Chapter 383 - 381: The Peculiar Legacy of the Red Bright Lineage

Chapter 383: Chapter 381: The Peculiar Legacy of the Red Bright Lineage

Celestial Thunder Cliff.

"Though you all joined the sect at different times, you share the same master. No matter what heights you reach in the future, I hope you will always respect your origins and remain united in spirit."

Bai Zichen held a fluffy, black-and-white furball as his four disciples stood respectfully in a row with their hands clasped.

Tuantuan, who hadn’t seen its master in a long time, sniffed the familiar scent and burrowed deeper into his embrace, its plump body jiggling.

It was fed the flesh of Tier Three Demon Beasts every few days and had even taken two bites of a Tier Four Great Demon, though it had immediately passed out, its body engorged with blood.

Under such nurturing conditions, Genggeng had finally matured into a Tier Two Top Grade Spirit Beast.

"Rest assured, Master. We four will work together with one heart to pursue the Longevity Path and build up our sect."

As the eldest disciple, Tong Huan spoke on their behalf.

"I know you tire yourself with the sect’s general affairs, and your duties are heavy. However, you must not neglect your own cultivation. Your realm comes first. You can set aside combat skills for now. As the Sect Leader, you don’t need to personally step onto the battlefield to fight for victory."

Seeing the fine lines at the corners of his eldest disciple’s eyes and his furrowed brow, Bai Zichen couldn’t help but offer an extra piece of advice.

"If necessary, you can continuously consume High-Tier Elixirs to break through your bottleneck. I will find a way to help you resolve the accumulated Erysipelas."

After all, he was the first disciple Bai Zichen had taken, and he had watched him grow up. His feelings for him were naturally deeper.

With limited talent, one must make compromises. It’s impossible to both advance one’s cultivation realm and master powerful combat Divine Techniques at the same time.

As for his contributions as Sect Leader, Tong Huan seemed to enjoy the role.

Furthermore, the Sect Leader received an annual stipend of six thousand Sect Contribution points, which he could save up to exchange for the Clear Spirit Jade Marrow he needed.

"Yes, Master. If I still haven’t broken through to the Late-Stage Foundation Establishment within ten years, I will bet on the power of elixirs."

With the precedent of Gu Xisheng, not many people gossiped about Tong Huan serving as Sect Leader with only a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.

Of course, this was also thanks to him having a good master.

However, when representatives from various sects came to visit, it was usually he, the Sect Leader, who was responsible for receiving the Core Formation True Men.

Although their statuses were equal, the gap in their realms was too vast. During their conversations, he had to wear a Secret Treasure to prevent his mood from being influenced by the aura of a Core Formation True Man.

A Core Formation True Man, especially one specializing in Spiritual Techniques, could easily influence the emotions of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator through their words and aura without even having to act directly.

Bai Zichen scanned his four disciples with the Nine Yang Divine Fire Mirror. None had any major issues, save for Lii Guizhen, whose Hand Taiyin Lung Meridian was damaged.

It was most likely an injury he’d sustained from not properly controlling his power while practicing Thunder Skills and exploring Pill Discussion.

He reminded Lii Guizhen not to be too hasty, lest he make no progress at all.

At his age, he still had plenty of room for trial and error. On the Longevity Path, blindly seeking speed was useless; what mattered in the end was who could walk the farthest.

Among the four disciples, the youngest, Ma Ruoxi, was progressing the most steadily. After reaching Late-Stage Foundation Establishment, she didn’t rush to continue raising her cultivation or force her studies in Pill Discussion.

Instead, she had devoted herself wholeheartedly to the Sword Dao. Her Star Luo Swordsmanship had already reached a high level of proficiency, making it impossible to tell that she had never even touched a Flying Sword before becoming a disciple.

Moreover, she possessed a Water Spiritual Root, which meant that after reaching Core Formation, she could switch to practicing the Dragon Transformation Scripture Core Formation Scroll.

"My daily guidance for you is limited. These twelve magics and three Divine Techniques each have their own strengths. Each of you may pick one to take back and cultivate."

Bai Zichen spread his hand, and fifteen Jade Scrolls hovered neatly in front of his four disciples, allowing them to choose.

