Born with immortal seed

Chapter 542 Recalling the Past, Listening to the Present

Bai Zichen had even killed a fourth-tier high-grade demon, so a mere third-tier spirit beast was no match for him.

However, I raised Gun Gun from a cub, so I have a bond with him and am happy that he was able to successfully break through.

"The Tai Chi Bear isn't considered to have a long lifespan among demonic beasts, but once it reaches the third tier, it can live for seven or eight hundred years... Who knows, among the people around me, you might be the one who stays with me until the end."

He grabbed Gun Gun by the neck and lifted it into his arms. The years of separation did not create any distance between the natal spirit beast and Bai Zichen; on the contrary, they became even more affectionate.

Ordinary Tai Chi Bears can only grow to the peak of the second tier; breaking through to the third tier requires the contributions of a mixed group of other bloodlines.

Unless they encounter an extraordinary stroke of luck, they will remain at their current level for a long time.

Once the power of bloodline is completely extracted, it is thousands of times more difficult for a demon beast to improve through its own cultivation than for a human cultivator.

Even so, the lifespan of a third-tier demon beast is enough to make cultivators envious.

When Bai Zichen returned to the Star Gazing Pavilion, the disciples who were in charge of guarding the spiritual land looked unfamiliar; they were clearly new people.

For ordinary people, more than seventy years of separation from their clan is the span of a lifetime, from childhood to old age.

Even for Foundation Establishment cultivators, this is equivalent to one-third of their lifespan.

But for a Nascent Soul True Monarch, it was just a rather long and exciting journey.

Things change, people change, the world changes—nothing could be more true than this.

"However, Gun Gun is not a pure-blooded Tai Chi Bear. There is a high probability that another bloodline in its body is above the third level. Otherwise, it would not be able to be completely different from a Tai Chi Bear in terms of appearance, size and temperament, and it would be suppressed so thoroughly."

Bai Zichen lifted the ball up to his eyes; even a small ball weighed several hundred pounds.

"Tell me yourself what kind of bloodline you have, and whether you still have a chance to advance again. If there is hope, I will get you any rare treasures or great demon blood."

Back when it was just a first-tier spirit beast, its intuition was comparable to that of a Core Formation cultivator, proving its talent for treasure hunting.

Even the most famous third-tier monsters with treasure-hunting abilities, such as the Treasure Dog and the Treasure-Gathering Rat, cannot achieve this level of skill.

That's why the disciples of the Ten Thousand Beasts Sect said that they might have misjudged the Gun Gun bloodline, which was very likely the offspring of a fourth-order great demon.

Furthermore, Gun Gun's combat strength has been significantly weakened, and it is highly suspected that the reduction has been put into his treasure-hunting abilities.

If it can grow stronger again, there probably won't be many treasures in the human world that can hide from it.

"Greetings, Master Ma."

"No need for formalities, I'll just turn around and leave. Have you done your best to clean the Star Gazing Pavilion?"

"How dare we disciples slack off at our ancestor's dojo... However, our ancestor's black and white spirit beast runs rampant in the pavilion all day long, so we dare not offend it."

"It's a panda, right? I'll go and take it away."

The voices downstairs were clearly heard, accompanied by soft footsteps, and Bai Zichen already knew who it was.

Dressed in a smart outfit, Ma Ruoxi, exuding a heroic spirit, stepped onto the stairs and could only shake her head and smile wryly upon seeing several messy marks.

Gun Gun is a third-tier spirit beast. Even if it is not good at fighting, its physical strength alone is not something that a Foundation Establishment deacon or a few Qi Refining disciples can subdue.

Besides, everyone knows that this Tai Chi Bear, which is picky about its food and spends its days lazily wandering around, may not seem to grow up or be intimidating, but few people in the sect dare to offend it. It is the spirit beast of the White Ancestor.

Originally, it was intended to be carried with it, but considering the long journey and the inevitable fierce battles along the way, the Tai Chi Bear was left behind at the last minute before departure.

