Chapter 491: You, Have You Enlightened?

A formation?

It wasn't even a particularly sophisticated one. However, the powerful Yin and Yang energies here had solidified the surrounding space, making it as impenetrable as a defensive spiritual treasure, impossible to breach directly.Did the Phoenix Clan not have 90,000 years of cultivation guidance?He certainly possessed that much accumulated knowledge.

Upon realizing he was trapped within a formation and couldn't force his way out, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, after several hours of frantic attempts, quickly calmed down.Since a direct breach was impossible, he had to find the formation's 'life gate'...A cold smile touched the Golden-Winged Great Peng's lips, and golden light surged from his eyes. The flow of spiritual energy within the formation was clearly imprinted in his mind.He found it—the life gate!With a flicker of his body, the Golden-Winged Great Peng appeared before the life gate. He... hesitated again.Would the Water God set up such a simple formation?After a moment of silence, the Golden-Winged Great Peng tentatively took a step forward. The surroundings immediately shifted, and he plummeted several yards, finding himself in yet another trapping formation.Multiple trapping formations?The Golden-Winged Great Peng let out a sigh of relief, feeling somewhat more at ease.He continued to cautiously inspect his surroundings, searching for the life gate and guarding against any hidden killing moves.Thus, he moved with utmost vigilance, checking every step, his gaze sharp as lightning as he scoured the area.

In the High Heavens Palace, an immortal god remarked, "Only the Water God could frighten such a master to this extent."Li Changshou smiled calmly and replied, "It's merely his own lack of mental fortitude, not my doing.Please observe; when he sees me within the formation, he will likely attack without a second thought."All the immortal gods in the hall grew interested, their eyes fixed on the large bronze mirror.

Within the continuous grand formation on the Fourth Heaven, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had already found the second life gate. This time, he was slightly more decisive, stepping through after only a brief observation.The surroundings shifted once more, and a trapping formation was followed by another.If not for the subtle differences in each grand formation, the Golden-Winged Great Peng would have suspected he had stumbled into a highly sophisticated array.But then...Trapping formation, trapping formation, still a trapping formation; life gate, life gate, another life gate...The Golden-Winged Great Peng moved with increasing speed, his brow furrowing deeper. After passing through more than twenty trapping formations, he suddenly paused.He saw it: an old Daoist priest drinking tea under a crooked-necked tree, and a wooden sign hanging beside him."Lost?""Hmph!"Consumed by rage, the Golden-Winged Great Peng's back flashed with the phantom images of two golden wings, unleashing dozens, even hundreds, of golden light feathers that riddled the old Daoist's figure and the wooden sign.The old Daoist, riddled with dozens of transparent holes, calmly set down his teacup, slowly shook his head, and then dissolved into a wisp of cloud.The Golden-Winged Great Peng snorted again, continuing his search. Upon realizing that this was still a trapping formation, his mouth twitched involuntarily."Water God! What trick are you playing?!""Don't think you can trap this Daoist with mere formations!""You can trap this Daoist's physical body, but you cannot trap this Daoist's mind!"

Li Changshou didn't bother to respond. After the Golden-Winged Great Peng found the life gate and departed, he once again manifested a faint illusory avatar under the crooked-necked tree, replacing the wooden sign with an... identical one.Two hours later...The Golden-Winged Great Peng returned to the same grand formation from the same spot. Seeing the old Daoist, the crooked-necked tree, and the "Lost?" sign, he froze.There were many subtle details; for instance, the cloud avatar's expression and movements were exactly the same as before, without any difference."What exactly are you scheming?!"The Golden-Winged Great Peng roared in anger, conjuring a dark beam of light. This time, he pulverized both the figure and the tree.Afterwards, the Golden-Winged Great Peng cursed a few more times, then turned and headed for the formation's life gate.Once he was gone, Li Changshou's Dao presence reappeared, reconstituting the same old crooked-necked tree, the same wooden sign, and the same old Daoist.

At this point, the immortal gods in the High Heavens Palace were thoroughly perplexed.Lord Mu asked, "What is the Water God's intention in doing this?""No need to rush, Lord Mu," Li Changshou replied with a smile. "Just keep watching.The Golden-Winged Great Peng is born with extreme speed, and his subsequent rounds will become increasingly fast, so it won't take too long.The outcome will be clear within a month."Question marks seemed to appear above the heads of the assembled immortals, and the White-Robed Jade Emperor looked utterly bewildered.

