The Celestial Master is, in fact, a Master to the Heavens.
Since the first Ancestor Celestial Master, Zhang Daoling, the title of Celestial Master has all but become exclusive to Dragon Tiger Mountain.
However, the current Celestial Master, though named so, is not actually referred to as the Celestial Master but instead, he is called the 'Great Real Man'. As such, the Celestial Master's Mansion on Dragon Tiger Mountain has also become the Mansion of the Great Real Man.
This came about after the founding emperor of the Great Ming ascended to the throne. Upon hearing of the title Celestial Master, he laughed, saying, "Can there be a Master of Heaven?" Thereafter, the title of Celestial Master that had been passed down for thousands of years was changed to the Great Real Man.
From the beginning of the emperor's reign until the death of the second emperor, the common people referred to it as the Mansion of the Great Real
Man.
Later, when the imperial court's authority waned, the title Celestial Master was reintroduced.
Despite this, the Golden Book and Jade Scroll of the Great Ming imperial court continue to record their dealings with Dragon Tiger Mountain using the Great Real Man's Mansion, making no mention of the Celestial Master's name.
"There's no seniority in Taoism, the one who attains it first is the senior. Taoist friend, there's no need for courtesy," said the Old Celestial Master with a light chuckle.
As one of the strongest individuals in the world and the number one person on the Supreme Ranking of the martial world, the Old Celestial Master does not have the domineering aura one might expect, and instead, appears calm and indifferent, as if he were just an ordinary elderly Taoist. Pei Xuanjing spoke lightly, "I request guidance from the Senior."
"Please proceed, Taoist friend!"
"Well then, allow me to give it a try!" Pei Xuanjing spoke.
As soon as his words fell, he transformed his five fingers into palm, blue-violet sparks accumulated in his hand and formed a giant fist of lightning that moved towards the Old Celestial Master.
"Thunder Method?" The Old Celestial Master responded with a casual smile, seemingly unconcerned. He gently waved his robe, causing countless thunders to burst out, converging towards the fist of thunder.
The thunder method of Dragon Tiger Mountain has long been well known as Zhang Daoling, the Ancestor Celestial Master, once conquered the world with the Five Thunder Righteous Law.
The Shenxiao Sect's Thunder Method originated from it too, although it developed independently and is said to be better than the original, there are still similarities.
Two dazzling beams of thunder light collided and exploded in the air, the electric light surged, and the wind and clouds gathered and dispersed.
The surging waves of energy were like physical objects, rolling out from the center of the two people's confrontation towards all directions. Had the martial arts field not been specially made of stone and mystery iron, the two probably would've created a huge crater with just one exchange.
Pei Xuanjing stood motionless, his expression calm. He allowed the endless waves of energy to wash over him as his Innate Thunder Gang Qi circulated automatically, warding off every impact.
The light of divinity twinkled in his eyes, and a faint smile emerged on his lips. He suddenly took a step forward, his profound True Qi fanning out violently and his overwhelming Blood Qi bubbling forcefully. Suddenly, he hurled a forceful punch out.
The imposing fist energy tore apart everything before him, accompanied by continuous explosions of roaring thunder. Wind and Thunder echoed each other, as if they could shatter the firmament.
The whistling sound accompanied Pei Xuanjing's horribly terrifying punch, carrying a breath of total annihilation, and surged towards the Old Celestial Master.
In everyone's eyes, it looked as if the Yellow River had overflowed its banks and was beyond control. The vast and surging floodwater seemed to want to swallow the Old Celestial Master.
"Is he even human?
"Is this the power that can be displayed at the peak of martial arts?"
"Terrifying! "
At this moment, Pei Xuanjing was the center of everyone's attention, all eyes were on him.
"Hehe!"
A light laughter rang out. The seemingly fragile boat that had been wavering in the monstrous waves in the eyes of the crowd, the Old Celestial Master, suddenly transformed in a flash, along with the light laughter. His aura resembled the roaring of dragons and tigers, which broke the shackles. He stood tall and unyielding, like a towering mountain, resisting the endless gusts and unfazed by them.
The Old Celestial Master clapped his hands together and two palm prints transformed into a dragon and a tiger. With their roars and growls, they pounced towards Pei Xuanjing.
Everyone could feel the terrifying aura of this dragon and tiger.
Pei Xuanjing's eyes turned cold. This dragon and tiger, which seemed to take on a physical form, emitted a torrential force. They opened their bloody maws as if to swallow him whole.
