The mountain wind howled past, chilling people to the bone.
Qin Liuxi and her companions gazed at the three Pure Ones, over a zhang tall, before them.
The Three Pure Ones weren’t golden bronze statues, but rather painted mud sculptures. Ti had eroded the colors under the sun and rain, leaving the seated figures missing arms and riddled with holes, ho to unknown creatures. Only the heads remained intact, barely recognizable.
Qin Liuxi sighed.
Fei Chai knelt on the ground, weeping bitterly.
Qin Liuxi instructed Teng Zhao and the others to clean up, while she herself took out so offering incense and candles from her Qiankun Bag.
Regardless of whether this site held any inheritance, having co here, and being descendants of Qingping Temple, they should express their respect and intentions.
Qin Liuxi took a clean piece of cotton cloth, leapt forward, and carefully wiped the head with it. As for the holes in the statue’s belly, she left them open.
"Why not repair these holes?" Fei Chai watched her only wipe the head, neglecting the holes in the statue’s body, puzzled.
"The mud statue providing a haven for all living things to cultivate here is also a form of protection and compassion. The Three Pure Ancestors won’t bla us," Qin Liuxi glanced at the hole in Yuanshi Tianzun’s belly, implying sothing.
Fei Chai said no more.
Indeed, this site was abandoned. If they hadn’t intentionally co here, they wouldn’t have seen anyone; whether the statue was intact didn’t matter.
But allowing living beings to reside is fortune for them and compassion from the statue.
Qin Liuxi lit the incense, and with Teng Zhao and the others respectfully offered fragrant incense, performing a grand ritual kneeling on the ground.
Fei Chai was moved; yet, in a few breaths, as she stated her intention, the sentint disappeared to the nine clouds beyond.
If there’s an inheritance, let it co to her without reservation. If there are hidden treasures, she should dream of them and receive directions. After all, it wasn’t easy traveling this far; as descendants, without so ancestral artifacts to flaunt and protect, people would underestimate Qingping Sect’s forr grand style.
She dared to speak so boldly, unafraid of being chastised by the ancestors with sticks.
But if the ancestors had any spirit, he almost wore his knees through kneeling back then, and he still didn’t receive any boon, so this request seed futile.
The youth are indeed naive!
However, why was the incense burning so fast?
After offering the incense, Qin Liuxi led Teng Zhao and the others to stroll around.
"Xixi, this place doesn’t seem like it harbors treasure," Little Ginseng remarked, surveying the surroundings, "And as for any inheritance, the chances seem slim."
"Qingping Sect’s inheritance is only rumored, and the truth of these tales cannot be determined without coming here. I initially doubted the existence of Qingping Sect’s site, yet here we stand now. As for the Taoist Sect inheritance, receiving it is fortunate; if not, it’s my fate."
True enough.
Little Ginseng saw her open-mindedness and said no more, pulling Teng Zhao to run off.
Regardless of inheriting treasures or not, gathering rare spirit plants ant they weren’t leaving empty-handed.
Once they left, a faint stir ca from the holes in the three Pure Ones’ mud statue, and as the incense burned faster, the faces of the Three Pure Ones beca a bit blurred.
Fei Chai rubbed his eyes, doubting his vision.
Did he just see the faces of the Three Pure Ones smiling?
Dusk gradually descended, rendering the entire ruin even more tranquil, except for sporadic animal calls coming from an unknown distance.
Qin Liuxi and her companions built a fire in front of the Three Pure Ones statue, then ditated.
In her words, since this is the Qingping Sect site, in the Kunlun Mountain Range, brimming with Spiritual Energy—it may yield insights during ditation.
But to Fei Chai, this was her unwillingness to give up!
See, he knew the legend was rely a legend; where was this Taoist Sect secret technique...?
Fei Chai widened his ghostly eyes, gazing at the Three Pure Ones and the changing scenery around him, his heart stuck.
He had seen bias, but not to this extent. Why doesn’t he receive such favor?
Fei Chai had a mournful ghostly face, eyes eting the three large God Incense sticks, the size of a child’s wrist, that Qin Liuxi and the others offered before ditating, awakening a sudden clarity.
Pray to many Gods and they shall protect you.
Oh, he had another epiphany!
The Kunlun Mountain Range is away from the mundane world and strife while Shengjing is fraught with countless struggles, especially after Qi Qian was granted a princely title, stirring imaginations among the ministers.
Now with the Crown Prince deposed and frequent disasters, morning court argued about the necessity of establishing a new Crown Prince to calm the people.
Predictably, these words ca from a faction of Princes, especially from Prince Zhao’s circle, who was most eager. After all, with the Crown Prince deposed, amongst the adult Princes, Prince Zhao was second in line, aning his enormous fortune might co next.
But upon suggesting this, the Saint, dressed in an immortal Daoist robe, remained nonchalant, simply saying: "Who do you wish to establish? Na soone!"
This directness made people hesitant to speak easily, now pondering the Saint’s intentions—whether to establish or not?
Prince Zhao was anxious, urging his staff to stir things, as the national mourning for the Empress Dowager was ending, and he couldn’t let the Crown Prince reverse the situation.
Moreover, it seed like the third and fourth Princes were also gaining montum.
But nothing compared to that bastard, achieving two rits and imdiately being granted a princely title, making it impossible not to speculate about the Emperor’s intentions.
Perhaps the old man was considering acknowledging his illegitimate child?
The more Prince Zhao pondered, the more he felt he found the truth, and then thought about the once-incognito Princess Consort Ru in the palace, becoming unsettled.
He approached Yu Linglan, voicing his suspicion, and the latter chuckled, shaking his head, "The Prince overthinks, no Saint wishes to tarnish his own na, an illegitimate child will never step onto the stage."
Sowhat comforted, Prince Zhao asked, "Then what is Father Emperor’s intention in conferring him the title of Prince?"
"It’s a compensatory reward. A father, seeking to compensate a son whom he views as deeply wronged, what is more justifiable than further accolades following rit?" Yu Linglan calmly said, "But that’s all there is to it. Does he imagine proclaiming to the world that this is a Dragon Son?"
Just about to retort, Prince Zhao’s eyes shifted below the street, "Speak of the devil and he appears."
Following his line of sight, Yu Linglan observed Qi Qian dismount a black stallion, standing at a carriage’s rear.
A youth hopped down from the carriage, holding the door, mouthing words unknown.
A slender hand rested on the door’s edge, followed by a beautiful delicate face erging.
Yu Linglan’s pupils contracted, rising abruptly.
Yu Changkong, he entered the world and chose competence.
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