There are no ancestors at all; I made them all up.

Chapter 87 A Single Pill [Third Update]

Upper level of the Xuan Prison, in an elegant room.

Two women sat facing each other.

"Sister Chu, rest assured, the Chu family and my family are now bound by fate, and I will stand up for you." The woman in red had a bright and beautiful face, but there was an air of arrogance between her brows: "That man has a marriage agreement, yet he ignores it and has been hiding in this place for twenty-three years. Where does he place you? Where does he place the Taiyi Dao Palace?"

The woman opposite was dressed in white, her clothes as pure as snow, and she had a cool and aloof demeanor.

She raised her eyes slightly, her expression calm and composed: "Sister, you flatter me. The engagement was arranged by my master and father. At that time, Li Qing was traveling and had no contact with anyone, so he was unaware of this matter."

"Even if you don't know! What about the agreement with Taiyi Dao Palace?" The red-clad princess's eyebrows shot up. "You promised to enter the palace at twenty! And now? You've become a jailer, abandoning the path of immortality like worn-out shoes, willingly falling into depravity! You've misled yourself and others!"

The woman in green picked up the jade cup and took a small sip: "I appreciate your kindness, sister. But I have come here today only to sever this bond so that my Yin spirit can bear the burden and temper its form."

"Severing ties?" The princess's phoenix eyes widened. "The Chu family's current situation requires replenishing their fortune! Since the current Holy Emperor established ranks and fortunes, it has always been a matter of either advancing or regressing! This Li Qing has considerable talent and may achieve great things in the future! Your master saw this and made the agreement to intercept this fortune and replenish it for the Taiyi and Chu families. Therefore, as soon as his whereabouts were discovered, your father even prepared the betrothal gifts! Getting married is also settling karma, and it can also..."

"pat, pat..."

The sound of hurried footsteps came from outside the corridor, interrupting the princess's words.

Zhang Fengding, hunched over, jogged in, large beads of sweat rolling down his forehead and into his collar.

"Where is he?" The princess's gaze was sharp as a knife.

"Reporting to Your Highness!" Zhang Fengding whispered, "Inspector Li said he is too busy with official duties to come and see our distinguished guest! Please make yourself at home!"

The air froze instantly!

"So, 'burdened with official duties'!" The princess's body erupted with crimson light, and the jade cup on the table shattered with a "crack," spilling tea everywhere. "I want to see what kind of earth-shattering official business this Xuan Prison has that's more important than my decree! Lead the way!"

Zhang Fengding trembled violently, lowered his head even further, felt a bitter taste in his throat, and couldn't utter a single word, yet he dared not lead the way.

He can't afford to offend either of them!

"That's enough." The woman in green put down her cup, her gaze falling into the depths of the Xuan Prison, as if she had sensed something.

"The opportunity has not yet arrived, and forcing it will be of no use." Her tone was calm, without joy or sorrow. "Sister, there is no need to make things difficult for others. Consider today as a trial in the mortal world."

After saying that, she said to Zhang Fengding, who was almost paralyzed, "Thank you for your trouble, Steward Zhang. Farewell."

The princess in red glared fiercely at the depths of the Xuanyu prison, but since the main character had left, she had no choice but to stomp her feet and chase after him.

The bottom of the Dark Prison.

"They've even come to annul the engagement?"

Chen Qing sat cross-legged on the futon, his mind focused, fragments of memory surging, yet leaving no trace.

After a while, he shook his head and said, "Never mind."

Cutting off distracting thoughts, he made up his mind, thinking to himself that the next time he entered a dream, he should leave the Xuanyu.

"But before I leave, there are still a few things to settle. Today, as I am about to wake up from this dream, I also need to make some arrangements."

With his mind settled, he closed his eyes slightly and focused his attention on his dantian.

Two talismans hang beside this pill.

A ghastly green talisman, like a poisonous miasma from the deepest hell, surrounded by gray fog, exuding an aura of decay and death, is called the "Desolate Talisman"!
A golden talisman, resembling the golden body of Buddha, is solemn and ancient, radiating the protective power to ward off all evil.
Immediately afterwards, he changed his mind and focused on the depths of his Qi Sea.

There, a talisman that was about to solidify suddenly appeared.

"I used the external elixir to condense the Qi talisman, but unexpectedly, I used the power of the Qi talisman to condense my own natal spirit talisman. This can be considered a stroke of luck, and there is no need to delay it."

This was an unexpected gain. Originally, I was trying to comprehend the mysteries, combining the power of external alchemy to condense the Qi talisman. But as I was comprehending, I suddenly had a stroke of inspiration and understood the key to my natal spirit talisman!
"Is this the life of a highly enlightened person? It's so lonely, like snow!"

