Chapter 527: All the Gods and Buddhas Disappear! Golden Radiance Crown! Art of Cloning! It Can’t Be That Coincidental!

“Hmm?” The middle-aged Daoist froze, then his eyes filled with disbelief.

“Are you joking with me?” he asked, staring seriously at Li Yanchu.

“I’m serious. I’ve seen a few mountain gods, but they’ve all vanished. Moreover, there is no underworld, no Celestial Courts, what people call divine miracles are just myths and legends,” Li Yanchu replied.

“I’ve heard people say that this is an era where myths have ended and the Dao has fallen silent,” he added.

“Impossible! After I became a city god, although my cultivation hadn’t reached Land Immortal, with my decree in hand and merit points accumulated, my combat power could rival a Land Immortal.

“You know, above Land Immortals are Heaven Immortals! All Ten Kings of the Underworld are powerful ghostly deities. How could they vanish? And no one would speak of the Lord of Mount Tai or Kṣitigarbha Bodhisattva! And how could all the gods and Buddhas disappear from the heavens?!”

Jia Chuanfang could not believe it. To him, such a thing was absolutely impossible.

“I don’t know the full details either. What exactly happened back then, I have no clue,” Li Yanchu said solemnly.

He recounted the events of the Blissful Lands, the invasion of evil demons, and the severing of the Daoist lineage.

Jia Chuanfang thought for a moment, then said gravely, “If the Blissful Lands were all destroyed, there is absolutely no mortal demon powerful enough to forcibly invade those sacred lands. Those were all spirit-rich secret realms, and the Celestial Court would never have stood idly by!”

To him, this was almost inconceivable. After all, these were Land Immortals!

“What if even the Celestial Court was caught in the calamity at that time?” Li Yanchu said solemnly.

Jia Chuanfang was struck as if by lightning. Cultivators of this era had a very narrow mindset: their entire lives were spent surviving tribulations to become Land Immortals.

But now, imagine telling him that all the Land Immortals had perished, that even the Blissful Lands were destroyed by demons, and the Daoist lineage severed...

Not only that, but all the gods and Buddhas in the heavens had completely vanished, as if they had never existed. How could he possibly accept such a reality?

His body trembled violently, and his worldview was shattered. Gradually, he became transparent.

Li Yanchu frowned. “Old Jia, are you all right?”

Jia Chuanfang took a deep breath. “What you say is truly hard to believe. I had left an imprint of my consciousness in the golden crown and even set up a formation, originally it was just a casual precaution. I never expected to hear something like this.”

This Jia Chuanfang was not his full self, nor a clone or residual soul. Strictly speaking, it was merely a projection of his mind, like a computer program with limited autonomy that would soon dissipate.

He seemed somewhat disheartened, and this projection of consciousness gradually began to fade.

Li Yanchu suddenly said, “Old Jia, you left your consciousness in the golden crown and even took the trouble to set a formation. Surely it wasn’t just a casual act?”

Jia Chuanfang raised his head and said, “Although you are young, your mind is exceptionally sharp. You have a bright future ahead.”

“Indeed. Though I have already died and my Dao perished, I left behind one treasure, the Golden Radiance Crown, which can grant invisibility. I had intended to use it to form a good karmic connection. But now it seems that even all the immortals and deities are in trouble. What use is a single treasure?”

Jia Chuanfang sounded somewhat disheartened.

“Don’t say that, Old Jia. Your former body was impervious to blades, proficient in Five Elements Art. It cost me considerable effort to slay it. It wouldn’t be wrong to give me a treasure,” Li Yanchu said.

The end of myth and the disappearance of the divine felt distant to him. What mattered now were tangible treasures and secret arts, things he could grasp.

Jia Chuanfang paused, then smiled faintly. “You have a point. This golden crown is a replica of the Golden Radiance Crown. There is a trace of its power inside. You may go to the Mount Yan City God Temple and retrieve the actual Golden Radiance Crown.”

