Chapter 116 Unresolved 1 Map
Xu Xing has already met two of the four essential conditions for establishing a sect.
Disciple: The children we brought back from the Abyss of Eclipse are the first batch of disciples.
Resources: Xu Xing's backpack was piled high with pills and magical artifacts.
Location: The Lingwu Continent is vast, so there is plenty of time to choose a location.
Teacher: This is pending, but it's not difficult.
Before recruiting suitable cultivators, we can follow the model of the Immortal Academy, allowing disciples to learn basic techniques first, and then occasionally invite seniors from Shuiyun Immortal Capital and Liuyun Sect to come and impart their teachings.
In short, Xu Xing's proposal to establish a sect was not a sudden whim. She had only vaguely considered the idea since she originally thought she would always be a disciple of the Jade Cloud Sect, without giving it much thought.
Now that it's not the case anymore, this matter can be discussed openly.
Shen Du was not surprised. He pondered for a moment and felt that Xu Xing was indeed very suitable to be the leader of a sect.
She was kind but had a clear sense of right and wrong. As the sect leader, she naturally acted impartially and without bias.
Her cultivation level wasn't particularly high, but she was skilled in alchemy and artifact crafting, and could provide resource support to the sect.
Most importantly, she likes it.
Therefore, Shen Du will definitely support it.
The master and senior brother have no objections; now all that's missing is a suitable position.
Choosing a location during his travels would be ideal, but there are still many things to be decided, so Xu Xing is not in a hurry to establish a clan.
She had previously learned that the establishment of a new sect required prior notification to the Immortal Alliance. Only after the Immortal Alliance registered the sect could the new sect be eligible to join the Myriad Manifestations Ranking.
As for this Immortal Alliance, which is practically nonexistent most of the time, Xu Xing knows very little about it.
A few days later, Yunlan successfully invited Qianqian and Mei Zihan from Lanze Island in Shuiyun Immortal Capital.
The moment Xu Xing and Qianqian met, they both blurted out, "You've reached the Core Formation stage?"
The two smiled at each other, and the awkwardness of more than a decade vanished instantly.
Xu Xing's Golden Core stage mainly relied on external forces, but Qianqian was able to form her Golden Core at such a young age, which shows how hard she has worked over the years.
Qianqian first mentioned her experiences over the years, "I have found the remaining members of the Jiao clan and settled them in a safe place. With the medicine from Senior Weisheng to repair their bodies, many clansmen with old ailments have now recovered greatly."
She held Xu Xing's hand and said gratefully, "Thanks to you, if you hadn't left me so many pills back then, I really wouldn't know how to cure them."
Unfortunately, some members of the Jiaolong clan remained obstinate, refusing to acknowledge Qianqian and even joining the Demon Realm, mingling with the vicious demons.
Qianqian did not hide the matter. "They found out that I was secretly gathering the remnants of the Jiao Clan and actually tipped me off. If the Demon King hadn't just returned and was too busy to deal with this matter, I'm afraid I wouldn't have had time to move my people."
"Since those dragons are willing to become the minions of the demons, they have nothing to do with us anymore."
After several major battles in the past, the Jiaolong clan was wiped out. If there were any more storms, they might be the next dragon clan to fall.
It turns out that Qianqian didn't know that Yujingzi had already gone to the Demon Realm.
Xu Xing didn't bring it up herself. After exchanging pleasantries for a while, she told her about her trip to the Netherworld and then asked Shui Yunxian if there had been anything unusual, especially regarding the deaths of cultivators.
Qianqian hesitated for a moment, "Speaking of this, I have indeed heard about something rather strange."
There aren't many martial artists in Shuiyun Immortal Capital, but the trading houses under the capital have quite a few martial artist servants.
Recently, a rumor has been circulating among martial artists.
After hearing Qianqian's description, Xu Xing was astonished. "A pill that can enable martial artists to cultivate immortality?"
