The Long Journey to Immortality

Although the giant wave did not capsize the small boat, it did create a large sloping hole in the cabin, causing the four people on board to lose their balance.

The boatman was alright; having weathered many storms, he immediately took control of the rudder.

But the three mortals inside the cabin suffered the consequences.

The couple, in their early twenties, were sprawled out in the cabin, their clothes completely soaked, looking like drowned rats.

The young husband choked on some water, looking unwell. His persistent coughing made his already exhausted body even weaker.

The young wife clutched a tattered piece of linen; their child had vanished in the crash of the wave.

However, the six-year-old girl was swept away by the huge wave through the hole in the cabin and into the river. She only had two breaths to let out a cry for help before she was overwhelmed by the waves and submerged in the surging river.

Coming to her senses, the woman looked at the tattered cloth in her hand and became anxious. She cried out towards the river, trying to find her daughter.

The man, on the other hand, was calmer.

He quickly grabbed the broken cabin wall, approached the boatman, and promised him a large sum of money, hoping that the skilled swimmer would take pity on him and save their daughter from drowning.

The boatman refused outright, and his reasons were reasonable and well-founded.

“There are strong undercurrents beneath this source water. Even a Qi Refining cultivator can barely protect himself in it. In this weather, if I were to go into the water, I would surely die.”

"Besides, if I go to help you rescue people, the ship will be left without anyone to steer it."

"In these stormy conditions, all that awaits you is the capsizing of your boat and the loss of your lives."

Instead of begging me, why not shout at those big ships and see if any cultivators are willing to help?

The old boatman's words enlightened the young couple.

They shouted at the top of their lungs, trying to drown out the howling wind on the river, hoping that the monks in the cabin with their keen senses would hear their cries for help and take pity on them.

Unfortunately, ten breaths passed, and apart from many mortals clinging to the railings watching the show, no cultivators stepped forward on the large ship.

Just when the couple was in pain and despair, an accident happened.

Two cultivators, piloting water-resistant magical artifacts, jumped into the surging river from a large ship managed by the Zhengyi Sect.

Hope was rekindled in the hearts of the young couple.

But it's just a hope.

The two cultivators dived into the water for a full hundred breaths, but all they brought back was the body of the girl who had drowned in the river and a stone the size of a palm.

After handing the body over to the tearful couple, the two Zhengyi Sect cultivators only showed a moment's grief for the girl's death before cheerfully carrying the stone back to the ship.

This stone is no ordinary stone, but a spirit stone ore that has not been fully mined.

The message was passed through two hands before reaching Xuan Chengzi, and the message changed from "spirit stone ore was found in the source water" to "a spirit stone vein exists in a certain section of the source water riverbed".

Spirit stones, as resources, can not only be used for cultivation, but can also be exchanged as an equivalent.

Especially after some of the trading practices of the Great Yu Dynasty were introduced to the Central Plains, "spirit stones that have exhausted spiritual energy," which were originally used as ordinary materials, became a low-value commodity and replaced the status of Qi Gathering Pills.

Such a treasure is something even the Zhengyi Sect, the second largest sect in the Central Plains, wouldn't complain about having too much of.

The location of the spirit stone vein is awkward. You can explore it, but you have to be careful not to let the news leak out.

Xuan Chengzi secretly arranged for two Golden Core elders who practiced the Five Elements techniques of Metal and Earth to make a quiet trip.

We need to conduct an on-site investigation to find out if the information from the outer stronghold is exaggerated, or if a treasure has truly been revealed beneath the source water at some unknown time.

The round trip took a whole day, but even better news came back.

"Sect Master, that vein stretches for twenty miles and contains at least three to four million spirit stones."

With such good fortune falling into his lap, Xuan Chengzi naturally wouldn't miss this opportunity to make a fortune.

Unfortunately, since spirit stone veins are almost all hidden in underwater rocks and soil, only cultivators can dive down to mine them.

Not only that, the mining had to be done secretly, without being detected by the northern authorities.

Therefore, although the vein contains a large number of spirit stones, the amount mined each day is very limited.

Even though the Zhengyi Sect was extremely cautious, they were still mobilizing troops and mining for only a month. After harvesting 400 spirit stones, the Xuan Yang Valley noticed something amiss.

One night, a disciple of the Zhengyi Sect, who was mining spirit stones in the water, encountered a cultivator from the Northern Dynasty at the bottom of the Yuanshui River.

As a result, this little act, which was originally suppressed and carried out in the dark, was completely exposed and brought into the open.

After countless years, the interests of the two major sects in the North and South have once again clashed sharply.

Chapter 737 Dividing

A battle broke out beside the spirit stone mine.

News of the underwater battle between two cultivators from the Zhengyi Sect and the Xuan Yang Valley quickly reached the ears of the two current sect leaders.

The two leaders reacted in exactly the same way.

Upon hearing the news, I was initially alarmed, fearing that it would become the fuse that disrupts the harmonious atmosphere of cultivation in the Central Plains, and that I would be blamed and become a sinner condemned by everyone.

Then came joy.

This battle, which erupted at the bottom of the Yuanshui River and between two sects and two Qi Refining cultivators, was very unconventional and even unrelated to the Central Plains; it was merely a minor skirmish.

The two cultivators who inexplicably ended up on the front lines of the war were merely Qi Refining cultivators with low cultivation levels.

Underwater, one can barely collect spirit ore while protecting oneself, but cannot smoothly cast spells or control complex magical artifacts.

