Chapter 58: The Peculiar Sculpture Returns to Penglai

"Times change, and so does fate. Fellow Daoist, your fortune seems to have finally run dry."

Jiang Sheng held the one-inch-wide pseudo-core, filled with a sense of deep emotion.

No storage pouch or other items had been found on Sun Chang.

Putting away the pseudo-core, Jiang Sheng gazed at the luxurious river mansion before him. Sensing the grand formation surrounding the estate, he could not help but frown: "Another tier-three formation?"

Pondering for a moment, Jiang Sheng summoned the Qingping Sword and slashed it directly against the formation.

A surge of cyan sword Qi erupted, leaving a distinct scratch upon the flowing water barrier, but in the next instant, the mark was effortlessly brushed away.

Staring at the barrier, Jiang Sheng fell silent for a moment before raising his sword once more: "Even if it drains all the spiritual power within the Jasper Lotus Platform, I must find out what secrets are hidden inside this manor!"

Deep under the Taipping River, amidst the crushing pressure of ten thousand jun of water, Jiang Sheng continuously unleashed bolts of sword Qi as the spiritual power within the Jasper Lotus Platform dwindled rapidly.

Finally, a flaw was carved into the formation by Jiang Sheng's sword. Seizing the opportunity, he flashed into the water mansion. The next moment, the water barrier mended its breach, and the riverbed returned to silence.

Stepping into the lavish estate, Jiang Sheng glanced around and, following the pull of spiritual aura, headed straight for the main hall.

Inside the main hall, two interconnected formations were set out in a yin-yang configuration along the north-south axis. At the southern end rested a futon, while a statue of the River Deity stood at the northern end.

Clearly, this was the place where the incense offerings of the thirteen counties were channeled and received.

Jiang Sheng inspected the formation, vaguely sensing something amiss beneath the base of the River Deity statue.

With a flick of his wrist, a cyan sword Qi slashed out, shattering the River Deity statue to pieces. Hidden beneath it was a small, exquisitely carved idol.

The idol possessed a horse-like face and four arms, holding an iron pestle, an alms bowl, a long sword, and a treasured pagoda respectively. Its upper body was bare, revealing a sinewy and powerful physique, while its lower limbs were braced like a horse stance atop a black stone.

The aura radiating from the idol alternated between majestic and bizarre, instilling an indescribable sense of discomfort in Jiang Sheng.

Channeling his spiritual power to summon the idol into his hand, Jiang Sheng spotted a line of small characters inscribed on its back: "Heavenly King Ciamoka."

Merely reciting the name in his mind made Jiang Sheng feel as though a vast and divine manifestation had crossed thousands of miles to cast a single glance at him.

In an instant, Jiang Sheng broke out in a cold sweat all over his body!

Without hesitation, he sealed the idol inside a jade box and affixed a sealing talisman upon it. Only when the unsettling aura was completely cut off did Jiang Sheng let out a long breath of relief: "This thing really is bizarre!"

After properly stowing away the jade box, Jiang Sheng cast his gaze toward the futon at the southern end.

Beneath the River Deity statue lay a bizarre idol, so what might be hidden beneath the futon?

Beside the futon lay two storage pouches. Evidently, when Sun Chang had previously fought Jiang Sheng, he had kept all his worldly possessions inside them.

First retrieving the storage pouches, Jiang Sheng used his sword Qi to thoroughly pulverize the futon along with the stone slabs underneath it.

Amidst the debris, a golden scroll emanated a brilliant, dazzling golden light.

Having already been trapped once by the idol, Jiang Sheng did not even bother to look at the golden scroll. He immediately pulled out another jade box to pack and seal it tightly before resuming his search of the mansion.

The estate was vast, seemingly modeled after Sun Chang's former living quarters in the Azure Cloud Sect, appearing magnificent and grand.

However, the mansion was clearly an empty shell. During the fifty years Sun Chang spent at the riverbed, he had likely only recuperated in the main hall, never setting foot anywhere else.

The true treasures were precisely the two storage pouches, the bizarre idol, and the roll of golden scrolls.

After collecting his spoils, Jiang Sheng uprooted the command flags sustaining the formation, watching as the immense pressure of the river collapsed the mansion into ruins. He then ascended directly out of the Taiping River and returned to the Azure Screen Mountain.

