, they found nothing unusual.

Just as lower-level cultivators cannot comprehend their supernatural powers, they also find it difficult to imagine how Mahayana cultivators interfere with the Heavenly Dao and reduce the power of the Heavenly Tribulation.

In their view, this minor world was no different from an ordinary minor world, but there must be a reason why the power of the Heavenly Tribulation of the Forty-Nine Heavens was so weak.

Where exactly does the root of the problem lie?

With questions in mind, Qin Sang headed to the next perilous place.

He quickly explored all three dangerous locations, but still found no answer.

"Could it be that we're overthinking it? Perhaps the thing affecting the Heavenly Tribulation is the already dissipated talismanic barrier?"

Qin Sangsheng had this conjecture.

The talisman's seal has been broken, and neither he nor Yuan Zhenjun have the ability to restore it. To verify it, they can only wait for the cultivators of this realm to undergo tribulation.

At this time, Qin Sang contacted Yuan Zhenjun but received no response. After a while, she received a message from Yuan Zhenjun, informing her that Yuan Zhenjun had discovered a hidden channel in the Eye of the East Sea, which connected to the North Pole of this world, and that they were about to continue their investigation.

Next, Di Xinggong and the others came to report, and they did manage to uncover some things. No matter how absurd and unbelievable they were, Qin Sang never hesitated to go there personally, but the results were always disappointing.

Finally, Yuan Zhenjun returned, having traversed the entire sea, but again found nothing.

After the two met, Qin Sang had an additional, anxious Taoist priest by her side, who was only at the Nascent Soul stage.

"This person is a disciple of Huazhen Temple. In a little over a month, it will be the day of his tribulation..."

Upon seeing this person, Yuan Zhenjun immediately guessed Qin Sang's intentions, which coincided with his own. All that was left was to wait another month to see the truth for themselves.

For the next month, Qin Sang remained at Huazhen Temple, causing everyone there to live in constant fear and trepidation. Meanwhile, Yuan Zhenjun was busy incorporating the sects of this realm.

Although Dao Ting Zhenjun cannot stay in this small world for long, it is a good place to settle down. If it is finally determined that this world is not far from the Great Zhou, then the distance between Geng Chuzhi and the human realm will be suddenly shortened.

In the blink of an eye, a month has passed.

Late at night, behind Huazhen Temple.

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun stood on the mountaintop, looking at the Huazhen Temple cultivator.

As the heavenly tribulation approached, the sky began to show slight changes.

Perhaps it was because a celestial being was watching, but this person was unable to calm down.

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun had incredibly sharp eyes. Yuan Zhenjun frowned as he looked at the situation, saying, "With such a temperament, if he hadn't been born into this small world by sheer luck, he would have been reduced to ashes by the tribulation lightning long ago!"

“It’s not just his fault. In this world, it’s easy to transcend tribulations, and there’s no path to advancement, so cultivators are generally lazy in their practice,” Qin Sang said.

Yuan Zhenjun nodded, "Yes! A weak Heavenly Tribulation is not necessarily a good thing. If they want to enter my Dao Court, we must reverse this trend!"

As they spoke, tribulation clouds gathered, and tribulation lightning began to brew, accompanied by thunderous roars. Moments later, a bolt of lightning streaked across the void, illuminating the darkness, and struck the great formation with devastating force.

"What a weak heavenly tribulation!"

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun both had the same thought.

The next moment, the two suddenly changed their expressions, looked at each other, and disappeared into thin air.

The lightning continued to strike Huazhen Temple, while Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun had already appeared at sea.

Because they needed to conceal their aura, they dared not use their escape techniques at full power, but their escape speed was still unimaginable to cultivators of this realm.

They sped across the sky above the sea, eventually reaching the southernmost point of this world.

Beneath him was still the vast ocean, its depths unfathomable. The surface reflected the stars and moon in the sky, shimmering in the light. Yuan Zhenjun had been here before, but had found nothing.

However, they just sensed that the power influencing the heavenly tribulation seemed to originate from this sea area!

