Nine Evolutions of the True Spirit
chapter-409

Liu Tian-Ling broke the silence, and said, “What do you plan on doing after leaving Ice Frost Island?”

Lu Ping shook his head, and replied, “No idea. Perhaps, I’ll travel around and take a look at this massive cultivator world for myself.”

“Do you know anything about the Longevity Pellet?” Liu Tian-Ling asked.

Caught off guard by her question, Lu Ping didn’t know what to say. Liu Tian-Ling continued, “I once made a grave mistake. As a result, the Xuan Ling Sect showed up and attacked our sect. Although the six Great Ancestors managed to fend them off, and that incident gave us the strength to stand our ground against the Xuan Ling Sect, Junior Uncle Tian-Kang suffered a very serious injury. Originally, he was the one that had the highest chance of advancing to the Mid Avatar Realm among the Great Ancestors. However, the injury crippled his strength and has made him stall at his current level for decades. His lifespan also suffered irreparable damage, leaving him on the verge of dying. Despite trying their best to save him, all they managed to do was acquire a few recipes for a Longevity Pellet that could extend life by a couple of years. You’re the only Alchemist among my disciples, so I’m relying on you to help me repay my debt in the future.”

Back in the East Ocean, Lu Ping had once obtained two Longevity Pellet’s recipes by trading 3,000-year spirit herbs. These Longevity Pellets could prolong someone's lifespan by five and ten years, respectively. Whilst concocting Longevity Pellets weren’t the most complicated in the alchemy world, they were undoubtedly the most precious. After all, no one could reject the temptation of living longer.

The tone that his teacher used had never been so serious. From this, Lu Ping understood the importance of the task that had been given to him. Hence, he replied, “I understand. I will do everything I can to help Junior Granduncle Tian-Kang in the future.”

Meanwhile, Xuan-Shu and the others were still holding a meeting.

After hearing Xuan-Chang’s words, Xuan-Shu directed a mocking smile at himself. “Wise opinion? Not even close. We’re all disciples of the Zhen Ling Sect. The sect has been our home for centuries. It is our pillar of support after having witnessed the endless cycle of life and death of our loved ones. I admit that I hated Senior Sister Tian-Ling for her arrogant and domineering attitude, and Senior Brother Tian-Lin for his nonchalance, although I can’t deny that he’s a cunning trickster. With the combination of his brain and Senior Sister Tian-Ling’s brawn, even our sect's Great Ancestors dare not underestimate them. Now that I look at it again, they are both incredibly talented and outstanding. Even Senior Sister Tian-Ling was capable of defeating Feng Xu-Dao, let alone Senior Brother Tian-Lin. Although it looks like they’re on bad terms, they’re actually supporting each other in secret. Their disciples also get along with each other as if they’re a family, and because of this, even our teacher has to take care of this husband and wife duo.”

Xuan-Qing was shocked, and said, “Even Senior Uncle Tian-Fan? How is that possible?”

Xuan-Shu smiled, “I finally understand why Senior Uncle Tian-Xiang was so fond of them back then. Sixty years ago, both husband and wife turned against each other because of Junior Sister Xuan-Qin, resulting in Senior Sister Tian-Ling chasing after Senior Brother Tian-Lin and trying to kill him for a whole eight years. She pursued him from the North Ocean to the Southern Ocean and all the way back to the North Ocean. When that happened, the other sects didn’t just sit idle and do nothing. However, whenever either husband or wife was in trouble, the other would show up on time, coming to the rescue. Together, they slaughtered twenty-seven Enlightened Masters, most of whom were in the Late Core Forging Realm. Compared to Senior Brother Tian-Lin, who would go easy on the opposing sect cultivators whenever they fled, Senior Sister Tian-Ling would let no one walk away alive. Her wrath caused many sects’ cultivators to fear for their lives back then.”

Xuan-He and Xuan-Qing were stunned by these revelations, in awe of the strength and domination displayed by both Jiang Tian-Lin and Liu Tian-Ling. Xuan-Chang remained silent, but his expression darkened. He had roughly known what had happened back then, but he hadn’t realized that Xuan-Shu knew about the situation so clearly.

“The ones that are always plotting against our sect in the North Ocean are the Xuan Ling Sect, and this incident was no different. Most of the cultivators moving against the husband and wife duo were from the Xuan Ling Sect. Hence, the casualties of the Xuan Ling Sect were also the highest out of the many sects. This forced the Xuan Ling Sect’s Great Ancestors into breaking the rules by interfering secretly.”

Xuan-Chang hesitated for a second, before carefully inquiring, “Could it be Great Ancestor Dao-Kong?”

Xuan-Qing and Xuan-He shouted, “Impossible! T-The Xuan Ling Sect’s Great Ancestor Dao-Kong was–”

“Was dead. He succumbed to fatal injuries when exploring an ancient ruin.”

