Chapter 464: Celestial Essence Dragon Vein

Shen Daoxing was in a daze. He glanced at the Spirit Medicine Garden, then at the Spirit Beast Garden, and finally at the Celestial Essence Seven-Color Ore Vein, still finding it hard to believe. "Is all of this mine now?"

"Hehe, Island Master, you jest. You are now the master of Pengze Immortal Island. Of course, all of this is yours!"

Elder Yuan Hong gave a slight smile. "Please come with me, Island Master!"

Shen Daoxing then followed Yuan Hong to the center of Pengze Hall, where a towering palace appeared before them. It stood so tall it seemed to pierce the sky, as if about to soar into the heavens.

The moment Shen Daoxing drew near, he felt the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi surge toward him like a tidal wave.

"ROAR!"

Suddenly, what sounded like a dragon’s roar rang out.

Shen Daoxing looked down and saw, as if in a trance, a colossal dragon formed from Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi soaring up from Pengze Immortal Island below and flying into the towering palace before them.

Stunned, Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but ask, "What was that?"

Elder Yuan Hong slowly began to speak. "Hehe, Island Master, this is the Pengze Main Hall, your future residence. It is also the place on all of Pengze Immortal Island where the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi is most concentrated. What you just witnessed was the Celestial Essence Dragon Vein."

"The Celestial Essence Dragon Vein?"

Shen Daoxing was intrigued.

Elder Yuan Hong nodded. "A Celestial Essence Spiritual Vein is the condensed essence of the earth itself; they only form in lands uniquely blessed by nature. This one is also the very essence of the entire Yun Meng Lake. In fact, our Pengze Immortal Island is one complete Celestial Essence Dragon Vein, and this Pengze Main Hall before you is located right at its ’dragon’s eye’."

’The eye of the Celestial Essence Dragon Vein!’

Shen Daoxing was aghast. ’No wonder the Heaven and Earth Primordial Qi here is so dense it has materialized to the point of being visible to the naked eye.’

’I don’t even have to think about it. This is without a doubt the best place to cultivate in all of Yun Meng Lake. Cultivating here would be several times faster than anywhere else.’

Elder Yuan Hong paused for a moment before continuing:

"There are four other such places in Yun Meng Lake, including Penglai Immortal Island, Fusang Immortal Island, and Tan Yuan Immortal Island of Yingzhou. Legend has it that tens of millions of years ago, these five locations were actually a single, colossal Celestial Essence Dragon Vein. It was the Great Sword Immortal who, with his boundless Divine Techniques, suppressed and split it into five segments, thus creating the Immortal Islands we have today."

As he spoke, Elder Yuan Hong waved his sleeve. The clouds below slowly parted, revealing a bare patch of earth on the summit of Pengze Immortal Mountain. There, a grayish-white Stone Stele stood embedded in a corner of the peak.

Yuan Hong slowly explained, "And this ancient, mysterious Stone Stele is what the Great Sword Immortal used to suppress the Dragon Vein."

"Oh?"

Shen Daoxing looked down. In a corner of the peak of Pengze Immortal Mountain below, the grayish-white Stone Stele stood quietly. It was dull and lusterless, looking utterly ordinary with nothing special about it.

Shen Daoxing paused, his curiosity piqued. "So this is the Ancient Stone Stele? Is it said to hide the secret to becoming an Immortal?"

"Yes, that’s correct."

Yuan Hong nodded. "This Ancient Stone Stele is indeed said to hold the secret to becoming an Immortal, but in thousands of years, no one from our Cyan Nether Sword Sect has ever managed to comprehend it."

"Oh, wait!"

Yuan Hong paused abruptly, as if remembering something, then added, "There was one exception—Dugu Sheng, from five hundred years ago. When she visited our Cyan Nether Sword Sect, it seems she comprehended some small part of the secret concerning Immortals."

"She was a truly breathtaking genius. It’s a pity that in the end, she left without a word, disappearing from our Cyan Nether Sword Sect so suddenly."

As he spoke, Yuan Hong gazed up at the sky as if lost in memory, his eyes filled with unconcealable adoration—and even a trace of love!

Shen Daoxing was taken aback.

At the mention of Dugu Sheng, Shen Daoxing instinctively reached up and touched the Inherited Jade Pendant she had given him, which now rested inside his Sumeru Ring.

Ever since they parted in the Huangliang Secret Realm, Dugu Sheng had promised to grant him any three wishes. But after he emerged, there was no news of her whatsoever. He couldn’t even sense her location through her Inherited Jade Pendant.

Shen Daoxing couldn’t help but wonder, ’Where in the world did Dugu Sheng go?’

Yuan Hong shook his head. "I don’t know. No one knows where she went. She came in a hurry and left just as quickly. However, there were rumors about her later from the Demon Monster State."

"The Demon Monster State?"

Shen Daoxing paused. "What kind of place is that?"

"The Demon Monster State!"

Yuan Hong muttered the name, a flash of fear in his eyes. "The Demon Monster State is the Land of the Forsaken, a place abandoned even by the gods. No human can live there. It is a paradise for monsters, a Divine Kingdom for Evil Demons. Ordinary people wouldn’t dare, nor could they, set foot in it. Even for experts at the Celestial Balance Realm, like the Island Masters of our Cyan Nether Sword Sect, it is a place fraught with peril."

’Fraught with peril even for experts of the Celestial Balance Realm!’

Hearing this, Shen Daoxing was taken aback. ’It seems the Demon Monster State is not a place I can venture into just yet.’

"Alright, enough of that. Island Master, please follow me. I will take you to your residence."

With that, Yuan Hong pushed open the doors to the Pengze Main Hall with a loud CREAK. The moment they stepped inside, however, a thick cloud of dust billowed into their faces.

Yuan Hong looked rather embarrassed. "My apologies. Since Ancestor Dan Chen passed away, Pengze Immortal Island sealed itself off. This main hall hasn’t been cleaned in a very long time. I will send for someone at once."

Shen Daoxing’s curiosity was piqued again. "Oh, so you’re saying that normally only Ancestor Dan Chen lived on this entire, massive Immortal Island? In that case, where do the elders and disciples of the Pengze Lineage reside?"

Yuan Hong paused and gave a slight smile. "The disciples of Pengze and I live on the smaller islands surrounding Pengze Immortal Island. It’s not far from here. If you need anything, Island Master, you need only send a voice transmission."

Shen Daoxing shook his head. "Elder Yuan, since you are all elders and disciples of the Pengze Lineage, why must you live outside? Pass down my order: from this day forward, all Pengze disciples and elders are to reside on Pengze Immortal Island."

Yuan Hong fell silent for a moment, then said hesitantly, "But Island Master, the rules of Pengze state that aside from Direct Disciples, no other disciples or elders are permitted to reside on Pengze Immortal Island, though they may come here for their daily cultivation."

Hearing this, Shen Daoxing’s expression turned stern. "Rules? What rules? I am the Pengze Island Master now. If I say you are all to live here, then you will all live here!"

Yuan Hong was stunned for a moment, then hurriedly replied, "Yes, Island Master! Thank you for your grace, Island Master!"

Pengze Immortal Island was the site of the Celestial Essence Dragon Vein, a uniquely blessed land with dense Heaven and Earth Spiritual Qi. The chance to live and cultivate on it was something the disciples and elders of Pengze had always dreamed of. Now that the Island Master had bestowed this grace upon them, Yuan Hong certainly wouldn’t refuse, and his respect for Shen Daoxing only grew.

"Island Master, I will take you to meet the disciples of Pengze now."