Mei Zihan, who had been ushered aside and exchanged a few dry words with Shen Du, also came over at this moment. "That's right, it's true."
He also witnessed a martial artist in the Entry-level stage successfully reach the Foundation Establishment stage.
"If such a pill really exists, it would be a good thing."
The difference in status between martial artists and immortals is vast. If any martial artist knew this, they would probably try every means to obtain the elixir.
"But the problem is that this pill has a 50% chance of causing death, and the body will be left without a trace."
Half?! That's practically gambling with your life!
Xu Xing was terrified, realizing the problem; this was clearly a calculated scheme. Even knowing there was a 50% chance of death, martial artists yearning for immortality would still try without fear of death.
"The sect leader has explicitly forbidden martial artists under the Immortal Capital Sect from taking this pill, and has also sent people to investigate its source, but it seems to have appeared out of thin air, and we can't find out where it came from at all."
Xu Xing thought for a moment, "Do you have any way to get a pill? It would be best if you could find a martial artist who has taken a pill before, so I can take a look."
Mei Zihan nodded. "I'll try my best."
After Qianqian and Mei Zihan left, Xu Xing felt increasingly uneasy. Everything about this seemed strange. Cultivators achieve immortality based on spiritual roots; could a pill possibly grant someone without spiritual roots something out of thin air?
"Senior brother, do you think these martial artists who died after taking pills might be extra spirits from the ghost realm?"
"It's possible, but the numbers don't match."
Shen Du tapped the table lightly with his finger, his fingertips flashing with spiritual light as he drew a simple map. He pointed to the location of the Demon Realm in the west, saying, "Logically speaking, the Demon Realm should have the fewest warriors, but King You says that the Demon Realm has the highest number of deaths."
That makes sense...
Moreover, most martial artists are only equivalent to Qi Refining stage cultivators in terms of strength. If the Demon Realm is really plotting behind the scenes, Xu Xing can't understand why they would create so many low-level cultivators.
"Perhaps we can inform the Snake Queen and ask her to have the snake clan members who went to the Demon Realm to search for medicine investigate the clues."
"By the way, Ayao and Senior Brother Zuoqiu are also in the Demon Realm. We can ask them if they've heard any rumors."
But this time, Zuo Qiuxu, who always replied instantly, did not reply for a long time.
Xu Xing was somewhat worried, but then he heard the golden dragon phantom in the space suddenly speak, "That dragon clan member named Qianqian..."
"What's wrong?"
"nothing."
The golden dragon fell silent again. It sensed a familiar aura on Qianqian, but it was very faint. Her constitution was pure; she possessed a Heavenly Spirit Body, making her extremely suitable for nurturing spiritual beings. Perhaps she had also been arranged to come into contact with something, but for some reason, it was ultimately placed on Xu Xing.
Knowing that Xu Xing already knew her true identity, there was no need to explain this twist of fate from many years ago to her.
The demon race, who arranged all of this, certainly never imagined that Xu Xing, who was supposed to become the vessel for the Dragon Pearl, would miraculously become a Golden Core cultivator who practices both alchemy and artifact crafting...
Ignoring Jinlong's sudden question, Xu Xing was still somewhat uneasy, thinking about martial artists and elixirs.
Among the sects of the Eastern Pole, only the Jade Cloud Sect has the most martial artists. Although she was not a cultivator of the Jade Cloud Sect, she did not want to see martial artists die innocently, so she immediately contacted Wen Lu to inquire whether the Jade Cloud Sect had such a matter.
After a while, Wen Lu replied that she had never heard of such a strange elixir, but would pay more attention in the future.
Xu Xing thought to himself, since even the Jade Cloud Sect, with its many martial artists, hadn't heard about this, she must be overthinking it. This matter probably had nothing to do with the extra spirits in the Ghost Realm.
Meanwhile, at the Extreme Fire Peak, which now had a new peak master, Song Zhuo stood at the lower level, respectfully bowing his head, not daring to look at the exceptionally handsome man on the main seat.