However, he wasn't the least bit afraid, his True Qi raged on and his Blood Qi boiled. In the blink of an eye, his punch grew even more domineering.
Boom!
Everyone felt a tremor as if the ground beneath them had sunk a few inches.
In the midst of the overbearing energy storm, Pei Xuanjing's fists and palms kept colliding. Each punch, each palm, carried an endless might. His fists and palms created afterimages, and nobody could follow his movements.
The figure of the Old Celestial Master was elusive, his steps mystifying. In the face of Pei Xuanjing's domineering and forceful attacks, he didn't dodge at all. His effortless yet powerful moves were a stark contrast to his previously
unperturbed demeanor, leaving everyone in awe.
"Indeed, this is his true nature. Even after so many years, his domineering character hasn't changed," Zhao Baiyang had no surprise regarding the domineering demeanor of the Old Celestial Master, and felt that everything was as it should be, as if it had always been that way.
There had been rumors that the Old Celestial Master had been cultivating in seclusion on Dragon Tiger Mountain for many years, choosing to live in peace, away from worldly matters.
In Zhao Baiyang's view, this was absolute nonsense.
Only those who had truly crossed paths with the Old Celestial Master would understand that his domineering force was ingrained in his bones – virtually impossible to change.
Would anyone truly believe that Dragon Tiger Mountain, which has stood unshakeable for thousands of years, was a character of a good man?
Would anyone believe that the founder who chopped hills and broke temples, the Ancestor Celestial Master, had a gentle temperament?
Wouldn't anyone think that the Celestial Masters of the past thousands of years were able to command the Orthodox Unity by winning people over with virtue?
Could there truly be those who think that the Celestial Master's Mansion is just a bunch of nice folks?
"As Bai Xiaosheng said, this Celestial Master is indeed formidable, standing at the pinnacle of martial arts." Pei Xuanjing recalled Bai Xiaosheng's words as they crossed hands.
According to him, not only was the Celestial Master at the pinnacle of martial arts, but he was also well-versed in all the Taoist skills of Dragon Tiger Mountain, exceptionally talented, and could even be ranked among the top ten of all Celestial Masters in history.
If the Heaven and Earth were indeed rejuvenating, the Celestial Master would undoubtedly be the prime candidate to break free from fetters and ascend to a higher realm.
As soon as they started to dueling, Pei Xuanjing knew that Bai Xiaosheng's words were true, truly the opponent's power had reached the pinnacle state.
"But according to my several simulation results, even after the rejuvenation of Heaven and Earth, there hasn't been any news of the Celestial Master's breakthrough!" Pei Xuanjing felt a stir of doubt in his heart.
Bearing the current strength of the Celestial Master in mind, he couldn't understand why he didn't break through immediately after the rejuvenation of
Heaven and Earth.
He speculated, there must be something unknown behind this.
"Hehe. I wonder what matter is so important that you, my Taoist friend, can still be distracted while fighting with me?" The Celestial Master's faint voice echoed in Pei Xuanjing's ear, his tone unhappy and apparently slightly angry.
Although previously he had heard quite a lot about Pei Xuanjing, he simply regarded him as a promising junior and didn't pay much attention to him.
At his level, aside from the continuation of Dragon Tiger Mountain's heritage, only the opportunity to break the fetters and move further in the cultivation realm was worth his notice.
It was only when news came that Pei Xuanjing wanted to challenge him, that he shifted more attention onto his opponent, and then began to pay attention to the recently sprouted strong figures.
Today's battle has made the Celestial Master absolutely delighted with the strength shown by Pei Xuanjing, his opponent.
However, during their duel, Pei Xuanjing was obviously distracted, which made him quite unhappy.
Upon hearing this, Pei Xuanjing raised an eyebrow and saw that the Celestial Master's face was unchanged, and realized the latter had misunderstood. He gave an awkward smile, then threw out all his distractions, focusing fully on the duel between them.
In an instant, Pei Xuanjing elevated his martial intent, true qi, blood qi to the highest, and his aura of combat surged even more powerfully. The strength he burst forth with was multiple times stronger than before.
"Very good!"
Seeing Pei Xuanjing's full eruption of power, the Celestial Master was not angry but pleased. His recent discontent quickly faded, his robe billowed with his true qi, and he charged forward with a smile.
On the practice martial arts field, the clash between the two was vastly fiercer than before, the continuous sound of air bursting unceasingly, and their world-shaking figures were all over the place.
In the rampant surge of strength, Pei Xuanjing was like a dragon elephant, each of his moves carrying earth-shattering power.