In less than half a month, the entire cultivation world of Qing Province learned that Daoist Jiang Sheng of Azure Screen Mountain in Dongjun had discovered a golden core river deity that had been lurking for a long time, and had slain it!

The news spread like wildfire, and those in the know spoke of Jiang Sheng in truly legendary terms.

Yet, the major aristocratic families and rogue cultivators of Dongjun flatly refused to believe it.

A Purple Mansion realm cultivator reversing the odds to slay a Golden Core?

What a joke!

The gap between the Purple Mansion realm and the Golden Core realm was like an uncrossable chasm, and once a Golden Core was formed, divine power generated itself naturally.

Fighting with true power and wielding divine abilities, how could a Golden Core entity possibly lose to a mere Purple Mansion cultivator?

Yet, as the rumors spread further, the three major sects of Qing Province—whether it was the Embracing Moon Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, or the Azure Cloud Sect—maintained a deep silence on the matter, and the Zha family of Purple Mansion in Dongjun did not utter a single word either.

The attitude of the three Golden Core sects, coupled with that of the Zha family, seemed to tacitly confirm the truth of the event.

Naturally, the remaining Purple Mansion families dispatched people to Dongjun several times in an attempt to verify the truth, only for the investigations to fizzle out into nothingness.

Following that, a massive wave of rogue cultivators and gentry traveled thousands of miles to rush to Azure Screen Mountain, hoping to apprentice under Jiang Sheng or at least catch a glimpse of this legendary Daoist.

However, no matter who came, Tian Ming'an had only one response: "My master is currently not in the temple; please return."

With these words spoken, no matter how unwilling those rogue cultivators and gentry felt, they had no choice but to leave.

They assumed Jiang Sheng simply could not be bothered to pay attention to mere rogue cultivators and mortals.

Yet, even when the Purple Mansion families of Qing Province came to pay a visit, Tian Ming'an offered the exact same reply.

Even when elders from the Embracing Moon Sect, the Heavenly Sword Sect, and the Azure Cloud Sect came calling, Tian Ming'an repeated the very same words.

This firmly cemented not only the fact that Jiang Sheng had indeed slain a Golden Core entity, but also that he was truly absent from Azure Screen Mountain at the present moment.

For a time, every cultivator in Qing Province was consumed by curiosity: Where on earth had this eminent master gone?

At this moment, across the boundless expanse of the Eastern Sea, a Daoist draped in green robes and wearing a jade crown was traveling at a blistering pace.

Eight thousand miles away from the shores of the Eastern Sea lay a celestial island named Yuanqiao.

Though Yuanqiao was barely a thousand miles in circumference, it was inhabited by a full million living beings.

Among them, at least half were cultivators.

Though Yuanqiao Island seemed close to the shore of the Eastern Sea, ordinary cultivators found it exceptionally difficult to locate.

It typically manifested only once every century, each time luring countless cultivators from the Eastern Domain continent to venture out to sea in search of it.

For any cultivator who managed to reach Yuanqiao would be granted the opportunity to participate in the entry examination for the Daoist sect of Penglai.

Cross the Bridge of Immortality, walk the Path of Questioning, and kowtow at the Heavenly Gate Pass—pass these three trials, and one could become a disciple of Penglai.

And all three of these trials were set upon Yuanqiao Island.

Once all three trials were passed, one could use Yuanqiao to leap ten thousand miles in a single step directly into Penglai.

At present, Yuanqiao Island was shrouded by a maze formation, so ordinary beings arriving here would only see a vast expanse of ocean, entirely unable to perceive the island or its landmasses.

Armed with his Penglai token, however, Jiang Sheng could naturally follow its guidance to find the exact location of Yuanqiao.

The palm-sized token emitted a gentle, lucid glow, guiding Jiang Sheng safely across the maze formation and onto Yuanqiao.

Gazing upon the familiar mountains, rivers, and mortal towns, Jiang Sheng wore a rare smile.

"I wondered what brat was scurrying back in such a rush; so it was you."

"Jiang lad, why aren't you out properly tempering yourself instead of running all the way back here?"

Before the voice fully faded, a middle-aged man materialized right in front of Jiang Sheng.

