Born with immortal seed

Chapter 557 New Sword Technique
The two Core Formation cultivators, one of whom is the Hall Master of the Law Enforcement Hall, holds a high position and wields great power.

One of them was a direct descendant of the White Ancestor and was once hailed as the most promising seed for Nascent Soul cultivation.

After decades of seclusion, he seems to have shed his deep-seated ailments and reached a new level.

The Foundation Establishment elders kept their eyes down, their minds focused, and remained silent.

The other Core Formation cultivators watched the two argue, their expressions varying.

No matter how many negative impacts Long Long raised, Li Guizhen only said one thing: disobeying the superior sect and not understanding the suffering of the people. As for the others, he was too lazy to reply.

“Senior brother, I know you are worried about the hardships of the mortal world and how difficult it is to survive. Several fellow disciples and I have already discussed it and asked the sect to urgently send 10,000 bushels of non-grade spiritual rice, 100,000 long-burning golden hemp sticks, and tents to keep warm. This will be enough for them to get through the winter.”

With a deathly pale face, Ma Ruoxi, who rarely showed such a delicate and frail demeanor, spoke, her voice hoarse and weak.

“The local forces in Zhongzhou were not under Qingfeng’s jurisdiction in the past. Senior Brother, you have acted as if you were killing someone without teaching them. There are a thousand paths to follow, and there is no need to force others to take the same one.”

"There are a thousand paths, that's true, but since we're not going to follow the same path, why bother with being affiliated with any sect? Hand over the spiritual veins, let them leave Zhongzhou, and let them find their own way out."

Li Guizhen waved his hand, clenching his five fingers towards the void with a powerful, resounding clang, accompanied by thunderous sounds.

Several Core Formation cultivators' eyes lit up. The two direct disciples of the patriarch were actually arguing fiercely, and Patriarch Bai was right above them.

Lu Song couldn't help but chime in with his comment, and others began to join in, gradually creating a tense atmosphere.

Seeing that no one could convince anyone else, the voices grew louder and louder, when a clear, ethereal, and distant sound came from the hall, startling everyone.

"Please forgive us, Your Majesty, for our disrespect before the palace."

Everyone knelt on the ground, even though the ancestor had been letting them do things on their own without interfering during this time.

But the power of a Nascent Soul True Monarch is unpredictable; who knows what his true thoughts are?

"Suqing, how is the research on the Qishan formation going?"

Bai Zichen removed his finger from the Linglong Hunyuan Pagoda and asked a completely unrelated question.

If he has reached the peak of Core Formation or has just transformed into Nascent Soul, he will still be interested in the topics of his disciples.

Attempting to correct the sect's direction and instruct disciples' behavior habits, while exerting influence as a behind-the-scenes figure, is the norm for most Nascent Soul True Monarchs.

Bai Zichen's situation was different; he had grown to the mid-Nascent Soul stage while his peers were still at the Core Formation stage.

His true combat strength ranks among the top among all the Great True Monarchs in the cultivation world.

The elusive and ethereal realm of Nascent Soul is a challenge he will face soon.

It is foreseeable that he will have a lifespan of thousands of years, and will be able to sit back and watch the Qingfeng Sect rise and fall.

The different philosophies and directions of disciples in a sect are not a big deal.

Ups and downs, prosperity and decline.

Even if they take the wrong path, he can correct it in the blink of an eye.

"Ancestor, the Nine Palaces Returning to the Void Formation is incredibly profound. Fortunately, I have a complete set of formation books and the formation inheritance of the Holy Lotus Sect, which is why I was able to barely comprehend a few parts of it."

After forming her core, Zhou Suqing's deficiencies in her spiritual root became fully apparent, resulting in extremely slow cultivation speed.

His main focus, array formation, was stuck at the peak of the third tier. Limited by his cultivation level, he couldn't find a breakthrough opportunity, so he simply devoted his time to other things.

She achieved mastery of a third-tier alchemist, a third-tier weapon refiner, a third-tier talisman master, and even mastered the puppet inheritance that Bai Zichen later placed in the Transmission Hall. She was the first third-tier puppeteer in the sect.

