Chapter 178

Step by Step, Heavy with Weight

Although those who cultivate the Dao are not bound by worldly conventions, the ways of the world are inescapable, even for a Grotto-Heaven True Person. During Ruan Ci's seclusion, Moon-Catching Cliff was entirely under the care of Lu Huangning. Now that she had formed her Jin Dan, it was only proper to first visit her Senior Brother, rather than rushing out of the Grotto-Heaven to find Ruan Rong at Seven Stars Cottage. Thus, despite missing her sister, she had to stop by Lu Huangning's place first. Furthermore, Ruan Rong was usually in seclusion, while Lu Huangning often had an avatar in his cave dwelling, handling the various affairs of the Grand Void Heaven.

Sure enough, Lu Huangning's cave dwelling was bustling with activity, filled with stewards coming to collect precious materials. Tianlu stood in the lower position, holding a jade slip and balancing accounts with him. Qin Fengyu sat to one side, staring at the chessboard with a solemn face, a chess piece in her hand that she hadn't placed for a long time. Lu Huangning also held a piece, but because he turned his head to speak with Tianlu, the movement of his robes brushed several pieces out of place.

Qin Fengyu said nothing, simply restoring the pieces. As Ruan Ci approached, she watched from afar, seeing things much more clearly than before. She saw Qin Fengyu's actions distinctly—taking advantage of the moment she held a piece, she had secretly removed several of Lu Huangning's pieces from the board.

This back-and-forth between master and disciple was another form of fairness. Watching from a distance, Ruan Ci couldn't help but laugh, finding it quite amusing. She didn't expose them, but stepped forward and said with a smile, "Tianlu, I haven't seen you in three hundred years; how have you become even more capable?"

Seeing Ruan Ci, Tianlu scattered the jade slip in his hand and charged straight at her. Ruan Ci flashed away in the air, appearing hundreds of feet away, and laughed, "You can't hit me!"

Before the words had faded, Tianlu shifted his position in the air, appearing directly in front of her, about to slam into Ruan Ci's shoulder. At the last hair-breadth moment, Ruan Ci dodged slightly and began to flee through the air, her figure moving so fast only afterimages remained, ethereal and elusive within the field of momentum. Tianlu followed behind, feeling dizzy and disoriented. Even with the body of a Spirit Deer, known for its agility, he was completely at a loss, unable to catch even Ruan Ci, who had only just formed her Jin Dan.

Just as he stood on a cloud, wanting to complain, Ruan Ci's figure flashed before him, and she took the initiative to lightly bump Tianlu with her shoulder. Tianlu couldn't help but reach up with both hands to grab the bun on his head, smiling foolishly at Ruan Ci, "Miss Ci, Miss Ci has become even more powerful."

His eyes were bright, his small mouth grinning, as if he couldn't hide his joy. Clearly, seeing Ruan Ci again made him extremely happy. Ruan Ci took his hand and returned with him to Lu Huangning, bowing and smiling, "Senior Brother, it has been a long time."

After the two finished their greetings, Qin Fengyu also came to pay her respects, then clapped loudly and cheered, laughing, "Little Martial Uncle, what great footwork! Let's play this later; wouldn't it be much better than playing chess?"

The master and disciple had clearly not placed a single piece, only watching the game, but the distribution of pieces on the board was different from what Ruan Ci had seen earlier. There were still lingering traces of struggle in the field of momentum; clearly, while Ruan Ci and Tianlu were playing, they had been using their own methods and showing off their divine abilities. Ruan Ci had always thought Lu Huangning was the most serious person, but today she realized he was quite playful in private. She couldn't help but laugh, "I am a crude person and only know these things. When others play chess, the pieces always increase, but in your game, they keep decreasing. I truly can't play this."

Qin Fengyu laughed loudly, "Master is an old cheater. He can't beat me in the same realm, so he always plays dirty. If you want to play, Little Martial Uncle, we should only compete with our mental strength; no using fortune allowed."

Ruan Ci intended to cultivate that sensing technique, and it was indeed better to play more chess. Hearing this, she agreed to a future match, and then they each recounted their recent experiences.

Unlike True Person Wang, who hadn't been seen for hundreds of years and remained in seclusion, with only avatars handling affairs, or spirit pets like Tianlu who showed little progress over centuries, three hundred years was enough for a human Jin Dan cultivator to change. After Qin Fengyu formed her Jin Dan, she cultivated in seclusion for decades before feeling restless. Knowing this was a desire for action after long stillness, she followed her heart and left seclusion to handle tasks. For hundreds of years, she had often worked for the sect, and because the continent was now in turmoil, with far more excitement and strife than before, she had accumulated many merits over the past two hundred years and exchanged them for many precious materials.

