Infinite Save: I Cultivate Immortality Through Reincarnation - Chapter 346: Visiting an Old Friend

The land of the Qingque Kingdom was exceedingly familiar to Chen Yan.

Because in those several cycles of reincarnation after the Kongshan Sect’s destruction, across more than a hundred years, he had been wandering across this very land, searching for traces of Qiguan Jin.

At that time, Ding Qiu was still by his side, as was that young page from the Kongshan Sect’s stationed manager office in Taiyun City, whom Ding Qiu had named Ding Wu.

He still remembered that in those past cycles, the first time he met Ding Qiu was already two years after the Kongshan Sect’s destruction.

By then, Ding Qiu’s hall had already taken initial shape within the Qingque Kingdom’s borders and had gained quite a reputation.

Back in Taiyun City, Ding Qiu had once owed Chen Yan a favor.

Therefore, when Ding Qiu saw Chen Yan, he acted with great enthusiasm and warmly invited Chen Yan to join the Qiuwu Hall he had established, this emerging sect that at the time almost monopolized all the pill business and auction house commissions within the Qingque Kingdom.

Chen Yan agreed.

Because at that time, Qiuwu Hall, within the Qingque Kingdom after the Kongshan Sect’s destruction, was indeed at the peak of its power, having both connections and intelligence networks.

It was precisely because Chen Yan saw this advantage that he chose to join Qiuwu Hall.

And Ding Qiu was indeed sufficiently loyal and righteous.

After learning that Chen Yan was searching for Qiguan Jin’s whereabouts, he unhesitatingly handed over all the hall’s affairs to Ding Wu to handle, then accompanied Chen Yan on his journey across the land.

He said something like, although Brother Chen’s cultivation was enough to let him walk sideways across the Qingque Kingdom, in the Qingque Kingdom’s territory, with Qiuwu Hall at its zenith, his, Ding Qiu’s, face carried more weight than the power of a Qi Sea Realm cultivator.

Later, while drinking together, Ding Qiu also told him about his experiences after escaping Taiyun City with Ding Wu.

The vast majority of cities within the Qingque Kingdom had Kongshan Sect stationed envoy residences. Although the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoys were merely outer court Qi Circulation Realm disciples, which in the eyes of Ding Qiu, whose cultivation had already reached the late stage of the Qi Sea Realm at the time, were completely insignificant.

Yet he was still terrified, because that represented Kongshan Sect’s eyes and ears being everywhere within the Qingque Kingdom.

Because the one he had offended was Fu Qian, a true Myriad Transformations Realm great power, the Solemn Martial Elder of Qingchan Peak.

It was said that in the last two to three hundred years, both inside and outside the Kongshan Sect, countless enemies had either been utterly destroyed or made to wish they were dead by Elder Fu Qian.

“If the Kongshan Sect hadn’t been exterminated, Little Wu and I would probably still be holed up in some rat hole right now, hahahaha!”

Ding Qiu laughed like that back then.

“…Indeed.”

At this very moment, Chen Yan stood on the streets of Ningling City, looking at the wanted poster plastered on the wall bearing Ding Qiu’s likeness, and sighed with such sentiment.

The Kongshan Sect had not been destroyed.

And Ding Qiu’s life, just as he had said, was like that of a rat scurrying across the street, fleeing everywhere.

Chen Yan shifted his gaze away from the wanted poster stuck on the wall and continued walking forward.

Ningling City, as a crucial southern frontier stronghold of the Qingque Kingdom, while having extremely strict city defenses, was also surprisingly a trade hub between the Qingque Kingdom and the Great Bamboo Dynasty.

Therefore, its market was exceptionally bustling.

And once you passed through the market ahead, the number of coming and going pedestrians would suddenly plummet.

Because further ahead was the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoy residence.

It was also Chen Yan’s destination for this trip.

