Chapter 851: Chapter 851

Jing Hong, however, did not burst out as they predicted, but instead looked at Chen Shi with interest and said, "Are you Chen Yindou’s grandson? No wonder you look so much like him. I even thought Chen Yindou had become young again and come back to find me."

He reminisced about the past and said, "When Chen Yindou came to the mountain, I was the proud son of Taihua Qing Palace, with a first-grade divine fetus and profound cultivation. Whatever Daoist skill I learned, I mastered at once. Everyone in the sect respected me, and many junior sisters favored me, vying to become my Dao companion. Those so-called Four Elders of Taihua were all defeated by me; all the Qiongyang, Qionghua, and Qiongyu were infatuated with me. Even my master told me, you are the next Sect Leader. At that time, my glory was unparalleled."

Outside the hall, the Four Elders of Taihua made grunting noises as they each completed their transformation, drying their bodies.

The skin of the Four Elders stood in place, lifelike.

Some of the four old Daoists had really grown cicada wings, very thin, fluttering up to the big tree on the left side of the main hall entrance, perched on the tree like cicadas chirping.

Another old Daoist vibrated his cicada wings, flew to the opposite hall, and hung upside down under the eaves.

The other two old Daoists looked envious and said, "The two senior brothers have attained enlightenment!"

But strangely, they soon grew skin and then stiffened there, continuing their transformation.

Besides them, other Daoists of Taihua Qing Palace crawled like golden cicadas on all fours toward Green Sheep Palace, stopping as they crawled to undergo shell-shedding transformation!

Many Daoists shed themselves to resemble three-foot-tall children, but their appearance was extremely aged, like elderly men in their twilight years.

Master Mei of Yu Lingzi was also among them, a plum deer who had already achieved something, shedding its skin, protruding a blood-covered deer head from the deer skin, and crying out: "Yo——yo! Transformation and ascension are right before us! Yo——"

Jing Hong’s words turned, "But ever since Chen Yindou arrived, everything changed. I had never seen anyone so intelligent, so uninhibited, with talent so overflowing it even made me jealous. When Chen Yindou arrived at Green Sheep Palace, I felt the attention I received lessened, and the admiration waned too. Many junior sisters and senior sisters quickly transferred their affections and fell for this newcomer Daoist. Chen Yindou clearly had the worst divine embryo, was clearly lower in realm than me, and clearly had poor talent. Yet he just attracted people. He was too smart and also handsome."

From outside came the sound of the skin bursting, one of the old Daoists pulled his head out from the back of his skin, and exclaimed joyfully, "Ah, this is the mystery of Feather Transformation and Ascension! I’ve attained enlightenment!"

Chen Shi laughed and said, "Senior Jing Hong, why should cultivators care about this? Shouldn’t they be free from desires and inactive?"

Jing Hong sighed, "I wanted to too, but I was young and impulsive then, unable to let go. Now my state of mind is much higher. Back then, even Qiongyang liked him and got close to him. He took a very short time to learn almost all the cultivation techniques and spells of Taihua Qing Palace and creatively developed many new spells, even altering the original cultivation techniques beyond recognition, but the effects were better than the original techniques. He also said our Taihua Qing Palace inheritance was nothing special, merely a hollow reputation."

Qing Yang said coldly, "Chen Yindou was too much, right?"

Jing Hong nodded, "He was indeed too much, suddenly taking away the brilliance that was mine. I was very angry and challenged him, telling him if I lost, I would give up the position of the next Sect Leader to him. If he lost, he should get out of Taihua Mountain. He had a good temper and didn’t agree, but I forced him to make a move, and then I lost, almost dying under his spell."

Qing Yang said, "You were almost done in by him, you hated him."

Jing Hong said, "I did hate him for taking everything from me. After my defeat, I was despondent and muddled through several years, with the hatred growing stronger. But he did not become the Sect Leader but instead looted the Ancestor Master’s Tomb and was expelled from Taihua Qing Palace. After being expelled from the Green Palace, he even eloped with Qing Yang Ancestor. I hated him so much, and my master was already old then. He didn’t become the Sect Leader, fled, trampling on my dignity, digging up Ancestor Master’s Tomb for longevity, abandoning Qiongyang and others. I became the Sect Leader but still couldn’t help hating him until one day I found out that I had grown old."

He said softly, "I found I had gray hair, found my organs inevitably aging, found my primordial spirit growing stronger, but my physical body growing older, increasingly unable to accommodate such a powerful primordial spirit. Only then did I understand Chen Yindou. Suddenly, I no longer hated your grandfather."

He looked at Chen Shi, revealing an expression of appreciation, and said, "On the contrary, I greatly admire and even respect him. He was so ahead of his time, pursuing longevity when he wasn’t old yet, while I only understood his actions when I grew old and started to pursue longevity. I was far inferior to him."

