Only after unifying the world did I realize that immortals existed in this world.

Chapter 118 The Seeds Planted

"Immortal Master, look! Look!"

"The cloud boat, it's the cloud boat of Taihua!"

"They flew in from the southwest—that's the direction of my hometown!"

"Speaking of which, it's been quite a few years since I've been home. I wonder how my uncle and aunt are doing!"

The cloud boat glided across the sky, causing the common people below to look up in awe.

In this era, on this land.

Cultivators are immortals, and immortals represent a huge class gap between them and mortals.

They are believed in, revered, and worshipped.

With immense power, a long lifespan, and a supreme status, becoming a cultivator means a worry-free life. No one doesn't yearn for the Immortal Sect, no one doesn't want to become a cultivator, and no one doesn't want to ascend to the Immortal Gate.

Among those watching from below, however, were a group of unusual people.

Liu Bingxuan raised his head and quietly watched the cloud boat return.

His eyes darted around as he secretly plotted.

It seems that this matter is now over.

Did Great Xia win? Or did Great Xia win with Xiu Shi's help? What is Great Xia's attitude towards Gan Taihua?

Next, Taihua will probably talk to him.

"I also want to become an immortal—"

The girl's somewhat noisy voice reached my ears.

Liu Bingxuan regained his composure and turned to look at her.

A girl of about fifteen or sixteen years old, dressed in clothes covered in patches, came into view. Her eyes sparkled with a bright and hopeful light as she watched the flying boat sail away.

She hadn't fully matured yet, so it wouldn't be accurate to say she was particularly beautiful; she could only be described as pretty. Her skin had weathered many storms and wasn't delicate; instead, it was somewhat yellowish and rough. Only her eyes were exceptionally bright.

Like a lush, thriving blade of grass, even in barren soil, it yearns to bloom into a vibrant flower.

Liu Bingxuan felt that her gaze was somewhat familiar.

She couldn't help but ask Liu Bingxuan the same question she had asked many times before: "Immortal Master, are you really not a cultivator from the Taihua Sect?"

Liu Bingxuan gently shook his head: "No."

"Those bandits—"

"I lied to them."

"Couldn't it be that you're lying to me?"

Liu Bingxuan's wife brought over two bowls of noodles, tapped the little girl's forehead, and smiled at her, saying, "Do you really have to make him say what you want to hear?"

The little girl slurped her noodles, her eyes bright: "Master's wife, Master's wife~ Master is such a liar, he must be lying to me! I can feel it, he's using magic!"

Her eyes are special; when she is excited, faint star-like patterns appear, full of spirit.

"Are you reclusive masters from the Taihua Sect?"

Liu Bingxuan said helplessly, "How many times have I told you? I'm not a cultivator from the Taihua Sect, and I can't be your master!"

Outside Yonghua City, he drove away a group of bandits and rescued several women and children.

That was supposed to be the end of it, the matter was over, and everyone else had already left.

Unexpectedly, he became entangled with this girl.

He followed them all the way here, and this guy, being both talkative and shameless, insisted on becoming his disciple and wanting to cultivate.

This relentless pursuit of his goal is exactly like Xie Cangrong in his youth.

Right, Liu Bingxuan finally remembered who this guy's eyes resembled.

He left the Great Xia, but His Majesty still followed him.

"It's alright, Master! It's okay even if you don't teach me cultivation~"

The little girl slurped up her noodles and waved her hand, saying, "No matter who you are, I've decided on you! I'll take care of you from now on!"

The girl touched her patched clothes, a hint of tenderness in her eyes: "Hmm—but you have to teach me a skill!"

I will not only take care of you, but I will also go back to repay my uncles and aunts in our hometown!

Liu Bingxuan once ordered someone to give her some nice clothes to wear, but she refused.

This girl came from an unnamed island in the southwest. She didn't know who her parents were. She drifted to the island and was raised by a group of fishermen.

He was intelligent and quick-witted from a young age, and was exceptionally gifted. At the age of six, he sensed a special aura.

After examining her, an elder in the village said that she had exceptional talent and was destined to become a cultivator. Her future was limitless, and he wanted her to go to sea to participate in the Ascension to Immortality Gathering in Taihua. If she could be selected by the Immortal Sect and become a cultivator, her destiny would be rewritten.

The girl was also stubborn and didn't want to trouble the uncles and elders in the village to escort her.

He left his hometown under the cover of night, drifting across the sea on a small wooden raft, hoping to seek immortality and ask questions so that he could repay his hometown in the future, like those immortals, protecting the world and upholding the righteous path.