As for his own trump cards, the Five Crystal Glaze Body was cultivated with the help of a Mysterious Holy Body; there were no tricks or shortcuts. Anyone confident enough could simply go to the Transmission Hall and exchange for a Body Refining Technique to practice it.

He had only managed to learn the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword by relying on Holy Beast Essence Blood and by a stroke of luck, comprehending a sliver of the Time Path from the Spring and Autumn Cicada he encountered while saving Su Li.

Even if he wanted to teach it, the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword, when broken down into its three parts, still required at least the Core Formation Realm to even attempt to practice.

Back then, not even every Core Formation True Man in the Fish Dragon Sect could master it, which showed its immense difficulty.

Moreover, this Supreme Divine Power was linked to the Holy Beast Essence Blood, one of the secrets about himself that he could absolutely not expose.

His skills with a Flying Sword, however, could be taught freely. As long as one could keep up with the contents of the True Understanding of Sword Dao, they could learn it.

This included the True Enlightenment Sword Technique; he could break down each swordsmanship style within it and teach them separately.

However, Bai Zichen’s True Enlightenment Sword Technique had been generated directly in his Sea of Consciousness by an Inheritance Stele, making his comprehension and learning far more direct and many times more efficient than being taught by someone else.

And from the very beginning, his goal had been to first comprehend the entire Sword Technique and grasp Sword Heart Clarity.

He had only reached a rudimentary level in many of the swordsmanship styles before immediately switching to the next one.

This was something he couldn’t replicate, even if he taught his disciples personally.

There was another point: even if Ma Ruoxi’s talent in the Sword Dao was equal to or even far surpassed Bai Zichen’s, her ultimate strength in the Sword Dao would still be significantly weaker.

The existence of the Supreme Qingwei Sword Box created a fundamental difference between Bai Zichen and every other Sword Cultivator in the world.

The greatest fear of a Sword Cultivator—the depletion of Sword-Controlling True Essence, leaving them powerless—was something that could never happen to him.

With his Core Formation Cultivation, he could wield a Tier Four Flying Sword with ease. He could even use Sword Control for long-distance travel, abandoning his Flying Magical Treasure entirely.

The difference in flight speed between the two was simply too great. The only advantage of a Flying Magical Treasure was that it was a more comfortable ride.

Therefore, the magics and Divine Techniques he presented were all from the inheritance of the Fish Dragon Sect’s Red Bright Lineage.

Bai Zichen himself had not found any of them worth his time to practice, but for Foundation Establishment Cultivators and even Core Formation True Men, they were excellent techniques.

The Red Bright Lineage had, after all, produced a Nascent Soul True Monarch. Its legacy, standing alone, could rival the core inheritances of many Core Formation Level Sects.

Tong Huan chose the Great Marsh Sword Qi. In his daily practice, he could refine several streams of pure Sword Qi and store them in his Dantian Qi Sea.

When facing an enemy, he could unleash them to produce destructive power one level higher than his own cultivation.

Once Tong Huan, a Mid-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator, successfully cultivated it, a single stream of Great Marsh Sword Qi would be equivalent to a casual strike from a Late-Stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Depending on the depth of one’s cultivation, one could condense anywhere from three to seven streams of Sword Qi.

’This is an extremely crude imitation of the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword.’ When Bai Zichen first saw it, he thought that each stream of Sword Qi took several years to successfully condense.

The benefit was that once the Divine Technique was mastered, the Great Marsh Sword Qi would condense on its own, not interfering with normal cultivation.

Bai Zichen had never considered cultivators of the same realm as true opponents. A Divine Technique that took years to grant the power of a casual strike from a cultivator of the next realm naturally held no attraction for him.

But the Great Marsh Sword Qi was extremely easy to practice. ’Just like the Red Bright Nirvana Technique, this must be another simplified Divine Technique developed by the ancestor of the Red Bright Lineage.’

One could only say that the ancestor of the Red Bright Lineage was very pragmatic, fully considering the possibility that future disciples might lack talent. From the Basic Cultivation Technique to the magics and Divine Techniques, everything was a fast-track, easy-to-learn version.

Lii Guizhen picked and chose before selecting the Nirvana Unbreakable Body.

He had initially practiced the Nine Revolutions Condensing Evil Scripture, but as his mastery of Thunder Skill grew, it began to conflict with the Evil Qi.

