Chapter 435 - 430: The Outwardly Strong, Inwardly Weak Qingfeng Sect

Chapter 435: Chapter 430: The Outwardly Strong, Inwardly Weak Qingfeng Sect

A lotus flower was in full bloom, its leaves rimmed with gold. It bore a seed pod so heavy it bent the stalk.

Xue Chan made a grasping motion with her hand. Her ten fingers danced in succession, as graceful as a night-blooming cereus unfurling in the quiet dark.

A single Golden Light Lotus Seed flew out and landed in her delicate hand.

’It only produced one Enlightenment Lotus Seed. A pity... The kind I truly need, a True Intent Lotus Seed—the crystallized essence of a Ten Thousand Years Spirit Plant containing a trace of the Power of the Great Dao—is as hard to find as they say.’

Xue Chan carefully stored the Enlightenment Lotus Seed and, without a backward glance, flew toward the next location on her map.

The Lotus Secret Realm always had several spots for outside Core Formation Cultivators. Over the years, people had compiled maps based on the oral and written accounts of their predecessors.

After traveling the Northern Domain for many years, she had finally managed to trade for a cluster of Nine Yang True Flame from a Demon Cultivator in the Endless Sea of Suffering.

By using it to achieve a balance of Yin and Yang, she broke through two minor realms in succession and reached Core Formation Perfection.

With Piaoxue Temple’s Cultivation Technique, reaching Core Formation Perfection was far easier for a cultivator with an Ice Spiritual Root and the requisite Spiritual Objects than it was for others.

This was why Piaoxue Temple had a Perfect Core Formation Cultivator in every generation.

They didn’t need to recruit disciples in large numbers. By focusing only on the elite, they could ensure the sect’s legacy continued.

’Our temple’s Cultivation Technique is flawed. Advancing through the realms is easy, but the final step, Shattering the Core and Transforming into a Nascent Soul, is a hundred times more dangerous for us than for anyone else. Every ancestor in our history has perished during their Nascent Soul Celestial Tribulation. No matter how breathtakingly talented they were, or how deep their foundation, not one has ever succeeded in refining their Primordial Spirit and forming a Nascent Soul.’

Xue Chan’s eyes were like ancient glaciers, bottomlessly deep.

’My Core Formation is already set. I can’t switch my Main Cultivation Method even if I wanted to... Besides, for our Sect, finding a single wisp of Nine Yang True Flame guarantees a successor at Core Formation Perfection for each generation. Achieving the same results with a different Cultivation Technique would not be so simple.’

Piaoxue Temple had a legacy stretching back ten thousand years. It had always been reclusive, avoiding conflict and maintaining amicable relations with the three great Nascent Soul Sects of Beiyuan.

One Observatory Master even became Dao Companions with a Supreme Elder from the No-Life Sect and asked him to examine their Cultivation Technique.

He stated bluntly that the technique was missing its most critical final part. This meant the True Intent it formed was incomplete, effectively declaring the path forward to be a dead end.

There were only two ways to solve this problem.

The first was for a peerless, heaven-defying disciple to appear in Piaoxue Temple, one who could reverse-engineer the Cultivation Technique from their own practice and complete the Great Dao True Intent.

The second was for a Divinity Transformation Great Power to personally intervene and, from their vastly superior perspective, deduce the missing parts.

Piaoxue Temple only accepted a few disciples each generation, all of whom possessed an Ice Spiritual Root. Only those with the absolute best temperament and aptitude could become the generation’s chosen representative.

But they were still a far cry from the level required to complete a Top-Tier Cultivation Technique by themselves.

Someone from every generation had tried, but they all ended in failure.

As for a Divinity Transformation Great Power, no such expert had ever appeared in the entire Northern Domain. Even in the Central Domain, they were as elusive as mythical dragons. To ninety-nine percent of cultivators, they were figures of legend; most didn’t even believe Divinity Transformation Cultivators still existed in the world.

After all, the most recent recorded instance of a Divinity Transformation Great Power taking action dated back five hundred years.

The second path was even more difficult to execute.

Xue Chan had traveled all across the Northern Domain. Just as she was about to give up and head for the Central Domain, someone unintentionally mentioned the True Intent Lotus Seed in the Lotus Secret Realm. Suddenly, her desperate situation turned hopeful.

A True Intent Lotus Seed was the Relic left behind after a Ten Thousand Years Spirit Plant withered. It contained a trace of the Power of the Great Dao. If a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivator consumed and performed Refinement on it, they had a high chance of breaking through to Core Formation Perfection.

She, of course, had no use for that effect. The Power of the Great Dao within it, however, was a different story.

