Ziwei Immortal Path

Chapter 42 Lingxizi

Xu Boyang heard that Ding Fusheng must have made some arrangements. This did not seem like a big deal. Bringing someone along was just like being a bodyguard, which was almost the same as escorting an convoy. He nodded and said,
"Zongzheng, please feel free to speak. Boyang will do his best."

"Okay, since Boyang has agreed, I'll be frank. We have another person from Qingning Bay cultivating in Samadhi Mountain. He can be considered my grandson. His name is Ding Yunshan. He is only twenty-one years old this year and is at the eighth level of Condensation. He was not selected by the Immortal Sect before, so he joined the Ding family's main sect."

"Not long ago, when I asked him about the situation with the Heavenly Stone, I mentioned this to him. A few days ago, I received a reply from him, saying that through his mediation, the Wen family in Hanguang Town was willing to give two Lingxi seeds to my family in exchange for ten Yuqing stones for one Lingxi seed."

"Ten Yuqing? Doesn't that mean a thousand spirit stones?"

Xu Boyang was surprised to hear this. It seemed that this Lingxizi was really a hot commodity. Its price was comparable to that of a top-grade foundation-building magic weapon. When he heard the words "Hanguang Town", he couldn't help but ask:
"Hanguang Town? Could it be the Hanguang Town next to Tianji Town in the middle of Yuchuan?"

"That's right! It seems that Boyang has been there with Mr. Xu before."

Ding Fusheng felt relieved when he saw that he was familiar with him. He smiled and nodded.
"An old horse knows the way, and it's easy to get on the road. Isn't that better?"

Hanguang Town is located in the northeast of Fengqing Town, an unknown distance away, and is close to Yuchuan. Xu Boyang has never been there, but his memory is not clear at this time. He only remembers hearing about it from his uncle Xu Shaohua three years ago.

This matter concerns the safety of Qingning Bay and even Fengqing Town. They all prosper and suffer together. I am afraid I cannot consider it on my own. A cousin of mine lives in Hanguang Town, and the homes of two other cousins ​​in Tianji Town are not far away.

As Xu Boyang was thinking about it, an idea suddenly came to his mind and he became excited:

"An old horse knows the way...an old horse knows the way...yes...dad is bored staying at home all day. If he continues to be so depressed, I'm afraid something will happen sooner or later. Why not take this opportunity to take him out for a walk and see his cousins, wouldn't it be good?"

But on second thought, I realized something was wrong.

According to Xu Shaohua, the uncle's father, Hanguang Town is the territory of the Jiang family. It seems that the Wen family is most likely a Jiang family. And the two towns of Taihe and Wuwei to the southeast of Fengqing Town are the territory of the Ding family of Samadhi Mountain. Since the Ding family lacks their own Lingxi children, why don't they borrow people from these two connected towns instead of going far away and asking outsiders for help?

Is there another reason?

Xu Boyang was puzzled for a moment, and after thinking about it, he still felt a little uneasy. Since he was entrusted with the task and was helping others, he still had to ask for clarification on some matters. Otherwise, he would not know the pros and cons, and would not know the importance of things. He was afraid that he would mess things up without knowing what happened. So he asked:
"Since Zongzheng has spoken, Boyang has no choice but to make this trip. However, there is one thing I'm still unclear about, and I hope Zongzheng can clarify it. Since we're both sharing what we have, why not ask the neighboring towns of Taihe and Wuwei? As far as I know, aren't these two towns also under the jurisdiction of Samadhi Mountain?"

"This, this... naturally there is a reason..."

Ding Fusheng didn't want Xu Boyang to immediately discover the trick. He was secretly surprised and hesitated for a moment. Then he thought it seemed a little inappropriate. He coughed and said directly:

"Well, since Boyang has agreed to this, I still have to talk to you about some things in this family."

"Since Boyang knows about the affairs of Taihe and Wuwei, he must also know about the four major families that currently control Yuchuan County. Yes, my main family, the Ding family of Samadhi Mountain, is also among the four major families, but it is the weakest. Otherwise, there wouldn't be only two major towns, Samadhi and Taihe, and the remaining Fengqing and Wuwei are just small towns."