The Celestial Master also showcased his astonishing physical martial arts cultivation, his muscles, bones and skin swelling with great force, leaving the onlookers in utter shock.
No one had expected this Celestial Master to not only have his true qi martial art cultivation reaching the extreme, but also his physical body reaching such a state.
Such a formidable physical body, in many people's opinion, was on par with those martial artists who were known for their physical prowess.
You must know, Dragon Tiger Mountain's Taoist skills and martial art is the legitimate Taoist School path, although there are methods of physical martial arts cultivation, but they're not famous for it. Aside from some specific protector disciples, no disciple would study this kind of martial studies.
The Celestial Master displaying such a formidable physical body was almost as jarring as a monk getting married and the Demonic Cult turning virtuous. The sense of disconnect was very strong.
Pei Xuanjing was also extremely surprised by this, he hadn't expected such a situation.
Boom!
Boom!
Boom!
Fists collided, the tremendous force each man released was like an earthquake, resulting in severe shaking of the practice martial arts field.
After-images diverged on the practice martial arts field, phasing out amid the intense windstorm.
Each of Pei Xuanjing's punches, was just like the Nine Heavens Divine Thunder, shattering the air with ceaseless sonic booms.
The Celestial Master's palms turned into hundreds of thousands, the countless eddies of palm wind were like turbulent waves, howling continuously.
Boom!
Their fists met each other's palms, creating the purest clash of their powers, boundless waves of energy swept in all directions.
Waiting for the cloud of dust to settle, the two figures appeared once again.
Pei Xuanjing was still as tranquil as before, one hand lightly touching the hilt of his sword, the other resting behind his back.
Meanwhile, the Celestial Master stood in place, both hands hanging by his sides, droplets of fresh blood dripping onto the ground.
"What!"
"The Celestial Master is actually injured!"
"His physical body is actually stronger than the Celestial Master? This is impossible!"
The spectators all wore expressions of horror. If the Celestial Master, with his formidable physique, was outmatched, how strong was Pei Xuanjing? It was simply unimaginable.
"His body has strengthened during this period." Zhao Baiyang's eyes were filled with undeniable shock.
He still remembered their encounter on Shenxiao Mountain not long ago; at that time, although Pei Xuanjing's physical body was incredibly sturdy, it was not undefeatable.
But only a short time had passed since then, and Pei Xuanjing's physique seemed to have become much stronger than before.
Both men standing before him had fought with him before, hence he knew that both had extremely strong physical bodies and he was expecting a fierce contest between them.
Therefore, he was paying extreme attention to their duel..
Just now, he had been completely focused on the duel between the two. Through their last few exchanges, he had naturally gained a clear view of Pei Xuanjing's palms.
"From my perspective, if a martial artist who cultivates his body wishes to progress further, he needs to strengthen his body again, undergo a real metamorphosis. Unfortunately, I have not yet found the path forward."
These were the words of the Diamond Sect's Master when they debated about the path forward for bodily cultivation.
"Could it be that Brother Pei has already found the path forward in cultivation?" An audacious guess arose in Zhao Baiyang's mind.
With this thought, a flash of color streaked across Zhao Baiyang's eyes as he looked at his few old friends scattered among the crowd.
On the practice martial arts field, old I looked at his hands which had become somewhat mangled, chuckled lightly, and the injury healed quickly with the flow of True Qi.
"To cultivate your body to such a level at your age far exceeds my expectations.
In this competition of bodily strength, I admit defeat."
When these words were spoken, old I couldn't help but have a complicated expression, thinking about his countless years of painstaking cultivation, which had barely brought his body to this realm.
Yet the young man before him, who had just reached his prime, had far surpassed him in bodily cultivation, making him feel ashamed.
Pei Xuanjing looked at old I's hands, which had been healed back to their original state, and silently praised his profound skill and abundant True Qi.
He was very clear, that the body realm of this old I was not beneath his own previous level. Had it not been for the reward from his last simulation, which not only further improved his body but also completed the spiritualization of his palms, the result of today's bodily competition could not have been determined so easily.
Hearing old I's praise, he just smiled without saying much.
"I presume that your method of body cultivation was obtained from the cultivation method of Danling Zi, a senior of Shenxiao Sect six hundred years ago!" Old I quietly opened his mouth.
Although he was somewhat envious of Pei Xuanjing's cultivation of his body to completion at such a young age, he also knew that such a gifted person had appeared before.
