It was like the surging tide of a great river and the churning of a boundless ocean. The re leakage of a fraction of this power was enough to shake the world and knock the very stars from the sky.
This was clearly a Foundation Establishnt Upper Cultivator who had achieved Water Life Perfection and possessed Profound rits and Virtues!
"Greetings, Senior Brother Fu Lizi."
Lou Zhenxiao’s tone was remarkably courteous. He was known throughout the Mingcang Marsh for his unrestrained and murderous decisiveness, a man who wouldn’t even necessarily show deference to the Elders of the three upper halls.
But among the Ten Great True Inheritance Disciples of the Taifu Sect, aside from being completely obedient to his eldest Senior Brother, Zhang Yuansheng, he was utterly helpless when it ca to Senior Brother Fu Lizi.
It wasn’t that Fu Lizi’s Cultivation was so profound or his presence so imposing that he could one day vie for the position of the Taifu Sect’s Daoist, earning Lou Zhenxiao’s admiration and willing submission.
It was because among all the True Disciples of the Eight Sects in the Nanzhan Continent, Senior Brother Fu was the wealthiest. His family’s fortune was so imnse that he could compete with the Immortal Cultivators from the Dongsheng Continent.
He had once uttered a single sentence—"Looks like the paupers of the Dongsheng Continent have co to the Nanzhan Continent to beg for food"—that infuriated a True Inheritance Disciple from one of the Immortal Dao’s Ancestral Sects so much that smoke practically billowed from his seven orifices, tarnishing his Dao heart.
As the saying goes, you can’t bite the hand that feeds you.
Forget the True Disciples of the Taifu Sect; even those awe-inspiring Powerful Elders had, to so extent, received favors from Senior Brother Fu.
Who would dare show him any disrespect or refuse him a favor!
You have to understand, just because you beco a True Disciple of an Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage doesn’t an your future is carefree.
Many Rare and Valuable Great dicines at the Foundation Establishnt Level couldn’t be found even if you scoured an entire continent.
You either had to travel the Yanfu Vast Land yourself, actively chasing down every Opportunity, or you had to possess a powerful family background and a solid Dao Inheritance and Dharma Lineage, relying on your elders to pave the way with their careful planning.
Either way, there would always co a ti when you’d need to ask Senior Brother Fu for a favor.
"It’s been a while, Junior Brother Lou. You’re as impressive as ever."
Fu Lizi had a peculiar, ancient look about him. His face was that of a young man, yet his hair and beard were snow-white, and his long eyebrows drooped all the way to his shoulders.
He was clad in a Seven-Color Dawn Magical Robe, wore a Ruyi Lotus Treasure Crown, and radiated a dazzling, peerless light that seed to illuminate the very void.
Any Cultivator who wasn’t blind could see his boundless extravagance!
Lou Zhenxiao’s mouth twitched. ’Every ti I see Senior Brother Fu Lizi, I feel like a destitute beggar.’
"You’re looking as dashing as ever yourself, Senior Brother."
Fu Lizi clasped his hands behind his back and slowly paced around, sizing up the Exquisite Magic Tower. He seed dissatisfied and shook his head, saying:
"Junior Brother Lou, you’re a figurehead of the Taifu Sect, for goodness’ sake. How can you be so destitute? This paltry Exquisite Magic Tower is hardly worthy of your status!
I happen to have a spare ’Celestial Square Star Palace.’ Just take it and use it, Junior Brother. We can’t have you tarnishing the reputation of our Taifu Sect!"
Lou Zhenxiao gave a wry smile. If it had been any other of his peers, he would have long since shot back a cold rebuttal.
But facing Fu Lizi, who surpassed him in seniority and prestige and had gifted him Spiritual Objects and resources on several occasions, True Master Jieyun could only cup his hands and say:
"I am dedicated to Gathering the Five Elents Life Essence, so I’ve invested all my ager resources into my Cultivation. Please excuse my humble state, Senior Brother."
Fu Lizi laughed.