This journey lasted five years, traversing desolate wilderness, crossing mountains and rivers. When hungry, they ate fruit, hunted wild animals, and drank collected river water when thirsty.

She didn't know how far she had gone, she only knew that she should head northeast.

It's a miracle that she managed to get this far, thanks to her excellent aptitude and strong physique.

Unfortunately, his luck ran out, and he was kidnapped by bandits. Luckily, he met Liu Bingxuan and was rescued.

Upon hearing this, Liu Bingxuan lowered his eyes and looked at the girl whose eyes were full of sincerity.

They are grateful and repay kindness.

She's a bit different from Xie Cangrong; she's excessively sincere.

I don't know if it's an advantage or a disadvantage.

Is this girl really suited to cultivate the path of transcendence and detachment?

Do not forget to write books, take on two disciples, and pass on your ideas.

Suddenly, Xie Cangrong's words echoed in his ears.

He paused for a moment, then glanced at the girl again.

When he chatted with Xie Cangrong before parting, he vowed that he would not leave behind any legacy, but now he is about to change his mind.

"Master—what's wrong?"

Liu Bingxuan paused, then finally sighed softly, "So be it—"

"I don't even know if my path is right or wrong, or if it's suitable for you. Do you still want to learn from me?"

The girl's eyes widened, and she immediately looked up, her eyes shining: "Yes, yes!!!"

Liu Bingxuan said in a warning tone, "Have you thought this through? From now on, you may be embarking on a path of no return."

The girl snapped out of her daze, meeting Liu Bingxuan's gaze. She knew he wasn't lying to her.

"Master, please accept my bow!"

She put down the rice, her eyes full of sincerity, and bowed somewhat awkwardly to Liu Bingxuan.

Opportunity waits for no one; hesitation and choice are futile.

Liu Bingxuan waved his hand: "We don't have that many rules, you can get up now!"

The master leads you through the door, but the practice is up to you.

When Cui Che taught them, apart from Song Zhaowen, the rest of them all had their own pursuits.

There are countless paths in life, and none of them are absolutely correct; it's all about what's suitable or unsuitable.

Liu Bingxuan can help this girl broaden her horizons. As for whether she will follow in Liu Bingxuan's footsteps in the future, that's for her to decide.

Thus, Liu Bingxuan accepted her calling him "Master" without any qualms.

"Okay~"

Liu Bingxuan put down his chopsticks and asked the girl, "What do you think cultivation is?"

The girl thought for a moment and replied, "Don't all cultivators of immortal sects gather in immortal caves and rely on cultivation techniques to breathe in and out of the world?"

"Is it about cultivating one's inner energy, mastering magic, and pursuing the Great Dao?"

Liu Bingxuan shook his head: "Now, forget all of this."

The girl looked puzzled, but nodded nonetheless: "Oh."

"Turn your eyes away from those cultivators in the sky, turn your attention away from that ethereal Dao. Focus your gaze on this world, on the dynasties, on the people within those dynasties, on the grand scheme of things—"

"Cultivation is about cultivating the mind, but we are cultivating the ability to understand people's hearts. If you can see through other people's hearts, you will not be deceived, you will not follow the crowd, and you may even turn around and take advantage of them."

"The world is a giant chessboard, and every person and every force is a piece, while you and I are the ones who wield the pieces."

Liu Bingxuan had deep eyes and spoke in a calm voice, narrating in a language that the girl didn't quite understand.

"Chessboard? Chess pieces?"

She clearly did not understand this skill, which she had never been exposed to before.

"It's okay if you don't understand, just remember what I said."

Liu Bingxuan patted her head and smiled, "I'll teach you everything from now on."

The girl chuckled and pointed to her forehead: "Thank you, Master~ I can remember it all~"

She's very bright.

"Okay~"

Liu Bingxuan smiled, held up one finger, and said, "Now I'll give you your first question. You need to tell me about the bandits who kidnapped you earlier: what is their true nature? Whom do they serve? What is their value?"

"what?"

Liu Bingxuan smiled and said, "No need to rush, you can think about this for a long time. Before that, I'll tell you a very long story."

He looked up into the distance, his gaze seemingly traversing space and vast oceans, until he saw the country he longed for.

"You come from the southwest, do you know what's in the southwest?"

"It's the sea!"

"And what about the southwest side of the sea?"

"Or the sea?"

"No, it's a country."

"A country? Is it big?"