With that, he took off the golden crown from his head and handed it to Li Yanchu.

Li Yanchu was speechless. Over a thousand years had passed. Who knew where that City God Temple even was? And besides, who could even tell where Mount Yan was?

Jia Chuanfang, noticing his hesitation, smiled. “This replica will suffice for forming a karmic connection. In due course, it will guide you. There is no need to rush.”

Li Yanchu smiled. “Very well.”

Jia Chuanfang’s form gradually faded, though he remained calm and composed.

“Today I am fated to meet you. I have a method of creating a clone, learned from Mount Zhongnan. I wonder if you would like to learn it?” he said lightly.

A cloning technique...

Li Yanchu’s eyes lit up. “Old Jia, I am grateful for your guidance.”

Jia Chuanfang extended a finger, releasing a glowing fragment into Li Yanchu’s hand.

Li Yanchu sensed it, and it was indeed a cloning technique! Although the

Yellow Court Classic

recorded many Daoist techniques, this particular method of cloning had no record.

Li Yanchu cupped his hands toward Jia Chuanfang. “Thank you!”

Jia Chuanfang smiled. “We are like old friends at first meeting. Such small matters need no thanks.”

“Pity you’re gone, or I would have invited you for a drink,” Li Yanchu said with a grin.

Jia Chuanfang smiled faintly and gradually disappeared, and the purple aura he had radiated also dissipated.

Silence enveloped the valley as Li Yanchu rested on his sword, his expression calm but thoughtful. The information Jia Chuanfang had left behind was complex and vast, leaving a subtly terrifying impression.

Li Yanchu glanced into the distance. “Old Jia, are you really gone?”

A Mount Yan City God, a first-rank cultivator who failed his heavenly tribulation and chose Corpse Liberation, just his former body alone had such power.

𝒇𝙧𝙚𝓮𝔀𝓮𝒃𝙣𝓸𝒗𝒆𝒍.𝙘𝒐𝒎

The more Li Yanchu considered Jia Chuanfang, the more extraordinary he seemed. Yet this cloning technique was indeed a profound Daoist method. The golden crown contained a subtle, mysterious aura, as if pointing the way.

“First, I’ll cultivate this cloning technique. Then I’ll check the texts, or ask around to find where Mount Yan City really is, and whether a City God Temple from the Great Xia period still exists there.”

Then, Li Yanchu left the valley.

The valley remained filled with the lingering aura of the pure yang lightning technique, now reduced to ruins, but perfectly cleansed of any yin or evil energy. Any cultivator skilled in lightning techniques who came here would surely be amazed and treat this place as a sacred site.

Soon, Li Yanchu found the monks of Lingxi Temple. But when he saw those elderly monks with vacant, muddled eyes, he couldn’t help but furrow his brow.

It’s just been a short while, but they all look like they have gotten Alzheimer’s!

He asked Master Huizhen what had happened, and Master Huizhen then recounted the terror of the lightning technique just now, “The heavenly power descended, and a mighty lightningbolt struck. The force... it was truly earth-shattering!”

Master Huizhen still shivered at the memory.

He hadn’t realized that it was Li Yanchu who had unleashed the Five-Lightning Talismans. The display had been unmistakably that of a heavenly tribulation, just as recorded in the ancient texts.

Meanwhile, Li Yanchu smiled faintly, quietly concealing both his accomplishment and fame.

Most of Lingxi Temple had been destroyed, so the ceremony was naturally canceled. Li Yanchu didn’t linger, as there were still many matters to handle at the temple. He quickly returned to Wei City.

Seeing the familiar, dilapidated Daoist temple, he inexplicably felt a sense of comfort. However, as he sat down, the golden crown in his arms suddenly began to hum, as if trying to fly from his grasp.

Li Yanchu was startled. Looking at the direction the crown seemed drawn toward, he involuntarily inhaled sharply and said, “No way...”

If he remembered correctly, that spot just happened to have a City God Temple!