Chapter 271: Zhao Jiexuan

Late at night, the bright moon hung high.

The villa was brightly lit, and the reception hall was filled with water vapor, which was instantly cleared by the air purification system.

Bai Yujing had spent a large sum of money just on the renovation of this property. In fact, she had many properties all over the country, just like the courtyard she gave to Zhang Fan in Suzhou City.

"Zhao Jiexuan asked you to come find me? When was this?" Zhang Fan picked up the boiled water, brewed tea, and looked at Qi Dongqiang.

"Before he lost contact," Qi Dongqiang said solemnly.

"Then why didn't you come to Yujing City to find me?" Zhang Fan revealed a strange expression. As early as when Lin Jian was still in Yujing, they had already lost contact with Zhao Jiexuan.

In other words, he had been missing for nearly two months.

"Brother Zhao said to wait for you in Chang'an City," Qi Dongqiang picked up the teacup and took a small sip.

"Good tea."

"Wait for me in Chang'an? He knew I was coming?"

Zhang Fan's gaze condensed. It had to be said that when he cultivated the Soul-Splitting Great Art, his Nascent Soul was split into three, and his brain and IQ were at least half taken away by that evil god.

Perhaps Zhao Jiexuan had long anticipated that he would have an accident, and with the great calamity ahead, he had also calculated that Zhang Fan would come to Chang'an.

After all, the only bond between them now was the Thirteen Zodiacs.

"So, have you been waiting for me in Chang'an all this time?" Zhang Fan asked solemnly.

"Correct. We arranged manpower at transportation hubs like the airport and high-speed railway station. As long as your tracks were discovered, someone would send word," Qi Dongqiang nodded while tasting the tea.

"You just got off the plane today, and we received the news."

"Did Zhao Jiexuan say anything else?" Zhang Fan pressed.

"By the way, he also left something and asked us to pass it to you when we saw you."

As he spoke, Qi Dongqiang took a document bag from the backpack behind him and handed it over. Zhang Fan took it and couldn't wait to tear it open. Inside was actually a painting, but it was printed by a computer.

"This is..."

Zhang Fan's gaze trembled, revealing an expression of disbelief.

He had actually seen the original of this painting, and now it was miniaturized on this A4 paper. The details were much blurrier, but at just one glance, he recognized it.

"Eight Kings Carrying the Coffin!?"

Not long ago, he had just seen this ancient painting at the place of his Uncle Xu Xuanxiao on Mount Maoshan, and he even offered incense to it.

But even that one was just a copy by a great expert from Mount Long Hu during the Ming Dynasty. The original version's era could not be verified, and it had long been lost for many years.

"He actually has this thing? What does it mean?" Zhang Fan was thoughtful.

Zhao Jiexuan actually asked Qi Dongqiang and Qi Delong to guard Chang'an, waiting for him to come, and left this photocopy of the painting; it must have deep meaning.

"Did he say anything else?" Zhang Fan pressed.

"No," Qi Dongqiang shook his head.

"Eight Kings Carrying the Coffin... Eight Kings Carrying the Coffin..."

Zhang Fan focused his attention and saw that the eight figures in the painting were different. They had different forms, one hand carrying the coffin, and the other hand holding a different instrument. Especially one of the figures, which was circled with a red pen.

"Hmm!?"

Behind that figure, black and white were intertwined, like night and day, alternating back and forth. In their hand, they held a great seal, which was circled with a red pen, and next to it was a line of Hanyu Pinyin:

find!

"Find..." Zhang Fan's expression was strange. "This seal?"

What was the origin of this painting? What was the meaning in the painting? Zhang Fan didn't know, but Zhao Jiexuan's meaning should be to let him find this great seal.

Since the clue was left in Chang'an and he was certain he would come, the implication...

"He means this great seal might be in Chang'an, perhaps in Taishui Village?" Zhang Fan's thoughts turned rapidly.

He came precisely for Taishui Village. If Zhao Jiexuan had calculated everything, then this great seal was very likely hidden in Taishui Village.

"This thing..."

Zhang Fan was thoughtful. Zhao Jiexuan left this clue before losing contact, so it was very likely that he went missing because of this painting, or accurately speaking, because of the great seal in the painting.

"Taishui Village, it seems this place really must be visited."

Zhang Fan flipped through the paper in his hand, looked at it carefully for a moment, and then carefully put it away.

"You didn't just wait foolishly in Chang'an for more than two months, did you?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but ask.

Since the battle at the Prison Immortal Temple, Zhao Jiexuan had tricked these two brothers from Mount Laojun away. He didn't know what they had done to make these brothers so convinced, waiting foolishly in Chang'an for more than two months.

You have to know, Qi Delong and Qi Dongqiang were descendants of Mount Laojun.

"Of course not just waiting foolishly."

Just then, Qi Delong's voice changed, becoming a bit more steady and grand.

"Brother, you're awake," Qi Dongqiang said excitedly.

