Yellow Skinned Taoist Master

Chapter 194: Three Thousand Immortals Minus One

Although Chen Huangpi was a Daoist.

He also knew what the Dantian represented.

Yet he didn't know why opening up a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land required a Dantian.

Furthermore, using something as important as the Dantian to open a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land, if someone were to come in and wreak havoc, wouldn't that be lifting a rock to smash one's own foot.

Tai Yizi saw Chen Huangpi's incomprehension.

Consequently, he patiently explained: "Your cultivation is still shallow, having yet to become an Immortal, naturally you do not know the profound mysteries within."

"When a person is born, they carry a breath of Primordial Qi. This qi is bestowed by the Heaven Dao. As the saying goes, the Dao begets One, which precisely refers to this Primordial Qi."

"Therefore, the number of Dantians is three."

"The upper is called the Divine Palace, the place where the Primordial Spirit enters and exits."

"The middle is called the Yellow Court, the foundation for Refining Qi into Spirit.""The lower is called the Sea of Qi, the root of Storing Essence and Life."

Speaking to this point, Tai Yizi forcefully flung a drop of fresh blood from that severed arm. Then that drop of fresh blood differentiated into the Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Essence was azure, Qi was white, Spirit was purple.

"When almighty existences open up Grotto-Heaven Blessed Lands, they merely need to shatter the void, and with magic power as the foundation, create something out of nothing to forge another realm."

"This realm is entrusted within the Three Realms."

"Although it appears independent, in reality it is constrained by the outside world, akin to building a house atop a foundation."

"But opening up a Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land using a Dantian is entirely different."

"That almighty creator's cultivation dharma methods, as well as their comprehension of the Dao, will be reflected within this realm, and furthermore, will form its own self-contained system. However, if they die, then this Dantian world will similarly die as well."

Tai Yizi said with a complex tone: "There is spiritual energy in this realm, and also the variations of True and False Yin and Yang. Thinking about it, this must be that almighty existence using their Middle Dantian to open it up."

Over these past ten-thousand-plus years.

Tai Yizi had never thought that this Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land was opened up by a certain almighty existence using their Dantian.

Because every time he came to this ancestral hall, his time would be devoured by it.

If he hadn't seen the text he had previously left within the body of that divine statue.

As well as the change in perspective seen through Chen Huangpi's Evil Eye.

Tai Yizi probably wouldn't have been able to figure it out even unto his death.

"Yellow Skinned kid, do you still remember that Daoist wearing the golden mask this old man mentioned to you?"

"Naturally I remember."

Chen Huangpi knitted his brows tightly, his heart becoming increasingly irritable.

Back then, Tai Yizi had bumped into that bizarre Daoist throwing the Heaven Toxin Pill into the River of Weak Water.

That Daoist's cultivation was terrifying. Merely taking a single glance at him caused Tai Yizi to plunge into the river world, which is to say the False Realm, completely without any means of resistance.

And the almighty existence who opened up this Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land.

Was highly likely Master.

Tai Yizi self-slashed his own time and cultivation to set up a grand array.

Master, on the other hand, slashed out the Sun and Moon Primordial Spirits, and slashed out a purple, a white, and an azure self.

If they corresponded to the Three Treasures of Essence, Qi, and Spirit.

Then this Grotto-Heaven world should be related to Second Master.

Yet Tai Yizi ran to the Hundred Thousand Mountains after the Heaven and Earth Mutation.

At that time, he himself was still in the egg, and Master had not gone mad.

Which is to say, the time Master opened up the Dantian world should have been before he went mad.

He transmitted all this information to the Brass Oil Lamp through the connection of the Dog Rearing Scripture.

The latter fell silent for a moment after finishing listening.

Then he spoke with a solemn tone: "Original Family, not long after the six days and six nights of extreme Yin ended, roughly around a hundred years perhaps, Daoists like Yi Qingzhou sequentially met with mishaps. Some transformed into evil anomalies, while others ended their own lives."

"And there were others who went missing to who knows where."

"It was also at that time that I fell into a deep slumber."