"These so-called errands sometimes involve going to the flourishing sects to witness those Elixir Assemblies or Treasure-Snatching Assemblies, all to cultivate genius disciples and weed out those who cannot succeed quickly. In the past, one could wait a little to see if one's opportunity lay after forming the Jin Dan, but now the Central Continent is about to enter an era of great contention. The Grand Void Gate is about to launch a campaign, and if the Wugou Sect cannot resist and a flourishing sect is destroyed, the field of momentum will undergo earth-shattering changes that won't be settled within a hundred or eighty years. If one cannot form the Nascent Soul within the time limit, there will be no more opportunities."

Ruan Ci knew what she meant and sighed, "I fear that at this moment, the field of momentum has already begun the battle of fortune. The Grand Void Gate appears to be sitting still, but they have been constantly attacking and dissolving the Wugou Sect's momentum and fortune on many invisible battlefields, weakening their causality. The two sides have already fought several times over the past few hundred years."

Lu Huangning nodded, "Grotto-Heaven struggles always begin with fortune and end with fortune. Attacks by lower-ranked cultivators are only the final assault launched after the outcome of the virtual number game has been determined. To completely destroy the Wugou Sect, it would be difficult to do so without thousands of years. It depends on whether the Wugou Sect will submit to the Grand Void Gate. However, over these seventy years, the field of momentum has been much more peaceful. Even True Person Qingshan, I imagine, is extremely curious about that Dao Integration tribulation."

Ruan Ci had many things to ask Lu Huangning, and everyone naturally had many questions for her. However, everything regarding Ruan Ci's tribulation was of great consequence and could not be detailed. She could only shake her head, "There are indeed mysteries in this, but there is no joy in glimpsing the upper realm. The more one knows, the more doubts arise. Life is finite, but knowledge is infinite; it is a feeling difficult to describe."

For a future Dao Ancestor to lecture on the Dao, even for those of the same sect, was a rare opportunity. Even Tianlu listened intently, and Qin Fengyu's face showed a dreamlike expression, murmuring, "That day I was at the feet of my master, looking up at Little Martial Uncle's Jin Dan shining like a light. When the final layer of the Dao foundation was forged, I felt as if something had been added to my heart. It was indescribable, yet I yearned for it greatly. Even when condensing magic power, I seemed better able to calm my heart than before, to experience the subtle, clear charm within the spiritual energy. I think that must be the indescribable wonder of the Dao, and also the secret realm I must one day ascend to."

Although she knew Ruan Ci was likely the only future Dao Ancestor in history, her ambition remained undiminished. Lu Huangning's gaze fell upon her, and he couldn't help but reveal a slight smile, nodding without a word. Qin Fengyu added, "Not to mention these things, being a guest at flourishing sects is just one type of errand; there is also resolving sect disputes, fighting for spirit lands, precious medicines..."

Recounting the changes of the past three hundred years was the most suitable errand for Qin Fengyu. In the cave dwelling, a group of stewards couldn't help but stop their work, listening to her talk endlessly and gesticulating about the turmoil on the continent over the past century, the various changes that had arisen because of it, and the many secret realms she had seen while on duty. It turned out that over these hundreds of years, stimulated by the agitation of fortune, many ancient ruins and secret realms that had been hidden due to insufficient spiritual energy had emerged one after another, either destroyed or dissipated, spewing out the remaining treasures within. The era of great contention was coming, which also meant that opportunities were like rain. Among many lives, there were always cultivators who, through chance and coincidence, advanced in the heat of the moment. It seemed that Ruan Ci's forming of the Jin Dan had accelerated the cultivation rhythm of all the lower-ranked cultivators on the Central Continent several times over.

"Those who should die, die earlier than before; those who can advance, advance faster than before. This is the era of great contention."

Qin Fengyu was already at the Jin Dan cultivation base, and her spiritual energy was inexhaustible, so she didn't need to breathe. Even so, after summarizing this, she took a deep breath to show she had truly spoken a lot, and then began to talk about certain treasures that had emerged. Ruan Ci listened, and suddenly thought of the Ruan family, thinking to herself, "Those who should die, die earlier than before... The Ruan family are all mortals. In the eyes of cultivators, they will always die quickly, so dying a few decades earlier is no big deal. Is that what Liu Jizi and Chen Yuzi thought? I... will I one day think the same?"

Perhaps not, but when Ruan Ci heard Qin Fengyu say this, she didn't feel any resentment. She knew she had changed a little, perhaps moving further and further away from that mortal Ruan Ci. She only hoped she would still remember the despair in her heart when she was crawling through the piles of corpses that day, and the feeling of helplessness when she watched Liu Jizi use immortal arts to cut down the weeds and eliminate the roots while searching for the Houkun Pendant.

