Chapter 96

"Thank you, Master of the Sect, for your assistance." After the several guardians from Chongyang Palace, who had followed Yang Chen up the mountain, carried out the orders of Master Xuanhong and led all the cultivators from the Central China region down the mountain, Yang Chen approached with a grateful expression to express his thanks.

However, to Yang Chen's surprise, Master Xuanhong opened his mouth and asked, "Was what you said to them earlier true?"

Yang Chen was taken aback by the question and countered, "Isn't there a handwritten note from Master Chongyang in Chongyang Palace? Why?"

"That was a lie I made up on the spot to help you out of a difficult situation," Master Xuanhong said without a hint of embarrassment. "I read the spiritual martial journal you published on my way here. It aligns with many of the research findings of the Chongyang Palace Elder Council, but it is more detailed and better justified. Was all of this taught to you by the cultivator from outer space?"

"I have some knowledge of the research conducted by the Chongyang Palace Elder Council," Yang Chen's heart stirred, and he smiled. "Hundreds of years of painstaking research have been wasted, unable to break free from the constraints of the Five Elements theory. How can you talk about alignment?"

Such a direct and merciless rebuttal made Master Xuanhong's face turn red, as he had been trying to bridge the gap between them. Indeed, the research topics of the Chongyang Palace Elder Council had always revolved around the reverence for the Five Elements' spiritual energy, and after hundreds of years, they were still stuck in the same place. If it weren't for the small note Yang Chen had given them recently, they would probably still be making no progress.

However, Yang Chen's words also made Master Xuanhong's heart tighten. He stared intently at Yang Chen's eyes and asked, "The Elder Council is the highest secret of Chongyang Palace, even the core disciples know little about it. How did you, an outsider, come to know of it?"

"It was the injured cultivator from outer space who told me," Yang Chen lied casually. "He also commented that it was a mess, chaotic, and incomprehensible, and that the Elder Council of Chongyang Palace had wasted a hundred years on the storage medium for the Five Elements' spiritual energy, ultimately failing to find a way to store and release it in non-living matter."

"..." Master Xuanhong's family secrets were thus exposed, and he pretended to be angry, saying, "What a load of nonsense!"

"Right, the spiritual martial cultivator also said it was a load of nonsense."

"..." Faced with Yang Chen's serious and teasing remarks about the Chongyang Palace Elder Council, Master Xuanhong could only shake his head with a bitter smile and point to the sky, asking, "According to your understanding, how big is the gap between our Earth's mysticism and the level outside?"

"Greater than the Milky Way," Yang Chen said without hesitation. "If the spiritual martial civilization in the universe is a vast river, then the mysticism system on Earth is at most a grain of sand at the bottom of the river, and the smallest one at that."

"Is it really that terrifying?" Master Xuanhong was taken aback and continued to press the issue, somewhat unwillingly.

"It depends on one's perspective," Yang Chen shrugged helplessly. "Perhaps my description is a bit exaggerated, but the facts are right before our eyes. This time, it was fortunate that a friendly spiritual martial cultivator came, but if there is one, there will be another. What if the next one to descend on Earth is a bloodthirsty spiritual martial cultivator? Earth's strength is not enough to withstand even two shots from them."

At this point, Yang Chen paused and added, "Oh, right, they also have a kind of interstellar spacecraft driven by spiritual energy. Theoretically, one of them could easily destroy all of Earth's defense systems, including nuclear weapons."

"I feel like you're trying to scare me," Master Xuanhong frowned slightly. "Earth has existed for billions of years."

"But how long has human history been?" Yang Chen countered mercilessly. "Who can prove that Earth was not invaded by an extraterrestrial civilization before humans appeared? Perhaps they looted all of Earth's resources and left behind a pile of garbage before abandoning it."

"Even if what you say has some truth to it, still..." Master Xuanhong tried to argue logically.

But Yang Chen had no interest in delving deeper into these trivial topics. He raised his hand and said, "In short, I have very solid evidence to prove the correctness of the energy particle theory. As the ancestral temple of the global Quanzhen Dao and one of the two major giants of the Chinese Daoist sects, I believe your visit today is also to prevent Chongyang Palace from falling behind the times."

"You are completely right about that," Master Xuanhong nodded in agreement with Yang Chen's speculation. "Ever since you had Xiancheng bring that note back to Chongyang Palace, the Elder Council has made several significant breakthroughs. In fact, even without the spiritual martial journal, I had planned to visit Jinzhou City to meet with you in the near future."

"That's right," Yang Chen tapped his temple and said, "To make progress in the mysticism community, relying solely on one's own mind is far from enough. Everyone should open their hearts and share their academic accumulations on a platform, openly accepting scrutiny and discussion. Only through exchange can there be progress. This is the biggest motivation for me to start the spiritual martial journal."

"But currently, the spiritual martial journal seems more like a one-man show," Master Xuanhong criticized mercilessly.

Yang Chen nodded seriously, "That is the result of my lack of consideration. This won't happen again in the future."

"Moreover, the spiritual martial journal lacks a credible background for its founding," Master Xuanhong's face was slightly red as he said this.

