BXBX NOVEL Chapter 22 - 22 Supreme Taoist_l
Accompanied with an offset feeling brought by the change in space, Zhong Buwen stepped into the blessed land of Mount Lang Huan.
Like what he had seen from the outside, the blessed land in front was fully a world made of books, in which innumerable book imps held books and busily moved among the bookshelves.
Sky-bridge-like paths interwove among the colossal bookshelves, stretching endlessly such that he could not see the ends.
Within these shelves were commonplace discussions and recipe books from ordinary people, as well as priceless cultivation techniques and Buddhist – Taoist scriptures.
Rather than a blessed land, it was more akin to a massive library.
Although Zhong Buwen had read related books about the blessed land of Mount Lang Huan amidst the records of the Imperial Astronomical Bureau, it was his first genuine touch with such a place.
However, he did not have the leisure to explore the Mount Lang Huan’s blessed land at the moment; He was here on Emperor Xia’s command and he must discern from where did Cloud Mist Mountain range’s grotto heavens originate.
Not far away, a book imp in a deep green robe leisurely flew towards Zhong Buwen and began to speak:
“You are here to pay respects to Lord Book Immortal?”
ZhongBuwennodded, “Indeed.”
“Please follow me!”
“However, in order to conserve the Spirit Energy in Mount Lang Huan’s blessed land, many Lord Book Immortals have entered deep slumber, except for The Ancient One.
Whether The Ancient One is willing to meet you will depend on your ability.”
Zhong Buwen initially thought the book imp would follow the path to where the Book Immortal resided, but instead, the sight in front of him changed, large bookshelves suddenly started rotating around, and the entire Mount Lang Huan’s blessed land seemed to turn into a giant Rubik’s cube.
The dizzying and chaotic space came with an indescribable oppressiveness, and the changing scene was mind-bending.
Ultimately, after the inverted space froze, Zhong Buwen saw a tremendous book standing in the void, on the cover, it was clearly written two words.
“Antiquity”
The instant the space in front shifted to this place, the book imp in the dark green long robe had already disappeared. In the empty space, only the book and Zhong Buwen remained.
“Zhong Buwen, the 25th Superintendent of Great Xia’s Imperial Astronomical Bureau, pays respects to the Book Immortal.”
The space remained utterly silent.
“On behalf of Emperor Xia, Zhong Buwen has a critical matter to consult with the Book Immortal.”
The empty silence continued uninterrupted, and the massive book did not react at all.
Zhong Buwen’s heart sunk. Ever since he saw the Mountain God of Mount Lang Huan, he had realized this blessed land, which once had an agreement with Great Xia, did not seem very amiable.
He was unclear about the reason behind this but the most direct impact was that the Book Immortal did not respond.
Before this journey, he had used up a precious imperial order, of which only three were in possession of the entire treasury of Great Xia, capable of commanding Mount Lang Huan’s Mountain God three times.
If it were during the time when the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge completely returned and Mount Lang Huan’s Mountain God fully revived, it would be equivalent to the exertion of a True Monarch at the refining stage at least three times.
To mobilize such a rare order only to seek information from that Almighty Earth Immortal, if he returned empty-handed, it would be a significant loss to the entire Imperial Court of Great Xia.
With this thought, Zhong Buwen grit his teeth and directly spoke :
“Zhong Buwen has come for one purpose only, which is to inquire about the Cloud Mist Mountain Range.
Did a very formidable sect ever exist in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?”
As soon as the words finished, the huge book in the void appeared to awaken from a deep sleep. The book pages began to turn rapidly, and the two words “Antiquity” on the cover glowed brilliantly.
A hasty and aged voice resounded in the void.
“What did you say?”
Zhong Buwen only felt a shadow flash before his eyes, and an elder with a goat beard, dressed in dark color robes and holding sutras, appeared in front of him.
On the old man’s face, there was an expression of disbelief at this moment.
“Where did you learn that a powerful sect had once existed in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?”
“Who told you about the Cloud Mist Mountain Range?”