“Peak Master, we’ve been asking for too many martial artists lately. The Martial Arts Academy can’t spare any extra ones right now. If this continues, it might attract the attention of others.”
Zhu Xingyou said expressionlessly, "Then go look outside the Jade Cloud Sect. Do you want me to teach you how to do it step by step?"
"Yes, disciple will go right away."
Song Zhuo slowly backed away, and before he knew it, a layer of cold sweat had broken out on his back.
This man used to be nothing more than a plaything for Kan Yuanyi, but once he rose to power, his methods became even more ruthless than Kan Yuanyi's...
In the days that followed, Xu Xing waited for news while continuing to gain experience. As a "legitimate" snake clan princess, she had the right to use the Golden Serpent Palace's treasury at will, and thinking that she could take advantage of it as long as possible, she raced against time to refine a number of fifth-tier magic artifacts.
Shen Du continued to practice swordsmanship and cultivation every day without slacking off, and in just a few months he made up for the progress he had missed in the past ten years in the Netherworld.
The two were in perfect harmony, and when they occasionally practiced dual cultivation, they both benefited greatly.
Everything seemed to be on track, but there was still no progress on the matter of the elixir that supposedly enabled martial artists to cultivate and the search for the medicine in the demon realm.
That day, Xu Xing put away the newly crafted teleportation artifact, and habitually picked up the Spirit Machine to take a look, frowning slightly.
Senior Brother Zuoqiu and Ayao haven't replied to her for a long time.
"Your Highness."
Yunlan's voice suddenly rang out, "The King invites you to the courtyard for a chat."
In the small courtyard where Xu Xing had stayed for a few days, Sheng Qing was leisurely lying on a rocking chair, basking in the sun.
A handsome man peeled grapes and fed them to her, another man massaged her legs, and two other equally handsome men practiced swordsmanship in the courtyard.
Lazily lifting his eyelids, Sheng Qing casually waved to Xu Xing, "Sit."
This is too much to bear. Xu Xing looked left and right, and breathed a slight sigh of relief, thinking that Xu Zhen was not here.
No sooner had she sat down than a somewhat stiff puppet emerged from the room, carrying a book in its hand.
"Xu Xu, you've arrived."
Xu Zhen greeted Xu Xing gently, but the puppet's hoarse and awkward tone sounded somewhat unnatural.
Xu Xing was amazed that he actually didn't mind at all that Sheng Qing had so many male favorites.
The golden dragon phantom then came out to stir things up again, "Look at you, look at you! This is how a person in a high position should behave. Only focusing on one sword cultivator while ignoring many handsome men is simply asking for trouble."
Having finally found an opportunity, it slyly urged, "The most handsome male concubine must be from the fox clan. The fox clan is known for its beauties. As long as you ask, this snake king will definitely find you a bunch of handsome men. Then..."
Xu Xing remained silent, but subtly pressed his left arm, and the woman in the golden robe who was holding and petting the dumpling in the space immediately shut up.
Shengqing took the book from Xu Zhen's hand and said softly, "Thank you for your hard work, Zhen."
The puppet's body clearly showed no expression, but after Sheng Qing finished speaking, Xu Xing strangely sensed a hint of shyness from her father.
She couldn't help but cast an admiring glance at Shengqing; no wonder she was a woman worthy of being the Snake King.
"Ah Zhen, it's time for this body to be recuperated. Let me talk to Xu Xu, and you can go into the formation to draw spiritual energy, okay?"
Xu Zhen nodded slightly and obediently turned around to go into the array inside the room to "maintain" his body.
After Xu Zhen left, Sheng Qing casually flipped through a few pages, showed one of the pages to Xu Xing, and said in a calmer tone, "Take a look at this."
This was actually a book recording all kinds of spiritual herbs and medicines in the Demon Realm. The page that Sheng Qing showed her introduced a spiritual herb called "Purple Jade Soul-Stabilizing Grass," which was one of the few herbs missing from the Soul-Returning Pill.