"It’s a good thing to have great ambitions, Junior Brother. With the Immortal Dao’s power on the rise and the Demon Dao being repeatedly suppressed, now is the perfect ti for a few formidable figures to erge! Whatever you do, don’t be like , just idling my days away with no real purpose."
He paused for a mont, then changed the subject.
"Junior Brother Lou, you received the Sect Leader’s decree to oversee the north and south and patrol the Dharma Lineages. How magnificent. It’s a sha, really. I volunteered myself to the Duzhen Hall, but several of the Elders just ignored and refused to give the appointnt."
Lou Zhenxiao couldn’t help but laugh. ’Knowing Senior Brother Fu’s character, if he were really put in charge of the North and South Dipper Sword, all the Fate Shuzis of the Three Peaks and Four Waters, big and small, would probably end up being raised like fighting crickets, forced to battle day and night.’
By the ti the Dragon and Tiger Profound Altar opened, there might not even be ten people left to have their nas inscribed on the golden roll.
Lou Zhenxiao asked in a deep voice:
"I heard you extravagantly spent ten shiploads of Dan Jade Divine Sand to buy a ’Water and Fire Converging Blessed Land’ from the Dongsheng Continent, Senior Brother. The word was you intended to create the most astounding Opportunity in the Nanzhan Continent. So why have you suddenly appeared at Beimang Ridge?"
"I was originally on the Huai River, tracking Xuan Chanzi, but his Qi chanism and fate kept flickering in and out of existence, making it difficult to grasp any karmic threads.
I was just about to use the ’Celestial Vision and Earthly Hearing Skill’ when so junior from the Zhao You Sect started scrying for no apparent reason."
Fu Lizi let out a hearty laugh, clearly finding the situation amusing.
"I saw that he was one who Cultivates Ding Fire, and I could tell at a glance that he was one of those petty schers who loves to manipulate people. So, I used a ’Heart Inquiry Gold Talisman’ to ss with him a little, making him think he’d run into a True Monarch who cultivates Life Divine Techniques! You should have seen his face, Junior Brother! He went white as a sheet, absolutely terrified!"
Lou Zhenxiao sighed softly. ’This Senior Brother Fu’s extravagance is really bone-deep.’
’Just how precious is a Heart Inquiry Gold Talisman?’
’It’s a wonderful item for dispelling demonic thoughts, interrogating the Dao heart, strengthening one’s resolve, and enhancing spiritual awareness!’
’Even a True Monarch would store one away with the utmost care. Who else would use it just to play a prank on a re Foundation Establishnt Cultivator from a Branch Sect?’
Lou Zhenxiao, with his ticulous nature, couldn’t fathom Fu Lizi’s thinking. He didn’t press the matter and simply asked:
"Senior Brother, if you were at the Huai River, how did you get to Beimang Ridge in the blink of an eye?"
"I just used a ’Vertical Earth Golden Light Talisman,’ that’s all."
Fu Lizi’s grin widened, as if he’d just found a new source of entertainnt.
"It can cross thousands of miles in an instant. The distance from the Huai River to Beimang Ridge is nothing in comparison."
’This senior brother of mine really is the sa as ever,’ Lou Zhenxiao thought. ’He loves to burn through talismans as if they were worthless paper.’
Lou Zhenxiao was left speechless and fell silent.
"You know, I ca to Hanyang Prefecture in my younger days. I had just acquired a new Magical Treasure with the power of Dragon Seeking and Gold Pointing and gathering strands of fate. I happened to notice sothing odd about an earthen hill outside the city, so I simply built a hut there to cultivate in seclusion and made a few arrangents.
Who would’ve thought that after all this ti, it would finally bear fruit! Wouldn’t you say that’s quite a coincidence, Junior Brother?"
Lou Zhenxiao didn’t believe a word of it. ’This senior brother of mine must have pulled so strings to make that Foundation Establishnt True Master from the Zhao You Sect take the bait and toil away for him for over a hundred years.’
"The North and South Dipper Sword is imminent. That Fate Shuzi, Xuan Chanzi, has already thrown the Three Peaks and Four Waters into chaos, causing the Killing Tribulation to spread and grow heavier by the day.