"Many matters I might not remember clearly, but there is one thing that absolutely cannot be wrong. At that time, those deities were all still living perfectly fine."

"Ask Old Man Tai Yizi, are the things he previously saw when he came to this ancestral hall the same as what he sees now?"

Chen Huangpi looked at Tai Yizi.

"Unclear..."

Tai Yizi shook his head, saying: "This old man's time has been devoured many times. Truly, I cannot remember whether there were this many deities' corpses in the earliest days of this ancestral hall."

"As for the ancestral hall in the True Realm, this old man is even more unclear."

Chen Huangpi and Tai Yizi continued walking forward.

Yet the Brass Oil Lamp was urging: "Original Family, are you and Old Man Tai Yizi still not coming back?"

That formation dial controlling the array was in its hands.

But if Chen Huangpi and Tai Yizi didn't wish to come out, the Brass Oil Lamp also had no way to forcefully pull them back into the formation.

"Not going back for now."

Chen Huangpi said in his heart: "I want to ascertain exactly what is going on with this ancestral hall. I don't want to leave just like this, completely in the dark."

Here there were the spirit tablets of the Daoists from the Pure Immortal Temple.

And also the corpses of those deities.

But the divine souls of the deities were in the Suppress Immortal Temple beneath the night sky.

Although Chen Huangpi felt that this Grotto-Heaven Blessed Land was definitely opened up by Master using his Middle Dantian.

This ancestral hall definitely wasn't Master's handiwork.

The Brass Oil Lamp sighed saying: "Chen Huangpi, if the arrangement of this place wasn't like this from the very beginning, that means that within the seventeen thousand four hundred plus years since the Heaven and Earth Mutation, people have continuously come to this ancestral hall."

"Because Yi Qingzhou and the others died early, but the deities didn't. Even Guang Mu is still perfectly fine living up to now."

"Those deities sequentially left the Pure Immortal Temple, and sequentially died."

"Their corpses were then moved into this ancestral hall."

"Old man Tai Yi said someone wants to murder Guanzhu, this I actually believe."

"Does Master have many enemies?"

"Before you, perhaps not. After you, there are perhaps people everywhere who want Guanzhu dead."

"I understand..."

Chen Huangpi's gaze was icy cold, tightly gripping the Void-Piercing Sword in his hand.

As if sensing his killing intent.

The Void-Piercing Sword slightly trembled, letting out sharp sword hums.

Although he didn't say it out loud.

Yet Chen Huangpi knew perfectly well in his heart, he himself should exactly be that Yellow Heaven prophesied to descend after eighteen thousand years.

It was merely that when he was born, he was hunted down by those caterpillar-like things.

Even his eggshell was bitten open by those insects.

At that time, he was a lump of golden and black qi.

There were far too many almighty existences before the Heaven and Earth Mutation. It was impossible for those cultivators not to know his identity, which was why the Immortals of the Celestial Realm also wanted to obtain him.

Master taking him in as a disciple naturally blocked other people's paths.

That was the case with the evil Buddha who came to the Pure Immortal Temple back then demanding him from Master.

And the same applied to the Lord of the Small Scarlet Heaven who died within the Old Temple.

Perhaps, when he was sleeping, playing, and frolicking as a child, Master was silently battling those villains hiding in the dark from the shadows.

"Master is old."

Chen Huangpi's heart suddenly felt somewhat sour, saying to the Brass Oil Lamp: "Chi Xie said he descended to the lower realm taking advantage of the alternation of the Sun and Moon, when Master was self-slashing. Master is no longer as powerful as before."

"Emperor Chen also said, eighteen thousand years is too long of a time. If Master doesn't return to the Great Qian Immortal Dynasty, he fundamentally wouldn't be able to hold out until then."

"Huang Er, I don't want to be the Yellow Heaven, but I don't know whether the grown-up me will have the strength to protect Master."

"Original Family, don't you worry."

The Brass Oil Lamp cheered him on: "You are a natural-born True Immortal. Guanzhu's potential is already exhausted, while you are just beginning. When that time comes, you will definitely become incomparably powerful, no one will be able to defeat you."

