Unexpected Visitor

"Although this meeting yielded quite a bit, strictly speaking, the objectives weren't met ideally. We have intelligence on the Immortal Dynasty, but it's too general, not focusing on the early years of the dynasty..."

As Chen Qing walked out of the Five Qi Pavilion, the street vendors were already packing up. He walked along, thinking, and decided to look for a pill formula or actual pills to suppress his variant bloodline.

At the street corner, a lean man tending a bookstall was bending down to pack up his books. Seeing Chen Qing pass by, his eyes lit up, and he called out, "Fellow Daoist! Browsing for books again?"

Chen Qing stopped and asked, "Do you still have pill formulas for sale? Or perhaps ancient texts detailing the Immortal Dynasty?" As he spoke, he casually flipped through the tattered scrolls on the stall.

"I don't have either of those right now. If you need them, I can keep an eye out for you. However, this time, I have something else good!" The man mysteriously pulled a yellowed booklet from his robes. The faded gold characters "Sha Men Secret Records" were faintly visible on the cover. "You know how the person from the Five Qi Pavilion loves ancient secrets. This booklet records the origins of Buddhism; it'll definitely satisfy him!"

Chen Qing immediately asked, "When did Buddhism originate?"

The man paused, then replied, "That era was a very long time ago. I heard humanity had only just begun to rise and was still searching for the Dao Seeking path."

"Dao Seeking Era," Chen Qing skimmed through it a few times. Seeing the obscure language and unfamiliar figures mentioned, he frowned. "How much do you want for it?"

The man held up five fingers. "Five Spirit Marrow, firm price."

"Too expensive." Chen Qing closed the booklet and put it back. "I'll look for someone else."

"Fellow Daoist!" The man grabbed the book. "My sworn brother risked his life to bring this out from an ancient temple ruin!"

Chen Qing shook his head and laid his cards on the table. "Half a piece."

The man almost choked!

Who haggles like that?

This wasn't cutting the price in half; it was practically chopping off the ankle.

"Four and a half pieces!"

"Farewell." Chen Qing turned to leave.

The man hurriedly stepped forward. "Three pieces! Not a copper less!"

Chen Qing flicked his sleeve to push him away. "We'll talk another day." His mind was preoccupied with other matters, and he had no desire to haggle.

After walking a few steps, he heard the man's unwilling shout from behind, "Fellow Daoist! I'll save this book for you!"

Chen Qing waved his hand without looking back, his figure quickly disappearing into the shadows of the street corner. A few steps later, he arrived in front of the Green Pouch Pavilion.

Chen Qing pushed the door open and saw the shop owner, Old Daoist Sun, hunched over, using a small scale to weigh a few vine leaves.

Hearing the commotion, the old Daoist looked up, his cloudy eyes brightening. "Zhou Yuanjing's disciple? What brings you here this time?"

"Senior Sun." Chen Qing crossed the threshold, cupped his fists in greeting, and got straight to the point. "I'm here today looking for pill formulas or medicinal ingredients that can suppress and regulate variant bloodlines. It would be even better if they could inhibit or even cure bloodline backlash."

The small scale in Old Daoist Sun's hand paused. He narrowed his eyes and scrutinized Chen Qing. "Who needs it? Don't tell me you've taken in disciples from other races?"

"Not a disciple," Chen Qing shook his head. "It's for a Fellow Daoist."

Old Daoist Sun nodded. "It's commendable that you'd go to such lengths for a Fellow Daoist. However..." He shook his head. "Regulating Yin and Yang and purifying the origin of a variant bloodline, how can that be easy? Just the few main ingredients that come to mind, let alone South Coast, even the entire Eastern Spirit Continent would struggle to find them. Some might even be extinct since ancient times."

Chen Qing listened, his heart unmoved. Extinct medicinal ingredients might still exist in the dream Immortal Dynasty!

As they were speaking, a boy of seven or eight, with a round face and bright eyes, suddenly popped out from under the counter. He tugged at the old Daoist's sleeve and said, "Grandpa! Didn't you say a few days ago that the root of 'Moon Seeing Grass' combined with 'Profound Yin Cold Marrow' could also regulate bloodlines? And you also said it was a shame you couldn't find 'Red Vein Stone'."

Old Daoist Sun chuckled and ruffled his grandson's head. "You little rascal, eavesdropping on adults! That's just what's recorded in ancient formulas; it's not reliable." He then sighed to Chen Qing, "Many herbs have long been extinct. The main ingredients in the pill formula, 'Thousand Year Snow Lotus' and 'Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Grass,' are also hard to find..."

