Immortality begins with meditation puppets

Upon entering the Yama Palace, the Nascent Soul True Monarchs, who had mentally prepared themselves and were ready for battle, did not encounter the formidable demons and evil spirits they had imagined. What they saw inside the Yama Palace was exactly as they had read in the ancient Daoist scriptures. In an instant, they began to observe this ancient masterpiece of cultivation with a sense of pilgrimage.

The magnificent hall, illuminated by pearls, was bathed in a translucent light, devoid of any eerie or terrifying atmosphere one might expect from the underworld. This was the light of my heart; wherever I went, there was light. Anyone who came to this hall to be judged, no matter what evil deeds they had committed in their past lives, would have them wiped clean here. Their sins would be atoned for, and they would be able to live uprightly as animals. Well, most evil people could only be reborn into the animal realm, but even animals are upright and honest beings. In the ancient hierarchy of contempt based solely on merit, they were a level above evil people.

Inside the main hall, the steps are made of white jade and blue stone, numbering ninety-nine in total, each step being extremely wide and long, about a hundred feet wide and a mile long, stretching forward for another ninety-nine miles. The main body of the hall is constructed from more than a hundred ancient Jianmu trees, all of which could only be found in ancient times. In the present day, it is almost impossible to build a palace with such wood in the myriad realms and even the Tianyuan Realm. The only old Jianmu tree is a treasure of the Wan Yao Kingdom, and it is unthinkable that they would allow anyone to use it as timber.

Speaking of Jianmu trees, these are small matters, as they have been growing for countless millions of years since the beginning of time. Since the great calamity of antiquity, the cultivation world of today has found it difficult to replicate the magnificent scene of ancient times, with its towering palaces and treasure halls in the Heavenly Court and the Underworld. This is a regret that cultivators of today lament.

They were lucky enough to witness the ancient Yama Palace. Beyond the Jianmu tree, the roof was covered with golden sun-like essence, and on both sides stood tall jade cassia trees with coiled dragons. The base was made of finely carved white marble railings. The carved beams and painted rafters were indescribable. Layer upon layer of Qin bricks and Han tiles, purple pillars and golden beams, all were extremely luxurious.

"If this magnificent palace could be transported to the present world, even just a small share for us would be worth the round-trip travel expenses."

"Stop spouting nonsense. When did True Lord Su ever charge us travel expenses for coming to the Abyss Secret Realm? However, it's a real pity to dismantle and divide this treasure hall. If you ask me, it should be placed on my Penglai Immortal Island as an ancient relic, so that people of this world and future generations can admire it at any time!"

"Liu Gandai, are you out of your mind to make money from this Yama Palace? Why don't you open the Heavenly Court ruins you discovered in Penglai to the public!"

"How do you know I won't open it? I plan to open it as soon as I get back. Sigh, you don't know the cost of living until you're in charge. Our Penglai is currently severely weakened, and we have to use every means to recover. Please take care of Penglai in the future, all you True Lords. If you have any business or jobs, just tell us about them. Small business or big business, hard or dirty work, we Penglai will do it all, we're not picky!"

The True Lords spoke lightly, but their minds were on high alert.

After all, they didn't come here for sightseeing; they came here to fight to the death.

The palace is vast, and nothing frightening has yet jumped out, but that doesn't mean the palace is necessarily clean.

Because every True Lord, upon entering this Yama's Palace, experiences a bone-chilling coldness that surges up their physical body and soul, which they cannot suppress no matter what they do. It's like stepping into an ice cellar, and the deeper they go, the more intense this chill becomes.

Only when everyone reached the end of the jade steps did they realize where the coolness came from.

But then one could see the wide trial platform on the jade steps, which had previously been covered by layers of black cloth.

On the left and right, there were twelve sky-blue ice blocks, each containing a uniquely shaped creature staring intently at them.

The knowledgeable True Lord immediately recognized what the sky-blue ice block was.

"The Demon-Suppressing Ice is a high-level material used by powerful beings in the Underworld in ancient times to forge and seal away evil spirits using the profound death energy that had been nurtured within the Underworld for countless years!"

Su Qing nodded in agreement. This Demon-Suppressing Ice had shone brightly in the great battles against evil spirits during the ancient calamity. Whenever someone mentioned its name, he and the other True Monarchs would immediately remember it.

In ancient times, most cultivators below the Void Refinement stage lacked the ability to defeat and kill evil spirits, so they mostly studied techniques for suppression and sealing.

Such as puppets like the Demon Sealing Wave, talismans like the Evil-Suppressing Talisman and the Demon-Subduing Talisman, Vajra Subduing Demon Circle, Demon-Binding Rope, and Demon-Purifying Bottle, etc.

The anti-magic ice is one such existence, and the demons that need to be sealed with anti-magic ice are all high-ranking demons without exception.

This means that they are now facing twelve high-ranking demons who have been sealed by the magic-suppressing ice for countless years and have not yet been destroyed!
Because it was the instant everyone arrived here.

The twelve pieces of magic-suppressing ice simultaneously emitted cracking sounds.

