Chapter 139: Shameless to the Point of Shattering

An Escape Light landed on the mountaintop.

Longyang Zhenren, whose white beard and white hair made him look even older than Baiyunzi, bowed to Baiyunzi and said, "This Disciple pays respects to Martial Uncle. I do not know what instructions you have for calling me here."

Baiyunzi sat cross-legged before a chessboard, flicked the pine needles off his body with a light shake of his horsetail whisk, and glanced coldly at Longyang Zhenren, saying:

"Today, the Disciples of the Taiyuan Sect came to pay a visit to our mountain. I had clearly agreed to the matter, yet you all put on such a sour face that it nearly caused a disaster. What do you have to say for yourself?"

Longyang Zhenren turned pale with fright, quickly lowered his head, and admitted his fault: "Martial Uncle, please forgive me. This matter was indeed this Disciple's negligence, but fortunately, Martial Uncle was prepared, otherwise it would have been difficult to resolve."

"Hmph, I handed the Yuqing Hall over to you, and this is how you conduct yourself? My Yuqing Hall is the leader of the Immortal Sects in the Song Kingdom; would such behavior not make our peers in the Immortal World laugh at us?"

"Martial Uncle is right to reprimand me. This Disciple will strictly discipline the Disciples under my command upon returning and ensure that such things do not happen again!"

Cold sweat streamed down Longyang Zhenren's forehead, and he dared not offer the slightest rebuttal.

After saying these few words, Baiyunzi felt a bit weary, so he waved his hand and said: "I only asked about this matter briefly. You are the Sect Leader, so make your own decisions. I called you here today because there is another matter to entrust to you. Since Xu Chen has come to pay a visit to the mountain this time, after discussing it with Yuyangzi, I have decided to let him stay at the mountain gate for some time. All scriptures and techniques in every library and pavilion, except for the Red Glow Palace and Miyun Hall, are to be open to him, and he is allowed to observe and study them."

"Ah?!" Longyang Zhenren was startled, his face full of astonishment and seeming disbelief.

"What, you disagree?" Baiyunzi frowned.

Longyang Zhenren hurriedly said: "There are more than ten inner and outer sect Scripture Pavilions at the mountain gate, containing tens of thousands of various techniques and Magic Spells collected by our sect. The outer sect Scripture Pavilions are fine, as they are just ordinary techniques, but the techniques stored in the inner sect are all accumulated by the Yuqing Hall over generations and are considered the secret treasures of our sect. How can they be easily taught to an outsider? Martial Uncle, please reconsider!"

Baiyunzi stroked his beard and pondered for a long time before saying: "Do you know why you have never been able to perceive the gate to Spirit Transformation?"

Longyang Zhenren's body trembled, and he quickly lowered his head: "This Disciple is dull-witted."

"Hmph, it is not that you are dull-witted, but that your temperament is stubborn and your selfishness is too heavy. I know you have deep feelings for the Yuqing Hall and, as Sect Leader, you think of the mountain gate in everything, but this is your weakness. Your worldly heart is too heavy, and your Dao heart cannot be refined and clarified, which is why you are stuck and cannot advance.

All Magic Spells in the world were created by countless predecessors of the Immortal Dao, and only through their circulation and accumulation has the Immortal World been able to flourish. If you want to keep everything for your own exclusive use, how can the heritage be glorified? Xu Chen is a person of great fortune, and I believe his future path will be smooth and he will surely achieve great things. Therefore, I am teaching him secret techniques and methods to build a bond of kindness, yet you question and disobey me, which makes me quite disappointed."

Longyang Zhenren was full of shame and dared not answer.

Baiyun Zhenjun continued: "Look at the current state of the Yuqing Hall. The Disciples under your command are competitive, vicious, selfish, and arrogant. This is your doing. I can understand that you are thinking of the sect's heritage, but times change. You must not disregard the immediate benefits and lose the big for the small, causing all the Disciples of the Yuqing Hall to miss a great opportunity."

Longyang Zhenren was both ashamed and confused, but with a flushed face, he cupped his hands and said: "This Disciple is dull. I ask Martial Uncle to speak more clearly. Even if this Xu Chen has a smooth path in the future or can achieve Spirit Transformation, what does it have to do with our Yuqing Hall? Perhaps Martial Uncle sees that he has excellent aptitude and wants Lan You to become his Daolu, but the path of cultivation is full of setbacks and difficulties; it cannot be smooth sailing. If he cannot achieve Golden Core or Spirit Transformation, I fear this marriage will be opposed by many. For the sake of the mountain gate's stability, as Sect Leader, I have to consider it carefully. If Martial Uncle insists on this, please give me a sufficient reason!"