But that was a long time ago after all. This thought arose for a moment and then naturally sank. She heard Qin Fengyu say, "Walking outside these years, I have also made many friends, but many have died in these three hundred years. Truly, one needs fortune, willpower, and skill, all indispensable, to stand out among the heroes of the world and leave a name. However, those friends of yours all have fortune. Not only have they not died over these years, but each has gained some reputation. Yanshan's Little Su and the Jin Bo Li family have all accomplished several major things. And that genius disciple of the Zhen Sect is even more terrifying; I don't know how many small sects have had their inheritance cut off at his hands. His cultivation has also been advancing rapidly; in three hundred years, he is already at the late-stage Jin Dan. But none of these are as prestigious as Shen Qi of the Qinglian Sword Sect. With one person and one sword, he roams the continent, challenging everyone everywhere. No matter how elite the disciple, no matter how high the hopes of their sect, no matter how thick their fortune, none are a match for his sword."

She spoke with great enthusiasm, and Ruan Ci listened with fascination. Although with her personality, she wouldn't act like her friends, thinking of them roaming freely in the world, she couldn't help but feel a trace of envy. She couldn't help but smile, "It has been four hundred years since we parted at Hengze. It is gratifying that old friends are safe, but I don't know when we will have the chance to meet again."

Qin Fengyu laughed, "What is difficult about that? Let me tell you, on the far south side, near the ocean, a sea eye has recently appeared. I don't know where it leads. The spiritual pressure is such that if you aren't a Jin Dan cultivator, you can't bear it at all. I am free recently and want to join in the fun, but most of my friends are too busy. If you are interested..."

So, after all that, she wanted to drag Ruan Ci along for an adventure.

Ruan Ci didn't know whether to laugh or cry. Although she was very tempted, she could only say sadly, "How can I go? Before I draw my sword, dare I step out of the sect gate? If that secret realm were within the Nine Kingdoms, perhaps I could go."

She mentioned the Nine Kingdoms below the mountain, originally just as a metaphor for the narrowness of her range of action, but seeing Lu Huangning's expression change, she hurriedly asked, "Senior Brother, could it be that there is really some fun secret realm in the Nine Kingdoms that I can go and walk around in?"

Lu Huangning laughed, "You and Fengyu are truly a match; both have such restless personalities. It's just that she can make trouble, while you are heavy with every step, which is unavoidable. However, your endowment is indeed profound. I fear that even in the Jin Dan realm, you can cultivate the sensing technique—just now, when you casually picked a place name, you happened to mention the Nine Kingdoms, which shows that in your heart, unknowingly, you already have some sensing. That missing servant of yours seems to be in the Nine Kingdoms at this moment. Since you have already mentioned the Nine Kingdoms, it seems that in the dark, due to the entanglement of causality, it seems necessary to make this trip to fulfill the fate between master and servant."

Not to mention mortals, if a cultivator with weaker intuition were here, they would likely think Lu Huangning's words were superstitious and almost nonsense. But Ruan Ci had already glimpsed the secrets of fortune and causality, and knew the truth in his words. This trip might have dangers, but if she refused to go because of that, not to mention He Tong's life, this danger might not necessarily be truly avoided. Although she hadn't drawn her sword yet, since she mentioned the Nine Kingdoms at this time and was thinking of He Tong, making this trip to fulfill this karmic tribulation would likely be fine. Who knows, her opportunity to draw the sword might lie within it.

The nine mortal kingdoms protected by the Shangqing Sect were under the care of Grotto-Heaven True Persons beneath Zijing Mountain and Sansu Marsh, just like their own backyard, so one could leave whenever one wanted. Ruan Ci kept this thought in her heart, and learned from the returning boy that Ruan Rong was indeed in seclusion healing her wounds, and also sent a message from Qi Yueying telling her not to worry, that Ruan Rong's life was not in danger, and if she had good fortune, she might even form her Jin Dan directly during this seclusion. She put her heart at ease for the moment, planning to return to Moon-Catching Cliff to pick up Wang Panpan and go to the Nine Kingdoms together to find He Tong.

She took out the Nine Heavens Heart-Connecting Pendant and showed it off to Tianlu, "Look, this is the magic treasure my master gave me to congratulate me on the hardship of forming my Jin Dan. This Heart-Connecting Pendant can be split into two. Here, you take this one. After I get to the Nine Kingdoms, I will use this pendant to tell you everything I encounter."

How could Tianlu not recognize the Nine Heavens Heart-Connecting Pendant? But he had never seen a split jade pendant. He immediately took one piece and played happily with Ruan Ci. Lu Huangning couldn't help but have a drop of sweat fall from his forehead. He was already quite sophisticated and had covered his surprise well, but at this moment he still couldn't help but say, "Tianlu, this..."