True to Li Changshou's words, in just half an hour, the Golden-Winged Great Peng returned to the crooked-necked tree for the third time.His expression, though still cold and fierce, now carried a hint of hesitation. After destroying the tree, he hurried away.The next round took even less time, just a quarter of an hour, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng rushed back to the crooked-necked tree..."Lost?"The wooden sign swayed gently, creaking incessantly.The Golden-Winged Great Peng's Dao heart, which had been relatively firm, now began to waver slightly..."This Daoist truly doesn't believe it!"He destroyed the tree and flew on.After the Golden-Winged Great Peng left, Li Changshou reappeared and restored the setup.Fifth round, sixth round...Tenth round, eleventh round... eighteenth round...The Golden-Winged Great Peng's speed through the continuous formations became increasingly frantic. Eventually, upon encountering the crooked-necked tree, he would simply phase through the cloud phantom and plunge into the entrance of the next grand formation.On the nineteenth round, the Golden-Winged Great Peng paused.At this moment, his eyes were bloodshot, his long hair disheveled, his breathing labored, and his magic power dissipated. But for the first time, he stopped before Li Changshou.Li Changshou smiled, maintaining his repeated gesture, took a sip from his teacup, and slowly said, "Golden Peng, have you comprehended?"The Golden-Winged Great Peng was startled, standing frozen for a moment before a fierce look appeared on his face. He raised a palm, striking the scene before him into a wisp of cloud, then lowered his head and continued to force his way through."Do you think you can confuse my Dao heart?!"Li Changshou remained unperturbed, once again conjuring the same setup, and waited quietly.

Seven more rounds passed, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng stopped again. This time, however, he halted at the 'previous' spot before the crooked-necked tree's node."No, this is an illusion formation! Everything around me is an illusion!"The Golden-Winged Great Peng stared at the rock crevice where the only life gate lay, then took two steps back. His voice rose from a murmur to a shout, then a roar..."It's all fake! Everything is fake!""This is an illusion, all falsehood! Falsehood! Only my true Dao remains! Only my true Dao remains!"Then, his figure transformed into a golden light, dashing left and right within the grand formation, only to be repeatedly blocked by Taiji diagrams formed from Yin and Yang energies. He crashed against them, his head bleeding and hair disheveled.

In the High Heavens Palace, the immortal gods actually...felt a touch of sympathy.Li Changshou shook his head slightly and commented, "This divine bird's mental cultivation is truly insufficient. I thought he could endure eighty-one rounds, but his Dao heart began to crumble in less than thirty."Lord Mu couldn't help but palm his forehead.One immortal god sighed, "Even as mere observers, we can feel the sense of helplessness.""The Water God is truly brilliant. The continuous trapping formations could only imprison this divine bird, but the Water God's every appearance and expression conveyed different implications, gradually breaking down his mental defenses.""If it were us inside, I fear we wouldn't last thirty rounds either.""Only now do I realize that thunder and heavenly fire are minor punishments; even the eighteen layers of hell might be more tolerable."Li Changshou smiled calmly, saying nothing more. He subtly observed the Jade Emperor's expression before focusing his mind back on the trapping formation.

By now, the Golden-Winged Great Peng had once again passed through the life gate, his eyes somewhat vacant as he gazed at the crooked-necked tree and the old man beneath it.Li Changshou posed the same question again, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng, with a fierce expression, once more swept past the crooked-necked tree, crashing into the formation's life gate, entering the next 'cycle.'At this point, Li Changshou began to introduce some new variations.At the core of the continuous grand formation, Li Changshou released several paper figures, who began to simultaneously recite Daoist scriptures encouraging good deeds, filling all the formations with their chanting.Thus, three days later...The Golden-Winged Great Peng had lost count of how many circles he had made, how many times he had seen the words "Lost?", and how many times he had destroyed the Water God's avatar.His mind was somewhat muddled, and he stumbled to the rock peak, his body experiencing a sense of emptiness.As if possessed, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, as if by some strange impulse, entered the rock peak, only to see the identical scenery again and hear the voice:"Golden Peng, have you comprehended?"The Golden-Winged Great Peng's legs gave way, and he actually knelt on the cloud path, looking up and mumbling, "Comprehend what? Can you tell me what to comprehend? Water God, what exactly do you want me to comprehend?"Li Changshou's expression showed a hint of disappointment. He shook his head and said nothing more.The Golden-Winged Great Peng had lost his ferocity by now, but he stood up, trembling all over. He wanted to strike a palm, but then felt it would be a wasted effort, so he flew past, head bowed.

Ten more rounds later...The Golden-Winged Great Peng knelt before the crooked-necked tree, looking at Li Changshou, tears uncontrollably streaming from his eyes."Sir, what do you want me to comprehend? What exactly do you want me to comprehend? Can you tell me? I will comprehend whatever you ask!"Li Changshou shook his head again and calmly said, "When you truly understand what you need to comprehend, you will find the answer yourself.Go.""Ah—"The Golden-Winged Great Peng cried out in despair, stood up, stamped his foot, then quickly darted away from the spot, continuing to circle.

