Chongming Xianzong

Chapter 558 Reaching for the Stars to Aid Huang Wanqing in Seeking the Dharma
—Tengwen Mansion, Zhaixing Tower
"The one playing the game?"

Bai Canhong, seated high above, chuckled and looked at Xiang Tianxing, who had just addressed him with those words, and said in a low voice:
"Within the Immortal Dynasty, not just anyone can deserve this title. The lord of the Outer Sea Dream Palace can be considered one; the one on the throne of Taiyuan Capital can be considered one; the abbot of Taiyi Temple and the left prime minister in the temple can also be considered one of them."

If we were to encounter them, even late-stage True Immortals like those from the Dragon Tiger Sect and Benying Temple would only be qualified to serve tea on the sidelines. As for myself and the likes of Xiao Wan'er from the Joyful Union Sect, we would merely be pawns.

Perhaps because they had never seen their master so humble before, the latter was slightly taken aback before replying, "At least in the three southwestern regions, no one can rival the master."

Bai Canhong's expression had not improved; he merely nodded without speaking, suggesting that the title of leader of the Southwest was not particularly valuable to him. He closed his eyes and pondered for a while before speaking again, changing the subject: "Have you heard any news about Taoist Peng lately?"

A hint of embarrassment appeared on Xiang Tianxing's face, and he could only cup his hands and say, "Still no news."

Bai Canhong showed no surprise, but asked again, "Well, what do you think?"

"If this fellow didn't die outside, he most likely went into the Demon Land Barrier and sought refuge with those scaled and horned beasts."

Xiang Tianxing's tone was icy. Regardless of whether Peng Daoren would have any other use afterward, the fact that such a third-tier peak pill slave had run away and was now unusable was a huge loss for Zhaixing Tower.

Bai Canhong, still not opening his eyes after hearing the sound, tapped his knuckles on the table, indicating that he agreed with Xiang Tianxing's statement.

However, he had little reason to be wary of people like Peng Daoren.

The matter of contacting the Demon Commander has been accomplished, and whether he is present or not makes no difference to someone like the Lord of the Star-Picking Pavilion.

Afterwards, seeing that Bai Canhong had not spoken for a long time, Xiang Tianxing cautiously asked again, "Master, when can those fellow Daoists in the Cold Crow Mountains make their move?"

"No rush. That lord is eager to show me sharpening my knife to the world. We shouldn't disturb his pleasure now."

Xiang Tianxing had been cultivating under Bai Canhong's tutelage since childhood, but he could tell that there was a hint of anger hidden in the latter's playful words.

Before he could react, Bai Canhong's palm lit up, summoning a letter that had just arrived from Huangpi Road, which he then handed to Xiang Tianxing, who was assisting him.

"Huang Mi is asking for help, what do you think?"

"Master, the strength of Hongfen Temple and Qianfo Forest is not much worse than that of Yunze Witch Lord Palace. In addition, there are also the hawks and dogs of the Immortal Dynasty watching us covetously. Although Huang Mi is not bad, he will have a hard time stopping them."

"Heh, little clown." Bai Canhong chuckled, it was unclear whether he was referring to the three families mentioned above, or to the people behind them. He shook his head and sighed softly, then asked, "So, you mean to save them?"

"Master, although Huang Mi is unworthy and the offerings to Yunze Witch Lord Hall are meager, his life or death is related to the dignity of this building."

This reasoning is rather rudimentary. Bai Canhong then asked, "Which of the three families—the Liangyi Sect, the Xianyu Family, and the Yunshui Sect—can be touched?"

"Those treacherous villains in the Duke of Qin's mansion are either waiting to take advantage of the situation, and we must not touch them."

Hearing Xiang Tianxing's denial, the Master of Zhaixing Tower was not surprised, but then asked, "Do you intend to select disciples from the tower to rescue him?"

The Star-Picking Tower has a small population; even including those who have mastered Qi Refining or Foundation Establishment, there are still less than two hundred people, each of whom is exceptionally talented. So how could Xiang Tianxing bear to part with them?

Then he was heard to respectfully reply, "Huang Mi's life is not worth too much; it shouldn't implicate the disciples in the building."

"How are you doing?"

"Master, four Jiazi ago, when my late master led his army to annihilate the Thousand Machine Sect, he captured five third-tier puppets. He asked that person in Xuanwei City to repair them one by one, and it was said before the year Jiazi that they were completely restored."