"The root cause, and I'm not afraid of Boyang laughing at me, is actually due to internal discord. Taihe and Wuwei towns are indeed the territory of the Ding family in Samadhi Mountain, but Ding Duwu of Taihe Town and Wan Shusheng of Wuwei Town are both at odds with my nephew. Therefore, although the three towns are adjacent to each other, they never interact with each other. Not only that, even mortals are not allowed to interact with each other."

At this moment, Xu Boyang suddenly realized that it was no wonder that the southeastern trade route had been cut off over the years and even the Qinghe Road was destroyed. All this trouble was caused by the discord between these three people.

It makes me sad to think about it. Just because of the conflict between three monks, hundreds of thousands of people have to suffer and have no contact with each other for decades. What a ridiculous world this is!
Seeing Xu Boyang remained silent, Ding Fusheng thought he didn't believe it, so he quickly explained:

"This Ding Duwu from Taihe Town is also a disciple of the Immortal Sect. He has a high level of cultivation and has reached the late Foundation Establishment stage. However, he acts perversely and cruelly, often disobeying the orders of the Ding family. He is completely obedient to orders and not to instructions. Only our Ding family ancestor, the Ding family's Huangting Feathered Scholar, gives him some respect."

"But because the area of ​​Taihe Town where he was stationed was so large, facing the East China Sea to the east and connected to Nanli along with Nanhuai County to the south, its location was quite important."

"He has managed Taihe well over the years, keeping it relatively stable and without any problems. The Immortal Sect has had no choice but to turn a blind eye to his arbitrary and separatist actions in Taihe, and the Ding Family has only dared to be angry but not speak out."

"Also, Wuwei Town, which is connected to Taihe, is under the jurisdiction of the Wan Clan. The head of the clan, Wan Shusheng, is only at the early stage of foundation building, but there are other situations. This person is called a guest official of the Ding Clan, but he is actually from the Ling Clan. The Ling Clan is at its peak of power in the Immortal Sect, comparable to the Xun Clan. Therefore, the Ding Clan can only leave it alone."

"Boyang, I can't say much about the Wan family. The four major families in Yuchuan have been entrenched in Yuchuan for many years. Most of the ancestors of the families are seniors of the Immortal Sect. There are also many people in each family who practice in the Immortal Sect. The relationship is complicated and difficult to understand. There are too many petty and despicable things among them."

"When you go out this time, just remember: if you encounter matters concerning the Ling family, you can avoid them; if you encounter matters concerning the Xun family, you can give way to them; but if you encounter matters concerning the Jiang family, you don't have to avoid them or give way to them."

Xu Boyang nodded silently. He never thought that just a Yuchuan County and a Yuchuan Immortal Sect would be so deep and complicated, with so many dirty things happening behind the scenes. He felt a little sentimental for a moment.

"But these are just fights between big families. In our small town, we don't usually have so many arguments, and the relationships are not necessarily what I described. After all, we are all under the rule of the Yuchuan Immortal Sect. Small fights are fine, but if you openly cause chaos and challenge the authority of the Immortal Sect, no family dares to do it."

"So Boyang can rest assured. Although the journey here cannot be said to be smooth, it is within the Qingshen Realm after all, so generally there won't be any major dangers."

Xu Boyang has been escorting for many years, so how could he not know these principles? He was just worried that if he couldn't figure out the situation, he might offend some big family or some Huangting Yushi. If he happened to meet a powerful cultivator who was even more unreasonable than Qi Fuling, and he was captured and taken to the immortal sect, that would be troublesome.

Now that the situation was basically clear, he no longer had too many concerns in his mind, so he considered the matter itself, nodded immediately, and asked:
"I generally understand what Zongzheng said, but there are still a few points I'm not sure about. I'd appreciate your guidance."

"It's not difficult for me to go back and forth, but I have to be on guard. After arriving in Hanguang Town, how can I confirm that the Lingxizi provided by the Wen family are genuine and that they are in tune with each other? Is there any way to identify them?"

"As far as I know, this method of determining spiritual resonance is not something that only Huang Ting Yu Shi can do?"

