386 The Last Li Zimei
At the end of the tributary, other than the ruins of the Minor Affairs Sect, there were also ships from the Heavenly Treasure Sect.
There were also 20 of them.
Some Heavenly Treasure Sect cultivators were cultivating on the shore. These were all members of the Special Security Department. They had been stationed here for a period of time, waiting for the Seven Blood Eyes to replace them.
With the appearance of the Seven Blood Eyes’ fleet, the handover between the two sides was quickly completed. The Heavenly Treasure Sect’s disciples handed over a flag and sailed down the river in a majestic manner.
They would return to the Alliance at an extremely fast speed. On the day they arrived at the Alliance, the ships from another sect would go against the current and take over from the Seven Blood Eyes’ disciples.
During this period of time, the Seven Blood Eyes’ Special Security Department would guard this place. At the same time, they would erect the Alliance’s flag on the shore.
This was all the missions for Xu Qing and the captain on this trip.
This mission seemed long but in reality, it was extremely helpful for cultivation. Regardless of whether it was the trip to here or this place, they were both extremely good places to cultivate.
However, not many cultivators could persist at the intersection of the main river. Because of different physiques and different adaptability to the environment, most disciples wouldn’t be able to withstand the overly dense immortal Qi for a while.
The disciples of the Minor Affairs Sect should have used the protection of their sect’s array formations to cultivate here.
Even Xu Qing felt a little dizzy. However, his cultivation was extraordinary after all. He got off the boat and stepped on the shore. He stood there and took a deep breath.
The immortal Qi rushed into his face and entered his body through his mouth and nose and through the pores on his body, transmitting through Xu Qing’s entire body. After barely adapting, Xu Qing sat down cross-legged and began to cultivate.
The captain was the same. As for the other Seven Blood Eyes disciples on the ships, they also got off the ship one after another. After setting up the camp and checking the surroundings, they began to meditate according to their adaptability.
Time flowed by. A month later, the 109th magic aperture in Xu Qing’s body opened.
The opening of this magic aperture didn’t rely on soul power but completely relied on the immortal Qi here and the grinding cultivation of Life Art.
This was a very difficult thing to accomplish in the Nanhuang Continent but here, the difficulty was much lower.
Xu Qing was excited.
‘I’m 11 magic apertures away from forming the fourth ball of life fire!’ Xu Qing’s gaze was filled with anticipation. He was very clear that after he formed the fourth ball of life fire, he would truly possess the combat strength to suppress the Foundation Building realm.
Without relying on other methods, he would have the combat strength of six fires. If he added the emperor-level cultivation art, his combat strength could reach seven fires. With the mutual enhancement of the two life lanterns, although his combat strength wouldn’t reach eight flames, it would reach the peak of seven fires.
At the same time, they had another mission in this month, and that was to search for the remnants of the Minor Affairs Sect.
However, the search wasn’t the goal. This was to inform all parties in the Yinghuang Province that the Eight Sects Alliance wouldn’t allow another dam to appear here.
Once such a faction appeared, they would become mortal enemies!
This attitude needed to be displayed by the Special Security Department.
Xu Qing didn’t know if there was a secret transaction between the Alliance and the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect because the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect had been silent about this from the start.
The Minor Affairs Sect had clearly realized that it was impossible to rebuild the sect, so most of them moved. The information and clues found by the Seven Blood Eyes all indicated that the Minor Affairs Sect had completely left.
This was the same as the information obtained by the other sects when they patrolled the river.
Hence, Xu Qing continued to cultivate. During this period, if his body couldn’t withstand it, he would distance himself from the shore. After his body adapted better, he would cultivate on the shore again.
As for the captain, he had disappeared half a month ago. Before he left, he told Xu Qing that he was going to look at the surroundings. Xu Qing saw his mysterious expression and didn’t ask further.
Just like how the captain respected his secrets, Xu Qing also respected the captain’s secrets.
Just like that, days passed. To the other disciples, perhaps sitting cross-legged and cultivating for a long time was a very boring thing. Hence, there weren’t many people who insisted on cultivating here every day.
Most of them would occasionally go out and wander around. Some even went to the nearby small countries to play.
Xu Qing didn’t ask for too much from others. He only demanded himself to cherish every opportunity to cultivate. There were others like him, and the little mute was one of them.
Three months passed. Xu Qing’s 110th magic aperture was finally opened after the months of cultivating. As his magic aperture opened, Xu Qing clearly felt that the magic power in his body had become more majestic.
Xu Qing drew in a deep breath and looked behind him.
There were less than 30 people who could persist until now and still cultivate continuously like him.
Xu Qing’s gaze swept past them. Just as he was about to close his eyes again, his expression changed slightly. He lifted his head and looked at the main river in the distance.
It was dusk and the sunset was very beautiful. Under the illumination of the sunset, Xu Qing saw a fleet of ships appearing on the main river.
There were a total of ten large ships.
The appearance of the ship was different from the Seven Blood Eyes. They seemed to be made of crystal and spirit stones. They looked crystal clear and the light they gave off was dazzling. At this moment, they were flowing down the river from the direction of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. Xu Qing could see that there were many cultivators in white robes on the ship.
Most of them were women. All of them wore veils and their bodies emitted extraordinary energy fluctuations.
