Zhang Qingran

"This woman knows this plague-ridden Kang Dabao?!" Yuan Xiyue was shocked. Of course she recognized this female cultivator with the veil. She was a pampered beauty who had been captured by Yuan Feng twenty years ago and kept in seclusion, not allowed to be seen by anyone!

Back then, when she only heard that Yuan Feng had captured another female cultivator from out of town with no connections, Yuan Xiyue lost much interest. Her own fate was still tied to the temple's protector, and her situation was hardly good, so how could she possibly expend any more effort for someone else?

However, Yuan Xiyue hadn't expected that this female cultivator would have a relationship with Kang Dabao. Now she could understand why Kang Dabao harbored such malice towards the Yuan Household cultivators.

As expected, how could a mere rogue Rogue Cultivator with only Five Spirit Roots and Clear Spirit Physique, who wouldn't even be able to Foundation Establishment by the age of 120, possibly be worth Kang Dabao, a greedy and womanizing evil cultivator, protecting so diligently?!

At this moment, Kang Dabao told her frankly that he and this female cultivator with the veil of mist were not acquainted before, and Yuan Xiyue certainly wouldn't believe him.

However, Sect Leader Kang Da had no time to care what Yuan Xiyue, the meat shield, was thinking. Upon hearing this, a trace of reminiscence flashed in his eyes, and he sighed softly, "I never expected to meet you here, fellow Daoist."

The beautiful female cultivator said softly, "Zhang Qingran greets the two fellow Daoists from the Chongming Sect."

At first, Jiang Qing was confused, thinking that his senior brother's old flame had come to visit. But then he thought, didn't he know how down-and-out his senior brother was twenty years ago? How could he have such a beautiful woman as his old flame?

"So you belong to the Qing generation, fellow Daoist, and are a great-grandson of my Patriarch Zhang." A subtle hint of warmth crept into Sect Leader Kang Da's words. Zhang Qingran readily agreed, "Indeed, your sect's founder, Zhang Yuandao, was my great-grandfather's second cousin; the two were inseparable friends back then."

"I see," Kang Dabao murmured.

In terms of blood ties, Zhang Qingran and Patriarch Zhang were quite close. However, Sect Leader Kang Da concealed the warmth in his tone and asked in a deep voice, "I wonder what brings Fellow Daoist Zhang from so far away, from Fenli Prefecture Capital Circuit Cloud Horn Prefecture, this Great Wei state of Wei?"

Hearing Zhang Qingran ask this, Zhang Kang Dabao's face showed sadness, and she said in a mournful voice, "Sect Leader Kang, the Fenli Zhang Household has been gone for nearly twenty years."

Jiang Qing and Kang Dabao were shocked upon hearing this. The latter said in surprise, "When my master was alive, I heard outsiders say that the Li Zhang family had produced another fake alchemist, and they even planned to invite someone to congratulate them, but..."

The Sect Leader Kang Da stopped there, clearly out of consideration for the reputations of both families, a fact Zhang Qingran was well aware of.

This is because, although the Fenli Zhang Household was not considered a large Lineage in Fenli Prefecture in the past, they could still dominate a county and act tyrannically.

The Chongming Sect is said to have been founded by members of the Zhang family, but Zhang Yuandao was a member of a collateral branch who left in a fit of pique. He only obtained the Foundation Establishment resources by joining the army and becoming a lackey of the Immortal Dynasty, so he could hardly be considered close to the Zhang Household.

Secondly, after completing his Foundation Establishment, Patriarch Zhang immediately returned to his ancestral home, severed ties with the family genealogy, and relocated close relatives to Pingrong County to establish new branches. Although these actions were not explicitly stated, they were virtually indistinguishable from a family separation.

Thirdly, after the death of Patriarch Zhang, the successor Zhang Household family members brought trouble upon the Chongming Sect, ruining the Foundation Establishment sect, Chongming Sect, to the point that it could not even dominate Pingrong County on the border. In the eyes of the Fenli Zhang Household, such strength was weak. Moreover, the successor leaders were no longer of Zhang blood, which further weakened the bond between them.

Four

For all these reasons, the Fenli Zhang Household gradually lost contact with the Chongming Sect.

