Yuantian Pidao

Chapter 154 Changes in Prosperity and Decline
At Taiping Sect, on Muyu Island, Jiang Chen's face showed surprise upon seeing the news.

He had been to the border of Changfeng County and was aware of the chaos within the county, but he did not expect things to develop so quickly.

"Prefect Lu Ran has perished, a yellow wind rages, and the entire Changfeng Prefecture is doomed..."

Beneath the withered peach tree, gazing into the distance, Jiang Chen fell into deep thought.

He didn't know if there were any hidden reasons behind the rapid changes in Changfeng County, but he knew that once chaos was released from its cage, it wouldn't be so easy to bring it back. It would only be stained with blood and piled up with corpses.

"Huang Feng Sanren, a Qi Refining Perfection cultivator of unknown origin, first injured Lu Yongnian, the patriarch of the Lu family, and now he has even killed Lu Ran, the governor of Changfeng County. This is definitely not the behavior of an ordinary rogue cultivator."

"Either he is truly exceptionally talented and has had a miraculous encounter, or he has powerful connections. Compared to the former, I actually believe the latter more, since the former is a very small minority, while the latter is more common."

"Looking at the history of the Southern Kingdom over the years, rebellious forces similar to the Yellow Wind Sect have actually appeared more than once, and each time they appeared at a time when the conflict between the imperial court and the local immortal clans reached a peak."

"Either the local immortal clans are using the rebellious forces to weaken the court's control over the localities, or even to nurture bandits to enhance their own power, or the court is taking action to suppress the local immortal clans, feeling that they have gone too far."

As his thoughts raced, Jiang Chen considered all the possibilities.

The situation in Nan Jing Kingdom is unique, completely different from his previous life. Power is not truly unified. Although there is a gap between the status of the imperial court and the local immortal clans, it is not so obvious. To some extent, the royal family is the largest immortal cultivation family in Nan Jing Kingdom.

Not to mention that although the external environment of Nan Jing Kingdom is relatively relaxed now, it is still located in a remote place and is not without the threat of external enemies. Under such circumstances, neither the imperial court nor the local immortal clans are willing to completely break off relations, so the rebellious forces have become a way for both sides to vent their dissatisfaction.

"The chaos in Changfeng County is a foregone conclusion. The next step depends on the attitude of the imperial court and Qing Teng County. If the two sides can reach an agreement, the chaos should be quelled soon. However, this possibility is not high. After all, the death of a prefect who had reached the peak of Qi Refining is no longer a minor incident."

"I must further strengthen my own power before the chaos spreads to Qingyuan County."

"The Mist Dragon is one aspect, and my own strength is another. Perhaps those two portions of Frost Spirit Water should also be given to the Mist Dragon for refinement. Although it has cultivated high-grade true qi, even if it refines these two portions of Frost Spirit Water, there will be no qualitative change. However, these two portions of Frost Spirit Water can enhance its icy power, make its breath power even more powerful, and further enhance its combat strength."

With his mind wandering, Jiang Chen turned his attention back to himself, but a bad sign came from Changfeng County.

Just then, a burst of vibrant life force erupted, immediately catching his attention.

Is it on the verge of recovery?

Jiang Chen glanced at the withered peach wood and guessed what was going on.

After he gathered enough spiritual energy from the water vein node and poured it into the spirit cave, he vaguely sensed the changes in Tao Yao. Now, Tao Yao's revival can be said to be a natural outcome.

As the vitality grew stronger, Tao Yao's originally withered body began to flourish again.

It stretched its body, sprouted new branches and buds, and in the blink of an eye, it had grown into a lush and verdant tree, with a faint spiritual light flowing on each peach leaf. "Compared to the past, it seems even more extraordinary."

With a sudden thought, Jiang Chen reached out and touched the trunk of the peach tree.

The next instant, Tao Yao's newly awakened consciousness rushed over, and the two naturally merged. In an instant, Jiang Chen understood Tao Yao's changes, and the Formless True Qi in his body also surged naturally, intertwining with Tao Yao's Withering and Flourishing True Qi.

Time passed, and about an hour later, Jiang Chen withdrew his consciousness.

"Both withering and flourishing are forms of cultivation. Completing one cycle of withering and flourishing not only strengthens one's true energy considerably, reaching the level of fifteen apertures, but also achieves a qualitative change, elevating one's true energy from low-grade to mid-grade."

Jiang Chen was quite surprised by the changes in Tao Yao.

He has come into contact with many cultivators and even obtained the memories of many people, but he has never seen or even heard of such a strange cultivation method.

It should be understood that for most cultivators, the quality of true qi is extremely difficult to improve and often requires an opportunity. However, Tao Yao is different. With a single transformation of life and death, she successfully improved the quality of her true qi, and this is not even her limit.

With a whoosh, as if sensing Jiang Chen's surprise, Tao Yao shook her branches, seemingly proudly, as if showing off.

Seeing this, Jiang Chen smiled. Compared to before, Tao Yao's spirituality had improved slightly, though not by much.

"The method of withering and flourishing is Tao Yao's cultivation method. Each transformation of withering and flourishing will bring a significant improvement. However, there are conditions for performing the transformation of withering and flourishing. The most basic and important one is spiritual energy."

"The reason why Peach Blossom was able to undergo the transformation of withering and flourishing at the beginning of its birth was largely because it attracted the spiritual energy that erupted when the Spirit Cave manifested, and had enough accumulation. The reason it was able to recover so quickly was because I brought back the spiritual energy from the Anjia Spirit Spring and the water vein nodes one after the other."

"If I want to support Tao Yao's continued transformation, I need to obtain more spiritual energy."

Seeing the newly revived peach blossoms swaying their branches and leaves, Jiang Chen remained expressionless, but various thoughts flashed through his mind.

For him, Tao Yao was still very important. Putting aside everything else, her ability to hone his true qi and slowly improve its quality was enough to make him increase his investment in Tao Yao's training.

The quality of true qi is becoming increasingly difficult to improve. At least so far, he doesn't know of any methods in the cultivation world that can improve high-grade true qi. No matter where he is, high-grade true qi seems to be the limit, with no way to improve it further.

That is precisely why Tao Yao's ability is so precious. Most importantly, after the recent experiment, Jiang Chen clearly felt that the mid-grade Withering and Flourishing True Qi was more effective at tempering him than the low-grade Withering and Flourishing True Qi.

"If you can cultivate high-grade true qi one day, perhaps I can really improve my formless true qi further."

Jiang Chen's gaze fell on Tao Yao, and a sense of anticipation rose in his heart. He had a premonition that if he could take this step, it would greatly benefit his cultivation.

(End of this chapter)