She is undoubtedly a polymath, and it would be difficult to find a similar person in the entire Northern Region, which proves her talent and comprehension in the various arts of cultivation.

Or rather, aside from cultivation and combat, his talent in all other categories is top-notch.

The Dragon Transformation Scripture that Bai Zichen taught her was an extremely difficult cultivation technique, but it didn't cause her much trouble. The main limitations on her cultivation progress were the efficiency of refining spiritual energy and the time spent on breaking through realms.

With various spells and supernatural abilities, his cultivation speed was also quite fast.

"I expect to make a real breakthrough within five years and reach the fourth level of array formation... However, the array is too incomplete, and the amount of spiritual materials needed to repair it is quite astonishing. I checked the sect's treasury, and it only has enough for half at most."

Given Zhou Suqing's personality, the fact that she could say that meant she was quite confident.

"Alright, make a list. I'll see how much you're missing and see if I can get some more. If that's still not enough, we'll have someone buy it from outside. Also, the spoils of war from the Holy Lotus Sect will be inventoried and put into storage, and then given priority to your needs for repairing the formation. As long as you can get the Nine Palaces Returning to the fourth rank of the Great Formation within five years, I will decide to hand over the right to use the Soul-Sealing Bell to you."

Bai Zichen nodded in satisfaction, not feeling that his promise had caused much of a stir.

All eyes turned to Zhou Suqing, filled with shock, envy, and other emotions.

Apart from the two Nascent Soul elders, no one in the Qingfeng Sect possesses a single spiritual treasure.

Even if it's just the right to use the Soul-Binding Bell, rather than true ownership—after Zhou Suqing passes away, the spiritual treasure still has to be returned to the sect and cannot be passed on to her descendants or disciples according to her wishes—it's enough to make a Core Formation cultivator extremely envious.

Even if the Soul-Snatching Bell is used as a spiritual treasure to suppress the great formation, and even if Zhou Suqing, who only has the cultivation level of the mid-stage Core Formation, does not have enough strength to activate the spiritual treasure, the spiritual treasure can be freed once the great formation is perfected and returns to its original form.

The fact that it cannot be used at will does not mean that it cannot be activated through secret methods to unleash its strongest attack with the help of spiritual treasures.

At the same time, refining spiritual treasures and keeping them with one's body for a long time is of great benefit to a Core Formation cultivator.

"We will certainly live up to our ancestors' expectations."

Zhou Suqing bowed slightly, not showing much joy, but she had already decided to apply to be stationed in Qishan permanently in the future.

There are fourth-order grand formations here for research, as well as spiritual treasures that can be used. The array and battle formation manuals obtained from the Holy Lotus Sect would take at least several decades to read through.

Staying here is more suitable for her development than staying in Montenegro.

"The prisoners of the Holy Lotus Sect will be handled according to the version you reported last time. Hong Xuan has made contributions to the recapture of Zhongzhou, so he will be hired as a guest minister and allowed to choose a third-order spiritual vein on the edge of Qishan as his Daoist temple."

In the past, Foundation Establishment cultivators who had already acquired skills could obtain the status of an elder by becoming apprentices.

But things are different now. Even if it is confirmed that Hong Xuan had communicated with Qingfeng Sect in advance, Bai Zichen only gave him the status of guest elder, just like Qi Yue's Daoist partner.

If we really have to make an exception and admit him into the sect, we should leave that opportunity for Senior Brother Ge Cang to repay the favor he did back then.

"As for the other two Core Formation elders, their direct disciples will be punished with hard labor, and they will only be freed after a hundred years."

Elder Ke, who was in charge of the Holy Lotus Sect's treasury, had originally agreed to defect with Hong Xuan, but unexpectedly, he secretly contacted the Nascent Soul True Monarch of the Ten Thousand Poisons Valley.

As the sworn enemy of the Holy Lotus Sect, the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons has always secretly planted people in the Central Plains. Even after the Holy Lotus Sect was destroyed, a True Monarch of Hooked Kiss secretly came to Qishan, hoping to take advantage of the situation.