Chen Qing, however, said, "Please tell me the pill formula, Senior!"

Old Daoist Sun waved his hand. "Fine, it's just an ancient formula that's long been useless. What harm is there in telling you? The formula is called 'Taiyin Pure Filth Powder'."

He dipped his finger in tea and wrote a few lines on the counter:

Three qian of Nine Revolutions Soul Returning Grass, one Thousand Year Snow Lotus, seven grains of Red Vein Stone...

Chen Qing memorized each ingredient and its properties firmly. Finally, he placed a Spirit Marrow on the counter.

Old Daoist Sun frowned. "Your master and I discussed Dao and herbs back in the day. If I give you a useless formula, how can I accept your Spirit Marrow?"

"Consider it a meeting gift for your grandson," Chen Qing smiled, took a step back, his aura suddenly converging. His figure retreated like smoke, disappearing in the blink of an eye.

Old Daoist Sun was stunned. He looked at the empty doorway and murmured, "Moving like flowing clouds? Old Zhou's disciple... has reached this realm? His progress is too fast!" He looked down at the Spirit Marrow, then at his bewildered grandson beside him, and sighed, "If you had half his talent, I could die with no regrets."

The boy pouted indignantly. "I'll definitely be better than him in the future!"

Old Daoist Sun laughed heartily, but a hint of sadness flashed in his eyes.

"The pill formula is acquired. Several of the ingredients are long extinct, but fortunately, the Record of Absolute Items mentions them. Perhaps I can find them in my dreams."

As dusk settled, Chen Qing strolled to the pastry stall, only to find it closed and the vendors gone.

He shook his head and chuckled lightly, then bought a few calligraphy books and left Lesser Yingzhou.

"It's fine if the pastries are gone, but I can't be without these calligraphy books."

As the night deepened, Chen Qing walked slowly along the mountain path, sorting through the information he had gathered today.

Although what he learned today filled some gaps about the Immortal Dynasty and even refreshed his understanding of the Grand Void Dao Evolution Record, he was trapped in the treasure vault in his dream. The outside world was in turmoil, and knowing about Void Abyss Floating Li was of no help.

"Now it seems that with the Grand Void Dao Evolution Record in hand, if I truly reach a dead end, abandoning the identity of 'Chen Xu' would merely cost some Dao Marks. I could create a past ancestor and start anew."

But immediately, his brow furrowed as he recalled his experiences in the dream Immortal Dynasty.

"No!" Chen Qing's eyes suddenly sharpened. "Precisely because I have a fallback, I must not go against my true heart! If I retreat every time I face a tribulation, how am I different from Liu Wang?"

He took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, exhaling all the turbid Qi in his chest. His eyes regained their clarity.

A retreat is a trump card, not a turtle shell, nor an excuse for escape.

Fight for what should be fought for, defend what should be defended, entering dreams should be a tempering of the heart!

Just as his thoughts became clear and his mind became pure—

"Sect Leader Chen seems preoccupied. Are you perhaps worried about matters concerning the Sea Abyss Temple?"

A cold voice, without any warning, came from the shadows about ten feet away!

Chen Qing's hairs instantly stood on end! He had been extremely cautious on this trip, guarding against ambushes, avoiding traps, and being wary of surveillance, yet someone had still managed to sneak within ten feet of him silently!

He turned his head sharply and saw a tall, slender figure standing in the shadows.

The newcomer carried an ancient sword box on his back. The box was dark but exuded a sharp aura.

"It's you?" Chen Qing's pupils contracted slightly. He recognized the young man who had been following Mo Huaiyong, carrying a sword box!

"Indeed, it is I, Ling Wufeng." The young man stepped out of the shadows, the moonlight illuminating his handsome face. A cinnabar mark between his brows was like blood. Seeing Chen Qing's sharp gaze, he didn't beat around the bush and spoke directly, "Sect Leader Chen need not be on guard. I, Ling, have come for two reasons: to deliver a message and to offer a gift."

"Oh?" Chen Qing's aura condensed, Supreme Harmony Qi hidden within his Yellow Court, poised but unreleased.

"Firstly," Ling Wufeng's voice was calm, but his words were earth-shattering, "the Sea Abyss Temple is no longer a threat. They are in dire straits themselves, facing imminent destruction."

"What?" Chen Qing's pupils contracted sharply!

"This sect has acted erratically and recklessly. Furthermore, they harbored improper ambitions and provoked someone they shouldn't have," Ling Wufeng said without emotion. "They are now mired in trouble and have no capacity to concern themselves with other matters."

