Lao Tzu is Ji Gong

Chapter 1171 Heading to Mount Hua

"Don't worry, Chenxiang, I will definitely find your mother and wake you up. You poor child." After saying this, Li Xiuyuan shook his head and flew away.

Mount Hua has been famous for its perilousness since ancient times. Moreover, it is a place where the spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers, and there are many mountain demons and monsters, including some that have become spirits.

Nevertheless, Li Xiuyuan resolutely embarked on the journey to Mount Hua. However, he did not expect it to be so difficult; he encountered danger before even entering the Mount Hua area.

Li Xiuyuan was flying towards Mount Hua when suddenly a beam of light flew straight towards him. He was caught off guard and was struck.

Then, a dark figure flew out from a corner and flew towards him: "Who goes there? How dare you try to enter the sacred grounds of Mount Hua? Are you looking for death? Surrender now!"

Li Xiuyuan took a look. If he wasn't mistaken, it was probably a mountain ox that had cultivated into a spirit and then saw him, wanting to eat him to increase its cultivation. However, judging from his attack just now, its cultivation was too weak; it hadn't even caused any damage to his primordial spirit.

Clearly, the bull demon had discovered this, so he tried to deceive him, making him believe he was the guardian deity of this place. But was Li Xiuyuan so easily fooled?

Li Xiuyuan said, "Oh, then who are you? Are you the guardian of this place? But why didn't I see you when I came here before?"

The bull demon shamelessly replied, "Nonsense, I was only recently sent here. How could you have seen me before? Hurry up and leave, or you'll bring trouble upon yourself and ruin your future."

Li Xiuyuan didn't have time to waste with him. He shouted, "Hey, where did this mountain demon come from, trying to fool me? Let me tell you, even if the guardians of this mountain came, they couldn't stop me from going in. If you don't leave now, I'll kill you today."

Li Xiuyuan had the ability; he could guess the little demon's strength from its attack just now. Even though it was a primordial spirit, he could still kill it.

The little demon didn't leave immediately, but wanted to continue arguing with him. However, Li Xiuyuan really didn't want to waste time, so he took action.

Li Xiuyuan unleashed a palm strike, causing the surrounding air to accelerate and form a current, but it still couldn't stop his spiritual power. The spiritual power materialized into a palm strike, aimed at the bull demon.

The bull demon was terrified and immediately fled, but he was too late. That palm strike severed one of his horns and crippled his cultivation, but Li Xiuyuan did not kill him.

The bull demon immediately said, "Grandpa, spare me! Grandpa, spare me! I'll never dare to do it again!"

Li Xiuyuan looked at him and said calmly, "Get lost. Don't let me see you lying and harming people again, or I will definitely kill you next time." The powerful bull demon immediately turned into a beam of light and left.

Li Xiuyuan looked back at where Chenxiang was, his eyes shining with determination, and then continued flying towards Mount Hua to find the Third Holy Mother.

It was already midday, but the area was still shrouded in mist, as was always the case on Mount Hua. This somewhat obstructed his vision. Since this was his primordial spirit, he couldn't open his third eye. He had no choice but to proceed step by step.

“The spiritual energy of heaven and earth gathers here. Ordinary people could probably prolong their lives by meditating here. If it were us, our cultivation speed would probably be even faster. It’s a pity that we can’t bring Chenxiang here to cultivate right now,” Li Xiuyuan said to himself.

After some time, he finally saw the main peak, the one that sealed the Three Holy Mothers. The road ahead was sure to be fraught with danger, but Li Xiuyuan did not back down. He walked forward, willing to brave any danger for the sake of Chenxiang.

Just as Li Xiuyuan was about to enter the sealed area, an old man suddenly appeared. The old man had a white beard, white hair, and white clothes; in short, he was almost entirely white from head to toe.

"Young friend, please wait. Are you going to enter the interior of Mount Hua?" the old man asked.

