# Chapter 953: Only Here for the Nine Secrets
"I have long heard that the Lingbao Sacred Land is a pure land revered by cultivators. In those days, Immortal Ge Hong astonished the Central Province and was one of the strongest figures in Daoist history. We have come out of admiration, hoping to pay our respects to this sacred ground." Ye Fan said.
Guo Zhen also stepped forward and bowed, requesting leniency. They harbored no disrespect—it was precisely because of their reverence that they had come to seek this place, hoping to fulfill this wish.
"If you wish to pay respects to the relics of sages, you may go to the outer temples. This secret land is never open to outsiders." A disciple of the Lingbao Sect spoke coldly, with displeasure on his face.
The four young men indeed had a shallow friendship with Guo Zhen. Even though Guo Zhen had followed them all the way here, they were so heartless—not only refusing to speak a word on his behalf, but also speaking coldly with a hint of contempt.
"Although we are acquainted, this place truly does not allow idle people to enter." Another person was very direct, categorizing him and Ye Fan as idle people, his tone contemptuous.
"What kind of person is not considered idle?" Ye Fan saw Guo Zhen's embarrassment and asked this question. He had no intention of leaving just like that—he absolutely had to see where Ge Hong had gone into seclusion.
"Do you really think of yourselves as senior experts?" Another young man couldn't help but burst out laughing.
The old Daoist beside them had previously said that only senior experts could come here to expound the Dao and could enter Lingbao's former pure land.
"At the mountain gate, there are thirty-three stone steps, representing the heavenly positions for ascending to immortality and attaining the Dao. If any one of you can cross eight steps, you will barely pass and be allowed entry." The old Daoist spoke.
Several ancient pine trees coiled like azure dragons, standing tall at the foot of the mountain. Legend had it that Ge Hong himself had planted them back in the day—evergreen, vigorous, and gnarled like hornless dragons.
There, thirty-three stone steps stood, different from the other bluestone steps leading up the mountain. According to tradition, in ancient times this was the most ordinary test—even the child attendants serving the true person could walk them, otherwise they couldn't freely go up and down the mountain.
But now, only senior figures could walk them. Ordinary disciples had to detour around these stone steps via a side path—a far cry from ancient times.
Ye Fan originally wanted to just walk up in one go, but Guo Zhen was very stubborn. He insisted on trying. Having been repeatedly looked down upon by his acquaintances, he couldn't help but feel some anger in his heart, unable to remain calm.
One step, two steps, three steps—Guo Zhen only managed three steps with his own cultivation before feeling immense strain, unable to take a fourth step. The great environment of heaven and earth was such that, compared to ancient cultivators, those seeking the Dao nowadays generally had low cultivation levels and found it difficult to improve.
"Swish"
A mass of cyan-blue light flared up. A blue-gold thin sheet appeared in Guo Zhen's hand, engraved with a talisman seal, extremely ancient, radiating strands of blue-gold light that enveloped him.
"Bang," "Bang"...
Guo Zhen took six consecutive steps, totaling nine steps together, surpassing the old man's standard. Drenched in sweat, he then leaped vigorously off the stone steps and retreated.
The four young men beside him were all astonished, staring at the blue-gold thin sheet in his hand. The talisman seal on it was very mysterious, actually allowing Guo Zhen to perform like this all of a sudden. Under normal circumstances, none of these four could have done it—they could only manage three steps. They never expected Guo Zhen to succeed.
The old Daoist was also surprised, staring at the blue-gold talisman seal without stopping, saying, "Although you relied on a spiritual artifact, it still counts as passing. You may go up."
Guo Zhen let out a long breath, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and carefully put away the blue-gold thin sheet. At his realm, he couldn't yet store artifacts within his body's Wheel Sea.
"Relying on external objects—what kind of ability is that?" A young man muttered softly. The four felt embarrassed and didn't linger, quickly heading up the mountain.
Guo Zhen seemed exhausted after walking those nine steps. After returning, he quickly sat cross-legged on the ground to recover his essence.
Ye Fan looked at the thirty-three stone steps, walked up them one by one until he reached the top, then came back down.
