Chapter 41: Bliss City

Before the Bodhi Illuminating Wall, Jing Yue’s body was shrouded in blue light, attracting many monks’ attention to him.

Very few people could withstand a trance of ten days in front of the Bodhi Illuminating Wall, but Jing Yue's first attempt was a full 100 days.

While the monks were shocked, they felt the fluctuations of the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, and then this vision appeared.

This young Daoist had attained the Foundation Establishment stage successfully.

After a while, Jing Yue's long and thick eyelashes trembled as he opened his eyes.

An ocean of Qi had formed in his dantian, and all the spiritual energy in his body gathered there, like rivers flowing into the ocean.

When Jing Yue inspected himself, he found that his Qi Ocean was twice as large as in his previous life, which also meant that his spiritual power reserve was far better than before. He didn’t know if this was because of his Omnispirit Body, or the Bodhi Illuminating Wall, or both?

He couldn’t help thinking about what he had just seen—or rather, what he had just experienced would be more appropriate.

For many people, their past life was illuminated, but his past life was not like that.

He remembered that someone called him down the mountain that day, but he felt dizzy as soon as he got up. On the way back, he accidentally fell into the river. After being rescued, he fell unconscious and slept for a full day, but the next day, he was as healthy as a horse.

The old folks in the village said that he was taken to the underworld, but Lord Yama noticed that his time was not up yet and allowed him to return.

His mother was worried and let him recuperate at home for two more days before they headed to his grandmother’s house.

Along the way, they didn’t encounter the accident of the carriage falling off the cliff. When they arrived in the neighboring village, his grandmother was indeed seriously ill. With no medicine, she passed away within a few days.

After the funeral, Jing Yue returned home. He continued to herd his cows and he still loved to sleep on the stone.

That stone was like the home of his soul, always made him particularly comfortable and peaceful.

Gradually, he turned ten.

One day, when he woke up from the hillside, he suddenly had a fragment of the Ten Desolate Universe Technique in his mind, and thus embarked on a path completely different from ordinary people.

So, what exactly did he see? Was it the original reality or an illusory projection?

Could it be that the day he was called down the mountain was the point of origin, and countless possibilities would happen from that point onward?

If he didn’t faint at that time, would his life be changed?

There was bewilderment in Jing Yue’s eyes, but he quickly became resolute again.

—I am here, I want to believe in everything I have really touched, felt, and owned.

I am who I am. Whether it is the world projected from the wall or the world in my memory, it is my experience, and they form a part of who I am now.

I am real!

There was an ease between Jing Yue’s eyebrows and his resolve became even stronger.

This unexpected joy made him very satisfied. The legend of the Bodhi Illuminating Wall was true. If there was a chance, he should come here and experience it again. He wondered if he could see the future by then.

He spread out his palms and felt the power contained in this physical body.

From this moment on, he had successfully built his foundation and was henceforth separated from the mortals.

More than a month later, Elder Wang brought more than a dozen core disciples to the Three Realm Temple. The latter were prepared to join the Nine Heaven Academy. Some of them were recommended by Frostcloud Sect, while others received letters of recommendation from other sources, but they still needed to participate in the assessment.

They were overjoyed when they met Jing Yue—the Laozu was less than eighteen and had already attained the Foundation Establishment stage! Even the peerless talent Qin Yanzhi fell far behind their Laozu!

Laozu was indeed auspicious for the Frostcloud Sect!

While everyone greeted Jing Yue, one disciple performed a kowtow.

Jing Yue was unhappy at first, but seeing that person was a bit familiar, he finally recalled that the other party was Gu Xia who had been sent to the Schism Ocean.

“The sect summoned for your return?”

“This disciple will never forget Laozu’s benevolence.”

Gu Xia said it sincerely. He knew that the reason he was recalled to the sect was because of Laozu.

He went home to the Gu family manor not long ago. Hearing about the changes in the family and the help given by Laozu, he was ashamed and bitter.

Fortunately, the letter of recommendation that the Gu family prepared for him could be used at last.