“Grand Affairs Immortal Sect.” Xu Qing recognized their background. The fleet was getting closer and closer to them, and soon, the disciples of both sides could see each other’s appearances.
When Xu Qing swept his gaze over, he saw that the three female disciples who had come to the Seven Blood Eyes back then were among them.
Although the clothes of the disciples of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect were the same and they wore veils, everyone’s aura was different.
Xu Qing observed carefully. Back then, he had seen the three disciples who came to the Seven Blood Eyes, so he could recognize them now.
In addition, he also saw a familiar figure.
She wore a long white dress and a face veil. Her temperament was completely different from the person in Xu Qing’s memory. If it wasn’t for her persistent gaze that was still filled with intense self-esteem, it would be very difficult for Xu Qing to recognize her at a glance.
She was… Li Zimei!
Zhang San had once said that Li Zimei had been taken away by the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. Before she left, she had left Xu Qing a letter. That letter didn’t say much and was filled with words of gratitude for him.
At that moment, although Xu Qing recognized Li Zimei, under the cover of Old Master Seventh’s jade slip, Xu Qing was unfamiliar to Li Zimei.
Hence, both sides only swept their gazes over before retracting them. Very soon, the ships of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect left the place where Xu Qing and the others were and headed in the direction of the Grand Affairs Misfortune Passing Mountain.
Xu Qing stared at them for a long while before retracting his gaze.
“From the group who went up the mountain to register, Zhou Qingpeng died, Xu Xiaohui lost her desire to cultivate, and Li Zimei joined the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect.” Xu Qing sighed with emotion. More than four years had become scenes in his memory.
Xu Qing closed his eyes and continued cultivating. Not long later, one of the ships of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect left the fleet and approached the shore. Xu Qing opened his eyes and looked over warily.
On the ship was one of the three female disciples who had visited the Seven Blood Eyes that day. Beside her was Li Zimei. They didn’t go ashore. When they got close, the female disciple from the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect swept her gaze across Xu Qing and the others and calmly spoke.
“Seven Blood Eyes?”
Xu Qing nodded.
The female disciple waved her hand and threw out two jade slips, one purple and one blue. They transformed into two beams of light that headed straight for Xu Qing.
Xu Qing calmly stood up and caught the two jade slips. At the same time, he put on a trembling expression and retreated more than ten steps.
He wouldn’t reveal flaws in these details.
“Give the blue jade slip to the third disciple of your sect master.”
“The purple one is for your Seven Blood Eyes’ Xu Qing.” After the woman finished speaking, she left with Li Zimei. From the start to the end, Li Zimei didn’t say a word. Only when she left at the end did she turn her head and cast a puzzled glance at Xu Qing. However, she quickly retracted her gaze.
Xu Qing fell into deep thought. After watching the other party leave, he looked at the two jade slips in his hand. He stored the one to his third senior brother and his gaze landed on the purple jade slip.
“For me?” Xu Qing fell silent and spread his perception into the jade slip. At the next moment, the content of the jade slip appeared in his mind.
“Senior Brother Xu Qing, I’m Li Zimei. Do you remember the last thing you said to me?”
Xu Qing narrowed his eyes. This jade slip wasn’t an ordinary item. There was a lock inside and one had to answer the designated question to see more content. If it was forcefully opened, it would shatter on its own.
“All the best. I want to see the day you exchange for the magic boat.” Xu Qing imprinted these words on the jade slip.
At the next instant, the content of the jade slip suddenly changed.
“Senior Brother Xu Qing, everything is fine with me in the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. I am sending you this message because the method I learned in the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect is different from the Seven Blood Eyes and all the cultivation I have come into contact with in the past.”
“The Grand Affairs Immortal Sect believes that cultivation is cultivation and realm is realm. They don’t place much importance on cultivation and pay more attention to realms.”
“This realm isn’t something like the Qi Condensation, Foundation Building, Golden Core or the like. It’s… a domain!”
“The Immortal Sect thinks that the domain is the Great Dao. However, it requires comprehension and it’s extremely difficult…”
“Senior Brother Xu Qing, I only know this surface knowledge for now. I hope it can be of some help to you. You can try to comprehend more about it. I feel that although the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect’s belief might not be correct, it should have its merits.”
“Also… Senior Brother Xu Qing, I won’t let you down. I’m about to participate in a comprehension ritual of the Grand Affairs Immortal Sect. They told me that this ritual is very difficult. If I fail, I’ll die. If I succeed, my personality might change a little.”
“This is nothing. I don’t like my personality to begin with. Sometimes, I’m too cowardly and sometimes, I want my dignity too much. It’s good to change a little.”
“I don’t know if I can succeed or what will happen. When you receive this letter, I might be dead or I might have succeeded.”
“However, no matter what, this is my choice. I’ll continue moving forward and work even harder. I can definitely do it. I just hope that my personality won’t change too much.”
“My words might be rude, but this might be my last letter before my personality changed and I don’t have any relatives. All these years, the only people who have helped me are you and Senior Brother Zhang San. I know that Senior Brother Zhang San only took care of me because of you. Senior Brother Xu Qing, I hope you don’t take offense if this disturbed you.”
“Senior Brother Xu Qing, I sincerely wish you well. I hope you’ll be better, forever better, and always be fine.”
“Li Zimei.”