"It's huge! Bigger than Crane Cry Island!"

"Really? Like the Great Zhou Dynasty?"

No—it's not quite the same.

Liu Bingxuan looked up at the city he was in, Yonghua City, the capital of the Great Zhou Dynasty. The city was simple and ordinary; the unchanging passage of time over thousands of years had solidified its social hierarchy, leaving no trace of change.

The eyes of the people here seemed utterly blank. Without the aptitude for cultivation, they were merely mortals, their lives utterly hopeless, destined for a life of quiet existence, gazing at the sky. The nation was loosely organized; their devotion to sects surpassed that of dynasties.

Liu Bingxuan could see a continuous force gathering hundreds of millions of people in this land. It was the power of a nation, but it was completely different from that of the Great Xia. There was a faint chain connecting it to the distant Taihua.

Liu Bingxuan raised his hand and gently traced a line. An invisible force seemed to be drawn out as his palm moved, landing on the girl in front of him.

The little girl was immediately startled, feeling as if something was different about her, but she couldn't quite put her finger on it.

The seeds we plant have no idea when they will sprout or what kind of flowers they will bloom into.

Inside the magnificent hall at the main peak of Taihua Zhenghuan.

"Ahem!"

An invisible force struck him squarely in the chest. Gao Yilang, who was always arrogant and sharp in the Great Xia Dynasty, now had his eyes wide open and his body crashed into the pillar in the main hall like a kite with a broken string.

"Master————"

Blood spilled from his mouth as he struggled to his feet, looking pleadingly at the figure in white robes with an ethereal air.

Yun Shu sat upright on the high platform, his face calm, his eyes, which held the starry sky, filled with indifference as he looked down at him: "You should address me as Sect Master."

Gao Yilang's face was pale, and he said dryly, "Sect Master... Sect Master."

"Is this how you accomplished the task I entrusted to you?"

Yun Shu's eyes seemed to be able to penetrate the flesh and see into the soul.

Gao Yilang shuddered, his mind went blank, and he stammered, "Sect Master, we have already yielded enough. It was that emperor who was rude, domineering, and also Lu Junfeng—"

Before he could finish speaking, a pressure as heavy as a mountain descended upon him. At this moment, he was no longer facing the sect leader, but the vast universe, and he felt as insignificant as a speck of dust.

"You mean you're not wrong?"

"How did Jinglan end up allying with the Great Xia?"

"Lu Junfeng went to Daxia, but he didn't earn Taihua a single 'get out' word."

Yun Shu looked at him indifferently, his words piercing straight to the heart.

Before Gao Yilang could explain, a gentle breeze blew by, as if some special force had imprinted itself on his body.

He shuddered, his face filled with terror. His refined magical power seemed to have been drained away in an instant. He stared fixedly at Yun Shu, his eyes filled with pleading: "Master—no, Master—"

His momentum waned, and his appearance grew increasingly withered and aged.

In an instant, he was demoted from a noble cultivator to a mortal.

The youthful vigor of the past is gone.

Rotten wood cannot be carved.

I wanted him to show his face, but he ended up showing his butt.

Yun Shu also needs to give an explanation to the other members of the sect, and also to the Great Xia.

The only remaining value of this disciple is that he can be used as a tool for yielding.

"Go to the confessional and repent properly."

"If you gain some insight, you may seek the path to immortality again."

As soon as the words fell, a disciple flashed in from outside the hall, dragging Gao Yilang, who was full of tears and pleading, out of the hall as if he were a dead dog.

Everything returned to calm. Yun Shu narrowed his eyes, looked up at the vast starry sky above, and murmured softly, "Great Xia—"

At their level, what matters is no longer superficial benefits.

There's something even deeper: the situation and face.

Even if Gao Yilang's attitude was problematic, and even if Taihua's conditions were insufficient, Daxia shouldn't have so decisively humiliated them. There was no other way but to force Taihua to submit.

But—what about Taihua's reputation?

Face is not merely vanity; it is something linked to power and is the cornerstone of maintaining the edifice of power. Every time face is challenged, it shakes Taihua's position and undermines the confidence of its own people.

Even if we bow our heads this time and maintain a superficial harmony, this matter will not be over.

He suddenly asked, "What about Liu Bingxuan?"

A person slipped into the main hall and bowed, saying, "Reporting to the sect leader, he has gone down the mountain to travel."

Yun Shu then asked, "In your opinion, is he suitable to be the ruler of Great Xia?"

"no."

"We need to find another candidate —"