"So, this is the reason for your visit today, right?" Yang Chen shrugged. "I agree to affiliate the spiritual martial journal with Chongyang Palace, but this benefit won't come easily."

"What do you mean?"

"When I founded the journal, I listed a detailed reward mechanism to provide both material and spiritual rewards to cultivators who make outstanding contributions to the development of mysticism. Since Chongyang Palace is interested in becoming one of the sponsors of the spiritual martial journal, it is only right to provide some material resources, isn't it?" Yang Chen said.

Master Xuanhong felt something was off and pondered for a long time before suddenly realizing and asking, "If the material rewards are provided by Chongyang Palace, you..."

"That's right, I will provide the spiritual rewards," Yang Chen said cheerfully and confidently. "Our Wufeng Temple is so poor that we can only offer spiritual rewards."

"Like what?"

"Honorary titles."

"Anything else?"

"An opportunity to communicate with me face-to-face."

"Then what?"

"I haven't thought that far yet," Yang Chen admitted, a bit embarrassed. "I will consider adding more practical content in the future. After all, it's still in the early stages, and we'll make do for now."

Master Xuanhong couldn't help but laugh and ask, "So, in the end, I'm just here to give you money?"

"Chongyang Palace will also benefit," Yang Chen, understanding the principle that sharing is better, shook his head. "I plan to build a spiritual martial academy near Yanbian Lake in the suburbs of Jinzhou City to systematically teach the younger generation of mystics about spiritual martial cultivation. Chongyang Palace can have 20% of the admission slots, with all fees waived. What do you think, Master of the Sect?"

"I don't even know your level," Master Xuanhong said with a dark face.

"Since it's still early, why don't we sit down and exchange ideas and discuss?" Yang Chen rolled up his sleeves, his aura incredibly strong. "Let's see if I'm qualified to teach those young brats."

"Alright," Master Xuanhong, of course, wouldn't refuse. In fact, he was more curious than anyone about Yang Chen's level.

Thus, a renowned Master of the Sect in the Chinese mysticism community and a Supreme Elder of the Chinese Daoist Alliance from a hundred years in the future began a systematic discussion and verification on the small Longshan Mountain.

In his previous life, by the time Yang Chen stood out among the younger generation of cultivators, Master Xuanhong had already ascended to heaven.

For old-generation cultivators like Master Xuanhong, Yang Chen actually had a sense of superiority deep down.

Just like in the spiritual martial era that followed the massive energy eruption in the Earth's core in his previous life, many old-generation cultivators were eliminated because they couldn't keep up with the changes of the times.

The younger generation of the mysticism community, growing up in the new context, grew at an astonishing speed, and the strength that the old generation once took pride in lost its power in front of them.

Yang Chen was a typical representative of the younger generation, so he didn't have much reverence for the old-generation cultivators.

However, after sitting down with Master Xuanhong on Longshan Mountain, just the first ten minutes of discussion made Yang Chen quickly put aside his contempt and truly engage in an equal exchange.

Master Xuanhong was the leading figure in the Chinese mysticism community and the inheritor of nearly a thousand years of Chongyang Palace's history.

His insights into Daoist techniques, energy, spirit arrays, and various mysticism fields gave Yang Chen a fresh perspective.

Similarly, the collision of old and new ideas made Master Xuanhong's expression increasingly serious, and he also put aside his contempt for Yang Chen, ignoring his age, and truly treated Yang Chen as an equal.

The two, growing more and more in sync, lost track of time.

From the traditional Five Elements theory and Yin-Yang theory, they gradually extended to the mainstream energy particle theory in the universe, discussing the essence of the Five Elements' spiritual energy and the core origin force of energy particles.

From the inherited Daoist techniques and talismans, they talked about the new concept of particle equations and various applications of spirit techniques.

When they got excited, they would even conduct simulation experiments to verify their theories.

Yang Chen refreshed his understanding of the traditional inheritance, while Master Xuanhong summarized many key points of the intersection between the two in the intense intellectual collision.

Neither noticed the passage of time or the changes in the weather. As the discussion deepened, a vast and intricate picture gradually unfolded.

Before they knew it, nine days and nine nights had passed.

When their thoughts were pulled back from the vast intellectual world by the reality of hunger, Master Xuanhong was stunned for a few seconds before standing up and bowing to Yang Chen, "Congratulations, Daoist friend, your cultivation has advanced."

Yang Chen carefully felt and realized he had unknowingly reached the late Fifth Stage, a significant leap.

Looking up at Master Xuanhong, Yang Chen smiled and stood up to return the bow, "Congratulations to you too, Master of the Sect. You must be close to the threshold of the Eighth Stage of Meteorite."

Master Xuanhong couldn't help but nod with joy. This deep conversation had a more significant impact on him than on Yang Chen. It felt like a veil had been lifted, allowing him to see the world outside.

Just as the two were congratulating each other, Zhang Bingyu, looking exhausted, walked up from the mountain and said with a bitter smile, "Finally, it's over. Nine days and nine nights, do you know how much of a commotion you caused?"

Yang Chen and Master Xuanhong were both taken aback and honestly shook their heads, "We don't know."

"The whole Longshan Mountain was almost overturned by the two of you." To be continued.