Cultivating Immortality in Two Realms

Chapter 56, Water 3

"cause and effect?"

Fang Qing's expression was very solemn, knowing that the old blind man was right.

However, the karma he carried was far too heavy. Not to mention anything else, the karma of the "Great Sun Initiation Secret Technique" was heavier than the old blind man's entire body combined.

Their connection with the Secret Realm is impossible to sever; they are simply in a state of having so much debt they don't care about anymore.

Therefore, a relaxed expression appeared on his face: "If I establish my Dao foundation in the future, perhaps a master from the Great Snow Mountain will come to guide me to liberation? That wouldn't be bad... We rogue cultivators have suffered enough from having no cultivation techniques and no background. Even if we enter the Secret Realm, at least we can seek some carefree freedom, right?"

"You... Fine, I've already told you how terrifying that secret place is. If you insist on this, I have nothing more to say."

The old blind man was speechless. After a long silence, he stroked the bone bowl in his hand and said, "Our ancient Shu is protected by the Moyun lineage, and the secret monks dare not cross the sea to the east... But things are unpredictable. If you establish your Dao foundation in the future and are willing to bear the karma, you can come to 'Xiaoshi Mountain' to find me. I will give you this bowl!"

Fang Qing looked at the dark yellow bone bowl, feeling both uneasy and eager to try it out. He wondered what the reaction would be if he used the "Great Sun Initiation Secret Technique" to refine this artifact.

However, he couldn't bring himself to steal a blind man's broken bowl; he could only wait until Daoji was established in the future.

Fang Qing thought for a moment, then asked, "I wonder if there's any follow-up to the 'Horse-Headed Vajra Protector Divine Skill' you have, sir?"

This is his main purpose today!

This secret protective technique from the Hidden Domain greatly helped him, and even allowed him to gain divine consciousness and second-level body refinement during the Qi Refining stage, so he naturally found it hard to give up.

"You... you actually practiced?"

The old blind man looked at Fang Qing as if he were looking at a madman: "Haha... You are indeed destined for Buddhism, but I don't know the follow-up to that technique. If you go to the Secret Realm in the future, you can visit the 'Horse-Head Vajra Temple'. Although this temple is not the 'Temple of the Origin of All Dharmas' directly descended from the Great Snow Mountain, it is still very prestigious. Remember to be very careful..."

Fang Qing wasn't too disappointed with the result.

After all, the Secret Realm was right there, and to him, it was a treasure trove!

However, we still need to be cautious. It would be best to wait until the foundation is established before sending a disciple to retrieve the scriptures.

Although... he doesn't have any disciples right now...

"I know it's powerful, but are all places in this world like the ancient Shu and the Secret Realm?"

Fang Qing voiced her doubts.

The area where the Taoist practice is practiced doesn't seem to be very stable.

"This world has been like this ever since the last cultivator attained that fruit more than eight thousand years ago."

The old blind man muttered, "In the north of our Shu region, there are barbarians causing havoc, and demons running rampant. To the east is the territory of the Hehuan Demonic Path, and to the south, there is the Demonic Sect that enjoys playing with corpses... Not to mention the west."

"More than eight thousand years ago? The last Golden Core True Monarch? Has no one ascended to that golden throne in the past eight thousand years?"

Fang Qing suddenly noticed a suspicious point: "What... does this have to do with the recent ancient calendar?"

The recent ancient calendar seems to be only about eight thousand years old? Could it be...?

"Hehe... This matter is somewhat secretive, but the old blind man has just heard of it. The first year of the recent ancient calendar is the year that True Lord attained enlightenment... It is said that in the ancient times before that, there were many True Lords appearing on the earth, but after the recent ancient times, many powerful beings went into seclusion in their grotto heavens, cultivating in seclusion and not coming out. Only the Purple Mansion cultivators showed their power." The old blind man said.

"I see……"

Fang Qing had known for a long time that the Golden Core True Monarchs of this realm had almost eternal lifespans. After all, many of the titles of "Year-Duty Officers" had been passed down from the Primordial Era to the present day. Although the positions may have changed hands, they had at least enjoyed a carefree life for tens of thousands of years.

However, Fang Qing was unaware that the ancient calendar actually began with the attainment of enlightenment by the last True Lord.

"Could the reason for the decline of Tao and the rise of Demons in this world be because the last True Lord who attained enlightenment was actually a demonic cultivator?"

An idea popped into his head, but he dared not voice it.

……

After bidding farewell to the old blind man, Fang Qing casually strolled around the Floating Boat Market.

"Huh? This person is here too?"

The floating market was small, with only a few monks setting up stalls along the main street.

Fang Qing glanced around and was surprised to find that one of the stall owners was someone he knew!

That was a cultivator who looked like an old farmer, and he was none other than Old Tian, ​​who wanted to exchange for the [Loujin] Dao Foundation Technique at the last exchange meeting!

At this moment, Lao Tian was setting up his stall, selling spirit grains that were plump and full, clearly indicating that he was a spirit farmer with exceptional skills.

Occasionally, a few cultivators would stop and seem to be bargaining with Lao Tian.

"Old Tian, ​​you think you can exchange this little bit of spiritual grain for a sword technique?"

A rogue cultivator scoffed, "You cultivate [Loujin], which is the metal of the Western Extremities, the true position of the virtue of metal. If it is matched with a sword technique, it will be even more complementary... You're dreaming, but unfortunately, this amount of spiritual talent can't even buy half a sword technique... Your Tian family is only suited to cultivating spiritual grains, holding a hoe, and you still want to produce a sword cultivator?"

"【Lou Jin】is the gold of the Western Extremity, the proper position of gold? Which Taoist book says this?"

Fang Qing stopped in his tracks, intrigued.

