Chapter 139: The Millennium Invitation

In the world of immortal cultivation, numerous anecdotes often tell of cultivators who accepted an invitation from a friend, only to harbor malicious intentions toward the master of the immortal dwelling, ultimately leading to tragic disasters.

To be able to safely entrust such a token to someone already indicates that the master of the dwelling has prepared themselves for the possibility of betrayal and death at that person's hands.

Due to this unique nature, items of this kind are normally exceedingly rare.

The reason one can still encounter some nowadays is due to another, more common scenario regarding these invitation tokens.

That is, certain senior cultivators with high levels of cultivation are nearing the end of their lifespans or facing imminent death for other reasons.

Having no worldly ties, no descendants, and no disciples beneath their banner, yet desiring to pass down their lifelong cultivation and treasured inheritances, they leave behind these invitation tokens as credentials and qualifications for entering their dwellings.

They then set up various trials in the hope that their legacy will fall into the hands of someone destined.

According to Song Yan's reasoning, this jade token should belong to the latter category.

"The treasure map shattered and transformed into those dozens of ink-colored hues. Could this have been deliberately orchestrated by that senior?"

Yet...

With just a jade token in hand and no extra information whatsoever, how was he supposed to confirm whether things were truly as he imagined?

Song Yan attempted to immerse his divine sense and spiritual power into the token, only to be rebuffed by a certain restriction.

"This..."

What kind of profound mystery was hidden within this object?

He mused in silence.

Presumably, that Deity Transformation realm senior named Wu Daoxuan had already passed away and transformed into nature, right?

Otherwise, if dozens of cultivators were to joyfully step into the immortal dwelling in the future, only to find a mighty Deity Transformation expert waiting there for them all this time...

Song Yan could not help but shudder slightly.

Turning it over and over, he still could not make heads or tails of it.

"Forget it. Since I know nothing at present, there is no need to waste time here."

The pool water was warm and comforting, dispelling his fatigue, and a wave of drowsiness soon washed over him.

Song Yan stepped out of the pool, circulated his spiritual power to banish the moisture, and lay down upon the jade bed to sleep peacefully.

...

The events of Changping concluded, and the many details and pieces of information concerning it began to spread throughout the entire world of immortal cultivation.

However, because the realm of Qi Condensation was simply too low, Song Yan's name was overlooked during the dissemination of the events.

People merely spoke of "a certain Qi Condensation cultivator from the Dwelling Abyss Sect" and the like.

Only those cultivators who had actually been present would add when mentioning the matter, "That cultivator from the Dwelling Abyss Sect is named Song Yan."

Yet no one cared.

No one believed that a mere Qi Condensation cultivator could alter anything within such a battlefield.

At most, it was just good fortune.

What the vast majority of people cared about more was where the dozens of ink-colored wisps, formed after the treasure map shattered, had flown off to.

Among the cultivators present on that day, one observant individual made a judgment after carefully recalling the scene.

There were eighty-six ink-colored wisps in total.

They scattered in all directions with Changping County at the center.

On that very day, cultivators in the surrounding regions such as the Chu State, the Qi State, and the Central Domain inexplicably acquired a black jade token, unaware of its purpose.

As for why there were eighty-six wisps, and how these ink-colored lights chose their recipients, no one knew.

To this day, those who leaked news of possessing such an item remained in deep concealment.

Before the true purpose of this item was figured out, no one dared to display it openly.

However, speculations regarding this object shared a vague, hazy consensus.

It was likely the burial site of that Deity Transformation cultivator, Wu Daoxuan.

Such speculation did not last very long. About a month later, the Profound Origin Sect suddenly transmitted information originating from the Wu clan of the Central Domain to the entire Chu State.

"Senior Wu Daoxuan's burial site is located in Tingchuan of the Central Domain and is properly guarded by the descendants of the Wu clan. Do not spread groundless rumors."

"The ink-colored jade formed by the Changping treasure map is merely related to a former residence of the senior."