Their daily treatment was almost no worse than that of a Core Formation cultivator.

Ma Ruoxi cleaned the ground with a dust-removing spell, put the futon back in place, and continued forward.

Upon discovering that the innermost weapon-refining room was open, they quickened their pace.

There's an outlet for the underground fire inside. If the barrier is broken by the rolling flames, causing the fireworks to shoot out and set the Star Gazing Pavilion on fire, that would be quite a sight.

"Go away, if you run around again I'll have someone cut off your spirit bamboo snacks..."

Ma Ruoxi stepped into the room and saw Gun Gun comfortably nestled in a young man's arms, twisting his body to find a comfortable angle.

There is only one person in the entire sect who can appear at the Star Gazing Pavilion so quietly and be treated so well by Gun Gun.

"Master, you're finally back..."

The young man sitting at the head of the table was the same familiar figure from her memory, unchanged for so many years. Ma Ruoxi knelt down and kowtowed, murmuring something.

"Get up... You've done well; you even managed to form your core while I was away."

Bai Zichen glanced at it; it was in the early stage of Core Formation, with clear true essence and a gentle yet firm aura, indicating that it had been in Core Formation for some time.

Currently, the theory of alchemy is only in its rudimentary form, and it is clear that the theory has not been fully developed during the Foundation Establishment stage, nor is there any deliberate pursuit of perfect alchemy formation.

This fourth disciple came into view when the first batch of disciples were recruited after the conquest of Hejian County.

Because she possessed a water and stone spirit body, and because it was necessary to stabilize people's hearts at the time, he took her in as a disciple.

Unexpectedly, after acquiring a suitable spiritual object, this water-stone spirit body exhibited a cultivation speed comparable to that of a celestial spiritual root.

In addition to her spiritual root aptitude, Ma Ruoxi also possesses astonishing comprehension and is the most talented in swordsmanship among the four disciples.

He kept her by his side and carefully guided her, hoping she would inherit his swordsmanship.

Otherwise, it would be a disgrace for the dignified Sword Master of Time to not be able to find a single sword cultivator among his disciples.

It seems that Ma Ruoxi is smoothly following the path arranged for her by Bai Zichen, and she also deeply respects and cares for her master.

Unless you come to the Star Gazing Pavilion regularly, you won't happen to run into him.

"If it weren't for Master's guidance, Xi'er would definitely not be where she is today."

Ma Ruoxi wore no makeup or jewelry, dressed in a neutral style, and carried a sword on her back.

"It's a pity that the eldest brother was not blessed enough to see Master one last time. Before he passed away, he kept talking about this matter. He said that he was stupid and did not understand the way of the sword, which disgraced the sect. He hoped that Master would attain the Great Dao so that he would have the opportunity to become a disciple in the next life."

"Huan'er has already passed away..."

Even though he was prepared, Bai Zichen still felt a pang of sadness.

That little black monkey grew up right in front of me; it was my first disciple. Back then, we had just started cultivating Jade Moon Lake and the newly built Jade Pavilion had just been completed.

Later, following his lead, he rose through the ranks, and knowing his talent was limited, he decisively switched to general affairs.

Ultimately, thanks to his achievements in managing Hejian County and his status as the eldest disciple of the patriarch, he successfully became the sect leader.

During his tenure, it was arguably the most glorious period for the Qingfeng Sect, as he successfully spearheaded the reform of the sect's structure.

The Qingfeng Sect's layout of five halls and seven chambers, which had been maintained for thousands of years, was adapted to the new era and transformed into five halls and thirteen chambers.

In the later stages, all five hall masters had already become Core Formation Realm cultivators, yet Tong Huan still firmly held onto his position as sect leader.

Besides having a good master, his own abilities played a significant role in his success, which allowed him to be accepted by so many cultivators in the sect.

However, the issue of qualifications ultimately remains a challenge for Tong Huan.

Even if he becomes the sect leader, he will still make significant contributions and will certainly receive a lot of spiritual items for Core Formation.