To the naked eye, fish occasionally swim out of the water, creating a scene of peace and tranquility.

They entered the sea, activated their spiritual eyes, and their vision penetrated the seawater as they continued to descend until they could see the seabed.

Although they sensed that the source was here, they could not see anything unusual.

"Could there be an illusion array here?" Qin Sang wondered, turning to look at Yuan Zhenjun. Unexpectedly, Yuan Zhenjun shook his head slightly, his expression somewhat strange, as if he had discovered some clue. He suddenly changed direction and continued flying south.

Qin Sang hurriedly followed.

Yuan Zhenjun's route was not fixed; he would stop at times to deduce things using some method. Strange things happened: even though there was no sign of an illusion array, they encountered inexplicable resistance.

The resistance grew stronger and stronger, until eventually, even with their cultivation levels, it became extremely difficult for them to advance. Seeing this, Yuan Zhenjun threw out a talisman, which transformed into a blue jade bowl that hovered above their heads.

The jade bowl was filled with azure spiritual liquid, which rippled slightly, and sweet dew continuously sprinkled down, turning into spiritual mist around them to share the burden.

'Splash!'

Suddenly, the sound of towering waves came from ahead, but they were still at the bottom of the sea.

Immediately, a crimson light pierced through the spiritual mist and shone upon them.

Their robes were stained purple as they stared in surprise at the lake that appeared before them.

The lake is surrounded by emptiness, as if it were in an independent space, with the seawater isolated from it.

The lake water was a deep purple, as if it were a cluster of restless purple mist, with huge waves rising and falling.

'boom!'

The two witnessed a huge wave crashing in front of them, and their hearts pounded with fear; the lake seemed extremely dangerous.

"Where is this place?" Qin Sang asked.

Yuan Zhenjun shook his head, clearly unsure as well.

"The source is beneath the lake, and it seems like something is hidden inside," Qin Sang said.

Yuan Zhenjun gazed at the lake and agreed with Qin Sang's judgment. That thing should have been left behind by Master Lu. The Purple Lake looked more like a seal.

The question is how to cross the lake and get to the center of it?
The lake's color was too strange. The huge wave they had just witnessed made them even more cautious, and both of them hesitated to move too close to the Purple Lake.

After a moment of contemplation, Yuan Zhenjun took down the jade bowl from his head, lightly touched the nectar in the bowl with his fingertips, muttered some incantations, and then sprinkled down a few soybean-sized objects.

The bowl flipped over, and the things that left the jade bowl grew hugely, landing in front of Yuan Zhenjun, and suddenly transformed into giants three or four zhang tall.

Their bodies are transparent, as if composed of water, covered in armor, wielding swords, and are exceptionally majestic. Their bodies and weapons are inscribed with complex runes.

"Daoist soldier!" Qin Sang's eyes flashed.

Besides talismans, the Taoist court is also renowned for its Taoist soldiers, which include not only demon soldiers but also talisman soldiers, puppets, and other magical techniques.

Thanks to the Daoist soldier's inheritance, Yuan Zhenjun reported Qin Sang's intention to recast the Thunder Beast Battle Guard to the court. Soon after, a Thunder Department Zhenjun sent a secret technique, but unfortunately it did not directly help Qin Sang to cast a puppet at the Integration Stage as he wished. Qin Sang still had to do it himself.

'boom!boom! '

Dao Bing bowed deeply to Yuan Zhenjun, then turned to face Zihu, with one of the figures taking a step forward.

This Dao soldier possessed strength comparable to a Void Refinement cultivator. It approached the Purple Lake step by step, and with a whoosh, a wave crashed over it.

The Taoist soldier raised his arms, his two swords crossed, and the sword light burst forth, forming a protective aura.

Unexpectedly, the moment the lake water and the protective aura came into contact, it was like snow melting under the blazing sun. The sword energy could not withstand the lake water in the slightest, and the Taoist soldiers were suddenly frozen in place.

'Splash!'

Qin Sang and Yuan Zhenjun looked on with solemn expressions as they watched the lake water crash in front of them, and the Dao soldier vanished in an instant.