“The Qingyun Sect...”
Hua Yuhe's expression changed drastically.
Although she was born of a side branch of the Hua family and had been married out for many years with little contact with Spring Return Valley,
Hua Yuhe was still aware of such major news as the first appearance of a New Method sect in Nanya Province.
In particular, the side branch of the Hua family had now submitted to the Qingyun Sect.
Curbing her posture as a city magistrate's wife and noble lady of a great clan, Hua Yuhe lowered her eyes and bowed slightly, saying, “Hua Yuhe greets Immortal Master Lin.”
Lin Muyang shook his head and said earnestly, “Lady Hua is a descendant of an immortal clan; there is no need to be so polite.”
“Furthermore... it would be better for us to address each other as fellow Daoists.”
Naturally unwilling to be inferior for no reason, Hua Yuhe breathed a sigh of relief and smiled. “Fellow Daoist Lin speaks rightly.”
Lin Muyang then looked at City Magistrate Du, who remained silent, and asked with great interest, “Fellow Daoist Du, was that invisibility talisman your handiwork?”
Du Qingquan remained silent for a moment before replying, “The treasure talismans were handed down by my ancestors. Only three remain effective today.”
One of the invisibility talismans had already been used.
As for the other two, Du Qingquan did not elaborate further.
In a situation where friend and foe were still unclear, this was sufficient to serve as a warning and deterrent to Lin Muyang.
“Only treasure talismans, but no legacy?”
Seeing Du Qingquan shake his head, Lin Muyang was instantly filled with regret. “What a true shame.”
To the side, Liu Zhijian felt his heart thumping nervously.
Earlier, Lin Muyang of the Qingyun Sect had struck out boldly, clearly making him an enemy rather than a friend.
Du Qingquan and Hua Yuhe were obviously formidable characters as well.
Seeing the three of them chatting animatedly, if they turned around to join forces against him, it would truly be immense trouble.
Liu Zhijian had no interest in the flood dragon cave abode anyway, so he carefully supported Deng Gang, preparing to slip away quietly.
“Halt!”
Hua Yuhe's gaze turned cold and harsh, her tone severe. “Who are you? Did I permit you to leave?!”
Liu Zhijian secretly cried out in dismay.
With the magic treasure bestowed by his master, dealing with mundane martial artists was naturally effortless.
However, if it were three against one, and the opponents were all cultivators, he would likely have zero chance of winning.
Now, he could only borrow the tiger's aura to bluff his way through and take a gamble.
I originally wanted to get along with you all as an ordinary angler, but who would have thought it would only earn me contempt.
Now, I'm done pretending.
I'm laying all my cards on the table.
Liu Zhijian let out a sigh and said in a deep voice, “Liu Zhijian of Mount Taixuan. I came down the mountain on orders to gain experience and stumbled into this situation by mistake. Now I wish to depart with my friend; I ask fellow Daoists to grant me passage and not linger on this.”
Hua Yuhe froze for a moment, suddenly unsure of how to respond.
How could this plain, ordinary-looking middle-aged man before her be a cultivator from Mount Taixuan?!
In that case, hadn't her harsh words just now brought about severe trouble?!
Du Qingquan's face showed shock, but he remained silent.
Lin Muyang of the Qingyun Sect looked grim. Sizing him up, he slowly asked, “You say you are a cultivator of Mount Taixuan. Do you have proof?!”
Liu Zhijian pulled a black token from his robes, engraved with a striking character for Xuan. “Of course.”
Hua Yuhe was, after all, from the Hua family and had heard of this token of Mount Taixuan. She exclaimed, “The Taixuan Token!”
Lin Muyang's face turned unsightly, and he asked in a raspy voice, “May I ask whose disciple fellow Daoist is?!”
Liu Zhijian was silent for a moment before answering, “My master is the current sect master of Mount Taixuan.”
He is actually a personal disciple of Mount Taixuan's sect master!
If I had really killed a disciple of Mount Taixuan's sect master...
Amidst his annoyance, Lin Muyang felt an even greater lingering fear.
Before descending the mountain, the elders of his sect had repeatedly ordered that upon encountering a cultivator of Mount Taixuan, one must yield three stages, avoid conflict at all costs, and never give the Nanya Immortal Alliance an excuse to start a war.
