Chapter 263: The Water Mansion of Shuimu Niangniang is Coveted; Difficulties Arise in Inquiring for Details

The misty waves are vast, atop a great ship.

Fang Longye sat at the same table as the Water Ape Great Sage and the Macaque King, cups and goblets exchanging joy.

"Brother Fang!"

The Macaque King set down the Sarira he had been rubbing in his hand, raised his wine cup, and toasted Fang Longye: "Many thanks to Brother Fang for extending a helping hand to my uncle, and for presenting me with such a generous gift. Yuan is endlessly grateful~"

Fang Longye also picked up his wine cup, smiling as he returned the toast: "There is no need to speak of thanks. When the time comes to enter your mother's Daoist temple, just grant me a few more items from her collection~"

"That goes without saying~" the Water Ape Great Sage said with a chuckle: "To borrow the words the Dragon Lord previously said to me, I shall make the decision on Ming'er's behalf; whatever items in my sister's Water Mansion the Dragon Lord takes a fancy to, he may take."

"The two of us, uncle and nephew, will certainly not refuse!"

Wine and food finished, a round of pleasantries ensued.

Fang Longye stretched his body and said with a chuckle: "I had originally intended to use the Huai River Longgong as a place to host a welcoming banquet for Brother Yuan!"

"Yet I did not expect that because of the Water Ape Great Sage's message, Brother Yuan would arrive so urgently."

"Now that your uncle, the Water Ape Great Sage, is here, I no longer need to fulfill half of my duties as a host to welcome Brother Yuan!"

The Macaque King laughed: "Had I known Brother Fang possessed such divine might, I would not have needed to expend a rare treasure to rush here so quickly!"

The Great Divine Ability known as 'Flying Body Escape Trace' is indeed formidable; once cultivated to perfection, one can hide within the heavens and earth, roaming within the Four Seas.

Unknowable, unsearchable, unobservable; existing in the world, yet unseen by the world.

It can almost achieve arrival with a single thought.

But that is the effect of cultivating it to perfection. The Macaque King is merely a Golden Immortal who has barely entered the threshold; it is impossible for him to cross a continent in a short time relying solely on this ability.

That he was able to rush from Beiju Luzhou to this Nanzhan Buzhou in such a short time—

—was by relying on a very precious, one-time-use secret treasure, combined with his own 'Flying Body Tracing' ability, to have such speed and power.

If not for his concern for his uncle, the Water Ape Great Sage, the Macaque King would never have been willing to use such a secret treasure.

Fang Longye nodded inwardly from the side, thinking: "No wonder~ I was wondering how he arrived so fast? I really thought 'Flying Body Tracing' was that easy to cultivate!"

"However, with my current attainments in the path of space-time, I should also cultivate this ability!"

Unlike his space-tearing, this method of spatial jumping, 'Flying Body Tracing', has slight differences in its usage.

The positioning of the two is equivalent to the difference between light-body techniques and footwork in martial arts novels.

'Flying Body Tracing' is better suited for traveling and flying.

While the space-tearing innate ability born from his Bloodline is better suited for maneuvering and shifting during combat with others.

Although for now, his own innate abilities, 'Submerging into the Abyss and Shrinking the Earth' and 'Riding the Clouds and Driving the Mist', are nearly sufficient for traveling.

But having more skills is never a burden! Previously, he simply lacked accumulation in terms of laws and principles and did not want to spend extra effort on this, but now his accumulation is sufficient.

Learning one more top-tier Great Divine Ability will not take much energy.

Fang Longye reined in his thoughts and looked at the Macaque King to ask: "Where shall we go next? Directly to your mother's Daoist temple?"

"Why?" The Macaque King blinked, joking: "Could it be that Brother Fang wants to cut short my welcoming banquet? That won't do~"

"Oh?"

Fang Longye's gaze shifted, thoughtful, and he shook his head with a laugh: "In that case, Brother Yuan's banquet shall not be cut short!"

Huai River.

The misty waves are vast, deep and secluded.

As one of the Four Waterways, it is naturally filled with spiritual energy and abundant resources. Since ancient times, countless immortals, gods, and great demons have sought places here to cultivate in seclusion.

