Watching Ancestor Tianyang sigh with deep emotion, Ju Hua found himself at a loss for words.
In truth, Celestial Immortals could be said to have endless lifespans. A Celestial Immortal might go into seclusion for hundreds of thousands or even millions of years at a time—long enough for ordinary Loose Immortals to come and go through more than a dozen generations.
Under those circumstances, it was hardly strange that the Celestial Immortal Ancestors of a clan might not know which Loose Immortals belonged to it.
Before Ju Hua passed his tribulation, Ancestor Shangyang had noticed him because his talent was indeed exceptional, and he had a chance of becoming a Celestial Immortal. Otherwise, given Ancestor Shangyang's status, he wouldn't have paid attention to him for no reason.
Ju Hua had indeed been a genius, but the Zhuanshui Clan's history was full of geniuses like him. Yet how many of them had passed their tribulations and become Celestial Immortals?
Before Ju Hua passed his tribulation, it was already remarkable that Ancestor Shangyang had taken an interest in him. Attracting the attention of any other Celestial Immortal had been out of the question!
Ancestor Tianyang had never heard of Ju Hua before. Ju Hua had been a Loose Immortal for less than four years, so it would have been strange if Ancestor Tianyang had known about him!
Ju Hua guessed that Ancestor Tianyang was sighing like this because he had misunderstood the situation. He probably thought Ju Hua was one of those Loose Immortals who had already lived for at least a hundred thousand years.
It was an awkward situation, and Ju Hua didn't know whether he ought to explain things clearly to Ancestor Tianyang.
If he did, it might come across as bragging. Ju Hua wasn't the sort to show off.
But if he didn't, Ancestor Tianyang would find out sooner or later, and then Ju Hua would have to spend time explaining. After all, he had been a Loose Immortal for only four years, and had been cultivating for just over three hundred. Under normal circumstances, it would be hard to comprehend the fifth stance of the Great Sorrow Sword Art!
Take the Three-Foot Sword, which had appeared in Desolate Era. The complete Three-Foot Sword had nine stances, but it had been left behind by a Loose Immortal who had lived for only a million years. Its ninth stance was about on par with the sixth stance of the Great Sorrow Sword Art.
The Great Sorrow Sword Art also had nine stances. The Celestial Immortal who had left it behind had claimed that anyone who mastered all nine would be just one step away from comprehending the entire Dao of the Sword!
That meant the Great Sorrow Sword Art was far more difficult to cultivate than the Three-Foot Sword. From this, one could see just how astonishing it was that Ju Hua had reached the fifth stance of the Great Sorrow Sword Art in such a short time!
Under these circumstances, once Ancestor Tianyang learned the truth, he would certainly come ask Ju Hua about it.
After a brief hesitation, Ju Hua decided not to explain for now. It really wasn't easy to bring up such a thing himself.
"Your name is Ju Hua?" Ancestor Tianyang asked.
"Yes!"
"You have considerable strength. With you leading our Zhuanshui Clan's army, I can rest easy!" Ancestor Tianyang unhurriedly took a small, five-colored lotus flower from his Storage Magic Treasure. Then he continued, "You're a sword immortal, unmatched in slaughter, but your defenses are bound to have their gaps. This is a protective treasure I used in my early years. It's called the Five-Colored Treasure Lotus, and I'll give it to you today!"
"Thank you, Ancestor!"
Ju Hua didn't refuse. He accepted the Five-Colored Treasure Lotus.
"Good. If anything like today happens again, notify me at once!" Ancestor Tianyang gave a slight nod. Then he turned into a streak of golden light and vanished from the area in the blink of an eye.
"..."
Watching the golden light shoot off into the distance, Ju Hua felt a little moved. Ancestor Tianyang's own strength was probably extraordinary, far beyond that of an ordinary Celestial Immortal.
An ordinary Celestial Immortal wouldn't have the nerve to give a junior an immortal-rank magic treasure the moment they met!
One had to understand that most magic treasures used by Celestial Immortals were only immortal-rank. Celestial Immortals who possessed Pure Yang Magic Treasures were as rare as phoenix feathers and qilin horns!
The fact that Ancestor Tianyang could casually give away an immortal-rank magic treasure proved that he had quite a few of them. And the number of magic treasures one possessed could, to a certain extent, reflect one's strength as a Celestial Immortal.
After all, without sufficient strength, how could one possibly gather enough treasures?
"As expected of a Celestial Immortal of the Zhuanshui Clan!" Ju Hua shook his head and didn't dwell on it. The stronger Ancestor Tianyang was, the better!
The stronger Ancestor Tianyang was, the safer Ju Hua would be on this campaign.
After seeing Ancestor Tianyang off, Ju Hua quickly returned to the army.
"Send two people to bring Fuyun and Zhuanshui Pingqiu back," Ju Hua instructed calmly. Then he waved a hand and released the enormous Shuixuan Warship.
The Shuixuan Warship was, after all, an immortal-rank magic treasure. Though it had suffered considerable damage after being relentlessly bombarded by that Void-Return Fiendgod, it was still usable. With some reworking, there was every chance it could be restored completely.
"Everyone else, board the ship. Our destination is Autumn Mountain Great Marsh!" Ju Hua ordered.
Whoosh, whoosh, whoosh, whoosh!
No one spoke. One after another, figures clad in black armor filed into the Shuixuan Warship.
Hum!
The enormous Shuixuan Warship began moving again, its terrifying aura once more spilling into the sky.
Since they were already close to Autumn Mountain Great Marsh, Ju Hua didn't return to his room to cultivate in seclusion. He simply stood on the deck of the Shuixuan Warship, silently watching the scenery flash by in the distance.
After watching for a while, Ju Hua suddenly spoke. "Since Fairy Ling is here, why hide?"
"I wouldn't dare hide in front of you, Daoist Friend Ju Hua!" A soft laugh rang out, and then Qing Muling, in the form of a Young Girl, appeared behind Ju Hua.
"What brings Fairy Ling here?" Ju Hua asked without turning around.
"Of course I came to congratulate you on your great improvement in strength, Daoist Friend Ju Hua!" As Qing Muling spoke, a piece of blue-green jade appeared in her hand.
"Daoist Friend Ju Hua, I came across this unusual magic treasure by chance. It isn't very high-grade, but it can nourish the soul, which is of great benefit to Loose Immortals like us!" Qing Muling said with a smile.
"It isn't anything particularly valuable. I hope you'll accept it, Daoist Friend Ju Hua!"
"Since it's a kind gesture from Fairy Ling, I won't stand on ceremony!" Ju Hua turned around and accepted the blue-green jade. But the instant his fingers touched it, his expression changed slightly.
Fortunately, Ju Hua was steadfast enough within himself to suppress that flicker of surprise almost immediately.
"Daoist Friend Ju Hua, is something wrong?" Qing Muling had noticed the change in his expression, but didn't think much of it. She only asked, a little anxiously.
"Nothing. I just think the jade is made of an unusual material. Do you know what kind of natural treasure was used to make it?" Ju Hua asked without betraying his thoughts.
"I'm not sure. I got this jade by chance after killing a great-sin cultivator some time ago," Qing Muling said.
"I see." Ju Hua nodded thoughtfully.