Ten more rounds, and the Golden-Winged Great Peng's heart trembled. He suddenly realized something."Lost?"This was the question he had encountered countless times, the question the Water God continuously posed to him.By now, he had calmed down and considered everything.If the Water God truly intended to kill him, he wouldn't need to go to such elaborate lengths. Recalling every conversation he had with the Water God, the other party had said he would spare him out of consideration for an old acquaintance...It must be the Peacock, that being of undefined Yin and Yang, whom he didn't even know whether to call an elder brother or sister!The endless cycling formations, the Water God appearing again and again, repeatedly asking if he had comprehended, and that gently swaying wooden sign...'Golden Peng, are you lost?'Suddenly, this greeting echoed in his Dao heart.All the voices he had ever heard now resonated in sequence, pushing him backward, all asking him the same question.His vision turned blank, and within the whiteness, a few scenes appeared, fading from near to far...'Hmph, Peacock, just you wait. I can lead the Phoenix Clan to resurgence too!''Mortals are just weaklings, and Daoists are mere charlatans. I, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, must forge a different path.''Peacock, you go to the Primordial World yourself. Those three drops of true Phoenix blood were given to you. I'm just an unusual phoenix, not important.''I, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, will be the fastest creature in heaven and earth!'Scene after scene, moment after moment.All the situations he encountered after entering the Three Realms, and the memories from before he entered the Three Realms...The flattery he received was merely others using him; the praise he heard was just a potion others poured down his throat.Who truly respected him?He, the Golden-Winged Great Peng, was after all a son of the First Phoenix. How could he not understand this? How could he not grasp this truth?Yet, flattery and praise were like poison, and he had gradually lost himself amidst the Western Sect's repeated calls of "fast boy."This elaborate arrangement here...was telling him that to be engrossed in such vanity and superficiality was merely to remain stagnant, merely to lose oneself.The Water God's continuous enlightenment...

Suddenly, a soft call reached his ears. The Golden-Winged Great Peng snapped back to reality, only to find himself, without knowing when, standing again under the crooked-necked tree, before the Water God, and in front of that "Lost?" wooden sign.Thud!The Golden-Winged Great Peng's legs buckled, and he knelt down. His eyes were filled with tears, and his once-proud head slowly lowered until it rested on the cloud path."I was wrong...I only joined the Western Sect on a whim, I just wanted to prove that I wasn't inferior to Kong Xuan.I had long been lost on my path, I no longer knew where I should fly.I was born with extreme speed, but no one ever told me where to fly, no one ever told me what to do!"Li Changshou: ...Is this how he comprehended?Of course, it couldn't be ruled out that the Golden-Winged Great Peng was intentionally feigning this state.Stay steady, proceed as planned.Li Changshou slowly sighed and said,"To know when to turn back from a lost path, for the prodigal son to return home, for all things to ultimately lead to good, and for the Dao to follow nature.Go through it once more, but this time, do not use your magic power.Go listen, go observe, go ponder."The Golden-Winged Great Peng looked up at Li Changshou, his eyes filled with confusion, then bowed again."Yes."With that, the Golden-Winged Great Peng stood up, his steps somewhat unsteady, and walked into the next life gate.

Following Li Changshou's instructions, he slowed his pace this time, walking slowly through the already familiar grand formations. Soon, he discovered some details he hadn't noticed before.(Naturally, these had just been added by Li Changshou.)For instance, a painting, a stone tablet, and a simple drawing etched into a rock wall.The story of the creation of heaven and earth, the events of the Dragon-Phoenix War, the history of the struggles between the Human, Demon, and Witch races...Some scriptures, some seemingly profound sentences, and the chanting sounds that brought peace to one's Dao heart.The Golden-Winged Great Peng's gaze gradually cleared.He comprehended the insignificance of living beings, the grandeur of heaven and earth, that he himself had merely been a clown before, and the vastness of the Heavenly Dao and the brilliance of the Saints.His extreme speed was, paradoxically, a confinement. Transcending was not merely flying out of this world into the chaotic sea; his presence in this world ultimately held its own meaning.

Half a month later, the Golden-Winged Great Peng returned to the crooked-necked tree.He smiled faintly.Previously, with his agitated heart and his mind consumed by delusion, no matter how fast or frantically he flew through these continuous trapping formations, he was merely spinning in place.But now, all his hostility had vanished. He had wandered for half a month to return to this spot. Although he was back at the starting point, he had seen different worlds, different heavens and earths, and his heart had completely transformed.The Golden-Winged Great Peng lifted the hem of his robe and, with resolute and swift movements, knelt before Li Changshou."Thank you, Master, for guiding me. This Golden-Winged Great Peng has committed several grave sins. Please punish me, Master!However, this body wishes to serve the Phoenix Clan's future. Please spare this disciple's life for now. Once the Phoenix Clan's bloodline flourishes in the world again, this disciple will willingly accept death."

