Chapter 256: Three Thousand Phoenix Dao Patterns, Xuan Yuan Shuo

Although the boss and Second Miss entered Soul Transformation before Zhou Qing, even with Heaven’s Dao Foundation Establishment, breaking into Soul Transformation mid-realm would likely take them many years.

Far behind Zhou Qing's rapid progress.

Zhou Qing smiled slightly shyly, then asked Mo Xingjian about the sect’s recent developments.

Fortunately, compared to the past, little had changed.

Only at Spirit Skull Mountain’s secret realm had things diminished significantly since before.

Most had chosen to leave; only a few stubborn souls remained, clinging desperately, awaiting the next opening of the secret realm.

Soon after, Yan Xiao Hu arrived, holding a hen, his eyes brimming with envy.

One was senior brother, one was junior brother.

One was Nascent Soul mid-realm, one was Soul Transformation mid-realm.

The gap was instantly clear!

“How about we address each other separately from now on? You call me senior brother, I call you elder or even elder master!” Yan Xiao Hu’s eyes darted.

Zhou Qing laughed helplessly as he took the hen.

“Third senior brother, don’t joke!”

Though he spoke thus, Zhou Qing still pulled a jade vial from his storage ring and handed it to him.

Yan Xiao Hu took the vial with a puzzled expression. “What’s this?”

Zhou Qing said, “Two drops of pure-blood Golden Wings Great Peng blood.”

Of the nine drops, he had only assimilated seven; with the Yin Spirit Stone, he had already broken through.

The remaining two meant little to him—tasteless to consume, wasteful to discard.

Moreover, this blood differed from the previous Jin Wu blood or Old Peng King’s blood—it was far gentler, not wild or turbulent.

No need for the Four-Colored Flower to suppress it; it was simply a treasure brimming with immense energy, a supreme tonic for Yan Xiao Hu, who was still at Nascent Soul realm.

Upon hearing Zhou Qing’s words, Yan Xiao Hu’s eyes widened in shock, his face alight with ecstatic joy; he dropped to one knee and clutched Zhou Qing’s leg.

“Little Fourth, I’m following you from now on! Anything you don’t need—scraps, leftovers—just toss them at me! I won’t refuse!” Yan Xiao Hu shouted loudly.

Zhou Qing hurriedly helped him up; Mo Xingjian beside him could only shake his head in wry amusement.

Smooth-tongued, shameless—how did I ever take such a thing as a disciple!

Upon learning Zhou Qing had emerged from seclusion, Li Daoxuan arrived, thrilled.

After all, before his own seclusion, he had boasted he would challenge Zhou Qing once he reached Soul Transformation, to settle their rivalry.

Zhou Qing naturally agreed, yet he asked seriously, “Senior Brother Li, if we spar, should I hold back three or four tenths of my power?”

Li Daoxuan immediately bristled: “Little Brother Zhou, you’re underestimating me! I’m the chief senior brother of Divine Peak Mountain—your question is an insult!”

“Five tenths?” Zhou Qing probed.

Li Daoxuan straightened his spine. “I know you’ve sparred with many deputy generals on the frontier, but I’m not like them. I’m Li Daoxuan—Li Daoxuan of Taiqingmen!”

“Exactly how much?” Zhou Qing stretched his neck; a terrifying aura erupted from him instantly, shaking the surrounding air.

Seeing this, Li Daoxuan’s face paled; he instinctively drew his sword, his expression grave. After a deep breath, he said, “Eight tenths!”

Zhou Qing: “...”

Less than half an hour later, Zhou Qing returned to the courtyard, casually feeding the hen a few spirit stones.

Now that he had broken into Soul Transformation mid-realm, he could utterly crush peers of his own level, fight across realms, even easily reverse-kill.

As for Senior Brother Li, who had only just broken through, even if Zhou Qing had used only two tenths of his power and deliberately held back, he still only lasted a little longer before losing.

“Monster!” was Li Daoxuan’s parting remark as he limped away.

Zhou Qing merely smiled silently.

