The YanDang Mountains, stretching for hundreds of miles, featured soaring waterfalls, deep, calm waters, layers of peaks commanding respect amidst a sea of reeds touching the sky—it was hailed as one of China’s Ten Great Mountains. Within the ranges, the forests were dense and vigorous, the rocks fantastically sculpted, the ancient temples solemn and grand, and the secluded valleys rugged and profound. It was truly an excellent place for cultivating the mind, nurturing the spirit, and achieving the Dao.

Deep in the night, a fast transport skiff descended from the void, landing before the gate of an ancient temple.

A young novice monk stood waiting blankly at the entrance. Madam Mei, dressed impeccably in formal attire with her hands clasped behind her back, was examining the seal script carved on an ancient stele before the gate. Upon seeing Gu Xiechen, Madam Mei lightly tapped the novice monk's freshly shaven head, leading him around the temple walls into a ravine behind the structure, where ancient pines grew thick.

A narrow stream, scarcely a foot wide, flowed down the center of the ravine. The sandy banks beside the water were overgrown with pale purple spirit orchids. With the sound of rustling pines on both sides, they walked along the stream for a time before a sudden burst of white mist erupted from the level ground. Exiting the mist, the terrain ahead suddenly opened up, revealing a valley several li square.

The valley floor was blanketed with vibrant, clear-headed bamboo shoots, their vigorous presence invigorating. Amidst the thousands of towering stalks stood a Daoist temple, symmetrical and well-proportioned, front and back. About twenty young Daoists, perhaps fourteen or fifteen years old, were leading a group of over a hundred children, ranging in age from about five to twelve, sitting in the plaza before the temple, reciting the Dao De Jing word by word.

"Heh heh! Interesting!" Gu Xiechen laughed, clapping his hands. "It’s clearly a Daoist sect, yet they have a Buddhist temple placed at the entrance? Huh?" Among the children, he recognized several familiar faces—youngsters selected from the Paranormal Training School, deemed suitable for Daoist cultivation. Studying the scriptures of the Dao must be their introductory lesson.

Glancing sideways at Gu Xiechen, Madam Mei chuckled lightly, "That structure was actually established by an Outer Disciple from the ninth generation of the Xuanji Sect. The paths of the Dao and the Buddha need not be so strictly divided, after all."

Walking past the group of child Daoists miserably trying to memorize the scriptures, they proceeded directly through the three main halls, arriving at the deepest part of the valley.

Here stood more than thirty bamboo houses, each brilliantly lit inside. Pockets fashioned from fine, pure white silk were filled with luminous pearls harvested from the deep sea, serving as excellent tools for nighttime illumination. In the candlelight, elderly Daoists—some with silver-white hair, some mottled gray, and others with hair dark and lustrous—squatted on the ground, murmuring to themselves while manipulating various strange contraptions, or fiddling with counting rods in their hands. Of course, times had advanced; some Daoists had massive photonic supercomputers beside them, their light screens scrolling endlessly with bizarre symbols flowing like water.

Watching the Daoists using photonic superbrains to calculate the foundations of arcane formations, Gu Xiechen could only marvel at how the cultivators of the Dao had kept pace with the times.

Beyond this cluster of bamboo dwellings, they reached a clear, placid pool, about a li in circumference, its water no more than three feet deep and perfectly transparent. The sandy bottom was inlaid with thousands of white jade orbs, large and small. As the starlight illuminated the surface, the jade spheres gleamed brilliantly. It was impossible to tell whether the starlight illuminated the jade or the jade reflected the stars.

Standing by the pool, Gu Xiechen stared at the jade orbs for a while, until a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him, as if all the orbs had begun slowly revolving around an unseen, fixed point. Gradually, the orbs spun faster and faster, until the sight became a blinding, chaotic flurry of light. Finally, his head began to throb with a deafening boom, as if countless stars were marching through his skull, banging drums and gongs. A surge of heat rushed up from his abdomen, forcing him to the brink of spitting out a mouthful of blood.

