Starting Immortal Cultivation from a White Dog

Looking at the old Taoist priest on the cliff and the blue ox lying beside him, Wu Tian felt an indescribable sense of ease, as if he had seen an old friend or acquaintance he had not seen for a long time.

Without any formalities, he went straight to the ancient tree, sat down next to the green ox, and immediately made the demon saint shudder.

Wu Tian reached out and slapped him, saying, "Brother Niu, don't move. Behave yourself and let me lean on you for a while."

The blue ox was panting heavily through its nostrils, too afraid to move, its body completely stiff.

Wu Tian then looked at the old Taoist priest and asked, "Old man, why are you helping me?"

The old Taoist priest sighed deeply and said, "Decades ago, when you were still the Taiqing Daozi, I glimpsed a glimpse of a celestial secret."

His cloudy gaze passed over Wu Tian and looked toward the surging sea of ​​clouds in the distance.

"After multiple calculations, only one result was obtained: more than 1,300 years later, the Taiqing Taoist lineage was destroyed."

Wu Tian's heart skipped a beat.

He had glimpsed this future before thanks to his extraordinary ability to see into the heavens. "So what?"

The old Taoist priest slowly turned his head, his cloudy eyes falling back on Wu Tian. "Others may not know, but how could I not know?"

He said with a bitter tone, "Thirteen hundred years from now, it will be the day when the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable escapes from the ruins of the Heavenly Court."

The mountain wind suddenly picked up, rustling the branches and leaves of the old pine trees. A few pine needles fell from the branches, swirled in the air, and landed on the old Taoist priest's blue robe, but he was completely unaware of it.

"Logically, Taoism should have flourished after that person came out."

The old Taoist priest continued, "He is the patriarch of the Taiqing lineage, the supreme celestial being of Taoism. With his return to the Three Realms, the Taiqing lineage should have ushered in an unprecedented golden age."

"But no matter how I calculated it, the result was exactly the opposite."

He shook his head slightly, his withered fingers emerging from his sleeve and gently tapping in front of him. "The Yuqing lineage is destroyed. Taiqing Temple, Kunlun Mountain, and all the traditions of Taoism have vanished into thin air."

He let out a long sigh, "It wasn't until I saw you that I saw a glimmer of hope for a better future."

"That's why I made you the Taiqing Daozi, in an attempt to change that dead end in the divination."

Wu Tian seemed to be deep in thought.

These words resolved a mystery that had been buried in his heart for decades.

When he first arrived at Xuantian Peak, although he was born with an auspicious destiny, the old Taoist priest overruled the objections of many and did not hesitate to offend many elders in the temple, insisting on bestowing upon him the honorary position of Taiqing Daozi.

At the time, no one understood it, and even Wu Tian himself found it unbelievable.

Looking back now, everything makes sense.

The old Taoist priest smiled at Wu Tian and said, "My Taoist skills and cultivation are not particularly profound. In terms of fighting with others, I am nothing special. However, I am quite skilled in predicting the future."

He said this in a very casual tone, as if he were talking about something trivial.

But Wu Tian knew that he could peer into the river of time, deduce the future trajectory of those suppressed by the Golden Immortal, and even see how the Golden Immortal could retract their own timeline.

Looking across the entire Three Realms, only this old fellow could pull off such a feat.

This old Taoist priest's divination skills have probably reached an extremely terrifying level.

Wu Tian remained silent for a moment, then suddenly asked a completely unrelated question.

Have you ever met Buddha?

Upon hearing this, the old Taoist priest did not reply, but simply smiled.

Seeing his expression, Wu Tian already knew the answer in his heart.

Shakyamuni died too quickly and too suddenly. This powerful man, who had walked the path to immortality on his own and established the Buddhist sect of Mount Sumeru, simply vanished.

In retrospect, the old Taoist priest may have been behind this as well. Shakyamuni may have taken this opportunity to dissolve his body, be reborn, and break free from the influence of the Buddha, thus becoming a truly independent and complete being.

Wu Tian then asked, "Was it your scheme to send my senior sister, Chi Limu, to the Southern Frontier?"

The old Taoist priest shook his head helplessly, "It was just something I did on the spur of the moment."

"If she goes to the southern border to see you, that is fate; if she doesn't go to the southern border, or doesn't see you, that is also fate."

Wu Tian couldn't help but chuckle, his tone dismissive: "You old folks are always talking nonsense, about fate and all that. There's no such thing as a lot of fate. You're all just old fogies."

His words were quite blunt, but the old Taoist priest was not angry at all; instead, he chuckled.

Wu Tian didn't laugh. He looked at the old Taoist's withered yet calm face, and there was something he couldn't understand.