Then he carefully retrieved the potted Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree.

Though he had been in seclusion for a year and a half, he often took moments between cultivation to carefully water it with spirit liquid.

Now, this Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree was vastly different from before.

The once lifeless deadwood now bore eight tender green sprouts, no larger than tea tips.

The edges of the leaves shimmered with a faint golden halo—strangely wondrous.

As he drew closer, the subtle, elusive fragrance grew stronger, clearing his mind completely.

Carefully, Zhou Qing performed another appraisal.

【Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree: This is a meticulously nurtured Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree, revived to new life. Though small, it still possesses the power of sudden enlightenment, far surpassing ordinary transformed divine herbs.】

【Meditating nearby allows one to easily enter enlightenment, aiding cultivators in breaking through bottlenecks, comprehending techniques, and glimpsing the mysteries of heaven’s laws.】

【Note: Each session must not exceed one hour; otherwise, “Dao-Erosion Moss” will grow on the body, corroding cultivation base and physical form.】

【Moreover, the tree is still in its juvenile stage; the enlightenment it generates requires top-grade wood-element spirit stones as energy exchange.】

Seeing this, Zhou Qing sucked in a sharp breath.

“Dao-Erosion Moss? Corroding cultivation and body?” Zhou Qing exclaimed in shock.

Indeed, nothing should be greedily hoarded—thankfully, I had the foresight to appraise it first.

Otherwise, possessing such a divine herb, I might have died unknowingly beneath its “red skirt.”

I wonder how the ten top-grade wood-element spirit stones beneath the array are holding up?

“Of course, there’s no free lunch—everything demands a price!” Zhou Qing sighed bitterly.

It’s a literal gold-sucking beast—where will I find wood-element spirit stones in the future?

Why can’t I ever become truly wealthy?

“Let’s just try it first!” Soon, Zhou Qing pushed these thoughts aside and rubbed his hands eagerly.

But before that, he pulled out a Chen Guang Spirit Jade, inscribed with a sundial pattern, to serve as a timer.

Having finished, he immediately unrolled the scroll of the “Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain” technique, exhaling deeply.

As it slowly unfurled, the intricate runes leapt into motion.

Though he had studied these characters countless times, memorized them thoroughly, each encounter still felt like the first—its depth and obscurity never faded.

Take Second Uncle—he was a genius, yet even his famed rune-level technique, “Nine Tribulations Thunder Rune Scripture,” with only thirty-six thunder runes, he’d only mastered half.

He even confessed to Zhou Qing he doubted he’d ever complete it in his lifetime.

And this technique, the “Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain,” inherited from the Blood Phoenix Clan, was far more complex than imaginable.

It contained three thousand Phoenix Dao Patterns—nearly a hundred times more than the “Nine Tribulations Thunder Rune Scripture.”

If fully mastered, its power would rival Dao-Trace level techniques.

“Second Uncle said that countless Spirit Severing experts spend lifetimes without ever seeing a rune-level technique. To cultivate even one in a lifetime is a great fortune.”

Zhou Qing murmured softly.

“The Blood Phoenix Clan could pass down such a powerful technique—surely, like the Kunpeng Clan, they were once dominant powers in ancient times.”

“Such a technique must be cherished and cultivated with utmost care.”

Then he hugged the Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree close, closed his eyes, calmed his breath, and entered deep meditation.

As the tree’s leaves swayed gently, releasing a transcendent aura.

Soon, his consciousness blurred; the previously incomprehensible runes now began forming faint outlines in his mind, as if in a dream.

Zhou Qing rejoiced inwardly, immediately steadying his spirit, focusing all his attention to link the shimmering runes, constructing the complete operational pathway of this technique.

One hour later, prompted by the Chen Guang Spirit Jade, Zhou Qing opened his eyes, reluctant to end the session.

His eyes still held the lingering excitement and intoxication of enlightenment.

Marvelous!

Truly marvelous!

Though some key nodes remained unconnected and certain rune linkages still felt stiff, compared to before, the difference was night and day.