But at the end of this page it says that this kind of spiritual herb has disappeared for many years because it cannot be cultivated artificially and its growing environment is too special.
“My people have found all the remaining spiritual herbs, except for this one.”
Seeing Shengqing frowning in annoyance, the two handsome men who were massaging her legs and feeding her grapes took the opportunity to leave, and the sword dancer also left at some point. At this time, only the "mother and daughter" remained in the courtyard.
Are there any other herbs that can be used as substitutes?
"No, the Resurrection Pill is too special. Even the slightest alteration could lead to failure. His soul is already somewhat weak and cannot withstand any further disruption. It must be successful on the first try."
Sheng Qing remained silent.
Xu Xing sighed, not at all surprised. She had a premonition that she would eventually have to go to the Demon Realm. Hopefully, this time, her [Treasure Hunting] skill would be more effective.
"Let me go, maybe I can find it."
"My opinion doesn't count. Your master is keeping a close eye on you. If you lose it again, she might tear my snakeskin off."
Xu Xing felt a little awkward and didn't respond. She wasn't used to Sheng Qing's teasing yet. In her mind, she and Sheng Qing weren't close enough to joke around with each other.
Xu Xing remained silent, and Sheng Qing didn't seem to mind, simply nodding slightly in a certain direction. "Sword Master, what do you say?"
Xu Xing followed the sound and indeed saw a white hem hanging from a lush tree.
"I've said it before, she is free."
Fu Shuang descended gracefully, as light as a snowflake. She took a few steps forward and placed her hand on Xu Xing's shoulder. "Do you want to go?"
"Don't worry, Master, I will be careful."
Fu Shuang nodded, "Then let's go."
She gently tapped Xu Xing's forehead with her fingers, and Xu Xing felt a cool sensation all over her body, making her feel refreshed. With her master's protection, she had nothing to worry about.
"Go to the Demon Realm?"
Upon learning this, Shen Du felt, for some reason, that Xu Xing was being subtly pushed in a certain direction.
But hearing that Fu Shuang didn't object, he naturally had no reason to stop her. "I'll go with you."
Although the Purple Jade Soul-Stabilizing Grass is a spiritual herb, it uses pure demonic energy as nourishment. Millions of years ago, the demon race was not as universally reviled as it is now. Back then, they were no different from the other four races, except for the source of their cultivation power.
However, the demonic energy in the demon realm is now mixed and evil, and the demonic energy is no longer pure, so the Purple Jade Soul-Stabilizing Grass has gradually disappeared...
Yunxi, who had already returned from Liuyun Sect, quickly sent Xu Xing a map of the Demon Realm.
Xu Xing stared at the map for a long time, then suddenly pointed to an inconspicuous spot in the upper right corner and asked, "Why is there a piece missing here?"
There, clouds and mist were depicted with just a few strokes, obscuring the rest of the scene.
Yunxi explained, "This part is adjacent to the Abyss of Eclipse, and it is a dead land. Almost no cultivators approach it, so there has never been a map of it."
But when Xu Xing looked at that place, he felt that it looked somewhat familiar.
She finally had an idea, quickly took out a tattered roll of parchment from her backpack, sized it to be roughly the same size as the missing piece, and then placed it in the upper right corner of the map.
Shen Du recognized it too, "Is this the half of the map from back then?"
"That's right. Later I got the other half from Fellow Daoist Mei and the others, but I still don't know where it is."
Xu Xing adjusted the angle of the torn paper roll, then moved his hand away and looked down at the pieced-together map.
Mountain range topography, water flow direction...
They fit together perfectly, as if they were one.
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Author's Note: Thank you to the following users for their nutrient solutions: Sleep a Little Longer, Maple Leaf, Sleep Until You Naturally Wake Up Every Day, Happy Meow, 25656288, and Drunk on the Beauty of Yao Huang and Wei Zi~ =3=
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