Chapter 152 - 94: A Change of Mind and a Search for Clues

Chapter 152: Chapter 94: A Change of Mind and a Search for Clues

Lianyun Mountain.

Temples and halls had now been built upon the mountain. Besides what the Stone Pool required, the True Form Temple had gritted its teeth and allocated several Spirit Veins to be planted here. As the terrestrial qi harmonized, spiritual energy gradually emerged, and the mountain seemed to be revitalized with life.

Jiang Shicheng stood atop a small hill, squinting as he gazed at this "Feilai Peak" from afar. Lianyun Mountain wasn’t particularly majestic, but it was still over ten thousand feet high. To move such a mountain across thousands of miles—what kind of Divine Techniques would that require?

Hearing about it a thousand times was truly no substitute for seeing it once. After witnessing the mountain with his own eyes, a trace of fear crept into Jiang Shicheng’s heart. He immediately thought, ’With such a Great Cultivator presiding over the True Form Temple, perhaps our ambitions in Yunlan are no longer feasible. Forget it. I’ll just treat this trip as a fact-finding mission. After all, the Yun and Cang prefectures are neighbors, and now that we’ve become enemies, we must be on our guard.’

Suppressing the apprehension in his heart, Jiang Shicheng sat down cross-legged on a large rock and waited quietly. After about an hour, a cloud of smoke suddenly appeared, flying through the air. It circled for a moment, seemingly on high alert. Only after seeing that the coast was clear did it descend toward the hill.

The smoke dissipated, revealing a young-looking Star Crown Daoist. Seeing Jiang Shicheng seated cross-legged on the rock, he gave a casual cupped-fist salute and said coolly, "Fellow Daoist Jiang."

Jiang Shicheng smiled faintly, stood up, and straightened his robes. He returned the salute and said, "It’s only been a few days, and you’ve grown so cold, Fellow Daoist."

The Star Crown Daoist said expressionlessly, "If you have something to say, Fellow Daoist Jiang, please be direct. I have to hurry back to my sect and cannot stay long."

Jiang Shicheng paid his coldness no mind. "This is what I promised you," he said, pulling a small pouch from his sleeve and tossing it over.

The Star Crown Daoist’s eyes flickered. He caught the pouch and swept it with his Spiritual Sense. His expression immediately softened. "Oh? Your sect failed to take Lianyun Mountain, yet you still kept your promise and delivered the goods. How trustworthy."

Jiang Shicheng chuckled. "Failing to take Lianyun Mountain is the sect’s business. It has nothing to do with the friendship between you and me, Fellow Daoist."

The Star Crown Daoist’s lips curled into a smirk. "There’s no friendship between us. Go on, what do you want to know this time?"

Jiang Shicheng said unhurriedly, "Naturally, I want to ask where your sect found such a sacred figure, and just how profound is his cultivation? Moving mountains and shifting peaks... Tsk tsk, it truly leaves me astonished, impressed, and full of admiration."

"I figured as much." The Star Crown Daoist said leisurely, "However, I haven’t returned to the sect yet, so I don’t know the specifics."

Jiang Shicheng said, "Then I’ll have to trouble you to return to your sect and find out, Fellow Daoist. When the time comes, you’ll be well compensated."

The Star Crown Daoist gave a cool nod, then said suddenly, "But while I haven’t returned to the sect, I was far too curious myself. I asked around among the junior disciples and heard some rather surprising news. Care to hear it, Fellow Daoist?"

Jiang Shicheng’s expression turned solemn. He cupped his fist and said, "Please, Fellow Daoist, speak."

The Star Crown Daoist said with a faint, mocking smile, "Alright. I’ll tell you. The news I heard from within the sect is that both Zhang Ren and Zeng Quanfeng call that person ’Martial Uncle’."

"Martial Uncle?" Jiang Shicheng’s expression changed slightly. A name couldn’t help but surface in his mind: the world-shaking Venerable Dao Chen! ’Does the True Form Temple have another old monster from the same generation as Venerable Dao Chen?’

The Star Crown Daoist nodded. "That’s right. And what’s even stranger is that person... is not a Nascent Soul Venerable. He only has a Golden Core cultivation."

"What?" Jiang Shicheng’s pupils contracted. He was suddenly unsure if the emotion bubbling up in his heart was shock or delight. His thoughts were in turmoil, and for a moment, he didn’t even know how to respond.

Seeing his reaction, the Star Crown Daoist gave a cold sneer inwardly. He flicked his sleeve, offered a cupped-fist salute, and said, "I’ve given you the news, Fellow Daoist. I’m in a hurry to get back to the sect, so I won’t keep you company."

Despite his words, he showed no intention of leaving. As expected, Jiang Shicheng came back to his senses, cupped his fist, and said in a low voice, "After you return, Fellow Daoist, I must ask you to find out as much as you can about that person."

The Star Crown Daoist broke into an undisguised, satisfied smile. "But of course. You can rest assured, Fellow Daoist," he said leisurely. "In fact, you might as well return to the Moyun Sect and discuss with your Sect Leader what you’ll use to trade for my information. The next time won’t be a freebie, HAHAHAHA!"

With that, he let out a long laugh, shot up from the ground, and transformed back into a cloud of smoke, heading straight for the True Form Temple.

—

The ninth month brought the chill of autumn, but Xuzhuang had no time to feel the bleakness of the outside world.

Within the Celestial Waterfall, the purple light was gradually dimming, on the verge of collapse. Xuzhuang’s eyes were shut tight, his expression unchanging. Just as the Purple Qi Xiaoyi was about to falter, he slowly withdrew his cultivation technique. He opened his eyes, and without any other movement, the glowing garment stabilized.

Xuzhuang seemed to have no time to spare for the Purple Qi Xiaoyi. He simply applied a bit of his Core energy to keep it stable and began to ponder.

Cultivating in the Celestial Waterfall for the past three months, he could indeed feel its effects of clearing the mind, calming the spirit, and washing away impurities. Although it didn’t directly increase his cultivation level, his progress in merging spirit and qi had been much faster here.

But that was the extent of it. As for enabling a cultivator to form a Nascent Soul in a short period of time, that was pure fantasy.

Xuzhuang mulled it over for a moment longer before putting it out of his mind. He didn’t even need to brandish any Heart Sword; the distracting thoughts were naturally cast aside. For him now, faster progress in cultivation was ideal, but if it didn’t happen, he wouldn’t force it.

Having collected his thoughts, Xuzhuang gently shook his sleeve and took out a Golden Talisman, glancing at it. He immediately formed a hand seal to send a message, then stood up, straightened his robes, put away the Purple Qi Xiaoyi, and cast a Spell to fly outside.

In fact, a day earlier, he had received a message from Xue Yuren, saying that Daoist Zhang wanted to bring some people to visit him. However, his cultivation had reached a minor milestone at the time, so he had delayed for a day.

Breaking through the curtain of water, Xuzhuang left the Celestial Waterfall and rode the wind back to his immortal’s abode. Having received his message, Xue Yuren had already opened the main gate and laid out tea and refreshments.