Above the North Sea, a chilly wind blew, carrying a bone-piercing cold. Before Xuan Qing, the enormous turtle-and-serpent form of Black Tortoise Zhiming finally manifested clearly.
"Greetings, Lord Zhí Míng!"
Xuan Qing formally bowed with cupped hands, then curiously glanced at him.
For he did not see the Heavenly Dao shackles on Zhi Ming that Azure Dragon Mengzhang bore.
"Stop looking!"
As though he had guessed Xuan Qing's thoughts, Zhi Ming shook his head. "Mengzhang, Lingguang, Jianbing, and I are not alike! Mengzhang and Lingguang belong to the dragon and phoenix clans, while Jianbing is naturally warlike. Though he is not of the qilin clan, as part of the Beast Lineage, he answered First Qilin's summons and joined that great war between the three clans that swept across the Primordial Wilderness!"
"The three of them swore great oaths to the Heavenly Dao in order to help their respective clans wear away their karma, atoning for their sins by guarding the Four Extremes!"
"As for why I remain here, it is purely because the North Sea is peaceful. I will not be tainted by worldly cause and effect here, and I can also earn some Heavenly Merit by guarding the northern extreme!"
As Zhi Ming spoke, he put away a chessboard. The slightest movement of his massive body caused the void near the Northern Abyss to tremble.
Seeing this, Xuan Qing frowned and hurriedly said, "Senior, that chessboard..."
Yet Zhi Ming paid it no heed and continued speaking to himself. "Stop looking. That chessboard was mine to begin with. I merely lent it to Yu Jiang back then!"
Xuan Qing was stunned.
This Lord Zhí Míng looked so honest and simple—why did he seem to possess mind-reading abilities?
At a glance, Xuan Qing had seen that the Myriad Tribulation Chessboard was a Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasure. It concealed profound mysteries and contained the Innate Dao of Heaven and Earth, as well as the Innate Dao of Calamity and Fortune.
He had originally thought that, as Yu Jiang's successor, he would inherit the chessboard as well.
"Don't even think about it!"
Zhi Ming seemed able to peer into his heart. "Since Ancestor Dragon killed Yu Jiang, how could he possibly have left Yu Jiang's spiritual treasures behind?"
"I only temporarily lent the Myriad Tribulation Chessboard to him so he could anchor his lingering remnant thought, seeing as it had yet to dissipate and we had been neighbors for so many years!"
"That makes sense." After thinking it over, Xuan Qing found it quite reasonable. He then asked, "The Primordial Wilderness is vast. Has Lord Zhí Míng never wished to go out and explore?"
He was very curious. Since Zhi Ming was not bound by the Heavenly Dao shackles and possessed strength infinitely close to that of a Sage, why was he willing to remain confined to the Northern Abyss?
"The Primordial Wilderness is nothing special!"
Zhi Ming wore an expression of having seen through everything. "Every era has its protagonists, but none of them ever meet a good end!"
"It is not as though I have never gone out before."
"Come to think of it, when Hongjun became a Sage, I had that black tortoise temporarily take my place and secretly went to the Purple Cloud Palace to listen to that fellow's teachings!"
"However, I thought that a tree standing above the forest would be destroyed by the wind. Drawing too much attention would not do, so I did not fight for those foremost meditation cushions!"
Xuan Qing was startled.
He had never expected Zhi Ming to be one of the Three Thousand Guests of Zixiao Palace. With Zhi Ming's strength back then, if he had fought for a meditation cushion, perhaps no one could have contended with him!
After all, at that time, great powers such as the Three Pure Ones, Jieyin, Zhunti, Fuxi, Nuwa, Kunpeng, and Hong Yun were merely Great Golden Immortals!
Lord Zhí Míng, meanwhile, had been at the peak of the Primordial Golden Immortal realm, infinitely close to the domain of a Sage.
"That fellow Hongjun has some skill!" Zhi Ming continued speaking to himself. "At the very least, I cannot establish the Immortal Dao!"
"His disciples have some skill as well. Nuwa created the human race, the Three Pure Ones established their Dao lineages, and even those two from the west have their own unique strengths!"
"And you!"
"Your cultivation is not high, yet you possess the Destiny of Nothingness. Even though I am skilled in divination, I cannot see your future. It is as though it is shrouded in mist."
As one of the earliest living beings born after the creation of heaven and earth, Zhi Ming's experience surpassed even that of the Sages by a measure. There were few things capable of drawing his attention.
