Chapter 45: He Lian Qing Chen

  If you look closely, at the end of the gourd, a man in his thirties with a white robe is sitting cross-legged. His skin is as smooth as jade, his long hair falls on his shoulders, his face is pale and beardless, his nose is straight and his mouth is square, his black eyebrows slant into his temples, his facial features are as clear-cut as if carved from jade, and his expression is equally cold as jade.

  The palms of his hands were placed flat on his knees, and his slender fingers would occasionally pop out. Every time his fingers popped out, the scattered white mist would gather together obediently, not falling within two feet in front of him. It seemed that the white mist flying from afar was rushing into the gourd because of this person's internal energy and spell-casting.

  Suddenly, a sharp whistling sound came from the white jade pendant hanging at the waist of the man in white robe. Immediately after that, with a "bang" sound, it split into four or five pieces and fell downwards. The light blue pupils of the man in white robe suddenly contracted, his right hand grasped at the air, and the fragments of the jade pendant instantly flew back into his hands.

  A man in a white robe spread out his hands, took a glance at the jade pendant fragments, and with a surge of magical power, a ball of white light burst forth from his palm. Amidst the flickering light, a complete jade pendant slowly took shape. Unfortunately, the young man engraved on the jade pendant had his eyes tightly closed, his face as pale as death.

  The bright eyes of the white-robed man suddenly flashed with two cold glints. His body flickered, and he flew down from the giant gourd to the mountain cliff. With a casual wave of his hand, the giant gourd suddenly hummed loudly and quickly shrank, flying over from the direction of "Man-eating Mountain" with a loud "boom", dispersing in all directions. In the blink of an eye, the huge jade gourd had transformed into a three-inch size, flashing once before falling into the white-robed man's sleeve and disappearing.

  On the mountain cliff, that Jindan period's green-robed big man stepped forward quickly, bowed his head and asked: "Master, why did you stop at this time?" The white-robed man opened his right hand, revealing the jade pendant in his hand. The green-robed big man took a look at the jade pendant, his face changed suddenly, saying: "Could it be that something unexpected happened to Master Bai Li?"

  "If it's an accident, that would be better. I think there's an 80% chance he's already fallen to his death!" As the white-robed man's words left his mouth, a cold aura instantly filled the entire mountain cliff.

  A dozen or so cultivators on the mountain peak couldn't help but turn pale, their bodies trembling with fear. Even the burly man in green robes and the slender white-robed cultivator couldn't help but shiver involuntarily.

  The man in white robes looked up and gazed at the distant mountain peaks shrouded in thick fog, saying: "You two keep a close eye on this place, no one is allowed to enter or leave. I'll be right back." As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for the two to respond, he raised his head towards the sky and let out a sharp whistle. Along with the whistle, a faint eagle's cry echoed from afar, and a majestic white eagle with wings spanning four to five zhang and radiant silver crown feathers flew swiftly towards them from high above. This eagle seemed even more ferocious than the gray eagle under Bai Li Mu Zuo!

  As the silhouette of the great eagle disappeared into the clouds, the faces of the dozen or so cultivators on the cliff finally relaxed, and they let out a long breath. The biting chill that had enveloped the surroundings also began to dissipate slowly with the departure of the white-robed man.

  "The master's cultivation of 'Kan Yuan True Qi' is getting stronger and stronger. At this rate, it's likely that he will be able to advance to the late stage of the Yuan Ying realm in less than a hundred years." The slender female cultivator, who was completely covered in white robes, spoke up, her voice cold but still hinting at her feminine tone.

  The man in blue robes chuckled and said, "Thanks to Shifu's auspicious words, if it's really like that, then our status within the valley will probably rise with the tide."

  A woman with the surname Shui in a white robe didn't respond, instead she found a flat boulder and sat down cross-legged. The red-robed big man seemed to be already accustomed to her temperament, smiled and walked away with large strides.

  Inside Yuding Mountain, Da Niu and Wang Long were like ants on a hot pot, walking back and forth in the room. Xiao Juan pushed open the door and walked in quickly.

