The Wandering Immortal

Chapter 61 The Promise to Set Sail
"Congratulations, my lady, on achieving the Golden Elixir!"

Qinghe smiled slightly, "I have finally lived up to my husband's expectations and obtained the wind-based divine power!"

Jiang Yuan was overjoyed, "Hehe, my wife knows its wonderful uses."

"All I know right now is that my escape speed will be faster, and some spells can be enhanced."

As she spoke, Qinghe used a move called "Rain of Flowers," and suddenly with a wave of her hand, thousands of petals rapidly gathered and nailed onto a rock, making a clanging sound. It was truly a case of flying flowers and leaves capable of injuring people.

"That's not all, we'll talk about it later. This place is no longer safe, we need to leave immediately."

Jiang Yuan moved a huge rock to seal the spiritual vein cave, and then tidied up the surrounding area. Even though a little spiritual spring slowly seeped out, not much spiritual energy would dissipate.

The herb garden is left unattended; even if someone were to break in, without the ability to assess feng shui, it would be difficult to discover the location of the spiritual spring.

The upper cave had long been emptied. Jiang Yuan sealed off the passage to the lower spiritual spring, but still made some modifications that made it difficult to detect. Then, after leaving the cave, he completely collapsed the passage in front of the cave entrance. Qing He then used wood-based magic to cover it with grass and thorns, making it impossible for an ordinary person to find any flaws.

Jiang Yuan hadn't actually decided where to go. In any case, he couldn't stay in the Five Ridges. Even the people from Luofu Mountain were unreliable. If they discovered a spiritual vein, they would never let it go easily.

Just then, Jiang Yuan sensed something unusual about the talisman in his storage bag. He took it out and saw that it was a message from Shen Wangzhi, who seemed to be near Maoshan, not far from Yangzhou.

Qinghe is now flying through the air without using a flying artifact, while Jiang Yuan has to use a cloud boat. This is the difference between Foundation Establishment and Golden Core.

Of course, Qinghe was just experiencing the escape technique. Her golden core was already formed, her spiritual energy was contained, and she could generate protective energy at any time. She could transform into a beam of light and fly through the air without any magical artifacts.

Having acquired the Wood Wind Divine Power, Qinghe has an even more wonderful use: even without transforming into a beam of light, she can still fly and drift in the air with the wind, just like a fairy descending to earth, playing around the cloud boat at Jiangyuan.

Seeing Jiang Yuan take out a talisman and stare blankly, Qinghe drifted down from the cloud boat, "Is it Shen Wangzhi?"

"Indeed, what is your impression of him, my lady?"

“I observe that Brother Shen is upright and magnanimous, and is a friend worth making. Fellow Daoist Liu Caiwei is also quite good; the two of them may become Daoist partners.”

“In that case, let’s go to Maoshan for a gathering,” Jiang Yuan replied on the talisman and flew towards Maoshan.

Shen Wangzhi then greeted his old friend at the outer gate of Maoshan and invited Jiang Yuan and Qinghe directly to his cave.

Seeing that Qinghe had already formed her golden core, Shen Wangzhi was surprised but secretly delighted, as this increased the chances of success.

After they were seated and tea was served, Shen Wangzhi offered his congratulations, showing remarkable composure: "Congratulations, Fellow Daoist Cui, on forming your Golden Core."

Qinghe accepted the spiritual tea. "Brother Shen should be able to tell that Qinghe has only just condensed her core and her cultivation level is not yet consolidated."

Shen Wangzhi looked at Jiang Yuan and said, "So it turns out that I, Shen, have disturbed your cultivation. I am truly sorry!"

Jiang Yuan waved his hand, "No, it's just that the cave where I formed my core was disturbed, so I had to abandon it. We rogue cultivators are ultimately no match for Brother Shen, who has the protection of a major sect!"

Upon hearing this, Shen Wangzhi smiled wryly, "To be honest, my dear couple, even though I belong to a sect, I am like a rogue cultivator. Otherwise, why would I ask outsiders to explore the secret realm of Junshan!"

It turns out that Shen Wangzhi was one of the outer elders of Maoshan. According to him, the Maoshan Secret Realm has long been depleted of spiritual energy and is at risk of collapse.

The inner sect of Maoshan has long since moved out of the secret realm. The sect is in disarray, its talents are dwindling, and even its traditions have been lost.

Now that Shen Wangzhi has formed his Golden Core, he should be able to join the inner sect or be promoted to the chief elder of the outer sect. However, Shen Wangzhi has long since given up hope of the Maoshan sect and even wants to obtain the genealogy to establish his own sect.

Upon hearing this, Jiang Yuan finally understood why the Maoshan disciples were so keen on exorcising evil spirits and catching ghosts among mortals—it was all for the sake of making a living, not much better than the blind man.