Below, the old Daoist was nearly terrified, stunned speechless. Even he could only walk halfway, yet this young man moved as if strolling through a courtyard. He knew he had encountered a true expert and was about to call out "senior" and bow.
Ye Fan stopped him, shook his head, then came to Guo Zhen's side and channeled a stream of pure divine power into him, instantly sweeping away his fatigue, leaving his entire body comfortable and restored to its original state.
"Brother Ye..." He was naturally greatly startled and quickly opened his eyes.
"A minor skill—just stored an extra inner essence in my artifact beforehand." Ye Fan explained with a smile.
Guo Zhen was relieved; otherwise, he would have thought he had encountered a senior expert. Channeling primal energy to someone like this was very consuming (xiaohao), but if it was stored in an artifact, that was a different matter.
The old Daoist watched respectfully as they followed a small path up the mountain, heading toward the Daoist temple on the platform. He himself didn't move, shook his head vigorously, and continued guarding the mountain gate.
Along the way, all they saw were ancient pines and verdant cypresses, with immortal cranes dancing in the sky, circling from time to time. The place was shrouded in clouds and mist, looking like a celestial realm, with spiritual energy many times denser than the outside world.
Upon reaching the platform of this severed mountain, the first thing they saw was a bluestone statue. It depicted a Daoist with a composed demeanor, possessing an immortal bone and celestial bearing, with a feeling of clouds drifting lightly in the wind, as if he had seen through everything in the mortal world.
This was a statue erected by later generations to commemorate Immortal Ge Hong. It was lifelike, untouched by worldly smoke and fire, as if about to ascend and fly into immortality.
The Lingbao Sect was founded by Ge Xuan and flourished under Ge Hong, holding a pivotal position in Daoist history with unparalleled influence. Gezao Mountain also became one of the three great sacred mountains of Daoism in the south.
Ye Fan stood on the platform, looking around. He saw clouds surging, mountains towering majestically, peaks spiritual and valleys beautiful. He sighed with emotion—this place was truly remarkable.
In the distance, several other severed mountains stood alongside this one. Although their spiritual energy had dried up, there were residual ripples of the Great Dao's creation that made even his heart tremble. Were they left by Ge Hong?
He had come to the Lingbao Sect's former land, seeking Ge Hong's legacy as one reason. Additionally, he wanted to verify whether a somewhat too illusory secret was true or false.
In Daoism, the reason the Lingbao Sect was so pivotal and held the leading position was because Lingbao Heavenly Venerable, one of the Three Pure Ones revered by Daoism, originated from this lineage. According to Daoist historical records, this sect had participated in the positioning of the Three Pure Ones.
"Rumor has it that in an era far earlier than ancient times, there was a Heavenly Venerable named Lingbao. I wonder if it's true or false." Ye Fan muttered to himself.
Lingbao Heavenly Venerable—now revered by all Daoist lineages—whether he truly existed in the cultivation world could no longer be verified.
The Lingbao Sect taking such a name for their sect explained everything and indirectly proved its supreme status in Daoism.
Ye Fan captured the ripples of the Great Dao's creation, pondering seriously. On the other end of the starry sky, he had heard about the origin of the Nine Secrets. Some said they were created by several Daoist Heavenly Venerables who had passed away. Others said they were secret arts left behind by supreme figures from different periods of the ancient era before their deaths, later combined by descendants. Still others said the Nine Secrets were the result of countless people perfecting them.
"Ge Hong might have possessed one or two of the Nine Secrets. And from the name of this sect, it's not hard to make some associations. Could it be that Lingbao Heavenly Venerable was one of the several Heavenly Venerables who created the Nine Secrets back then?"
On the severed mountain, these Daoist temples were all very ancient. Although the great cultivators had vanished, everything here proved its former glory. The residual Dao marks and incomplete sage-level formations were breathtaking.
However, the spiritual energy of heaven and earth was too thin. These things couldn't operate, and for some reason, they were slowly self-destructing. If this continued for a long time, they would all be completely obliterated.
"Are these the senior experts you spoke of?" A young girl stood before a Daoist temple, smiling lightly. She had a lovely appearance, looking at Ye Fan and Guo Zhen. Beside her were some other young people.