Chen Shi shook his head and said, "My grandfather was not pursuing longevity, but the mysteries of the Dao. Sect Leader Jing Hong, you misunderstood."

Jing Hong laughed heartily, shaking his head, said: "You don’t understand Chen Yindou, but I do. Compared to immortality, what are women? What is love? What is the Sect Leader? He can abandon all these; he is a true seeker of the Dao!"

Qing Yang sneered coldly, saying: "Jing Hong, you have misunderstood Chen Yindou. He is a seeker of the Dao, not just seeking immortality. His mind is focused on developing Daoist skills, on restoring the civilization of the True King Era, and even surpassing his predecessors and ancients. He is so obsessed with the Great Dao, that’s why he captivated Qiongyang, why I gave up my position to follow him."

Jing Hong pondered for a moment, then laughed: "Perhaps you’re right. But later, Chen Yindou disappointed me. He actually abandoned the path of immortality, the ascension path, for his grandson, and fought desperately with the Western Capital. He gave up everything, only to seek his grandson, willing to forgo immortality and the Great Dao. He is a waste."

He sneered coldly, saying: "Such a Chen Yindou is beneath my contempt! I must personally verify the path of immortality, personally ascend! I not only want to ascend, I also want to bring all the Daoists of the Taihua Qing Palace with me to ascend! Back then, I was defeated by him, but after all these years, this time, I will not lose!"

He was full of heroic spirit, laughed long, saying: "I found a manuscript left by Chen Yindou, which recorded the Golden Cicada Sheds Shell Heavenly Immortal Diagram, something he dug out from the Ancestor Master’s Tomb. He organized this lost cultivation technique and made annotations. He left an eight-word comment: ’This skill is an Outer Dao, cultivating a fake immortal.’ He was wrong, wrong beyond measure."

"Oh—oh! I am one step closer to Feather Transformation and Ascension!" Master Mei’s voice came from outside.

It had already transformed to resemble a young deer, and if it continued to transform, it might just transform itself out of existence in the mortal world.

Chang Ying Daoist looked outside, while his Primordial Spirit looked towards the underworld.

These Daoists were not only transforming their physical bodies, but their Primordial Spirits were also transforming, shrinking a little with each transformation!

If this transformation continued, it wouldn’t take long before they transformed themselves into nothingness and ceased to exist!

However, strangely, after the four elders of Taihua transformed five or six times, they all grew wings like those of a cicada, and the transformation speed greatly slowed, as if they were truly shedding impurities, approaching an immortal body!

Upon seeing this scene, Chang Ying Daoist, even with his steady Dao heart, couldn’t help but waver, thinking: "Could it be that the Master’s path is truly correct? Could he really make us all ascend together as a sect?"

Jing Hong said with a smile: "Cultivators shed their physical bodies and Primordial Spirit impurities time and again, gradually evolving into an immortal body, an immortal Primordial Spirit, which can achieve harmonization! This was something Chen Yindou didn’t see back then, but I have seen this secret to becoming an immortal. Chang Ying, I have done something more remarkable than Chen Yindou! I will bring all of you to harmonize with the heavens and earth, ascend to the Immortal Realm!"

Chang Ying Daoist frowned, looked outside, only to see a Daoist with slightly weaker cultivation transforming himself to the size of an infant, still in the midst of transformation!

Suddenly, Chen Shi smiled and said: "Then, since Senior Jing Hong has understood the method of ascension, why seek the Innocent Daoist? Could it be you’ve also seen the shortcomings in the Golden Cicada Sheds Shell Heavenly Immortal Diagram, hence you sought the Innocent Daoist’s Yin Yang Refining to prevent turning evil?"

Jing Hong was stunned: "Innocent Daoist? Who is the Innocent Daoist?"

Chen Shi was shocked, exclaimed: "The person who used the Immortal Fire to burn away the Golden Bell Sealing Technique, wasn’t that you?"

Jing Hong, puzzled, said: "What Immortal Fire?"

Chen Shi pressed on: "The Innocent Daoist is the Fire Dao boy of the True Yang Ancestor, he had cultivated to great completion in the Ascension Realm, used Yin Yang Refining to refine evil Qi, and was about to harmonize and ascend when he was cut down. You don’t know about this?"

Jing Hong, confused, said: "In my Taihua Qing Palace, there is such a formidable figure?"

In the moment he was distracted, Qing Yang, without hesitation, turned around, grabbed the True Martial Evil Extermination Sword, swung it down, and shouted: "Chang Ying, Qiongyang, help me eliminate evil!"

—Brothers, it’s the middle of the month, seeking a monthly ticket for the Great Dao!