Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant Chapter 2398: 202: Three Swords
Previously on Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant...
“Taoist Friend Deng, congratulations on reconstructing your physical body.”
“Tao Bingji has made significant progress over these years. In another three to five hundred years, he might have a chance to reach Void Refining.”
In the Yin Ruins Arena.
Wang Ba sat cross-legged inside the temporary immortal cave that the Yin Family had specially arranged for him, nodding while observing Tao Bingji and Deng Yingjue in front of him.
Deng Yingjue wore a respectful look on his face:
“It’s all because of you, Senior, that the Yin Family has treated me with such courtesy. Apart from the cultivation resources you provided earlier, they’ve given me even more.”
“Yingjue feels truly thankful!”
Tao Bingji also positioned himself respectfully in front of Wang Ba, offering a deep bow:
“Without your past guidance, I’m afraid I’d remain stuck below Nascent Soul for this life, forever unable to advance.”
Wang Ba lightly lifted his hand, smiling to halt Tao Bingji’s bow:
“There’s no need for that; cultivation depends on destiny and chances. This is simply your fated time, and I merely crossed paths with you then.”
“Oh, and if the opportunity arises, inquire on my behalf with the Yunhuo Realm… whether they’d consider joining a Great Realm.”
While saying this, he subtly sensed something.
He had thoroughly grasped the Buddhist Law of the Supreme True Buddha.
Even without intent, his speech now held a trace of Buddhist charm.
He continued to provide further pointers.
In his prior existence, Tao Bingji stemmed from Innate Divine Demons, though his grasp of Dao Law stayed fairly average.
Yet fortune smiled on him by bringing him across the rare genius of the Realm Sea, the mighty Cultivator Wang Ba. With Wang Ba’s careful instruction, Tao Bingji’s growth surged ahead, outpacing even the sharpest prodigies around.
Upon learning that a Great Realm sought to absorb Yunhuo Realm, Tao Bingji felt a mix of shock and joy.
Having cycled through many rebirths in Yunhuo Realm, he held deep attachments to it. Given Yunhuo Realm’s looming end, an offer from a Great Realm to take it in promised a favorable turn, so he quickly agreed with a nod.
“Incidentally, are you aware of the Quiet Cave’s location?”
Wang Ba inquired offhandedly.
Tao Bingji appeared somewhat confused:
“Quiet Cave… what’s that?”
Wang Ba, upon hearing this, showed mild disappointment and shook his head:
“It’s nothing much, just curious.”
Tao Bingji had delved into the realm and reborn ages ago, long preceding the Quiet Cave’s emergence.
Hoping for his ties to the Quiet Cave seemed improbable.
Though he kept his demeanor steady and serene, Yin Tianzhi elsewhere fretted anxiously, uncertain how to handle the matter.
Amid his worries, a slim hope flickered in him, one he hesitated to acknowledge.
Yin Tianzhi quietly resolved that should events turn sour, he’d abandon Zhang’s Ruins and seek a new haven elsewhere.
Time passed bit by bit…
…
At the ‘Xin Gate’ of the human-shaped continent within Zhang’s Ruins, a slight fissure formed in the ‘skull’ as vast amounts of Chaos Origin Substance flooded inside.
Far inside the Xin Gate,
a Taoist Field stretched across the gap between the skull and the calvaria, withstanding the ceaseless surge of nearby Chaos Origin Substance.
Carved upon the field stood two bold characters:
“Laowen.”
This marked the base of one of Zhang’s Ruins’ eleven mighty powers, the Laowen Sect.
Right then, in the heart of the Taoist Field,
a middle-aged Taoist with hair touched by gray and a gentle expression sat motionless in a hidden chamber, an item like a ‘horn’ set before him. The ‘horn’ bore the scars of ages, riddled with dents and voids, yet it rested calmly within a lavish, decorated treasure chest.
Staring at this ‘horn’, the middle-aged Taoist let out his usual soft sigh:
“The young ones lack worthiness; they hold the Patriarch’s heirloom but know not how to use it…”
He instinctively extended a hand to softly stroke the ‘horn’, sensing its sleek warmth against his skin, but nothing more stirred. With another sigh, as on endless prior occasions, he carefully shut the treasure chest.
This routine never changed; before any grand choices, he’d visit this secluded room to behold the Patriarch’s remnant, yearning for some subtle sign from the Patriarch.
But on this occasion, he lingered longer than before. His hands settled lightly on the chest, his eyes drifting into vagueness.
As though lost in reverie, or gripped by hesitation:
“The Patriarch ought to have achieved Mahayana and ascended to The Heavens, so why have no heirs claimed this fortune across the years?”
“Forget Mahayana; not even a single late-stage Tribulation-Transcending cultivator has emerged…”
“It’s not just our sect—even all of Zhang’s Ruins lacks a late-stage Tribulation-Transcending cultivator after countless ages?”
“What causes this?”
“Fate’s decree, or mere chance?”
The Tribulation-Transcending Realm stands as the final barrier for realm sea cultivators before Ascension. Thus, advancing through each minor stage proves tougher than entire prior Great Realms.
In Zhang’s Ruins, early-stage Tribulation-Transcending cultivators abound, mid-stage ones appear sporadically, but late-stage ones remain absent.
This unchanged state had endured for ages.
Various factors, like rivalries between clans, played a role. Typically, as soon as a cultivator neared a late-stage breakthrough, rival groups would strike, blocking any path forward.
Still, the total lack of even one late-stage expert over such vast time stirred doubts in his thoughts.
“Perhaps… Zhang’s Ruins simply can’t support late-stage Tribulation-Transcending cultivators? Is that the barrier holding us back?”
This notion jolted the middle-aged Taoist deeply.
If true, what path could he take to fix it?
Flee from Zhang’s Ruins?
Yet departing, where could he and the Laowen Sect turn?
A profound bewilderment stirred within him:
“Just what is Zhang’s Ruins, truly?”
“It resembles a realm but isn’t quite… still, it harbors so many cultivators safely…”