Chapter 137: Sighing at the Vast Ocean (Added update for monthly tickets)

The battle of the Third Realm on West Kunlun did not last long, perhaps because all seven Golden Core Realm cultivators of the Blood God Sect appeared, putting on a posture of fighting to the death, or perhaps because the strength of the Northern Yin Hall Master of the Ice and Snow Palace was not inferior to the Golden Core Sword Immortal of Mount Sanqing, and the attitude shown of being determined to advance and retreat with the Blood God Sect.

But in the final analysis, it should still be because of that strand of divine consciousness from the Blood God Child that instantly imprisoned Shang Sansi.

Among the battles in the Third Realm, the most intense was between the North Yin Hall Master of the Ice and Snow Palace and the Sword-Throwing Mountain Master of Mount Sanqing. The brilliant light erupting from the contact between the "North Star Aurora Heavenly Gang" and the "White Tiger Space-Splitting Sword Gang" changed the color of the sky over the Western Sea, as if a painter had overturned their pigments onto a sheet of deep blue paper, leaving only that spot multicolored.

It was also this battle that let everyone know the strength of these two. Some speculated that both should have strength above the Seventh Purification, and if they could enter the Fourth Realm, they would immediately be able to compete with some veteran Fourth Realm cultivators.

The battle between the two was too wonderful, so much so that the other Third Realm battles seemed too ordinary. Later, even the others in the Third Realm stopped fighting and were all observing.

The two fought for a day and a night. The wind, snow, and clouds on West Kunlun were all torn apart by the Gang Qi. By the second day, it actually gave the West Kunlun in winter a clear, bright sky.

The two ended in a mutual injury, both vomiting blood and returning to their mountains.

However, in the wonderful Third Realm battle, only a small number of people noticed Huo Jingyan taking Cheng Xinzhan back to Mount Sanqing overnight.

Since then, no one had seen Cheng Xinzhan on West Kunlun, but everyone remembered that this young man had escaped from the hands of a high cultivator of the Third Realm, and his name, Cheng Yifu, was also widely spread.

As for the deity phantom that shocked everyone that day, some felt it was Cheng Yifu's protective spirit treasure illustration, and some felt it was transformed from a Mirage Pearl passed down from ancient times.

Only a very small number of Daoist high True Persons saw that this was the manifestation of Cheng Xinzhan's Inner Landscape Deity. Those close to Mount Sanqing congratulated Mount Sanqing, and those hostile to Mount Sanqing felt worried about this.

Being able to manifest the Inner Landscape Deity at the First Realm meant that this young man would definitely be able to easily conclude the Golden Core Dharma Image when he reached the Third Realm, and creating a Creation Dao Domain should not be difficult when he reached the Fourth Realm.

This was the top combat power of Mount Sanqing for the next few hundred years.

The Third Realm fought for a day and a night. By the second day, it was the Second Realm attacking the mountain again, as if nothing had happened, only the person who triggered the Third Realm battle never appeared again.

————

Six months later.

On the mountain peak of West Kunlun, the blood clouds remained, and the white snow remained, but the accumulated snow underfoot had turned into creek water, and the green grass and wild flowers were like weaving and embroidery.

A young man squatted by a creek, reaching his hand into the creek. The creek water was still icy and bone-chilling. His hand was radiating Taiyin magic power, melting into the creek water. Soon, blood and death Qi from the upper and lower reaches of the creek gathered, forming a dirty mud ball in his palm.

He pulled his hand out of the water, clenched his fist, and golden flames ignited in his palm, burning the dirt into nothingness.

Over the past six months, many people had died around West Kunlun, and there was blood and corpses everywhere, among which many were souls under the sword of this teenager.

Some corpses were collected, but the blood stains all remained on the ice and snow.

However, with the arrival of summer, the ice and snow melted, and the blood stains, together with the ice and snow, turned into a muddy creek.

Whenever the young man saw such a creek, he would cast spells to remove the dirt, making it return to clarity.

After burning the dirt, he stood up and looked at a person who had fallen by the creek beside him.

This was a demon of the Blood God Sect. He watched the young man easily turn a muddy creek clear and was very certain that he had never provoked such a righteous genius. He could not understand why this righteous teenager who was good at water techniques would hunt him down for several months.

The first one or two times, he could easily get rid of him and even nearly counter-kill him, but the further it went, the more exaggerated the strength of this righteous genius became. Sometimes he couldn't help but doubt whether he and he were under the same sky, whether they were in the same river of time, why was his progress so fast?

He had escaped death several times, but as long as he showed his face, he would be targeted, until today, when he was completely taken down.

This person's water techniques were becoming more and more profound, as if the creeks and ice and snow all over the mountains were his weapons, but judging from his behavior just now, he didn't just treat the creek water as a weapon.

"You cleaned the creek water; the herdsmen downstream will be grateful to you."

Watching the young man walk over holding flames, the demon said such a sentence.

The young man was a little surprised to hear this; he didn't expect that demons would also care about these things.

"Who exactly are you, and why do you keep staring at me?"

The demon wanted to die with a clear understanding.

The young man only answered one word,

"Suppress!"

