Chapter 158: There is Poison in the Shit (1/4)

"Old Ghost Huaqing has loved grandeur all his life; even for his Dao-Proving, he invites the assembly of immortals to a banquet... Heh..."

"Known or unknown, they have all come. How could this deity be absent!"

"Your old friend, Golden-Winged Phoenix, has come to attend the banquet!"

"Old Ghost Huaqing! Why do you not hurry out to welcome me?"

The Golden-Winged Phoenix stood with his hands behind his back, looking down upon the immortals with arrogance, his overbearing and lawless aura fully displayed.

Yet, he had the capital for his arrogance. Born of a noble lineage, his cultivation had already reached the realm of Great Accomplishment Celestial Immortal. Even if he were slightly weaker than Patriarch Huaqing by a hair's breadth, he was still a top-tier expert.

Faced with such an expert, the many immortals of Huaqing View did not dare to be negligent. They raised the magic formation and set the grotto-heaven revolving, locking him firmly within.

Responding to all changes with constancy, they neither made a move nor uttered a sound; defense was their sole strategy.

Below, the majority of the immortals who had come to attend the banquet remained mere onlookers eating melons and watching the show, having no ties whatsoever with Huaqing View. There was also a small fraction who had a good relationship with Huaqing View; they flew up to assist and lend momentum, gathering in groups of three or five to form an impressive battle array.

Seeing this, the Golden-Winged Phoenix could not help but sneer, "Such a grand array, do you rely on numbers?"

A streak of golden light rose from his wings like a thunderbolt, transforming into a divine mace. The mace body was jointless and tip-less, prism-shaped with four sides concave inward, connected to a handle about four feet long and shining with golden brilliance. Forged from immortal gold, it was a Celestial Immortal's destiny magic treasure. With a single strike, it was like the roaring collapse of mountains and seas, booming with a resounding crash!

The grotto-heaven of Huaqing View shook again and again. Three or five Celestial Immortals were scattered to the ground, and dozens of Earth Immortals were left in miserable disarray. Although the grand array was not broken, it rippled with wave after wave of impact.

"If relying on numbers were useful, why would I cultivate immortality or seek the Dao!"

The Golden-Winged Phoenix sneered, shouting out a resounding Daoist principle and the unvarnished truth.

Above the lotus pond, many immortals who were watching the show subconsciously nodded. Immortal Dao differs from mortal dao; it is the path of seeking transcendence.

Sometimes, a fraction of a difference meant a gulf as vast as heaven and earth, severing one's path for ten thousand generations.

This was their personal experience, and the Golden-Winged Phoenix had also proven this point with his strength!

With a single strike, the grotto-heaven along with a group of immortals was forced to retreat in defeat.

"Old Ghost Huaqing, Hua Sanxeng! Your disciples and grand-disciples are useless. You might as well come out yourself."

The Golden-Winged Phoenix said arrogantly.

"Supreme Primordial Heavenly Lord!"

A Dao title was chanted aloud, invoking the name of the Heavenly Lord.

Luo Feng asked with some surprise, "Is Daoist Huaqing a follower under the Yuxu Palace gate?"

Immortal Tai'er smiled and said, "You could consider him an unregistered disciple."

A flash of understanding crossed Luo Feng's eyes. What is an unregistered disciple? It means he wasn't even an official recorded disciple.

Years ago, Patriarch Huaqing had practiced the Dao at the foot of Mount Kunlun. Such rogue immortals were countless, and the Heavenly Lord would never acknowledge them, but rogue immortals like Patriarch Huaqing acknowledged themselves as such.

To put it bluntly, it was clinging to a powerful patron, much like claiming a famous ancestor or grandmaster to gain prestige in later generations.

The sound of the Dao was faint and ethereal, lotus flowers bloomed everywhere, presenting a scene of utter tranquility.

A middle-aged Daoist with a jade-like countenance and a confident, leisurely demeanor, holding a jade ruyi, rose from a lotus flower and occupied the center of the grotto-heaven. His aura was profound beyond measure, harmonizing seamlessly with the Great Dao of heaven and earth.

"Hmph..."

Immortal Tai'er let out a look of astonishment, "I was wondering why old Daoist Huaqing was holding a Dharma assembly. So he was practicing the Dao-Merging Method."

"He is only a step away from completion."

"The Dao-Merging Method, indeed it is."

Luo Feng looked closely, as if confirming it, and then nodded in realization.

There are tens of thousands of methods of cultivation within the Primordial Great Dao, but the mainstream remains limited to a few: Immortals, Buddhas, Gods, Demons, Sorcerers, and Demons (Witches and Demons). Even if the rest produce Golden Immortals or individuals who use those paths to prove the Great Dao of Daluo, they are ultimately minor paths.

