Immortal Jiuhua invited Ju Hua to sit down, then asked with a smile, "Ju Hua, Daoist friend, are you feeling puzzled?"
"Not exactly." Ju Hua shook his head, then asked, "May I ask why you went out of your way to keep me here, Daoist Jiuhua?"
"Haha, I did have something to discuss with you, Ju Hua, but it's a personal matter of mine, unrelated to this war!" Immortal Jiuhua said with a smile.
"A personal matter?" A trace of confusion crossed Ju Hua's face. He wasn't particularly close to Immortal Jiuhua. What personal matter could the other man have that involved him?
"Do you remember that curious item I took out fifteen years ago, to test the strength of our fellow Daoists?" Immortal Jiuhua asked.
"Of course." Ju Hua nodded.
"I found it by chance while adventuring in the Northern Underworld Space, above the Northern Underworld Sea," Immortal Jiuhua continued.
"It was during that same adventure that I stumbled upon a mysterious cave abode!"
"An immortal's cave abode?" Ju Hua's expression turned thoughtful.
"No. At the very least, it was left behind by a Pure Yang True Immortal. There's even a chance..." Immortal Jiuhua stopped there, but Ju Hua already knew what he meant.
At their level, even if they had never encountered one in person, they had heard of Dao Ancestors.
What was more, Ju Hua had the memories of Desolate Era. If everything in those memories was true, then his knowledge of Dao Ancestors far surpassed that of the Immortal Jiuhua before him.
"What exactly do you want to say, Daoist Jiuhua?" Ju Hua asked.
"When the war is over, I'd like to invite you to explore that cave abode with me," said Immortal Jiuhua.
"Why me?" Ju Hua hadn't let the words "Dao Ancestor's cave abode" cloud his judgment. He asked calmly.
"There's an extremely unusual formation outside the cave abode. After studying it for a long time, I realized that breaking it is neither difficult nor easy," Immortal Jiuhua said slowly.
"It's a formation of Yin and Yang. The Yin formation requires a Qi Refinement Path cultivator to continuously pour in their own magic power, while the Yang formation needs a God-Fiend Path cultivator to continuously pour in their divine power. Once both formations are activated at the same time, the grand formation will break on its own!"
"I've heard that on the battlefield, you often transform into a hundred-zhang-tall giant and fight the God-Fiends in close combat. You even exchanged a few blows with a Void-Return Fiendgod once! It seems your body wasn't damaged during the Heavenly Tribulation, and your attainments in the God-Fiend Path are quite high, too, aren't they?"
"I do cultivate the God-Fiend Path as well." Ju Hua nodded, then continued, "But there are plenty of God-Fiend Path cultivators. Why do you need to seek me out, Daoist Jiuhua?"
Hearing Ju Hua's question, Immortal Jiuhua smiled as though it didn't matter and explained, "The formation was designed that way, so I suspect the cave abode may contain inheritances: one for the Qi Refinement Path, and one for the God-Fiend Path. If we have to work together to overcome trials after entering, then choosing a God-Fiend Path cultivator who's too weak would be pointless."
"Is that so?"
Ju Hua nodded lightly.
"Originally, I planned to invite Daoist God Mountain to go with me. But after hearing about you, Ju Hua, I changed my mind," Immortal Jiuhua said.
"Oh?"
"It's simple. If there really is an inheritance inside, someone as talented as you is more likely to obtain it. Daoist God Mountain is a Void-Return Fiendgod, but his talent truly doesn't measure up to yours." Immortal Jiuhua spoke without reservation.
"You flatter me." Ju Hua shook his head, then fell into thought.
"My invitation will remain open until this war is over. You can take your time to consider it," Immortal Jiuhua suddenly said.
"When do you plan to set out, Daoist Jiuhua?" Ju Hua asked.
"Within a hundred years after the war ends," Immortal Jiuhua replied after some thought.
"Within a hundred years?" Ju Hua nodded thoughtfully. That would be plenty of time for him.
"Just send me word when you're ready to leave, Daoist Jiuhua," Ju Hua said directly.
"Oh? You've made up your mind?" Immortal Jiuhua clearly hadn't expected Ju Hua to agree so readily.
"Of course." Ju Hua nodded.
"Haha, excellent! You really are straightforward, Ju Hua!" Seeing Ju Hua agree without hesitation, Immortal Jiuhua set aside his doubts. Laughing, he handed Ju Hua a Dao Talisman.
"Ju Hua, with this Dao Talisman, I'll be able to contact you even across a hundred million li," Immortal Jiuhua said.
"Then I'll accept it." Ju Hua nodded.
"Also, I ask that you swear an oath to the Heavenly Dao, promising that no third person will learn what happened today," Immortal Jiuhua added.
"Of course!"
Ju Hua readily agreed again. It was a perfectly reasonable request, and he had no reason to refuse.
A short while later, Ju Hua walked out of the Yinglong Army camp and headed without hesitation toward the Zhuanshui Clan camp.
Cultivation required fortuitous opportunities. Although Ju Hua now possessed an astonishing talent, burying himself in arduous training all the time would inevitably yield diminishing returns. Originally, after taking care of matters here and returning to his clan to visit his little sister, he had planned to travel around the Great Xia World.
Immortal Jiuhua's sudden invitation had indeed caught Ju Hua by surprise. But it also suited him perfectly, so he had no reason to refuse.
Fifteen years ago, the Northern Underworld Space would have been extremely dangerous for someone of Ju Hua's strength. But after those fifteen years, he felt it was just the right place for him.
What was more, Immortal Jiuhua had said that the cave abode might have been left behind by a Dao Ancestor. That only made Ju Hua more eager to see it!
Of course, Ju Hua also understood that Immortal Jiuhua's reasons for inviting him along might not be as noble as he'd claimed.
In the Great Xia World, powerful God-Fiend Path cultivators were rare, but they did exist. Ju Hua knew of several whose strength rivaled that of Loose Immortals with a million years of cultivation.
These were all renowned figures. There was no way Immortal Jiuhua didn't know of them.
Ju Hua's true strength was no weaker than theirs—in fact, it was greater. But Immortal Jiuhua didn't know that!
If Immortal Jiuhua was worried that they would have to join forces to overcome trials after breaking the formation, then he should have invited a stronger God-Fiend Path cultivator. Yet he had chosen Ju Hua!
Immortal Jiuhua's thinking wasn't hard to guess. If he invited someone about as strong as himself, this opportunity might well go up in smoke.
But someone like Ju Hua was perfect: on the surface, his strength was still below the level of a million-year Loose Immortal, yet he was far stronger than an ordinary top-tier Loose Immortal.