’If it can help a Late-Stage Core Formation Cultivator perfect their path on the Great Dao, could it also help a True Man from Piaoxue Temple, with our flawed technique, complete our Great Dao True Intent?’

Clinging to this hope, she had come to the Lotus Secret Realm.

But in the hundred-plus times the Lotus Secret Realm had opened, a True Intent Lotus Seed had only appeared a total of five times. The probability of finding one was extremely low.

Xue Chan spotted a towering lotus flower in the distance. Just as she was about to approach for a closer look, the sky cracked open, and with a dizzying lurch, she was teleported away.

All that remained was a single green lotus, its roots buried in gravel, its rhizome stretching for dozens of miles.

If one were to dig down hundreds of feet, they would find nothing but gravel and hard-packed earth. No matter how long the roots, it would be impossible for them to draw any nutrients.

Half of the green lotus had already withered to a sickly yellow, appearing to be on its last breath.

...

’Taking the Tier Four Flying Sword actually caused the Lotus Secret Realm to close prematurely...’

Bai Zichen glanced up to get his bearings, then performed Sword Control and soared tens of thousands of feet into the sky without pausing.

He removed the Celestial Illusion Bracelet, and his form shifted, returning to his true appearance.

’This trip to the Lotus Secret Realm will probably go down as the one with the worst spoils in history. Fortunately, no one found out it was me, so I won’t be blamed... Even if they compare notes and investigate later, their suspicions will fall on Su Wuming. What does any of that have to do with me, Bai Zichen?’

A Tier Four Flying Sword with the potential for advancement was more than enough to compensate for the decades he had spent collecting Sunrise Purple Qi.

Ever since Entering the Dao, Bai Zichen had never experienced his Cultivation stagnating or getting stuck in a Realm. His only frustration was the limitation of his Spiritual Root, which meant his speed of refining nature’s spiritual energy wasn’t fast enough.

For the sake of the Demon Extermination Spiritual Light, he had confined himself to the Eastern Domain’s Great Wild Marsh for thirty-six years, unable to stand guard over his Sect and gaining no experience from roaming the world.

Although he knew practicing the Cave Profound Disaster Relief and Demon Extermination Scripture was essential, he couldn’t shake the feeling deep down that he had squandered his time.

But with the Splendid Youth Sword in hand, that feeling vanished without a trace.

This was a prize that even a Super Major Sect would covet.

Take the Five Phoenix Sword Sect, currently the most renowned of the Sword Cultivation Sects. They possessed fewer than ten Tier Four Flying Swords. Even a newly ascended Nascent Soul True Monarch wouldn’t be gifted one right away.

In this respect, the foundation of the Five Phoenix Sword Sect was still far inferior to that of the Moral Sect.

With a legacy spanning over two hundred thousand years and five Heaven-Reaching Spiritual Treasures under its control, the Moral Sect surely had no shortage of Tier Four Flying Swords, even if it wasn’t a Sword Cultivation Sect.

For anyone else, the Splendid Youth Sword’s slim chance of advancement was merely a pleasant fantasy.

But for Bai Zichen, it was a genuine possibility.

’Once I reach Nascent Soul, there are several techniques I’ll need to master... I don’t expect to be like a disciple of the Taibai Sword Sect, endlessly refining my Lifebound Flying Sword. Just having two or three would be enough. Plus, Splendid Youth naturally contains a trace of the Power of Time. I wonder if using it as a Hidden Sword to activate the Qing Emperor Longevity Sword would provide an extra boost.’

He mulled over the thought for a moment before dismissing it.

He wasn’t yet so extravagant as to use a Tier Four Flying Sword as the vessel for his Hidden Sword. It would be better to stick with a Tier Three Flying Sword for that.

Four Thunder Sound Swords appeared before him. A white scar marked a section of each blade, and a light touch revealed a distinct raised edge.

’Wood Attribute flying swords really are lacking in hardness. Their Sword Light was deflected just once, and it left a scar. And the Thunder Sound Sword is already considered one of the most durable of its kind.’

If it had been the Great Sun Celestial Furnace Sword or the White Bone Cold Light Sword, the blades might have been damaged after multiple clashes, but their Sword Light certainly wouldn’t have shattered on the spot.

Of course, it was perfectly normal for a flying sword to get a few nicks the size of rice grains during Combat.

’But with the Sword Nurturing Technique, even if a Wood Attribute flying sword is damaged, it can be repaired. I don’t have to feel the sting, which makes it very suitable...’

Bai Zichen opened his mouth and exhaled a stream of Pill Qi. He formed a hand seal and cast the Sword Nurturing Technique four times in succession.