"Boyang is indeed meticulous!"

Ding Fusheng smiled, took out a small and exquisite ring-shaped white-green jade from his sleeve, spread it in his hand, and said:
"But you only know one side of the story. Measuring spiritual resonance and testing spiritual resonance are two different things. Measuring spiritual resonance mainly depends on whether the spiritual resonance is good or bad, while testing spiritual resonance is actually not difficult. As long as you are at the foundation building stage or above, you can summon the spiritual energy of heaven and earth to sense whether the other party has spiritual resonance. Even if you are not at the foundation building stage, there is still a way, and that is this foundation building magic weapon [Spiritual Resonance Biluo]!"

"I will teach you a set of incantations. When you place this magical instrument on the purple palace between Lingxizi's eyebrows, you will be able to sense whether this person has spiritual resonance."

After saying that, he stood up and handed over the [Lingxi Biluo].

Xu Boyang reached out to take it, listened quietly to the formula that Ding Fusheng conveyed to him through his spiritual consciousness, and recited it silently several times in his mind. Fortunately, it was not complicated and he remembered it in a moment.

He looked down at the object in his hand. It was warm to the touch, white and green in color, like a ring-shaped pendant, but without a chain. Suddenly, he remembered that he had obtained a similar jade pendant from a casual cultivator in Xinyue Lake. It was called the [Lingji Pendant], which was a spiritual weapon for the Ningyuan period formation.

It's a pity that I had tried it before according to the formation activation formula in "Tianhao Daoqi Changshuo Jingshu", but it didn't work at all.

Unconsciously, he felt something in his heart, and immediately put away the [Spiritual Insight Biluo], took out the [Spiritual Pendant], spread it in his palm, and asked:
"Zongzheng, I got a magic weapon for a formation, but I can't activate it. Zongzheng is knowledgeable and experienced, I wonder if you have seen a similar magic weapon?" Ding Fusheng was immediately moved when he saw the jade pendant. He stood up, took it and looked at it for a moment, and asked curiously:

"This is the [Spirit Pendant] crafted by the Ding family of Samadhi Mountain. It contains the Ding family's unique technique. The formula is very different from other [Spirit Pendants] and has its own unique features."

"This spiritual weapon formation seems to have been damaged once before, but it can still be used twice. I wonder where Boyang got it from? Could it be a gift from my nephew? Didn't he teach you the formula to activate the formation?"

"what?"

Xu Boyang was shocked, but he didn't dare to ask. There was a stir for a while. How did the incident of the Xinyue Lake cultivators slaughtering the villagers of Luwei Village involve the Ding family?

After thinking about it, he suddenly felt that something was wrong. Lin Huaisheng's sudden appearance that night was a major suspicion. This person had accepted benefits from Song Changning before, and no one knew what they accepted. Could it be this Ding family jade pendant?

Could those three wandering cultivators be the Lin family’s disciples?

At this moment, Xu Boyang finally understood who killed Chen's mother, and it was indeed Lin Huaisheng!
Seeing Xu Boyang's lack of response and annoyance on his face, Ding Fusheng didn't think much of it. He simply assumed that his nephew had been in such a hurry that he had forgotten to leave the formula, or that it was a relic left by Ding Dikui that had fallen into his hands. Since he wasn't a very cunning person himself, he said gently, "It's okay. I know the formula and I'll pass it on to you."

"Thank you, Zongzheng."

Xu Boyang took a deep breath and listened to the mantra taught by Ding Fusheng, but his mind was thinking of the smiling man in black. He was furious for a moment.

It’s a pity that more than three years have passed and I don’t know whether Chen Baochong has come out of confinement. If I have the chance to meet him in the future, I will tell him about this!

But why did Qi Fuling insist on saying those three were independent cultivators? Could they be independent cultivators hired by Lin Huaisheng? If so, that was most likely the case.

The more Xu Boyang thought about it, the angrier he became. All of a sudden, new and old hatreds surged into his heart. But now, he was only at the sixth level of Condensation Yuan, so how could he defeat a Taoist who was building a foundation? It seemed that he could only bury this hatred in his heart, and deal with it again after he built an immortal foundation in the future.