The white-haired, white-bearded old man looked like a sage, and was very kind and friendly. Li Xiuyuan said respectfully to the old man, "Yes, I am going in to see an acquaintance and save another person."

The old man shook his head in disapproval and said, "I'm afraid it won't work. The person sealed inside is of great importance, and I cannot let you in. Back then, someone from the Heavenly Court sent me to guard this place. No one is allowed to enter without the Queen Mother's decree. I'm sorry, young friend, you should go back."

Li Xiuyuan smiled slightly and said, "No, I must enter Mount Hua today, and I must see the Third Holy Mother. It's a matter of life and death, so please make an exception for me, senior."

The old man looked at him and said, "Young friend, you speak well and don't seem like a bad person. Besides, we hit it off immediately. How about this, why don't you sit down and play a game of chess with me? If you win, I can let you in on your own, and I can keep it a secret."

Li Xiuyuan thought for a moment and figured that forcing him in wouldn't work, so he decided to wait and see how things went. He then said, "Then I'll ask for your guidance."

The old man smiled, and with a casual grab, a chessboard appeared out of thin air.

The old man said very politely, "Please."

Li Xiuyuan said, "You are an elder, how could I possibly step down first? Please, give me your guidance first."

The old man smiled and nodded, and then the two began to play chess.

Li Xiuyuan wasn't particularly good at Go, while his opponent had superb skills. But so what? Li Xiuyuan was exceptionally talented, and after playing against the old man a few times, he would surely figure out his opponent's moves.

Even now, he still thinks about Chenxiang, wondering how he is doing.

Suddenly, the old man made a move, capturing one of Li Xiuyuan's pieces. The old man said, "How can you possibly win when you're so distracted?" Li Xiuyuan looked at the captured piece and felt a sharp pain in his soul, as if it were being torn apart.

He immediately calmed down and stopped looking there. The old man smiled and said, "I advise you to play this game carefully. In the past, some very powerful figures have died at its hands."

Chapter 1172 Crisis Abounds

Li Xiuyuan guessed that this was probably a chessboard incorporating an array. If a player's piece was captured, they would be trapped inside the array. Of course, if you didn't look, nothing would happen. However, if you were captured too many times, or if you were completely captured, you might be trapped and die inside the array.

“Senior’s chess skills are superb; I am truly inferior. Should I not leave until the game is finished?” Li Xiuyuan asked, and the old man nodded appreciatively.

Li Xiuyuan had no choice but to continue walking. Before he knew it, he saw a tree demon with profound cultivation, and it was still in its primordial spirit form.

The tree spirit's vines lashed out at him, and he hurriedly tried to block them. However, one vine still managed to trap him, pulling him into the tree spirit's mouth. He cast a spell, but it did little to harm the tree spirit.

Just as he was about to die, he suddenly heard a loud shout: "What are you doing? Wake up at once!" He suddenly escaped from the tree demon's mouth, and upon closer inspection, he realized there was no tree demon at all, but rather that another one of his flags had been eaten.

The old man sighed and said, "Young friend, you seem distracted. You should go back. I'm afraid you can't go in today. If you still want to come and learn from me next time, I will accept you."

Li Xiuyuan shook his head and said, "Please continue to instruct me, senior. I must meet the person today." The old man smiled, and the two continued playing chess.

Li Xiuyuan's chess skills are still very good; he hasn't lost a single game until now. Today, he's just preoccupied with something on his mind. Now, he's calmed down and wants to learn some lessons from the old man.

A moment later, he lost another side, but he also managed to take down the old man's side. The figure of Chenxiang appeared in the illusion, slowly walking towards him. He remained expressionless and unleashed a palm strike.

A look of surprise crossed the old man's face at noon. Li Xiuyuan simply said "continue" and then resumed playing chess. The old man nodded and said, "This illusion... it features someone you care about deeply. Young friend, your mind is truly remarkable."

Time flew by, and in the afternoon, Li Xiuyuan entered the illusion again. It was a scene of blades, with countless sword flashes and shadows slashing at him. He remained unmoved, but then a sharp pain shot through him; he was injured.