"Oh, such a thing is true?"

Bai Canhong slowly raised his eyelids as he listened. He had been a Nascent Soul cultivator for a long time, so long that the head of the General Affairs Department of the Star-Picking Tower under him had changed more than once.

Therefore, not only did he not know that Xiang Tianxing's master had taken the third-tier puppet from the Thousand Machines Sect, but Bai Canhong also had little recollection of when the Golden Core Sect was destroyed by the Star-Picking Tower.

However, the Nascent Soul cultivator seemed like a dragon spring in a box, unpredictable and treacherous. After a few moments of calculation, Bai Canhong suddenly understood: "So that's how it is."

"I heard that there are two third-tier bronze corpses that Master Peng hid in the Liangyi Sect. Summon them and send them to Huangmi as well."

"So, if he can just hold those three families back, I'll give him a credit. Don't worry about his meager resources anymore. If he does well, I can give him the entire Huangpi Road in the future. And don't worry about the people behind those two families; they're nothing but chickens and dogs, they'll amount to nothing."

"Disciple obeys,"

"When we go, we'll take a good look to see if Pu Honggu is really dead or not. If he's not dead, then we shouldn't just push Qiu Yunsheng out as a shield. Although he's old, he's still somewhat useful. He shouldn't think he can have an easy time; he should die within the formation of my Zhaixing Tower."

"This disciple understands and will certainly investigate thoroughly!"

"After you finish these matters, go into the barrier again and finalize the rules and regulations with Feng Yun, the Demon Commander. I can let them out to enjoy themselves this time, but they must abide by the rules of my Star-Picking Tower."

"Let's make this clear: if any of his beasts dare to cross the line I've drawn, for the next sixty years, the cheapest resources in the three southwestern regions will be those from his Lishan lineage."

"Yes, disciple will not miss a single word." Xiang Tianxing did not linger and left the hall after performing the full prostration.

Xiang Tianxing strode away, and the two ancient blue doors closed heavily, leaving Bai Canhong, who was sitting alone on the high seat, to slowly close his eyes and begin to gather qi to practice his skills.

The Taoist priest on the high seat seemed to have thought of something again. Suddenly, Bai Canhong's lips curled up and he chuckled softly.
"Even though there are countless mediocre talents in the eight directions of the Immortal Dynasty, the David Clan prefers to use me to sharpen their blades. Let's see what this top-grade Golden Core cultivator and nobleman who hasn't even reached the Nascent Soul stage can do to me."

————Xiao Huanshan, Chongmingzong
When Duan Yunzhou achieved true cultivation and emerged from the meditation room, he found only a few old servants outside with a second-tier sword puppet to act as his protectors. This was quite rare for the Chongming Sect, which was known for its strong sense of loyalty and righteousness.

After all, normally speaking, even if the other clan elders and fellow disciples were not present, and Duan Yunzhou's father, Duan Anle, was busy with clan affairs, his mother, Zhou Xinran, would always find time to come and wait for him. However, it was strange that Duan Yunzhou did not appear at this time.

The old servant in the lead was Wu Meng's youngest son. Despite having only a mixed spiritual root and being incredibly dull-witted, he was able to work as a steward for Duan Anle on the mountain, managing household affairs so that he could safeguard the family's relationships and wealth for his deceased father.

The old servant was overjoyed to see Duan Yunzhou emerge from seclusion. He hurriedly sent out a message to announce the good news. Just as he was about to offer some words of congratulations, Duan Yunzhou stopped him with a wave of his hand and asked first, "Brother Wu, has something happened in the sect?"

Seeing that the old servant seemed even more pleased upon hearing the voice, Duan Yunzhou felt somewhat relieved. He then heard the servant reply cheerfully:
"Replying to your question, young master, the master accompanied the sect leader to most of Xianzhou in half a month. The Ghost Sword Sect's sect leader, Wu Jian, died, and his disciples either died or fled, leaving him with no power."

“Xianzhou?” Duan Yunzhou had heard of Yuan Jin’s strategy of advancing into Xianzhou before, but the latter said at the time that it was a gradual approach to gradually take it over.

But from what Brother Wu said this time, it seems that the sect leader has already led a large army to make a sweeping move, and there must be a lot of stories behind this.

Duan Yunzhou never expected to learn these secrets from these old servants. After he found out that Yuan Jin was in charge of things on the mountain, he didn't stop and hurried to the council hall.