Therefore, upon seeing their "enemy," the two, whose blood boiled from the friction, chose to fight with their fists and feet.

Neither of them knew any external martial arts, and their punches in the water were weak and powerless.

After fighting for half a minute, he was separated from his companions who rushed over after hearing the news. Apart from some bleeding, swelling in a few places, and drinking some water, he had no major injuries.

This means that the matter was not definitively closed, leaving room for reconciliation between the leaders of the two major sects.

Finally, both leaders fell into deep thought.

Consider how to pin the blame for this conflict on the other party.

Consider how to minimize the problem and resolve it altogether.

Consider dividing this windfall after peacefully resolving the existing disputes, and in the process of dividing it, try to gain as much benefit as possible for your side.

Because the stakes are high, the location of the incident is awkward, and the power gap between Zhengyi Sect and Xuanyang Valley has been gradually narrowing over the years, resolving this matter properly is not a simple task.

However, relying on the fact that he had found the spirit stone vein first, the ambitious Xuan Chengzi took the initiative and sent an official letter to Xuan Yang Valley in the north.

Although the wording in the official letter was not very sharp, the attitude was extremely tough.

First, they demanded that Xuan Yang Valley compensate the injured disciples with a mere ten spirit stones and some pills for the complex battle that took place at the bottom of the Yuanshui River.

This is a standard political tactic: to extract a small, symbolic benefit that is insignificant, but allows one to stand on the moral high ground and hold the initiative.

Secondly, it expresses the hope for a peaceful resolution to this matter, so as not to ruin the harmonious cultivation atmosphere that has been painstakingly formed in the Central Plains because of something as worthless as spirit stones.

Unite the majority, isolate the minority, and defeat them one by one.

Although Xuan Chengzi was better at cultivation than managing a sect, he still knew this trick.

The last few sentences of the official letter were an invitation.

Xuan Chengzi, as the leader of the sect, invited the Valley Master of Xuan Yang Valley to a face-to-face meeting to discuss the division of the mineral veins.

Of course, Genseiko emphasized two points in this invitation.

The ore vein was first discovered by the Zhengyi Sect.

Xuan Yang Valley secretly sabotaged the conflict by provoking it first.

The implication was that their side was determined to gain the lion's share in this division of spoils.

Xuan Chengzi was firm, but Long Daoren, the master of Xuan Yang Valley who was about to complete his century-long cultivation period, was not to be outdone.

Having served as the Valley Master for ninety-five years, he was far more adept at using these tricks than Xuan Chengzi.

He didn't fall into any of the traps that Xuan Chengzi had set for him in the official letter. Not only that, but he and Xuan Yang Valley, who were indeed in the wrong, also tried to change their approach and take advantage of the situation.

Regarding the first point, Long Daoren smoothly accepted the challenge and transformed the concept, changing the idea that the cultivators of Xuan Yang Valley were the ones who initiated the battle and "ceded territory and paid reparations" to the cultivators of Zheng Yi Sect who fought a battle. It was unclear who attacked first, but the cultivators of Xuan Yang Valley won and hurt the cultivators of Zheng Yi Sect. Only then did they turn around and ask Xuan Chengzi if he needed some medical expenses and psychological compensation.

After performing a set of Tai Chi, Xuan Chengzi, upon receiving the reply, gave up any further thought of making a fuss about this issue.

As for the second point, Long Daoren did it more thoroughly than Xuan Chengzi.

Xuan Chengzi was referring to the environment, something we constantly feel but can never truly grasp.

Long Daoren, on the other hand, made a more straightforward statement, offering tangible benefits.

He stated that small sects near the spirit stone mine in the source water also have the right to divide the spirit stone mine.

Xuan Chengzi's approach was to unite, while Long Daoren's approach was to win them over.

Which one is better is obvious at a glance.

However, saying one thing and doing another.

When Long Daoren brought up the third point about reconciliation and negotiation, he completely stopped mentioning the interests of small sects.

On the contrary, without the "aggressiveness" of the money, he generously forgot the previous unfriendly attitude and expressed his willingness to reminisce with his "old friend" Xuan Chengzi, talk about the past, and discuss important matters such as the Yuanshui Spirit Stone mine.

After a round of heated debate, both sides simply downplayed the seriousness of the matter, depriving the potential sect war of its legitimacy and reducing global tensions.

To get a concrete result on this matter, we'll have to wait until the actual talks.

Although the two leaders invited each other to meet in their official correspondence, in the end, the matter was handled by the monks under their command.

While most cultivators are not politically savvy, the harmonious environment of the Central Plains has indeed led many to become adept at negotiation, seeking to profit by sitting at the negotiating table for themselves, their sects, and the forces they serve.

Each side dispatched its best troops, and within ten days, the North and South held a series of meetings in the territory of a small sect by the river to divide the spoils of the matter.

The meeting was not closed to the public; in fact, it even invited representatives from smaller factions located near the mines to attend.

However, whether one can speak to someone after returning is one thing, and whether speaking to them is effective is another.

Even in the cultivation world of the Central Plains, hegemony is still unavoidable.

Ten days later, another three days passed.

Through the exchange of information and conditions, Xuan Chengzi and Long Daoren finally reached an agreement, albeit remotely.

The mine is jointly managed by the Zhengyi Sect and Xuanyang Valley. Smaller sects can also enter and get some scraps if they are willing to contribute manpower to help mine the spirit stones.

To the outside world, this was said to be a benefit ceded by the Zhengyi Sect to gain a good reputation for the sect, and it was considered a reward for the sect's discovery of the mineral vein.