Chapter 2: Deception

  At this moment of life and death for the father and son, in the sky not far from Bàn Zhī Shān, a Taoist wearing a Taoist robe was searching for something. This person's feet did not have the legendary sword light, but stood alone in mid-air, disappearing and reappearing from time to time. If there were cultivators here, they would definitely exclaim: "Yuánshén Dàchéng!" Only a Yuánshén Dàchéng cultivator could condense their body in mid-air without relying on external forces, and even shrink the earth into inches, possessing the ability to manipulate space. But such a figure should be cultivating in seclusion in a cave, preparing for the impending heavenly tribulation, so why would they still be wandering around this small mountain range?

  He was a master from the westernmost part of the Tianji, the Dacizhe mountain range, named Xuanmingzi. He was a giant in the evil path, with his Thousand Ghosts Child Mother Departed Soul Sword roaming freely across the Tianfu continent, rarely meeting an opponent. He had also created countless killings and slaughtered many lives to master this sword technique. His whereabouts were unpredictable, but he had obtained the legacy of the ancient evil cultivator on Cizhe mountain and set up a massive Blood Massacre Formation that shook the heavens.

  This formation is a killing array passed down from ancient times, although it's not as powerful as the legendary divine arrays, but even now, the cultivation world can't do anything about it. Many orthodox cultivators are helpless against him. Originally, Xuán Míngzi knew that his karma was too heavy and when he transcended his tribulation, he would definitely invite unprecedented great calamity. So, on Wàng Jiǎo Mountain, he set up the Tiān Xuè Shā array, attempting to use this ancient fierce array to resist the heavenly calamity's might. However, as of late, with the heavenly calamity approaching, feeling the unfathomable heavenly might, he couldn't help but feel that relying solely on this grand array would be insufficient to resist that resplendent heavenly might. Thus, he exhausted all means and came down the mountain to seek opportunities.

  In the Half-Clawed Mountain, a sudden discovery was made of a spiritual eye of the earth's vein. This was the remnant of the original spiritual vein of the Half-Clawed Mountain that had been severed. It is worth noting that this spiritual eye contains the essence of heaven and earth, and each earth vein has powerful demons or cultivators occupying it, making it impossible to find one. Even if one were to forcibly seize it, the aura emitted during the struggle would trigger the premature activation of the heavenly tribulation. Upon discovering this incomplete spiritual eye, Xuan Mingzi was overjoyed. With this spiritual eye, he could set up the Xuantian Devouring Spirit Array, using the heaven and earth's spiritual objects to stir up the external heavenly demons, transforming them into his primordial spirit. This would allow him to cultivate a second primordial spirit, survive the heavenly tribulation, and have hope for the path of immortality.

  But if he were to lay out the Xuantian Duoling Array, he would need a heaven and earth spiritual object as the array's eye. This made Xuanmingzi somewhat hesitant, for this heaven and earth spiritual object was also extremely difficult to find. Just as he was hesitating, a wave of spiritual power fluctuations came from not far away. Looking at these fluctuations, it was clear that only a pre-heavenly spiritual body could emit such spiritual power. This made Xuanmingzi involuntarily overjoyed, and his figure flashed, disappearing into thin air. It was also because Xuanmingzi had killed too many people, and his fate was destined to suffer calamity. The heavenly tribulation was approaching, blocking the heavenly mechanism. If it were in the past, he would have definitely thought about how such a coincidence could occur - wouldn't the pillow come just as one was sleepy? A masterless spiritual eye, a naturally born spiritual body, had all coincidentally arrived before his eyes? He would certainly still deduce and analyze, but under the guidance of the heaven and earth's energy mechanism, he had already lost all awareness, unable to seek advantages or avoid disadvantages, nor could he deduce the heavenly mechanism.

  At this time, Gan Ning couldn't help but feel despair and wait for the vengeful spirit to give him a quick death. He closed his eyes, but instead of the expected pain, he heard a sharp cry. When he opened his eyes again, he saw that the vengeful spirit was lying far away, its body now almost invisible, with only a faint aura remaining. The figure standing in front of him was small, holding the hunting fork that had just been knocked out of Gan Ning's hands. The originally deep yellow color of the fork handle was now flashing with a fiery red glow, indicating that the vengeful spirit had been struck by the fork and was on the verge of death.

  The demon tiger that was originally crouching and watching the play suddenly jumped up in surprise. As a member of its own family, it knew its own affairs well. The ghost had been raised by it and shared a spiritual connection with it. However, now its connection with the ghost seemed to be on the verge of disappearing. This ghost had been raised for nearly a hundred years and was as strong as half of itself. If it weren't being controlled, even facing that swift and agile figure would have given it a headache. Unexpectedly, this unremarkable little person in front of it had struck it down with one blow, leaving it on the brink of life and death.