Once he had this thought, he no longer hesitated. The Yin energy gathered, carrying many insights, and turned it in the talisman. Immediately afterwards, stardust of calamity light appeared!

Instantly, Chen Qing's whole body trembled, his meridians became as clear as glass, and his internal organs emitted a faint sound. The talisman solidified in the blink of an eye!

hum!
The next moment, the Dao seed in the Niwan Palace flashed with light, and his aura suddenly increased!
hum!
The swirling yellow-green outer elixir hummed, further strengthening the connection between itself and Chen Qing's thoughts!
"I reached the second realm in one breath! If this body can attain the Yin Spirit realm ahead of time, it will pave a smooth path for the original body."

At this moment.

A white mist is rising, and the time to wake from the dream is approaching.

Chen Qing's mind raced like lightning, three obsessions imprinted on his heart:
"First, refine the life talisman and solidify the foundation of the Dao."

"Secondly, thoroughly investigate the mysteries of external alchemy, striving to make the elixir follow the thought as easily as the arm or fingers."

"Thirdly, integrate the foundation of Taiyin, combine the principles of external alchemy, and delve into the mysteries of various methods to open the door to the Yin spirit!"

The obsession has been settled.

"Time flows unpredictably, and when we meet again, it may have been several years, or even more than ten years..." His thoughts turned to the abrupt marriage contract. "A few worldly entanglements will naturally dissipate in time. Then I will see what kind of scenery this celestial dynasty is now."

As the white mist closed in, Chen Qing's consciousness finally left the area.

At the foot of Xuyuan Mountain, beside the Broken Jade Cliff.

Inside the chaotic light barrier, the atmosphere was heavy and tense.

"Om-"

The light shield trembled violently and dimmed visibly!
"Not good!" Qingling, who had been guarding the edge of the light barrier, rushed towards the Yin-Yang Divine Light Talisman upon seeing this, only to find that the radiance flowing on the surface of the talisman was rapidly diminishing!
"How could this be?" Her voice tightened. "I heard this talisman can last for a hundred years without breaking, and it's only been a short time."

“The talisman body may be immortal, but its power requires the spiritual energy of heaven and earth as its source!” Ling Xiao pointed to the deathly gray fog outside. “This place is almost devoid of spiritual energy! No matter how wonderful the divine talisman is, it is like water without a source. How can it last?” “How long can it last?” Lin Zhuan asked bluntly.

"The talismanic power is dissipating at an accelerated rate!" Ling Xiao sensed for a moment, his expression turning grim. "At most two hours! What's even more troublesome is that our mana and blood energy are entirely dependent on pills; once they're exhausted..."

"Once this talisman fails, we will be swallowed up by the innate grand formation!" Yun Cang hoarsely continued, "The remaining power of these killing formations is far beyond what we can withstand in our current state! At that time, being trapped, killed, and annihilated will only take a moment!"

"Then what are we waiting for!" Lin Zhuan suddenly stood up, staggering as he rushed towards the talisman. "Moving forward with the talisman in hand is better than sitting and waiting to die!"

Yun Cang raised his hand and pressed down, saying wearily, "Fellow Daoist Lin, proceeding with the talisman seems feasible. But the outside world is a labyrinth of ever-changing mazes! If we don't know the way out and recklessly rush in with the talisman, when its power is exhausted, we'll be trapped in a death trap! We won't even have this last place to breathe!"

"Alas! This mountain is truly a dead end!"

The crowd was heavy-hearted. Although they were talented, they were trapped in the deadly formation, their spiritual energy was depleted, and they were like dragons swimming in shallow waters.

Qingling's gaze involuntarily drifted to the corner.

Chen Qing sat cross-legged like a stone, his aura deep and still, completely out of place with the anxious atmosphere around him.

Ling Xiao also looked at Chen Qing, her brows furrowed: "He has been in meditation for almost an hour, and we don't know when he will wake up. The talisman power is almost exhausted, and we must make a decision. Whether to leave or stay, we need him..."

The words have not yet been spoken!

"Om-"

An invisible ripple suddenly spread outwards from Chen Qing!

His tightly closed eyes suddenly snapped open!

In an instant, a chilling pressure erupted!
The airflow within the chaotic light shield was stirred up and spun wildly, emitting a wailing shriek!

"call--"

A rich spiritual energy of heaven and earth was born from the void and poured into Chen Qing's spiritual essence!
The energy and spirit he had lost from forcibly traversing the chaotic star stream were instantly replenished to their peak, or even surpassed! His aura suddenly surged, forcing Ling Xiao and Qing Ling, who were nearby, to take a half-step back!