As for metal-attribute sword techniques? He actually knows quite a bit about them. Not to mention the treasures in the Jade Island Heavenly Book Pavilion, wasn't the one that Li Rulong practiced the "Minor Geng Metal Sword Technique"?

"I'm just hoping for the best; if all else fails, a metal-attribute spell will do..."

Old Tian had a forced smile on his face, appearing extremely humble.

"Even the Golden Virtue Dao Technique won't work... At most, one Golden Attribute Talisman, no more than that."

The cultivator, however, was bargaining with Old Tian.

"That old Tian, ​​his asking price is really outrageous... But at the last exchange meeting, he even wanted to trade spirit grains for cultivation techniques..."

Fang Qing was speechless, knowing that Old Tian was either a man of great talent or a complete naive fool!

Just as he was continuing to watch the spectacle, he suddenly heard someone exclaim in the distance.

The sound grew closer and louder.

Several cultivators, covered in blood, rushed into the market, amplifying their voices with magic so that everyone in the market could hear: "To the east... to the east, an ancient cultivator's cave has appeared, suspected to be the possession of a Foundation Establishment cultivator!"

"Some cultivators went to investigate, but were slain by the sword light, which was as fierce as a soaring dragon... There must be a flying sword hidden in that cave!"

"Flying sword?"

Upon hearing this, the cultivators present could no longer remain seated.

A proper flying sword is even more valuable than a single ordinary wisp of true qi.

Even if you don't need it yourself, selling it would be enough to fund your spiritual cultivation and break through to a higher realm.

Not to mention, a good flying sword, if it falls into the hands of a swordsman like Xiu Jinde, would be incredibly dashing and arrogant!

"Flying swords? This is the cave dwelling of a cultivator at the Golden Virtue Foundation stage... they might even possess sword techniques!"

Old Tian stopped selling spirit grains, packed up his stall, and headed to explore the cave.

Upon hearing this, Fang Qing felt a strange mix of emotions: 'Back then...it seems Li Rulong found his immortal destiny in this very way? Perhaps it was through a cave near this market town, and now another one has appeared? What's this called? A hook with a salty bait? Willing to take the bait?'

He secretly cast a divination in his mind, and several illusory plum blossom petals fell down, transforming into a hexagram.

Unsurprisingly, it's an ominous sign!

"Since there's no 'great calamity,' it seems it wasn't a scheme orchestrated by the Purple Mansion. So, there must be a Foundation Establishment cultivator behind it all?"

"To me, a flying sword and its techniques, while valuable, are ultimately insignificant... I'd better not join the fun."

Knowing full well the danger, yet still going for it—that's just reckless.

"But... how long has this ancient Shu-Ba region been peaceful? Is trouble about to break out again?"

……

"The most suitable candidate to be my disciple... cough cough!"

After leaving Fuzhou Market, Fang Qing was still not giving up. He cast another divination, and his face turned pale. He almost spat out a mouthful of blood.

"As expected, it's still a cesspool... My divination skills haven't improved much."

"Or perhaps the 'Plum Blossom Divination' is of too low a grade? Is a new divination technique needed?"

Thinking about how his family was on Jade Island, where even the secrets of a Core Formation Ancestor could be roughly calculated, and then looking at the treatment they received in Ancient Shu, Fang Qing felt like he was going to vomit blood.

"As expected, the people on Jade Island are simple and honest, which is perfect for my cultivation."

He swallowed a pill, and his complexion improved significantly instantly. He then focused his gaze in one direction.

That's where Tianshui in Ba County is located, and that's the location of Sanshui'ao!

"Uncle should be dead by now... Our Fang family line is reduced to just a few cats and kittens, kept in Sanshui'ao. Now that the Luo family is destroyed, who knows what will happen?"

"This body is a reincarnation; given the blood ties and family connections, I should at least go and see it."

The previous concern was that the Purple Mansion had suffered a loss, and after destroying the Luo family, it was waiting nearby.

But after so many years, shouldn't we give up by now?

Unlike Golden Core True Monarchs, those in the Purple Mansion do not live as long; even a few years are precious.

Fang Qing silently took out the "Plum Blossom Divination" book that had been previously looked down upon, and used it to divine the fortune of his family's journey to Sanshui'ao.

"lucky?"

"It seems there's nothing serious... Let's go take a look."

……

Ba County, Tianshui.

This place was originally ruled by the Luo family of Tianshui. Until five years ago, the Luo family was wiped out by cultivators from the Purple Mansion for unknown reasons, causing a sensation and making it a forbidden area for all cultivators.

It wasn't until the last year or two, when they discovered that the Pu family patriarch didn't care about this place, that they flocked in to vie for the Luo family's remaining cultivation techniques, treasures, and spiritual land...

Among them, the Luo family and Yunyan Sect, both Dao Foundation forces and with the advantage of location, were the most ruthless. However, they were wary of the Purple Mansion and used the guise of rogue cultivators to create chaos in Tianshui, with murder and robbery occurring frequently.

Sanshui'ao.

This place belongs to Tianshui and is a small mountain village surrounded by several large mountains.

The village is named after three streams that flow gently through it.

At this time, the mountain village was mostly dilapidated, with only the ancestral hall in the very center being relatively intact. Several teenagers were gathered together around a broken iron pot.

"Brother...I'm hungry!"

A skinny little girl stared with wide eyes.

"Wait a little longer, Jingchun has gone out to find something to eat, he'll be back soon."

Another teenager offered words of comfort.

He was actually quite confused, only remembering that his family had been fleeing from famine and hardship... and then they were found and sent here to be taken care of by Brother Jingchun.

At first, it seemed that the Luo family or something like that could provide some relief, but later there was none at all. If it weren't for the little food they had saved up before, and Jing Chun, they might have starved to death!