Chapter 156: Master of the White Emperor Cave

Mount Baikan.

Qingyuan had been residing here for a full month now, yet the Master of the White Imperial Cave had not made the slightest move. As time passed, even Qingyuan gradually pushed the matter to the back of his mind and devoted himself entirely to cultivation.

Over the past few days, he cultivated day and night, meditating upon the Ninefold Jade Pavilion and operating the Yellow Court Immortal Classic.

Whenever a session of cultivation reached perfection, he would delve into the Six Months of Impurity Contemplation and the various profound mysteries of the Yellow Court Immortal Classic.

In the past, although he practiced diligently day and night and studied without pause, he was, after all, only considered to have taken half a step into the threshold of cultivation. Now, his cultivation had reached the peak of the Third Heaven, touching the barrier of the upper realm masters. His perceptions, comprehension, vision, and knowledge were no longer the same as before.

Seeing mountains as mountains, seeing waters as waters.
Seeing mountains are not mountains, seeing waters are not waters.

The same things, in the eyes of different people or from different angles, naturally appeared different.

With his current level of cultivation, looking at these two cultivation methods again allowed him to resolve many of his previous doubts. Yet precisely because of this, the deeper he saw and the more he comprehended, the more doubts and incomprehensible points he found.

The higher one stood and the farther one saw, the more insignificant one felt oneself to be.

Aside from this, Qingyuan occasionally practiced Daoist arts. Because of the ancient mirror, even if his attainments in the Daoist arts he learned were shallow, he could still use the mirror to refine and perfect many of them.

As for incomplete texts like the Azure Dragon Transformation Origin Art, because Qingyuan could not execute them completely, he could only perfect the parts he could manifest. The missing parts required deduction, but Qingyuan's own strength was not yet sufficient to support the ancient mirror's deductions. Therefore, it remained an incomplete text, though after passing through the ancient mirror, the might of this incomplete Daoist art could be displayed to its absolute limit.

Moreover, owing to his study of the Six Months of Impurity Contemplation and the Yellow Court Immortal Classic, his comprehension of the Dao intent grew increasingly profound, causing his Five Elements Daoist arts to rise in tandem.

The days remained peaceful.

The mountain breeze was cool, and the green trees swayed.
The green grass was like a carpet, accompanied by the songs of birds and the fragrance of flowers.

Until today.

A fierce wind swept across, blowing the trees low.

A streak of white light came from the north, heading straight for the treehouse with overwhelming momentum, as if it intended to shatter the entire dwelling.

Suddenly, a golden light erupted from within the treehouse. As it flipped, an ancient mirror intercepted the front.

The white light struck the ancient mirror and instantly sank into it, vanishing without a sound.

Before the treehouse, a figure had already appeared.

Qingyuan was dressed in pale white robes, holding an iron staff. With a wave of his hand, the ancient mirror hovered above his head, while He Qing's true spirit had already been put away by him.

"To establish a residence within my territory without permission, you certainly have quite some nerve."

A figure stepped out from the woods, looking about fifty years of age, with his hair tied in a Daoist bun and holding a horsetail whisk. He wore a grey robe, and a black beard reached down to his chest, fluttering in the breeze. He let out a cold snort, raised his brows, and said, "You must be Qingyuan?"

Qingyuan nodded slightly. According to the rules among practitioners, he was in the wrong here, and thus he did not make a move.

The grey-robed Daoist said coldly, "To dwell here without my permission, you certainly have been living comfortably."

Qingyuan cupped his hands slightly and said, "Since the Cave Master does not welcome outsiders here, this junior will destroy this treehouse and leave Mount Baikan."

The grey-robed Daoist sneered, "Do you still think you can leave at this late hour?"

Hearing this, Qingyuan grew even more silent. After a moment, he asked of his own accord, "Does the Cave Master want compensation? Or does he want this junior's life?"

The grey-robed Daoist placed his hands behind his back and smiled, "If I take your life, won't I also obtain all your belongings as compensation? I have just acquired Mount Baikan and am in dire need of establishing my authority. Hanging your head in front of the cave will serve quite well."

Qingyuan did not grow angry; instead, a strange look appeared in his eyes as he asked, "May I ask for the Senior's Dao title?"

"Since you are going to die at my hands, telling you does no harm."