When it came to the time of Old Sect Leader He, the Fenli Zhang Household had gained a new Pill Master, a joyous occasion that everyone in the Chongming Sect had to hear about from outsiders.

Even if they put in all their effort to prepare generous gifts, they still couldn't send them out before the invitations from the Fenli Zhang Household.

Sect Leader Kang Da was giving the Zhang Household face, so Zhang Qingran didn't hide anything and said softly, "Before the Fenli Prefecture, a Golden Core cave abode that had been sealed for a thousand years opened, and both False Core Ancestors went there to seek fortuitous opportunity, and then..."

Having heard all this, Jiang Qing could no longer fail to recognize that Zhang Qingran was a wandering cultivator from the Fenli Zhang Household. He couldn't help but ask in surprise, "Could it be that none of them have returned?"

Sect Leader Kang Da glanced at him sideways, cursing inwardly, "This foolish Third, this female cultivator is about to unleash her power, what are you doing, acting like a straight man?"

As expected, as soon as Jiang Qing finished speaking, Zhang Qingran's beautiful eyes filled with tears, her appearance as delicate as a pear blossom in the rain, utterly pitiful. "Fellow Daoist Jiang is right, neither of the two ancestors has returned. The patriarch, relying on the ancestral array, led over a thousand disciples to resist other families for nearly half a century, yet still..."

Seeing this, Kang Dabao sighed inwardly, "Yet this female cultivator still managed to cry."

The Sect Leader Kang Da had no intention of getting Fenli Zhang Household. It was easy to guess that this woman had a lot of karma on her hands, and she might even have False Core or more powerful enemies.

Twenty years ago, Chongming Sect was only supported by his three brothers, and it was already in a terrible state of decline, yet Zhang Qingran still came from afar.

This clearly shows that his friends and acquaintances have all left, and he has nowhere else to go, yet he is still unwilling to give up and insists on coming to find out what's going on and to seek a way out.

Seeing that Chongming Sect showed no improvement whatsoever, she left without even showing her face. In the end, she was chosen by the sixteenth young master of the Yuan Household, who was skilled in the art of sexual cultivation, and became his sexual vessel.

This is utterly incompetent. Back in the day, the Chongming Sect Leader Kang Da was so poor, and you've come all this way to Pingrong County, how can you just turn around and leave? Even if you were a senior, giving each of the three brothers a hundred Spirit Stone stones as a reward would at least earn you some goodwill, wouldn't it?

But now, the only remaining connection between the Chongming Sect and the Fenli Zhang Household is the 20,000 to 30,000 clan relatives who migrated here by Patriarch Zhang back then. Kang Dabao doesn't even bother to look at the others.

Fenli Zhang Household are present or not has absolutely nothing to do with the Chongming Sect of Cloud Horn Prefecture.

However, to be fair, a beautiful woman shedding tears is quite a sight. Kang Dabao didn't urge her, letting Zhang Qingran finish crying before hearing her kneel down and plead in a pitiful voice, "This concubine has been cursed by the villains of the Yuan Household. Please, fellow Daoist, have mercy on me and save me!"

This woman knows how to take advantage of a situation; in just a short while, Patriarch Zhang became her ancestor.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, please don't be hasty. Our sect is small and weak, willing but unable. Let's discuss this further later." Sect Leader Kang Da became wary; this beautiful woman was the least trustworthy person.

Unless Zhang Qingran asks him to place a restriction on her like he did on Yuan Xiyue, he won't believe a single word this beautiful woman says!

"This woman has cultivated her primordial yin for two cycles of sixty years. Yuan Feng has always wanted to harvest it. As long as Sect Leader Kang uses her as a hostage, he can help me escape!" Zhang Qingran's tone became even more poignant as she spoke, as if she could melt one's heart.

Kang Dabao looked surprised and doubtful, while Jiang Qing exclaimed, "Matching members of the same clan?"

Yuan Xiyue rolled her eyes. The Yuan Household was, after all, a long-established Aristocratic Clan. Zhang Qingran's public remark about this ugly time was a great loss of face for the Yuan Household family.

Yes, back then, the abbot of Original Response Temple and Nahu Temple traveled through the twenty-six prefectures of Shannan Circuit and established nine Foundation Establishment female practitioners to cultivate the Buddha Mother Wisdom Consort Dao. Only one of them could share joy with him and jointly Golden Core Formation Pill.