With Bai Zichen as his master, he had already reviewed the cultivation meridian diagram for him and pointed out all the areas that could be improved.

Even if he meets all the necessary conditions, his success rate in forming his core will not exceed 40%.

Ultimately, fate proved that it was not on Tong Huan's side either, and he still failed at the bottleneck of the Core Formation stage.

Ma Ruoxi also took out a first-tier flying sword with many chips and dim spiritual energy from her storage bag and presented it, saying that Tong Huan had been holding it in his hand before he died and had been unwilling to put it down for a long time.

Tong Huan's descendants initially thought it was some special magical artifact, and after several branches of the family fought over it for a long time, they discovered that it was just an ordinary first-tier flying sword, and it was severely damaged.

Finally, Ma Ruoxi stepped in and retrieved the flying sword.

"The Ink Bamboo Sword, I bestowed it upon Huan'er, and it was also the first magical artifact I acquired after embarking on the path of cultivation..."

Bai Zichen reached out and flicked his hand, causing specks of blue light to fall and merge into the sword.

The once tattered and dull bamboo sword has been transformed into a brand-new flying sword, emitting a faint bamboo fragrance, as if it had just been taken from the spirit bamboo and refined.

With his current level of skill, the Sword Nourishing Technique can repair a first-tier wood-type flying sword in an instant.

Another dark-skinned boy seemed to appear before them, earnestly practicing swordsmanship, but he couldn't grasp its essence no matter what he did.

Further ahead, a handsome young man received the ink bamboo sword from an elder of his clan with great anticipation.

Speaking of which, it was a flying sword that held great sentimental value for him, and he solemnly stored it in his domain.

“Tell me about the major events that have happened in the sect over the years, and let me see the changes in Black Mountain.”

Bai Zichen put aside his mourning for the past and began to speak.

"Yes, after you left the sect, we found a way to mine that spirit stone vein. We purchased a batch of second-tier puppets, which were made from the carapaces of fire scorpions that live deep in volcanoes. As long as they are fitted with mid-grade spirit stones, they can walk smoothly in the lava..."

Ma Ruoxi straightened her expression and began to recount each matter earnestly.

She understood that a single word she uttered could determine a person's fate if it reached her master's ears, so she tried her best to speak from an impartial standpoint.

Beneath the blazing prosperity of the Qingfeng Sect, however, lurks hidden dangers.

From a Core Formation level sect to a Nascent Soul level sect, the Qingfeng Sect moved too fast at that crucial step.

Ge Cang and Bai Zichen, two extraordinary individuals who appeared out of nowhere, successfully passed the Heavenly Tribulation and became True Monarchs before the Qingfeng Sect had made sufficient preparations.

This resulted in the Qingfeng Sect being a sect where over 90% of its high-ranking members came from the Black Mountain region even when it became a major Nascent Soul sect.

However, after taking over Hejian County, cultivators from other prefectures and counties came to join them. Many immortal cultivation families and independent cultivators, after discovering that their offspring had spiritual roots, traveled thousands of miles to send their descendants to Black Mountain, willingly starting from the lowest level of disciples.

Even outside of Liang Kingdom, there are occasional promising young immortals who are determined to join the Qingfeng Sect.

These promising talents are basically all aiming for the two Nascent Soul ancestors; the farther the journey, the higher their potential.

Fifty years ago, a family of cultivators in the Northern Qi Dynasty produced a member with a Heavenly Spirit Root, and they all considered sending him to Black Mountain.

Later, the Tianhe Sword Sect, taking advantage of their proximity, had Yan Yuanzai personally come to accept him as a disciple.

Two years ago, news came that he had already reached the peak of the Foundation Establishment stage.

As these disciples improved their cultivation, they quickly began to occupy key positions within the sect, inevitably leading to conflicts with the local Black Mountain cultivators.

One side has the advantage of having a large number of fresh blood; for several generations, more than 70% of the true disciples have come from outside Heishan.