"But I still don't understand."

He frowned slightly, his dark pupils staring intently at him. "I don't think you're the kind of old man who's afraid of death. Why are you helping me all this time? Just for the inheritance of Taiqing Temple?"

The old Taoist priest remained silent for a long time. Only the sound of the pine trees and the thud of the blue ox's tail hitting the rocks could be heard on the cliff. The sea of ​​clouds surged endlessly below the cliff, and occasionally the cry of a crane would come from the clouds, distant and ethereal.

Finally, he let out a long sigh.

"Before that great battle in the Heavenly Court broke out, I went to the Great Crimson Heaven."

Wu Tian's gaze sharpened slightly.

“I saw that projection,” the old Taoist priest continued, “and then… I saw many futures.”

He paused for a moment, and for the first time, a complex emotion appeared in his cloudy eyes, a complex expression that seemed to be both amazement and awe.

He raised his head, looked at Wu Tian, ​​and said, word by word.

"In all the futures I see, no matter how things change or how many twists and turns there are, thirteen hundred years from now, you will personally kill the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable."

The cliff suddenly fell silent.

The blue ox beside it didn't dare to breathe loudly. Its big, round eyes blinked, and it held its breath, wishing it could cover its ears.

The old Taoist priest's voice was exceptionally clear in the silence: "Therefore, I can only stand on the side of the victors."

Wu Tian was somewhat surprised to hear this, but he quickly understood.

He looked at the Taoist Tiandu in front of him with some surprise. This old fellow's divination skills were indeed amazing.

Before the Heavenly War broke out, even Wu Tian himself didn't have much confidence.

At that time, although he was making plans, no one could say for sure what the outcome would be when facing a powerful Golden Immortal like the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable.

But this old Taoist priest had already foreseen the ending in his predictions of the future back then.

In his deductions, he had even completely locked in the future.

You must know... if the old Taoist priest hadn't allowed him to glimpse the secrets of heaven through the Crimson Wood, he would have been in danger of perishing.

Even so, in the future predicted by the old Taoist priest, he was still able to survive and kill the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable 1,300 years later.

"Interesting," Wu Tian murmured to himself, many of his doubts now resolved.

The fundamental reason is that the old Taoist priest saw a completely predetermined future, which is why he made a move on himself and secretly helped him on several occasions.

He even went so far as to betray Da Chi and Yu Xu, allowing himself to sweep through the Three Realms ahead of schedule and ascend to the throne of the Heavenly Emperor.

He pondered the past, and found answers to many things that had puzzled him before.

After a moment of silence, Wu Tian asked again, "How much do you know about the ruins of the ancient Heavenly Court?" The old Taoist stroked his beard and replied, "That place was actually a celestial realm created by the ancient Heavenly Emperor."

He spoke slowly, his voice tinged with reminiscence, “The ancient Heavenly Court had thirty-three heavens. The corner of the Heavenly Court ruins that we obtained by chance back then was the Three Pure Heavens. Within it lies the lineage of the ancient Xuanmen sect.”

Upon hearing this, Wu Tian's eyes lit up, and he asked, "Is that celestial realm on the Taiyin Star?"

The old Taoist priest nodded, his tone resolute: "That's right."

He paused, then added, "However, the ruins of the ancient Heavenly Court are heavily guarded, making it impossible to enter directly from the outside. The only way to get in is through a remnant Heavenly Gate in the northern border of the mortal realm."

"After entering through the Heavenly Gate, it becomes extremely dangerous inside."

"Not only are there various restrictions and trials originally set up by the ancient Heavenly Court, but also the crisis left behind by the chaos of the laws of heaven and earth when the Heavenly Court fell. If you are not careful, you will perish both body and soul."

"Back then, the six of us entered through that Heavenly Gate. After passing through layers of trials, we each received a portion of the inheritance and Dao artifacts."

“In earlier years, we even allowed our disciples, or immortals, Buddhas, demons and monsters who descended to the mortal realm to break through the Northern Heavenly Gate and obtain more of the ancient Heavenly Court’s inheritance.”

"The Investiture of the Gods and the God-Slaying Whip were both obtained there."

After listening quietly, Wu Tian had already made up his mind. He would be afraid of any other magical treasure or secret realm if the ancient heavenly court ruins were not his own, but it was a celestial realm, which was completely suppressed by his innate divine power.

"After I've dealt with these trivial matters, I'll make a trip to the Moon."

"At worst, we can just swallow that celestial being whole."

"Forget about the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable and the ruins of the Heavenly Court, they will all become my provisions."

"Die, all of you."

