CHAPTER 80: CHAPTER 80: TEMPLE OF ALL GODS, JIANMU SEED

Holding the wooden ruler, it seemed as if the small wooden ruler contained endless spiritual power, with a myriad of Spiritual Power Blossoms blooming around it. The petals fluttered with the breeze, as if they would never cease.

He had long been grinding his teeth in hatred against this fox.

If not for it, how could he have suffered so much pain here? It made him feel his Divine Sense was still muddled to this day.

So, without hesitation, he swung the ruler down hard, and as it descended, countless phantom images of vegetation flashed by, cutting off a full three tails of the fox!

Those three tails fell to the ground and unexpectedly materialized, with bloodstains at the roots.

"Ah!"

"You scoundrel!"

"Weren’t you at the Celestial Vein Mountain in the Southern Domain!"

The fox howled mournfully, with its peach-blossom eyes devoid of tenderness, showing only ferocious hostility.

The remaining tails couldn’t help but curl up, their tips trembling.

But surprisingly, it didn’t utter a word of threat and just fled directly.

It truly fled—it dug a hole, burrowed in, and vanished from sight, moving swiftly and with considerable skill.

Curiously, during this process, the two cultivators did not intervene to stop it.

It wasn’t until the fox had left that the female cultivator in white spoke:

"Senior Brother, stay here and I’ll follow to have a look."

The male cultivator nodded.

"I have already pinpointed its location, but capturing its true form is unlikely. Even pressing its Divine Sense into the Demon Suppression Valley would suffice."

"Alright, then I’ll leave this young one to you, Senior Brother. You did well, I thought you’d hold back and refuse to break through."

She glanced at Li Ye, then proceeded toward where the fox escaped, opening a space portal and following through.

Li Ye finally came to his senses at this moment, hastily saluting the cultivator beside him: "Pre..."

"Hmm? You should call me Master." The cultivator’s face was amused, "I even lent you a Magical Treasure to use, which is a treatment reserved for disciples."

He picked up the three fallen fox tails, waved them in front of Li Ye, and raised an eyebrow: "Call me Master, and I’ll make something nice for you."

"..."

Is this really a Nascent Soul cultivator? Why does he act as if teasing a child?

"Master!" Li Ye immediately called out, and saying it brought him a refreshing feeling. Could it be he now has a Nascent Soul Master?

"Ah!"

The cultivator nodded with satisfaction, and with a tap of his finger on the fox tails,

After a flash of Spiritual Light, the three tails swiftly shrank, eventually turning into a small duster, wafting in front of Li Ye.

"In the vast Cultivation Realm, there will always be dangers difficult to handle. Even disciples of mine, Su Xing, may fall. These tails are the lifesaving items of the Earth Wishing Spirit Fox, and I’ve already refined them for you."

"If ever faced with an unresolvable danger, it will provide three instances of sacrificial protection, upon activation, it will escape into the earth’s depths, leaving no trace."

What, three instances of sacrificial protection? And it can flee!

Isn’t this a top-tier treasure?

Li Ye immediately accepted the duster, savored it with a few strokes, and joyfully said, "Thank you, Master!"

"Just a small gift." True Man Suoxing waved his hand and then took a good look at Li Ye: "You’ve reached Foundation Establishment, so I’ll have to exchange this task’s reward for this item."

He took out three tokens, then extended his hand to Li Ye, "Take out the Autumn Harvest Token, although your Master here has some influence within the sect, dealing with the rules of the Hall of All Gods is still somewhat troublesome.

But this matter of yours was purely unavoidable, and achieving such merit would make us seem rigid if we were truly inconsiderate.

So let me help you find a loophole!

By the way! I’ve already taken out ten thousand Spirit Stones for you. When you formally become my disciple, you must serve me tea properly."

Upon hearing this, Li Ye promptly produced the Autumn Harvest Token.