Immediately afterwards, two points of light, condensed to the extreme, fell from the top of the head and landed directly in the dantian!

A desolate symbol! A bleak, deep green, eroded by deathly stillness!

Vajra Talisman! Radiant with golden light, its Buddha-like glow wards off evil!

The two talismans solidified, and although their power was much weaker than in the dream, they still contained spiritual light and were closely connected with Chen Qing's thoughts, ready to be activated at a moment's notice!
"It's done!" A glint flashed in Chen Qing's eyes. "The interplay of illusion and reality—this method works! We have another reliable reliance in the future!"

Immediately, he sensed the center of his dantian and saw that next to the Mountain, Sea and Stars Symbol, the Taiyin Qi surged and changed, gathering into a ball, faintly outlining the shape of a symbol!
"As expected! The incarnation in the dream has created a destiny talisman through different paths, which can then be projected onto the main body. If I can find a place to cultivate and nurture it in seclusion, it should come to fruition naturally. This should be the greatest gain from this trip..."

The thought had barely formed!

Mutations reborn!

A tiny speck of light, no bigger than a grain of rice, appeared out of nowhere from the top of one's head!

This tiny ray of light, though small, seemed to contain a terrifying weight!
The moment he appeared, the space around Chen Qing seemed to distort slightly as if it could not bear the weight!
He groaned and his body suddenly sank downwards!
Click!

The ground beneath him cracked, and the center of the cracks turned to dust!

The point of light did not stop at all, carrying a strange radiance of interwoven emerald green and golden yellow, ignoring all obstacles, and landed deep in Chen Qing's dantian!

Then, two colors of light shone brightly, radiating all around!

"External elixir?!" Chen Qingxin was shocked, and instantly understood!

These tiny specks of light, like grains of rice, were actually miniature versions of the external elixir from my dream, transcending the boundary between reality and illusion to deliver a feedback!

"The external elixir can actually provide feedback! However, the power within this elixir has been greatly reduced, probably because it has reached some kind of limit. However," he looked inward at his dantian and saw the rice-grain-sized external elixir suspended on the life talisman. It was as small as a mustard seed but as heavy as a mountain, with a faint golden light flowing around it. It was perfectly integrated with his qi and blood, and its connection with him was even closer and more harmonious than in his dream.

With a slight thought, Chen Qing attempted to draw upon a trace of power, but the consumption was far less than expected!

"Although the power has weakened, the consumption has been greatly reduced! I can use it a few more times!" Chen Qing felt reassured, a hint of barely perceptible joy flashing in his eyes. "Misfortune may be a blessing in disguise. This desperate situation may not be an opportunity!"

He exhaled a breath of stale air, and the aura and strange phenomena emanating from his body completely subsided. His gaze fell on the Yin-Yang Divine Light Talisman, whose light had already faded to the point of being like a candle flickering in the wind.

"Chen... Sect Leader Chen?"

Qingling tentatively called out softly, her eyes filled with surprise and doubt.

Feng Guang's rugged face twitched, and he said in a deep voice, "Brother Chen, that commotion you're making is a bit scary! Have you figured something out?"

Chen Qing slowly stood up, his gaze sweeping over the surprised and uncertain faces of the crowd. After thinking for a moment, he gave an explanation: "Just now I felt that the road ahead was dangerous and my own strength was too weak, so I broke through while sitting down. Now I have reached the Great Perfection of the Foundation Establishment stage."

"What?!" Ling Xiao's eyes almost popped out of their sockets. "You just broke through to the late stage two days ago while climbing the mountain! And you reached perfection again just because you felt it was dangerous?"

Two days! Two levels broken through! Reaching perfection?!
Even Zhang Shun, who prided himself on his extensive knowledge and the activation of his Azure Sea Spiritual Heart, felt a jolt to his soul and blurted out, "Even a naturally born Daoist body requires painstaking effort! You..."

Lin Zhuan's face turned ashen. Following his usual practice, he should have spoken by now, but since the other party was Chen Qing, he held back the words in his throat.

Feng Guang and Qing Ling exchanged a glance.

This level of skill isn't high, but the process is truly unbelievable.

Chen Qing didn't dwell on the matter. After giving a perfunctory reply, he raised his hand and grabbed the flickering Yin-Yang Divine Light Talisman.

"The power of the talisman is waning, and time is of the essence." He looked at the churning gray mist outside. "Just now, while meditating, I took the opportunity to deduce the mysteries of this innate grand formation and fortunately gained some insights. If you trust me, please follow me." With that, he held the divine light talisman in his hand and stepped forward!
　The fourth update might be a little late...

　　
　
(End of this chapter)