46: Chapter 46 Sightseeing and Leisure, Grand Taoist Ritual

Seeing this, Ximo and Disciple Xiyue sighed helplessly, bitter smiles appearing on their faces.

They knew that since Uncle-Master Qingxuan had spoken, they could only obediently accept their punishment.

Yet Ye Qingxuan did not care about the feelings of the two at the moment; with a casual wave of his hand, he stuffed Xiao Jiu into the Spirit Beast bag.

After finishing this, Ye Qingxuan turned to face his Master, respectfully bowed, and then tightly grasped Qingling by his side, his figure transforming into a stream of light that disappeared into the horizon.

Qingling suddenly thought of something, turned her head to look at Ye Qingxuan, and said, "Right, Qingxuan, I am a bit curious. Who was that Ancestral Master who fought with you? It should be an Ancestral Master of our lineage!"

Although Qingling posed it as a question, there was also a hint of certainty in her tone. Watching Qingling's tangled expression with her brows furrowed, Ye Qingxuan could not help but reach out to smooth them out.

"He is indeed an Ancestral Master of our lineage, and he has even comprehended the Zhuxian Sword Intent."

"Throughout the history of the entire Shangqing, there have only been a few who comprehended the Zhuxian Sword Intent, and he is an Ancestral Master of our lineage?" Qingling recalled the various Ancestral Masters who had achieved Ascension.

"The Thirteenth-Generation Ancestral Master, Gu Changsheng!" Ye Qingxuan said in a positive tone.

At this moment in the Upper Realm, inside the Mansion of the Three Mao Zhenjuns.

"Achoo, achoo! Who is talking about this impoverished priest again? Hmph, so what if I lost to a junior? You guys couldn't even find someone to lose to even if you wanted to. With such an outstanding junior, this impoverished priest is too happy to care—what is there to laugh about?"

Ancestral Master Gu Changsheng started muttering to himself again, leaving the other Ancestral Masters nearby between laughter and tears.

"How can you be so certain?"

Looking at Qingling's expression filled with surprise and doubt, her eyes full of adoration, Ye Qingxuan once again could not help but pull Qingling into his arms and kiss her.

"Mmm… Let go of me first, kiss me later, answer my question!" Qingling was somewhat speechless. What kind of magical switch had this guy flipped? How many times had he kissed her these past few days, and he still hadn't had enough?

"Among so many Senior Ancestral Masters of Shangqing, only a few have comprehended the Zhuxian Sword Intent, and he was even from the same era as Patriarch Lü. Who else could it be, you tell me?" Ye Qingxuan rested his chin against Qingling's forehead and explained softly.

"Let's find a place to stroll around!" As he spoke, without waiting for an answer, Ye Qingxuan picked up Qingling and soared straight into the clouds.

"Qingxuan, the National Destiny Game has not ended yet. Do you not need to make some preparations?" High up in the tens of thousands of meters of sky, Qingling's beautiful eyes shifted, her gaze looking somewhat hazy toward Ye Qingxuan's handsome profile as she asked softly.

Ye Qingxuan smiled slightly and responded gently: "Senior Sister, rest assured. With my current cultivation Realm, it is not something that can be achieved simply by relying on closed-door cultivation. As for the National Destiny Space, when the time comes, it will naturally open. Right now, the only thing I wish for is to accompany Senior Sister by my side, traveling together through famous mountains and great rivers to appreciate the beautiful scenery of this world."

Sister Qingling's eyes instantly lit up, and her clasped hands gripped even tighter. "Then let us go take a look at the Monster Forest! Last time we only drove away the Demonic Beasts, and we haven't looked at it carefully yet."

"Alright!" Ye Qingxuan answered without the slightest hesitation, then turned his escaping light in a different direction and flew toward the Monster Forest.

With Ye Qingxuan's current cultivation, he could reach any corner of Blue Star within a minute's time.

In a short while, the two landed at the outer perimeter of the Formation of the Monster Forest. Looking at Senior Martial Uncle Yuanhui sitting cross-legged in the Void Realm, the two exchanged greetings before entering.

Watching the inseparable and affectionate appearance of the two, a gratified smile also appeared at the corner of Yuanhui's mouth.

"Release Xiao Jiu, let it come out and play for a while too." Qingling suddenly wanted to pet a cat.

"Alright, I'll listen to you." Ye Qingxuan opened the Spirit Beast bag. However, when he lowered his head to look into the bag, he could not help but laugh out loud. He saw that little fellow curled up into a ball, soundly asleep, and even emitting loud purring noises from its mouth like a small engine running. It looked truly extremely naive and adorable!

This kitten, aside from eating, just slept, or otherwise caused trouble.

"Get up and eat!" Ye Qingxuan directly grabbed Xiao Jiu by the back of its neck.