"Hmm." Qi Dongqiang's voice transformed again, and even his appearance and demeanor changed accordingly.

Zhang Fan watched this, feeling it was incomparably strange. Two Nascent Souls sharing one physical body; for anyone else, it would be impossible.

However, these brothers were uniquely gifted, one of a kind, and could be called an anomaly. Just this transformation looked exactly like schizophrenia, making Zhang Fan's hair stand on end.

"Brother, how is your recovery? You won't die, will you?" Qi Dongqiang asked with concern.

Before the words fell, he suddenly raised his hand and slapped himself hard.

"What nonsense are you talking about? You think I'll die with this little ability? I won't die even if you die," Qi Delong's majestic voice sounded at the right time.

"Brother, I was wrong," Qi Dongqiang covered his right cheek, looking quite aggrieved.

"..."

Zhang Fan watched this, as if seeing one person talking to himself, the voice sometimes majestic, sometimes humble, and suddenly slapping himself hard.

"That... that who..."

"Excuse the spectacle."

Just then, Qi Delong looked over, revealing an awkward smile.

"Is your Nascent Soul injured?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but say.

His perception was so keen. Having cultivated to the Great Being realm with three layers of primal light protecting his body, he easily captured the unusual fluctuations of Qi Delong's Nascent Soul.

"Careless..." Qi Delong waved his hand. "Our brothers have been in Chang'an for so long and haven't been idle. Not long ago, we..."

"Discovered a treasure land," Qi Dongqiang said excitedly. "A treasure land?" Zhang Fan wondered.

"It is indeed a treasure land. Does the Daoist brother know what is hidden in that place?" Qi Delong lowered his voice, incomparably mysterious.

"What?" Zhang Fan asked subconsciously.

"Natural Spirit Fetus!" Qi Dongqiang blurted out.

"Why don't you let me say it..." Qi Delong revealed dissatisfaction and shouted sharply.

"Brother, you say it," Qi Dongqiang laughed awkwardly.

"Natural Spirit Fetus? You said Natural Spirit Fetus?" Zhang Fan couldn't help but reveal a look of surprise.

Born of heaven and earth, nurtured by mountains and seas, seizing the mystery of creation, there are four types: "Great Medicine," "Rare Treasure," "Strange Object," and "Spirit Fetus."

Among them, the Natural Spirit Fetus has the greatest creation and the greatest calamity. Throughout history, it has been almost impossible to see.

That day, in Mount Liya, only a stone tooth strange object was nurtured, yet it brought infinite calamity. The dignified Xuan Sect family, the Qin family, lost their aura because of this, their family was ruined, and three experts in the Great Being realm fell in the wilderness, losing their lives.

A strange object could bring such turmoil; if a Natural Spirit Fetus were born, what kind of calamity could one imagine?

"You aren't joking, are you?" Zhang Fan asked suspiciously, not quite believing the Qi brothers' claim.

!

He cultivated in the Daoist gate and had seen monsters and ghosts, but the Natural Spirit Fetus was still a legendary existence to him, hidden and unseen, almost impossible to be true.

"Of course I'm not joking. It's not just us, there's also a group of Daoist priests from Mount Zhongnan, but their knowledge is shallow, and they might not recognize that it is a sign of the birth of a Natural Spirit Fetus," Qi Dongqiang said first.

"Were you injured by an expert from Mount Zhongnan?" Zhang Fan asked.

"Those rotten sweet potatoes and smelly bird eggs, how can they be called experts?" Qi Delong sneered.

The two brothers were anomalies themselves. Since following Zhao Jiexuan, they had sparred with each other in Daoist methods, their cultivation had advanced greatly, and they had long since stepped into the Great Being realm, even perfecting the "Nascent Soul Harmony Art." Ordinary people were really not their opponents.

"The Natural Spirit Fetus hasn't been born yet, but the strange phenomena are already amazing. I was injured by it, and my Nascent Soul has some damage," Qi Delong explained.

The two brothers' Nascent Souls were of the same origin, co-existing and growing together. Ordinary injuries wouldn't have much impact and would recover in the blink of an eye.

However, even though Qi Delong was so certain, Zhang Fan still didn't believe it.

Monsters in the mountains being enlightened into demons and guarding the mountain gate were common in Daoist history.

There were even some ghost kings and great demons subdued by Daoist masters to become protectors, which were countless.

However, he had never heard of any mountain or sect having such creation with a Natural Spirit Fetus. He even doubted whether such a thing existed.

"Daoist brother, don't doubt it. Natural Spirit Fetus is rare throughout history, but it's not that there isn't one," Qi Dongqiang saw Zhang Fan's thoughts and said.

"It is said that back then, Mount Long Hu had a Natural Spirit Fetus, with great divine power and extraordinary Daoist methods," Qi Dongqiang told a past event.

That Natural Spirit Fetus on Mount Long Hu was subdued by their ancestor during the Wanli period of the Ming Dynasty on the shores of the Bohai Sea. It lived for more than three hundred years, and its supernatural powers were not below the Pure Yang Limitless realm.