This time, he must be admitted to the Nine Heaven Academy!

Jing Yue received his greeting but reminded, “When we cultivate, remember not to be distracted by external elements.”

The disciples bowed their heads in concur.

Before leaving, Jing Yue beckoned a little monk, gave him a satchel, and asked him to pass it to Kong Miao.

Seeing the little monk’s response, Jing Yue said to Elder Wang, "Let's go."

From Traverse City in the north of the Central region to Bliss City in the south, the journey would take at least ten days even with the fastest flying artifact.

The sunset painted the sky in gold and a sky vessel floated through the clouds.

This sky vessel was very luxuriously built, not only its gilded appearance, but it was also extremely grand on the inside. For example, carpets and cushions made of high-end fur from ferocious beasts, furniture carved from spiritual wood, and ornaments embellished with precious stones. In short, it fully exposed the owner's intriguing tastes.

“Nouveau riche.” This was blue phoenix’s evaluation. For the first time, Jing Yue thought that Ji-ji’s judgment was very accurate.

In short, from the moment Jing Yue stepped on the sky vessel, Elder Wang had been given a new name in his heart—tycoon.

At this time, the tycoon sat opposite him, pouring out a lot of treasures from the Qiankun pouch, almost blinding Jing Yue’s eyes. Even blue phoenix, who had been staggering around on the mat, stood up abruptly, the light of desire flashing in its green beady eyes.

Elder Wang, “Now that all the other Laozu are in seclusion, the rest of the elders and sect leader are worried that you’re alone and no one is around to look after you, so we collected a lot of treasures for you.”

Jing Yue glanced at the items randomly. Most of them were treasured artifacts, among them one celestial artifact, and various powerful talismans.

“…”

Why would a Foundation Establishment cultivator like him need all of these?

Jing Yue casually picked up a short sword. “These things can indeed protect me, but if every time I encounter a crisis and I rely on external items to save my life, then my Great Path of Dao would be considered the end.”

Elder Wang was taken aback for a moment. Very quickly, he realized that they were not helping the Laozu at all, and felt embarrassed.

Jing Yue smiled before taking a talisman from the pile of treasures. “This contains the power from Wei Tianli’s three swords of might. It’d be enough for me. If I encountered a life and death situation, it should be enough to save me.”

Elder Wang hurriedly smiled and said, “Laozu’s words are wise.”

After thinking for a while, he took out another Qiankun pouch. “Laozu, since you don’t require the artifacts, you can always use some spirit jade. There are 10,000 here. Please accept it.”

In the cultivation world, one hundred spirit stones were equivalent to one spirit jade. In short, there were a million spirit stones in the Qiankun pouch.

“Hmm…” Jing Yue’s mouth curled unconsciously, “You know me quite well.”

Even though the spirit mine in his Sumeru Ring was still intact, who would refuse more spirit stones?

Elder Wang was flattered, smiled embarrassedly, and said, “After the Sect Leader returned to the sect, he reported the attack on Laozu in Three Realm Temple to the Supreme Elder. Now, the two supreme elders are on their way to the West Shu region, determined to destroy the lair of the Cadaver Gate. The thing is, we don’t know where Blood Corpse-laomo has hidden himself. I heard that the Three Realm Temple has no news about him too.”

“To be able to reach the Return to Void stage from the Heavenly Grotto stage in such a short time, he must have run into some chance encounters. It’s not surprising if he knows some tricks to save his life,” Jing Yue said. “For the time being, don’t worry about him. After receiving a full blow from Kong Miao, even if he’s not dead, he won’t be unscathed.”

Elder Wang thought about it and concurred. After giving a detailed account of the situation in Bliss City, he left.

Only Jing Yue was left in the room. He sat cross-legged on an expensive pelt rug and began to gather energy.

Once he reached the Foundation Establishment stage, he could start practicing the Canglan Sword Technique. However, he had not completed the last move of the technique yet. He had limited talents in swordplay and was stumped on this particular move in his previous life. He wondered if there would be a turnaround after rebirth. But his current cultivation base was still shallow, not enough to try it yet.

