That Golden Crow was none other than Jin Buyi. After Perfected Jade Pot descended upon the Yunmeng Marsh, it had departed the marsh as well and hurried toward Mount Jiuyi.
Perfected Jade Pot had arrived at Jiuyi a step ahead of it. Jin Buyi, trailing behind, overheard Jade Pot plotting to assassinate Xu Ying, and fury immediately surged into its heart. Drawing its sabers without another word, it hacked away.
Had Perfected Jade Pot not fled so swiftly, he might well have been chopped into mincemeat.
Seeing Perfected Jade Pot leap into the void and vanish, the old bird finally sheathed its sabers, flew up Mount Jiuyi, and landed before Xu Ying. "Little Master is back!" it exclaimed with delight. With that, streams of fire welled in its eyes, and it made as if to wipe away tears.
Xu Ying was both surprised and overjoyed. Hurriedly consoling it, he smiled and said, "Jin Buyi, on this return trip I actually planned to look for you in the sun. I never expected you to come out on your own."
Jin Buyi replied, "I feared becoming a burden to you again, so I cultivated diligently day in and day out these past days until I felt my memory had improved a bit. Only then did I hurry out to find you. Who are they?"
It looked toward Yuan Qi, Foolish A'fu, and the others with great curiosity, waiting for Xu Ying's introduction. Yuan Qi, who had just rescued the big bell from the jade pot, felt an ominous premonition upon hearing those words.
Xu Ying hesitated for a moment before saying, "He is Yuan Qi, this is Foolish A'fu, and she is Feng Xian'er. And the big bell—have you forgotten it?"
"Of course I remember!" Jin Buyi burst into hearty laughter, his voice resonant like a great bronze bell, though he sounded rather guilty.
Suspicious, Xu Ying looked and saw a small Golden Crow Primordial Spirit pop out behind the giant bird's head. Its talons held a brush and paper, scribbling something with utmost seriousness.
Xu Ying quietly activated his Heavenly Eye to peek. He saw Jin Buyi's Primordial Spirit crookedly sketching the likenesses of Yuan Qi, Foolish A'fu, Feng Xian'er, and the big bell onto the paper, meticulously writing down their names beside the drawings lest it forget them.
In its little booklet, there were already many other names and portraits.
Evidently, its habit of forgetting things had not improved much at all. Xu Ying felt both amused and touched, so he refrained from exposing it.
"You've formed a Primordial Spirit?" Xu Ying said with a touch of regret. "I have the ancestral method of the Nuo methods here, and I was planning to pass it on to you."
Jin Buyi laughed. "Just pass it to me! I am so strong, and my memory is much better now. Who knows, perhaps I can open them up as well."
It was already an adult primeval behemoth whose strength was unfathomable. Qi refinement was merely the icing on the cake, though it could significantly extend its lifespan.
If it could also cultivate the ancestral method of the Nuo methods, its lifespan would undoubtedly increase by a tremendous margin.
However, trying to teach Jin Buyi would probably prove quite a headache.
Yuan Qi, Foolish A'fu, and the others looked at Xu Ying with expressions full of sympathy. They could already envision Xu Ying's miserable life ahead—he would most likely fly into a rage while trying to teach it.
"Strange. Perfected Jade Pot descended to the mortal realm claiming he was targeting me, and he also wanted to capture the one who opened the Immortal Realm cave-heaven. That Young Master Yuchuan also wanted to capture me, and also wanted to capture the one who opened the Immortal Realm cave-heaven. Could they not be from the same faction?"
Xu Ying pondered. They ought to be two separate factions.
He recounted his experiences during this period to Foolish A'fu—from the Demon Realm invasion of the Yuanchu Great World to the revival of the Heavenly Dao in the Dao Revelation Ground, and then to the resurgence of the Great Dao in Lihen Heaven. He also described the incident at Mount Sumeru, what he had witnessed in the Yuanzheng world, and finally the recent events at Kunlun's Jade Void Palace. He told it all from beginning to end, and then looked intently at Foolish A'fu.