At that time, only the last Celestial Master Zhang Taixu on Mount Long Hu could drive and invite this Natural Spirit Fetus.

It's just a pity that later, during the great calamity of the Daoist gate, that Natural Spirit Fetus was also buried in the calamity, becoming a cloud of smoke in the past.

"Not to mention the past, brother, in the world today, isn't there still a Natural Spirit Fetus?" Qi Dongqiang said suddenly.

"Not bad..." Qi Delong pondered for a moment, then nodded.

"Now? Alive? Where?" Zhang Fan wondered.

If counted from ancient times, the number of Natural Spirit Fetuses was even rarer than Pure Yang Limitless. In this era, with the end of the Dharma age arriving, could there still be such creation?

"Bai He Guan!" Qi Delong's lips parted, spitting out three words.

"It's actually that place." Zhang Fan's gaze sank, and a trace of imperceptible brilliance flashed in his eyes.

"Bai He Guan is known as the sect of the Daoist gate outside of Long Hu. It's not without reason. It can hold the bull's ear of the Daoist gate, naturally it has the confidence of heaven," Qi Dongqiang said solemnly.

"Think about it, after the Jiazi Demon-Slaying, Master Chaoran has already attained Pure Yang Limitless, in the prime of his life. Why can Bai He Guan compete and occupy half of the country!?"

"Because of that Natural Spirit Fetus!?" Zhang Fan was thoughtful.

"Not necessarily entirely because of that Natural Spirit Fetus, but it is definitely one of the main reasons," Qi Delong said solemnly.

Eighty years ago, the incense of the Zhang family on Mount Long Hu had not yet been extinguished, and Bai He Guan was already transcendent. The Daoist sect stood outside of Long Hu. Its foundation was unknown to anyone, and even its origin was mysterious.

"I heard from my master that when he was young, he had seen that Natural Spirit Fetus of Bai He Guan. It was indeed extraordinary, not of the ordinary kind," Qi Delong's eyes rose with a look of reminiscence.

His master was the current master of Mount Laojun, a figure of the same era as Chu Chaoran, Jiang Your Majesty, and Mo Ranchen, "Guan Son of Heaven," known as the Heavenly Daoist.

"I also heard from my master..."

Just then, Qi Dongqiang interrupted.

Zhang Fan glanced up and didn't speak, thinking, can you two brothers listen separately? Don't you have to listen together!?

"Master said that the Natural Spirit Fetus of Bai He Guan has opened its heavenly eye, has three eyes, and Master Chaoran had even clashed with it when he was young," Qi Dongqiang added.

"Master Chaoran fought with that Natural Spirit Fetus?"

Such secret news, if it didn't come from the descendants of the dignified Mount Laojun, there would be nowhere to hear it. This also fully showed the foundation of the top ten famous Daoist mountains in the world. Only when reaching this level can one come into contact with secrets unimaginable to ordinary people.

"What was the outcome?" Zhang Fan asked curiously.

Chu Chaoran was indeed not an ordinary person. He met the Three-Corpse Daoist as a child, fought with a Natural Spirit Fetus when he was young, and later happened to be involved in the great calamity of the Daoist gate, walking out of Mount Long Hu alive.

Pure Yang Limitless, unparalleled in the world, such a life can be called legendary.

"That is not clear. It was a matter behind closed doors. However, at that time, Master Chaoran's supernatural powers had not yet been formed. Even if he were a monster, I don't think he would be the opponent of the Natural Spirit Fetus," Qi Delong said solemnly.

In their view, a creature nurtured by seizing the mystery of heaven and earth is simply a dimensionality reduction strike for ordinary Daoist practitioners. Unless its wings are not yet full and it has not grown up, otherwise, whoever it faces will definitely not get any benefit.

"If the treasure land you discovered really nurtures a Natural Spirit Fetus, wouldn't that be..."

Zhang Fan's heart jumped wildly. If this kind of thing could be collected, given time, once it grew up, wouldn't he be able to walk sideways!?

After all, for anyone, a Natural Spirit Fetus is a great killing weapon, comparable to a nuclear weapon!

"Daoist brother, I know your thoughts. You underestimate the Natural Spirit Fetus too much. With our ability, we cannot subdue that kind of thing, even if it is just born and ignorant..." Qi Dongqiang said with a light smile.

"Why?" Zhang Fan pressed.

"Because most of our methods are useless against the Natural Spirit Fetus," Qi Dongqiang sighed.

"What is the reason for this?"

"Daoist cultivation takes the awakening of the Nascent Soul as the key. All kinds of Daoist methods come from this. The stronger the Nascent Soul, the fiercer the Daoist methods, but..."

Qi Dongqiang changed the subject, paused slightly, and a look of solemnity rose in his eyes.

"But what?"

"The Natural Spirit Fetus has no Nascent Soul!"

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 272 =====