At least now he felt the same familiarity as when cultivating the “Imperial Radiance Scripture.”

Zhou Qing looked again at the Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree, overjoyed.

“Perhaps because it’s still too young—its enlightenment power doesn’t match the [Enlightenment Scroll], but it’s already nearly as potent!”

Zhou Qing was ecstatic.

At least for now, using it to cultivate the “Hundred Tribulations Blood Curtain” or the array legacy left by Elder Xuanqing was more than sufficient.

…

A month later, a faint crimson glow began to shimmer around Zhou Qing’s body—soft in appearance, yet radiating an unusual majesty.

Miniature phantom images of a Jin Wu and a Jin Peng materialized, heads bowed in reverence, as if paying homage to a supreme being.

In his consciousness, a colossal Blood Phoenix screamed skyward, engulfed in roaring blood flames.

Each feather on its body was inscribed with patterns identical to the Dao Patterns Zhou Qing had comprehended; around the Phoenix stretched a sky and earth shrouded in endless Blood Curtains.

The Blood Curtains churned, turning all they passed into nothingness.

After an unknown duration, one feather on the Phoenix turned an unusually deep crimson, as if storing immense power within.

Upon close inspection, the feather contained a space woven from countless interlaced Dao Patterns—constantly entwining, colliding, generating wondrous transformations.

Each collision released a peculiar energy fluctuation.

If Zhou Qing wished, he could draw out this energy at any moment—but afterward, like the golden flower in the Four-Colored Flower, it would require time to replenish.

“Is this… already a single Phoenix Dao Pattern evolved?” Zhou Qing slowly opened his eyes, barely concealing his excitement.

According to the scroll, it must be.

Thus, he now possessed another life-saving technique—one of his ultimate trump cards.

Then Zhou Qing looked at the Ancient Enlightenment Tea Tree.

Though still green, it had lost its former vitality, appearing outwardly strong but inwardly hollow; even when close, the transcendent aura was gone.

“Exchange of equal value!” Zhou Qing smiled and shook his head, yet all of this was more than worth it.

Otherwise, who knows how many years it would take for him to comprehend this single Feng Dao pattern.

“Make money—must make money!”

Zhou Qing immediately thought of Zhang Yifu, wondering if he still had any wood-element spirit stones.

Even if he did, it would take a hundred ordinary supreme-grade spirit stones to exchange for one—and that was still the internal rate.

He contacted his Master, planning to head to Haomiao Prefecture.

But Mo Xingjian arrived swiftly.

“Since you’ve emerged from seclusion, come with me somewhere!” Mo Xingjian said.

Zhou Qing, puzzled, asked: “Where?”

Mo Xingjian smiled faintly and uttered four words: “Qingyu Immortal Sect!”

…

When Zhou Qing arrived at the back mountain of the sect, he discovered that two ancient teleportation arrays, long shut down, now had one actively functioning.

“Master, this teleportation array…” Zhou Qing asked, bewildered.

Mo Xingjian remained calm and explained: “This is one-way only—meaning, every member of Taiqingmen can enter Qingyu’s inner sect directly, without their permission.”

Zhou Qing suddenly understood, recalling past events, and asked: “So this was one of the conditions Master Bai Yu demanded when we left Qingyu?”

Mo Xingjian gave a slight nod, his tone unruffled: “Yes, one of several hundred.”

Zhou Qing: “…”

“They nearly killed you. If not for the pressure in the Eastern Region, do you really think your Master Bai Yu would have let them off so easily?”

“Now that Qingyu’s Four Supreme Elders and Sect Master Xuan You are gone, they’re forced to rely on us. Remember: between sects, there is only interest and exploitation—never talk of sentiment.”

Mo Xingjian warned him earnestly.

Zhou Qing’s expression turned solemn, and he nodded seriously.

Then, master and disciple stepped together into the active teleportation array.

In an instant, brilliant light engulfed them completely; in the blink of an eye, they vanished from sight.

When they reappeared, they stood within Qingyu’s inner sect.