Lin Muyang even suspected that Liu Zhijian's presence was very likely a plot by the hawkish faction within the Nanya Immortal Alliance, intending for him to die at Lin Muyang's hands to ignite a major war!
“So you are a fellow Daoist from Mount Taixuan.”
Having no choice but to back down, Lin Muyang took a deep breath and apologized, “Please forgive me, fellow Daoist.”
“I possess dual Water and Wood Spiritual Roots, and I primarily cultivate Wood spells.”
“Seeing that fellow Daoist's magic treasure possessed an extraordinary spiritual charm, I momentarily succumbed to greed.”
“As the saying goes, those who do not know are guiltless.”
“Our Qingyun Sect is merely taking up residence in this precious land; we have absolutely no intention of offending Mount Taixuan.”
Lin Muyang's mind raced. Stepping back, he said, “To show my apologies, fellow Daoist may choose one spiritual item from this flood dragon cave abode first. What does fellow Daoist think?!”
Hua Yuhe and Du Qingquan were clearly the actual masters of the cave abode.
Yet before two disciples of immortal sects, they did not even have the right to speak.
Liu Zhijian secretly breathed a sigh of relief.
As long as we don't fight, that's good.
As for the spiritual item...
He couldn't refuse it either.
Otherwise, wouldn't that reveal his weakness?!
Liu Zhijian's thoughts raced, and he nodded in agreement.
Scanning the cave abode, his heart shuddered.
In the southeastern corner of the flood dragon cave abode, faint water light shimmered, instantly drawing everyone's eyes.
The blind old Daoist earlier seemed to have died under this very object.
Not only was it quite powerful, but its spiritual charm was also astonishing.
Anyone could tell that this spiritual item was bound to be extraordinary.
Liu Zhijian's heart surged with excitement, a throbbing sensation a hundred times stronger than when he had faced the flood dragon bead earlier.
‘This object is attuned to my very life essence; it is definitely a top-tier 【Kan Water】 spiritual item!’
‘I must not miss this!’
With an agitated expression, Liu Zhijian was about to step forward to take it.
“Fellow Daoist Liu.”
Lin Muyang's expression grew solemn as he asked probing, “May I ask, what exactly is this spiritual item?!”
Liu Zhijian took a deep breath, the frenzy in his eyes fading quite a bit. Barely calming down, he spoke slowly, “If I am not mistaken, this is a strand of 【Kan Water】 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 capable of allowing one to enter the Dao.”
“As for which specific strand it is, forgive my clumsy eyes, but I truly cannot distinguish it.”
Lin Muyang was, after all, a practitioner of the New Method, so he did not immediately grasp the significance.
Beside him, Hua Yuhe and Du Qingquan had already gasped in surprise.
Cultivation under the Old Method was difficult.
A complete strand of 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 used to ingest qi and enter the Dao was the scarcest of spiritual items.
One needed only to look at Li Chengxuan to know.
The grand current sect master of the Taixuan Immortal Sect was actually unable to find a suitable strand of 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】, and in the end had no choice but to refine 【Mortal Turbid Qi】 to enter the Dao!
Liu Zhijian had also read many ancient texts and knew that if he obtained this strand of 【Kan Water】 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 today, it would save him years, or even over a decade, of hard labor in the future.
‘Master said that if I were to collect 【Clear Qi Above the River】, it would surely require immense effort.’
‘This flood dragon must have quite an origin.’
‘The 【Spiritual Qi of Heaven and Earth】 within its cave abode certainly won't be poor.’
‘If I refine it, I might even gain a bit of the flood dragon's natural talent, or even a minor divine ability!’
The more Liu Zhijian thought about it, the more he felt he could not miss it. His eyes remained fixed on that ray of water light, unable to pull his gaze away.
Lin Muyang of the Qingyun Sect hesitated. He did not want to miss such a spiritual item, yet he was also unwilling to fight Liu Zhijian.
The couple, Hua Yuhe and Du Qingquan, could only struggle inwardly, well aware that such a spiritual item was likely beyond their reach.
“Since fellow Daoists allow me to choose first, I shall not stand on ceremony.”
Liu Zhijian finally made up his mind. Taking out a jade vial from Deng Gang's person, he collected the pool of flood dragon blood beneath the dragon skeleton, stored it carefully, supported Deng Gang, and turned to depart.
As for how the other spiritual items were to be divided, that no longer had anything to do with him.
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