"Stillness is better than movement!"
Though Xuan Qing was somewhat surprised by Zhi Ming's words, he remained composed. "Senior's mindset is rather similar to that of my First Martial Uncle."
"Only by not contending can one remain uncontended against beneath heaven!" Zhi Ming merely smiled. "Stillness is better than movement. Your martial uncle possesses great wisdom!"
"You are interesting as well!"
"Judging by the merit on your body, you should be the fellow who explained the Innate Eight Trigrams tens of thousands of years ago, drawing the Heavenly Dao's response and receiving merit!"
Xuan Qing nodded. "Senior, however, seems to see the greater trends of the Primordial Wilderness very clearly. No matter how the outside world shifts and changes, it cannot affect you in the slightest."
This Lord Zhí Míng was truly detached from worldly affairs and untouched by cause and effect. He actually possessed enough Heavenly Merit to wear away Yu Jiang's resentment, yet he turned a blind eye to it and chose to wait for the dragon clan to handle the matter themselves.
Furthermore, whether during the Dragon-Han Calamity or the current Witch-Demon Tribulation, he had not incurred the slightest karma. Instead, he possessed merit from guarding the northern extreme.
Though he clearly had the ability to influence the situation in the Primordial Wilderness, he chose to live quietly in one corner, remaining in this bitterly cold land of the Northern Abyss. Few beings could make him move his body.
Xuan Qing cupped his hands and shamelessly said, "May this junior ask Senior for a portion of Essence of Gui Water? Also, could you bring out the Innate Spiritual Treasures in your possession and allow me to imprint the Dao essence contained within them?"
"Certainly!"
Zhi Ming did not refuse.
Though he did not wish to become entangled in cause and effect, there were times when he did not mind forming a favorable connection.
Moreover, aside from the Dao of Gui Water, he had also comprehended the Great Dao of Yin-Yang. His turtle body was yang, his serpent body was yin; movement and stillness perfectly matched the profundities of yin and yang.
Thus, he also wished to discuss the Innate Eight Trigrams with Xuan Qing and see whether this derivative Dao of the Great Dao of Yin-Yang could help verify his own Great Dao of Yin-Yang.
In an instant, a strand of Essence of Gui Water fell directly into Xuan Qing's glabella.
Nearly a hundred Innate Spiritual Treasures also shone brilliantly in the void, erupting with all manner of Dao essence.
"This is..."
Xuan Qing had not expected Zhi Ming to be so wealthy. The Northern Abyss was barren, and Kunpeng, a being born in the Northern Abyss, did not even possess a spiritual treasure worth mentioning... Could it be that Zhi Ming had swept up all the treasures of the Northern Abyss?
There were only a few notable figures in the Northern Abyss: Black Tortoise Zhiming, the Mysterious Black Tortoise of the North Sea, Demon Master Kunpeng, and the fallen Sea God Yu Jiang...
Yu Jiang was gone.
Kunpeng was dirt poor.
The black tortoise could not transform and had no use for spiritual treasures.
The most likely person to have swept up the treasures of the Northern Abyss was the great power before him—Zhi Ming, who could move freely, bore merit, and had existed since the creation of heaven and earth!
The more Xuan Qing thought about it, the more likely it seemed. Even the supposedly barren west possessed two Top-grade Innate Spiritual Roots: the Bodhi Tree and the Seven Emotions Bitter Bamboo.
The Northern Abyss could not possibly have nothing.
At this moment, aside from the Myriad Tribulation Chessboard he had seen before, Xuan Qing also spotted several Top-grade Innate Spiritual Treasures such as the Mysterious Origin Water Control Banner, as well as a high-grade Innate Spiritual Root called the Great Chun Tree.
"If Saint Zhunti saw this, would he not say, 'You are fated with my western land'?"
Xuan Qing secretly mocked in his heart, while becoming even more certain of his guess. He tested the waters, saying, "Senior, this probably is not your entire fortune, is it?"
"Now there truly is no more!"
After thinking for a moment, Zhi Ming took out several dozen more Innate Spiritual Treasures from somewhere. "That fellow Hongjun also took quite a few opportunities from the Northern Abyss!"
You really did have more!
Xuan Qing stared in astonishment. He had merely asked casually to test him!
"Senior, do you still need a son?"
He immediately cast all dignity aside and said in the most respectful tone possible, "I wish to care for you in your old age!"
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