The moment it collapsed, the death energy contained within it was regarded as the first nourishment after the seal was broken by the extremely dry but extremely thirsty demons that had been sealed inside.

In an instant, the aura of these twelve demons surged, and they possessed a pressure close to that of a sixth-rank demon.

The True Lords would not stand idly by and watch them devour death energy and increase their cultivation.

Yuanshi Zong Guangxian Zhenjun threw out a Yin-Yang Yuanxu Lamp, first tossing it above the heads of all the Zhenjuns, coating them with a layer of Jade Void Glazed Light, so that the evil spirits would have difficulty invading their bodies and souls, and so that the Zhenjuns would have no worries.

Tiger Egg, no, it was the true disciple of the Lingbao Sect, Tiger Might True Lord, holding the Jie Sword in his left hand and the Yuan Tu Sword in his right. With a burst of blazing white light, he captured one demon under his sword, and with a burst of deep blood light, he fell on another demon. With just one True Lord, he was about to take on two high-ranking demons. Su Qing was both worried and relieved when she saw this.

Then, the Ancient Music True Lord of the Supreme Sect took out a Vajra Ring from his storage bag and struck a high-ranking demon with it. In an instant, the demon could only roar in pain on the spot and could no longer have the ability to cause trouble.

The other True Lords also used their own signature techniques.

The True Lord wielded the Spiritual Treasure Wind and Fire Cudgel, unleashing a whirlwind of wind and fire, his dance both beautiful and powerful.

One True Lord took out the Blood-Transforming Divine Needles, each a fine red needle as thin as a cow's hair. Even a high-ranking demon would have no choice but to flee in terror upon encountering them. Another True Lord took out a Heavenly Net Handkerchief, and with a mere flick of his wrist, he captured a high-ranking demon. Then the other True Lords launched a fierce attack on him.

There were twelve high-ranking demons in total, yet none of them gave Su Qing a chance to make a move.

It's not that these twelve high-ranking demons are incompetent; if they were truly without ability, the ancient powerful beings wouldn't have used the anti-magic ice to seal them. And the person behind the Yama Palace wouldn't have placed them at the first checkpoint.

According to Su Qing's judgment, these twelve ancient demons were once powerful figures who stirred up great waves in the underworld during its heyday. They were also listed in the Record of Ancient Demons, which was compiled and edited by cultivators in later generations.

They are the Black Gold Demon, Jianmu Demon, Blood Water Demon, Imperial Fire Demon, Nether Earth Demon, Gale Demon, Yin Rain Demon, Meteor Demon, Purple Lightning Demon, Marrow Ice Demon, Aurora Demon, and Extreme Darkness Demon.

There are twelve powerful demons in total, so powerful that even the ten Kings of Hell in the underworld had to gather and deploy forces to deal with them in ancient times.

And that's why things seem so bad now.

Firstly, regardless of how much death energy or how many wronged souls were contained within the Abyss Secret Realm in ancient times, after the ancient powerful beings isolated it from all the heavens and worlds, no living being has ever entered this place in countless years.

Without the flesh and blood of living beings to sustain them, and without the nourishment of fresh souls, it is already extremely difficult for demons to maintain their immortality using the energy of death and the spirits of the dead. To think that they can maintain their former strength is wishful thinking.

Of course, the Huang family had sent a batch of food before, but judging from the fact that these twelve demons could only be stopped at the first gate of the hall, they were just small soldiers in this Yama's Palace. They obviously could not enjoy the fresh flesh and blood of the Huang family.

These high-ranking demons, having not developed for so many years and whose strength has been constantly weakened, are vastly different from their heyday in ancient times.

Secondly, none of the True Lords that Su Qing brought into the Yama Palace were weak.

Either they possess personal strength, like Shi Lijing, Ying Jue Shen, Tianpeng Demon Lord, or Qilin King Beast.

Either they have a very strong backing, or the True Monarchs from the three major sects of the Dao lineage need no introduction. Their sects are capable, and they themselves are capable. True Monarch Taoyuan and True Monarch Zhongze are both handsome and talented. The main thing is that the sects behind them are also powerful figures. They can bring over a few of their best treasures, and a Fifth-Order True Monarch can show off the power of a Sixth-Order True Monarch. Even Liu Gandang, who seems old and weak and has been tricked into selling his property, can still pull out a ruthless weapon like the Seven Arrows of Nailhead.

Besides the True Monarchs produced by the already renowned sects of the heavens, who possessed the finest treasures unique to those sects, some sects that had fallen into decline also had valuable items passed down from their ancestors. These items could potentially change the course of events when needed. For example, at this moment, among the True Monarchs of the demon race, there was a seven-tailed fox lord who took out a red ribbon. As soon as it floated in the air, it transformed into a large red serpent. A True Monarch from the Snail Emperor Sect exclaimed in surprise that this serpent was one of the three great Dharma forms of the Snail Emperor in the past. The serpent breathed out the yin and yang energy of creation. In an instant, a high-ranking demon was knocked unconscious. Upon inquiry, everyone learned that the Snail Emperor had made a deal with the Fox Clan years ago, but afterwards, the Snail Emperor did not give them the reward they deserved. It was not until much later, when the Snail Emperor was about to attain enlightenment, that he sent this red ribbon as a belated compensation. At that time, the Fox Clan disdained this red ribbon, but today, this red ribbon is the Fox Clan's treasure, and they even devoutly worship the Snail Emperor to express their gratitude for the red ribbon that protected their Fox Clan to this day.