  The demon tiger couldn't help but size up the small figure in front of him, holding a weapon. Earlier, he had let the ghostly spirit take action because he felt that Gan Ning's vital energy was abundant and the spiritual soldier in his hand was extremely dangerous. Even a monster like the demon tiger didn't dare to try it personally. Although he had managed to grasp Gan Ning earlier, they would both end up injured, which wasn't worth it. However, he hadn't expected that the small figure in front of him, holding this weapon, would make him feel even more threatened. The demon tiger let out a low growl and had a hint of retreat.

  Gan Ping was on the verge of tears, with the terrifying monster's two copper bell-like eyes staring at him. This nine-year-old boy had never experienced anything like this before! But thinking of his injured father behind him, he gritted his teeth and stared fixedly at the monster in front of him. What if it pounced? What would he do?! His little brain was extremely frightened, with tears welling up in his eyes, but he still stood firmly in front of the tiger monster, not taking a single step back.

  The tiger demon felt a bit depressed, seeing the father and son duo with their blood and energy full, should be a high-quality delicacy, did not expect to lose a ghost as a result. Wanting to leave, there was some reluctance. Just as the two sides were confronting each other, a loud shout came from the sky: "Evil beast, do not harm people." The tiger demon felt a wave of pressure coming from the sky, thought it was not good, and hastily wanted to escape, a pale black sword light fell from the sky, like a human shadow, pounced on the tiger demon's body, turned around and flew out, but the tiger demon stood still, then crashed down. This one thousand ghost child mother soul sword energy had taken away its entire spirit and soul, the ruthless name of the Ghost Child was indeed renowned in the Heavenly Court.

  Gan Ning stared blankly at the corpse of the demon tiger that had fallen before him, still in a daze. The demon that had just forced him and his father to fight each other to the death had been killed instantly, and Gan Ning couldn't help but look up at the sky. He saw an old man dressed as a Taoist priest slowly descending from above. The old man had snow-white hair tied back in a bun, with a jade pin inserted into it, and a few strands of silver-white whiskers fluttering in the wind. However, his triangular eyes somewhat ruined his otherwise elegant and refined appearance, making him look rather incongruous. As the old man descended from the sky, his eyes were fixed intently on Gan Ping, and he was muttering to himself. Gan Ping vaguely heard the old man's words, which seemed to be something about "the spirit of pure yang".

  Gan Ning Cheng hastily rushed over, snatched the hunting spear from Gan Ping's hand and threw it aside. He then knelt down, pressing Gan Ping to kneel as well, and called out loudly: "Thank you, immortal sir, for saving our lives!" Gan Ning Cheng kowtowed several times in a row, but found that the immortal in front of him did not react. He couldn't help but raise his head to look up, only to see that the immortal's hands were trembling and his eyes were fixed on Gan Ping with an unblinking stare. In those flickering triangular eyes, Gan Ning Cheng discovered a familiar glint, like the greedy light that had flashed in the tiger's eyes earlier - it was greed, extreme greed, as if he wanted to swallow the small person in front of him whole.

  Gan Ning hastily hugged his son, bowed his head and shouted: "Thank you, immortal, for saving my life. I will not refuse any orders, even if it means death." This shout startled the Taoist who was walking in a trance. The Taoist realized his mistake and coughed dryly: "Ah, it's just a small effort, no need to thank me, get up." Gan Ning honestly stood up, and Gan Ning also scrambled to his feet, his bright black eyes curiously sizing up this legendary immortal.

  The Taoist looked at the father and son, smiled and said: "I am Lingzi, a poor Taoist. I was practicing in Wangyue Mountain and passed by this place. Seeing that the demon tiger is causing trouble here, I will eliminate it." Gan Ningcheng was originally a tall and majestic man, but in front of this legendary immortal, he also became restrained, hastily saying: "Thank you, Lingzi Xianchang. This place has just been destroyed by the demon tiger. Let me clean up and make tea for you." Although Gan Ningcheng is an unrefined person, he is not a fool. According to legend, immortals do not eat human food, but they can still drink tea. For this lifesaver, the only thing he could do was to offer him tea.

  He turned around and was about to go into the ruined house to look for things, when Ming Lingzi said: "Wait a minute." Gan Ning hurriedly turned his head, bowed and asked: "Please ask the immortal if there is anything else to instruct?" "It's not necessary to cook tea, I still have something to do and can't delay too long." "How can this be good? Please ask the immortal to rest for a while, it's not late to leave later." Upon hearing this, Ming Lingzi smiled slightly and put on an air of elegance, saying: "I see that you have excellent qualifications, you are a good seedling for cultivating immortality. It's a pity to be mixed up in this red dust, let me take you back and train you, you will definitely become a material."

