Chapter 452: Immortal Artifact Apricot-Yellow Banner! Where’s My Immortal Plant?! Elder Sister Is the True Way! Ancestral Hall Haunting!

Boom

!

Suddenly, the Daoist temple hall trembled, shaking violently as if it were about to collapse. A dazzling divine light appeared, and a heart-stirring aura instantly enveloped the entire Blissful Land. Every cultivator in every corner could feel it.

Then, a half-illusory, half-solid Apricot-Yellow Banner appeared above Li Yanchu’s head. The immense aura came from this very banner.

The Lord of Mount Tai's Seal emitted a powerful aura as well, rivaling the Apricot-Yellow Banner. The two energies clashed without yielding, and in the end, both transformed into streams of light that shot into Li Yanchu’s body.

Within his sea of consciousness, the half-illusory, half-solid Apricot-Yellow Banner floated quietly, guarding Li Yanchu’s primordial spirit.

This... this is insanely powerful!

Li Yanchu rejoiced in his heart.

Zhang Wei and Xiao Ran both stared at Li Yanchu, their jaws dropping.

The Apricot-Yellow Banner has recognized him as its master!?

Inside the Blissful Land of Mount Taoyuan, a mysterious young man sat cross-legged in meditation. At this moment, he opened his eyes.

He had located an immortal fruit, but it was not yet fully matured. Like an alchemy furnace, the immature immortal plant could not be harvested much by just reaching for it.

The plant exuded a rich fragrance, refreshing the mind. Spiritual light flowed slowly through the young man’s primordial spirit, healing the wounds that had once been grievously injured, nourished by the immortal fruit.

At this time, his breathing quickened. Once this plant matured and he consumed it, he would completely recover.

He cast a glance at the spatial anomaly and the ancient, powerful aura, and his heart tightened.

“The Apricot-Yellow Banner has been taken!?”

The mysterious young man’s chest tightened in frustration, almost to the point of vomiting blood. In his mind appeared the image of a young Daoist.

It must be him! I must kill this person at the first opportunity, or he will become a major threat!

The youth, whose true name was Jianan, revealed murder in his eyes. Only when he turned to the immortal plant before him did his gaze soften slightly.

Suddenly, an incomparably strong suction force appeared, enveloping Jianan’s body. The profound sensation made Jianan’s heart sink.

“The Blissful Land is... closing?” He could hardly believe it.

It had just been opened for so short a time; he hadn’t even begun to search for immortal treasures, and the immortal plant in front of him wasn’t even mature.

Unfortunately, the next moment, his body vanished.

“Damn it!” This prodigy of the Buddhist path, a mysterious existence, couldn’t help swearing.

In the next instant, his figure disappeared entirely. The same thing happened in many other locations within the Blissful Land.

On the summit of the divine mountain, Li Yanchu and the other two experienced the same phenomenon, their bodies being pulled out of the Blissful Land by an invisible suction.

Zhang Wei screamed miserably, “Primordial Yang Fruit!”

He hadn’t even had the chance to find the immortal plant yet.

Among all, the happiest were the cultivators trapped within the formation. “Finally, we’re free!”

One by one, their faces lit up with radiant smiles. Although the Blissful Land had closed in an inexplicable way, they had survived this secret realm!

Otherwise, with the strength of the sealing formation and its uncontrollable changes, who knew what would have happened if they had stayed.

In the Wei City territory, those who had originally disappeared without a trace reappeared. If no one saw them, it would have been fine, but when people did witness it, they immediately assumed a deity had descended. From now on, countless new strange tales and legends would surely spread among the people of Wei City.

At this time, Li Yanchu slowly opened his eyes. The surroundings had returned to the inn’s courtyard room. He looked slightly dazed, but quickly regained his composure.

“Apricot-Yellow Banner, Fire Virtue Star Lord’s Peach Talisman, alchemy furnace, Blood-Qi Pill, and merit points for slaying evil spirits... not a bad haul this time.” He tallied the gains from this expedition, smiling from ear to ear.