The middle-aged man sported a thick beard and wore blue Daoist robes, radiating an aura of great majesty.

The spiritual pressure emanating from him clearly revealed him to be a cultivator at the Nascent Soul realm.

Jiang Sheng smiled and bowed respectfully: "Jiang Sheng greets Elder Daoling."

This middle-aged man was none other than Daoling Zhenren, one of the Daoist sect elders stationed to guard Yuanqiao, whose cultivation had already reached the mid-Nascent Soul stage.

Daolingzi looked Jiang Sheng up and down, then chuckled with satisfaction: "You little rascal, you've encountered quite the fortune during your time training outside. It's only been a few years, and you've already reached the Purple Mansion."

Jiang Sheng smiled modestly: "A modest stroke of fortune, though truth be told, I was somewhat forced into it by circumstances."

Daolingzi waved his hand dismissively: "Very well, tell me why you've come back."

"Though cultivators at the Purple Mansion stage are permitted to return to the sect, you are currently only at the early Purple Mansion stage. Presumably, you haven't even fully gathered the ingredients for your Golden Core pill. Have you run into some trouble by coming back now?"

Jiang Sheng recounted his entire encounter in Qi Province's Qing Province, then produced the two jade boxes and handed them over to Daolingzi.

"Elder Daoling, these items are exceedingly bizarre."

When Daolingzi opened the jade box containing the bizarre idol, his expression turned grave in an instant.

"You discovered this item in Qing Province, Qi Province?"

Jiang Sheng nodded.

Solemnly storing away the two jade boxes, Daolingzi said to Jiang Sheng: "Come, I will take you back to Penglai to see the Sect Master."

Without waiting for Jiang Sheng to respond, Daolingzi grabbed him by the shoulder, and with a single step, they crossed the space to the eastern side of Yuanqiao.

Between two towering mountain peaks, a flight of jade-carved stairs led straight up into the firmament, vanishing into the sea of clouds.

Daolingzi flew straight up into the clouds with Jiang Sheng. Above the clouds rested a jade platform roughly a thousand feet wide, upon which stood a hundred-foot-tall jade gate.

Between two coiled-dragon stone pillars three spans thick, a misty, shimmering halo hovered, as though stepping through it would transport one to an entirely different world.

Before this jade gate, a female cultivator clad in wide-sleeved drifting-cloud robes sat cross-legged with her eyes closed in meditation.

Sensing the arrival of their presence, the female cultivator opened her eyes: "Daolingzi, and Jiang lad? Has something happened?"

Daolingzi nodded: "Indeed. I need to take Jiang lad to see the Sect Master Senior immediately."

The female cultivator channeled her spiritual power and tapped lightly against the two stone pillars. The twin coiling dragons carved into the pillars miraculously came to life, shifting their orientations within the span of a few breaths.

At the same time, the halo of light between the pillars cleared by a fraction.

This was the true path leading to Penglai. If anyone had blindly attempted to barge through by force, no one could predict where they might have ended up.

Daolingzi led Jiang Sheng into the halo of light. As the landscape shifted before their eyes, a familiar vista materialized once again.

Three celestial islands floated suspended in mid-air, surrounded by ten thousand rays of auspicious multicolored light and streams of radiant vapor.

The islands were encircled by seas of clouds, from which waterfalls formed by ocean currents cascaded down into the Eastern Sea far below.

Upon the islands stood overlapping mountain peaks, majestic palaces, and towering pavilions, amidst which rainbow-colored light paths, soaring immortal cranes, and airborne flying boats traversed back and forth without end.

This place was the true Penglai Daoist Sect.

Those three celestial islands had been plucked straight out of the Eastern Sea by the founding grandmasters of the sect using supreme divine power and placed suspended in the sky.

Subsequent generations of grandmasters had laid down tier upon tier of grand formations and reshaped the islands, resulting in this magnificent, myriad-phased celestial wonderland.

Daolingzi led Jiang Sheng directly across the rainbow cloud path to the Tianshu Peak on the main island.

At the summit of this three-thousand-zhang Tianshu Peak lay the main hall of the sect.

When Jiang Sheng was brought by Daolingzi into the main hall, he saw a Daoist draped in golden dharma robes waiting for them.

This was none other than the current Sect Master of Penglai, Master Tianshu.