He could only return to the mountain gates and seek help from Zhang Ruoxu. Even though the chief had clearly ordered not to return to the mountains before achieving Huandan, this matter was too urgent to care about other things.
Shen Lian noticed that the three ladies had high level of achievements, plus that piece of rope-looking mystical instrument, it should be associated with the Immortal Zhenren. Even though he was armed with the Divine Qi of Taixu, facing opponents of such level, he would not let anyone take Ruoxi away, or else he’d be consumed with guilt…
Moreover, the lady in yellow robe mentioned that Ruoxi was the reincarnation of Yuan Jun, which was quite mysterious. Shen Lian knew of certain mystical techniques which could transform a person’s body into a different one to prevent catastrophes, which should be like the case of Ruoxi.
Mastering this kind of technique would require the person’s body to have that vast size of capacity and well matured to succeed. Therefore Ruoxi should not be in danger as of now.
Whether his assumption was true or not, he would need to make a trip back to the mountain gates to find out, although he was not certain if he could make it past the gates, since the chief had ordered him not to return before achieving the level of Huandan.
Shen Lian had made up his mind, he would not return to Shendu, since there was nothing he would miss there. However he had just mastered the Divine Qi of Taixu, and still required more time for exploration and refinement. Nevertheless, his current flying speed could enable him to turn back to Qing Xuan in three to five days, therefore he still had some time to spend.
At that moment, the sky had broken dawn in the east, purple mist arisen. Seeing such view, Shen Lian felt much comfort in his chest.
He let out a long howl, so loud it shook the wilderness, pierced through the skies and sent a flock of birds flying.
Fortunately, there was no one around, so he didn’t fear to be heard as some monster or demon.
As if a dash of smoke, he merged with the sea of clouds above. With his Divine Qi of Taixu, as if he had let off a thousand tonne burden, he could not experience the high of “Exceeding the levels of clouds and skies”.
Shen Lian flew to the South Sea, and as he was going to cruise towards the direction of Qing Xuan, a familiar voice was heard from below calling his name.
Shen Lian looked down. Then he landed on a boulder, at which not far in front, there was a good looking Daoist child, standing on the waves. That was Jing Qing Tongzi.
Jing Qing briefly examined Shen Lian, and smiled, “I wouldn’t imagine that you have improved this much”. It was as if he was looking at Biyun Zhenren and Ziling Fairy from the earlier days. As for Gu Caiwei to achieve the Divine Qi of Taixu, it was not difficult for her as Biyun Zhenren and Ziling Fairy helped her a lot in that manner.
For a demon being like Jing Qing Tongzi with such a long lifespan, Shen Lian knew that the past one year was only as long as a nap. He asked, “Why are you here?”
“On the order of the chief, I was waiting for you here since yesterday,” Jing Qing Tongzi said.
Shen Lian mumbled, “Chief Master already knew what happened to me?” He was not surprised because the chief could know everything with his prophesying, which could even be better than that of the Immortal Zhenren.
Jing Qing replied, “Chief Master said that whatever it is you want to ask about, Qing Xuan cannot get involved in, but you do not have to worry about that child. If you still want to continue meddling with this matter, you can only return and ask him after achieving Huandan level.”
Shen Lian then said, “I wanted to return only because I had this question in mind. Since the Chief Master had this in calculation, then I shall not return to the mountains. How is the chief? Is he well?”
Jing Qing smirked, “He is now ‘at the dusk of his life, with not much breath left’. Things will only get worse for him, how can he be well.” Jing Qing Tongzi was used to witness lives and deaths, plus snakes were cold-blooded in nature. Even though he had spent a long time living with Zhang Ruoxu, he would not have a sense of sadness like Shen Lian had.
Shen Lian turned silent. He still could not look past this.
Jing Qing Tongzi shook its head and turned into a snake. It hit the sea water with its tail, almost wetting Shen Lian’s robe, rode the clouds and disappeared within the horizon.
After seeing Jing Qing Tongzi off, Shen Lian redirected his vision to the riding waves. Ever since he joined the Daoist, the chief had been taking good care of him. Even though he forbade him to return, he must have had his reasons. Shen Lian would never mind that. It was only that he was still worried about the chief’s injuries, yet he could not do anything.
He gazed towards the direction of Qing Xuan, and thought, “The Dao Scripture recorded the existence of a magical Medicine of Immortality. If I can find it, maybe I can cure the Chief Master”.
Shen Lian understood that Qing Xuan had tens of thousands of literature. Even if such magical medicine did not exist, or he did not have any clue to find this medicine, he still wanted to do something for the chief.
Whether it was to search for the chief’s cure or getting Ruoxi back, he could only do this with the improvement of his techniques. Those women who captured Ruoxi were armed with mystical instruments, it was only natural that the chief ordered him to return with his questions after achieving the level of Huandan so he would not over exert himself.
He was now armed with the Divine Qi of Taixu, with the help of Immortal Zhenren, so he should be able to walk around unharmed. No one else could help him besides himself in this journey to achieving Huandan.
It was a whole wide world, almost boundless. He decided to wander on an adventure and maybe figure things out someday. The first person that Shen Lian thought of was Chen Jianmei who had built Temple of Killings in Xi Huang region. Since they had not met each for many years, he decided to travel to Xi Huang.
The matter about Ruoxi should not be rushed. Shen Lian decided to look for a deserted mountain nearby, isolate himself for half a month, and clear himself to meditate, then headed off to Xi Huang. A few days later, he arrived at a fortress city, which was westbound and right on the path towards Xi Huang. Shen Lian was unfamiliar with how things worked in Xi Huang, not mentioning its geography, therefore he found himself city inn to rest in and ask around.
This city was named Yuguan. It was surrounded by mountains on three sides, and one facing the waters, with its highest point being the critical point. Though this was a mountain city, it was bustling due to its crucial geographical location.
Right after collecting his required information from the markets, Shen Lian went strolling on the bustling streets. He could feel the energy of the Taixu Divine Qi spiraling within him as if there were rays in eight colors looping endlessly in his body. Once the technique was perfected, he would have achieved the Taixu Godly Realms and enable him to master his techniques flawlessly.
He would not only improve his skills, the speed of him releasing a Daoist technique would also escalate exponentially.
This was the mythical point of the nine realms of cultivation. The Daoist Master must have his reasons for setting the realms to nine.
With his strengths today, he was absorbing the Qi of heaven and earth endlessly, turning them into his energy. When he was around people, he would still restrict himself. If he was in the wilderness, he would absorb without boundaries. His rate of Qi transformation using the Taixu Qi was so effective that he surprised himself.
This was logical though because when he transformed his own mana into Taixu Qi, the speed was already fast.
However, he had spent most of his effort cultivating his Qi, which was not very functional. His body had its own capacity limit in carrying his mana. Moreover, when he had cultivated to such high level, the mana level was already not the most important factor in beating an opponent. If an opponent had the ability to move mountains and oceans, they would still be unbeatable.