Before they even truly set foot in Qishan, they were detected by Bai Zichen's divine sense and ran head-on into each other.

Upon recognizing the other party's identity, Gouwen Zhenjun's expression changed drastically, and he turned and fled before making any further moves.

Bai Zichen found it quite boring, having thought he could stretch his muscles and bones.

I wonder what kind of person this Nascent Soul True Monarch from the Valley of Ten Thousand Poisons is. He dared to come to Qishan to see me once and then fled in panic.

During the subsequent handover of the main warehouse, Elder Ke was very dedicated and cooperative, not only without any shirking of responsibility but also by being extremely cooperative.

However, since the mistake has already been made, he will naturally not receive the same treatment as Hong Xuan.

Of the five Core Formation elders of the Holy Lotus Sect, excluding Hong Xuan, one died at the hands of Bai Zichen in the Medicine Garden Secret Realm, and the other resisted stubbornly when the Heavenly Principle Sect was purging Qishan, and was killed by Le Zheng with a single palm strike.

The remaining elders, surnamed Ke and Tian, ​​seeing that the situation was not good, also decisively surrendered.

"Furthermore, issue an edict to all sects within the twelve prefectures of Zhongzhou, prohibiting large-scale recruitment of disciples and instruction within the territory under the jurisdiction of Qingfeng Sect. Sects that promote the Daoist tradition should operate normally. You can be a family of cultivators, a single-lineage master, or a loose cultivation organization, but you cannot be a normal sect."

"Given the natural disasters and the man-made calamities within the Holy Lotus Sect, we can allow them to continue their lineage for three more generations... After that, they can either relocate out of the Central Plains or change their model. Gui Zhen, you handle this matter; I believe they won't dare to ignore it."

Bai Zichen seemed to have suddenly thought of this matter and casually mentioned Li Guizhen, giving him instructions.

The elders nodded in agreement. This was the thing that the Qingfeng Sect disciples couldn't understand the most. Why was the sect, which was generous and magnanimous in other aspects, so domineering and ruthless in this place?

Fortunately, Elder Bai did not take a drastic measure and offered the condition that the inheritance would be taken back only after three generations; otherwise, he would have forced those small and medium-sized sects to their deaths.

"Li Guizhen, Ma Ruoxi, stay here. The rest of you may leave unless there is nothing else to say."

The group filed out of the sect, and only began to catch their breath after they had gone quite a distance, at which point some dared to speak.

"I didn't expect Zhongzhou to follow this rule too. I thought they would make an exception, but I still couldn't escape it..."

Lian Liangpu was inexperienced and had not experienced the situation when they first took over Hejian County and dealt with those sects, nor did he understand the necessity of doing so.

"This is the foundation of the sect and cannot be changed... The three generations of succession is not a short time. At the fastest, it can be completed in twenty or thirty years, and at the slowest, it can take hundreds of years."

Qi Yue shook his head solemnly. Every prefecture in Zhongzhou has a sect at the Core Formation level; just thinking about it is a huge amount of work.

"Looking at it this way, it's not such a bad thing that Li Guizhen has fallen out with the local forces..."

……

Bai Zichen ignored the differences and rivalries between his two disciples, and instead prepared to pass on his hard-earned achievements, fulfilling his responsibility as a master.

"For the past few years, I have been thinking about how to combine my own Dao with swordsmanship, but it has never been to my liking. Until the battle at the summit of Qishan, I found the opportunity. This swordsmanship is based on a sword intent that I absorbed in the secret realm of Tianhe Sword Sect, and at the same time, it integrates the true meaning of time and space, and fully expresses the changes of celestial phenomena and the changing seasons."

"Since neither of you understands the true meaning of time, it will be relatively difficult for you to learn this sword technique. However, as my masterpiece in swordsmanship in recent years, it would be a shame for me, as your master, not to pass it on to you."

Countless sword lights rose and fell in Bai Zichen's palm, and the celestial phenomena unfolded in his palm, with the world itself revealed within the sword.

"I named it the Twenty-Four Solar Terms Sword Technique."

(End of this chapter)