  Upon hearing this, Gan Ning was overjoyed in his heart. However, the immortal's divine powers to move mountains and seas, his indestructible body, and his carefree wandering on clouds and mist - could he possibly take a liking to his own son? What great fortune! With the immortal's guidance, would there still be a need for Ping'er to attend private school? Thinking of this, he couldn't help but bow down and say: "Immortal, you taking a liking to my son is his good fortune. What blessings!" After finishing speaking, he turned around and picked up Gan Ping, smiling and saying: "Ping'er, the immortal wants to take you under his wing to cultivate your skills."

  Gan Ning looked at his son with a dazed expression, and said: "Father will also go with Ping'er, right?" "Uh, this...?" Gan Ning was speechless, earlier he had heard that the immortal wanted to take his son as an apprentice, and he was overjoyed. But thinking about it again, wouldn't that mean that father and son would never meet again? It's said that immortals can sit in meditation for decades, by then he would probably have become a pile of bones. Thinking of this, he felt reluctant to part with his son. He turned around and looked at Ming Ling Zi, suddenly noticing the greedy glint in his eyes, staring fixedly at his own son, without even realizing that Gan Ning was looking at him. His heart skipped a beat, remembering the expression on Ming Ling Zi's face when he first saw Xiao Gan Ping, that tiger-like gaze made him shiver. He hastily said to Ming Ling Zi: "Immortal, my son is still young and cannot leave home for long periods of time, can we wait a few more years? I will personally send him to the mountain, what do you think?"

  Xuan Mingzi's face sank upon hearing this, and he thought to himself, "Wait a few years? Where will I go to find this treasure then?" He made up his mind on the spot. If this rough man agreed, that would be fine; if not, he would take the child by force and kill the man. However, he still put on a benevolent expression and said, "That's not impossible, but my humble abode is far away, and I have urgent matters to attend to right now. Whether we can meet again in a few years is uncertain." After finishing speaking, his triangular eyes stared tightly at Gan Ning, ready to turn hostile and kill him if he uttered another word of disagreement.

  It's also a blessing that Gan Ning is honest and good. This mysterious and dark person has killed countless people in his life, killing one person is like exterminating an ant, but today he encountered a pleasant event, and there is hope for him to become immortal, so he didn't make a move to kill. If it were any other day, who would dare say no to this ruthless person?

  Gan Ning hesitated upon hearing Xuan Mingzi's words. Listening to the immortal elder's words, if he missed this opportunity, it might be a long time before another chance arose. A fateful encounter with an immortal was something to be grateful for in this lifetime. How could he be so ungrateful and allow himself to be tied down by worldly emotions? Thinking of this, he steeled his heart and bowed deeply to Xuan Mingzi, saying: "Thank you, immortal elder, for your kindness. Since you have taken a liking to me, it is my good fortune. Allow me to settle some matters and bid farewell, then I will send him on the road with you."

  He finished speaking and pulled Xiao Ganping to one side, instructing him in a low voice. It was nothing more than some words about listening to his elders and working hard at his cultivation. Finally, he took off the jade pendant from around his neck and hung it on Xiao Ganping's neck, saying: "Ping'er, if you succeed in your cultivation, remember to come find me at Tiancheng Ganhua in the east of Mangyuan. Perhaps we will have a chance to meet again as father and son." At this point, Xiao Ganping was already crying uncontrollably, wailing: "Father, I don't want to cultivate immortality! I want to be with you!" Seeing this, Gan Ningcheng also couldn't hold back his tears, and big drops fell down. He hugged his beloved son tightly, unwilling to let go.

  After a long time, he suddenly pushed Gan Ning away and walked quickly to the side of Xuan Mingzi, kneeling down on both knees: "Immortal Master above, this child has been without his mother since childhood, growing up in the mountains with a humble person. If there is any disobedience, please have mercy on his circumstances..." As he spoke here, he was already crying uncontrollably. Xuan Mingzi raised an eyebrow and said: "This is easy to say, when he has achieved success in his cultivation, you father and son can meet again." As soon as the words fell, with a wave of his sleeve, in an instant, he disappeared along with Gan Ping who was still crying. Leaving behind only Gan Ning, kneeling alone on the ground, tears streaming down his face.

  Xuan Mingzi suddenly covered his sleeve and left, no longer willing to stay. Has the cultivation been successful? Will father and son reunite? Hmph! It's likely that they will never meet again. As the eye of the Xuantian Soul-Seizing Array, it is certain that his soul will scatter, and even a wisp of residual soul cannot reincarnate, let alone talk about meeting again on another day. How laughable that this insignificant mortal does not know the true nature of this Yang Spirit Body, allowing me to take advantage of him. Thinking of the prospect of ascending to immortality and achieving the Dao, Xuan Mingzi's heart immediately grew hot, and he flew towards the damaged Lingyan.