Ruan Ci and Tianlu looked over together. Lu Huangning paused, changed his words, and laughed, "These Nine Kingdoms are not far. Why don't you ask your master if he wants to go with you?"

Tianlu was most willing to go out and play with Ruan Ci. Having heard this, how could he not be willing? Ruan Ci also felt Lu Huangning's words made sense. Tianlu immediately flew to see True Person Wang. Qin Fengyu saw this and wanted to go too. While they were laughing and talking, Tianlu returned happily, "Miss Ci, the Master has allowed me to go with you."

Ruan Ci was naturally happy, but then a small regret arose: this newly acquired Heart-Connecting Pendant had no use. She immediately wanted to leave it with Lu Huangning for the time being, so she could ask about He Tong at any time. Lu Huangning didn't dare to take it, waving his hand, "Only Dao companions would split this pendant. I cannot take it."

Ruan Ci said disappointedly, "In my hands, what I say goes. Can't I split it and wear it even if we aren't Dao companions?"

Qin Fengyu laughed, "We are all within the Nine Kingdoms. If you want to say something, a flying sword message takes only a moment. Besides, you can manifest an avatar. This pendant is useless. It's a pity I'm going with you, otherwise you could leave it to me, and I would annoy you to death."

Ruan Ci would never leave the Heart-Connecting Pendant to Qin Fengyu, because she was indeed very afraid of being annoyed to death. She pouted and held the pendant in her hand, just about to take it back, when Lu Huangning added, "This pendant can only be used by cultivators who have cultivated the sensing technique. Little Junior Sister, don't split and give it away casually outside the sect. A pearl cast into darkness—this jade pendant has just come to your hands from the Master's side, and it is exactly the time when it misses its old master. It will be sad."

Having said this much, Ruan Ci suddenly realized and laughed, "That's right, I can give it to the Master and let him keep it for a few days... Hmm, but even if I give it to him, he won't chat with me, so what's the use?"

Tianlu laughed, "How could that be? When the True Person is in a good mood, he is quite talkative and likes to receive messages from his disciples. I remember last time Miss Ci sent a message back from Hanyu Marsh, the True Person not only read his own letter, but also asked me what Miss Ci had told me. I talked to him for a long time."

Qin Fengyu immediately shouted, "That's right! What happened in Hanyu Marsh? You haven't told me yet!"

With her interrupting, Ruan Ci forgot her anxiety. Because Tianlu and Lu Huangning were both encouraging her, she simply let Tianlu send half of the Heart-Connecting Pendant to True Person Wang, saying, "Tell the Master to specifically manifest an avatar that is not in seclusion, wear it by his side, and accompany me to talk at any time. Otherwise, I won't give it to him. If he doesn't want it, then take it back and return it to me."

After all that, she was still afraid True Person Wang would ignore her. Lu Huangning couldn't help but smile knowingly. Seeing Qin Fengyu about to speak, he winked at her. Qin Fengyu, however, was carefree and laughed, "If he doesn't want it, you can give it to someone else—"

Seeing True Person Lu glare at her, she hurriedly changed her words, "It's what I just said, give it to me, give it to me!"

However, True Person Wang had always been very accommodating to Ruan Ci. Since Tianlu had seen him, he successfully delivered the jade pendant without bringing back any words. The group then set off together to return to Moon-Catching Cliff to pick up Wang Panpan.

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Updated, sorry for the wait, everyone. I'll send everyone a red envelope in this chapter~

The plot has been moving slowly lately because I find writing these daily cultivation routines quite interesting, hahahaha.

By the way, Xiangshan Red Beauty oranges are really delicious! And Rainier yellow cherries, they are really expensive. Yellow cherries are 100 per jin, and one Red Beauty costs over ten yuan... I think the substitute for Red Beauty is Chun Jian! There are very few substitutes for yellow cherries; the flesh is tender, the taste is rich, and it is sweet and sour, all of which are points I like.

(Cheap Red Beauties are all not delicious)

. Thanks to the little angels who cast overlord votes or irrigated nutrient solution for me during the period 2020-12-12 12:02:53~2020-12-13 12:03:26~

Thanks to the little angels who cast landmines: Fu Lu (2); truedfy, Yu Yu Wan Yao, Wan Tang, Ban Mu Fang Tang, Wu Mingya, Cheng, Ye Se Ru Mo, Da Donggua, Shi Yi (1);

Thanks to the little angels who irrigated nutrient solution: Cheng (62 bottles); June Rain Sound (30 bottles); Little Fatty Loves to Eat (20 bottles); Qingding Road Subdistrict Office, shaw, 174384031 (10 bottles); 45823084, Ming Ji, Zhang Dachui (5 bottles); Li Li, Marie Maria, Yihong Academy, Yisheng Da Junjun (1 bottle);

Thank you all very much for your support, I will continue to work hard!