Like Luo Feng, who sought the Innate Ancestral Qi three times, suspending the Ancestral Qi in the void—though somewhat eccentric and monstrous—it still fell within the category of Immortal Dao.

As for the Golden Immortal Dao-Merging Method, it was already approaching the divine path, separated from it by only a hair's breadth.

The Immortal Dao relies on oneself to seek the Innate Ancestral Qi, ultimately proving the perfection of the Golden Immortal.

Meanwhile, the Dao-Merging Method involves cultivating a certain Great Dao to perfection, seeking the innate essence from within the Dao, and then feeding it back into oneself.

This method seemed simple and traceable, allowing for step-by-step cultivation. Unlike searching for the Innate Ancestral Qi from within oneself—where, if you were lucky like Luo Feng, you could experience a flash of enlightenment, combined with luck, Main God fragments, and a mountain of cheats, soaring straight up to the void—

If you were unlucky, you might fail to find a single moment of spiritual resonance for hundreds of millions of years, unable to catch even a glimpse of the Great Dao until death.

However, the Dao-Merging Method had a major drawback: those skilled in drowning inevitably die in water, and those skilled in the Dao inevitably die in the Dao. The final step of the Dao-Merging Method—merging with the Dao and condensing the trinity—made one extremely prone to Dao-assimilation if one failed to maintain self-control.

If one had powerful backing, a strong background, and could invite a Daluo expert to intervene, one might be reduced to a completely emotionless ancient god. But for a rogue immortal like Patriarch Huaqing, once he failed, he would directly undergo Dao-assimilation, not even leaving behind his true spirit, with no talk of reincarnation or starting over.

Immortal Tai'er sighed with emotion, "I never expected that Patriarch Huaqing hid his strength so deeply, even deceiving me."

Luo Feng smiled faintly, "Does Old Ancestor truly not know?"

Immortal Tai'er frowned; those words carried a hidden meaning.

Sipping a mouthful of tea, he calmly said, "This poor Daoist has not stepped out of his mountain gate for thirty thousand years; naturally, I would not know."

Thirty thousand years—you truly are a shut-in immortal.

Luo Feng inwardly complained. Compared to Immortal Tai'er, he himself was merely a lesser wizard before a greater one and still had much to learn.

While the two were conversing, Patriarch Huaqing and the Golden-Winged Phoenix had already come to blows.

The Golden-Winged Phoenix wielded his divine weapon, unleashing streams of golden metal Qi that swallowed ten thousand miles like a tiger, stirring the grotto-heaven into unrest.

Patriarch Huaqing, on the other hand, looked the picture of a benevolent elder, holding a jade ruyi in his hand as a magic treasure.

Just when everyone thought Patriarch Huaqing was about to activate his magic treasure and unleash a supreme divine ability,

Patriarch Huaqing recited a chant to the Heavenly Lord and hurled the jade ruyi outward. Like a shooting star gliding across the sky, traversing time and space, heavy as Mount Tai and shining with majestic divine might, it smashed right into the murderous Golden-Winged Phoenix, cracking his head and spilling blood.

At this moment, all the immortals—whether they were onlookers eating melons, supporters helping out, or those with other motives—

were left dumbfounded, staring blankly at this scene in the sky.

In an instant, an awkward atmosphere settled over the place, and the Dao arena fell dead silent.

Someone muttered under his breath, "You can use a jade ruyi like that?!"

Following that, wave after wave of sighs and exclamations of amazement broke out.

A brilliant light flickered in Luo Feng's eyes as he felt that Patriarch Huaqing's method was simply marvelous!

A jade ruyi, originally a defensive and magical type of treasure, transformed into an offensive type the very instant it was launched. Who could possibly withstand such a sudden shift?!

In the blink of an eye, the mother duck turned into a drake; wouldn't the opponent be utterly flabbergasted!

He silently committed this method to memory, deciding that once he returned to the Heavenly Court, he too would forge a batch of offensive jade ruyis.

Whenever he disliked someone, he would sneak up and hit them with one.

Moreover, not only should they be offensive, but they could also be designed as explosive-type, poison-type, or corrosive-type jade ruyis.

In the future, he would throw them like hand grenades!

However... was just having a jade ruyi enough?!

Luo Feng was a studious immortal who knew how to draw inferences from one instance.

In an instant, several more daring ideas popped into his mind.

For instance, he could hide a sword inside a zither, a needle inside the sword, medicine inside the needle, and poison inside the medicine...

He could even add some feces into the poison just to disgust his opponents.

Future adversaries might well shout before dying: "There is poison in this shit—uh, or rather, there is shit in this poison!"

[First chapter update at midnight]