The Kongshan Sect, as one of the Five Great Sects of the Chenping Continent and the ruler of the Northwestern Region, naturally had avenues for external cultivators to visit and exchange with it.

That was through the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoy residences, obtaining certification documents, which then allowed one to visit the Kongshan Sect’s outer court.

Obtaining certification documents to visit the Kongshan Sect’s outer court wasn’t particularly difficult. What was truly difficult was how to obtain from the Kongshan Sect’s outer court External Affairs Hall the documents needed to visit the Kongshan Sect’s inner court.

Not only did one need to pass the verification of the Kongshan Sect’s outer court External Affairs Hall, one also needed either a signature from a Kongshan Sect inner court elder on the documents, or an invitation from a Kongshan Sect inner court elder or higher, to qualify for visiting the inner court.

This was also the reason Chen Yan came to the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoy residence in Ningling City.

He wanted to return to the Kongshan Sect once and meet someone.

Outside the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoy residence in Ningling City stood two cultivators wearing Kongshan Sect outer court daoist robes, their hair graying, their age somewhat advanced.

With just one glance, Chen Yan saw through the cultivation realms of these two Kongshan Sect cultivators.

One was at the mid-stage of the Qi Circulation Realm, the other at the late stage of the Qi Circulation Realm.

He remembered that several years ago, Qi Circulation Realm cultivators could still hold the position of Kongshan Sect stationed envoy, but now they could only stand guard outside the envoy residence.

Because the current situation within the Qingque Kingdom was quite severe. Last year, within a short span of half a month, eleven Kongshan Sect stationed envoy residences were attacked, with the stationed envoys’ heads hung on the main gates outside their residences.

After that, the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoys began to be assigned from inner court Martial Spring Realm disciples, and they even dispatched several Qi Circulation Realm cultivators to be stationed within the envoy residences.

The Kongshan Sect had established a total of seventy-nine stationed envoy residences within the Qingque Kingdom. This meant that just to maintain the normal operation of these envoy residences, the Kongshan Sect had to expend seventy-nine Martial Spring Realm cultivators and several hundred Qi Circulation Realm cultivators.

This greatly increased the Kongshan Sect’s manpower burden. In recent years, under Yun Yichen’s leadership, the Kongshan Sect had also launched hundreds of large and small wars against various cultivator sects that had grievances with or were even somewhat hostile to the Kongshan Sect. The number of lost disciples, just from the inner court alone, had long since exceeded four digits.

In the seventeen years since the Kongshan Sect’s Outer Court Cataclysm, the Kongshan Sect had already held seven grand disciple recruitment ceremonies.

It was said that next year, the Kongshan Sect would hold another one.

Chen Yan walked towards the entrance of the stationed envoy residence in Ningling City.

This young cultivator wearing gray daoist robes naturally caught the attention of the two somewhat older outer court cultivators standing guard outside the Kongshan Sect’s stationed envoy residence.

“Fellow Daoist, what business brings you here?”

One of the Kongshan Sect outer court cultivators spoke up.

The look in his eyes as he watched Chen Yan was extremely wary. Chen Yan could clearly sense that from the moment he approached, the speed of the true qi circulation within the meridians of these two Qi Circulation Realm cultivators before him had increased significantly. This meant they were ready to engage him at any moment.

It seemed Ding Qiu had given these Kongshan Sect people quite a bit of trouble as well.

“Gentlemen.”

Chen Yan raised his hands in a respectful salute and said:

“This humble one has come to process the documents for visiting the Kongshan Sect’s outer court.”

“For what purpose?”

The Kongshan Sect outer court cultivator at the door asked.

“To go to the Kongshan Sect’s outer court External Affairs Hall, obtain a document that will allow passage into the inner court, and then visit an old acquaintance.”

Chen Yan continued.

“Who?”

The outer court cultivator outside the stationed envoy residence pressed further.

“Qingchan Peak’s Offering Elder, Fu Qian.”

Chen Yan replied.