The grey-robed Daoist began to pace forward, walking leisurely as he slowly said, "My Dao title is Hengmo, and my fellow practitioners all refer to me as the Supreme Master of Yin and Yang Unified. If you retain your true spirit after death and perhaps catch a glimpse of the netherworld, you may tell them that it was I who killed you."

Qingyuan's expression grew increasingly peculiar. After a moment, he suddenly said, "You are not the Master of the White Imperial Cave!"

The grey-robed Daoist paused slightly, swept his horsetail whisk, and said, "I am indeed the Master of the White Imperial Cave."

Qingyuan said in a low voice, "The Master of the White Imperial Cave had the surname Meng."

Upon hearing this, the grey-robed Daoist instead raised his chin and said, "The one surnamed Meng was the previous cave master; he was killed by me a month ago."

"So that's how it is."

Qingyuan said, "Did Senior also come to seize Mount Baikan?"

"It is not seizure," Supreme Master Hengmo said leisurely, "it is taking over."

Hearing this, Qingyuan looked directly at him and asked, "If this junior were to strike you down here, could this junior also take over the White Imperial Cave?"

Carrying a hint of disdain, Hengmo let out a scoff and sneered, "Just you?"

He then hooked a finger, pointed at Qingyuan, and said, "Go ahead and try."

"Very well!"

Qingyuan replied, raising his iron staff. Lightning patterns emerged on his forearm, and in an instant, lightning burst forth.

Seeing the lightning, Hengmo was suddenly startled and hurriedly swept his horsetail whisk.

The whisk intercepted the lightning.

However, the might of the lightning grew immensely potent.

Hengmo retreated several steps, his complexion turning alternately pale and flushed, looking rather unsightly.

"Lightning magic?"

A flicker of astonishment arose in Hengmo's heart.

He was a Fourth Heaven upper realm master, whereas the young man before him was merely a Third Heaven practitioner. Logically speaking, this boundary was a chasm as vast as heaven and earth, which was why he had acted with such absolute confidence.

At present, however, this young man truly seemed extraordinary.

Before he could harbor further hesitation, Qingyuan had already closed the distance. A streak of light burst from his hand, lengthening like a whip and lashing outward.

Hengmo met it with his horsetail whisk, entangling the fiery whip.

The material of this horsetail whisk was exceptionally fine, superior even to the ice-silkworm whisk he had obtained from Mount Fuzhong, and having been refined, it was nearly at the grade of a Dharma artifact.

The whisk bound the fiery whip, yet the flames could not burn through it and were instead constrained within.

"Change!"

At that moment, another low cry was heard from Qingyuan.

The ground suddenly split open, and golden light burst forth from within.

The golden light was razor-sharp. Even though Hengmo evaded swiftly, he could not avoid being injured, and blood instantly seeped from his flank.

A hint of surprise stirred in Qingyuan's heart, and he thought to himself, "Though he is an upper realm master, this Hengmo's cultivation is still a notch inferior to the likes of Sun Yugan and Huan. As for his skill in combat, he is even inferior to Sun Yu... He can defeat Third Heaven practitioners, but among Fourth Heaven upper realm masters, he cannot be considered brilliant."

With this thought, his initial solemnity diminished slightly, and his subsequent movements became even more smooth and effortless.

The ancient mirror suddenly shone downward, and a beam of white light flashed forth—it was precisely the Daoist art Hengmo had wielded just moments ago.

The white light arrived with lightning speed. Recognizing it as one of his own most frequently used Daoist arts, Hengmo was struck with shock and pressed his hands forward just in time to dissolve the white light.

However, trailing right behind the white light was a palm.

The palm had five fingers, each bearing a ray of light divided into five colors corresponding to the five elements.

"Five Elements Daoist art?"

Hengmo felt a bone-chilling cold throughout his body.

With a flip of his hand, an object suddenly appeared in his grip, resembling a clay stake.

This palm pressed down upon the clay stake, shattering the Dharma artifact into pieces.

Dust swirled and light scattered in all directions.

Yet Hengmo had already vanished without a trace.

"He escaped?"

Qingyuan was momentarily stunned, gradually noticing something amiss. "Was it due to a change in the grey robe? It seems the grey robe he wore... is also a treasure."

ps: The next chapter will be released, but a bit later. (To be continued.)