Unexpectedly, after walking on the magical artifact for a while, he saw a sword light carrying a scholar in a turban coming over and calling him to a stop.

“Zhou-ge’er,” “Uncle?!”

"Haha, my Zhou-ge'er has indeed achieved Foundation Establishment!! If my brother-in-law were still at home, no matter how busy he is with clan affairs, I would definitely drag him out for a big drink!! He really succeeded, haha, I wonder how happy your mother will be now!"

Even though Zhou Kun, who was riding on the sword light, spoke with a face full of joy, he could not hide his exhaustion.

When Zhou Kun embarked on his cultivation journey, his stepmother, Lady Shan, was still alive. Therefore, he was not much older than Duan Yunzhou, but his aptitude was far inferior to that of his nephew.

Furthermore, he went astray and became obsessed with swordsmanship, so even though Zhou Kun is now over sixty years old and has received a large amount of funding from his teachers, he has only just advanced to the seventh level of Qi Refining.

Now, he only serves as a steward in Yulin Hall and has little chance of making progress, which naturally makes his sister Zhou Xinran extremely anxious.

However, unlike his father, who always wore a sorrowful expression, Zhou Kun was an optimistic and free-spirited man. It's likely that the fact that he looked so tired meant he had been having a lot of hard work lately.

Duan Yunzhou had been very close to Zhou Kun since childhood, so the latter wasn't wary of him even though he had achieved true cultivation. After carefully examining Duan Yunzhou for a while to make sure he hadn't suffered any hidden or new injuries, he was completely relieved and asked:
"Is Zhou-ge going to pay his respects to his second uncle?"

“What Uncle says is true. I am going to pay my respects to my grandmaster.”

"Come on, I also have something important to tell my second uncle."

Along the way, the two encountered many fellow disciples, but none of them were of high rank.

As Duan Yunzhou returned the greetings without the slightest arrogance, he also learned the general outline of the military expedition to Xianzhou from Zhou Kun. He then didn't rush to ask Yuan Jin for details, but instead listened as Zhou Kun began to discuss important matters within the clan:

"Brother Kang left the Spirit Planting Hall to serve in Xianzhou, so your mother took over the management there. With your maternal grandfather's status keeping those farming masters in check, none of them dared to slack off. These days, they obeyed their master's orders and used methods to accelerate growth, regardless of the soil's fertility, and harvested a large amount of spirit grains and spirit plants for the alchemy hall;
The disciples of the Pill Hall were not particularly skilled, so Junior Sister Qi, along with her two junior disciples Chen Zihang and Gun Fangmu, led the stockpiling of a considerable amount of fasting and spirit-restoring pills. Every ten days, they would take out one-third of these pills and have them delivered to Xianzhou by a merchant caravan within the alliance via flying boat, without ever delay.
These days, the furnaces and cauldrons in the artifact hall have been almost constantly burning, and Senior Brother He seems to have become thinner from being roasted. The broken magical artifacts that were sent back need to be repaired, and the captured magical artifacts that were sent back need to be repaired. He doesn't even have time to eat a spiritual meal, and he can only rely on taking a fasting pill every ten days to prolong his life.
The talisman-making pavilion was overseen by my aunt. The second-tier talisman masters sent by the Fei family were initially just going through the motions, but after she gave them a good scolding and had my aunt come over to discipline them, they became much more obedient.
"Beast Garden"

After listening to Zhou Kun's long and eloquent speech, Duan Yunzhou still had some doubts, so he spoke up and asked:

"Uncle, just now, Master Yan and Father won the battle of Xianzhou. Why are all the fellow disciples still struggling so much? It seems like our family is the one that is in a state of decline?"

The latter's words surprised Zhou Kun. He pondered for a while, feeling that there was some truth to it, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it, so he could only give a perfunctory reply:

"My uncle is always very cautious, so perhaps that's why he's in such a hurry?"

However, this explanation was something even he himself found hard to convince. But since he and his nephew had already arrived at the sect's council hall, it was not appropriate to discuss it in detail.

The disciples guarding the gate were Zheng Wanbi, a disciple of Ming Zhe, and Jiang Tangpei, a disciple of Ye Yaoling. Both were outstanding disciples who were expected to achieve Foundation Establishment. Seeing Duan Yunzhou emerge from seclusion after achieving Foundation Establishment, they were overjoyed and stepped forward to pay their respects.