The moment the Autumn Harvest Token appeared, the other three tokens, inscribed with "Spring Sowing," "Summer Growing," and "Winter Storing," flew up and rotated around the Autumn Harvest Token, finally merging into one.

A drab "Four Seasons Smooth" Token appeared before Li Ye, who grabbed it at once.

At the moment of touching the Four Seasons Token, Li Ye felt his Cultivation drop back to the Qi Refining Stage, as if he hadn’t achieved a breakthrough at all!

He was momentarily stunned, what kind of Divine Technique is this?

"This will do."

True Man Suoxing smiled with satisfaction but didn’t provide an explanation.

He merely extended an arm, shook his sleeve: "Disciple, grab your Master’s sleeve, I shall take you to the Temple of All Gods to claim your opportunity!"

So soon... Li Ye was momentarily concerned about affairs on this side, but then he let go of his worries; since the True Man had spoken, surely there were arrangements.

"Alright."

He reached out to seize his Master’s ample robe sleeve, and then the surrounding scenery began to change, seemingly spanning myriad mountains and rivers in an instant.

When he came to his senses, he was already standing in an ancient temple.

Before his eyes were statues of Spirit Plants and Spirit Beasts, his nose caught a chill of sandalwood, his ears heard resonant chimes.

Here, it seemed very simple, just a gray expansive temple filled with boundless statues, invisible boundaries, yet infusing a feeling of insignificance within.

Each statue appeared to have a God watching over him.

Among their gazes were curiosity, puzzlement, joy, appreciation, but no negative emotions like enmity.

"Honored Predecessors."

Su Xing lifted his voice: "This is my sixth disciple, Li Ye, who now holds the Four Seasons Smooth Token, and I humbly ask the Honored Predecessors not to withhold their gifts!"

As soon as he finished speaking, the token in Li Ye’s hand was wrapped in a power and disappeared into the Divine Temple, and immediately after, a voice was heard:

"Four Seasons Smooth, ha, Four Seasons Smooth!"

"Ginkgo Junior Sister, please make his entry into the sect jade record."

"As you command." An aged female voice resounded.

A gust of wind carrying ginkgo leaves suddenly blew from the depths of the Temple of All Gods.

"Whoosh~~~"

One of the ginkgo leaves circled around Li Ye, transforming into a jade pendant that replaced the one dangling at the edge of his Taoist robe.

Li Ye glanced down and saw clear inscriptions on the lingering Spiritual Light: Inner Sect Disciple, the sixth disciple under True Man Su Xing, Li Ye.

The next moment, the Spiritual Light gradually dimmed.

As the Spiritual Light dimmed, the surroundings also darkened, and True Man Su Xing beside him had vanished, leaving him surrounded by boundless darkness.

He was truly alone, with no sign of the Beaver or Cyan Bird.

The voice from earlier continued:

"Disciple Li Ye."

"This Hall of All Gods bears the divine blessings of all Gods since the founding of the sect. Move forward, what suits you best is ahead."

"Yes!"

Perhaps the Four Seasons Sect had already given Li Ye enough sense of security that even in this darkness, he felt no fear. After paying his respects, he strode forward.

Sparkles of starlight lit up along the path.

The first to appear was a peach tree. It was not very tall, with slender and delicate branches, yet it seemed to have weathered countless years.

A female voice emanated from within the branches: "You choosing me would be wasting this opportunity. I’ve already taught you the divine technique of Peach Blossom Immortal Brew. You can come to me for guidance when there’s a chance in the future."

After speaking, it disappeared.

Then appeared a giant Divine Turtle, its body enveloped in the eternal Flint Fire, like a torch burning for ten thousand years, illuminating the dim long night.

"I wish you would choose me, but it’s impossible, continue forward!"

After speaking, it too vanished.

Next came a three-legged Golden Toad, a Five Elements Cycle gourd, a Yin Yang Transformation fish, a tree inhabited by a Golden Crow, mushrooms, grains of rice and wheat... Various "Gods" emerged.

