About to Hatch

Su Yao turned his gaze away from the distance, looked down at Ren Han was still kneeling on the ground, and softened his tone:

"Now that you've joined Qixia, you're a Qixia person in life and Qixia ghost in death. Don't worry too much; as long as Qixia exists, you'll always have someone to back you up."

Upon hearing this, Ren Han's eyes reddened, and he was about to speak when Su Yao raised his hand to stop him.

"I know that as a Heavenly Element, there are many things you cannot say. But you have already said so much, which shows that you care about Qixia." Su Yao looked at him calmly, "When you break through to the Purple Mansion in the future, I can personally go to the Heavenly Court to seek the Dharma to continue your Dao Path."

After saying that, he waved his hand, indicating that Ren Han could leave.

Ren Han stood up, turned and took a few steps, then stopped. He turned back and finally asked the question that had been weighing on his heart:

"Since the abbot discovered this long ago, why did he only ask about it today?"

Su Yao chuckled lightly and said frankly:

"Back then, I thought I only needed to stay here for twenty years before returning to the mountain, so there was no need to ask any more questions. Now that I need to establish myself in Nanzhao for a long time, and I also have a divine mission, there are some things I have to ask, after all, it's better to be prepared."

He didn't intend to say anything more, but he added one last thing:

"Rest assured. If I had truly intended to harm you back then, I would have passed on the Path of the Great Yang, not the Path of Cold Qi."

Ren Han was stunned upon hearing this.

Su Yao met his gaze and stated his meaning clearly:

"The Cold Qi is the way of the officials in charge of Heavenly Governance. The fact that I am passing on this method to you is because I intend to recruit you."

Ren Han skipped a beat. Suddenly remembering someone else, he hesitated before speaking:

"And Zichuan Brother Zichuan..."

"He's different from you." Su Yao shook his head. "If he harbors no hatred, I will ask Daozheng to remove the unwanted things from his body so he can cultivate normally. But I can't tell him these things directly."

He gazed at the deepening night outside the pavilion, his tone as calm as ever:

"When I accept a disciple, I can immediately impart the teachings, but the trials are never few. Success or failure depends entirely on fate. For Qixia, at most, she will only lose a portion of Spiritual Qi, a few pills, and some spiritual items."

Ren Han instantly realized that the matter of Zichuan had already involved a power struggle at the True Lord level.

At this moment, one can't help but marvel at Lu Yuan's good fortune. Among those with better or comparable talent than him, he is the only one favored by the Heavenly Governance.

One of them is Zichuan, who possesses the abilities of True Lord; it's clear that neither of these two could have received the Qixia True Dharma...

Then, he dared not ask any more questions, and only whispered:

"This disciple will remember this and will never reveal a single detail to anyone."

Su Yao chuckled softly upon hearing this:

"Since I dared to tell you, it's because I'm certain you won't tell anyone else."

His tone suddenly turned cold. "In your deductions, you must have encountered fellow practitioners of my Daoist Gate scriptures and methods, and you should know what it means to practice together. When you were cultivating, you never resisted in the slightest; you were the most diligent and hardworking of the seven. Unless True Lord of the Cold Qi Dao personally intervenes, your Dao Path and life are already in my hands..."

Ren Han remained silent for a long time.

Su Yao is right about everything.

Although the Cultivation Method given to him was not of the highest grade, it was definitely the most suitable for him.

Qixia had left a contingency plan to deal with the uncertain Heavenly Element, which was ultimately a precaution. But now the die was cast. Over the past twenty years, he had only felt that this place was peaceful. Apart from a period of disputes among the group after the cultivation Cultivation Method were bestowed upon him, there had been no other troubles.

Thinking of this, he straightened his clothes and bowed solemnly:

"From this day forward, I will only return to Qixia."

Su Yao looked at him, a smile appearing on his face.

Under the moonlight, he took out the Daoist Gate Talisman Edict, which had been sealed with two immortal decrees, from his sleeve and waved it slightly in front of Ren Han.

