Chapter 256

Chapter 256: Unrest, the Situation in Zhongzhou

As the old doctor led Lu Qing, following the direction of the jade plate’s fluctuations, they searched.

In a tall tower in a certain area of Qinglong City, an elderly man in black, meditating and practicing, suddenly faltered. He opened his eyes and gazed at a jade plate before him, a strange glint in his eyes.

He counted on his fingers for a moment, his expression gradually becoming solemn.

After a moment’s hesitation, he swung a rope at his side.

A pleasant sound of bronze bells rang out, and soon, a middle-aged man in gray cloth, holding an abacus, entered respectfully.

“Elder, may I ask for your instructions?”

“A distinguished guest is arriving. Please prepare and join me in welcoming him,” the old man said softly.

The middle-aged man was startled, then quickly replied, “Yes, Elder.”

But curiosity welled up in his heart. Just who could possibly have caused the elder, who usually disliked meeting people, to take the initiative to greet him.

Could it be one of the city’s major families, or perhaps some important figure from the City Lord’s Mansion, coming?

Just as the middle-aged man had finished making his arrangements, the black-robed elder descended from the upper floors.

“Elder…” the middle-

aged man was about to step forward to say something, but the black-robed elder raised a hand to stop him.

“The distinguished guest has arrived. Please follow me to greet him.” The middle-aged man had no choice but to keep quiet

and follow the elder outside.

As soon as he stepped outside, he saw the old doctor and Lu Qing standing hesitantly outside.

“Master, are you sure this is the place?”

Lu Qing looked at the tower, but it was plain, lacking even a plaque. It didn’t seem like the headquarters of a major sect.

Only the star pattern engraved on the door seemed to hold some mystery.

“It’s probably right. The unusual movement detected by the jade token originated from this tower,” the old doctor said.

Just as Lu Qing was considering using his supernatural powers to investigate, he suddenly saw an old man in black and a middle-aged man holding an abacus emerge from the tower.

“It is truly an honor to have friends coming from afar. I, an old man, am honored to meet you, two distinguished guests.”

Before Lu Qing could say anything, he saw the old man in black bowing to him and his master.

“Old man, what are you doing…”

Lu Qing’s heart moved slightly, and a puzzled look appeared on his face, but he secretly activated his supernatural powers.

“My name is Xuanjizi, and I am temporarily in charge of the Tianji Tower branch in Qinglong City. I have come here specially to welcome you, two distinguished guests.”

After the old man in black saw the faces of Lu Qing and the old doctor clearly, the smile on his face became even warmer.

Lu Qing also used his supernatural powers to find out the identities of the two people in front of him, and knew that they were not lying.

However, he still kept a puzzled look on his face: “But old man, how did you know we were coming?”

Could it be that the Tianji Tower’s divination method is so mysterious that it can even deduce the whereabouts of him and his master?

“Of course, this old man isn’t that advanced in his cultivation to predict your whereabouts.”

Xuanjizi seemed to see through Lu Qing’s thoughts and said with a smile, “I knew you were coming because of the jade token your master holds.”

Lu Qing looked at the jade token in his master’s hand and suddenly realized something.

It seemed that this jade token was two-way, not only allowing them to know the location of Tianji Tower, but also allowing the other party to sense their arrival.

No wonder Li Zhirui had said that as long as they took the jade token to Zhongzhou, they would understand.

“I see, junior Lu Qing, this is my master, greeting Senior Xuanjizi.” Lu Qing bowed.

“It is indeed Young Master Lu and Doctor Chen Songqing. Please come in quickly,” Xuanjizi said, inviting them in.

Lu Qing and the old doctor exchanged glances and, without hesitation, walked into the tower.

After being seated inside and served tea, Lu Qing took a sip before saying,

“Senior Xuanjizi, you even know the names of my master and my disciple. Was that a message from Lord Zhirui?”

“Yes, Junior-Junior Zhirui left your portraits here, saying you would arrive within a year or two. It’s just that I didn’t expect you to come to Qinglong City until now.”

“How is Lord Zhirui doing?” the old doctor asked with some concern.

He still had a fondness for the young man with such extraordinary bearing.

“Junior-Junior Zhirui made a breakthrough last year and has returned to the Zhongzhou headquarters to cultivate. It’s about time he emerges from seclusion,” Xuanjizi said frankly.

“Oh, Lord Zhirui has reached the Xiantian realm?”

Lu Qing’s heart skipped a beat. When he met that man, he was already a martial arts master who had forged the power of the soul, and his ranking on the Qianlong Ranking was even higher than his.

If he could achieve another breakthrough, he would surely have reached the Xiantian realm.