After they finished bowing, the two women stopped Duan and Zhou: "Uncle Zhou, Brother Duan, our Grandmaster is entertaining guests inside. Please wait a moment."

Zhou Kun, hearing this, asked curiously, "A guest? Who is the guest?"

"Reporting to Uncle-Master, she is a lady from the Fei family, and her wife is also inside."

—Inside the council chamber

Yuan Jin, seated in the main seat, bowed to Fei Shuhe first, then turned to Fei Wanqing beside her and said softly, "Fellow Daoist, please."

After the young lady from the Fei family bowed and thanked her, she did not stand on ceremony and said directly, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, I have come here today because I have something to ask of you."

"Oh?" Yuan Jin was somewhat surprised, and even the fat on his face suddenly tightened.

"What could Fei Sima's daughter possibly want from us that she would come to our door seeking her help?"

He first dismissed the thought, then glanced at Fei Shuhe who was smiling faintly and remaining silent, and finally added a few more smiles, saying heartily, "Fellow Daoist is mistaken. With my sister-in-law here, how can I, Yuan, have the right to make a decision?!"

Fei Shuhe was quite pleased with Yuan Jin's words, but she did not respond to Yuan Jin's words. She just smiled and said, "Wanqing came here on official business. My husband is not here, so it should be up to Second Uncle to make the decision. How could it be up to me, a woman?"

“Sister-in-law, you flatter me. We’re all family, why talk about public and private matters?” Yuan Jin chuckled, but his doubts only deepened. He then asked, “But I wonder what my Chongming Sect can do to help Fellow Daoist Fei?”

Fei Wanqing was quite direct and didn't say much. She simply said in a clear voice, "I have heard that your sect's library has been well renovated, so I would like to go inside and take a look. I wonder if you would allow me to?"

"Oh? I see."

Yuan Jinxuan understood, and a sense of melancholy arose in his heart.

After all, Fei Wanqing became famous at a young age. When she achieved the Ice Leaf Dao Foundation, she was not even twenty years old. Even among the world-renowned Fei family in Yingzhou, she was considered exceptionally talented.

Even the elders of the clan knew her name and surname, and even kept her in the clan's territory and provided her with extra provisions.

Nearly a century has passed, yet Fei Wanqing remains stuck at the peak of Foundation Establishment, struggling to break through. While her progress is not slow, it is hardly worthy of the praise of exceptional talent.

He was even left behind by the sect leader Kang, who was the same age as him, so he was naturally anxious.

Upon hearing that Fei Wanqing had struggled to achieve a complete understanding of alchemy in recent years, Yuan Jin decided to immerse himself in a sea of ​​books in order to uncover its true meaning. An elder of the Fei family had previously selected several books for Fei Wanqing, but they had not been effective. Thus, the latter decided to borrow them from Chongmingzong.

After all, apart from those Nascent Soul sects, the Chongming Sect, despite its relatively short history of restoration, has accumulated some decent lineage due to its strong sect traditions.

Although it is still far inferior to the Fei family's collection, it must have something commendable about it, which is exactly what Fei Wanqing, who was looking for an opportunity, needed.

Even though the Sutra Repository is a highly important site of the Ming Sect, Yuan Jin could not refuse Fei Wanqing's personal request, both out of courtesy and reason. He simply smiled and said, "Fellow Daoist, you are too kind. We are all one family, so there is no need to ask for permission."

Fei Shuhe was born into a noble family, but it is rare for a person to be perfect. She had the vanity of a typical woman, which was also true.

Because Yuan Jin had agreed to this matter, Fei Shuhe felt that she could smile happily even in front of her younger sister from her maternal family. She took the token of elder authority from Yuan Jin and was about to lead Fei Wanqing out of the council hall to the scripture library.

Just as she was about to peek out the door, Fei Wanqing paused, prompting Fei Shuhe to ask curiously, "What's wrong, Qingmei?"

"Please wait a moment, sister," the former apologized and bowed, then turned to Yuan Jin and asked, "Fellow Daoist Yuan, if I may presume to ask, is your brother-in-law's Core Formation manual also in the Scripture Pavilion?"

After all, the Core Formation Manual is a very important item. Fei Wanqing's question made Yuan Jin clench his palms before smiling and saying, "It should be carried by the Sect Leader. Fellow Daoist, please go upstairs first. I will go to Xinxian Prefecture and ask the Sect Leader."

"Thank you, fellow Taoist,"

"No, we're all one family, there's no need for thanks."

(End of this chapter)