Yet the ability of that bizarre human head had indeed been difficult to deal with. Fortunately, he had the Lord of Mount Tai's Seal on him, enough to suppress all sinister spirits and demons.

“Why did every Blissful Land encounter invasions by evil spirits? If it’s some great calamity, why were there no demons in the mortal world?”

A contemplative look appeared in Li Yanchu’s eyes. He was increasingly intrigued by the events hidden in the passage of time, the severed threads of mythology. He had experienced three Blissful Lands: Mount Jinting’s Blissful Land, Jade Altar’s Blissful Land, and Mount Taoyuan’s Blissful Land.

Both Mount Jinting and Mount Taoyuan had been invaded by evil spirits, leaving no trace of immortals, with only demonic remnants in the Daoist temple halls. Combining this with the lingering obsessions of the immortals in Mount Jinting’s Blissful Land, the pattern was clear.

The immortals in the Blissful Lands had all ultimately perished, their Dao destroyed. Otherwise, the demons could not have occupied the Daoist halls.

Yet one question puzzled him: this world should have a Celestial Court.

The mythological system was similar to that of his previous life: Three Pure Ones and Four Sovereigns, the Five Elders of the Directions, the countless celestial gods, all should reside there.

Could it be, as the false Great Emperor Zhenwu claimed, that the Celestial Court itself was caught in the great calamity!?

Unbelievable.

What kind of demon could possibly contend with the full host of gods and Buddhas, allowing evil to run rampant in the mortal world and causing Daoist halls to fall?

This question was still beyond Li Yanchu’s reach, even at the pinnacle of the Yin Spirit second realm Yin Spirit. Yet unconsciously, it pressed upon him with a sense of oppression.

The Five-Lightning Talisman was domineering, ruthless, and the most pure yang in heaven and earth, and one of his trump cards.

But the foundation was his life and cultivation. Otherwise, if he ever confronted the truth behind the mists, he too might vanish like those Land Immortals and Daoist disciples. He would be obliterated, crushed by the inexorable momentum of heaven and earth.

He resolved to train diligently, striving to break through to the third realm and condense his Yang Spirit as soon as possible.

The innkeeper was already accustomed to her husband’s mysterious comings and goings. She went to the kitchen and personally prepared several exquisite dishes to welcome Li Yanchu back.

“So, how come you didn’t bring a woman back this time?” the innkeeper asked.

“Do I even have such a habit?” Li Yanchu replied with a smile.

The innkeeper rolled her eyes at him and placed a perfectly braised piece of pork onto his plate.

“That little girl last time, I could tell she had ill intentions. She definitely fancied you,” she jabbed.

This mature, refined, and charming woman seemed to get jealous over any woman, except perhaps Fang Qinglan.

After the meal, the innkeeper cleaned up and refreshed herself, her entire demeanor radiant. Her delicate face glowed with a natural blush, her skin smooth and fair, like top-quality mutton-fat jade.

Even Li Yanchu, who had seen many beauties, couldn’t help but be impressed. Her long black hair fell softly against her back, with occasional drops of water falling from it.

Li Yanchu could only marvel inwardly, thinking,

No wonder they say... the top of the food chain is the elder sister.

The next day, near noon time, Li Yanchu finally left Taiping Inn and returned to Qingyun Temple.

He employed the Sun Veil to ward off disaster, activated the Dao Dust Bead to conceal his aura and shield divine insight, all to live quietly and safely in Wei City. He had been somewhat too high-profile during the recent Blissful Land expedition.

Even the Sun Veil couldn’t fully erase the impression others had of him.

He had thought he could enjoy a few days of peace, but unexpectedly, Zuo Qian from the Prefectural Tribunal, who he hadn’t contacted in days, came seeking his help.

“Daoist Master Li, there’s an old ancestral hall in Guangping County that’s haunted. Even bringing in high monks and Daoist exorcists hasn’t worked. I had no choice but to come ask for your assistance.”