Entry: I Secretly Cultivate Immortality in the Martial Arts World

279: Chapter 280 Ning Hongye, North Sea Dragon Palace!To the southeast of the Immortal Realm, there was a stretch of endless immortal mountains called Kunlun.

This area spanned hundreds of millions of miles, and between the overlapping mountain peaks, immortal cranes and spiritual deer wandered leisurely.

This was the location of the Kunlun Sect’s mountain gate.

The Kunlun Sect had a profound Foundation, a long-standing Legacy, and countless Disciples within its ranks.

It was one of the top-tier powers in the entire Immortal Realm.

Today, the Kunlun Sect was exceptionally lively.

The mountain gate was wide open, and from the foot of the mountain to the summit, nine stages of welcoming honor guards were set up along the way.

Each stage of the honor guard was manned by elite Disciples of the Sect, with golden boys and jade maidens standing on both sides, holding flower baskets and scattering spiritual flowers across the sky.

The sound of bells echoed through the clouds, ringing exactly forty-nine times.

This was the highest level of etiquette the Kunlun Sect used to welcome its most distinguished guests.

As the news spread, Loose Cultivators within ten thousand miles were stunned, and they all inquired about which big shot was arriving.

...

Long Da’s visit to the Kunlun Sect was a spur-of-the-moment decision.

Originally, he had planned to head west.

Immortal Venerable Chenyue and the five Buddha Ancestors of Buddhism had been fighting for over three thousand days, locked in a stalemate. If the Heavenly Court stepped in now to help Immortal Venerable Chenyue fight the Buddha Ancestors, it would not only sell a favor to Immortal Venerable Chenyue but also weaken Buddhism, killing two birds with one stone.

But on second thought, Long Da felt that he shouldn’t rush things.

The Heavenly Court had only just made its debut. Rashly getting involved in a battle of the Immortal Emperor level at this time could easily trigger the vigilance of various powers.

Moreover, how to help, to what extent, and how to wrap things up after the fight—all of these required careful consideration.

Rushing in to fight blindly would be the behavior of a reckless man.

Having thought through this, Long Da suppressed the idea of traveling west.

Instead, he remembered another matter: Daoist Lord Jiuyin had once invited him to the Kunlun Sect for tea.

It just so happened that he had some free time.

He would take a stroll and, while he was at it, probe the depths of the Kunlun Sect.

If they could form an alliance, the Heavenly Court would gain another Immortal Emperor-level ally.

The Heavenly Court currently had far too few high-end combatants.

For such a vast Heavenly Court to not even have a single Immortal King as a subordinate was quite embarrassing to admit.

Recruiting talent was a matter of extreme urgency.

...

Yao Xuan soared through the clouds, his black and white body shimmering under the sunlight. His wings spread out, blotting out the sun, and every flap of his wings stirred the winds and clouds for ten thousand miles.

The Kunlun Sect’s mountain gate was already in sight.

Looking from afar, Long Da saw the grand display in front of the mountain gate.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin personally led the crowd to welcome him, followed by a dense mass of figures.

Long Da did a quick count and had an idea of the numbers.

Nine Immortal Kings, over fifty Golden Immortals, and countless other Profound Immortals and Heavenly Immortals.

The leading figures of the Kunlun Sect were basically all present today.

Such a Formation showed just how much importance they attached to him.

Long Da patted Yao Xuan, and Yao Xuan understood, folding his wings and slowly descending before the mountain gate.

The tens of thousands of feet long body rapidly shrank the moment it touched the ground, turning into a foot-long black and white little dragon coiled on Long Da’s shoulder.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin stepped forward, cupping his hands with a smile: ”Fellow Daoist Long Da, it has been a long time.”

Long Da nodded slightly: ”I’m bothering you, Fellow Daoist.”

Daoist Lord Jiuyin laughed loudly: ”Bothering me? Your willingness to come gives this old man Face. Come, come, let me introduce the Sect’s Disciples to you.”

