Dongxuan Spiritual Realm

Chapter 32: Disciples of the Upper Three Sects

This Xue Yan had sharp eyebrows and bright eyes, and he was very handsome, but his arrogant demeanor was really unpleasant.

There were eight brothers and sisters among Master Mingyi. Three of them stayed at the ancestral temple of Taiyi Palace on Qingning Mountain, and the other five went out to spread out and set up other temples.

Although Yang Qisheng has now completed his foundation building, he is still only a disciple under the tutelage of Mingyi Zhenren and has not yet been officially admitted to the Taiyi Palace.

He needs to wait for the master to come out of seclusion, and then take him to the ancestral temple to pay homage to the ancestor and be included in the genealogy, only then can he be considered a true disciple of Taiyi Palace.

Yang Qisheng had longed to visit Taiyi Palace for a long time. He was very happy to see the visitors from the ancestral temple today. He planned to invite them into the cave and treat them well.

However, Xue Yan unexpectedly stood in mid-air and spoke condescendingly.

If it were just that, it would be fine, but as a junior, not only did he not come down to pay his respects to his uncle-master, he also ordered me in to deliver the message like a slave!

"Is he waiting in heaven? Does he want Master to come out to greet him personally?" Yang Qisheng was unhappy, but he didn't show it on his face. "My Master is in seclusion and can't see guests. If Senior Brother Xue has any letters, please give them to us and we will pass them on to Master after he comes out of seclusion."

Xue Yan hesitated for a moment, then finally lowered his sword and landed on the ground. He asked, "What are your names?"

Even Ye Yunqiao looked displeased now. He simply bowed and said, "Ye Yunqiao."

"Ah, I know you! Are you the one who was kicked out by Master Uncle Mingyi a few years ago? Did Master Uncle take you back?"

When someone came up to him and exposed his shortcomings, Ye Yunqiao snorted coldly, turned away and didn't answer.

Yang Qisheng said, "My name is Yang Qisheng. I wonder what letter you are bringing? Who sent it to my master?"

Xue Yan untied the Qiankun bag at his waist and took out a jade box sealed with a talisman. "This is a gift from the headmaster to my uncle. It probably means that the hundred-year period is approaching, and the ban of the Universal Grand Ceremony will soon be lifted. The demons and monsters in the world are ready to make trouble and wreak havoc on the world. So, I want my uncle Mingyi to prepare early."

Yang Qisheng took the jade box and asked in surprise, "Brother, have you read the letter?"

"Master Uncle sealed it with the thunder talisman himself, how could I see that?" Xue Yan laughed. "It's just that everyone in the palace has been discussing this matter recently. Many earthly immortals and scattered immortals from unorthodox sects have gone to Taiyi Palace to ask Master Uncle, the head of the sect, to inquire about our Taiyi Palace's movements. They want to know what we mean by this and where we plan to expand our influence in the future."

"What is the attitude of the head master?"

Xue Yan shook his head: "Master-uncle is very secretive, it's hard to speculate."

Yang Qisheng thought that after all, they were fellow disciples. As a guest, he could be rude, but as the host, he could not be rude, so he invited Xue Yan to the cave for tea.

From the moment he landed on the ground to the moment he walked into the hall and sat down to drink tea, Xue Yan's face was full of picky expressions, just like a nobleman who accidentally walked into the slums and found everything crude and shabby.

Ye Yunqiao grew increasingly annoyed as he watched, thinking to himself, "You're lucky to have met me, a man so cautious and averse to killing. If I had unleashed my sword energy three years ago, I would have at least chopped off your hair and taught you how powerful I am!" You're only at the Perfect Foundation Establishment stage, so we're both the same. Your refined Water and Fire Sword Qi might not be able to defeat my Sharp Light Sword Qi.

He was impatient to see Xue Yan's expression, so he made an excuse and left.

As Yang Qisheng was the host, he couldn't leave his guests here alone. In addition, he had been practicing the Five Elements Sword Qi over the years, constantly adjusting his mind and resolving negative emotions. He had long been able to maintain a calm mind and would not get angry easily.