"There are at least four factions from the Immortal Realm contending in secret," Foolish A'fu said after some thought. "Among these four factions, one is the orthodox lineage of the Immortal Realm—likely the Celestial Venerable of the Thunder Department, representing the orthodox faction. The other three are the Imperial Monarch's faction represented by Young Master Yuchuan, another faction represented by Perfected Jade Pot, and the fourth faction represented by Weixu. Besides these, there might be a fifth or sixth faction, such as those secretly awakening the Great Daos of ancient eras—like the faction represented by God King Xuankong. However, it is even more likely that these factions overlap."
Xu Ying asked, "Then whose faction did you belong to back then, A'fu?"
Foolish A'fu shot him a glance and said, "Since I drove the Netherworld's invasion, I should belong to Perfected Jade Pot's faction. The power behind Perfected Jade Pot must be connected to the fall of the Four Emperors of the Netherworld back then, and those abyss watchers also follow Perfected Jade Pot's commands."
Xu Ying smiled. "You wished to join Perfected Jade Pot, but he might not have thought much of you."
Foolish A'fu was so incensed that multi-hued radiance overflowed from the hole in his head. He stammered, "Perfected Jade Pot merely caught me off guard! If I had known he was descending to the mortal realm, I certainly would have plotted against him until his death and never given him a chance to escape!"
Xu Ying ceased prodding him and smiled. "You excel at utilizing every force at your disposal. Are you interested in coming out of seclusion to assist me and the Ancestral Court?"
Foolish A'fu said, "My heart is dead..."
Xu Ying chuckled. "Nonsense. What died was clearly your brain."
With a darkened expression, Foolish A'fu rose to leave. Xu Ying called out in a hurry, "Hey, hey, I haven't finished speaking! Why are you walking away?"
Yuan Qi whispered, "Ah Ying, don't you think you hurt his self-esteem?"
Xu Ying said leisurely, "Of course I know. In the past, his heart was like dead ashes; he had neither self-esteem nor self-respect. Now that he has self-esteem and knows self-respect, it means he has come back to life. Severe illnesses require potent medicine. With this dose of strong medicine, he will surely bounce back full of vigor to help me."
Yuan Qi looked unconvinced.
At that moment, the big bell's shout rang out: "Ah Ying, what should we do with these immortal artifacts from Perfected Jade Pot?"
Xu Ying walked over. The big bell and Jin Buyi were sorting through the items dropped by Perfected Jade Pot. Perfected Jade Pot had truly been armed to the teeth on this trip; the large and small immortal artifacts and immortal weapons on his person numbered as many as four to five hundred!
This Perfected One was an Immortal King of the Immortal Realm with immense dharmic power, extraordinary divine abilities, and astonishing wealth.
Xu Ying casually picked up a jade pendant and examined it, his brow furrowing. Perfected Jade Pot was proficient in spatial Dao methods and had created the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture; he had concealed his imprint deep within this treasure, making it extremely difficult to locate and refine away. Mastering these immortal artifacts would be exceedingly troublesome.
These treasures required Yuan Qi's Diamond Snare to suppress them constantly lest they escape.
"Mother Insect, I leave these immortal artifacts to you," Xu Ying instructed.
The Mother Insect on his shoulder flew out, and with a shake of its body, thousands of immortal insects surged forth. They pounced upon the immortal artifacts and began gnawing. Before long, they had devoured most of the immortal artifacts, leaving only two jade pots.
These two immortal pots were treasures that Perfected Jade Pot had painstakingly refined. One was of superior quality, while the other was slightly inferior.
The power of the jade pots was extraordinary. Once activated, they had even swallowed the anomalous treasures Xu Ying had refined from his four great realms. Among those four treasures, three were heavy treasures refined by Immortal Kings, and one was a Heavenly Dao supreme treasure capable of refining stars and devouring all creation—yet none had escaped the jade pot's collection.
Xu Ying was greatly tempted by the jade pots. Although a jade pot could not compare to the Diamond Snare, there were things the Diamond Snare could not collect, whereas the jade pot swallowed everything without exception.
More importantly, the jade pot carried far less karma. One needed only to slay Perfected Jade Pot to sever the karmic tie completely.
The karma bound to the Diamond Snare was simply too heavy; though enviable, one's life was constantly on the line.
Xu Ying was also proficient in the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture and even possessed certain insights that exceeded Perfected Jade Pot's own, yet ferreting out the exact location where Jade Pot had concealed his imprint remained immensely difficult.