Seeing Gu Xiechen’s complexion falter, a tiny formation near the water’s edge suddenly shot out a wisp of spiritual light, adhering itself to his forehead. Seven fine beams of light flowed from the wisp, entering Gu Xiechen’s seven orifices. Wherever the light touched, a wave of cool energy circulated through his body, and all abnormal sensations instantly vanished.

Staggering back several steps, Gu Xiechen exclaimed involuntarily, "What a powerful Array Art!"

Madam Mei, who had been looking away, smiled. "This is the mountain-guarding formation protecting the Xuanji Pavilion of the Xuanji Sect—the 'Luotian Grand Array.' It’s a pity that no one in the Xuanji Sect can open it anymore."

A faint, ancient voice drifted up from the small depression near the water's edge: "Little girl, why don't you invite our esteemed guest in!"

Madam Mei smiled, brushed a stray lock of hair from her forehead, and led Gu Xiechen into the subterranean opening. They descended for about three hundred meters before a sudden burst of multicolored splendor shone from ahead. An old Daoist, clad in a purple-gold robe embroidered with countless stars, sat cross-legged at the tunnel's exit, gazing blankly at the boundless starlight before him, and within that light, a corridor formed by thousands of intense beams.

A thunderous roar echoed in their ears as silver starlight poured down like a waterfall. The corridor made of intense light had clearly been forcibly punched through the starlight. The silver flow continuously battered the tunnel, creating curtains of brilliant light that shot up hundreds of feet—a spectacle of terrifying scale.

Hearing footsteps, the old Daoist turned around. His appearance was exceedingly ancient; two long white eyebrows drooped listlessly over his cheeks. His withered face was a roadmap of wrinkles, and the deep creases held a profound bitterness, giving the impression he had been raised solely on bitter gourd juice. Anyone feeling cheerful upon seeing him would be moved to tears.

"Little friend, please excuse my appearance!" The old Daoist’s listless eyes fixed on Gu Xiechen for a long moment before he looked back at the unmoving corridor within the silver starlight. The Daoist pointed a withered, bony finger toward the passage and gave a dry laugh. "This passage was forcibly carved out by our third-generation ancestor using immense divine power. It uses our sect’s ultimate treasure, the 'Jinyu Jia' (Gold Jade Armor), to bypass the Luotian Grand Array and lead directly to the Xuanji Pavilion."

Sighing, the old Daoist shook his head. "It’s a pity my disciples are incompetent; we no longer possess the skill to even activate the Jinyu Jia to open the path. This Xuanji Pavilion, I fear, can never be opened again."

Bowing respectfully to the old Daoist, Gu Xiechen smiled lightly. "Venerable True Man, Junior Gu Xiechen pays his respects. Perhaps, shall we let my World Puppet give it a try?"

The old Daoist slowly nodded. He spoke haltingly, "If you can enter the Xuanji Pavilion, this old man will gift you a complete set of our sect’s foundational scriptures. Should you ever require the aid of the Xuanji Sect in the future, we will surely offer our utmost assistance."

Gu Xiechen said no more. The old man’s face had already flushed red after only a few sentences; clearly, he was deeply embarrassed by having to solicit help from a junior. If Gu Xiechen pressed the matter further, the angered old man might erupt in curses and resort to violence.

A flash of purple light illuminated the area, and Zhao Yi, his expression unchanging, his eyes devoid of any divine spark, strode out. He knelt respectfully on one knee before Gu Xiechen and saluted, "Exalted One!"

The moment Zhao Yi appeared, the old Daoist’s entire attention shifted to him. A massive wave of spiritual sense stealthily swept over, attempting to probe the puppet. Zhao Yi, playing the part of a lifeless statue, acted as if he hadn't noticed the probing. He simply relaxed his body and mind, allowing the old Daoist’s spiritual sense to sweep in and out of him freely.