“Indeed, Junior-Junior Brother Zhirui has been gifted since childhood. He is one of the most outstanding disciples of his generation in our Tianji Tower. It is not surprising that he has reached the Xiantian Realm.”

“Impressive.” Lu Qing praised.

Xuanjizi secretly looked at Lu Qing.

If he remembered correctly, this young man in front of him had also been listed on the Potential Dragon List two years ago, which caused quite a sensation at the time.

Now, more than two years have passed, and it is unknown how far his cultivation has reached.

However, when Xuanjizi wanted to sense Lu Qing’s cultivation, he found that his spiritual perception was completely unable to detect what was happening inside Lu Qing’s body.

It was as if Lu Qing was covered by a thick fog, obscuring all information about him and making it impossible for him to see through it.

Xuanjizi was slightly startled, knowing that there were generally only two possibilities in this situation.

One possibility was that Lu Qing had cultivated some special secret technique, allowing him to perfectly conceal his aura, making it invisible to outsiders.

Another possibility was that Lu Qing possessed a rare treasure that could shield him from the spiritual power of others.

He preferred the latter.

After all, Lu Qing was too young. Even if he had cultivated a secret technique, his level of cultivation was likely not very advanced.

Furthermore, according to information from the Tianji Tower, two years ago, Lu Qing had only reached the Inner Viscera Realm.

Even if his progress had been rapid, at such close range, he shouldn’t be able to conceal his presence from someone who had been at the Xiantian Realm for many years. Having arrived   at this

conclusion, Xuanjizi turned his attention to the old doctor. This glance stunned him again,   for he discovered that the old doctor’s cultivation level was equally unfathomable to   him. If Lu Qing was shrouded in mystery, impenetrable   , then the old doctor was now serene, like an ordinary old man, unremarkable.   But Xuanjizi knew that the old doctor couldn’t be just that.   Junior-Martial-Nephew Zhirui had clearly informed him that this old doctor was not only a highly accomplished Xiantian Realm cultivator, but also possessed the Light of Merit, far more miraculous than the average Xiantian Realm warrior.   ”It seems this individual’s cultivation has made tremendous progress in the past two years. He truly deserves to be called a virtuous person possessing the Light of Merit,” Xuanjizi marveled.   From the moment they met, the master-disciple duo of Lu Qing and the old doctor had astonished him.   No wonder Junior-Martial-Nephew Zhirui had so solemnly instructed him to treat them well.   Lu Qing could sense that Xuanjizi was observing him and his master.

However, he didn’t take it seriously, instead displaying a humble expression. “Senior Xuanjizi, my master and I have come here to ask you some questions.”

“I’m not worthy of your advice, but what do you two want to ask?” Xuanjizi asked.

“We would like to know the current situation in the world, and what’s happening in Zhongzhou.

To be honest, Senior, we encountered quite a bit on our way home.

One sect even blatantly disobeyed the Sacred Order. A Supreme Elder at the Xiantian Realm, in order to cultivate his evil ways, set up a sinister formation, refining the flesh, blood, and essence of warriors to nourish his own cultivation.

Yet, this act, which infuriates both heaven and man, has not met with retribution from the Sacred Mountain.

My master and I are quite puzzled by this, and we would appreciate your guidance,”

Lu Qing said with a serious expression.

“What? Xiantian Realm cultivators are already practicing evil methods through human sacrifice?”

Xuanjizi was taken aback.

“Indeed, it was the Liuyun Sect of Yunzhou who perpetrated this evil deed. Senior, signs of unrest are now emerging in the outer provinces. If Sacred Mountain and the major sects of Zhongzhou don’t take action, it won’t be long before the situation becomes irreversible.”

Xuanjizi fell silent.

After a moment, he sighed deeply, “I didn’t expect the situation outside to have reached this point. Sadly, even Sacred Mountain is powerless to address it now.”

Lu Qing and his master exchanged glances and asked, “Senior, I wonder what this means?”

“You two are both blessed with extraordinary talents. You should have sensed the nine Dao sounds that resounded through the heavens and earth a while ago, right?”

“Yes, we did. It was because of this that we, master and disciple, decided to travel to Zhongzhou to investigate.”

“With the nine Dao sounds, the great changes of heaven and earth officially began. Spiritual energy revived, and the evil demons reappeared. Do you understand what this means?” Xuanjizi asked.

Lu Qing paused for a moment and said humbly, “I’d like to hear the details.”

“In recent years, hasn’t there been a rumor circulating in the world that heaven and earth are about to change drastically?

This is actually not a rumor, but a fact.

The sound of heaven and earth a while ago represented that the changes in heaven and earth have really begun, and the legendary spiritual energy has begun to revive.