A phantom of a great mountain appeared, completely pressing the demon down.

The demon immediately widened his eyes. This voice! This spell!

"Burn and destroy!"

Golden flames ignited on the demon's body.

"It's you!"

The demon finally knew who this person was, and also knew why he refused to let him go.

"Haha, good! Good! Since I can't kill you, then dying at your hands together with my little brother is also good. Going down to find my little brother might be more convenient this way! Please be sure to grant me the same way of death!"

The demon laughed in the flames. He was relieved; he thought the person who killed his little brother would never appear again.

"Split!"

The young man ended the demon's life with the Gold-Splitting Spell, and the golden Yang fire soon burned the demon into flying ash.

"Senior Brother Miaoyuan, I have avenged you."

He thought to himself.

Shortly after he killed He Si, a streak of light fell beside him, transforming into a human figure. It was Huo Jingyan from the Foreign Affairs Institute of Mount Sanqing.

"Xinzhan, we can go."

It turned out that this young man who looked completely like another person from his appearance was actually Cheng Xinzhan who had performed the Transformation Technique.

In fact, after he left West Kunlun and returned to Mount Sanqing to report everything to the sect, and let the sect see the True Form Chart and the technique formula, he performed the Transformation Technique, changed his appearance, and followed a new batch of rotating Mount Sanqing disciples back to West Kunlun.

Over the six months, righteous disciples who came here for rotation left batch after batch, but he had never left.

Hearing Huo Jingyan's words, he was a little puzzled.

Huo Jingyan continued,

"Our righteous disciples have rotated batch after batch, and nearly 80% of the First and Second Realm disciples of the Blood God Sect have been killed or injured. Within the next fifty years, the Blood God Sect can only hibernate and recuperate, and will have no power to go south to harm the Central Plains."

"Now it is already at the limit of the Blood God Sect Master's endurance. If we continue to fight, it will have to be a battle to destroy the mountain and the sect. For us, it is truly not worth the loss. Now other sects have withdrawn one after another, leaving only our Mount Sanqing and Emei."

Cheng Xinzhan was silent for a long time.

Huo Jingyan waited quietly. Xinzhan was a candidate expected to become the Sect Master; there were some truths he must understand, and some choices he must make. Mount Sanqing could be passed down to this day, and it had not lost reason and benevolence, but it was indeed not a fierce Daoist who could not tolerate a single grain of sand in his eyes.

After a long time, Cheng Xinzhan nodded, "Institute Master, I understand. However, I am not here just to kill demons, but also to comprehend the mountain terrain and coldness of the North, which is beneficial to my opening of the Mansion. You lead the fellow Daoists back first. I will stay in the West Sea area for a few more days, and I plan to walk around. When the time is ripe, I will naturally return to the sect."

Huo Jingyan nodded. Since he had plans for his Dao path, he would not persuade him anymore. He only said, "Then take care of your own safety. You can go to other places to stroll, but don't stay on West Kunlun for long. When people are gone, you alone will be eye-catching."

"Xinzhan understands."

————

Two years later.

The 430th year of Ming, early autumn.

The land of Qilu, by the Bohai Sea.

A young man stood on the reef by the sea, the sea breeze blowing his robes. He raised his hand to his brow to block the sunlight, squinting and looking out at the sea.

Beside the young man was a large white dog, which was currently using its claws to dig for fish in the water. They were several sea loaches. The white dog knew that the cat at home liked this kind of fish very much.

At this moment, a wave hit, and the dog immediately ran far away to avoid it, while the young man remained indifferent. The sea waves automatically separated when they reached him.

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He still remembered when he first saw Poyanghu, sighing at the vastness of Poyanghu, thinking it was no different from the sea, but now that he truly saw the ocean, he knew how ridiculous his sigh back then was.

Daoist sages once said through the mouth of the North Sea: One cannot speak to a well frog about the sea because it is confined by its space; one cannot speak to a summer insect about ice because it is confined by its time; one cannot speak to a narrow-minded scholar about the Dao because it is confined by its teaching.

Wasn't his ignorant self the Autumn Water River Earl in the sage's fable?

The river flows from the cliff, observing the great sea, only then knowing its ugliness, and only then can one speak of great principles.

Today he saw the great sea, and it could be considered that he knew that for water techniques and cultivation, what he had learned was not even one ten-thousandth.

The sage said: Of all the waters in the world, none is greater than the sea. But it also used the sea's mouth to metaphorically say: The sea between heaven and earth is like a small stone or a small tree in a great mountain. It exists only because it sees little, so why boast of itself!

This was also the truth he had comprehended.

In more than two years, he traveled north from the West Sea, saw the ice and snow of the Northern Frontier that never melted all year round, and made a special visit to the Tianshan Sword Sect. This was a friendship forged when killing demons on West Kunlun. He and the fellow Daoists of the Tianshan Sword Sect exchanged sword techniques and magic sword techniques by the Heavenly Lake, gaining a lot.

After visiting friends, he turned east, walked through the vast grasslands of the North of the Great Wall, and saw the cattle and sheep when the wind blew the grass low.