"There should be two Nascent Soul cultivators in Maoshan, so why would Brother Shen say that the inheritance has been lost?"

"This is a secret of our sect, not meant to be told to outsiders, but since Brother Guan and his wife are trustworthy, I may tell you. Two Nascent Soul elders opened up a secret realm together a hundred years ago and have not returned since. The inner sect says that since their soul lamps have not been extinguished, they may still return, but I think that's just self-deception." "The Maoshan industry has long been divided up by several major sects, and it's not even as good as a second-rate sect."

Seeing that Shen Wangzhi seemed quite dejected when talking about Maoshan, Jiang Yuan had to change the subject. "So, what brings you here, Brother Shen?"

"It is about Fellow Daoist Liu Caiwei."

Qinghe smiled and said, "It is acceptable for us to address Fellow Daoist Liu Caiwei, but Brother Shen's way of saying it is probably inappropriate!"

Shen Wangzhi chuckled sheepishly, “Fellow Daoist Cui is as clear-headed as a mirror; we two do indeed intend to become Daoist partners!”

The three chatted over tea, and Jiang Yuan gradually understood the purpose of Shen Wangzhi's invitation.

Shen Wang formed his Golden Core a few years ago when Liu Caiwei gave him all the fire-type demon cores she obtained from the Junshan Secret Realm. Now, Liu Caiwei herself is stuck in the late Foundation Establishment stage and cannot break through.

Therefore, Shen Wangzhi wanted to invite a few trusted friends to go out to sea to hunt down a powerful water demon and help Liu Caiwei form her golden core.

After much deliberation, Guan Canghai, who specializes in water-based techniques, is well-suited to use water-based demon cores. Furthermore, he is knowledgeable in feng shui and geomancy, making him the ideal candidate.

It would be even better if Cui Qinghe had already formed her Golden Core; her combat power would undoubtedly be greatly enhanced.

Jiang Yuan readily agreed, "I have indeed considered going out to sea to slay demons, and Brother Shen's kind invitation is exactly what I was looking for!"

Shen Wangzhi was overjoyed, "In that case, I will immediately call Sister Liu over to discuss this important matter!"

Jiang Yuan said, "There's no need to rush. My wife probably needs some time to consolidate her cultivation. I also need to take this opportunity to make some preparations."

Shen Wangzhi has already sent a message: "Of course, even if Sister Liu comes, she can wait here. There's nothing wrong with that!"

Jiang Yuan added, "There is one more thing that I'm afraid I'll need Brother Shen's personal assistance with."

"Oh, Fellow Daoist Guan, just speak!"

“My wife was able to form a Golden Core by absorbing the essence of a level seven flower demon she had subdued in the Junshan Secret Realm. The flower demon’s soul is still locked in a magic artifact. If Qinghe wants to subdue the flower demon, it may be a bit dangerous. She will need a Golden Core cultivator to protect her.”

Shen Wangzhi chuckled, "This is easy enough. When it comes to subduing ghosts and spirits, Maoshan really does have some methods at its disposal!"

Jiang Yuan had this idea before coming to Maoshan. He believed that Shen Wangzhi must have unique skills in dealing with ghosts and spirits, and if he needed anything, he would definitely help him.

There are many vacant cave dwellings outside Maoshan. Shen Wangzhi opened the largest one for Jiang Yuan and the other to use for cultivation. It was tidied up that very night, and Qinghe went to consolidate her cultivation.

The next day, Liu Caiwei arrived alone and was genuinely happy to see Cui Qinghe.

In Liu Caiwei's memory, Guan Canghai and Cui Qinghe must have concealed their cultivation levels when they were in the Junshan Secret Realm, otherwise how could Cui Qinghe have formed a Golden Core so quickly? However, Liu Caiwei was quite shrewd and would not pry into the matter.

Speaking of Qingyun Sect, Liu Caiwei felt quite embarrassed.

The highest-ranking elder of the Qingyun Sect was only at the late Golden Core stage, yet he was quite stingy with resources for Liu Caiwei, a pillar of the sect. He was unwilling to give up any resources for such an important matter as Core Formation, which probably shows that he was wary of her.

Like Shen Wangzhi, Liu Caiwei wanted to obtain the sect's genealogy and establish her own sect after forming her Golden Core.

Jiang Yuan also asked Shen Wangzhi why he didn't invite Li Shouzhong and Zhang Chi this time.

Shen Wangzhi said that they had met once before, and Li Shouzhong was also preparing resources for Core Formation. The two of them went to the Northwest Tianshan Mountains and probably wouldn't be able to return for a while.

(End of this chapter)