Only one year remained!
A Golden Core Realm being might come seeking revenge on him.
The gulf between the Golden Core Realm and the Foundation Establishment Realm was far too vast. Unless Jiang Sheng could open his Purple Mansion within a year, facing a Golden Core Realm being would mean certain death!
Gazing at the bright moon overhead, Jiang Sheng found his thoughts in turmoil.
Even though he considered his root bone and comprehension exceptional, cultivation had always been a matter of accumulating progress drop by drop.
Without an extraordinary opportunity, he could not open his Purple Mansion within a year.
He had achieved Heavenly Dao Foundation Establishment at eighteen, yet reaching the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage had still taken him over a year.
After descending the mountain to travel at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage, he had spent another two years and more reaching the Foundation Establishment Late Stage.
With a soft sigh, Jiang Sheng cast aside his tangled thoughts. No matter what, he had to try.
Every additional strand of spiritual energy would give him another sliver of a chance.
Just as Jiang Sheng turned to return to the front hall and enter secluded cultivation, he suddenly stopped.
Out of the corner of his eye, he had spotted something white and fluffy blending into a snowdrift outside the temple. Had his eyes not been sharp, it really would have escaped his notice.
"That is..."
Jiang Sheng narrowed his eyes to examine it, and a trace of a smile crept onto his lips.
A gap suddenly opened in the shimmering water curtain shielding Qingxuan Temple. The blue-robed Daoist stepped outside and walked straight up to the little creature.
It huddled in the white snow outside the temple. At night, beneath the moonlight, it was scarcely noticeable.
Jiang Sheng said softly, "I merely secluded myself for a year, and Qingping Mountain has already become this lively."
"I must admit, I am rather curious. Never mind ordinary Foundation Establishment Realm demons—even Purple Mansion Realm demons would not dare come to Qingping Mountain to make trouble for me. Where did a little Qi Refining Realm demon like you find the courage to snoop outside my cultivation grounds?"
"Hmm?"
That single sound frightened the little creature so badly that its fur stood on end.
The next instant, it spat out a cloud of wind and snow, turned, and tried to flee, only for a strand of spiritual power to pin it in place.
The little creature struggled incessantly, but the spiritual power lifted it and brought it before Jiang Sheng.
Looking at the white, fluffy creature before him, the amusement in Jiang Sheng's eyes deepened. "A white fox?"
"Most foxes in these mountains should be azure foxes. Where did a Qi Refining Realm white fox come from?"
Bai Ying's feelings were complicated.
At that moment, a terrifying Daoist was holding her in midair with his spiritual power.
She was in the Qi Refining Realm, while he was in the Foundation Establishment Realm. She had no power to resist.
At the thought of being skinned and having her bones torn out, Bai Ying trembled like chaff in a sieve. She was only a hair away from wetting herself in fright.
She had never imagined that the terrifying Daoist who had secluded himself for over a year would emerge—and that she would happen to run into him that very day. What kind of cursed luck was this?!
Remembering how this very handsome Daoist had first killed Qingping Mountain's renowned Tiger King, then slain the River God of the Taiping River whom no one dared provoke, Bai Ying felt that killing intent filled his entire being!
Was she going to be killed now, too?
Just as Bai Ying was about to faint from fear, another voice suddenly rang out from the woods. "Daoist, you are a renowned master of profound attainment and virtue. Every creature on Qingping Mountain holds you in the highest respect. Please spare this little one."
The voice was gentle without being cloyingly soft or coquettish. It sounded like a gracious, refined daughter of a distinguished family, soothing the heart at first hearing, as though one had encountered an old friend.
Yet the amusement had already vanished from Jiang Sheng's eyes. He casually withdrew his spiritual power, and the little white fox dropped into the snow before scrambling into the woods.
Jiang Sheng looked toward the woods and stood with his hands behind his back, his voice calm and gentle. "I would not dare call myself virtuous, but I am no villain either. Why would I hold a grudge against this child?"