Sect Master Xuan You and his entourage had already been waiting for them.

Compared to their last meeting, everyone’s demeanor was now markedly more respectful.

“Greetings, Master Mo! Greetings, Young Sect Master!” Five voices chimed in unison, brimming with reverence.

Mo Xingjian said nothing, glancing subtly at Zhou Qing.

He had brought Zhou Qing here mainly to ensure the previous ordeal hadn’t left a psychological scar.

Seeing Zhou Qing calm and unchanged, Mo Xingjian nodded inwardly, filled with approval.

He’d overestimated the trauma—such unshakable mental fortitude meant he could finally rest easy.

“Have you prepared the items?” Mo Xingjian asked bluntly.

Xuan You hurried forward, offering a storage bag: “All data on the other major sects, gathered and compiled by our sect—now fully organized.”

Mo Xingjian took the bag, swiftly scanning it with his spiritual sense, confirmed its accuracy, and nodded in satisfaction.

“Do you have any supreme-grade wood-element spirit stones?” Mo Xingjian asked next.

Xuan You nodded: “Five remain.”

“Good. Hand them all over—I need them.” Mo Xingjian said.

Supreme Elder Ji Xuan heard this, turned on her heel, and left without hesitation or reluctance.

Zhou Qing stood silently to the side, saying nothing throughout.

It seemed Taiqingmen had quietly brought Qingyu onto its path as a subordinate sect.

He remembered how, at the start of the Five Sect War, he and his Third Senior Brother had secretly infiltrated Qingyu to deliver news, then each stole one wood-element spirit stone from the inner sect’s array.

Only then had they gathered enough Five Element spirit stones to return to their Master.

“Young Sect Master, I am truly, deeply sorry!” Xuan You raised her head, gazing at Zhou Qing, offering another sincere apology.

Zhou Qing merely nodded slightly, expression serene.

Unconsciously, their positions had undergone a complete reversal.

To be honest, even if Xuan You still had her peak strength, Zhou Qing’s current power could easily crush her—even reverse-kill her, let alone her current state with less than eight years of life left.

Soon, Ji Xuan returned, accompanied by Yuan Ya.

“Zhou…” Yuan Ya, seeing Zhou Qing, instinctively started to call him “Zhou Senior Brother.”

But she stopped herself, realizing it was inappropriate.

In cultivation base, Zhou Qing had long left her far behind.

In status, he was Taiqingmen’s future Young Sect Master; she was merely an ordinary Nascent Soul cultivator.

Seeing Yuan Ya unharmed, Zhou Qing finally smiled genuinely and said softly: “Good to see you’re safe.”

Hearing Zhou Qing speak to her so warmly, as before, Yuan Ya’s face lit up with joy.

At that moment, Mo Xingjian pulled out a jade slip and handed it to Xuan You and the others: “This contains what you need. Also, the other tasks assigned by the Sect Master must be prepared in advance.”

Xuan You took the jade slip, her face instantly brightening with delight.

“Rest assured—this benefits both our sects. We will spare no effort and make no mistakes.”

“Also, Jin Leizong and Tianji Gate have recently contacted me privately—here are the recorded images from those meetings.”

As she spoke, Xuan You handed over two image stones.

But Mo Xingjian did not reach out to take them.

“Whether sincere or feigned, you’ll know best. Zhou Qing, let’s go.”

Mo Xingjian spoke, then turned and left without further delay, taking Zhou Qing with him.

Xuan You and the others exchanged glances, then sighed deeply.

…

Taiqingmen!

After emerging from the teleportation array, Mo Xingjian immediately handed the five supreme-grade wood-element spirit stones to Zhou Qing.

“To be honest, our sect has always been desperately short of Five Element spirit stones—even when we had any, they were mostly other elements. Otherwise, I wouldn’t have spent so long gathering them back then.”

Mo Xingjian explained with a look of regret.

The past two years, Zhou Qing had forged the dual-color array for the sect, and Cao Zhengyang had exhausted vast resources for it.