His thoughts turned back, he held his breath and focused on the current situation, and asked:

"Ding Zongzheng, please don't think I'm being long-winded. This matter of escorting the Lingxizi is just like our previous escort and merchandise sales. We must be clear in advance. Everything can go wrong. What if the Wen family doesn't have the Lingxizi, or they suddenly change their minds, or even raise the price? What should I do then?"

Ding Fusheng sighed, "There's really nothing we can do about it. This is essentially asking for help. He has the hilt of the knife in his hand. If we really can't reach an agreement, we'll have to think of another way. I hope this doesn't happen."

After that, he whispered again:
"Boyang, you need to keep a low profile on this trip. Just conduct a private transaction with the Wen family. Don't make a big fuss about it. It's best to conceal it from others. After all, we don't know what the Wen family is like, and we can't predict what will happen to other families along the way."

"Now that you have reached the sixth level of Condensation Yuan and have spiritual awareness, you can already fly with the help of magical instruments. However, flying high in the sky with two children is still inconvenient. It is better to travel by land, which is safer. Flying high up in the sky will easily lead to being discovered by other cultivators, which increases the risk."

"Also, the contact person for the Wen family is called Wen Zaixian, the young master of the Wen family. When you arrive at Hanshan in Hanguang Town, you can go directly to a place called 'Hanshan Courtyard' to find him."

"Yeah, that's what I meant."

Xu Boyang nodded and said, "How about I take a caravan from Fengqing Escort Company, buy some goods and go to Hanguang Town. Using the caravan as a cover, a mortal merchant caravan will probably not attract the attention of the cultivators."

"So good."

Ding Fusheng was very satisfied with Xu Boyang's idea. It would take more than a month to go to Hanguang Town, and at most three months to go back and forth. It was still early, so it was better to be safe than sorry. He just needed to come back safely. Seeing that everything he had entrusted to him was done, he stood up and prepared to say goodbye. Suddenly, he remembered something, paused, and said to himself with a smile,

"Oh, look at my memory. I almost forgot something important."

As he spoke, he took out another object from his sleeve, which turned out to be a palm-sized golden document, and handed it over.

"When you go out, you're bound to run into cultivators. This is your identification document as a member of the Immortal Sect. My nephew had already instructed me to get it for you, but it's been kept in Qingning Bay. If you're questioned by a senior from the Immortal Sect during your outing, just show this document and avoid any conflict."

"Interrogation?"

Xu Boyang took it with one hand, opened it and took a look. Sure enough, it stated his hometown and identity as "Ding Family", with the word "Guest Official" written in small letters at the back.

"It's really the Ding family who copied me in!"

Xu Boyang looked at the golden document of the Immortal Clan. The material was neither wood nor paper, and he didn't know what it was made of. He was probably thinking it was a small spiritual weapon. Without saying anything more, he put it into his storage bag.

"In addition, this is Yu Qing who went to buy Lingxizi. There are twenty pieces in total. Please keep them carefully. There are also one hundred spirit stones as your reward for this trip."

Ding Fusheng took out a spirit stone from his storage bag and handed it to Xu Boyang.

"One hundred spirit stones. It seems that Ding Fusheng is much more generous than Ding Tianshi."

Xu Boyang smiled. He had worked hard for three months to collect [Spring Breeze Yishui] and only got fifty spirit stones. Now he could get a hundred spirit stones in just one trip. This showed how much importance Qingning Bay attached to this matter.

I didn't waste any time and just accepted it.

"Boyang, I will wait for good news in Qingning Bay. I wonder how long you plan to leave?" Ding Fusheng stood up and clasped his hands together, ready to say goodbye.

"It will probably be three days at the earliest. I still need to clean up and tidy up."

Xu Boyang stood up and bowed.

He got another two hundred spirit stones today. Since he was going out, he thought he should go to the ghost market again to buy some pills.

"Okay!" Ding Fusheng said, "Be careful on your way there! I'll go ahead and wait for your good news!"

"Okay! Ding Zongzheng, take care!"

Thanks to book friend Tongtian Youlu for the reward!
I wish you all a happy weekend!
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(End of this chapter)