Carp Tide City

From the moment he met Deng Baiyi, Xie Xuanyi knew.

This woman was no ordinary person.

To give away half of her family's wealth, to gamble on a prophecy, to trade for a future, how many people would dare to do that?

"Cultivation..."

Deng Chicheng was stunned when he heard these words. He looked at his daughter and suddenly understood why she had been so nervous earlier.

In the eyes of most people.

Cultivators were unattainable beings.

When commoners saw them, they had to respectfully bow, kowtow three times and nine times, and humbly address them as "Immortal Masters."

Some things, if you weren't born with them, it was very difficult to acquire them later.

He looked anxiously at Xie Xuanyi. If he could follow this Sword Immortal to cultivate, that would be a great blessing, far better than moving house!

Xie Xuanyi put down his teacup and gave Deng Chicheng a look.

Deng Chicheng understood and quickly dismissed the servants.

Once everyone had gone to the backyard.

Only Xie Xuanyi and Deng Baiyi remained in the main hall.

"You want to cultivate?" Xie Xuanyi smiled slightly.

"I do."

Deng Baiyi said sincerely, "Mainly, I want to cultivate with you."

"Cultivating with anyone is still cultivating."

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said, "The master leads you through the door, but cultivation depends on the individual. This kind of thing mainly depends on talent. Some people are naturally gifted and can comprehend the Dao on their own without guidance. Others, on the other hand, no matter how much guidance they receive, still progress slowly."

Deng Baiyi seemed to understand something, but not completely.

"I can guide you into the door, but I can't be your master."

Xie Xuanyi said leisurely, "It's not that I'm unwilling, but that I can't... There are some reasons that are inconvenient to explain, but since I promised you a great opportunity, I will never break my word. I will find you a good master."

Deng Baiyi's eyes lit up.

This was the answer she wanted.

"Carp Tide City."

Deng Baiyi reported a place name.

She placed her hands on the stone table, stood up, looked directly into Xie Xuanyi's eyes, lowered her voice, and slowly said, "That Daoist told me that if you want to find your flying sword after you wake up, go to Carp Tide City. I don't know any more clues... If you don't trust me, take me with you."

"Carp Tide City?"

Xie Xuanyi frowned slightly. The name sounded familiar.

He remembered.

East and south of Jade Pearl Town, in the Qing Province area, near the Northern Sea, there was indeed such a city, not too big, not too small, famous for "watching the tide." Every year in the eighth month of the lunar calendar, it was the season of the high tide, attracting many tourists to watch.

Carp Tide City was adjacent to the Northern Sea.

After he threw himself into the Northern Sea back then, it was very possible that he was washed ashore.

In that case.

Carp Tide City was indeed worth investigating.

"What did that Daoist look like?"

Xie Xuanyi tapped lightly on the stone table.

Deng Baiyi thought carefully and said, "He had the air of an immortal, with a white beard and white hair, wearing a white robe. He looked like a highly accomplished person."

"That's your reason for trusting him? It can't be that simple."

Xie Xuanyi chuckled, crossed his arms, and leaned back slightly.

"Did I have a choice?"

Deng Baiyi slowly sat down, her eyes full of self-deprecation. Her hands, which had been pressing on the stone table, dug into her palms, pinching out deep red marks.

Jade Pearl Town was besieged by a great demon, and Tu Fei specifically named her to be taken into his room.

What could a weak woman do, no matter how much she struggled?

"Since he was a highly accomplished person, why didn't you ask him to kill the demon?"

Xie Xuanyi remained calm.

The more he thought about it, the more he felt that... these things he had encountered since waking up from the coffin all exuded a faint aura of conspiracy.

It was as if someone was pulling the strings, step by step, constructing this situation.

Deng Baiyi's voice was hoarse, "Of course I asked, but his price was too high. I couldn't afford it."

Xie Xuanyi said in a deep voice, "...Price?"

"Killing those demons, he wants half my life!"

Deng Baiyi said bitterly, "Pointing out a path to survival, he only wants half of my family fortune. Tell me, which do I choose?"

Xie Xuanyi was silent.

In his impression, most cultivators who could divine fate lines and offer guidance came from the Daoist sect.

Daoists acted within boundaries, followed their hearts, and emphasized cause and effect.

If there was a connection, offering warnings or even lending a hand was normal.

But demanding "rewards" was unheard of.

Daoist people didn't have that habit.

Just the act of demanding half of Deng Baiyi's life was enough to confirm that the mysterious and eccentric white-robed Daoist was definitely not a good person.

Xie Xuanyi quietly pondered for a moment.

After a moment, he made a decision.

"Prepare the carriages, pack your belongings. Those who wish to relocate, come with me and leave Jade Pearl Town for Carp Tide City."

