I have Immortality In The Cultivation World

Chapter 200: Chapter 196: Thorough Search Across the World

"I must work hard!"

Lin Fan clenched his fist, his expression resolute, as he continued to practice Qinggong in the courtyard.

"A teachable youth."

Zhou Yi nodded slightly; the so-called 'a sword that can break mountains' was of course impossible, its true purpose was to encourage Lin Fan to cultivate in earnest.

The greatest flaw of a genius is that they achieve too easily, prone to arrogance and impatience!

Now, setting a goal that seemed out of reach, to hold reverence in his heart and to be careful at all times, would not be a bad thing. As for how entertaining it would be to eventually find out that all the others in the martial world were mere minnows, Zhou Yi had a slight expectation in his heart.

A volume of records materialized in his hand, chronicling the history of Spirit Sword City, from the forbidden area of the Scripture Pavilion in the Sword Casting Hall.

Just by the name Spirit Sword City, one could guess its connection with the Spirit Sword Sect of the past.

According to the records in the volume, a great demon once arose in Green State, practicing demonic cultivation that devoured countless lives. The aged ancestor of the Spirit Sword Sect, despite his frailty, fought the demon to the death, and they both perished in the end.

The founder of the Sword Casting Hall was a disciple of the Spirit Sword Sect, established to honor the ancestral merits, hence named Spirit Sword City!

"Bullshit!"

Zhou Yi crushed the volume into dust, a cold glint flashing in his eyes; the first ancestor to fall into demonhood was Jian Xuan.

Lin Fan stopped his steps, puzzled, "Immortal Master, who has angered you?"

"It's just that..."

Zhou Yi cut his words midway, unwilling to entangle Lin Fan too deeply in this matter, and said in a deep tone, "It's just that living too long, I find that wherever I go, there are vexatious matters!"

Lin Fan asked curiously, "Immortal Master, where is Kunlun Mountain?"

"Kunlun Mountain is everywhere and yet present in no particular domain."

Zhou Yi looked in the southeastern direction, "A few years ago, it was in Cloud Continent, tens of thousands of li away from here."

"Tens of thousands of li!"

Lin Fan exclaimed, "What did an immortal travel so far for?"

Zhou Yi sighed, "There's an annoying fellow there, I prefer not to see him."

In these years, Baiyun Peak had almost been dug through by soldiers; even though it didn't affect the Speck of Dust Formation, the incessant clanking was annoying.

"Oh."

Seeing the Daoist Master reluctant to say more, Lin Fan shifted the topic considerately, "Immortal, I've been practicing for so long, why haven't you taught me any sword techniques?"

Zhou Yi glanced at Lin Fan and stroked his beard lightly, saying.

"If one could break a mountain with a single sword, what need would there be for any techniques?"

...

Xianjing.

Originally the capital of Da Qian, renamed after being occupied by Daqing.

Emperor Tai Shi claimed to have encountered an Immortal Fate at Kunlun Mountain and went into seclusion there, hence the change to 'Xian'.

The historians and scribes of Qing Kingdom scoured the millennium-old archives of Da Qian, never finding the words "Kunlun Mountain". Fearing the emperor's majesty, they had to forcibly extract an explanation from ancient texts.

Those officials who knew the true situation would merely smile without speaking, while most officials, ignorant of the facts, believed that Kunlun Mountain really existed in the world.

The Imperial Palace.

Shangyang Palace.

Emperor Tai Shi, Qin Zheng, cast his gaze over the ministers in the hall, his eyes stern. His innate power and the emperor's dignified presence pressed down, causing the physically weaker scholars to tremble in their legs involuntarily.

"General Zhang, have there been any traces of Kunlun found in recent days?"

"Your Majesty,"

General Zhang stepped forward and bowed: "Your servant dispatched a hundred thousand cavalry, dividing them into two groups from the coast of the Eastern Sea, marching north and south along the coast, carefully searching every mountain, river, and stream. To date, we have scoured half of the Cloud Continent's territory, yet Kunlun Mountain has not been found!"

Emperor Tai Shi ordered, "Too slow, dispatch another hundred thousand troops and have the military forces of each state join in the effort, sweep through Cloud Continent within ten years!"

"As decreed."

General Zhang bowed and accepted the command. Emperor Tai Shi, having conquered vast territories of the Qing Kingdom, was without equal in military prestige.

Not to mention searching for the elusive Kunlun Mountain, even if an Immortal God were to appear, upon a single command from Emperor Tai Shi, the Daqing cavalry would brazenly charge!

"Please reconsider, Your Majesty!"

The Grand Secretary stepped forward, his face showing difficulty, "The National Dynasty has just been founded, and its foundations are not yet solid; we should focus on recuperation and regeneration. Such large-scale troop deployments are not only a strain on the national treasury, but also place a heavy burden of forced labor on the people."

"Your Majesty, we received an urgent report from eight hundred li away yesterday,"

The Minister of Revenue stepped out and said, "Droughts have occurred in places like Ning'an Prefecture, Ming Prefecture, and Yangshan Prefecture, with no clouds seen for three months. Please prepare disaster relief rations now to prevent any civil unrest."

