"Ziqing, may I ask Taoist priest, in these five hundred and ninety-six years, with the ability to call the wind and rain as a cultivator, how many great things have you done to benefit the country and the people?" Wen Ziqing stared at Taoist priest Baopu without blinking and asked.
"A matter of great benefit to the country and the people?" The smile on Baopu Taoist's face froze. For cultivators like Baopu Taoist, how could their country and people be more important than their own advancement? In the hundreds of years that Baopu Taoist had spent in cultivation, every day he would either kill people for treasures, or kill monsters or pick spiritual plants. Everything he did was to advance as quickly as possible. The only thing that could benefit others was refining elixirs. But the elixirs refined by Baopu Taoist were not given to others for free. Even if someone benefited from them, they had to buy them from him at a high price. Baopu Taoist thought about it, but he couldn't think of what good he had done in the past few hundred years, and he was embarrassed for a moment.
Monks are a special group. While they possess immense power, their abilities to summon wind and rain, and overturn rivers and seas, are all used for battles between monks. Which monk would be so foolish as to waste their own spiritual energy to summon wind and rain for a mortal? Even if they did, they would likely have their own agenda.
Some cultivators, with weak spiritual roots and seeing no hope of achieving the Great Dao, would flee to the secular world to become a respected "Immortal Master," enjoying the wealth and prosperity of the human world. These cultivators often accepted offerings from the royal families of the secular world, and during droughts, they would perform magic like "Spring Rain Spell" at the royal family's request, bringing down a heavy downpour to alleviate the drought. However, to say that they performed magic to alleviate the suffering of the people would be an overstatement; all they did was to consolidate their status as "Immortal Masters" in the eyes of the royal family, thereby gaining more wealth and status.
In short, the monks are not so idle as to expend their own spiritual power to bestow favors on mortals without asking for anything in return.
"Then... Ziqing would like to ask the Taoist priest, how many respectable things have you done in these five hundred and ninety-six years?" Wen Ziqing saw that Taoist Baopu looked a little embarrassed, but pretended not to see it and continued to ask.
"This..." Taoist Baopu was once again speechless. To Taoist Baopu, every minute of a cultivator's life was precious. He was so busy cultivating and scrambling for treasure that he never considered meddling in other people's affairs. Being respected was easier said than done. To earn respect, one must not only be selfless but also endure the pain of having their own interests encroached upon. This was something Taoist Baopu absolutely could not tolerate.
Taoist Baopu practiced all day and night, striving to reach the pinnacle of strength as soon as possible. In the world of cultivation, the strongest reign supreme, and any cultivator possessing supreme power naturally possesses the right to look down upon all living beings. As for whether others look up to him out of respect or fear, what difference does it make?
Seeing the Taoist Baopu's face turn pale and blue, Wen Ziqing knew he had hit a sore spot and stopped talking. When he first met the Taoist Baopu, Wen Ziqing had intended to reason with him and see if he could get him to let him go.
Wen Ziqing had already understood the nature of Taoist Baopu from the probing words he had just spoken. He possessed great supernatural powers, yet possessed no compassion at all. Taoist Baopu must be selfish at heart.
Wen Ziqing knew that he had fallen into the hands of such a person, and his life would be bleak for the time being. Perhaps... he would never see his little girl again in his lifetime?
Thinking of Zhou Yuanyuan, Wen Ziqing felt a pang of bitterness. According to Wen Ziqing's life plan, he would stay by Zhou Yuanyuan's side until she grew up, and then give her a stable and happy home.
Unfortunately, Baopu Taoist's sudden action shattered Wen Ziqing's plan. Wen Ziqing wasn't sure if he could escape Baopu Taoist's clutches. After all, Baopu Taoist was a highly skilled cultivator, while he was just an ordinary man.
Had he lost the little girl he'd wanted to cherish forever? He wondered if she would be sad for him after learning of his disappearance. He wondered if she would still remember him decades later. Whenever Wen Ziqing thought of Zhou Yuanyuan smiling sweetly and calling someone "brother," his heart sank.
Wen Ziqing's silence made Taoist Baopu feel a little guilty, and he couldn't help but defend himself a few times: "We cultivators are different from ordinary people. Aside from the path to immortality, everything else is fleeting. When you gain supreme strength, you will naturally understand my teacher's painstaking efforts."
Wen Ziqing shook his head and said nothing more. If he wasn't so weak, he would have captured Baopu Taoist, using threats and pleas, hoping to get out of this place. As the saying goes, "It's not a good deal if you're chasing after someone." If cultivating immortality was so advantageous, why didn't Baopu Taoist find someone else willing to do it, instead of forcing him, an unwilling person, to do it? After thinking about it, Wen Ziqing couldn't help but feel that Baopu Taoist had bad intentions.
Immortality? What good would immortality mean to him alone? Without that little figure who held him captivated, what good would it mean to him, no matter how powerful he was?
Seeing Wen Ziqing's stubbornness, Taoist Baopu's face turned livid. If he didn't need Wen Ziqing to draw his Qi into his body to temper this body, Taoist Baopu would have wanted to walk away. As a dignified Jindan Zhenren, could he really ask a mortal to be his disciple?
However, Wen Ziqing was unwilling to cultivate. Without the tempering of spiritual energy, his body could not reach its most perfect state. This was something that the Taoist Baopu, who was dedicated to pursuing perfection, could not tolerate. Forget it, since Wen Ziqing could keep him alive, he would just coax him!
"Wen Ziqing, if you don't want to practice, I won't force you, but the immortal gate of my Langyuan Secret Realm is only open to cultivators. Disciples below the middle stage of Qi training cannot leave the secret realm at all. If you don't practice, you can only stay here and waste your whole life." Taoist Baopu took a deep breath, suppressed the anger in his heart, and found a reason to persuade Wen Ziqing.
What Taoist Baopu said was true. All the cultivators in the entire Langyuan Secret Realm knew about this matter. For some reason, the gate to the Langyuan Secret Realm looked a little strange.
When entering the secret realm, the gate is open to everyone. Even ordinary people with no cultivation can be transported into the secret realm as long as they have a pass token. However, when leaving, the gate will automatically screen cultivators below the middle stage of Qi training, and they will not be able to take a single step out of the secret realm.
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