It can be said to have a scenery all its own.

Near the mouth of the river, at an unknown depth underwater, there lies a vast expanse of palaces.

All are made of gold bricks and jade tiles, with precious doors and golden gates, covering countless acres, with no end in sight.

As the bright light shines down, one can see jade steps and golden stairs, layer upon layer, with shrimp soldiers and crab generals standing guard, their armor bright and gleaming.

Small windows are opened, curtains are drawn, and inside, Clam Women and jade maidens dance gracefully, the sound of bells and drums weaving into a melody.

Accompanied by the Huai River Dragon Lord, Fang Longye was enjoying the unique songs and dances of the Longgong with the Macaque King and his uncle.

While drinking Qiongye Yuye and chatting and laughing with others from time to time, he was carefully browsing the information the Macaque King had transmitted to his sea of consciousness.

Multi-tasking, his thoughts turning.

He truly had not guessed wrong; the Macaque King continued to come to this Huai River Longgong according to their previous agreement, naturally not because he really lacked this welcoming banquet.

It was because his mother's Water Mansion Daoist temple was located not far from the Huai River Longgong.

This was quite a coincidence! The meeting place the two had previously agreed upon was actually proposed by Fang Longye first.

And the reason he chose the Huai River Longgong was because, due to his connection with the Jinghe Dragon King, he was quite well-regarded in the Huai River Longgong.

If one were to really calculate it, as the eldest son of the Jinghe Dragon King, the Huai River Dragon Lord, Xiao Huanglong, would even have to call him Uncle!

That's right, as Fang Longye had previously become familiar with the Jinghe Dragon King, the two had reached the point of calling each other brothers.

And so—

As soon as he arrived at the Huai River Longgong, this cheap nephew, Xiao Huanglong, immediately treated him with the utmost respect, observing the etiquette due to an elder.

Not a single bit of courtesy was lacking.

"So that's it! No wonder my Brother Yuan here had no objections to the location I proposed."

"With me here, it is much easier to find the local snake, the Huai River Longgong, to inquire about information!"

As mentioned before, since ancient times, countless immortals, gods, and great demons have sought places in the Huai River to cultivate in seclusion.

And after the Macaque King's mother fell, her younger brother, the Water Ape Great Sage, had not yet achieved success, so many people set their sights on the Macaque King's mother's Daoist temple.

After all, the Macaque King's mother had already gained quite a reputation in the Huai region at that time.

In the eyes of some, the Daoist temple of Shuimu Niangniang naturally held no small temptation.

And so~

These people with ulterior motives first pursued the Water Ape Great Sage in every possible way at that time. Only after confirming that his life and death were unknown did they begin to work together to break the Array Restriction of the Water Mansion dojo.

However, things did not go as expected.

Even after employing all sorts of methods, these people still did not succeed.

But the more this was the case, the more it proved that this Water Mansion left behind by the mother of the Macaque King was extraordinary.

These beings who harbored covetous hearts were naturally unwilling to give up just like that.

One by one, regardless of whether they had belonged to this region before, they all made their homes here, guarding the Water Mansion and refusing to leave.

It was very clear that the Macaque King and the Water Ape Great Sage, this pair of nephew and uncle, were not no longer paying attention to this.

From the information provided by the Macaque King, Fang Longye gained a rough understanding of the current situation.

During this period, these people had experienced several more chaotic battles. In the end, only three forces emerged victorious. Or rather, only three cultivators emerged victorious.

These three cultivators, whether immortal or demon, were all long-standing Golden Immortals who had spent no one knew how much time to cultivate to the state of perfection, having long since viewed the passage of time as nothing.

Therefore, each of them recruited soldiers and bought horses, developing their forces here, intending to wear down the Water Mansion left behind by the mother of the Macaque King indefinitely.

Well, that was about it! As for the rest, neither the Macaque King nor the Water Ape Great Sage knew much.

Even the fact that these three Golden Immortals were all in the state of perfection was only probed out bit by bit after the Water Ape Great Sage had achieved some success.

There was no help for it; two fists are no match for four hands, and since they knew his identity full well, they were naturally on guard against him in every way.

Therefore, for so long, he could only know some general information.