"Uh!" Upon hearing old I's words, Pei Xuanjing could not help but change his expression slightly and asked, 'Which Danling Zi does old I speak of? And what happened to him in the end?"
He wanted to verify whether this Danling Zi was the same Danling Zi he thought of.
"Of course, I am talking about the Danling Zi of Shenxiao Sect who made a name for himself on Taihe Mountain six hundred years ago. It's pity that the genius who was considered to have the potential to be on par with Master Sanfeng disappeared along with the concealment of Shenxiao Sect and was never heard from again." Old I noted Pei Xuanjing's change of expression but didn't think much of it and simply replied.
He had learned from the manuscripts left by the previous few generations of heavenly masters that a senior of Shenxiao Sect, Danling Zi, had astonished the heroes with his strong physical body and body cultivation at the age of prime, making a name for himself on Taihe Mountain.
It was precisely because of the emergence of this legendary figure that all the major sects of the Taoist school, who had originally not paid much attention to body cultivation, had secretly spent a lot of effort in researching body martial arts.
From that time onwards, all generations of heavenly masters considered body cultivation as an essential path after the cultivation of Taoist skill and True Qi.
He had originally thought that such an excellent talent would be hard to find in a thousand years, but didn't expect that such a person appeared again six hundred years later, and still entered Shenxiao Sect.
"Boom!"
Pei Xuanjing's eyes narrowed slightly, appearing calm, but his heart had already set off a raging tide.
Shenxiao Sect, Danling Zi, wasn't that his own identity in the illusion?
According to what the Netherworld Book had said, the illusionary trial back then was merely a historical fragment printed by it.
Logically speaking, everything that happened in there should not affect reality. But why is it now appearing in the records of Dragon Tiger Mountain?
It's like a dream, what's real and what's not?
Was it that history was originally like that, there was indeed a Danling Zi who emerged from obscurity and made a name for himself on Taihe Mountain?
Or was it because of his existence that the events on Taihe Mountain changed, making the originally unknown Danling Zi awe-inspiring to all?
The divine light flickered in Pei Xuanjing's eyes, it seemed that his research on the Netherworld Book was still too little.
Whoo…
He took a deep breath, he knew that now was not the time to investigate further. He calmed the surge in his heart, slowly raised his head, and saluted old I with a fist: "Thank you, Master."
Old I grinned lightly, but a question arose in his heart.
However, before he had time to ponder, he sensed a surging sword intent appear out of thin air.
The moment Pei Xuanjing gripped the hilt of the sword with his right hand, the hidden edge once again descended upon the world.
"I request your guidance, Master!"
Buzz!
The crisp sword chant echoed around, and a sharp divine sword seemed to appear in the minds of the martial artists all around.
They only wanted to discuss and compete, not a real life-and-death battle, so Pei Xuanjing naturally would not take advantage of someone unprepared.
That's why Pei Xuanjing's sword, poised for action, did not immediately strike, but waited for old I to be ready.
Old I nodded and smiled lightly, then reached out into the air, and a thousand-refined divine sword from a distance fell into his hand.
Since they were not in a real life-and-death fight, he used his own side sword and did not use the Three -Five Evil Slaying Male and Female Swords of the Ten Thousand-Forged level of Dragon Tiger Mountain.
Clang!
Pei Xuanjing drew his sword, a dazzling sword light emerged, almost at the moment of unsheathing, the sword intent like a bright sun permeated in all directions, causing the faces of countless people to change.
Within the flickering sword light, the air in front of him cleared turning into a vacuum, the sharp sword intent seemed to even cut the space.
Everyone who saw this sword couldn't help but lose their focus due to its dazzling light, as if everything in the world disappeared, and only this sword remained.
Only strong individuals like Zhao Baiyang could resist this sword intent, he guarded his spirit, his martial arts true intent automatically emerged to resist this terrifying sword intent.
"His sword intent is stronger than before."
Zhao Baiyang slightly furrowed his brows, the last time they sparred on Shenxiao Mountain, both of them didn't use weapons. It was just a tentative match.
But when Pei Xuanjing's soaring sword intent emerged, he realized that this heaven-destroying and earth-shattering domineering sword intent could likely slay him.
A newfound wariness arose in Zhao Baiyang, his vigilance towards Pei Xuanjing increased several folds. At the same time, he became even more eager to acquire the remaining secret techniques of the White Lotus from those sects.
It seemed that everyone was constantly transforming and becoming stronger, only he was stuck due to the problem of skill.. How could this not make the always proud Zhao Baiyang anxious?