Another minister stepped forward, advising, "The claims of immortals and eternal life have always been but empty talk since ancient times, Your Majesty is young and strong, please do not indulge in such fantasies and neglect the affairs of the National Dynasty."

"I support the motion!"

"Your Majesty, please think thrice!"

One after another, more than a dozen ministers stepped out, asking Emperor Tai Shi to retract the military orders.

Experience more on M-V-L

"Enough! I am very much lucid now and have my own considerations,"

Emperor Tai Shi silenced the ministers, his gaze turning to the commander of the Jinyiwei, "How goes the investigation into the counterfeit Buddhist and Taoist scriptures?

"To report to Your Majesty, in the past half month, we have raided thirteen more temples and Taoist temples that recited the counterfeit scriptures, all of them have been sent to the military to toil."

Liu Jin bowed and said, "I dare guarantee with a military order that within one year, counterfeit scriptures will disappear from our dynasty, and within three years, no one in the states of Cloud Continent will dare to recite counterfeit scriptures!"

"Very good!"

Emperor Tai Shi praised, "Liu Aiqing, go ahead with your plans. Anyone who slanders Xuan Xiao Daojun is my enemy and can be charged with the crime of conspiring against the state, punished by the extermination of their Nine Clans!"

Emperor Tai Shi knew that Liu Jin was a treacherous scoundrel, but he also knew that to suppress Buddhism and Taoism, only a ruthless scoundrel could do the job. With the base of Buddhism and Taoism, no matter who took up the task, they could only treat the symptoms, not the root problem!

Moreover, it was fitting for a treacherous official to suppress the slanderous and deceptive teachings of Buddhism and Taoism!

Emperor Tai Shi was aware that using soldiers to search for Kunlun Mountain was a remote hope, thus, he also sought to restore the good name of Xuan Xiao Daojun, elevating him as one of the Two Sages of Taoism, hoping to win the favor of the real person Xuan Yi.

"Your servant obeys the order!"

Liu Jin showed a triumphant look; with the emperor's words, whoever dared to oppose the Jinyiwei would find a few counterfeit scriptures thrown into their homes.

After the court session ended.

Lunchtime.

Emperor Tai Shi consumed more than a dozen bowls of rice, each grain carefully selected tribute rice, yet he always found it bland and tasteless.

"Summon True Person Xu!"

A moment later.

The current master of Baiyun Temple, True Person Xu, appeared for an audience, bowing thrice and kowtowing nine times, loudly proclaiming long live the emperor.

Emperor Tai Shi was very pleased. He recalled thirty-five years ago when he took the throne in Xianjing, the Buddhists and Taoists did not even kneel to the emperor, claiming to be recluses beyond this world.

Now, more than thirty years later with seven Temple Masters dead, the Taoist priests finally came to their senses, bowing and kowtowing respectfully. After all, the monks next door from the Ten Thousand Buddhas Temple were all dead with not even a chance to beg for mercy.

"How goes the refining of the Lifespan Extension Pills?"

"Your Majesty, the art of Alchemy has been lost for a long time; even after decades of diligent study, I'm not particularly adept at it."

True Person Xu took out a Jade Box from his bosom and presented it with both hands: "Several furnaces have been ruined, consuming quite a lot of Spiritual Medicine, and we've managed to refine only a few defective pills."

Baiyun Temple, inherited from the Dan Ding sect, despite many changes and amended scriptures, had preserved many pill formulas. True Person Xu, with his profound study of Alchemy and a mix of three parts skill and seven parts loyalty, gained Emperor Tai Shi's support and trust.

An eunuch presented the Jade Box, carefully lifting the lid.

Inside were three thumb-sized pills, deep red with golden cloud patterns, emitting an alluring medicinal fragrance.

A flash of joy crossed Emperor Tai Shi's eyes. He recalled what True Person Can had once described about various Spirit Pills – this Lifespan Extension Pill looked exactly like one of them. He waved his hand to stop the eunuch from testing the pills and directly picked one up to swallow it.

It melted upon entering his mouth, and the rich Spiritual Energy dispersed into his organs.

For the first time in thirty-six years, he experienced the taste of Spiritual Energy again, like the sweet dew after a long drought.

"Hahaha!"

Emperor Tai Shi laughed heartily, visions of familiar yet foreign scenes flashing before his eyes as he muttered deliriously.

"I wield the Taia Sword, ride the dragon carriage, and ascend Kunlun Mountain..."

"There's the thousand-year verdant date trees, the evergreen Red Tendril of ten thousand years, the Mystic Pearl Grass, and the Purple Ganoderma..."

"Yin and Yang congeal into Immortal Fruits, and the five elements coalesce into Lingzhi mushrooms..."

"And then to the very center of Kunlun, there's the towering Jianmu, hundred feet without branches, green leaves and purple stems, reaching up to the ninth heaven and down to the Nine Netherworlds, where Immortal Gods ascend to the heavens..."

Every word and action by Emperor Tai Shi were meticulously recorded by the court historians in the hall, scribbling away non-stop!