Half an hour later, a small convoy departed from Jade Pearl Town.

The convoy consisted of eleven people and four carriages.

Not everyone had Deng Baiyi's courage, willing to take a gamble. Nearly half of the Deng family's servants chose to stay in Jade Pearl Town.

Those who chose to leave were mostly younger.

Deng Chicheng sat alone in the middle carriage compartment, feeling very uneasy, occasionally lifting the curtain and looking back at the outline of the town... Having lived in Northern Prefecture for many years, he had long wanted to leave, but never had the opportunity. Now that his "dream" had come true, he wasn't as happy as he had imagined.

Xie Xuanyi said he would arrange a new residence for the Deng family, a new home where they wouldn't have to worry about being plagued by demons.

As far as he knew, the entire Northern Prefecture was in chaos, and other places might not be better than Jade Pearl Town.

The "Carp Tide City" they were going to was only slightly more stable, and might not be very peaceful.

Travel permits from Great Chu were worth their weight in gold. He completely believed that this young man could take one or two people to the Central Province.

But looking at Xie Xuanyi's attitude, it didn't seem to matter how many people he took...

Was that really okay?

A bunch of questions like that floated in Deng Chicheng's mind. What really troubled him wasn't the relocation.

He kept lifting the curtain and looking back, actually observing the movements in the last carriage.

That young sword immortal had agreed to teach his daughter how to cultivate!

He wondered how her cultivation was going.

Winter was approaching, and the north wind was like a knife. Almost no one traveled in Northern Prefecture in this kind of weather. The Deng family's carriages sped along the border road, the sound of the horses' hooves like striking bells and drums. But if you were in the last carriage of the convoy, you would feel a silence like a heavenly realm.

There were three people in this carriage.

Xie Xuanyi sat opposite Deng Baiyi.

Between them lay a little girl, fast asleep.

Jiang Huang hadn't woken up since being brought back to the Deng residence. The nanny in charge of taking care of her had given her a bath, combed her hair, and changed her clothes, and originally wanted to take her to another carriage to take good care of her.

But Xie Xuanyi flatly rejected this request.

This little girl looked like a delicate jade carving, harmless to humans and animals, but she was actually a Phoenix Blood Great Demon who could swallow everyone in one bite!

For safety's sake, it was best to keep her by his side and take care of her personally.

If anything unexpected happened, he could respond immediately.

The carriage was eerily quiet.

Deng Baiyi sat upright, her hands on her knees, looking up and carefully examining the yellowed talisman affixed to the ceiling of the carriage.

She had heard of immortal talismans before.

But this was the first time she had seen such a miracle with her own eyes—

An ordinary piece of talisman paper!

With just a few scribbled ink characters, it could completely isolate an entire carriage from outside sounds!

"All things have spirits, heaven and earth have origin."

Xie Xuanyi pinched a brand new talisman paper with two fingers, dipped another finger lightly in ink, and dotted the talisman paper.

"The flowers, plants, trees, birds, beasts, fish, and stones you see are all products of heaven and earth, and so are we. Humans and demons can both be considered the darlings of heaven and earth."

"The so-called 'cultivation' is the process by which all living beings, through a little spirituality, communicate with the origin of heaven and earth."

"The higher the spirituality, the smoother the communication process."

"And the more primordial energy… the stronger the cultivator will naturally be."

Deng Baiyi stared intently at Xie Xuanyi's fingertip.

"Most people only ever see 'Qi Refiners' when they see immortal masters. They're really just the lowest rung on the ladder in the cultivation world."

Xie Xuanyi smiled. "As long as you can borrow even a tiny bit of heaven and earth's primordial energy, you can inscribe talismans and create miracles…"

He lifted the carriage curtain and tossed the paper talisman out.

Boom!

The paper talisman shot out like a flying sword, soaring dozens of yards before plunging into the nearby woods, where it exploded in an instant!

Several fine horses were immediately startled, quickening their pace, and the caravan's speed surged suddenly!

Xie Xuanyi's throw was so casual.

But it stirred Deng Baiyi's heart, leaving her unable to calm down for a long time.

She held her arm out, keeping the curtain raised, and gazed intently at the smoke billowing in the distance.

"Most Qi Refiners are just the lowest rung…"

Xie Xuanyi's words echoed in Deng Baiyi's mind.

She remembered clearly that a so-called immortal master, who seemed so high and mighty, had arrived at Jade Pearl Town earlier, proclaiming that he would slay demons and eliminate evil.

But before long, Tu Fei and the others had carved him up and eaten him!

Above Tu Fei was Reverend Heavy Mist, the Yin Mountain heretic cultivator who practiced Spirit Controlling techniques!

And Xie Xuanyi, who was able to kill Reverend Heavy Mist… what kind of existence was he?

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