Among these nine, Yuan Xiyue's aptitude is only average. Even if she were to actually use Feng Wan's essence, she might not be chosen as a consort by the abbot. Even if she were to have the good fortune to achieve the Golden Core Yuan Xiyue, Shannan Circuit is still the territory of the Star-Picking Pavilion. How could it allow a Buddhist consort to stay here for long?

In the end, the Jingnan Yuan Clan only gained the support of a distant relative who had married far away to the snowy region. Although it could be considered a good thing, there was still a layer of separation between them.

Therefore, if Yuan Feng were to absorb Yuan Xiyue, it would increase his chances of Core Formation by another 10%, Yuan Buwen also considered worthwhile.

The phrase "marrying within the same clan" sounds unpleasant, especially since Yuan Xiyue and Yuan Feng are very close, not even beyond the fifth degree of kinship. However, such sordid things have been common among noble families throughout history. Even the emperor of the previous dynasty had the despicable act of having sex with his own sister to produce a child for pure blood alchemy.

Compared to that, Yuan Feng's dirty tricks are nothing serious.

As for whether this will offend the abbot who is vying for the position of a Buddhist disciple at Original Response Temple...

The Jingnan Yuan Clan has not produced Golden Core for nearly a thousand years, Yuan Buwen really doesn't want to wait any longer. After all, this is still the Star-Picking Pavilion area, and no matter how strong Original Response Temple, it still needs to be somewhat cautious.

Sect Leader Kang Da, unaware of the Yuan Household family's sordid affairs, simply gestured to stop the Yuan Household family's eldest daughter from questioning him. He then turned to Zhang Qingran with a serious expression and softly asked, "Fellow Daoist Zhang, why should I help you?"

"Why should I?" Zhang Qingran's tone faltered, a hint of doubt appearing on her beautiful face, but after a moment's thought, she understood.

This was the backlash against the Zhang family's decades-long estrangement from the Chongming Sect, to the point that Zhang Yuandao's disciples and descendants today have no regard for the Fenli Zhang Household whatsoever.

After thinking things through, Zhang Qingran stopped looking pitiful with her eyes red from crying. Before, she only knew that this seventh-generation leader of the Chongming Sect was a man of great loyalty and righteousness, so she tried to use loyalty and righteousness to bind him.

Since there's no room for sentimentality now, the only thing to do is to get straight to the point and negotiate the price properly.

But now, she's been kept like a caged bird for so many years, her cultivation has stagnated. Apart from the rather useless spirit Spirit Artifact in her Dantian, all the rare items in her Storage Bag are empty. What else can she use for trade?

Even this pure body was something Yuan Feng deliberately preserved until today for the sake of his great cause.

If she were to give herself to Sect Leader Kang Da, the latter might be able to take over the karma she carried. But she didn't know what kind of person Kang Dabao, whose reputation was somewhat tarnished, truly was, or if he was the kind of person who would admit to something after taking it all.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang?" Zhang Qingran hesitated without answering, but Kang Dabao gradually lost patience.

This is no ordinary time. Little Sanzi just made it clear that the few Jade Crocodile chasing them aren't just the ones lying here. In a few more quarters of an hour, a few more formidable creatures might emerge from that spring.

Jiang Qing and his group had personally witnessed Demon Beast that could speak human language and had already "Spirit Awakening" in the Jade Lake. Such Demon Beast could be considered a cultivator with Heavenly Spirit Root among cultivators, and it was almost certain to become Third Tier Demon Beast, comparable to Golden Core cultivator.

Even if one's skill is somewhat lacking, one should never take it lightly.

Zhang Qingran bit her lip lightly, as if she had made up her mind, and said in a crisp voice, "I've heard that Sect Leader Kang Da has practiced a high-level pupil technique passed down through generations of the Chongming Sect. Do you know anything about the 'Moon Fern'?"

"'Moon Fern'?!" Sect Leader Kang Da lowered his eyes, suppressing his joy, his tone still low. "Fellow Daoist Zhang knows the whereabouts of the 'Moon Fern'?"