He simply ignored Xue Yan's attitude and focused on finding out the news about Taiyi Palace and the cultivation world from his words.

Following Xue Yan's lead with a few flattering words, this proud senior brother really started talking, and Yang Qisheng quickly found out his background.

It turns out that his arrogance stems from two points:

First of all, this generation of Taiyi School is divided into eight meridians.

The head monk, Immortal Wuwang, along with Immortal Dayu and Immortal Tianqu, sit in the ancestral temple of Taiyi Palace, while the other five Immortals set up houses outside and recruit disciples.

Over the past few decades, although the immortals have not developed their power in the human world and rarely go down the mountain, their ancestral temple has also gradually accepted many disciples.

Each of these disciples is a chosen one among thousands - there are many with excellent physiques and talents, and there are endless people with extraordinary comprehension.

Everyone was chasing each other, no one wanted to be left behind. When there were many people, it was easy for disputes to arise. When the chosen ones gathered together, the comparison was even stronger. They not only compared themselves with each other, but also with the disciples of the five uncles outside.

Over time, the terms "upper three gates" and "lower five gates" were formed: the three veins of the ancestral temple were regarded as the upper three gates, and the five veins of the outer palace were demoted to the lower five gates.

Although this trend was severely punished by Master Wuwang, it was never eradicated and spread more and more widely. Not only did people inside Taiyi Palace know about it, but many colleagues outside also knew about it and recognized this name.

People like Xue Yan, who consider themselves disciples of the upper three sects, not only look down on their peers from the lower five sects, but also show less respect for their five uncles.

Longgao Mountain is a blessed land, and Taiyi Palace is a paradise, and they are indeed worlds apart.

Xue Yan found everything he saw to be old-fashioned and low-brow, lacking the aura of immortals, and possessing a thin spiritual energy. According to him, these blessed places were little better than the wilderness, inhabited only by ghosts, foxes, and demons, and hardly considered true immortal dwellings.

"Is this just an ordinary mountain spring? In our Taiyi Palace, we only use this kind of earthly spring water for footbaths. We have a three-eyed spiritual spring in our Taiyi Palace, and that water tastes different. When brewed with small-leaf ice heart tea, it's truly nectar. If you have the chance to visit Taiyi Palace in the future, I will definitely invite you to try it."

Yang Qisheng calmly bowed and said, "Thank you, Senior Brother Xue."

The second reason for Xue Yan's pride was that he had achieved Perfect Foundation Establishment in just over three years. In the entire cultivation world, he could be considered a natural prodigy: "Last month, the headmaster personally presided over the founding ceremony and had my name entered into the genealogy. Now, I am a full-fledged disciple of the Taiyi Palace!"

His eyebrows danced with joy, his pride evident in his expression. Normally, everyone in Taiyi Palace was considered exceptional, and this time in the "remote countryside," he could finally showcase his excellence. "Master has already taught me the 'Sky-wide Flower Rain Sword Technique.' When I finish this business and return, I'll begin setting up the alchemy furnace in my lower dantian and prepare to condense my evil spirit!"

At this point, he looked at Yang Qisheng with a hint of pity: "Junior brother, you haven't been entered into the family tree yet, right? I don't see your name on the list. Our founding ceremony is held every three years. If you can't make it this time, you'll have to wait three years."

Yang Qisheng automatically filtered out these boastful words and got straight to the point: "What is the sword technique?"

"You don't even know this? Didn't Master Mingyi tell you? Before we set up the furnace to refine the evil spirits, our master would ask us to choose a sword technique to be taught. Different sword techniques produce different sword evil spirits. For example, my master cultivated the two elements of gold and fire sword energy, and practiced the Mantianhuayu sword technique. In the end, he refined thirty-six Qiantian Fire Cloud Swords.