A chill ran through Chen Qing's heart. A sect that might have a cultivator in the third realm provoked someone they shouldn't have and now couldn't even protect themselves?

The cruelty of the cultivation world seemed far beyond imagination!

I must lie low!

Suddenly, his thoughts became clearer than ever before.

With the Grand Void Dao Evolution Record as his channel, he could continuously receive spiritual energy feedback and cultivation secrets. He could even exchange it for resources needed for cultivation. However, precisely because of this, he needed to proceed steadily in the real world, grow silently, and absolutely not be the first bird to be shot!

Taking a deep breath to suppress his churning emotions, Chen Qing looked at Ling Wufeng and asked, "Secondly?"

With a flip of Ling Wufeng's palm, a lustrous white jade disk appeared. It was palm-sized, glowing faintly, with stars flickering within, like a miniature universe.

"I heard Sect Leader Chen is fascinated by the old affairs of the Immortal Dynasty." Ling Wufeng handed the jade disk over. "This is a fragmented imprint of the Myriad Phenomena Star Disk. It contains scattered records, maps, and astronomical charts from the early years of the Immortal Dynasty. Junior Uncle Mo mentioned it might be useful to you."

Chen Qing was stunned, then delighted.

This was like a pillow arriving just when he was sleepy!

He had been worried about his lack of knowledge regarding the details of the Primordial Immortal Dynasty's early years, acting like a blind man touching an elephant in his dreams. He didn't suspect anything this time—if they wanted to harm him, they wouldn't need to go through such trouble.

"Please convey my thanks to Senior Mo! I will remember this favor." He didn't stand on ceremony, reaching out to take the jade disk. Its touch was smooth and slightly cool. Then, almost instinctively, a strand of pure Supreme Harmony Qi flowed along Chen Qing's arm into the jade disk, attempting to probe its mysteries.

"Wait!" Ling Wufeng's expression changed slightly. "This item is a forcibly imprinted copy. The information within is vast and chaotic. You need a Clear Heart Talisman to protect your mind. If you probe it rashly, you might encounter..."

Before he could finish speaking, an anomaly occurred!

"Buzz—!"

The jade disk, stimulated by the Supreme Harmony Qi, erupted with a blinding white light!

Countless chaotic, noisy, and distorted streams of consciousness poured back into Chen Qing's Sea of Consciousness along with that strand of Supreme Harmony Qi!

In an instant, illusions swarmed before Chen Qing's eyes!

There were apocalyptic scenes of stars collapsing, the mournful cries of ancient battlefields, and the frenzied roars of cultivators going mad from qi deviation! They sought to tear his consciousness apart and assimilate it!

Ling Wufeng's face changed drastically. He knew it was bad!

He knew better than anyone the dangers of this imprinted jade disk. Even with his cultivation, he had needed his sect elders to protect him and a Clear Heart secret treasure to barely withstand it during his first encounter. How could this Sect Leader of Hidden Star, who had only just entered Foundation Establishment, resist it?

"Although the imprint of the Myriad Phenomena Star Disk also has the effect of condensing spiritual sense! Even Senior Brother almost went into qi deviation the first time. This Sect Leader of Hidden Star, despite his luck and talent, ultimately has a shallow inheritance..."

Just as Ling Wufeng was about to act, he suddenly received a telepathic message, and his movements paused.

At this critical juncture—

"Boom!"

Deep within Chen Qing's Sea of Consciousness, the Samadhi True Fire Talisman suddenly lit up!

Crimson-gold flames surged out, pure, blazing, and burning away all evil!

The chaotic streams of consciousness that surged forth, upon contact with this supreme yang true fire, immediately let out "hissing" shrieks, like accumulated snow meeting boiling water, instantly purified into wisps of smoke.

Within the Sea of Consciousness, crimson-gold flames burned fiercely, incinerating all external evils and protecting the clarity of the spiritual platform.

Chen Qing's eyes regained focus, his aura stabilized, and his gaze was clearer than ever.

"Hoo—"

He exhaled a breath of white mist carrying a scorching heat, then looked down at the jade disk whose light was gradually fading. He felt lingering fear, yet also a trace of excitement.

The Samadhi True Fire Talisman was indeed marvelous!

But he couldn't be so reckless in the future.

He looked up and said to Ling Wufeng, "Thank you for your reminder, Fellow Daoist Ling. You allowed me to react in time."

Ling Wufeng, however, remained frozen, his eyes fixed on Chen Qing. The cinnabar mark between his brows trembled slightly from extreme shock!