I am a mortal who has achieved enlightenment through burning my secrets

Chapter 176 Ancestor Ao Xiao
Three months later~

"Fellow Daoist Zhi~ It's been three months already? When will the Tianyuan Guards you mentioned arrive?"

Xiao Wuji, holding Linglong in his arms, kept throwing a tantrum on the ground, leaving the red-faced Taoist speechless.

After spending several months together, the red-faced Taoist priest's gaze toward Xiao Wuji changed from initial admiration to later amazement, and then from amazement to disdain.

He admired Xiao Wuji's cultivation and strength, marveled at Xiao Wuji's method of ascending to immortality with his family, and despised Xiao Wuji's unruly personality.

Annoyed by Xiao Wuji's antics, the red-faced Taoist feigned anger and said, "Senior Xiao, even if you don't want to cultivate, you can't stop me from cultivating, can you?"

Xiao Wuji suddenly sat up from the ground, holding Linglong in his arms, and said seriously, "I just want to know, are you people from the Spirit Realm so slow in your actions?"

"Alright, looks like I should prepare a gift in advance!"

Xiao Wuji transformed Linglong back into her jade embryo form, then held her in his palm, quietly awaiting the arrival of someone.

Several days ago, Linglong had told Xiao Wuji that the mark left by the ancestor Ao Xiao in her primordial spirit had been triggered, which was why Xiao Wuji was in such a hurry to go to Tianyuan City.

But several days passed and Jin Yuanwei still hadn't arrived, which is why Xiao Wuji said he needed to prepare a gift in advance.

He wanted to make a good impression on Ao Xiao during their first meeting so that he could use his name to act in the future.

Therefore, giving gifts is a must, and the gifts cannot be too insignificant, but they also cannot be too extravagant.

If the gift is too small, Ancestor Ao Xiao certainly won't value him so much, and might even develop a dislike for him because of it. But if the gift is too large, arousing Ancestor Ao Xiao's covetousness, that would also be extremely bad. After all, he doesn't currently have the ability to escape from the hands of a Mahayana cultivator.

"As for supernatural powers, you can't cultivate them without a Purple Mansion. Magic treasures are too eye-catching. The Heavenly Demon Puppet is something I can use to make money in the future. How about... I've got it! I'll give it to them!"

……

Three days later, Xiao Wuji had just finished his cultivation when he opened his eyes and saw that the jade fetus that had been in his arms had somehow ended up in someone else's hands.

This man was a man in his thirties, dressed in a silver robe with long, straight black hair draped around his waist. He had a youthful face and a hint of a smile in his bright eyes. He gave off a very gentle feeling.

But Xiao Wuji's nerves tensed up instantly. To be able to bypass the restrictions he had set up without him noticing and take Linglong from his hands without him noticing was something that could not be explained simply by his terrifying cultivation level.

Moreover, when his gaze fell upon me, a sudden chill flashed in his eyes.

Although Xiao Wuji knew that this person had not released any imposing aura at him, he still felt a slight pressure, the kind of pressure that only arises when facing a strong person.

"Xiao Wuji greets... Senior!"

Xiao Wuji hesitated for a moment, but ultimately did not call out the words "grandfather," for he was afraid that someone might accidentally kill him.

Ancestor Ao Xiao looked Xiao Wuji up and down with great interest and said, "I heard that you were the one who saved Linglong?"

Xiao Wuji said shyly, "I just happened to lend a hand when Fairy Linglong was freeing herself. And I couldn't even save Fairy Linglong's demon body..."

“You saved her, that’s all. I’m not so blind to right and wrong. If you hadn’t saved Linglong, I would have split my soul and gone down to the mortal realm to search for her!” “You have done Linglong a favor, and as her grandfather, I can’t leave without showing some gratitude. Tell me, what do you want? As long as I have it, I will give it to you!”

Ancestor Ao Xiao's promise was incredibly generous. He was a Mahayana cultivator; even a tiny bit of his knowledge, slipping through his fingers, would be enough to benefit a Nascent Soul cultivator for a lifetime. And now he was letting Xiao Wuji make any demands he wanted – that was the height of his arrogance.