"Food, where is there food? This meow wants to eat roasted meat!" Watching the kitten clamor for roasted meat without even opening its eyes, Qingling's eyes lit up.

The two people and one cat thus played in the Monster Forest for five days. On this day, Ye Qingxuan was petting Xiao Jiu, who was gnawing on roasted meat—that was a bovine Demonic Beast that had just broken through to the Saint Rank; Xiao Jiu had gone up and scratched it to death with a single paw, begging Qingling to roast it for it.

Seeing that tearful appearance, Qingling really couldn't bear to refuse, and could only become an Incarnation of a barbecue Master.

Just as Xiao Jiu was eating with great relish, Ye Qingxuan's message talisman lit up.

Master's voice came through: "Qingxuan, Qingling is with you, right? Hurry back, there is an important matter to discuss!"

The two looked at each other; it was time to return. Looking at the cat still eating roasted meat, Ye Qingxuan waved his hand to store it and the roasted meat into the ring. The Immortal Artifact-grade Storage Ring given by the Ancestral Master could store living things, so he let it eat slowly inside.

Holding Qingling, Ye Qingxuan set up his escaping light and flew toward Maoshan. Before long, the two landed in front of the main hall's doors.

Seeing that the hall was packed with people, all of whom were Shangqing Cultivators above the Golden Core Realm. Except for Yuanhui, who was garrisoning the Monster Forest, and the three Old Ancestors in closed-door cultivation, everyone else was present.

Seeing that everyone had arrived, Master Yuanxin spoke directly: "Qingxuan, just now Celestial Master Zhang suggested to me that we hold the Grand Ritual of Luotian."

The Grand Ritual of Luotian refers to the highest Daluotian in the Daoist worldview, meaning "to encompass all heavens and lands," inviting all deities of the Three Realms and the ten directions. It is a Daoist ritual for sacrificing to gods and praying for blessings, and it is also the largest-scale and highest-level Dharma assembly.

Its core is to pray above for national peace and security as well as favorable weather, and to assist the netherworld below and universally save lost souls, possessing functions such as praying for blessings, averting disasters, making apologies for sins, and extending longevity.

It is also a grand gathering for peers in the cultivation world to compete and discuss the Dao.

As soon as Master Yuanxin said these words, everyone looked at Ye Qingxuan with strange gazes.

After all, the Grand Ritual of Luotian was the only time Ye Qingxuan had ever suffered a loss since he began cultivating.

That was the only time Ye Qingxuan had ever been defeated by someone since he began cultivating.

Back then, Ye Qingxuan was 7 years old, with two and a half years of cultivation time, and at the 7th Layer of Qi Refining. He participated in the Grand Ritual of Luotian hosted on Wudang Mountain.

It was in that year that Ye Qingxuan, with the cultivation of the 7th Layer of Qi Refining, defeated Zhang Yuzhuo of the 9th Layer of Qi Refining, and then encountered Wudang Mountain's Disciple, Zhou Wei, in the finals.

Zhou Wei was already at the Early Stage of Foundation Establishment. No matter how good Ye Qingxuan's Comprehension Ability was or how profound his Dao techniques were, the fundamental gap in cultivation was right there, and he lost.

After returning to the mountain, everyone was comforting Ye Qingxuan.

Yet Ye Qingxuan said, "Master, Senior Brother, rest assured. I participated in the Grand Ritual of Luotian simply to test myself and enjoy the process of exchanging blows."

Master Yuanxin asked: "Yet you lost in the end. Do you feel any regret in your heart?"

The 7-year-old Ye Qingxuan picked up a stone from the ground and said, "Take this stone for example. Picking it up is the cause, putting it down is the effect. I merely enjoy the process of picking it up, and it's not like I must definitely do something with this stone. The process is already in my heart. Therefore, winning and losing are not important to me. What I enjoy is the process of fighting."

The 7-year-old Ye Qingxuan spoke these few sentences, shocking everyone.

However, ten years later, whenever everyone recalled Ye Qingxuan's words, they all wore an expression of 'I believe your nonsense'.

The second Grand Ritual of Luotian was held on Longhu Mountain 10 years ago.

That time, 17-year-old Ye Qingxuan, with the cultivation of Foundation Establishment Perfection, swept through the entire field. He didn't use any Spells, just one slap per person.

Only when he encountered Zhou Wei of the Wudang Sect did he first seal his mouth with a Silence Spell, and then tie his legs with a Binding Immortal Talisman. Then he pressed him to the ground and rubbed him against it for an hour before ending it.

Afterwards, Master asked him, "Why did you do that?"

Ye Qingxuan's reply was, "Although I enjoy the process of fighting, it does not mean I do not hold grudges. Otherwise, my Dao Heart will become unstable."

It was also from that time on that Ye Qingxuan's reputation as the number one person of the younger generation in the cultivation world was established.