"I have long heard that the Spirit Treasure Old Ground is a pure land that cultivators look up to. Back then, Immortal Master Ge Hong shocked the Middle Earth and was one of the strongest cultivators in the history of the Dao Sect. We came here in admiration and wish to pay our respects to the holy land." Ye Fan said.
Guo Zhen also came forward to pay his respects and ask for an exception. They came here because of the respect in their hearts, hoping to satisfy their wishes.
"If you want to view the saint's ruins, you can go to the temple outside. This secret land is never open to the public." A disciple from the Spirit Treasure Gate said coldly with a displeased expression.
As expected, the four youths' friendship with Guo Zhen was as shallow as water. Guo Zhen had already followed them here, yet he was so heartless. Not only did he not speak up for them, he even spoke so coldly with a hint of contempt.
"Even though we are acquaintances, this place does not allow outsiders to enter." Another person was very direct, categorizing him and Ye Fan as outsiders. His tone was full of contempt.
"What kind of people are not outsiders?" Ye Fan saw that Guo Zhen was in a difficult situation and asked. He would not leave no matter what. Ge Hong was sitting there, so he had to take a look no matter what.
"Could it be that you all really think of yourselves as seniors?" Another youth could not help but laugh loudly.
The old Daoist at the side had said that only seniors could come here to lecture on the dao and enter the Spirit Treasure Old Ground.
"There are thirty-three steps at the mountain gate, representing the sky of becoming an immortal. If any of you can cross eight steps, then you will barely pass and can enter." The old Daoist said.
A few ancient pines were like dragons lying down at the foot of the mountain. It was said that they were planted by Ge Hong himself. They were evergreen and strong like dragons.
There were thirty-three steps there, and they were different from the other limestone steps leading up the mountain. It was said that in the ancient times, this was the most common test. Even the Daoist children who served the Daoist masters had the ability to walk over it. Otherwise, they would not be able to freely go up and down the mountain.
But now, only the elders could walk. Normal disciples could only take a detour and avoid these stone steps from the side. It was incomparable to the ancient times.
Ye Fan originally wanted to walk up in one go, but Guo Zhen was very stubborn. He insisted on giving it a try. After being repeatedly looked down upon by someone he knew, he couldn't help but feel some anger in his heart. It was difficult for him to calm down.
One step, two steps, three steps. With Guo Zhen's own cultivation, she could only take three steps before she found it difficult to take the fourth step. Due to the environment of the world, compared to the ancient cultivators, the cultivation of the Dao Seeking cultivators was generally low, and it was difficult for them to improve.
On the side, the four youngsters chuckled, all of them shaking their heads. Even they didn't dare walk the stone stairs, believing that Guo Zhen didn't understand this place and would only make a fool of himself.
"Whoosh!"
A sphere of green and blue light shone. A thin sheet of blue and gold appeared in Guo Zhen's hands. There was a symbol engraved on it that was extremely ancient. It released streaks of blue and gold radiance that surrounded him.
"Bang", "Bang" …
Guo Zhen took six steps in succession. In total, he had taken nine steps, exceeding the old man's standard. His forehead was beaded with sweat. Then, he leaped off the stone steps with all his might and retreated.
The four youngsters at the side were all astonished as they stared at the thin sheet of blue and gold in his hands. The symbol on it was extremely mysterious, and it could actually make Guo Zhen perform like this. Under normal circumstances, these four people couldn't do this at all. They could only take three steps at most, but they didn't expect Guo Zhen to be able to do it.
The old Daoist was also astonished. He stared at the blue and gold symbol continuously and said, "Even though you borrowed the help of a spirit weapon, it still counts as a pass. You may go up."
Guo Zhen let out a long breath and wiped away the sweat on his forehead. He carefully put away the thin sheet of blue and gold. At his realm, he still couldn't accept weapons into the Sea of Reincarnation within his body.
"Just relying on external objects. What kind of ability is that?" A youngster said in a low voice. The four felt that they had lost face, so they didn't stay any longer and quickly went up the mountain.
Guo Zhen seemed to be exhausted after walking nine steps. After returning, he hurriedly sat cross-legged on the ground to recover his essence energy.
Ye Fan glanced at the thirty-three stone steps. He walked up step by step until he reached the end and came back down.