One side's advantage lies in its deep-rooted foundation; the members of the elders' council are still mainly local Black Mountain cultivators.

The conflict is not intense at the moment because the rapid development of the Qingfeng Sect has masked everything; it is still in a period where cultivation resources outnumber its disciples.

Once the period of relative calm begins, various key resources will start to become insufficient to cover expenses, leading to fierce competition and the emergence of contradictions.

As a representative cultivator of Hejian County and a disciple of the White Ancestor, Ma Ruoxi has always been a target of great effort by outside cultivators.

She was devoted to the way of the sword and did not want to become a spokesperson for any outsider faction, so she simply lived a secluded life and did not give outsiders any opportunity to contact her.

However, he was clear-headed and knew that the upper levels could still maintain control, but the antagonism between the cultivators on both sides at the lower levels had become quite serious.

Especially after Tong Huan's death, the newly appointed sect leader was unable to control the Five Halls, and different departments had become battlegrounds for the two factions.

"An annual output of five million spirit stones is not bad... Have any top-grade spirit stones been found?"

No matter how many ordinary spirit stones he had, they were of little significance to Bai Zichen.

After his trip to the Central Region, he deeply understood the saying that top-grade spirit stones were the currency for transactions between Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

If you have enough top-quality spirit stones, you can still buy many good treasures in the Central Region.

"There were two top-grade fire-element spirit stones in total. One was used to maintain the Flaming Mountain formation, and the other was placed in the secret hall."

Ma Ruoxi naturally spoke frankly and would not hide anything.

Bai Zichen immediately lost interest; one or two top-grade spirit stones were just a drop in the ocean for him and couldn't solve the fundamental problem.

Just like that Azure Rhinoceros Sword, it costs ten top-grade spirit stones to activate it once.

It has to be at least this amount to entice him.

Besides the spirit stone vein, the Qingfeng Sect has also opened up two new mines in the third-tier spirit veins they have cultivated over the years, obtaining a top-grade third-tier apricot plum and several earth vein yin energy.

Among them, the apricot-yellow plum tree is the most valuable, bearing fruit once every thirty years, and each time it can produce forty-nine crisp plums.

One of these fruits can extend one's lifespan by ten years, and the first three fruits consumed by each person will produce an effect.

Furthermore, the spiritual fruit has the wonderful effect of treating hidden injuries and repairing vital essence, so that place has been designated as a forbidden area and is now the most important treasure of the Spirit Plant Hall.

However, the Dan Palace has not yet discovered the feasibility of using apricot plums in medicine and alchemy, mainly because they are too valuable and they are unwilling to experiment with them indiscriminately and waste them.

Among the sect's Core Formation True Persons, aside from the most senior Wei Dao and Zhou Suqing, there are Long Long and Lu Song.

Later on, there were the senior and junior siblings Li Guizhen and Ma Ruoxi, and Lian Liangpu, who achieved great things late in life, only successfully forming his core at the age of 170.

With the addition of Qi Yue, who has returned to the sect, Qingfeng Sect now has eight Core Formation True Persons.

Two hundred years ago, this would have been an unimaginable spectacle.

"Since Senior Sister Huo disappeared, there has been no news of her. More than ten years after you left, her soul lamp went out..."

Ma Ruoxi raised her head slightly, her voice lowered, still feeling somewhat sad even after so long.

Among her fellow disciples, Huo Feiyan was her closest friend. At Wanxianjian, Senior Sister Huo took good care of her when she first joined the sect.

This incident also serves as a stain on the Bai family's reputation, as their direct disciple was kidnapped and died under mysterious circumstances.

"Don't worry, none of them will escape. I'll make their entire family pay for Feiyan's death..."

Bai Zichen's eyes were terrifyingly cold; this matter was a thorn in his side.

Back then, in order to find Huo Feiyan, he rushed to the Sea of ​​Bitterness and wiped out the evil dens of the two families.

But it was too late; they still couldn't save Huo Feiyan.

(End of this chapter)