As for the Macaque King, it went without saying. As a rising star, only now that he had grown up did he have the intention to retrieve his mother's Water Mansion.

This was also the reason why the Macaque King had come to the Huai River Longgong.

Not to mention the strength of the Huai River Dragon Lord, he was, after all, an orthodox Dragon Lord who held a decree from the Heavenly Court.

As a local tyrant, he naturally had channels to learn the specific information about these three perfect Golden Immortals.

Thus, after a banquet, Fang Longye stated the purpose of their visit.

"Shuimu Yifu?"

The Huai River Dragon Lord looked very young, barely twenty, yet he possessed quite the bearing of a master of a region.

He sat on a Cloud Couch, his Aura rising behind him, going straight into the clouds; when it unfolded, it transformed into rainbow light, vast and extraordinary.

After only a moment, he awoke from his distraction, looked at the Macaque King, a strange look flashing in his eyes, and said with a smile on his face: "I never imagined that you, fellow Daoist, were actually the son of Shuimu Niangniang. I was negligent before, please forgive me~"

"This~" The Huai River Dragon Lord organized his words and said unhurriedly: "I naturally know the background of those three villains who covet your mother's Water Mansion."

"Speaking of which,..."

While speaking, the thoughts of the Huai River Dragon Lord turned extremely fast.

Logically speaking, giving his own convenient uncle some face and providing some information was not without benefits for him.

He also knew that he could not completely control the entire Huai River. After all, as one of the Four Rivers, the Huai River could be said to be full of hidden dragons and crouching tigers, and there were even several Daluo dojos.

But he was, after all, an orthodox Dragon King with a decree from the Heavenly Court, the legitimate Huai River Dragon Lord, nominally in charge of the Huai River region.

Yet, currently huddled in a corner of the Huai River, it was truly unseemly, and he felt inferior whenever he went out.

If those three Golden Immortal perfection-stage demon immortals were beaten to death just like that, he could certainly expand his territory quite a bit.

In any case, he had long found his three old neighbors an eyesore.

One must know that a distant relative is not as good as a close neighbor. The feelings between close neighbors are, after all, "very, very deep."

But the key was that he himself was not without ideas regarding that Shuimu Yifu.

Moreover, even setting that aside, his own sect was at great odds with the sect of this son of Shuimu Niangniang before him! This Huai River Dragon Lord was sharp-eyed and saw at a glance the Shangqing intent hidden within the Macaque King.

He had a mind to prevaricate.

But once he thought about the importance his father, his sect, or the high-level members of his clan placed on this convenient uncle of his, he felt it was inappropriate again.

For a time, he was in a dilemma.

Fang Longye was no fool either.

Seeing him rambling on and on, yet full of nonsense, and slow to get to the point, he immediately gave a wink to the Macaque King and his nephew.

The Macaque King and his nephew nodded, and using the excuse that the Water Ape Great Sage had suddenly gained an insight while fighting with others, they excused themselves and left the palace.

The Huai River Dragon Lord also knew that his beating around the bush could not deceive anyone.

After the Macaque King and his nephew left the table, he smiled bitterly at Fang Longye: "Uncle, it is truly not that I am unwilling to help you all~"

Fang Longye waved his hand and said: "You are also a Golden Immortal, let us just call each other fellow Daoist!"

"Uncle~" The Huai River Dragon Lord did not change his form of address and complained: "I do not believe you cannot see this Yuqing Divine Light on your nephew~"

"You want me to help a member of the Shangqing Sect; isn't this making things difficult for me!"

Fang Longye flicked his sleeve and comforted him: "Set your heart at ease! Your sect elders will absolutely not punish you for this~"

"Who is your master? I will not hide it from you, I have quite a connection with that person from Guanjiangkou! At worst, I will ask him to back you up!"

The Huai River Dragon Lord looked at Fang Longye, who was making grand promises, and said slowly: "Uncle, you have also heard of Huanglong Zhenren~"

"Uh~" Fang Longye was momentarily speechless.

This was indeed a match. One was a little yellow dragon, the other was a congenital yellow dragon body; it sounded like they had the affinity of master and disciple.

It was just that—

Huanglong Zhenren was not scary. The key was that he had a close friend named Yuding Zhenren.