Below, the old Daoist was almost terrified. He was so shocked that he was tongue-tied. Even he could only walk halfway up, but this youngster seemed to be taking a leisurely stroll. He knew that when he saw a true expert, he had to call him senior and salute him.
Ye Fan stopped him and shook his head. He then came to Guo Zhen's side and sent a stream of pure divine power over. Immediately, Guo Zhen's exhaustion was swept away. His entire body felt comfortable and recovered to its original state.
"Brother Ye …" He was naturally astonished and quickly opened his eyes.
"It's just a small Daoist. I usually store an extra stream of inner yuan in an artifact," Ye Fan explained with a smile.
Guo Zhen was relieved. Otherwise, he would really think that he had met a senior expert. Transferring origin qi to others like this was very exhausting. If it was stored in an artifact, it would be a different matter.
The old Daoist respectfully watched them walk up the mountain along a small path that led to the Daoist temple on the rooftop. Meanwhile, he himself didn't move. He shook his head forcefully and continued to guard the mountain gate.
Along the way, they saw green pines and green cypresses. Cranes flew in the sky and circled from time to time. The place was steaming with clouds and looked like a fairyland. The Spiritual Qi here was many times denser than that of the outside world.
When they arrived at the platform of this broken mountain, the first thing they saw was a bluestone statue. It was a Daoist with a kind of calmness. He had the air of a celestial being and gave off a feeling of being carefree as if he had seen through everything in the world.
This was a statue erected by later generations to commemorate Immortal Master Ge Hong. It was vivid and lifelike, as if it was about to become immortal and ascend to heaven.
The Lingbao Sect was founded by Ge Xuan and carried forward by Ge Hong. It played an important role in the history of Daoism and its influence was unparalleled. Mount Gezao also became one of the three mountains of the Great Sage of Daoism in the south.
Ye Fan stood on the rooftop and looked down at the surroundings. He saw clouds rolling and mist, towering mountains, and beautiful peaks and valleys. He couldn't help but sigh. This place was really amazing.
In the distance, there were several broken mountains standing side by side. Although the Spiritual Qi had dried up, there was a kind of remnant ripple of the Great Path of Creation, which made his heart tremble. Was it left by Ge Hong?
One reason he came to the old land of the Lingbao Sect was to search for Ge Hong's legacy. In addition, he wanted to verify a somewhat illusory secret to see if it was true.
In Daoism, the reason why the Lingbao Sect played an important role was because of the Lingbao Celestial Being, one of the Three Pure Ones, which Daoism respected. In the history of Daoism, it was recorded that the sect participated in the positioning of the Three Pure Ones.
"Rumor has it that in the ancient times, there was a Celestial Being called Lingbao. I don't know if it's true or not," Ye Fan said to himself.
The Lingbao Celestial Being was respected by all branches of Daoism. For the world of cultivation, whether it really existed or not was already impossible to verify.
The fact that the Lingbao Sect chose such a name was enough to explain everything. It also indirectly proved its supreme status in Daoism.
Ye Fan captured the traces of the creation of the Great Dao and pondered seriously. When he was on the other side of the starry sky, he had heard of the origin of the Nine Secrets. Some said that it was created by the deceased Celestial Being of Daoism. Some said that it was a secret technique left behind by the supreme figures of different periods in the ancient times before they passed away, which was then combined by the later generations. Others said that the Nine Secrets were the result of countless people perfecting it.
"Ge Hong might have mastered one or two of the Nine Secrets. From the name of the sect, it's not hard to make some connections. Could it be that the Lingbao Celestial Being was one of the few Celestial Beings who created the Nine Secrets?"
On the broken mountain, these temples were all very old. Although the great practitioners had all passed away, everything here proved their former glory. The remnant marks of the Dao and the incomplete sage formations were shocking.
However, the spiritual Qi of heaven and earth was too thin, and these things were difficult to operate. Moreover, for some reason, they were slowly destroying themselves. If this went on for a long time, they would all be destroyed.
"Is this the senior expert you were talking about?" A young girl stood in front of a temple and smiled lightly. She was beautiful and looked at Ye Fan and Guo Zhen. There were also a few young people beside them.
