Talisman Emperor

This Dao Platform was exceedingly extraordinary.

Since time immemorial, countless great figures of the Sky Dao Palace had studied through books and records and imparted knowledge here, so an aura of the Grand Dao that was impossible to be erased had naturally been left behind here.

As time passed, this Dao Platform seemed as if it had gained an intelligence of its own.

The tune of the Grand Dao drifted by his ears, and it seemed like the sound of nature that resounded from the horizon, or the emotional sighs of sages from the boundless ages, and it caused Chen Xi to be dazed and unconsciously sit cross-legged at the center of the Dao Platform.

At this moment, he seemed like an ignorant child that had just heard about the path to immortality, he was muddled, perplexed, and he didn’t know where the path began and where it ended. But he naturally conformed with the aura of the Grand Dao on this Dao Platform and conformed with the entire world.

His body effused strands of aura of the Dao that glowed lustrously, and it was pure and flawless. The vital energy in his entire body moved along with this, and it just happened to move naturally like the fluctuating clouds in the horizon.

In merely an instant, the Dao Platform was suffused with strands of divine radiance while golden lotuses emerged from the ground and flowers fell from the sky, and it drowned Chen Xi within them. He sat cross-legged amongst it, and the strands of golden radiance emitted from the golden lotuses coiled around his body.

Om!

A strand of strange fluctuation stretched out into the surroundings like a ripple, and the calm Yin and Yang rivers started surging and circulating, whereas the four sacrificial altars even emanated strands of dazzling flames that seemed like the divine flames of sacrifice had been lighted up.

Later on, even the eight palaces that resided on the location of the eight trigrams emanated divine rays of light that were like bridges that connected to the heavens, and they converged past the four sacrificial altars and the rivers of Yin and Yang to link up around the Dao Platform.

If one looked down from the sky, one would see the entire surroundings of the Dao platform was already filled with the qi of Yin and Yang, the energy of the four-symbols, and the spirit of the eight trigrams. It emanated a myriad of divine radiance that was brilliant and vast, dreamlike and mysterious.

Swoosh!

Suddenly, a small beast tunneled out from the nearby space as if it had appeared out of thin air, and from the beginning until the end, it actually didn’t care the slightest fluctuation in space.

It was a little over 30cm in height, and it looked very much like a tiny brown bear. Its fur was golden in color, soft, and smooth, and it revealed a naïve and dazed appearance.

“Oh, so it isn’t Master who is giving lessons, but this kid is furtively comprehending the Dao.” The little bear shook its head with a disappointed expression, and it had a downcast mood.

It placed its pair of paws behind its back while sizing Chen Xi up repeatedly, and then suddenly recalled something and slapped itself on the head. “How could I have forgotten? It has already been so long, so it’s impossible for Master, Senior Brothers, and Senior Sisters to come back again…”

As it spoke, it sat down right in midair before tears streamed down its face, and it was like an ignorant child that was suddenly unable to find the way home and cried extremely sorrowfully.

The strange thing was even though it was crying, the little bear actually didn’t make the slightest sound, let alone alarm Chen Xi.

After quite some time had passed, the little bear suddenly stopped crying and wiped its eyes before its plump and small body stood up, and then it strode up and down while muttering with a confused expression. “Wait, wait! I remember Master left word that if someone came over, then…then… Alas, I still can’t remember. No wonder Master said that I’m simple minded.”

It shook its head and stopped thinking any further before staring with clear eyes at Chen Xi while a gaze filled with curiosity.

Swoosh!

Not long after, the little bear seemed to have noticed something, and it vanished with a swish!

At this moment, Chen Xi awoke as well.  From the beginning until the end, he was entirely unaware that a strange little beast had examined him from a close distance for a very long time earlier.

Presently, his heart was tranquil and empty, whereas all the comprehensions he’d obtained in these past few days had been condensed, consolidated, and improved a step further. Moreover, his body had become even more filled with spirit, and not only was it firm and seemingly eternal, it had even merged with the Dao like a true product of the Dao. It was pure, translucent, and every single inch of his skin was suffered with strands of the aura of the Dao.

In a sense, this was more important than advancing in cultivation because this was the accumulation of potential and the development of the boundless mysterious energy contained within the tiny apertures in his body. He would sooner or later be able to open up the divine treasure vault which was his body, and he would soar into the sky to attain the brilliance of attaining immortality of the body.

From this moment onward, the body refinement of Chen Xi’s clone had become even smoother because his body was purified, became pure like a product of the Dao, and had merged with the Dao.

Chen Xi opened his eyes and gradually let out a mouthful of air. I never expected that a simple Dao Platform would actually be able to easily allow me to fall into a state of Dao comprehension. If I were to listen to the ancestors of the Sky Dao Palace personally pass down the Dao, then I wonder how miraculous it would be?

Chen Xi stood up and swept the surroundings with his gaze, and he noticed to his surprise that the rivers of Yin and Yang, the sacrificial altars, and the eight palaces had actually moved aside, and they seemed to be exactly the same as before, but their auras were completely different.

Most shocking to him was a door had actually appeared on the ground of the Dao Platform he stood on, and it was pitch black like a bottomless abyss and had a limestone stairway that led directly into it!

Could it be that the true treasure vault of the Sky Dao Palace is beneath this? Chen Xi’s brows raised because he hadn’t noticed this door when he arrived here earlier.