The old Daoist grimaced, his lips twisting. Zhao Yi’s physical body wasn't robust; his internal True Qi cultivation hadn't even formed an Energy Core, and his spiritual sense wasn't very powerful. He was merely a World Puppet with power roughly equivalent to a Jupiter-level cultivator—nothing special compared to others’ puppets. The old Daoist lowered his head and sighed where Gu Xiechen couldn't see him, his confidence in Zhao Yi's ability to breach the sect's forbidden barriers dwindling further.

Gu Xiechen pointed toward the silver starlight and the corridor of intense light. He spoke in a deep voice, "Break the restriction and take us inside."

Zhao Yi responded in a muffled voice with a simple "Yes, Sir," stood up, and strode toward the tunnel entrance a hundred meters ahead.

The old Daoist cried out urgently, "Absolutely not—Wait! What is this?"

Having advanced only a few meters, Zhao Yi was immediately caught in the formation restriction left by the ancestors of the Xuanji Sect. Dozens of crimson flames sprang into existence, whipping out as a dozen chains made of flame that coiled around him. Zhao Yi merely formed a strange hand seal and casually shot two wisps of spiritual light onto the ground ahead. The chains, which had just solidified, instantly collapsed.

Taking another step forward, Zhao Yi’s figure suddenly shrank to the size of an inch. A small patch of ground tens of meters square erupted with hundreds of green bamboo stalks several feet high. With a sound like thunder, countless thumb-thick bolts of lightning shot out from the bamboo, entangling and striking toward the tiny Zhao Yi.

A needle-thin beam of sword light erupted from Zhao Yi’s hand. The light flashed seven times rapidly among the bamboo, severing seven stalks that were widely spaced. Instantly, the thunder in the great array ceased, the electrical light dissipated, Zhao Yi’s figure snapped back to normal size, and he continued to advance confidently.

Further on, dozens of whirlwinds, each several feet high, spontaneously spun up from the ground. Zhao Yi’s body rapidly shrunk to the size of a housefly, and the whirlwinds quickly coalesced into a single tornado several meters tall, within which Zhao Yi could faintly be seen twisting and struggling in the eye. In less time than it takes to speak, Zhao Yi shot dozens of extremely fine spiritual light beams from his hands, precisely striking the cores of the dozens of swirling winds that were just about to dissipate, forming the tornado. The entire vortex instantly disintegrated, and Zhao Yi returned to his full size, proceeding forward again.

Thus, after breaking through nearly a hundred formations of varying sizes, Zhao Yi reached the corridor composed of intense light.

The great Daoist, known as True Man Huan, was already staring wide-eyed, dumbfounded. He stared intently at Zhao Yi’s method of breaking the formation, continually exclaiming in shock, "So that's how it’s done... Incredible, this is even possible?"

Amidst True Man Huan's gasps, Zhao Yi reached out both hands directly toward the corridor covered in silver starlight. The old Daoist shouted again, "Stop! That starlight is the Luotian Grand Array—Ah, uh..."

Before the cry of alarm could finish, tens of thousands of tiny talismans sprayed from Zhao Yi’s palms. These sesame-seed-sized talismans, carrying a flickering halo of light, merged into the descending starlight of the Luotian Grand Array. Gradually, the powerful starlight began to quiet down, and the Luotian Grand Array, which had troubled True Man Huan and several generations of his predecessors, ceased its operation.

The old Daoist let out a shriek, scrambling and dancing toward the corridor. Gu Xiechen glanced at Madam Mei, and the two hurried after him.

After running through the hundred-meter-long passage, the area ahead suddenly brightened. Above a bottomless abyss, a towering pavilion, constructed from beautiful jade and refined gold and standing a hundred zhang high, floated before them.

Hanging above the pavilion was a plaque bearing the three large characters: 'Xuanji Ge' (Xuanji Pavilion).