Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension-Chapter 683 - 414: Three Great Array Masters

Heavenly Pillar Mountain loomed vast and towering, with cliff faces so steep and straight they seemed to extend endlessly to both sides, creating a realm that stood vertical like a piece of the heavens and earth themselves. Ancient trees and exotic herbs grew in abundance, with gray and yellow vines spreading, intertwining, and dangling wantonly into the void.

Zhao Sheng gazed at the vibrant "heavens and earth" before him, unconsciously slowing his ascending speed.

Gradually, beneath the concealment of ancient trees, green grass, and vine-covered surfaces, sporadic ruins of broken walls and desolate, abandoned stone halls started to surface before Zhao Sheng.

Occasionally, over some palaces that were relatively well-preserved, a faint luminescence still hovered, indicating that the prohibitions were still functioning normally.

Zhao Sheng even saw that in the spirit soil near a certain palace, numerous rare Spiritual Medicines were still growing, among which were not a few ancient treasures that had survived over ten thousand years.

Even Zhao Sheng couldn’t help but be moved by this sight. However, the fact that the area outside the palaces was piled high with a thick layer of bones surely dissuaded everyone from their greedy thoughts.

From the sixth Layer of the Cloud Sea upwards, the distance between each Layer of Cloud Sea becomes greater and greater, with the gap between just the sixth and seventh layers being nearly thirty li.

After a dozen or so breaths, Zhao Sheng had flown over the Seventh Layer of the Cloud Sea, where the thick, colorful clouds above were as dense as mountains, emitting a mesmerizing, variegated light. Despite the fierce gang winds that could easily tear through fine iron, they couldn’t budge the Cloud Sea by even a hair’s breadth.

Zhao Sheng knew that the Seventh Layer of the Cloud Sea was reinforced by Ancient Prohibitions. It wasn’t just ordinary gang winds he had to worry about – even he had to be extremely cautious. Unless he knew the exact path, he would never dare to rashly intrude.

Because once the Ancient Prohibition was triggered, even a Nascent Soul would die in a most unsightly manner.

However, since he had the Passage Map, he wasn’t afraid of accidentally entering a dead land.

Moo!

Just then, a long moo suddenly came from the distant horizon.

Zhao Sheng stopped in his tracks, following the sound. He saw a gigantic Six-winged Flying Dragon flying rapidly alongside the Cloud Sea.

At this moment, below the hefty clouds, stood an elderly Daoist in a wind-stoked, golden robe atop the dragon’s enormous skull, gazing over with a kind and gentle expression.

Zhao Sheng’s eyes flashed; uninterested in conversing with the man, he summoned a firelight around him and flew straight towards the Cloud Sea above.

But the tree that wishes to rest is swayed by constant winds!

He had no interest in engaging the visitor, yet the visitor was insistent on seeking him out.

"Taoist ahead, please halt!"

The first call came from a distance, but as the last word fell, the short-bearded elder had already appeared behind Zhao Sheng, barely a hundred zhang away before suddenly halting.

Zhao Sheng’s eyebrows shot up, and he immediately stopped and turned around, speaking with a cool tone, "You seem to lack consideration, Taoist. I am not one for meddlesome affairs; why do you insist on detaining me? Could it be you wish to test my mettle?"

The short-bearded elder’s face showed a hint of an apology as he quickly waved his hand and gestured, "Taoist Zhao, please don’t misunderstand. I have no ill intentions. It’s just that I do not recognize your face, and I only wished to make your acquaintance."

Zhao Sheng’s expression remained cold as he bluntly replied, "From the Southern Sky Zhao Family, Zhao Qiongtian! Now that you know, may I leave?"

The short-bearded elder’s face stiffened for a moment, then he burst into hearty laughter as if greatly pleased.

"So, it’s an old friend from the ’Southern Sky Pillar’! I am Mu Daoyuan, just a wandering crane from the Beast Taming Sect. Our two families have deep historical ties, and many of your kinsfolk have been disciples in our sect.

Taoist Zhao, did you know? My sixth Direct Disciple is also from your family, and his name is Zhao Heng’an."

Zhao Sheng’s thoughts raced, and a smile appeared on his face as he bowed, "I was shortsighted not to realize I was in the presence of Senior Mu, the Dragon Tamer. My apologies!"

"No offense taken, no offense taken. It was presumptuous of me to come," the short-bearded elder replied with a cheerful wave of his hand.

"Senior Mu, may I know the reason for stopping me?" asked Zhao Sheng, his tone becoming softer.

"I’m about to share some good news with Taoist Zhao. But I wonder if you would be willing to delay a moment to hear it," replied the elder.

As they spoke, the Six-winged Flying Dragon had already flown beneath Mu Daoyuan, and the dragon’s head, large as a palace, obediently came to rest beside him.

Mu Daoyuan placed his hand on one of the thick, black-and-red horns, his palm emitting a continuous red glow, and suddenly, the Six-winged Flying Dragon opened its mouth and let out a moo, spitting out a piece of ancient wood.

The wood, about two zhang long and thick as a human thigh, was green throughout, its bark long gone, with more than half of it having turned to a jade-like quality. The wood’s grain was as smooth as jade and emitted a faint fragrance, peaceful and distant like that of sandalwood.

"Ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Fragrant Wood!" Zhao Sheng recognized the origins of this piece of ancient wood in an instant, and his heart couldn’t help but stir.

But in the next second, he regained his composure and pointed, "Senior Mu, what is your intention?"

Heavenly Fragrant Wood has the effect of concentrating the spirit and calming the restless mind, with the Ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Fragrant Wood possessing the miraculous ability to drive away the heart demon.

In particular, the core of the Ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Fragrant Wood is a heavy treasure for transcending calamities and exorcising evil. Nascent Soul Ancestors covet it, yet almost none can obtain it.

For Mu Daoyuan to release such a treasure so readily inevitably makes one question his motives.

"Taoist Zhao, don’t be alarmed. I am simply showing my sincerity. I recently discovered a small grove of Heavenly Fragrance Wood in a nearby relic, with as many as three plants growing for over ten thousand years. Sadly, remnants of prohibitions still exist in the relic. I only managed to cut down one Ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Fragrant Wood before I had to retreat.

The prohibition is truly difficult to handle, hence I wish to find an assistant. And as fate would have it, I encountered you, Taoist Zhao, first. Isn’t this the will of heaven?

Would you be willing to lend me a hand, Taoist Zhao? I assure you that once the matter is settled, I will share a Ten-thousand-year-old Heavenly Fragrant Wood with you,"

he finished, looking at Zhao Sheng with an expectant expression.