Now, his top priority was to build a solid foundation.

While Jing Yue concentrated on practicing, in the meditation room of Three Realm Temple, Kong Miao had just received the jade token that was given by Jing Yue to the little monk.

Perplexed, he explored the item with his divine consciousness and was violently startled.

It turned out to be the recipe for the Perennial Pill!

After the Yao Catalyst, this pill recipe was never seen again, and it had almost become a legend. He did not expect Jing Yue to give this to him so casually.

Kong Miao carefully kept the jade token away. He knew that this was a chance opportunity that Jing Yue gave him because of their past relationship, and he was very grateful.

Although the Perennial Pill could only be consumed once and its ingredients were difficult to find, with the Three Realm Temple’s influence, it wouldn’t be too challenging to spend some time trying to produce one.

With this pill, he could extend his lifespan by one thousand years. In that case, could he think about the distant matter?

“Thank you, Daozu.”

Kong Miao’s low and hoarse voice resounded in the meditation room.

Ten days passed, and the sky vessel finally arrived at Bliss City where the Nine Heaven Academy was located.

Although Traverse City and Bliss City were both located in the Central region, the two cities could not be more different. The former was simple and peaceful, while the latter was just the opposite—full of life, bustling, and vigorous.

Just outside the city, many unique buildings and landscapes could be seen—buildings that could be hundreds of stories high; ponds that were not filled with lotus and rockery, but stone statue fountains; even in the daytime, various shops shone with bright colorful lights, which was said to be activated by a charm.

The sights and scenes were completely different from any town in Jing Yue’s memory as if they came from another civilization.

As soon as they entered the city, blue phoenix kept shouting vigorously, “Jing-jing, it’s so lively here! It’s more vibrant than Frore City!”

Jing Yue, “Central region is at the center of the World of Seven Continents. Of course, it’s more prosperous than the remote Frore City.”

As Elder Wang still had something to do in the Central region during his trip, Jing Yue and the other disciples decided to stroll around the city by themselves.

The city was crowded with people, thousands of buildings lined the streets, shops were numerous, and the visitors were dazzled.

Due to different preferences, they gradually went their separate ways.

At this time, Jing Yue walked into an alley by himself. The alley extended in all directions and was crowded with vendors, almost stopping traffic in the middle.

Jing Yue swept his gaze around and found that most of the stalls were selling books and picture scrolls. To blue phoenix, it was like a mouse falling into a rice pot.

Blue phoenix pleaded, “Jing-jing, Ji-ji wants that book. Will you buy it for me?”

“Which one?”

“Shocking! He is the person admired by the first beauty of the demonic sect?”

Jing Yue, “…”

Although every cell in his body protested, Jing Yue still decided to pamper his beloved pet for once. Squatting down, he quickly picked up a book from the small stall and paid for it.

Blue phoenix urged, “Quick, quick, reveal the answer!”

Jing Yue reluctantly turned to the first page, only to read some things about Fairy Chi Lian and Daoist-Master Jing Yuan.

“…”

Dang! What the heck was this?!

Jing Yue closed the book with lightning speed and crushed the pages of the book into ashes with his spiritual energy.

Blue phoenix exclaimed, “What are you doing? I haven’t read it yet! Are you trying to destroy the evidence?!”

Jing Yue smiled. “Are you sure you want to read it?”

“Uh… maybe not.”

Blue phoenix changed its mind cowardly. With a roll of its eyes, it continued, “Then you can give me another copy! That one! ‘The male cultivator will be silent when he reads it, the female cultivator will cry when she sees it, and no one can ascend without reading it’.”

Jing Yue was indifferent and just walked with his head down.

“You can’t ascend if you don’t read it! Aren’t you interested?” Blue phoenix was very discouraged. “What about that instead? ‘Astounded! In broad daylight, the First Sword Master actually did such a thing?’ This will definitely not have anything to do with you.”

Jing Yue thought to himself, this book seemed quite safe, he should buy it just to keep Ji-ji’s mouth shut.