The celestial light shone Highest Clarity on the talisman, dimming the glow of the lone lamp on the eaves.

"Now that you've joined my Qixia, there are certain rules you should know. Our sect has always been like this: except for myself, whose birth was accompanied by a sky ablaze with rosy light, thus automatically entering the Qixia lineage upon entering the sect, no other disciple can enter Purple Mansion lineage until they reach the Purple Mansion. No matter how high your talent, even if you have True Lord or an Immortal as your master, it's the same."

He put the talisman back into his sleeve and looked at Ren Han:

"Therefore, focus on your cultivation. The day you reach the Purple Mansion will be the day you officially join my Qixia lineage."

Upon hearing this, Ren Han bowed again, and then stood up:

"This disciple will certainly not fail the abbot's high expectations."

After speaking, he got up and left without waiting for Su Yao's reply.

Looking in the direction Ren Han had left, Su Yao couldn't help but chuckle softly. Then he turned to look at the silent Cibi Lake under the night sky and whispered:

"Having finished fishing, I return without mooring my boat; I'll cast my line again in the deep, Purple and Green."

As I reel in my fishing rod, I leisurely arrange the thousands of strands of silk, watching the distant lights floating on the opposite bank.

The wind has not yet settled, the moon flows like water. A lone figure in a straw raincoat casts a shadow on the clear autumn sky.

"The winds of the Ming Dynasty rise on the road to Nanzhao, and amidst the misty rain, will the fishing rod be brought back?"

After speaking, he stepped forward, picked up the cup of tea that had long since gone cold from the stone table, tilted his head back and drank it all in one gulp. He then placed the empty cup back on the table, turned around and walked toward the cave abode.

Upon arriving at the cave abode, he first checked on the condition of the Three Birds. Su Yao estimated that it would probably take several more years, and they wouldn't regain consciousness anytime soon.

Then he slowly walked towards the deepest part of the cave abode.

There stands a divine altar that Su Yao built some time ago, using the Qixia Spiritual Node as its foundation, specifically for nurturing the spiritual embryo.

There were no intricate array patterns on the stage, only a very faint rosy glow like a thin veil shrouding the spiritual embryo that had been dormant for more than twenty years. It was the one that the steward of the Flower-Shifting Palace had given as an extra gift back then, and which had been deliberately packaged in a low-key manner.

More than twenty years ago, when Su Yao first obtained this item, he used the Prism to glimpse its inner workings: it contained spiritual energy that was condensed and did not dissipate, like a bead that had been deliberately sealed. Its outer shell was simple, but its interior was a completely different scene.

He knew then that this thing was no ordinary thing, but since there were enough Spirit Wood Child in the mountains, hatching it directly would be a waste, so he kept it until today.

Now that he has broken through to the Purple Mansion, the spiritual energy of Golden Ao Mountain is becoming increasingly abundant due to the interaction between heaven and earth.

The spirit embryo on the altar was bathed in this increasingly rich spiritual energy, and the seemingly dim membrane on its surface had begun to shimmer with a faint, lustrous sheen, as if a seed that had been parched for a long time had finally received the nourishment of rain.

Deep within the spiritual embryo, the rich spiritual energy that had been sealed for over twenty years was slowly and irreversibly awakening, resonating with the earth's spiritual energy of Golden Ao Mountain. With each breath, it seemed to have merged with the mountain itself.

Looking at the spiritual embryo, Su Yao pondered: If Zilin breaks through to the Purple Mansion in the future, along with Liu Yunhe and the other five, all of them will successfully break through, the spiritual energy of Golden Ao Mountain will reach a new level.

By then, it will be more than enough to confer the title of a mountain god at the Foundation Establishment Peak Stage, and perhaps even create a mountain god at the Holding the Profound level.

After all, once the spirit embryo is hatched, it is already possible to bestow upon a mountain god in the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage.

Then he reached out and gently touched the translucent membrane on the surface of the spirit embryo with his fingertips.

It feels warm and smooth to the touch, and you can faintly feel a slight pulse emanating from within.

In three to five days at most, this spiritual embryo will hatch.