Li Changshou nodded with a smile, his figure dissolving into a cloud of mist. However, an illusion appeared around them.At the same time, the Golden-Winged Great Peng sensed a familiar presence...Peacock...The illusion depicted a dense forest, revealing Kong Xuan's graceful and slender back. Within the forest, Li Changshou's voice resonated."Fellow Daoist, rest assured, I will do my utmost.However, Fellow Daoist, are you truly decided? Such a great sacrifice...""Mm," Kong Xuan turned slightly, revealing a side profile that was seven parts gentle and beautiful. "He is my brother, after all.""Fellow Daoist, you dwell in the mortal realm, educate mortals, and strive to reclaim some fortune for the Phoenix Clan, and now this... Alas.I, Li Chang Geng, will go all out to fulfill my promise to you."Kong Xuan smiled faintly, a smile imbued with relief, helplessness, and a touch of hope and longing. Then, he transformed into five-colored divine light and vanished.Around them, the chirping of a hundred birds filled the air.The grand formation slowly dissipated.The blue sky was dotted with white clouds, and bright sunlight streamed down...The Golden-Winged Great Peng knelt there, unconsciously weeping.Before him, a shimmering golden bracelet lay where Li Changshou had been seated.The bracelet was intricately carved with Daoist patterns. Though simple in design, it emanated an ancient, profound Daoist aura.The Golden-Winged Great Peng showed a hint of relief. He picked up the bracelet with both hands and murmured,"Master, I understand.Once I wear this, I accept the Heavenly Court's constraints. My extreme speed will henceforth only serve the Heavenly Court.I am an unusual phoenix, like my elder sister, unable to inherit the Phoenix Clan's bloodline, but I am willing to extend the Phoenix Clan's fortune and serve the Heavenly Court, without a hundred deaths' regret."Immediately, the Golden-Winged Great Peng sighed softly, closed his eyes, and placed the bracelet on top of his head...

In the High Heavens Palace, countless immortal gods stood up.While filled with solemn respect, several emotional old immortals were already shedding tears.Lord Mu sighed, "Wearing the golden bracelet will limit his extreme speed; not wearing it means he can't share his elder sister's suffering."The Jade Emperor sighed even more deeply, "To awaken in time, he truly lives up to the name of a Phoenix Clan male. He should be put to good use, indeed."In the bronze mirror, Li Changshou reappeared. He walked over to the Golden-Winged Great Peng and handed him a scroll.

Heavenly Court Immortal God Induction Oath Template

"Master...""Mm," Li Changshou patted the Golden-Winged Great Peng's shoulder three times. "Read it."The Golden-Winged Great Peng showed a happy and content smile, nodded heavily, opened the template, and began to read aloud, drawing the power of the Heavenly Dao.An hour later...After finishing the scripture, the Golden-Winged Great Peng was surrounded by golden light. He bowed to Li Changshou again."Thank you, Master, for your guidance!"But with two soft clinks, the golden bracelet on his head slipped off, surprising the Golden-Winged Great Peng."My dear child," Li Changshou said gently, "you are the fastest divine bird in heaven and earth. What use would a head-hoop be?This was personally forged for you by Lord Laozi... an ankle bracelet."The Golden-Winged Great Peng was stunned for a moment. He picked up the golden bracelet and measured it against his foot. The bracelet immediately fitted onto his ankle."Does it fit?" Li Changshou asked softly.The Golden-Winged Great Peng's eyes instantly filled with tears, and he nodded emotionally, "Thank you for your concern, Master, it fits perfectly."Li Changshou slowly acknowledged, smiling as he watched the clouds in the sky.He felt a tiny bit of guilt."Remember to thank your elder sister, but wait a few decades; she is currently in seclusion.""Yes, Master, may I have one of these 'Lost?' wooden signs? I'd like to keep it with me always as a reminder.""Good."

In the High Heavens Palace, the White-Robed Jade Emperor couldn't help but smile faintly, saying gently, "I believe it would be good to keep this trapping formation as a Heavenly punishment to encourage good deeds. What do my beloved ministers think?"Silence..."Your Majesty... Your servant believes it is quite unnecessary.""Your Majesty, please reconsider! What crime could warrant such a punishment!"Li Changshou smiled calmly. In his heart, he began to look forward to the scene when, in half a year, the Golden-Winged Great Peng would appear as the special envoy's special envoy at the Immortal Alliance Convention...