But all of them only flickered past, not even giving Li Ye a chance to choose, by now Li Ye had walked very far, yet both in front and behind remained a sea of darkness.

Until, a tree manifested before him, tall and branchless, with a lush canopy at the top, appearing both short and tall, an odd sight.

A consciousness within the tree observed Li Ye:

"Many friends like me are also waiting for someone with fate."

"The Spiritual Power within you is chaotic, yet very harmonious, as if all living creatures sincerely granted you their powers."

"In the future, you may have more Spiritual Power to contain, so naturally, I am the most suitable for you."

"Come closer, my name is Jianmu."

Li Ye took a deep breath and placed his fingers on Jianmu’s trunk.

The trunk had a very rough texture, like it had been honed by the winds and sands of yore, from within a tremendously powerful yet gentle force flowed into Li Ye’s body.

It coursed through his limbs and bones, finally settling into a small seedling in his Dantian.

A divine technique’s heritage naturally entered Li Ye’s mind.

Life bursts forth from the soil, world creation!

This is... the "farming" method gifted by Jianmu: sowing Spiritual Power in the Dantian, nurturing it carefully, it grows into a small Jianmu that can form its own domain within.

Jianmu connects heaven and earth, separating all, naturally able to bear everything, making it most suitable for cultivators like Li Ye who absorb extremely complex Spiritual Powers.

In the future, no matter what kind of Spiritual Power or Magic, he can store it within Jianmu, using it at any time, while also using these Spiritual Powers to aid Jianmu’s growth, even bearing Tao Fruit.

"Disciple thanks Ancestor Jianmu for the divine blessing." After absorbing the heritage of the divine technique, Li Ye bowed, his face brimming with untamed joy.

Internal domain! What an incredible divine technique, astonishing and fearsome!

"No need for formalities." Jianmu said: "This is fate, I’ve bestowed this blessing to some cultivators before, but very few can truly cultivate it.

It has no consciousness, everything is guided by your own will. It will become as you desire it.

When you are ready to form your Golden Core, come to me, I will provide some special items for Breaking Realm."

"Go on, do not linger in this dark place, your world lies ahead."

As the voice fell,

All around suddenly bloomed with bright sunlight, Li Ye found himself lying on a grassy field, his Cultivation restored to the Foundation Establishment Stage.

Not far off, True Man Su Xing stood, smiling at Li Ye upon seeing him awake: "Disciple, Jianmu’s blessing is among the top-tier ones.

"I originally thought you might receive the blessing of Fusang or Laurel, but unexpectedly it is Jianmu, but that’s good as well."

He extended a hand to pull Li Ye up, then returned the Beaver and Cyan Bird to him, instructing: "You won’t be able to leave for three years once you’ve entered the sect, so handle your external affairs first."

"By the timeline, your second senior brother should return from the Central Domain in two months, I’ll have him bring you into the sect then."

True Man Suoxing gave Li Ye a deep look.

"Head back now, there are some interesting little fellas there who should allow you to earn quite a few Spirit Stones and become your own enterprise."

This is your well-deserved reward, for dealing with the Hungry Bone in the future as well.

"Accumulate enough Spirit Stones, as there will be many places they are needed after joining the sect, and there will be permissions for some special magical treasures upon entry."

"I await seeing you in the sect."

As his words ended, behind Li Ye appeared a space portal that enveloped him, sending him away from this place.

Left behind, True Man Suoxing gazed into the void as if communicating with someone: "Locust tree, isn’t that just right, only hope he can accumulate enough contributions to go to Taodu Mountain."

"This disciple is truly excellent, I have high expectations for him."

"If he indeed waited for us to save him without Breaking Realm, I wouldn’t have thought highly of him, yet he was willing to Break Realm."

"In the end, although we back him up, between life and death even a moment can bring infinite change, relying solely on us is not viable."

The True Man shook out his robe, and the bright sunny grass around him shimmered with starlight, then faded into nothingness, along with his Magic Body disappearing too.