"Young friend, you have won. I have sent you in. From now on, you must walk the road ahead on your own. There are still many difficulties ahead. I hope you will not die inside. Come find me to play chess another day."

Li Xiuyuan's lips twitched. This was not an illusion. A flurry of sword and blade light slashed at him again. He immediately began to dodge, constantly unleashing palm strikes to counter, but in his primordial spirit form, he simply couldn't withstand that much damage.

About an hour later, a figure climbed up the stairs, his entire body shimmering with iridescent light. It was Li Xiuyuan, the Li Xiuyuan who had been tempered by the clash of swords.

He sat cross-legged on the spot, gradually easing the spiritual energy in his body.

At the next staircase, Li Xiuyuan was charred black all over. He had just crossed a volcano and was almost burned to death by thousands of fire dragons inside. Fire dragons were nothing to him, but he never expected that so many fire dragons would suddenly jump out in front of him, densely packed.

Fortunately, he survived, resumed meditating and healing his wounds, and then continued on his way.

The next time, he was chased and beaten by many stone golems. Although he was a primordial spirit, he was still beaten and injured all over. These stone golems were also primordial spirits, and their attack power was extremely high. Fortunately, he survived with only half his life left and was not killed.

He thought about it carefully. These formations here all seemed to target the primordial spirit body. It seemed the Queen Mother of the West knew all along that the primordial spirit body could enter, and had set up these formations beforehand. If it weren't for his unwavering willpower and powerful primordial spirit, an ordinary person would probably have already perished.

Next was Wang Yang. He had already guessed it, because based on the previous situation, this should be a Five Elements Formation. Although he had prepared in advance, he still almost drowned. The formation here was very powerful.

Through constant training, his primordial spirit body has become much stronger, which can be considered his only gain.

After replying, he entered the next formation, which was also the last one, and if nothing unexpected happened, it should be a wood formation.

This time, he was unharmed. Knowing beforehand that it was a wood formation, he went in with a torch and set it ablaze. Then, he walked out unharmed; this was due to the interaction of the five elements.

"It should be much easier to come in next time," he thought. Knowing the formation, he could prepare in advance next time, making it much easier. Then, he went up to find the Third Holy Mother.

At the last staircase, he saw a door. He stepped inside.

Inside the door, it was as if it were two different worlds from the outside. Here, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was much denser, almost condensed into liquid, and the entire space was damp.

As Li Xiuyuan walked along, there were streams everywhere, their gentle murmurs quite pleasant. Mo Tianwen was puzzled; why was there a deadly magic array outside, yet inside it was a paradise of beauty?

After passing through a barrier, Li Xiuyuan finally arrived at his destination, the central area of ​​Mount Hua, a space similar to the inner space of a gourd, but outside was Mount Hua, not some gourd at all.

The entire space remained the same, brimming with spiritual energy and damp with moisture. At the center was a pool of water, upon which lotus flowers bloomed, shrouded in mist. Further inward, there was a lotus platform about twenty feet high.

A person was lying on the lotus platform. Judging from her graceful and beautiful figure, it must be the Holy Mother of the Third Princess.

Li Xiuyuan casually cast a spell, and his clothes were instantly transformed. After all this, he had finally found the Third Holy Mother. Now, at least when they returned, Chenxiang would have a belief and wouldn't be in so much pain.

He flew over, intending to come to the side of the Third Holy Mother, when suddenly, a barrier appeared out of thin air. He was caught off guard and was knocked back. Fortunately, Li Xiuyuan was highly skilled and was not seriously injured.

Chapter 1173 Meeting the Three Holy Mothers

The Holy Mother of the Third Princess was clearly awakened as well. She opened her eyes and saw Li Xiuyuan, who was also looking at her. The two stared at each other for a while before the Holy Mother of the Third Princess spoke.