There were even times when the circulation of Divine Thunder would shatter the Evil Qi he had condensed.

He had no choice but to try practicing the Five Crystal Glaze Body, but after spending a great deal of time, he barely managed to achieve the entry-level of the first layer, the Five Crystal Body. Realizing he didn’t have the talent for it, he had long since given up.

This was also why he easily injured himself when practicing Thunder Skills; the domineering nature of the technique was not supported by a correspondingly powerful physique.

The Nirvana Unbreakable Body was the Body Refining Technique of the Red Bright Lineage. After cultivating it, one’s physical body wouldn’t become any stronger, but their self-healing ability would be greatly enhanced.

At Minor Achievement, one could regenerate severed limbs and grow flesh on white bones.

After reaching Great Success, one could survive even if their head was cut off or their heart was removed.

At the Perfect Realm, one could even lock in a breath of life, allowing them to live for another hundred days no matter how grievous their injuries.

However, all the abilities of this Body Refining Technique could only be activated once a month, a significant limitation.

Its advantages, however, followed the tradition of the Red Bright Lineage. It was said to take thirty years for Minor Achievement, a 60-Year Cycle for Great Success, and a hundred years for the Perfect Realm, with no high requirements for Body Refining talent.

Having been discouraged by his failure with the Five Crystal Glaze Body, Lii Guizhen became interested after reading the description of the Nirvana Unbreakable Body and chose it with the intention of giving it a try.

Huo Feiyan chose the Mystic Sect’s Qi Gathering Method, which allowed one to store the gathered nature’s spiritual energy in a sealed space during cultivation.

Over months and years, the efficiency of refining nature’s spiritual energy could become a tiny bit faster.

However, it was only useful when cultivating in a place where the Spiritual Land Tier was not high. In a Tier Three Top-Grade spiritual land, for example, the Spiritual Qi in the air was so dense it was nearly tangible.

In such a place, the Mystic Sect’s Qi Gathering Method would have no effect at all.

Judging from the magic Huo Feiyan chose, she still held expectations for her cultivation path and had not given up her pursuit of the Great Dao, despite falling far behind her junior martial sister.

Ma Ruoxi was the last to step forward. With barely a moment’s hesitation, she took a Jade Scroll from in front of her.

Bai Zichen glanced at it. It was the Light-Pushing Cloud-Piercing Technique, a type of Tier Three Divine Movement Technique.

Its advantages were that it was easy to learn and consumed little energy, so even Foundation Establishment Cultivators could activate and use it.

However, in terms of flight speed and movement transformations, it couldn’t compare to various Escape Techniques. At best, it was an extra means of escape and survival.

"Return and cultivate well. The appearance of the Ancient Demon Inheritance is only the beginning. The Central Domain will turn its eyes to the Northern Domain sooner or later; this event has merely accelerated the process... The rivals you will face in the future will very likely be the True Disciples of the Central Domain’s super major sects. Don’t fall too far behind."

Bai Zichen put away the remaining Jade Scrolls and, after giving his instructions, dismissed his disciples.

Senior Martial Brother Ge Cang had already made it clear that once the matter of Zengguang Immortal City was settled, he would travel to the Central Domain in search of cultivation techniques and opportunities.

It was the same for him; the time he could spend in the sect was growing shorter and shorter.

If the Qingfeng Sect wanted to stand firm in the coming storm, it was crucial that this next generation of disciples could mature quickly.

The next day, another cultivator in black robes arrived at the courtyard, requesting an audience.

"You’ve already reached Foundation Establishment Perfection? That was quite fast!"

Bai Zichen glanced at the cultivator prostrating cautiously below him. He hadn’t expected that the first person in the sect to reach Foundation Establishment Perfection would be Lu Songx, who had reached Foundation Establishment at an old age and was considered to have exhausted all his potential.

"It is all thanks to Junior Martial Uncle Bai’s care. I was able to accumulate enough Sect Contribution at Celestial Thunder Cliff to rely on elixirs and luckily cultivate to this point."

After leaving the Law Enforcement Hall and transferring to Celestial Thunder Cliff, Lu Songx had actually earned double the Sect Contribution he had before, thanks to Bai Zichen’s instructions to look after him.

During the campaign to conquer Hejian County, he had also reaped a large amount of Merit Points, giving him the wealth to exchange for enough elixirs.