Later, each peak master—including himself—used yin spirit stones to break through their realms, requiring immense energy.

With so many disciples in the sect, current resources were stretched thin, let alone supreme-grade Five Element spirit stones.

Zhou Qing, deeply grateful, quickly said: “Master, don’t say that—I’m already more than satisfied. I can gather them slowly; no rush.”

Mo Xingjian asked with concern: “Are you planning to forge an array with these spirit stones?”

Zhou Qing shook his head: “No—for cultivation. Really, Master, don’t worry.”

Mo Xingjian nodded slowly, speaking earnestly: “Everything requires balance. You’ve only just reached Soul Transformation mid-stage—too much seclusion breeds obsession. You understand what I mean, right?”

Zhou Qing smiled: “I understand, Master. By the way, how are Master Bai Yu and the others?”

Mo Xingjian replied: “All normal, no issues.”

Zhou Qing’s eyes gleamed with anticipation: In less than two years, the sect will have so many Soul Transformation peak cultivators, plus the dual-color protective array—no one in Lingyun Prefecture could dare invade so easily!

Then Mo Xingjian began reviewing the data provided by Qingyu, and soon chuckled aloud.

“We never figured out who Jin Leizong and Tianji Gate were using their pills on—they found out. Too bad, they all failed—even some perished!”

Mo Xingjian’s brow furrowed again.

“But I wonder what’s happening with Cangyan Dao Palace—they were given ten Jiuyou Lotus Seeds!”

Zhou Qing said nothing—he knew, under normal circumstances, nearly everyone would fail.

After all, the Old Emperor was too cunning.

At that moment, Yan Xiao sent a message: 【Master, where are you? Has Fourth Brother emerged? Prince Xuan Yuan Shuo is here!】

Seeing this, Zhou Qing froze.

Was Xuan Yuan Shuo here to ask him to mimic the Peng Emperor?

The master and disciple exchanged glances and immediately rushed toward the front mountain.

…

Upon seeing Zhou Qing, Xuan Yuan Shuo immediately set up a soundproofing barrier and urgently asked: “The Spider Emperor is dead? Do you know about this?”

Zhou Qing instinctively wanted to shake his head and deny it—but then thought better of hiding it.

After all, the only eyewitness, the Dragon Emperor, was still alive—some truths couldn’t be concealed.

Before Zhou Qing could answer, Xuan Yuan Shuo pressed on: “What was her name? How did you meet? Where did she take you?”

Three questions in rapid succession—Zhou Qing didn’t know which to answer first.

But clearly, Xuan Yuan Shuo wasn’t clueless—he was asking with precise intent.

“Senior, I truly don’t know much. She only asked us to help with something, but something went wrong mid-journey—she abandoned me and Lu Yaoyao and left in haste. We returned by teleportation array.”

Zhou Qing spoke earnestly.

Xuan Yuan Shuo frowned: “That’s strange. When we met her at the Old Peng Emperor’s burial site, she didn’t show such power during our struggle—yet now she effortlessly crushed the Spider Emperor.”

Then he turned his gaze back to Zhou Qing.

During his brief clash with the Dragon Emperor, he’d extracted some information.

But he never expected the man and woman described by the Dragon Emperor as attendants on the veiled woman’s ship were Zhou Qing and Lu Yaoyao.

After all, the border situation has now fallen into chaos, and the original power balance has been completely shattered.

Of course, within this chaos lie many opportunities.

“Then why did you go to the Qingleo Beast’s territory?” Xuan Yuan Shuo asked next.

Zhou Qing immediately put on a look of indignant outrage and said, “She just abandoned us there and left on her own.”

“Later, I encountered the Demon Emperor, and to save my life, I was forced to impersonate the Peng Emperor.”

Xuan Yuan Shuo finally understood, and sighed, “No wonder—it all fits now. Jiangpo Army reported afterward that a flying vessel had crossed the border; I never imagined it was you!”

Zhou Qing seized the moment to ask, “Senior, what’s the current situation on the border?”

(End of Chapter)