"However, there is still something I do not understand. I will need you to explain it clearly, fellow Daoist."
"And what if I cannot explain it clearly?" the voice asked again.
Jiang Sheng lowered his right hand, and a three-foot blade appeared in his palm. "This sword is three feet and six inches long, black throughout, and wreathed in azure lotuses. I named it Azure Duckweed."
"Would you care to test its edge, fellow Daoist?"
The voice fell silent for a moment, then gave a wistful sigh. "Ah."
That soft sigh was melodious and moving, making one feel that a gentle beauty had suffered an injustice, inspiring an urge to cradle her in one's hands and cherish her.
But Jiang Sheng's eyes remained clear. "Do not flaunt such tawdry tricks before me."
"You have one breath left."
Hearing Jiang Sheng's naked threat, the figure in the woods finally revealed herself.
She was no gentle, delicate beauty, but an azure fox the size of a person.
Beside the azure fox stood that same white, fluffy little creature.
The azure fox spoke in a human voice. "I am Qingman. Greetings, Daoist."
"You know me, fellow Daoist?" Jiang Sheng asked.
Qingman's eyes were exceptionally lively, their shifting gaze truly resembling that of a beauty. "Among those living within Qingping Mountain's twelve hundred li, who has not heard of your illustrious name, Daoist Jiang?"
"The year before last, you slew the Yellow Mountain Lord who occupied the main peak. At the end of that year, you slew the River God in the Taiping River. Who knows how many evil cultivators and demonic beasts those deeds cowed?"
"Although you have spent a year in seclusion, and people outside the mountain may have forgotten you, which of the creatures living here would dare?"
Qingman's voice was sweet and lilting. As she recounted Jiang Sheng's deeds, she sounded like an admiring beauty, easily winning a listener's favor.
Jiang Sheng merely chuckled. "In that case, why come here?"
"Qingping Mountain stretches twelve hundred li and spans three commanderies."
"You should know that as long as you do not come here, you are free to roam this vast mountain. I cannot be bothered to interfere."
With a complicated expression, Qingman glanced at Bai Ying, who had curled into a little ball beside her, and finally explained what had happened.
Bai Ying was naturally not a fox native to Qingping Mountain.
The native foxes of Qingping Mountain were all azure foxes. Bai Ying had actually come from elsewhere and was the child of one of Qingman's elder sisters.
Bai Ying had come to Qingping Mountain because a Black Fire Snake had seized the territory of Qingman's elder sister and her husband.
Although Qingman's sister and her husband were both in the Foundation Establishment Realm, they were only at the early stage and were no match for the late-stage Black Fire Snake. Forced to abandon their territory, they had fled to Qingping Mountain.
Naturally, Bai Ying had followed them there.
These events had occurred while Jiang Sheng was in seclusion, so he knew nothing about them.
The arrival of two Foundation Establishment Realm beings had naturally greatly strengthened Qingping Mountain's Azure Fox Clan.
But the Azure Fox Clan's elder had also warned them who truly ruled Qingping Mountain, and whom they must never provoke.
Thus, those two Foundation Establishment Realm beings had stayed quietly within the Azure Fox Clan's territory. They rarely approached Qingping Mountain's main peak and did not even dare draw near Qingping Town, fearing they might anger Jiang Sheng in Qingxuan Temple.
The creatures of Qingping Mountain all knew Jiang Sheng's habits. As long as they stayed away from the main peak, they could live freely and at ease.
Although Bai Ying's parents had warned her, she still could not resist coming to take a look.
In truth, Bai Ying had been observing Qingxuan Temple from afar for quite some time. Only after discovering that Jiang Sheng remained in seclusion had she dared come over.
After all, Qingping Mountain's main peak offered the best vantage point. Qingping Town lay just beyond it, and from the peak one could see the fireworks outside perfectly.
Bai Ying had actually come to watch the fireworks. She had never expected Jiang Sheng to emerge from seclusion that very day.