If you’re looking for entertainnt, Senior Brother, please find it elsewhere. If you ruin the Sect Leader’s plans and allow the Innate Sect to gain the upper hand, the Elders of the upper hall will undoubtedly file a complaint against you at the next council."
As if expecting this response from Lou Zhenxiao, Fu Lizi’s eyes darted about, and he chuckled.
"You misunderstand , Junior Brother. I’m not here to cause trouble. You’re the one overseeing the north and south, patrolling the Dharma Lineages, and letting Xuan Chanzi run wild, throwing the Three Peaks and Four Waters into utter chaos.
It’s all just so you can prune the old Sects, purge the decadent Dao Races, and rejuvenate the north and south to produce a few more promising talents, isn’t it?"
Lou Zhenxiao remained expressionless, resolved not to admit a thing, no matter how much the other man talked.
Seeing this, Fu Lizi dropped his grin and spoke in a slower, more serious tone:
"This Opportunity is a legacy of the Ghost Dao called Fengdu. It’s a place where ten thousand ghosts lie in hiding, full of vicious, baleful yin energy.
But my knowledge of it is a bit more detailed than most. Back when the Immortal Dao launched its campaign against Beimang, they established strict prohibitions, destroyed talismans and temples, and slaughtered ghosts to protect the living. Both the Ghost Dao and the Divine Dao suffered devastating blows, one disaster compounding another.
This Fengdu was ant to be the foundation for the Yin Departnt, but it was burned to a crisp by Gong Rong of the Dongsheng Continent’s Eight Sceneries Palace."
Fu Lizi explained patiently, watching Lou Zhenxiao’s expression as he spoke.
Unfortunately, his junior brother was stone-faced and cold-hearted, betraying nothing.
"What are you getting at, Senior Brother?"
Lou Zhenxiao asked coolly.
"That Gong Rong from the Eight Sceneries Palace was a formidable figure who made his na at the Dan Yuan Dharma Assembly. His ’Six Ding True Fire’ was especially fearso—it could incinerate anything and even damage one’s Life Essence. It was enough to give even a True Monarch a headache.
If he hadn’t later encountered True Monarch Yu of the Demon Dao and lost, he would likely be an Immortal Dao True Monarch today."
Having said his piece, Fu Lizi waited with complete confidence for Lou Zhenxiao to finally yield.
"Six Ding True Fire? One of the ten greatest True Fires in the cosmos! There’s actually a remnant of Six Ding True Fire inside the gateway to Fengdu?"
As expected, Lou Zhenxiao’s expression changed slightly.
It was no wonder he was so shocked. The Six Ding True Fire possessed the incredible power to separate the pure from the impure, to command both pen and sword, and to forge and refine one’s very Life Essence.
It was truly a treasure of the cosmos!
"I can confirm that a wisp of a Fire Attribute seed remains inside Fengdu."
Fu Lizi’s tone was firm. He then added:
"Junior Brother, the Three Peaks and Four Waters has innurable talents and a wealth of Dao Materials. Your thod of letting Xuan Chanzi run wild to stir up fate and draw out fortune, creating this burgeoning montum... it’s all a bit too slow.
Why not help open Fengdu and retrieve the Six Ding True Fire? We can throw all those talents and Dao Materials inside and cook them for a while.
We’ll see who’s true gold and who’s just sand in a single trial."
Lou Zhenxiao’s brow furrowed. He was clearly tempted.
Sensing his junior brother’s hesitation, Fu Lizi decided to strike while the iron was hot and took out an object.
Lou Zhenxiao looked closer and saw a square, neatly bound booklet made of gold and jade, glowing with a brilliant light.
"This is a ’Daoist Register’ from an Ancestral Sect Dharma Lineage in the Dongsheng Continent. It’s been in my hands for so years now.
Just give the Talisman Decree, Junior Brother, and I’ll be able to draw in the wisps of Life Qi that the many Disciples of the Dharma Lineages in Beimang Ridge—and indeed, across the entire north and south—have entrusted to it. We can have them all tempered in the Six Ding True Fire. I guarantee we’ll find a few good prospects."
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