Xuan-Shu continued, “You must have realized by now that Senior Brother Tian-Lin and Senior Sister Tian-Ling killed Great Ancestor Dao-Kong. Great Ancestor Dao-Kong’s Golden Core was a Sixth Grade Golden Core; he forcefully advanced into the Avatar Realm using a secret technique, crippling his future path and reducing him to the weakest possible Great Ancestor. Despite that, his strength was still far beyond what we Late Core Forging Realm cultivators could fathom. Yet, the husband and wife, who were in the Ninth and Eighth Layer Core Forging Realm respectively, managed to kill him. Can you imagine just how powerful they were?”

Xuan-Qing and Xuan-He were both so shocked that they were at a loss for words. Xuan-Chang then asked, “So how did it end?”

“The death of a sect’s Great Ancestor is not taken lightly. The Xuan Ling Sect had six Great Ancestors before the incident. After the murder of Great Ancestor Dao-Kong, Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng was so enraged that he wanted them to pay for what they had done. He led an attack personally in retaliation, but Senior Uncle Tian-Xiang stood up against all odds. Together with teacher, teacher’s wife, Great Ancestor Tian-Kang, Great Ancestor Tian-Lu, and Great Ancestor Tian-Jiang, the six Great Ancestors of our sect clashed with the Xuan Ling Sect, rescuing Senior Brother Tian-Lin and Senior Sister Tian-Ling from the brink of death. At the same time, we showed unwavering determination in fighting the Xuan Ling Sect.”

Xuan-Chang exclaimed in surprise, “Fifty years ago, Tian Ling Mountain’s protective formation was fully activated, but we were told that it was triggered by mistake. So that was the reason?”

Xuan-Shu nodded. “That was no mistake. It was activated because of the attack from the Xuan Ling Sect. They were the strongest sect in the North Ocean back then, and Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng was the only Late Avatar Realm cultivator in the North Ocean. Even with one less Great Ancestor, the Xuan Ling Sect was still a formidable foe. When neither side backed down, a ferocious fight between eleven Great Ancestors ensued.”

Xuan-Chang added, “Our sect was a rising star back then. The six Great Ancestors may not have been as strong as Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng, but they were on par with the Xuan Ling Sect in terms of numbers. Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng was using the death of Great Ancestor Dao-Kong as an excuse to stop our sect.”

Xuan-Shu nodded in agreement, before a wide smile appeared on his face. “Little did he know that he made the wrong move back then. That fight ended up becoming a battle that made both teacher and his wife famous. Prior to that battle, they were only known for their Mid Avatar Realm strength. However, their names resounded after they held their ground against Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng using the secret technique of our sect. Despite losing the upper hand, they still managed to fend him off. It was precisely this battle that pushed our sect to the next level, allowing us to stand on equal ground against the Xuan Ling Sect. It was also the reason why the Wind and Snow Immortals are feared in the North Ocean.”

After going through what he remembered about the incident, Xuan-Chang asked, “My teacher? He’s…”

Xuan-Shu nodded and let out a sigh, “Teacher and teacher’s wife managed to hold Great Ancestor Dao-Sheng off, Senior Uncle Tian-Xiang gained the upper hand against the Xuan Ling Sect’s other Mid Avatar Realm Great Ancestor, Junior Uncle Tian-Jiang and Tian-Lu fended off an Early Avatar Realm Great Ancestor each. On the other hand, Junior Uncle Tian-Kang was at the peak of the Early Avatar Realm, making him the fourth strongest cultivator in our sect. He was responsible for fending off a Mid Avatar Realm Great Ancestor, but the fight proved to be too difficult. He lost the upper hand, and after suffering from heavy injuries, he had no choice other than to perform a secret technique. Junior Uncle Tian-Kang managed to repel his opponent, but it came at a hefty price. At the expense of his lifespan, Junior Uncle Tian-Kang acquired unstoppable strength. The sacrifices he made crippled his cultivation base, causing him to stall at his current level. He may be able to sustain himself for now, but it won’t be long before he succumbs to the passage of time.”

Xuan-Chang turned silent, while Xuan-Shu glanced at him, and said, “This is also why you hated them both. Due to the events from back then, you and I worked with the disciples of Junior Uncle Tian-Lu. We pulled the strings from behind the scenes, throwing Senior Sister Tian-Ling off her position as the person in charge of the sect. We then supported the honest and gentle Senior Brother Guo Xuan-Shan. However, while he’s undoubtedly a fair and steady person when it comes to the affairs of the sect, giving us an opportunity to develop our faction within the sect, times have changed. What the sect needs right now are talents that are aggressive and decisive; people bold enough to take the initiative. Perhaps, Senior Sister Tian-Ling is the person we needed.”