At that moment, Foolish A'fu walked over and said, "Leave the jade pot to me to refine. I have the confidence to find every imprint Perfected Jade Pot hid within this treasure."
Xu Ying tossed the jade pot to him and smiled. "Didn't you refine this treasure before? Why was it still taken away by Perfected Jade Pot?"
Foolish A'fu said, "In the past, I did not refine it with my heart, but merely handed it to Feng Xian'er to refine. But now, I am serious."
A radiance unlike before emanated from his body, and his eyes shone brightly.
Toying with the slightly inferior jade pot, Xu Ying chuckled. "I am very pleased to see you rally your spirits. Yuanshou is too small; it is no place for you to display your talents. A'fu, you should go to a much broader world to put your abilities to work!"
Foolish A'fu activated the four-character runes of Prison, Stockade, Cage, and Snare, binding the jade pot, and said, "Rest assured, I will head to the Ancestral Court."
Xu Ying smiled faintly. Summoning the big bell, Jin Buyi, and Yuan Qi, he said, "I will visit a few old friends and then leave Yuanshou. I hope to see you in the Ancestral Court."
Foolish A'fu watched him depart into the distance, then turned to Feng Xian'er and said, "Pack your things. We are preparing to leave."
Feng Xian'er said in surprise, "Where to? This is the Jiuyi Sect, our sect!"
Foolish A'fu replied, "We are going to the Ancestral Court, which others call the Demon Realm. If you are willing, cross the sea with me; I have been there before. If you cannot bear to leave the Jiuyi Sect, then stay behind."
Feng Xian'er hesitated for a moment, then said, "Wait for me!"
She returned to the palace within the divine parasol tree, gathered her things, and summoned a golden-winged roc. Handing over the sect master's token, she said, "From this day forward, you are the sect master of the Jiuyi Sect."
That golden-winged roc was a rare beast whose primeval bloodline had been awakened by Feng Xian'er. Born formidable, it had cultivated alongside her, and was left stunned by her words.
"Our sect's techniques are called the Gourd Heaven Dao Verification Scripture and the Heavenly Demon World-Shaking Canon. I have left them all in the palace. Cultivate them on your own, and do not cultivate them incorrectly!"
Feng Xian'er flew down from the parasol tree in high spirits and said to Foolish A'fu, "I'm ready. Let's go!"
Foolish A'fu gazed toward the desolate grave beneath the parasol tree, lit a few sticks of incense before it, and murmured softly, "I can no longer keep you company, Fellow Daoist." Turning around, he departed alongside Feng Xian'er.
Xu Ying arrived at the nearest location, Leek Ridge on Mount Jiulong, where he chatted with Xue Ying'an, exchanging insights on Dao methods and divine abilities. Speaking of their past experiences, both felt a twinge of wistfulness.
Although Xue Ying'an held the esteemed position of Mount Jiulong's sect master, his cultivation could not match those of sects with long-standing heritages. Despite his diligent and arduous cultivation over the years, he still could not be considered a top-tier expert.
The heritage Li Xiaoke had left behind was already struggling to keep up with the times.
However, the big bell quietly approached Xue Ying'an and said, "I've been cultivating alongside Ah Ying and secretly memorized a great deal, imprinting it all upon my bell walls. Seize this chance and copy it down quickly."
Inexpressibly moved, Xue Ying'an said, "Martial Uncle Bell, I..."
"I told you to copy, so copy quickly!" the big bell urged.
Suppressing the emotion in his heart, Xue Ying'an hurriedly transcribed the various immortal Dao runes and Heavenly Dao runes from the bell's walls. Among them were also Dao patterns the big bell had transcribed from the Ancestral Court, which he recorded as well. The big bell knew Li Xiaoke's heritage lagged behind others; although it was an imitation treasure refined by Li Xiaoke, it harbored the sentiment of a master toward a disciple when it came to Xue Ying'an, which was why it was determined to help him succeed.
On the day Xu Ying took his leave, he presented his own transcription of the ancestral method of the six secret depositories to Xue Ying'an, smiling. "No need to see me off, Fellow Daoist Xue. Should the chance arise in the future, we will naturally meet again."