He stepped aside, and the nine Immortal Kings behind him came forward in turn to pay their respects.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin made the introductions, and Long Da returned the greetings one by one.

The nine Immortal Kings each had their own titles; some specialized in the Dao of the Sword, some in Alchemy, and some in Formations. The strongest among them was already at the Late Stage of the Immortal King realm, only one step away from becoming an Immortal Emperor.

Long Da was polite on the surface, but his mind was on something else.

His gaze passed over those nine Immortal Kings and swept across the fifty-plus Golden Immortals behind them.

Among the Golden Immortals stood a familiar figure.

That person was dressed in black Daoist robes and was not particularly conspicuous among the group of Golden Immortals, but Long Da recognized him at a glance.

Ning Daoxuan.

One of the Grand Elders of the Kunlun Sect.

In the Kunlun Sect, Immortal Kings and Immortal Emperors generally didn’t handle affairs. Most of the daily operations of the Sect were maintained by Golden Immortals and Profound Immortals.

Ning Daoxuan was one of them.

But Ning Daoxuan was no ordinary Golden Immortal.

This man was only one step away from entering the Immortal King realm. Among the Golden Immortals of the Kunlun Sect, he ranked near the top in terms of cultivation, seniority, and prestige.

And Long Da’s impression of Ning Daoxuan was very deep.

It wasn’t because they had met in the Immortal Realm, but because of his original body, Gu Yan.

In the early years, Gu Yan had frequently thrashed this Ning Daoxuan within the space of the purple trait Floating Life Like a Dream.

Seeing the real person now, a thought couldn’t help but pop into Long Da’s mind: I wonder what expression my original body would have if he knew I was acting like a big shot in front of his former sparring partner.

Of course, this thought only flashed by.

Long Da continued to sweep his Divine Sense over everyone present, secretly looking for another person.

Ning Hongye.

The former Mysterious Maiden of Kunlun of the Spirit Realm’s Kunlun Sect.

Long Da’s visit to the Kunlun Sect this time, besides drinking tea and probing their depths, also included the intention of asking Daoist Lord Jiuyin for this person to come work for his Heavenly Court.

But after a quick scan, he didn’t find her.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin led Long Da through layers of palaces to a place deep within the Kunlun Sect.

This place was called Listening Cloud Terrace, a private location where Daoist Lord Jiuyin usually received guests.

Listening Cloud Terrace was built on a cliff, suspended on three sides with a ten-thousand-fathom abyss below. Clouds flowed past their feet, making it seem like a fairyland.

On the terrace, there was only a stone table and two stone chairs, simple and without any air of luxury.

The two took their seats.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin took a tea set out from his sleeve and placed it on the table.

The tea set was emerald green throughout and was clearly no ordinary item.

He opened a small jade jar, used a bamboo spoon to take out a few tea leaves, and placed them in the pot.

The tea leaves were a tender green, the leaves whole and the veins clear.

The fragrance wasn’t strong, but it was refreshing, making one feel clear-headed upon smelling it.

As Daoist Lord Jiuyin poured water, he smiled and said, ”This tea is no ordinary item.”

”There is a Fellow Daoist in the Immortal Realm at the Late Stage of the Immortal King realm, whose title is Fairy Mingwei. She specializes in the Dao of Tea and cultivated an Enlightenment Tea Tree. It took thirty thousand years to obtain the tender buds of this tree.”

”After harvesting the buds, they were supplemented with ninety-nine kinds of immortal spiritual materials and aged for a hundred years to produce this tea.”

Hearing this, Long Da’s expression shifted slightly.

He knew about this tea.

His original body, Gu Yan, also had a few pots, which the original body had obtained when triggering a certain trait in his early years.

As an External Incarnation, he had never drunk it.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin poured in spiritual spring water and activated it with immortal essence. In an instant, the tea fragrance filled the air.

The tea was poured into the cups, its color a golden translucent, like amber.