  "How is it? Is there any news about Sheng and Xintang?" Wang Long asked hastily.

  Xiao Juan shook her head and said, "No, the cultivators of the Jade Cauldron Sect are all hiding in the sect and don't dare to go out. How can they know about Second Brother and Xintang's news?"

  "What did you do going out for so long then?" Da Niu asked discontentedly.

  Xiao Juan gave him a white eye and said, "Of course I went to take a look at that mirror, to see if it's possible to find Second Brother from that mirror."

  "Wang Long hastily asked, 'Did you see anything?' 'No, I barely managed to slip out of the "Ying Xian Ju", and then they caught me again. How could I have seen that big mirror?' Xiaojuan said discontentedly. This time it was Da Niu and Wang Long's turn to roll their eyes."

  Since the three of them arrived at Yuding Gate, they had been staying in the "Yingxian Residence" which was specially prepared for guests. Except for Xuan Guang Daoist who came to ask about Wu Mu Daoist and why they used the "Qiankun Shentui Symbol", no one else came to care about them. A yellow-robed big man named Hu Dahai would deliver some food to them every day, then remind them not to run around randomly.

  The three of them didn't dare to mention the matter of Wu Mu Dao Ren passing on his skills, but Xuan Guang Dao Ren seemed to have already known that their skills were taught by Wu Mu Dao Ren. He wasn't interested in the matter of passing on skills at all and instead asked about Wu Mu Dao Ren's current level of cultivation. With the three people's shallow understanding, they naturally couldn't answer. When the three people asked Xuan Guang Dao Ren if he could bring back Shui Sheng and Tie Xin Tang, Xuan Guang Dao Ren shook his head and smiled bitterly.

  The three of them, however, were unaware that if it weren't for the involvement of Wumuwu Dao Ren, with Xuan Guang Dao Ren's status and position, they wouldn't have been able to find these people who didn't even qualify as low-ranking disciples to talk to. As for the lives or deaths of Shui Sheng and Tie Xin Tang, what did it matter to Xuan Guang Dao Ren and Yu Ding Men, who were in a precarious situation?

  Fortunately, due to the unexpected appearance of Wumeng Dao people and Qiankun Four Treasures, the three sects' cultivators outside the valley also stopped their attack on Yuding Gate for these few days.

  Shui Sheng and Tie Xin Tang were equally dispirited, feeling suffocated and restless. Although they lived next door to each other, they couldn't even see each other's face. The stone room where they resided was surrounded by a layer of restrictions set up by Qiang Wei, making it impossible for them to take a single step outside. Moreover, Qiang Wei lived right next to Tie Xin Tang, and would appear before the two of them at any moment if there was even the slightest disturbance.

  Although the aquatic sword artifact had been returned by Qiangwei, how could he break through the seal set by Qiangwei, a mid-Golden Dan cultivator, with his shallow cultivation?

  On this day, with nothing to do, Shuǐ Shēng once again took out the golden sword and launched an attack on the restrictive spiritual light set up by Qiang Wei, tirelessly striking out over a dozen swords. The three-inch thick white light screen suddenly cracked open with a "crack" sound, revealing a large opening. Shuǐ Shēng was taken aback, but instead of charging forward, he took a step back. With a wave of his right hand, the golden small sword flew back into his hand.

  At the entrance, three people stood there. The first was a man in white robes, followed closely by Qin Zheng and Mei Ji. Shui Sheng glanced at the man in white robes and couldn't help but shiver, for the man seemed to be carved out of ice, emitting an aura of eerie coldness from his entire body.

  "Brother He Lian, this is that kid with the dual spiritual roots!" Even Mei Ji became respectful in front of this man, rarely not using her usual phrase "old guy" to express dissatisfaction.

  Shui Sheng didn't hesitate to scan the white-robed man with his divine sense, and the result was as expected - it was like crashing into an ice wall, causing him to shiver again.