"If that is all, take this little one away." As Jiang Sheng spoke, he turned to return to the temple.
"You are willing to let us go, Daoist?" Qingman sounded surprised.
Jiang Sheng glanced at Qingman, his voice even. "You are not heinous villains, nor do you have any quarrel or dispute with me."
"If I killed you merely because this little one came here to watch fireworks, what arts would I still be cultivating? What Dao would I be contemplating?"
"Leave. If you wish to watch fireworks in the future, watch them elsewhere. I must return to secluded cultivation."
Seeing that Jiang Sheng intended to head straight into seclusion, Qingman suddenly blurted out, "Do you not wish to know why that Black Fire Snake seized my sister and brother-in-law's territory, Daoist?"
Jiang Sheng entered the temple without looking back, leaving only a single reply. "That has nothing to do with me, and I do not care. If they wish to remain on Qingping Mountain, I will not stop them."
Seeing the shimmering water curtain about to close again, Qingman hurriedly transmitted her voice. "There is a Jade-Green Lotus in the territory the Black Fire Snake seized!"
Jiang Sheng's footsteps halted.
Qingman watched Jiang Sheng turn around. His star-like eyes were finally no longer cold and indifferent.
"What did you say?"
Hearing Jiang Sheng speak, Qingman quickly answered, "There is an abandoned residence within my sister and brother-in-law's cave abode. A Jade-Green Lotus still survives inside it."
The Jade-Green Lotus was no ordinary spiritual plant. It was a spiritual treasure ranked among the treasures of heaven and earth.
A single Jade-Green Lotus could greatly enhance a being's cultivation and reserves.
If a water-aligned being consumed a Jade-Green Lotus when opening their Purple Mansion, they would have an additional ten-percent chance of forming a superior divine ability in the Purple Mansion Realm.
For demons, however, the Jade-Green Lotus's greatest benefit was that it increased their chance of advancing to the Purple Mansion Realm by ten percent and reduced the tribulation flames by thirty percent.
If Jiang Sheng could obtain that Jade-Green Lotus, opening his Purple Mansion within a year would no longer be an empty dream!
Jiang Sheng was tempted.
Faced with such a treasure of heaven and earth, he could not help being tempted.
But Jiang Sheng remained wary. At his most desperate moment, he just happened to encounter this situation—and a treasure as precious as a Jade-Green Lotus.
Such luck made it difficult for Jiang Sheng not to question whether it was real.
"Why does your Azure Fox Clan not seize such a treasure yourselves?"
Qingman's expression turned bitter. "You do not know our circumstances, Daoist. Among Qingping Mountain's Azure Fox Clan, only our clan elder is at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage. Apart from her, there is only me, at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage. My sister and brother-in-law are also merely at the early stage. As for our venerable clan elder, she has little lifespan remaining and can no longer fight."
So that was it. Understanding dawned on Jiang Sheng.
If things were truly as Qingman said, there was nothing strange about it.
Their only late-stage member could not fight, while the three who could were merely at the early stage. Facing a late-stage Black Fire Snake would indeed be courting death.
Jiang Sheng put away the Qingping Sword and studied Qingman. "I do not mind telling you that I am indeed interested in the Jade-Green Lotus."
"But are you not afraid I will go and take it myself?"
At this point, Qingman simply spoke freely. "If you choose to take it yourself, Daoist, neither I nor my sister and brother-in-law could stop you."
"But leaving aside whether you can find the place, even if you do find it and kill the Black Fire Snake, you will not be able to open that abandoned residence."
Jiang Sheng finally smiled. "In that case, I can rest assured."
Here is the first update. There is more to come~
Today may determine whether Lin Yuan advances to the next round.
Apparently, the competition among this batch is fierce. Lin Yuan does not know whether he can advance, but he is willing to give it his all.
Gentlemen, please lend Lin Yuan a hand, if only for the six thousand characters he writes every day!
Kisses~
(End of chapter)
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