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*****
In the Kunlun Mountains, immortal mist curled in wisps. Seekers of immortality gathered from all corners of the world, forming a line akin to a long dragon, winding their way toward the grand gates of Yuxu Palace.
Amidst this queue of hopefuls, a young man of ordinary appearance had joined unnoticed.
This young man was none other than George in disguise.
Infiltrating Yuxu Palace was no simple task.
After returning to Yuxu Palace, the Infinite Immortal (Wuliang Xianweng) would inevitably be on guard and activate the grand array.
According to Shen Gongbao, the grand formation of Yuxu Palace was created by the Primordial Lord of Heaven himself. Even a Daluo Golden Immortal could not force their way in.
To enter Yuxu Palace, one either needed a disciple's jade token or had to enter as a seeker of immortality passing through trials, just as he was doing now.
Shen Gongbao naturally possessed a jade token, but the moment it lit up, the Infinite Immortal would know immediately, making the infiltration a joke.
As for Ao Guang and the other three, they were the renowned Dragon Kings of the Four Seas. Even if they used transformation arts to change their appearance, it was highly likely the formation would identify them.
Only George, who was not originally from this world and carried no reputation here, was best suited to disguise himself as a seeker of immortality to enter Yuxu Palace.
Conveniently, he possessed his own world, into which he could place Shen Gongbao, the four Dragon Kings, and all the sea demons for the time being.
The world he created was no inferior to the Mountain and River Map, and there was a high probability it could deceive the detection of Yuxu Palace's formation.
Of course, this premise relied on the Primordial Lord of Heaven not personally presiding over Yuxu Palace.
Otherwise, let alone infiltrating, even the mere thought of it might be detected by the Heavenly Lord in advance.
"Next!"
Beneath the massive white jade archway, two disciples of Yuxu Palace dressed in white Daoist robes were conducting the first layer of screening for the seekers.
Yuxu Palace was one of the Three Sects; while it recruited disciples broadly, not just any random person could enter.
Among the Three Sects, the Ren Sect (Education Sect) rarely accepted disciples; the Grand Supreme Elderly Lord resided in the Eight Views Palace in the Thirty-Third Heaven, completely out of reach for mortals.
The Jie Sect's Biyou Palace was in the Penglai Immortal Realm deep in the East Sea, and those who went to pay respects were mostly from the Demon Clan, with few humans.
Yuxu Palace, however, was different. Situated in the Kunlun Mountains, mortals could reach it if they possessed enough perseverance, and the immortals of Yuxu Palace were famous throughout the world.
Therefore, essentially all humans with the desire to seek immortality and cultivate the Dao would head to the Kunlun Mountains to join Yuxu Palace.
This allowed Yuxu Palace to handpick the humans with the best aptitude for cultivation, gathering the world's geniuses into their fold.
"Race? Name? Origin? Have you studied Daoist arts? What is your current cultivation base? How many Daoist techniques do you know?"
"Demon Clan. Peiqi. From Langlang Mountain. Cultivation at the stage of Refining Qi to Transform Spirit. I just learned to take human form. I heard Yuxu Palace is a major immortal site and came specifically to bow to a master and seek immortality."
George wiped his hand across his face, instantly revealing the head of a wild boar.
According to Shen Gongbao's description, if he sought mastership as a human, he would inevitably have to pass several trials. Even if he officially entered Yuxu Palace, it would take several months.
By then, it would be too late.
Therefore, Shen Gongbao suggested he apply as a demon, and one with a cultivation base that wasn't too high.
This way, he would be directly tied up and taken into Yuxu Palace, then sent to the Heavenly Origin Cauldron to wait for the Infinite Immortal to refine him into an immortal pill.
In this manner, he could not only enter Yuxu Palace immediately but also have the opportunity to steal all the immortal pills refined by the Infinite Immortal.
"A demon!"
The seekers queuing behind saw George's head turn into a pig's head and immediately retreated in fright. Some with cultivation bases drew their weapons and magical artifacts, ready to attack at any moment.
In this era, although there were demons dedicated to the Dao like Shen Gongbao's father, and kind demons who never killed, there were far more cruel and ferocious demons who ate people, drank blood, and caused chaos everywhere.
Humans were the spirits of heaven and earth and favored by destiny; demons could rapidly increase their cultivation by eating humans, so most humans detested demons with a passion.
One of the official duties that kept Li Jing and his wife busy year-round was leading the garrison to hunt down those man-eating, chaotic demons.
And the demons captured by Yuxu Palace's demon-hunting teams were, in fact, mostly those causing trouble; kind demons were the minority.
Therefore, from the standpoint of the Human Race, the Infinite Immortal wasn't exactly wrong, merely a bit extreme.
George asked himself: if he had started as a human and a disciple of Yuxu Palace, he wouldn't be able to frame the Dragon Clan using the lives of the entire Chentang Pass, but he wouldn't have much resistance to capturing demons and refining them into pills to increase cultivation.
This was a matter of stance.
In fact, demons killed each other too—tiger demons ate rabbit demons, rabbit demons ate spirit herbs; it was all normal.
"Everyone, do not panic!"
The Yuxu Palace disciple was somewhat surprised by George's identity as a pig demon but did not panic. He stopped the seekers who wanted to attack George and spoke with the air of a transcendent immortal:
"Yuxu Palace has always treated all living beings equally when recruiting disciples. As long as we detect that this member of the Demon Clan has never taken a human life and is a kind demon wholeheartedly seeking the Dao, we will accept him as a disciple.
If he has taken human lives, he will be given the appropriate punishment and will not be tolerated!"
Hearing the Yuxu Palace disciple's words, the crowd of seekers immediately calmed down, praising Yuxu Palace as expected of a holy land of the Three Sects.
George, meanwhile, feigned a face full of innocence and said:
"I have never hurt anyone. I have always been cultivating in seclusion on Langlang Mountain. This is my first time leaving Langlang Mountain."
"Very well. Junior Brother, take him inside for testing."
The disciple nodded and signaled to another, shorter Yuxu Palace disciple behind him.
The shorter disciple immediately stepped forward, smiling as he led George through the white jade gates.
With one step across the threshold, the scenery changed instantly, as if he had entered another space.
It wasn't "as if"—George could be certain that he had absolutely entered another space, or perhaps even another world.
Perhaps this was what was known as a Grotto-Heaven or Blessed Land.
The space where Yuxu Palace was located felt several tiers stronger than the world he had opened himself.
"Truly beautiful!"
Looking out, George couldn't help but exclaim.
All the buildings were constructed from immortal jade, magnificent and endless, stretching beyond sight and filled with powerful energy fluctuations.
Cultivating in an environment with such dense energy would certainly yield twice the results with half the effort.
Crowds of Yuxu Palace disciples dressed in Daoist robes were shuttling through the buildings—some riding clouds, some on swords, and others on various strange magical treasures.
There were also many disciples sitting within the buildings, drinking wine, playing chess, and discussing various cultivation methods and transformation arts.
Spirit birds made of green jade circled above these structures, rising and falling in a beautiful display.
The whole place was a fairyland on earth, a Daoist holy land; it was hard not to marvel at it.
(End of Chapter)