"That's right—these are people who crossed the nine bluestone steps. You should seek their guidance later." One of the four young cultivators who knew Guo Zhen said with a sneer.
Several people laughed upon hearing this. They were all juniors who had come with their sect elders, obviously already acquainted. Ye Fan patted Guo Zhen on the shoulder, telling him to calm down—there was nothing to argue about. He pulled him along as they walked toward the Daoist temple.
"You're actually going in? That's where the elders discuss the Dao. Don't tell me you want to expound scriptures for us?"
A group of people followed them in. The courtyard was lush with green grass and towering ancient trees. Not far away, over a dozen old people sat on meditation cushions, discussing the Dao, with some young people listening.
Ye Fan pulled Guo Zhen to the edge and found two meditation cushions to sit on. Some young people immediately showed strange expressions, all looking over.
"You really... think of yourselves as accomplished Daoists and dare to sit here?" The four young men who knew Guo Zhen were no longer contemptuous but showed sympathy instead.
Many people looked over. Even the senior figures noticed and were somewhat surprised.
"What's wrong?" Guo Zhen was puzzled.
"Look—who among us dares to sit? Aren't we all standing here respectfully, listening to the true Dharma?" One person said with a gloating expression.
"Aren't they young too? They're sitting there." Guo Zhen pointed doubtfully at the dozen or so young men and women in front.
"Guo Zhen, you're so naive. Can you two compare to them? Those are core genius disciples from the secret lands."
The standing young men and women were both envious and jealous of those people, shaking their heads at Ye Fan and the others. Especially the four from earlier, who showed sneering expressions, looking like they were waiting for a show.
Guo Zhen was at a loss and was about to stand up. Ye Fan pulled him back, saying since they had already sat down, there was no need to get up.
"Who are you? Why do you sit here without permission? Who invited you in?" A core disciple sitting on a meditation cushion across from them asked.
Ye Fan looked closely and found that these young people were indeed impressive—all above the Life Spring realm, truly extraordinary compared to others.
"They crossed the nine stone steps and came up on their own." Someone quickly recounted the story.
The dozen or so old people were all startled, seriously sizing up the two. Guo Zhen felt extremely uncomfortable. At the same time, Ye Fan observed them—these experts were all above the Dao Palace realm, indeed very powerful in the current era. Three of them were even in the Four Extremes realm.
"Is that so? Came up on your own? Then let me test whether you're qualified to sit here." A core disciple of the Lingbao Sect stood up from his meditation cushion, at the late stage of the Life Spring realm.
"Didn't I already pass the trial at the mountain gate? Why do we need to continue?" Guo Zhen was troubled. He was a wandering cultivator, while these people were all disciples of major sects. According to rumors, some secret lands might even have living great cultivators—disciples of such sects were not to be trifled with.
"The trial at the mountain gate was too simple. Anyone with decent cultivation can walk eight or nine steps—it's nothing. If you can walk four steps on that platform, I'll have nothing to say. I'll even prostrate myself and call you seniors." The young man pointed to the highest Dao platform, which also had thirty-three stone steps leading straight up to it.
The others changed color upon seeing this. What place was that? It was where the ancient sect masters ascended to expound the Dao. Could anyone still go up nowadays? Even those who could walk a few steps were few and far between.
"I once heard that Immortal Ge Hong of the Lingbao Sect wrote a Daoist book discussing the Nine Secrets. If we can walk up there, we won't make things difficult—just tell us the origin of the Nine Secrets." Ye Fan spoke.
He had come for the Nine Secrets, with a clear goal—to determine whether the Lingbao Sect truly possessed one or two of them!
Many people laughed. Only the dozen or so old Daoists showed a flicker of reaction, but after looking at Ye Fan and the others, they relaxed again, not detecting any profound cultivation.
"Do you really think you can compare to the ancient sect master supremes?"
"Even if a great cultivator existed today, they might not be able to complete the thirty-three Dao steps. And you think you can?"
Many people laughed with mockery, finding it too absurd. The four who knew Guo Zhen shook their heads—they actually felt some sympathy for these two.