"When that time comes, we won't let a single one of those people who harmed Guanzhu slip away."

"You beat them into crippled dogs, and I'll use True Fire to burn them into ashes."

Truthfully, Chen Huangpi also knew.

Thinking about this right before his eyes was truly a bit too far ahead.

If the sky falls, there was still Master to hold it up.

What he needed to do, was to grow up faster.

What he knew even more was that although Master set up many backup plans, he had never demanded him to do this or that.

Others all wanted him to transform into the Yellow Heaven.

But Master didn't care. To Master, whatever he wanted to do was fine.

"My name is Chen Huangpi."

He said in his heart: "My surname is Chen, my surname is not Huang. My name is not Yellow Heaven."

At this time.

Chen Huangpi and Tai Yizi had also arrived at the deepest part of this ancestral hall.

And upon reaching here.

The two of them, situated respectively in the True Realm and False Realm, both halted their steps.

Because the ancestral hall in Tai Yizi's eyes was very large, possessing an upper and lower floor.

Yet the ancestral hall in Chen Huangpi's eyes could only accommodate individual spirit tablets.

Looking at those spirit tablets.

Chen Huangpi suddenly seemed to recall something, saying in a low voice: "Huang Er, do you still remember how many Daoists the Pure Immortal Temple had?"

"Three thousand, and all were Immortals."

"Then there's one missing."

"What do you mean one missing?"

"One spirit tablet is missing."

Chen Huangpi frowned saying: "Ever since I entered this ancestral hall and saw those spirit tablets, I've been thinking about memorizing all their names. But no matter how I count, there's always one spirit tablet missing."

"Tai Yizi, you and I share perspectives. The number of spirit tablets you see should also only be two thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine right?"

"Not wrong, it is exactly this number."

Although Tai Yizi didn't deliberately try to memorize it.

But he was an Immortal. The moment the thought arose, the number of spirit tablets he saw immediately leaped vividly into his mind.

Chen Huangpi nodded.

Inside the ancestral hall in the False Realm were the corpses of deities.

Similarly missing was the High Deity Guang Mu's, because High Deity Guang Mu didn't die.

And in this ancestral hall situated in the True Realm, one spirit tablet was also missing.

Within the Old Temple, on that path where the Nine Separation Bell resided, it was written: Three thousand Immortals acting as formation cores, to draw in the dead qi of Azure Heaven.

The number of Daoists within the Pure Immortal Temple back then was exactly three thousand.

Now one was missing.

"Huang Er, I'll give you the list of names, you take a look exactly who is missing."

Chen Huangpi felt that perhaps a Daoist of the Pure Immortal Temple was still alive.

And hiding somewhere within these Hundred Thousand Mountains.

"Strange, no one's missing..."

The Brass Oil Lamp said blankly: "The Pure Immortal Temple indeed has three thousand Daoists. The list you gave me is certainly missing one, but looking one by one, it seems all the Daoists are in here."

"Why would it be like this?"

Chen Huangpi said in surprise: "Could it be Master covering up for that Daoist? Wiping away all his information."

"If Guanzhu wiped away information, why would he miss me? I feel this is more like Near-Dao power."

Near-Dao existences fundamentally possessed all sorts of abilities ordinary people couldn't imagine.

Every word spoken inherently possessed an omniscient quality.

Seeing the opponent's name would cause one to immediately forget it.

So much so that the opponent in one's memories might even come back to life.

The Brass Oil Lamp said with a headache: "Could the missing person be Guanzhu?"

Before Guanzhu successfully achieved Union with the Dao with the dead Azure Heaven, he wasn't yet a Dao Lord.

But a Near-Dao Immortal.

Three thousand Immortals, perhaps that included Guanzhu.

But in its own memories, excluding Guanzhu, the Pure Immortal Temple indeed had three thousand Daoists.

Chen Huangpi suddenly spoke up out of the blue: "Tai Yizi, in your memories, what was the cultivation of that Daoist wearing the golden mask?"

Tai Yizi answered without thinking: "A bit weaker than our Grand Sui Cult's Sect Master, roughly estimating he had just stepped into that Near-Dao level."