And as Yang Jian was the disciple of Yuding Zhenren, he really could not provide this backing.

In Honghuang, there was no one who did not know: better to provoke King Yama than to provoke Huanglong. Just because Huanglong had a close friend named Yuding.

The end of the Golden Hoop Immortal Ma Sui, who shone brilliantly in the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation, could be said to be extremely miserable.

Do not look at how Yuding Zhenren seemed to be nothing special during the Conferring of the Gods Tribulation. In reality, he never entered the tribulation with his true body from beginning to end.

Even that teacher of the Yellow Emperor, Guang Chengzi, had to enter the Calamity with his true body in the very late stages.

This is also the reason why Guang Chengzi's strength fluctuated so much during the Great Calamity.

And what about Yuding Zhenren?

Even at such critical junctures as the Immortal Execution Array and the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, he did not emerge from seclusion.

It was not that he was afraid of death, but rather that Yuding Zhenren, as a pure ascetic, was nearly detached from all emotions, with only the Sword Dao in his eyes.

There were simply very few other things that could weigh on his heart.

Fang Longye had heard Yang Chan tell him that when Yuding Zhenren took Yang Jian as his disciple, he only said this: "In this life, I have only one sword, one master, and one friend, nothing more. Yet today, I never expected to have a disciple!"

In other words, for Yuding Zhenren, his world consisted of nothing but his own Sword Dao, one master, one friend, and one disciple.

What of the Chan Sect? What of his fellow disciples?

However, such people who are cold on the outside but warm on the inside often have an untouchable bottom line deep in their hearts.

Clearly, Huanglong Zhenren was one of the soft spots in his heart.

Therefore, Yuding Zhenren did not emerge from seclusion during the Nine-Bend Yellow River Array, nor did he emerge during the Immortal Execution Array.

It was only before the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, after Huanglong Zhenren was forced into his original form by Ma Sui using a golden hoop in front of all the living beings of Honghuang, suffering a complete social death in Honghuang.

He erupted!

After he emerged from seclusion in his true body, he did not get involved in the Ten Thousand Immortals Array, but instead went straight into the headquarters of the Calamity Sect—Golden Turtle Island.

Do not think that Golden Turtle Island was easy to break into just because there was no one there~ That was a Saint's dojo.

Moreover, when that Shangqing Saint founded the Calamity Sect, he claimed to intercept a glimmer of Heavenly Secrets for the people. How could he not have considered what to do after the Calamity Sect was defeated? And that contingency plan was arranged by him in the safest place in Honghuang—the Saint's dojo.

However, after Yuding Zhenren emerged from seclusion.

Everything was destroyed~

The contingency plan that the Shangqing Saint had laid out for his own sect was destroyed along with his dojo! Whatever sect contingency, whatever young seedlings of talent, all were destroyed under Yuding's one sword~ Why do the Yuqing and Shangqing lineages have such an inseparable grudge? Clearly, fellow practitioners who have entered the Brahma gate can coexist peacefully, so why do they refuse to interact in the Profound Gate? The reason lies in this one sword of Yuding.

Without this sword of Yuding, the Calamity Sect and the Chan Sect would have only been debating victory or defeat, but under Yuding's sword, the two sides became locked in a battle of survival.

The Chan Sect survives, the Calamity Sect perishes~ Do not look at how prosperous the Three Pure Dao lineages seem now, with no shortage of Shangqing practitioners, but those are all low-level cultivators.

In terms of the middle and upper levels, the Shangqing lineage is far inferior to the Yuqing.

If one were to pull out all the Profound Gate Golden Immortals of Honghuang.

The Taiqing have three, the Yuqing have six, while the Shangqing only account for one share.

In any case, Fang Longye had wandered around Dongsheng Shenzhou for so long that he had not seen many Golden Immortals of the Shangqing lineage.

Therefore~ as the only disciple of Huanglong Zhenren, who was the fuse for everything.

Xiao Huanglong, the Huai River Dragon Lord, how could he dare to have any contact with members of the Shangqing lineage?

This is the reason why he knew Fang Longye had a great background, yet still hesitated when faced with his request.

(End of this chapter)