On the Beihai Giant Kun, Su Qing also made a detailed record of these True Monarchs, mainly the treasures they brought, and divided them into different grades. The thirty-odd True Monarchs around him were the top grade. He had not let these True Monarchs take action when encountering various obstacles on the way to the Abyss Secret Realm, and they were saved for this use.

In actual use, it is indeed incredibly easy to use.

If twelve high-ranking demons were to sneak into the Tianyuan Realm, who knows what kind of trouble they would cause? But now, when they encounter this group of people, they are instantly killed as soon as they show their faces.

And he did not waste the spoils of these True Lords.

Early in the morning, a special task force of merit was dispatched to follow behind these True Lords to deal with evil spirits. Not only did they accumulate endless merit, but the feeling of Dao patterns entering their bodies was also extremely wonderful.

[Transforming the Five Elders' Evil Marks—Black Gold—into the Five Elders' Taoist Marks—Turning Stone into Gold.]

【Dao patterns can turn stone into gold (Dao patterns of the five elements and life system, which can be used to glimpse the wonders of the Four Imperial Dao patterns, the Five Elements Dao patterns, and the Four Imperial Dao patterns and life Dao patterns.)
Effect: Can improve the quality of spiritual objects, turning ordinary things into extraordinary ones, and transforming them into spiritual beings. (Currently, it can only improve spiritual objects below the sixth rank, and requires the consumption of items of equivalent value. The exchange rate will vary depending on the market and is calculated based on current market prices. For example, if a fourth-rank Earth Stone is improved to the fifth rank, the difference between the two will be consumed—423 million spirit stones.)

[Transforming the Five Elders' Evil Pattern—the Jianmu tree—into the Five Elders' Dao Pattern—accelerating growth.]

[The Dao patterns grow rapidly (the Dao patterns of the Five Elements life system, which can be used to glimpse the wonders of the Four Imperial Dao Patterns, the Five Elements Dao Patterns, and the Four Imperial Dao Patterns of Life).]
Effects: It can accelerate the growth of plants, making it highly possible to grow trees that are ten thousand years old in a hundred years, and even ancient trees that are ten thousand years old. In the current cultivation world, where all kinds of ancient wood and precious materials are nowhere to be found, the ancient masters of the various arts of earth and wood cultivation have survived a long period of decline in their profession. Mastering this Dao pattern and the Dao pattern that turns stone into gold can usher in a new golden age for earth and wood practitioners! (Accelerating the growth of plants requires the consumption of corresponding spiritual energy and lifespan. However, this lifespan is not necessarily borne by the caster; it can be borrowed from others. Given the importance of this Dao pattern to earth and wood practitioners, it will not be difficult to find earth and wood practitioners willing to sacrifice their lifespan for this!)

·······
[The Five Elders' Evil Mark—Meteor Lightning—is transformed into the Five Elders' Dao Mark—Tribulation-Crossing Heavenly Lightning.]

【Dao Pattern Tribulation Thunder (Order-type Destruction Dao Pattern, which can be used to glimpse the wonders of the Four Imperial Dao Patterns: Order Dao Pattern and Destruction Dao Pattern)
Effect: Although the gods in heaven take turns, in reality, the gods in heaven do not move. Even though the ancient Heavenly Court has added many divine positions, it is only enough to accommodate the relatives and disciples of some powerful beings. It is difficult to provide new positions for each generation of new cultivators. The positions of gods are limited, and the positions of gods are even more scarce. Even if the resources of the ancient Tianyuan Realm are abundant, it cannot meet the needs of too many cultivators above the Nascent Soul stage.

Therefore, in order to ensure the sustainable development of the ancient Tianyuan cultivation world, the Heavenly Court proposed and received support from the Daoist and Buddhist sects to implement a measure that required Nascent Soul cultivators who wanted to transcend tribulations and become gods or immortals to undergo the test of heavenly lightning.

This was to alleviate the shortage of positions for deities in Heaven, and the problem of insufficient resources for the gods.

Secondly, the ascension path should not be completely blocked to prevent rebellious and discontented individuals from rising up in revolt and causing chaos in the Heavenly Palace, or even proclaiming themselves Great Sages.

As this measure was implemented over time, it gradually condensed into Dao patterns, namely the Five Elders' Dao Pattern Tribulation Lightning. No Nascent Soul cultivator, fourth-tier body cultivator, great demon, or deity in the myriad realms can escape the influence of these Dao patterns during their breakthrough. By wielding these Dao patterns, you can choose to bestow heavenly lightning upon them, or you can choose not to. (Under no supervision, you can bestow tribulation lightning entirely at your will.) (End of Chapter)