Baiyunzi stroked his beard and looked up at the vast, rippling sea of clouds and the red sun in the distance. With a face devoid of joy or sorrow, he raised his hand and tossed a Jade Bottle to Longyang Zhenren: "Take a look at this Spirit Pill first."

Although Longyang Zhenren was puzzled, he opened the Jade Bottle and poured a Spirit Pill into his palm. At a glance, he looked a bit suspicious: "This seems to be a First-Tier Clear Spirit Pill, but the aura is slightly strange, somewhat similar to the Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill I saw at the Taiyuan Sect last time. Could this be the gift Xu Chen brought for his visit today?"

Baiyunzi did not answer.

Longyang Zhenren could only smile bitterly: "Martial Uncle, even if this is a Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill, its value is indeed high, but a mere bottle with only a few pills is worth no more than a thousand Spirit Stones. It is not worth us paying such a high price."

Baiyunzi pondered for a long time and said: "The efficacy of this pill seems even better than the original Taiyuan Soul-Entering Pill. You should know the significance of this pill. For all cultivators, its value cannot be measured by Spirit Stones."

Longyang Zhenren nodded helplessly: "Martial Uncle is indeed right, but there are too few of them. If there were a hundred bottles, it would indeed improve the aptitude and cultivation of many of our Yuqing Hall's Core Disciples significantly, or perhaps produce a few more in the Danyuan Realm. But the Taiyuan Sect treats this pill as a treasure, and its production is limited; it is impossible for them to sell it in large quantities."

Baiyunzi spoke without joy or sorrow: "What if I told you that this pill was refined by Xu Chen himself?"

Longyang Zhenren was stunned, his hands trembling slightly.

"Furthermore, I will tell you that this pill is just something he uses to feed his Third-Tier Spirit Sparrow along the way. What do you think of that?"

Longyang Zhenren's face began to twitch violently. He opened and closed his mouth several times before he seemed to find his voice, saying with a dry throat: "This... this cannot be, right? A single pill was sold for two hundred Spirit Stones by the Taiyuan Sect back then, and he actually uses it to... to feed birds? This is too... too extravagant!"

"Hmph, what is impossible about it? Do you think it is worth two hundred Spirit Stones just because the Taiyuan Sect sells it for two hundred? Besides this mysterious aura, the other Spirit Medicines in this Spirit Pill are just ordinary First-Tier ones; how much can they be worth? You guard the Yuqing Hall's techniques and secret arts tightly, and naturally, the Taiyuan Sect will guard this kind of Spirit Pill tightly. To give or to keep, it all depends on a single thought. Although your aptitude is slightly inferior, if you use this kind of Spirit Pill to recuperate for a year or two, you might have a chance at Spirit Transformation. This opportunity is now right before you; do you want it or not?"

Baiyunzi's words exploded in Longyang Zhenren's ears like a thunderclap, leaving him dazed and shivering all over. He stammered: "Martial Uncle, what... what does this mean?"

"Yuyangzi and I are letting him stay at the mountain gate to observe our scriptures and techniques, and he has agreed to help us refine a batch of such Spirit Pills. A hundred bottles is impossible, but ten, twenty, or thirty bottles—that depends on your ability!"

Longyang Zhenren was both surprised and delighted, so excited he almost jumped up: "Martial Uncle, this Disciple understands! We will use our techniques to trade for him refining the Spirit Pills. The more he sees, the more he will naturally have to refine, otherwise, we won't let him see them!"

"Foolish!" Baiyunzi was so angry he almost kicked this junior, who looked older than himself, off the cliff. He snorted coldly, furious at his lack of ambition: "This is a mutually beneficial, win-win situation, yet you treat it like a business. Do you think he necessarily wants to see them? You must find a way to make him stay at the mountain gate for as long as possible, provide him with good food and drink, and you can think of other ways, such as arranging for some inner sect female Disciples to accompany him, serving tea and water, so that he is willing to stay of his own accord..."

Speaking to this point, even Baiyunzi's old face could not help but turn red. He felt that his Dao heart, which had been as steady as an old dog as a Spirit Realm Great Cultivator, had begun to shatter into pieces from the shamelessness, so he did not want to explain further and waved his hand:

"I have already kept him here for you. You can handle the rest yourselves. Whether you have a chance at Spirit Transformation in the future can be said to lie with Xu Chen. I do not have so much time to manage these messy, trivial matters. Take care of yourself!"

Before the lingering sound of his voice had faded, Baiyun Zhenjun had already disappeared.

Longyang Zhenren stood dazed for a long time, then suddenly shook himself awake. With a flushed face, he shouted "Thank you, Martial Uncle!" toward the southeast, then transformed into an Escape Light and left.

In an instant, only a breeze, clouds, mist, and an ancient pine with a leftover chess game remained on the mountaintop, desolate and lonely.

(End of chapter)