At that, Xuan-Chang could only smile bitterly. “So that means that we were wrong back then?”

“No, we were not. It’s just that we failed to see the bigger picture back then and were too short-sighted. Maybe that’s why even Senior Brother Liang Xuan-Feng, who loved Junior Sister Xuan-Qin the most, disagreed with our actions.”

“Yes.” Xuan-Chang recalled what happened back then. “Senior Sister Tian-Ling pursued Senior Martial Brother Tian-Lin for eight years, turning our sect into a laughing stock and making us believe that she was no longer fit to be the deacon of the sect. However, almost every disciple with authority in the sect opposed our suggestion to remove her from her position. After that, no one cared who was sitting in that position; we left Senior Martial Brother Guo Xuan-Shan no choice but to take over the seat.”

Enlightened Master Guo Xuan-Shan’s expression darkened as he and a couple of Zhen Ling Sect’s Enlightened Masters stared at a corpse floating on the sea’s surface. It was Xuan-Yin’s lifeless body.

One of the Enlightened Masters walked up to him, and said, “Senior Brother Guo, it’s the monster race!”

Guo Xuan-Shan frowned heavily at the sight of the body. “Anything else? This zone is not absolutely safe, but there’s no way we’d let monster Enlightened Masters sneak into our territory just like that. After Senior Sister Tian-Ling’s Avatar Forum, we put up countless security measures. There’s no way the monster race can sneak in without making a sound.”

If Lu Ping was present, he would immediately recognize the Enlightened Master that brought the news to Guo Xuan-Shan as Enlightened Master Cao, the person he had encountered in the Heaven of Seven Stars.

With a bitter smile, Enlightened Master Cao replied, “There were three attackers, and it seems like they just entered the Core Forging Realm recently. They aren’t very familiar with controlling their strength, but their attacks are ferocious. Xuan-Yin has been studying formations under Senior Sister Xuan-Chen’s teaching for years. She may be weak in actual combat, but that doesn’t mean that she couldn’t have defended herself. In fact, she was pretty good at defensive techniques.”

Guo Xuan-Shan maintained the same expression, and asked, “Can you tell what type of monster did this?”

Enlightened Master Cao shook his head, “I’m not sure, but it seems like the monsters responsible for this were reptiles, most likely snakes. I have no proof, this is just my guess. Snakes are the most common and widespread species in the oceanic monster race making this conjecture more likely, but at the same time, this also makes it difficult to pinpoint exactly who did this.”

With a stern tone, Guo Xuan-Shan commanded, “Get on with it right now! We’ll start by investigating cultivators in this territory, before then investigating the cultivators in the surrounding areas. Find out who has Core Forging Realm monster pets, especially monster snakes that recently entered the Core Forging Realm! It’s been fifty years since someone has been brave enough to commit murder in our territory! I think they’ve forgotten the wrath of our sect that laid the foundation for who we are today!”

An intense killing intent erupted as he spoke. It was so powerful that even Enlightened Master Cao, who had always been dealing with shady matters, was left shivering. A hint of fear flickered in his eyes.

One of the most terrifying things that could happen was the wrath of a good man.

Enlightened Master Cao immediately recalled the rumors about Guo Xuan-Shan. It was said that Guo Xuan-Shan had left corpses strewn over all the paths he had walked when he made a name for himself!

As everything settled down, it had been almost a year since Lu Ping had left. As soon as he exited the teleportation formation, he ran into Hu Lilli, who was rushing towards the formation in a hurry.

Despite her best efforts to conceal it, Lu Ping could tell that something had happened. Her tracks made it seem like she was avoiding something, causing Lu Ping’s heart to sink to the bottom.

Hu Lili raised her head and noticed Lu Ping. Happiness bloomed on her face, but it was soon replaced by despair.

“Something has happened!”

Lu Ping walked up to her, and smiled. “You actually remembered when I would be coming back?”

Surprised by his words, Hu Lili’s mind went blank. She realized that no matter what happened, leaving in such a hurry would raise suspicions within those around her. Besides, she was a disciple of the Zhen Ling Sect and had nowhere to hide when betraying the sect was never an option. Instead, only by maintaining a low profile on Tian Ling Mountain would she be able to remain unnoticed.

With her thoughts in order, Hu Lili forced a smile. “I have been commanding the Amethyst Bees, dispatching them to all the gardens in Tian Ling Mountain recently. I almost forgot that today was the day of your return.”

The two chatted happily and headed toward Lu Pings cave. Little did they know that right after they left, a man appeared near the teleportation formation. He stared at the direction where the two had left and shook his head a brief moment later, before then disappearing to the back entrance of Tian Ling Mountain. In fact, Lu Ping had scanned the area with his divine revelation after sensing Hu Lili’s odd reaction, but he failed to detect the presence of this man.