He suppressed his impulse and turned his gaze back to the old Taoist priest. "Old Taoist priest, your body was originally an incarnation of the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable."

"Although you have developed your own will, as long as that person returns, with his cultivation and power, you will inevitably return to your original form."

"By then, the Taoist of Tiandu will no longer exist."

What are you planning to do?

After hearing these words, the old Taoist priest chuckled, and every wrinkle on his withered face smoothed out.

"Even if I were to return to my original form, I should have some power to resist."

"Do you want me to lend you a hand?"

Wu Tian chuckled and waved his hand dismissively.

"Forget it." His tone was somewhat disdainful. "I don't need you to risk your life for me, otherwise I would owe you a huge favor."

“How about this,” Wu Tian said after thinking for a moment, “I will send you into reincarnation, using the power of reincarnation to erase the mark and karma of the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable on your body.”

"Three hundred and sixty years later, after the natural operation of the Three Realms and the repeated cleansing of reincarnation, you should be able to wash away all ties with the Great Crimson Heavenly Venerable and return to the world."

He paused slightly, a faint smile appearing on his lips.

"I will personally bring you back then, take you as my disciple, and guide you into the path of Taoism. How about it?"

After hearing these words, the old Taoist priest slowly curled up the corners of his mouth.

"In that case, this old Taoist thanks the Heavenly Emperor."

Wu Tian didn't waste any more words.

He raised his right hand, his five fingers spread, and golden light condensed in his palm to form a precious mirror, which was the manifestation of the power of heaven and earth.

"Is there anything else you want to say, or anything else you want to explain?"

"If not, I'll send you on your way."

The old Taoist shook his head. "I am a person of pure and free spirit. I only hope that you will spare the lives of my worthless disciples and grand-disciples."

The precious mirror in Wu Tian's hand floated up and down like an adult. "I don't care about your own disciples and descendants. When you return from reincarnation 360 years from now, you can deal with them yourself."

"If there's nothing more to say, I'll take action."

The old Taoist priest chanted ancient scriptures, keeping his eyes closed and remaining silent.

Seeing this, Wu Tian struck down with his palm.

The mirror cascaded down like a waterfall, its golden light dazzling and radiant. It was as if a great sun had fallen from the cliff, illuminating all directions.

The blue ox stared in disbelief, its body going limp with fear.

They watched helplessly as the old Taoist priest's body was bathed in golden light.

Then, his body began to transform into golden specks of light from the edges. His robes, skin, muscles, and bones dissolved layer by layer, like a sand tower collapsing in the wind, or like ice and snow melting in the warm spring sun.

Finally, he transformed into a clear, luminous light.

The light was as pure as fresh snow, without any impurities or causal ties. It circled once on the cliff before suddenly shooting towards the underworld and disappearing into the horizon.

Wu Tian stood there, gazing in the direction where the spiritual light had disappeared, and muttered to himself, "With the karma of me personally killing you, it will be easier for me to come looking for you again later."

After saying that, he chuckled and turned around to look at the green ox, who was frozen in fear and unable to move.

“Brother Niu, given our friendship, I will naturally give you a good place to go.”

"Why don't you come back to Heaven with me?"

The green ox spoke in human language, "The Heavenly Emperor has given his order, how dare I, the old ox, disobey?"

"However, it would be even better if the Heavenly Emperor would allow me to sneak down to the mortal realm every now and then to have a drink with courtesans."

Wu Tian paused for a moment, then couldn't help but burst into laughter.

He took two steps forward, slapped the bull's head hard, and then climbed onto its back.

"Of course, haha, who knows, I might even be able to go with you, Brother Niu."

"Let's go."

He patted the green ox's neck, his tone relaxed and cheerful, "Back to Heaven."

The blue ox raised its head and let out a long moo. Its four hooves trod on the clouds, carrying the white-robed youth on its back, and leaped up from the sea of ​​clouds and cliffs of Xuantian Peak.

The ox's hooves trod in the void, each step creating a blue lotus cloud that bloomed and vanished beneath its hooves, stretching upwards toward the heavens.

Wu Tian sat on the back of an ox, the mountain wind blowing his white robe.

He glanced back at the increasingly smaller Suspended Sky Peak.

The old pine tree still stands on the edge of the cliff, and the blue stone beneath it is still as smooth as a mirror, but the old Taoist priest who used to meditate on the stone is no longer there.

"I never imagined that he was the one helping me from beginning to end."

"But he is also the incarnation of the Great Crimson."

"Cause and effect are intertwined; fate is truly unpredictable!"

He sighed inwardly, then turned and headed towards the Heavenly Court without looking back. (End of Chapter)