"Yes, this is someone who passed through the nine bluestone steps. You guys should learn from him later." One of the four young cultivators who knew Guo Zhen before said.
A few people immediately laughed after hearing this. They were all juniors who came here with the elders of their sects, so they clearly knew each other. Ye Fan patted Guo Zhen's shoulder and told him to calm down. There was nothing to fuss about, so he pulled Guo Zhen towards the temple.
"You guys really went in. That's the place where the elders take the dao. Do you want to preach to us?"
A group of people followed after seeing the situation. The green grass in the courtyard was like a cushion, and ancient trees towered into the sky. Not far away, there were more than ten elders sitting cross-legged on praying mats. They were discussing the dao while some young people were listening.
Ye Fan pulled Guo Zhen to the edge of the courtyard and found two praying mats to sit on. Some of the young people immediately revealed strange expressions and looked over.
"You guys really … really think of yourselves as masters who have achieved the dao. You guys really dare to sit here?" The four young people who knew Guo Zhen no longer looked at him with contempt. Instead, they revealed expressions of pity.
Many people looked over, and even those older generation figures noticed this place. They were all a bit shocked.
"What's wrong?" Guo Zhen was a bit confused.
"Look at us. Who dares to sit down? Aren't we all standing here respectfully to listen to the true method?" One of them said with a look of schadenfreude.
"Aren't they also young people? They're also sitting there." Guo Zhen pointed at the dozen or so young people in front of him in confusion.
"Guo Zhen, you're really naive. How can the two of you compare to them? Those are all core genius disciples who came from the secret land."
The young people standing were both envious and jealous of those people. They shook their heads at Ye Fan and Guo Zhen. The four people from before even revealed a sneer and looked like they were watching the show.
Guo Zhen did not know what to do and was about to stand up. Ye Fan pulled him back and said that he had already sat down and there was no need to stand up.
"Who are you guys? Why are you sitting here? Who invited you in?" a core disciple sitting on a praying mat opposite them asked.
Ye Fan looked closely and found that these young people were quite impressive. They were all above the Life Spring Realm. Compared to the others, they were indeed extraordinary.
"They stepped over the nine stone steps and came up here on their own." Someone quickly explained what happened.
The dozen or so elders were all shocked and looked at the two seriously, which made Guo Zhen feel uncomfortable. At the same time, Ye Fan looked at them. These masters were all above the Holy Zhi Palace Secret Plane. In the current era, they were indeed very powerful. There were even three of them in the Four Extreme Secret Planes.
"Is that so? They came up here on their own. Then let me see if I have the right to sit here." A core disciple of the Spirit Treasure Sect stood up from his praying mat. He was in the late Life Spring Realm.
"Didn't I already test the Way down there? Why do you still want to continue?" Guo Zhen felt a headache coming on. He was a lone cultivator, and the people here were all disciples of big sects. It was said that there could be living Great Mediums in some secret lands. Disciples of such sects could not afford to offend them.
"The test at the mountain gate is too easy. Those with decent cultivation can make it to the eighth or ninth step. It's nothing. If you can make it to the fourth step, I have nothing to say. I'll even worship you as my senior for the rest of my life." The young man pointed to the tallest platform. There were also thirty-three stone steps there that led directly to the platform.
Everyone's expression changed. What was this place? It was the place where the headmaster of the sect went up to the platform and preached. Could anyone still go up there? Even those who could walk up a few steps were rare.
"I once heard that the Spirit Treasure Sect's Celestial Master Ge Hong once wrote a Daoist book that discussed the Nine Secrets. If we can go up there, we won't force them. We just need to tell them the origin of the Nine Secrets," Ye Fan said.
He had come for the Nine Secrets. His goal was clear. He wanted to confirm if the Spirit Treasure Sect really had one or two secrets!
Many people laughed. Only a dozen old Daoists' expressions changed. But when they looked at Ye Fan and the others, they relaxed again. They did not sense any profound cultivation.
"Do you really think that you can compare to the headmaster of the ancient times?"
"Even if there are Great Mediums today, they may not be able to walk all 33 steps. Do you think you can?"
Many people laughed with mockery. They felt that they were too unreliable. Those who knew Guo Zhen shook their heads. They really did sympathize with these two.
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