Then he followed the Yellow River into the Jin Plain, saw the Northern Peak, and made a special trip to Longnan to see the Western Peak, then returned to the side of the Dahe.

Following the Dahe into the Heluo land, looking at the Central Peak from afar, and then, continuing to walk along the Dahe, he arrived at Qilu and saw the Eastern Peak.

Having seen all the Five Peaks, he followed the Yellow River into the sea, sighing at the vast ocean.

"It exists only because it sees little, so why boast of itself."

The young man recited the sage's warning in a low voice, only feeling that his consciousness was clear and his whole body was smooth.

At this moment, a wave of magic power suddenly surged out of the young man's body. This wave took the young man as the core and spread to the surroundings. The magic power hit the sea surface, intersected with the sea waves, and stirred up a thousand piles of snow.

At this moment, the Earth and Water Mansions were opened together.

Cheng Xinzhan had been cultivating the Dao for six years and had opened four mansions.

He let out a long whistle, the sound shaking the four fields.

The vast sea, in terms of heaven and earth, was nothing more than a grain of millet, and in front of the long river of eternity, the vicissitudes of life were nothing more than ordinary.

His realm was still low, and he would wait for a few more days. When he could destroy a sect with a flip of his hand, he would naturally not have to be aggrieved.

It took him more than two years to spit out this stifled breath.

Seeing the vast sea and sky, not only his cultivation realm, but his state of mind and vision had also been greatly improved.

"A few days ago, the Eleventh Lady told me that she was returning to Haiqing City from Kong Que City for her mid-year report. Since I have arrived at the Bohai Sea, why not go see her? Having been on West Kunlun for half a year, the talisman paper in my hand has run out."

Baiyujing Haiqing City was on the Bohai Sea.

Thinking of this, his consciousness moved, and he transformed into a white cloud, heading straight into the sky.

The white dog followed the wind.

Back then, Sun Miaoshu told Cheng Xinzhan that one could not reach the Third Heaven without the Second Realm, but at this time, he had refined the "Yangming Cloud Hall Gang," his body like clear Qi, and he arrived at the Third Heaven without any obstruction. When passing through the First and Second Heavens, he even had leisure to watch the Heavenly Lei Gang Wind.

Arriving at the Third Heaven, he looked around, operated his Cinnabar Pupils, and saw a giant city floating in the northeast. He drove the cloud and took the white dog over.

Haiqing City was larger than Kong Que City, and the city walls were carved with patterns of Gyrfalcons hunting, with majestic momentum.

Entering the city, it was equally luxurious and magnificent, with flowers and brocades.

The owner of Haiqing City was surnamed Xiao, so he headed straight for the City Lord's Mansion in the center of the city.

Arriving at the mansion gate, there were naturally guards, so he stepped forward to inquire,

"Greetings, lay practitioner. May I ask if any members of the Xiao family are cultivating here?"

The guard returned the salute and replied, "I don't know which branch or which person the Daoist is asking about. According to the rules, only the collateral branches chosen by the City Lord will cultivate in the mansion, while others will start their own families and businesses and live elsewhere."

Cheng Xinzhan replied, "It is the Eleventh Lady of the Xiao family who manages the Bohai industry, Qichang Hall."

The guard naturally knew and said, "The Eleventh Miss was favored by the main branch and sent to Kong Que City to manage business. She recently returned to the mansion to report. She is currently in the mansion. I do not know the Daoist's name, so I can pass it on for you."

"Sorry to trouble you, lay practitioner. Just say it is an old friend, Cheng Qieqing."

He was now walking under a changed appearance and name. Those who didn't know would think he had never left the sect since returning from West Kunlun.

The guard nodded, took out a unison insect, put it to his mouth, and whispered a few words.

Not long after, the guard said,

"Daoist, the Eleventh Miss has replied. Please enter the mansion from the East Third Gate."

Cheng Xinzhan did not know that the City Lord's Mansion was so large. The main gate was on the south wall, and there were more than ten gates on the east wall. A servant led Cheng Xinzhan into the mansion from the East Third Gate.

Just after entering the mansion, the Eleventh Lady's personal maid, Qingyu, came to pick him up. After thanking the servant who led the way, Qingyu continued to lead the way for Cheng Xinzhan. She explained in a low voice,

"Daoist, you are traveling incognito without reporting your sect, and my Miss's realm is low, and she has just taken over some family business, so her position in the family is not high. It is truly rude to let you enter from the east gate. Please forgive me."

Qingyu was a little uneasy. Last time in Kong Que City, Cheng Xinzhan nearly won three consecutive titles and was favored by the Pearl Tower Master. The call for "Cheng Sanyuan" had already spread throughout Baiyujing. The war on West Kunlun had passed for a year or two, and the name Cheng Yifu was widely sung again. With such an identity, she could not help but be careful.

Cheng Xinzhan waved his hand; he didn't care about these things at all.

"The Miss is preparing a banquet. Daoist, please follow me."

Yuqing told a lie. The banquet was naturally arranged by the servants, but it was just a matter of giving an order. Her Miss was actually in a hurry to dress up.

(End of chapter) ===== CHAPTER 138 =====