Yuan Qi soared into the sky, carrying Xu Ying toward the Golden Summit of Mount Emei.
Seeing his arrival, Yan Kongcheng hurriedly lowered Mount Emei's mountain-protecting immortal artifact. He feared that if the immortals of Emei in the Immortal Realm learned Xu Ying was here, they might allow the immortal artifact to harm him, which was why he took the risk to lower it.
As Xu Ying ascended the mountain, Yan Kongcheng was eager to test himself, smiling. "Fellow Daoist Xu, back then we were evenly matched, neither yielding to the other. Not having met for so many years, why not spar a bit?"
Xu Ying smiled faintly. "Gladly!"
Behind him, three great Immortal King treasures and one Heavenly Dao supreme treasure manifested, while two great cave-heavens descended from the heavens, linking directly to his physical body.
Seeing this, Yan Kongcheng straightened his face and said solemnly, "You and I are old friends of many years. Resorting to fighting the moment we meet—wouldn't that hurt our friendship? Hurry and put your treasures away!"
Xu Ying laughed heartily. He lingered on the Golden Summit of Mount Emei for several days, personally teaching Yan Kongcheng the ancestral method of the six secret depositories before taking his leave.
He returned to the Mount Shu Sword Sect. Having already received word, Shi Yuqing came out to welcome him, saying, "I heard the Supreme Elder has returned to Yuanshou. How is it that your first stop wasn't the Sword Sect?"
Xu Ying laughed. "Does the Sword Sect still acknowledge me as Supreme Elder? Aren't you afraid the founding master of the Sword Sect will rebel and defect overnight?"
Shi Yuqing could not help chuckling. "Let him flee if he wishes—what does that have to do with me? All I know is that you gave our Sword Sect a new lease on life!"
Xu Ying entered the Sword Sect and stayed for a few days as well. He sparred in swordsmanship and exchanged insights on the sword Dao with Shi Yuqing. Though styled a spar, he was in truth imparting the sword Dao he had comprehended over the years.
As for how much Shi Yuqing could grasp in these few days, that would depend on her own fortune.
Before departing, Xu Ying also taught her the six ancestral methods and waved goodbye.
With a complex expression, Shi Yuqing stood beneath the gates of the Sword Sect, waving to him from afar. She knew that once he left, he would rarely return. That thread of infatuation she had bound to him would likely vanish like an illusion, forever impossible.
Xu Ying departed, taking her longing with him.
In Shendu, Luoyang.
Guo Xiaodie leaped up and delivered a heavy punch to Xu Ying's chest. Her eyes rimmed red, she snapped petulantly, "You finally deigned to come back and see me! If you took any longer, this lady would have been married off! What about Yuan Weiyang? Have you married her yet?"
Rubbing his chest, Xu Ying chuckled. "Not yet. Things between her and me are a bit complicated."
*Thump!*
Guo Xiaodie threw another fierce punch into his chest, saying fiercely, "If you don't marry her, I'll marry her myself! This lady has never stopped thinking about her!"
***
Meanwhile, Perfected Jade Pot sped along like wind and lightning, fleeing desperately until he finally evaded the saber radiance of Jin Buyi's divine sabers.
He came to a halt, completely naked, his back dripping with blood.
The treasures on his person, including his Realm of Xiyi, had been stripped bare by the Diamond Snare, leaving him without even a stitch of clothing to wear.
The old man paid it no mind at all, pondering, "That large serpent beside Xu Ying possesses an extraordinarily formidable treasure. I nearly failed to escape. Just what is the origin of that artifact?"
Right at that moment, the stars beyond the heavens swayed, and the sky trembled incessantly like meat jelly. Looking up, Perfected Jade Pot saw two ancient God Kings peel away from that jelly-like sky and descend upon Yuanshou.
"Xuankong, Xuantian, why have you come?" Perfected Jade Pot cried out in astonishment.
Seeing Perfected Jade Pot, the two God Kings were likewise dumbfounded. They saw Perfected Jade Pot stark naked, completely bare, his back a mangled mess of flesh and blood, having clearly suffered an unknown ordeal.
*Could descending to the mortal realm require not only severing one's cultivation realm, but also stripping down completely naked before descending?* both God Kings wondered inwardly.
Chapter 401