A vibrant green light enveloped the Thunder Sound Swords, and the white scars on the blades quickly faded.

In just a few years, they would be good as new, indistinguishable from when they had just been refined.

The Pure Qi within his Supreme Qingwei Sword Box also had the ability to repair flying swords; it could even restore a sword that had been shattered to pieces.

But the Clear Spirit Qi was not easy to come by. Once depleted, it would take a long time to regenerate.

These thirty-six wisps of Pure Qi had greater uses, and he had to conserve them whenever possible, especially as the number of flying swords in his Sword Box grew.

This was the advantage of Wood Attribute flying swords: he could use them to his heart’s content without worrying about damage.

The long-unseen Black Mountain came into view. Bai Zichen didn’t bother to conceal his presence, and by the time he landed at the Mountain Gate, news of his return had already spread throughout the Sect.

"Junior Brother Bai, you’ve finally returned..."

Wei Dao stood at the top of the stone steps, his face etched with hardship. He was coughing incessantly into a silk handkerchief stained dark red.

"Senior Brother Wei, are you injured?"

With a single, light step, Bai Zichen crossed several hundred stone stairs and arrived at the foot of the main hall.

The two rows of waiting Elders bowed their heads, greeting Ancestor Bai with a deep bow.

There were several new faces among them, some of whom were seeing Ancestor Bai for the very first time.

"Has something major happened in the Sect during the years I’ve been away?"

Once they were seated in the hall, Bai Zichen’s gaze swept across the room. The True Essence fluctuations of a Core Formation Cultivator were clearly visible from Wei Dao, but his aura was unstable.

Among the disciples at the Five Halls Masters Level, two were new faces, and many of them were clearly suffering from Qi and Blood Deficiency, bearing visible injuries.

"After the Du Family was annihilated, I received your message and rushed to Zengguang Immortal City. Unfortunately, after waiting for several months, I never saw True Monarch Yuan Mo. In the end, one of his disciples came out and sent me away, making no mention of our Sect taking charge of the trade route."

Wei Dao’s voice was low as he slowly explained.

"It’s normal for a Central Domain Major Sect to be arrogant. A few years later, Ancestor Ge came out of seclusion. He said he’d had an epiphany and was heading to the Central Domain to search for a Spiritual Object from a Nascent Soul Realm. It was after he left that things started to feel wrong."

"First, some Sect Disciples were attacked in Hejian County, resulting in dozens of casualties in a single month. Junior Sister Zhou and I went to investigate personally, only to fall into an ambush. There were four Core Formation Demon Cultivators in total, and their methods were so different they didn’t seem to belong to a single sect... Junior Sister Zhou isn’t skilled in Combat. She was gravely injured and has been in seclusion to heal for over ten years now."

His tone was heavy, laced with guilt.

Zhou Suqing was well-known as a Core Formation Ancestor who possessed the Realm but lacked the corresponding strength.

When fighting from within a Grand Array, she could fend off several Core Formation True Men. But in a direct confrontation, she was barely better than a Foundation Establishment Perfection Cultivator.

The attacks in Hejian County were bizarre. There were multiple incidents where our disciples were cut down without ever seeing a trace of the enemy.

They had gone together as a precaution, thinking they could utilize the Grand Array at Ten Thousand Immortals Creek.

They never expected the enemy to ambush them en route. They nearly both perished.

Fortunately, Wei Dao had comprehended Wind Escape. His Escape Light was nimble and elegant, allowing him to envelop the gravely injured Zhou Suqing and force their way back to the Sect.

"These Core Formation Demon Cultivators... could you tell their origins from their Cultivation Techniques and Divine Techniques?"

"I didn’t recognize any of them. I’ve never seen them before, and there are no records of such people in the Cultivation Realm..."

Wei Dao visibly relaxed. With the two pillars of the Qingfeng Sect absent, the pressure on him alone had been almost unbearable.

He was only now realizing that the Sect’s prestige as a Nascent Soul Sect had been entirely due to those two.

Without Ge Cang and Bai Zichen, the Qingfeng Sect was just as it had been before—nowhere near as glorious as it appeared on the surface.

"Fortunately, during these years, Lu Song from your peak and Long Long from the Law Enforcement Hall both successfully reached Core Formation. They are now stationed at Ten Thousand Immortals Creek and Celestial Thunder Cliff, respectively, helping to shoulder the Sect’s burdens... Unfortunately, there was also Su Li from the Talisman Hall. He was the first to attempt the breakthrough to Core Formation but failed at the final moment, unable to entrust his Divine Sense. He refused to give up and forcefully made a second attempt, but his True Essence spiraled out of control, and he died right there in his Cave Mansion."