Uncle Mingyi cultivates the Fire and Earth Sword Qi, and also practices the Sky-Raining Flower Sword Technique, ultimately refining the Seventy-Two Earth-Fire Meteor Swords. My master once said that during the Ten Thousand Immortals Formation, the two of them jointly constructed the Heaven-Heaven Divine Fire Sword Formation, directly annihilating and refining the Taiyin Ghost King! Although we're both from the Lower Five Sects, my master still holds Uncle Mingyi in a special regard.

These words made Yang Qisheng have a slightly worse impression of the master uncle Dayou, whom he had never met. He was a little disappointed with the Taiyi Palace ancestral temple that he could teach such a disciple.

They chatted for a while, mainly Xue Yan who was talking. He had shown off enough and finally stood up to say goodbye: "I still have to go over there to do some things before I can return to the palace to report. Junior Brother Yang, don't be discouraged, practice well. Don't blame Uncle Mingyi for his retreat and delaying your entry into the palace. Although you have to wait another three years before you can enter, it is just a blink of an eye for those who practice immortality. I look forward to seeing you in Taiyi Palace in three years. By then, I should have cultivated the Sword Demon. I will definitely take you around Taiyi Cave Heaven and treat you to that Small Leaf Bingxin Tea!" His pride was beyond words.

Yang Qisheng smiled and bowed, "I'll definitely bother you then, Senior Brother."

Xue Yan was filled with pride and he paused. The black and red sword energy combined to wrap around him. He rose from the ground and headed southeast, soon disappearing.

When the sword light completely disappeared into the sky, Heishan Xiaoqian appeared silently and stood beside Yang Qisheng.

"Young Master, you don't really resent Master Mingyi, do you?" She twirled her hair with her fingertips, her voice like poisoned wine laced with honey. "If he hadn't been in seclusion, you would have sword evil in your Five Elements Sword Qi by now, right?"

Yang Qisheng turned his head to look at her: "You devil, you take advantage of every opportunity and use him to alienate our master-disciple relationship!"

Black Mountain Xiaoqian was afraid that he would burn her with the Samadhi True Fire, so she quickly denied it, "No, no, I just feel sorry for you. If you were already included in the family tree, how could Xue still be so arrogant?"

"Without Master, I would have been a cauldron maker at Xuanpin Mountain by now, and I might have turned into a pile of bones by now. If I resented Master, wouldn't that be like being grateful for a little and then resenting a big, heartless person? Master used the magic tribulation to train me at Wutou Mountain before, so that I could quickly complete my foundation.
Otherwise, I might have just entered the Great Zhoutian realm. I'm practicing the Five Elements Combined Refining. While progress is good, my foundation is unstable. Three more years of cultivation would be beneficial." He looked up at the horizon where Xue Yan had disappeared. "Besides, in the cultivation of immortals, the faster the better, nor is the higher the magic power the better."

Seeing no opportunity to exploit, Heishan Xiaoqian changed the subject: "But that Xue Yan is too abominable! If you hadn't warned me with the Samadhi True Fire just now, I would have had to test his strength! This so-called senior disciple from the top three sects of Taiyi Palace is nothing but a worthless piece of paper in my opinion. Why are you being so polite to him, sir? You should have dueled him with swords, cut off one of his arms, or at least chopped off one of his fingers, to embarrass him!"

Yang Qisheng waved his hand to silence him. "Although we are at the same realm, he trained in Taiyi Palace and also acquired the Mantian Huayu Sword Technique. The depth of his skills is unknown. In a real fight, I might not be able to defeat him. Besides, we are just fellow disciples sparring. No matter how much I hate him, I can't just chop off his fingers or arms."

If Heishan Xiaoqian hadn't been restrained by Yang Qisheng with a calm mind, she wouldn't have been able to stop for a moment. She would have either been running around in all directions, or she would have been talking non-stop.

In order to make her shut up, Yang Qisheng calmed his mind and concentrated his thoughts, without thinking at all, and his body and mind were clear.

The devil was still unwilling to give up and spoke a few more words, but no sound came out. Then his figure quickly faded away and finally disappeared into the air.

(End of this chapter)