However, Xiao Wuji understood the meaning behind Ao Xiao's words: to settle the debt of saving his life in one go to avoid future trouble. But this was precisely what Xiao Wuji did not want.

Moreover, his wealth might not be less than that of Ancestor Ao Xiao, so this promise would be of little use to him. But if he could preserve this favor, or even make it greater, he could leverage Ancestor Ao Xiao's status to thrive in the Spirit Realm and quickly gather resources.

"This junior does indeed desire something, but I wonder if senior possesses it!"

Hearing Xiao Wuji say this, Ancestor Ao Xiao also became interested. He believed that as long as this kid wasn't stupid, he wouldn't make up a story and ask him for some kind of Xuan Tian treasure. Whether he had it or not was another matter, but even if he did ask, he would just kill him.

"Oh? Tell me, within these three realms and seven lands, there are really not many things that I don't have and can't obtain."

Seeing Ao Xiao's confident demeanor, Xiao Wuji, without changing his expression, took out his modified second elemental secret technique and handed it to Ao Xiao, then said:
"Senior, you may not know this, but when Fairy Linglong's physical body was destroyed, in order to preserve her body, I gave her a jade embryo that I had mined from a jade vein."

"I am planning to use this jade embryo to cultivate a life-saving secret technique. I humbly request Ancestor Ao Xiao's permission!"

Xiao Wuji suddenly changed his address to "Ancestor Ao Xiao," which displeased Ancestor Ao Xiao. Was he afraid that Xiao Wuji couldn't give him what he wanted, so he was using his status as an excuse?
Ancestor Ao Xiao probed the jade slip with his divine sense, and within a few seconds, his expression changed drastically. He then looked at Linglong, who was sitting on his shoulder, with a pained expression, and then at Xiao Wuji, who was also looking at Linglong with affection, as if he had discovered some kind of illicit affair.

If the secret method described is true, I can completely separate a second primordial spirit to cultivate. Even if I perish under the heavenly tribulation, the second primordial spirit can continue to live in my place. It's just that it will be difficult for this second primordial spirit to grow to my current level, but breaking through to the Integration Realm is still easy. It can live for at least another ten thousand years. It might even live longer than I am now.

However, such a natural physical body, untouched by any spiritual aura, is extremely rare. Something like a jade embryo is a creation of heaven and earth. Even searching the entire Three Realms and Seven Lands might not yield a second one.

Using a second soul to possess another's body isn't impossible; the worst that could happen is failing the ascension tribulation. Since he'd never expected to ascend to the upper realms, he figured he might as well just possess someone directly!
In fact, this was also the choice Xiao Wuji gave him. The body he possessed was incompatible with his spirit, and this seemingly minor flaw would be magnified infinitely under the heavenly tribulation, eventually leading to the fall of his second primordial spirit. The Golden Crow Immortal in the Desolate World and "his" original second primordial spirit of the Phoenix bloodline were both in this situation.

Seeing Xiao Wuji suddenly become serious again, Patriarch Ao Xiao laughed and scolded, "You brat, you're not asking me for some kind of spiritual body, you've clearly come to give me a betrothal gift!"

Seeing Ao Xiao's reaction, Xiao Wuji was overjoyed and asked, "So, Senior agrees?"

Seeing Xiao Wuji's sudden change of expression, Ancestor Ao Xiao laughed and scolded, "What good things are you thinking? Linglong is my granddaughter, how could I let you have her so easily!"

"Grandfather~" Seeing the opportunity, Linglong also grabbed Ao Xiao's hair and started to act coquettishly.

"You haven't even married him yet, and you're already siding with outsiders..."

Seeing that Ancestor Ao Xiao was showing signs of relenting, Xiao Wuji quickly pressed his advantage, saying:

"If you, senior, can find the corpse of a powerful expert, I might be able to help you fuse your spirit and body. Moreover, I might even be able to directly help your second primordial spirit recover some of its cultivation,"

"Oh? You said it yourself..."

……

(End of this chapter)