"According to the descendants of the Central Domain Wu clan, the clues left behind by the senior were likely intended simply for art-loving individuals across the world to obtain some of the paintings he left behind in the past."

"Within that old dwelling, there will not be an abundance of spiritual resources for cultivation."

This news appeared to have been brought thousands of miles from the Central Domain by a descendant of the Wu clan, who used the Profound Origin Sect—the undisputed leader of the Chu State's cultivation world—to clarify the matter.

Yet once the news of this Deity Transformation dwelling was confirmed, it instead fueled the wave of searching for the ink jade even more fiercely.

Did the exact amount of spiritual cultivation resources inside truly matter?

This was, after all, something genuinely left behind by a Deity Transformation cultivator! Even if it were merely paintings, who could guarantee that profound mysteries were not concealed within?

Viewed in this light, let alone Golden Core cultivators, even Nascent Soul experts from the Central Domain would likely join this massive melee!

Yet the problem was...

Where on earth was this Daoist Master's dwelling located?

According to the descendants of the Wu clan, they did not know either.

During his lifetime, the senior loved to travel far and wide to sketch from nature and comprehend the great Dao of heaven and earth, leaving behind numerous former residences.

"Prior to this, two former residences have already appeared in other places. According to the rules left behind by the senior on the previous two occasions, the cultivation levels of the cultivators entering them will be entirely sealed."

"Moreover, whether one can obtain the paintings left behind by the senior depends entirely on the entering cultivators' mastery of the Dao of painting."

"It remains unknown whether this time will be the same."

Information concerning the Daoist Master's dwelling had already spread throughout the Chu State's cultivation world via the words of the Wu clan's descendants.

However, neither the descendants of the Wu clan nor anyone else knew precisely where the Daoist Master's dwelling was or when it would manifest.

...

Dwelling Abyss Sect, Hearing Dao Gorge.

Song Yan sat within the Ink Dao Courtyard, earnestly holding a writing brush and copying calligraphy model sheets.

Although he had already become an inner sect disciple, it was normally possible to bypass the arts of cultivating the mind through various means.

Yet he knew that the art of cultivating the mind was by no means a waste of time.

Appropriately setting aside time to cultivate one's character and nurture one's temperament brought only benefits and no harm to cultivation.

"Hmm..."

He picked up this piece of calligraphy, examined it up and down, and nodded in satisfaction.

He stood up and left the courtyard.

The current Ink Dao Courtyard was much more desolate than before.

Mainly because recent discussions regarding the Daoist Master's dwelling had caused many disciples to cast their focus toward the Cinnabar and Cyan Courtyard.

Most people knew that cramming at the last minute was meaningless.

Even so, everyone's interest in the arts of cultivating the mind was indeed much higher than before.

"When that senior left behind these clues, he was still alive. That must have been a thousand years ago, right?"

"Who knows... Even mighty Deity Transformation realm cultivators have a day when they pass away."

"How do you know the senior passed away naturally?"

"Nonsense, could there possibly be anyone capable of slaying a Deity Transformation realm senior?"

When all was said andចេញ, the Chu territory was merely a small, remote border country, lacking even a resident Nascent Soul realm cultivator, let alone a Deity Transformation one.

Discussions on such matters relied entirely on personal imagination and stubborn argumentativeness during debates.

"A thousand years ago?"

Hearing the idle chatter of the surrounding cultivators, Song Yan could not help but sigh inwardly, *Has it been that long...*

A thousand years...

It took only two words to speak, yet how many vicissitudes of life, joys, and sorrows were contained within.

With a soft sigh, he walked straight toward his own immortal dwelling.

His interest in the Daoist Master's dwelling was not particularly strong.

After all, he knew nothing about the Dao of painting.

If he could ensure his own safety when the time came, he might make a trip to the scene to witness the graceful demeanor of the various painting prodigies.

Broadening one's horizons and elevating one's aesthetic sense was never a bad thing.

According to rumors, there were eighty-six jade tokens in total, which meant adding the one he had acquired from the very beginning...

That made eighty-seven in total...

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