Could it be that the appearance of this door is related to my comprehension of the Dao? Chen Xi pondered for a short moment before immediately walking towards the door. This place was too mysterious and impossible to guess, so it was better to make a trip himself than ponder bitterly up here.

This limestone stairway went extremely deep, and it wound all the way down.

After walking downwards for an entire 10 minutes, his field of vision suddenly brightened up while an ancient Daoist temple appeared before him.

The Daoist temple was really ancient, and it was constructed from golden thatch and coarse stones, and the words ‘Sky Dao Palace’ was written on a wooden plaque that hung above the building made a thatch.

It seemed to have experienced the corrosion of countless of years, causing the plaque to have decayed a long time ago, and even the words on it were blurred and incomplete, and it was almost impossible to recognize.

Chen Xi was astounded. Could it be that this is the Sky Dao Palace’s treasure vault!?

He turned around to size up the surroundings, and he noticed that in this entire space, there was only this single Daoist temple in the form of a thatched house and there was nothing else.

“Hmm?” After that Chen Xi was surprised. When he walked down the final step of the stairway to arrive here, he’d actually sensed an indescribable imposing aura. It was grand, divine, and even carried the prestige of the Grand Dao, and it was extremely solemn and dignified to the point it caused his soul to be slightly stunned.

This sort of feeling caused his heart to palpitate. After all, the Soul Core of his clone had already recovered to his prime state since a long time ago, and it was on par with an Earthly Immortal Realm expert.

But now, his soul had actually become slightly stunned from the imposing aura that coiled around this thatched house, and this was too unusual.

Chen Xi took a deep breath and circulated his cultivation before it allowed his soul to calm down greatly, and he noticed there was a lock placed horizontally before the tightly closed door to the thatched house, causing it to be impossible for him to see its contents clearly.

This lock was long and like a hook, and it was mottled with rust. Moreover, it had been utilized here for countless years because the rust on it was even on the verge of falling off.

A simply thatched house, a decayed plaque, a long lock mottled with rust… All of this made it seem like it wasn’t a place that cultivators resided, and even if it was placed in the mortal world, such a house would probably have been abandoned a long time ago.

If this thatched house was constructed from precious treasures of the heavens and the earth and decorated with precious treasures, then its ability to emanate such an aura was normal. But it was constructed of extremely ordinary materials, yet was able to emit such a grand and divine aura. The more it was like this, the more it caused this place to seen unusual.

Chen Xi knew as well that the ordinary plants and flowers at the residence of some great figures would be affected by the aura of these great figures, and it would carry a strand of spirit and the aura of the Dao after years of accumulation.

This was like transforming stones into gold and jade or transforming something ordinary into something extraordinary. This ability was even more formidable than ‘touching stone and turning it into gold,’ and it was practically something that only an expert at the Heavenly Immortal Realm or above could accomplish.

Most shocking to Chen Xi was the size of the long lock on the door just happened to fit the Sky Key in his possession.

All of this seemed like it was a sign that the simply thatched house Daoist Temple was the location of the Sky Dao Palace’s treasure vault!

Chen Xi stopped hesitating and withdrew the Sky Key before intending to walk forward and open the door.

Swoosh!

However, right at this moment, a black shadow flashed, and it directly seized away the Sky Key in his hand before he could even react.

Chen Xi’s entire body went stiff as he felt a chill run down his spine.

Since he’d started cultivating until now, his combat strength was already sufficient to annihilate an Earthly Immortal Realm expert, yet now, he actually had a treasure in his hand seized instantaneously from him. Moreover, he didn’t even have the chance to react!

How terrifying is the cultivation of the person who did this? Would I be able to dodge if this person launched a surprise attack against me?

Instantly, Chen Xi broke out in a cold sweat while the nerves in his entire body became strained like a fully drawn bow, and he was absolutely vigilant as he looked towards the side.

But he couldn’t help but be stunned when he saw the appearance of this person clearly. A little brown bear!?

In the distance, a 30cm tall, gold furred, and plump little fellow was exactly like an ordinary and common brown bear!

At this moment, its chubby paws were holding the Sky Key while it sat cross-legged in midair, and it seemed charmingly naïve, very cute, and without the slightest aura of danger.

“Haha! I remember now! Master took this key with him when he left, and if it wasn’t for this, I would have left this place a long time ago to go look for my Senior Brothers and Senior Sisters…” The little gold bear didn’t pay any attention to Chen Xi at all, and it rubbed its head while laughing with a silly expression on its face, and then with a stretch of its neck, a golden little lock actually appeared between its fur!

It took up the Sky Key and pushed it towards the tiny lock.

Chen Xi was shocked. This golden lock is only the size of a duck egg, but the Sky Key is an entire 30m in length. How could it possibly be the key to open that lock?

“Don’t!” Chen Xi shouted loudly right away. He was truly worried that this little beast would damage the Sky Key because in that way, how would he open up the door to the thatched house?

“Why?” The little gold bear stopped and asked.

“That isn’t the key to open the golden lock on your neck, and it’s the key to open that.” Chen Xi explained patiently. He’d already discerned that this little bear with golden fur seemed to not have any ill intent towards him, so he felt slightly at ease.

The little gold bear was stunned, and then it gazed towards the nearby thatched house. It was a mystery what it had recalled, but the little bear’s expression suddenly became agitated, and then it leaped up and roared. “Master said that place must never be opened! That’s the source of sin!”