Long Da picked up the teacup and took a light sip.

It was slightly bitter at first, followed by a sweet aftertaste. A cool sensation traveled down his throat, reaching every limb and bone.

In the midst of it, it felt as if something had been touched, something indescribable.

Daoist Lord Jiuyin also took a sip and put down his cup, saying: ”Fellow Daoist Long Da, the situation in the Immortal Realm is currently changing rapidly. Your Heavenly Court has risen as a new force, and in my view, it is in its prime. I wonder what your thoughts are regarding this Heaven and Earth Boundless Great Tribulation?”

Long Da held his teacup and did not rush to answer.

He thought for a moment and spoke slowly: ”The tribulation qi has risen, and an Immortal Emperor has fallen. The intensity of this Great Tribulation far exceeds those of the past. Although I am not afraid, the Heavenly Court was only recently established and its Foundation is not yet stable, so we must act with caution.”

Daoist Lord Jiuyin nodded: ”Indeed. The Demon Emperor Sacred Heavenly Lord Jin Yu is dead; who will be next? No one can say for sure.”

Long Da glanced at him: ”Fellow Daoist Jiuyin, who in this Immortal Realm do you think is most likely to be next?”

Daoist Lord Jiuyin pondered for a moment and said: ”Buddhism.”

The corners of Long Da’s mouth curled up: ”Great minds think alike.”

...

Meanwhile, in the far north of the Immortal Realm, beneath the endless glaciers.

Ning Hongye currently had no idea that the Master of the Heavenly Court wanted her to come work for him.

She was currently in a place that she herself hadn’t fully figured out.

A few months ago, she had finished her secluded cultivation, and her cultivation level had stabilized at the Early Stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm.

Ever since her Ascension from the Spirit Realm, she had practiced hard every day, not daring to slack off in the slightest.

Although the Kunlun Sect’s training grounds in the Immortal Realm didn’t give her the special treatment she had in the Lower Realm, with her Aptitude and hard work, her progress was still not considered slow.

The Early Stage of the Heavenly Immortal realm was not much in the Immortal Realm, but for a Cultivator who had ascended only a few thousand years ago, it was already an extremely rare achievement.

Once her cultivation stabilized, she thought about going out for some experience.

Staying in the Sect and working behind closed doors was not a long-term solution after all.

So she bid farewell to her master and traveled all the way north, wandering aimlessly.

When she reached the far north, she discovered an anomaly.

It was an area of boundless glaciers, with biting cold winds and snow filling the sky.

Logically, there shouldn’t be anything noteworthy in such a place, but she happened to sense a faint, intermittent fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.

That fluctuation was extremely weak. The reason Ning Hongye could perceive it was because her Spiritual Root was special, and her sensitivity to Spiritual Qi fluctuations far exceeded that of ordinary people.

She followed that trace of fluctuation and traveled through the glaciers for three days and three nights.

Finally, beneath an ice cliff, she found a hidden entrance.

The entrance was not large, only enough for one person to pass through, and it was covered by a thick layer of ice.

Ning Hongye hesitated for a moment but decided to go in and take a look.

Inside the cave mouth was a deep passage.

The walls of the passage were smooth as mirrors, glowing with a faint blue light. It was unclear whether it was the luster of the ice itself or if there was another secret.

She walked along the passage for about an hour before her vision suddenly opened up.

It was an underground palace.

The underground palace was huge, with a high vaulted ceiling and walls embedded with unknown gemstones.

In the very center of the palace lay a massive skeleton.

The skeleton was in the shape of a dragon, thousands of feet long, coiled within the palace and occupying nearly half of the space.

The dragon bones were crystal clear, glowing with a faint golden luster. Even though it had been dead for an unknown number of years, it still emitted a heart-pounding pressure.

Ning Hongye stood at the entrance of the underground palace, staring blankly at that massive dragon skeleton.

Then she slowly looked up and saw mottled ancient characters engraved above the stone gate: North Sea Dragon Palace...