Kang Dabao concealed his true intentions well, but Zhang Qingran was also exceptionally intelligent. The female cultivator felt a sense of relief and said softly, "Of course I know. If I didn't know, how could I dare to advise Sect Leader Kang? As long as I rescue me from Yuan Feng's clutches, I can tell Sect Leader Kang Da Moon Fern."

Kang Dabao was in a dilemma. His most relied-upon technique was the Delusion-Breaking Golden Eyes. But neither the Clear Eyes Treasured Liquid nor the more precious Three Mysteries True Dew could significantly enhance this pupil technique.

According to Master Zhang Yuandao, the Moon Fern is indeed effective in cultivating this method. If one wants to achieve mastery, this thing is indispensable.

"Fellow Daoist Zhang, don't try to deceive me. It's true that the sixteenth young master of the Yuan Household is quite skilled in the art of 'replenishing essence,' but I, Kang, can also learn it."

Sect Leader Kang Da's tone remained indifferent, but Zhang Qingran trembled upon hearing it, thinking to herself, "It's true that good people rarely emerge from this remote and dangerous place. After I'm freed from my shackles, I must first settle the score with this Kang fellow, so I don't owe him anything."

The female cultivator straightened her sapphire-blue fairy robes, composed herself, and said in a deep voice, "If Sect Leader Kang is willing to help me escape this predicament, not only will I not hold back a single detail about the whereabouts of the Moon Fern, but I will also owe Sect Leader Kang a debt of gratitude. The entire Fenli Zhang Household family will forever remember this and repay it with boundless gratitude!"

Kang Dabao nodded, then shook his head. "I only want the whereabouts of the Moon Fern, not favors from friends."

"Yes," Zhang Qingran's plans fell through, and she gave up struggling. She was already disheartened after being taken out by Yuan Feng this time, and thought that her Dao Path had come to an end, as had her Dao Path to the Fenli Zhang Household.

Unexpectedly, they were able to meet Kang Dabao and even receive his help, which gave them a glimmer of hope of escaping Yuan Feng's clutches. This was indeed an unexpected delight.

After twenty years of waiting and waiting, she can finally say that she Ruyi.

Compared to Zhang Qingran, Yuan Xiyue's expression was extremely unpleasant. She had come to Mountain-Viewing Cave this time to obtain the Toad Dew and Osmanthus Fragrance. Although this item was only Second-Tier Supreme-Grade, it was more suitable for intimate relationships than many Third Tier spiritual items.

With this item in hand, he could surely drain Feng Wan dry. Her Clear Spirit Physique was a powerful tonic for her, perhaps even allowing her to break through to the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, giving her more leverage in front of the temple's abbot.

For this reason, she was even willing to risk being sexually assaulted by Yuan Feng to come here, but she never expected to fall into Kang Dabao's hands.

Watching Zhang Qingran gain Kang Dabao's support, Yuan Xiyue felt resentful and was about to say something when she saw Qi Buxiu was lying on the cloth, cough a few times and sit up.

"Ahem. Many thanks to my fellow Daoists for their kindness in helping me. When I meet my wife, I will ask her to express her gratitude to you all." After taking the medicine that Fei Shuhe had prepared for Sect Leader Kang Da, Qi Buxiu's complexion had improved considerably.

Zhang Qingran released the Spirit Artifact at a very opportune time, so Master Qi's injuries were not too serious, and at least his life was not in immediate danger.

After regaining consciousness, the latter Chu Yanran had prepared for her into water and consumed them. After the Sect Leader Kang Da and Jiang Qing expressed their concern for her for a few words, they asked Zhang Qingran to take care of her first.

Chu Yanran had previously made some harsh remarks to Sect Leader Kang Da, so the latter dared not fail to serve the woman before him well. When a beautiful woman gets angry, she really doesn't listen to any reason.

At this moment, if Kang Dabao gave any instructions, Zhang Qingran would naturally comply, and she Qi Buxiu's injuries.

Yuan Xiyue wasn't as fortunate as her, and Kang Dabao turned his gaze over again. The eldest daughter of the Yuan Household felt a faint pain in the Yang Blood Heart-Locking Incantation between her two buds. So, her face darkened, she cursed inwardly, and walked towards the last stone door.