“And what exactly is your purpose for asking about this?”
The calm facade on Zhong Buwen’s face finally crumbled, he had not expected that his simple statement would shock the Book Immortal, who had such a long life span.
He began to realize that this Earth Immortal in front of him might be more powerful than he had initially imagined.
Not daring to conceal anything, Zhong Buwen quickly relayed everything he knew to the Book Immortal.
“A few days ago, a grotto-heaven disturbance appeared within the Great Xia, the Imperial Astronomical Bureau quickly locked onto the location of the Cloud Mist Mountain Range and sent people to investigate.
The Star Plucking Taoist who initially made the move had already located the grotto-heaven, but it suddenly closed off and vanished into thin air, even he was gravely injured by the residual force posed by the mysterious owner of the grotto-heaven.
Emperor Xia believes that the owner of the grotto-heaven appeared in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range, and hence there must be a connection with the mountain range, consequently, I was sent to inquire about this matter from you, Book Immortal.”
Upon hearing Zhong Buwen’s explanation, a dazed look crossed the aged face of the Book Immortal, his eyes filled with disbelief.
“An Earth Immortal?”
“Impossible, absolutely impossible!”
“How can anyone still be alive in such a ghostly place?”
“You should know, that there is a…”
His voice grew fainter, as he suddenly raised his head to look at Zhong Buwen sternly, and said:
“Young man, you are very lucky. If it was not for the information you brought that has piqued my interest, I absolutely would not have stepped into the power struggle between your Great Xia and those sects.”
With a wave of the Book Immortal’s hand, the giant book “Antiquity” landed in front of Zhong Buwen.
“I am known as ‘Antiquity’, you may refer to me as The Ancient One.”
Immediately, Zhong Buwen bowed and said: “It is an honor to meet The Ancient One!”
However, The Ancient One paid no attention to the formalities of Zhong Buwen, instead, he said :
“I was born from the book ‘Antiquity’. This is not a manual of cultivation arts or divine techniques, it is a record of history.
Every mundane act in this world is recorded in ‘Antiquity’.”
“Since I was born from ‘Antiquity’, I have been devoted to studying the histories recorded within it. From the Mortal Emperor’s Absolute Heaven and Earth Passage to the return of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge today, all were seen by me.
However, ‘Antiquity’ is not omniscient. I once sought out the history of ten thousand years ago and found the greatest flaw in ‘Antiquity’.”
When he got to this point, even a hint of fear could be detected in The Ancient One’s voice.
“Many aspects indicate that there used to be an extremely potent sect in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range ten thousand years ago.
Their disciples were famous all over the world, and the records of their divine arts have mysteriously been erased, depriving us of any information about them.”
Upon hearing this, Zhong Buwen’s pupils contracted. His thoughts immediately returned to the lord of the grotto-heaven who had appeared in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range. He hurriedly asked:
“Senior Ancient One, has that tremendously massive sect truly left no trace behind?”
After contemplating for a while, The Ancient One slowly replied:
“Anything that exists will leave a mark. The records of history are hidden within information. It is unrealistic that such a massive sect could be completely eradicated.
The information regarding the important figures, cultivation methods, divine arts and spells of this Hidden Sect have indeed been thoroughly erased. Yet, amidst many records about other sects, another legend is retained.”
“What legend?”
“Thousands of years ago, the sect that has since been erased once spread news to all other major sects, stating that their founding master predicted that a Supreme Taoist was about to descend into the world, leading their sect to reach its peak stage.
This news once caused panic among all the other sects, and many selected to use ‘The Method of Escaping the World’ to sleep for a long time, hoping to avoid the era when this Supreme Taoist was prophesied to appear.
The impact of this news was so substantial that despite the fact that all information about the Hidden Sect has been entirely erased, other sects still maintain records related to the incident.
The Earth Immortal who appeared in the Cloud Mist Mountain Range might be the Supreme Taoist of the Hidden Sect from thousands of years ago. He has lived from that time until now!”