"Who are you, and why have you come here? This place is rife with trouble. I can see that you are also a cultivator. This is a place where cultivators are most wary. You should leave quickly and not get involved in this trouble."

Li Xiuyuan looked at the Third Holy Mother and said, "It seems you are the Third Holy Mother."

The Holy Mother looked at him with a puzzled expression and asked, "You know me, but we don't seem to have met before?"

"My name is Li Xiuyuan. We have indeed never met before, but I have come to find you." Seeing the Third Holy Mother's puzzled expression, he guessed that the world he had encountered in this world was actually two parallel worlds, which was why the Third Holy Mother had absolutely no recollection of him!

Li Xiuyuan then added, "By the way, I've come to you to save your son."

"What?" The Third Holy Mother stood up abruptly. "Son, you mean, my son isn't dead, he, he's alive!" the Third Holy Mother asked excitedly. Li Xiuyuan nodded.

“Your son Chenxiang, he is doing very well, very smart and lively, but…” Before Li Xiuyuan could finish speaking, the Third Holy Mother rushed over and threw herself against the barrier, only to be blasted back.

Li Xiuyuan immediately said, "Don't get agitated. Let me explain slowly. I can assure you, Chenxiang won't die right now. I can revive him. Don't worry. Calm down first, okay?"

The Holy Mother of the Third Palace took a deep breath and said, "I'm sorry, I got too excited. Please tell me quickly, what happened to Chenxiang? And how is his father? Are they all alright?"

Li Xiuyuan shook his head and said, "Liu's father... he died. Today was supposed to be the anniversary of his death, but Chenxiang was so heartbroken that he suffered a stroke. Luckily, I found him early and saved his life. But, as you know, the one who tied the knot must untie it, and a heart ailment needs a heart remedy. When he was unconscious, he kept calling your name. So, I came here to find you, hoping you have some way to save him. This child has had a hard life since he was little; he's so pitiful."

After hearing this, the Third Holy Mother didn't say anything more, but cried, crying very sadly. Li Xiuyuan was speechless for a moment. After a while, he asked, "Your Majesty, is there something you can't say? Or perhaps?"

The Third Holy Mother said, "There is no unspeakable secret, but I was thinking of my poor child. I was not by his side when he was little. Without a mother's love, his life must have been very difficult. The children around him must have been unkind to him. Now, his poor father is gone too. My child, I am so sorry. Now you are sick, but I am unable to help you. I am a bad mother. My child, you must hate me. I am so sorry, my child..."

Seeing the heartbroken Third Holy Mother, Li Xiuyuan was deeply moved: "Your Majesty, you don't need to be sad. I came to see you today hoping that you could leave something for Chenxiang to prove that you are alive. That way, he will have a belief and won't be so sad. In that case, I think I can save him."

The Holy Mother looked at him and said, "Thank you, benefactor. Please accept my bow." After saying that, she bowed to Li Xiuyuan. Because of the barrier, Li Xiuyuan could not stop her and accepted the bow. Moreover, in the previous world, he was the Holy Mother's master, so Li Xiuyuan accepted the bow without any shame.

Then, the Holy Mother asked, "But I don't have anything to give him. You know I'm trapped here, and I really don't have anything."

Seeing that the Third Holy Mother was on the verge of tears again, Li Xiuyuan immediately said, "Don't worry, let's think of a way. Or, you could tell me about the time you spent with Chenxiang's father, and I'll go back and tell him. That way, he'll know you're still alive. But I wonder if that would be considered an invasion of your privacy?"

“Sigh, what privacy is there left? My child is dying and I can’t save him. As a mother, I’ve failed so badly, what privacy is there to talk about?”

After she finished speaking, she began to recount her first encounter with Chenxiang's father, a story that was extremely romantic. It was such a beautiful thing for people to meet, get to know each other, and fall in love, but in the end, they were hunted down by the Heavenly Court.

She recounted how she was captured and became completely unaware of what was happening outside. She had tried to break the barrier, but failed.