Besides, he was also a bit curious… only a little bit…

So he stopped.

This time, Jing Yue very cautiously read it first. The story roughly told the love-hate relationship between Qin Yanzhi and Fairy Mengyan. In the end, Qin Yanzhi killed the other party by mistake with his sword and regretted it ever since. From then on, he wandered around the world with a broken heart.

Haha, you have met your end!

Jing Yue was inexplicably happy. “Excellent! I’m buying this!”

He decisively dug out some money, but from the corner of his eye, saw a few other books on the stall.

’The Romance of the Three Realms’, ‘Dream of the Red Pond’, ‘The Biography of 108 Cultivators’, and ‘Journey to the West of Shu’ were placed in the most conspicuous positions.

“I know this!” Blue phoenix’s eyes gleamed. “I know which small world the founder of the Nine Heaven Academy came from! Jing-jing, let me tell you…”

“I refuse.”

“Hmph!”

Blue phoenix turned its head away in dissatisfaction, eyes instantly being attracted by the few books covered by the ‘Journey to the West of Shu’. It read aloud, “’Into the Legendary Life of Daoist-Master Jing Yuan’, ‘Venerable Jing Yuan Teaches You to Guide Qi into the Body’, “Seven Habits of Master Jing Yuan’…”

Jing Yuan, “…”

Since when did he have seven habits?!

Jing Yue clenched his fists, resisting the urge to overturn the stall, got up and left.

In his divine consciousness, blue phoenix mumbled, “I’ve been with you for so long but I never realized you have seven habits.”

“Shut up!”

When Jing Yue walked to the alleyway, he suddenly ran into a man wearing a cloak. Jing Yue's eyes glinted, and he saw that the other party opened his cloak, revealing the jade tokens hanging on his chest, and whispered, “Little brother, interested in some films?”

Jing Yue: ???

“Fairy Zhen-zhen’s new little movie, ‘Shocking the world! Lifting the ban for the first time! The woman who makes all male cultivators go crazy!’”

Under blue phoenix’s tutelage, Jing Yue already knew the true meaning of movies. Upon hearing the name Fairy Zhen-zhen, the plot of an illicit story jumped into his mind unconsciously.

“Scram…”

At this very moment, Jing ‘Old Antique: Ancient Virgin’ Yue finally couldn’t help but explode with profanities.

When he walked out of the alley, he felt as if he had just survived a disaster. Jing Yue heaved a long sigh of relief and saw a disciple named Zheng Bai who came to Bliss City with him this time.

“Laozu.”

Zheng Bai greeted him respectfully and Jing Yue responded with a slight nod. “You… want to go in there?”

He noticed that Zheng Bai’s target seemed to be that alley.

Zheng Bai was taken aback. “Yes, I’m just wandering around anyway.”

“Oh…” Jing Yue paused momentarily. “Don’t go there. It’s dangerous inside.”

Zheng Bai: ???

No matter how confused he was, he could not dismiss Laozu’s words. Since they ran into each other, of course he wanted to stay with him.

They walked through a few streets and came to the Refining Bazaar. As the name suggested, whether the shops or street stalls, the bazaar sold refined artifacts, ranging from gradeless-level to spiritual-level, depending on the spirit stones one could afford.

Zheng Bai sighed and said, “As expected of the Central region where Six-chasm Pavilion is located. The spiritual artifacts are sold in the shop just like that.”

Besides the Three Realm Temple and the Nine Heaven Academy, the so-called Six-chasm Pavilion was another existence in Central region that could not be ignored. It was known as the top refining sect in the cultivation world and the only sect to date that could produce a celestial-level artifact.

Although they only succeeded once, it was enough to establish the Six-chasm Pavilion in the top spot.

Therefore, the craftsmanship in the Central region prevailed, and every city had a special market for artifact trading.

Jing Yue pointed to a shop and said, “Let’s have a look.”

As soon as he and Zheng Bai entered, they heard someone say, “Oh, who did I see? Isn’t this Daoist Zheng from Frostcloud Sect?”

The voice sounded awkward and unfriendly.