You two have traveled all the way to Zhongzhou, and you should have sensed the changes in heaven and earth on the way, right?”

The old doctor nodded: “There is indeed a very strange energy between heaven and earth.”

“That strange energy is the legendary spiritual energy. It is rumored that as long as there is an innate warrior who can refine the spiritual energy and use it for his own benefit, he can go a step further.

Let me ask you two, if this rumor is true, what will happen to those innate warriors who have stagnated in their own realm for many years?”

“On the path of martial arts, one should be brave and enterprising. Warriors all pursue their own strength. If there is such an opportunity, I believe those innate powerhouses will be very happy.” Lu Qing said.

“That’s right. Since warriors of my generation have embarked on the path of cultivation, we naturally try our best to strengthen ourselves.

In the beginning, spiritual energy reappeared in the world, which made many innate realm warriors in Zhongzhou ecstatic.

But after a while, everyone found that it was not easy to refine the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.

Only the most ancient and unique practice method can do it, and there are not many such ancient practice methods circulating in the world.

Even in Zhongzhou, only a few sects have mastered it.

In this way, the problem arises.

You two should be able to guess why?”

Lu Qing thought for a while and said, “It’s not the lack that is worrying, but the uneven distribution. The opportunity for a breakthrough is right in front of us, but we can’t get in because of the skills. Those sects with ancient practice methods are afraid that they will become the target of public criticism.”

“That’s right, it’s not the lack that is worrying, but the uneven distribution. Young Master Lu is really a great talent. With just a few words, he pointed directly to the root cause.”

Xuanjizi’s eyes lit up when he heard Lu Qing’s words, and he couldn’t help but praise him.

“Senior, thank you for your compliment. What happened next?”

Lu Qing asked, blushing.

“As you said, young master, those Xiantian realm masters whose realms had been stagnant for so long, seeing the opportunity for a breakthrough, naturally refused to give up.

So, when the spiritual energy just revived, some sects in Zhongzhou began to attack other sects, trying to seize the ancient cultivation methods.

To this end, even the Grand Elders and Xiantian masters of both sects were dispatched, killing people in a bloodbath. The bloodbath was so brutal that it caused countless deaths.”

“It was so brutal?”

Lu Qing and the old doctor were shocked. They had never expected such a large-scale conflict to break out in Zhongzhou.

“Originally, if the two sects were simply vying for the cultivation method, they wouldn’t have fought to such an extent.

Unfortunately, these two major sects are sworn enemies, with a deep-seated grudge dating back no less than hundreds of years.

In the past, under the suppression and mediation of the Holy Mountain, friction between the two sects was kept under control.

The Xiantian Realm experts on both sides rarely engaged in combat, so casualties on either side were minimal.

But this time, the cosmic shifts and the resurgence of spiritual energy have unnerved both sects.

Consequently, anger flared on both sides, leading to the tragedy.”

“I see,” Lu Qing understood.

Since the two major sects were sworn enemies, a clash was unavoidable.

After all, with the resurgence of spiritual energy, the sect possessing the ancient cultivation method holds the initiative.

If a supreme elder within a sect breaks through a bottleneck and enters a new realm,

even the Holy Mountain might not be able to suppress them. The

other sect, naturally unwilling to sit idly by, had no choice but to act decisively and launch an attack.

“Senior Xuanjizi, if that’s the case, then Zhongzhou is in chaos, isn’t it?”

Lu Qing couldn’t imagine the chaos that would have ensued if all the powerful sects in Zhongzhou had been caught up in the chaos.

“The situation isn’t quite that dire yet,” Xuanjizi said.

“After the clash between the two major sects, the Holy Mountain immediately intervened and issued a sacred decree, forbidding all other sects from slaughtering each other.

To that end, the three Holy Lords emerged from their mountain and visited each of the major sects, ultimately bringing the situation under control.”

Holy Lord?

Lu Qing pondered the title, knowing that the three Holy Lords must be incredibly powerful and exceptionally skilled.

Otherwise, how could they have so easily suppressed the restive sects?

But Lu Qing didn’t believe that the Holy Mountain could truly control the situation completely on its own.

“But Senior, this kind of forced suppression is ultimately only a temporary solution. Those sects without ancient cultivation methods won’t give up so easily, will they?”

After the spiritual energy revive, the spiritual energy between heaven and earth will become increasingly rich.

The longer it drags on, the more advantageous it will be for the sects that possess ancient cultivation methods.

Lu Qing doesn’t believe the other sects will be willing to accept this.

“Young Master, your guess is correct. Those sects certainly won’t be willing to accept this so easily.

So, to reassure these sects, Holy Mountain has made a very important decision.”

(End of this chapter)