  The man in white robes gazed at Shuǐshēng with an icy stare, and Shuǐshēng suddenly felt like he was being seen through, his heart racing wildly. He subconsciously wanted to look away, but found that under the man's gaze, even his body had frozen stiff, refusing to obey his commands, let alone move his eyes.

  In an instant, Shui's brain was as if frozen, his consciousness suddenly numb and blurry.

  "The old man He Lian Qing Chen, I've come to ask you, who taught you the 'Kan Yuan Gong' in your body?" The white-robed man asked slowly, his words like iron hammers shattering thick ice. Water's vague consciousness momentarily cleared, and he involuntarily replied honestly: "Wu Mu Dao Zhang from Yun Tai Guan outside Long Yang City!"

  "Where is Wu Mu Daozhang now? How high is his cultivation?" Shui Sheng shook her head in confusion and replied, "Wu Mu Daozhang is a Earth Spirit Root!"

  He Lian Qingchen asked a few more questions, but got nothing out of it, except that he knew that Shui Sheng and others were going to Yu Dingmen to apprentice and learn the arts, and couldn't ask anything else.

  At this moment, a faint black light floated on the surface of Shuǐ's face, and his consciousness gradually cleared up with the emergence of the black light. However, there was a flash of extreme astonishment in Hélín Qīngchén's eyes, and Méi Jī and Qín looked at the black light on Shuǐ's face with thoughtful expressions.

  He Lian Qingchen glanced at Mei Ji and said lightly, "Mei Ji fellow Taoist, Bai Li Shidi unfortunately encountered difficulties. This child is of great use to me, in order to find the murderer as soon as possible, I plan to temporarily keep him by my side. Fellow Taoist, do you have any differing opinions?"

  Mei Ji was taken aback for a moment, then said: "He Lian brother is too polite, the death of Bai Li Dao friend is unfortunate, finding the murderer is naturally the top priority, Shui Sheng is also a disciple of Huo Ling Zong, and it's not his responsibility to shirk. He Lian brother can order him as he pleases! If we really catch the murderer, I will definitely reward Shui Sheng heavily." Although Mei Ji agreed quite readily, her words clearly told the two that Shui Sheng was already a disciple of Huo Ling Zong.

  Qin Zheng cursed Mei Ji in his heart for being shameless, and forcibly took the Water Birth to the door. However, now that Baili Mu had fallen unexpectedly, there was no one who could prove that he was the first to discover the Water Birth. Moreover, facing He Lian Qingchen, this old monster with unfathomable magical powers, he didn't dare to contend for anything. After thinking for a moment, he opened his mouth and asked: "He Lian brother, investigating the murderer of Baili Dao friend is naturally the top priority, but now that the 'Re Guang Po Jin Array' has been set up, it's not difficult to break open the Yu Ding Gate's mountain protection array. When will we launch an attack on Yu Ding Gate?"

  "This old man has always been focused on his own cultivation and actually didn't have much interest in attacking the Jade Cauldron Gate. I came to Jade Cauldron Mountain because I was entrusted by the Great Elder of the sect to assist Brother Baili. Now that Brother Baili has unfortunately fallen, if you two are confident that you can take down the Jade Cauldron Gate, you can launch an attack at any time and this old man will order the Ice Seal Valley disciples to follow your command. If you don't have absolute confidence, then let's wait until I catch the murderer before making a move. This murderer was able to kill Brother Baili, if we let him roam free outside of Jade Cauldron Mountain, he would be a great threat to the three sects' disciples. You two fellow Taoists wouldn't just stand by and do nothing, would you?"

  "It's only natural, I really want to see how this murderer can be so powerful, if Brother He Lian needs it, I'm willing to lend a hand." Qin Zheng said with a flash of his eyes.

  He Lian Qingchen said expressionlessly, "Qin Daoist's kindness, I appreciate it. If we really need help, we will naturally seek Qin Daoist's assistance. For now, the two of you should stay here and hold back the Yu Ding Gate cultivators. After all, our three sects' grand plan cannot be delayed because of this matter!" As soon as he finished speaking, without waiting for the duo to respond, he grabbed Shui Sheng and moved his body, already dozens of feet away.

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