"It really smells like daphne and orchid, and there's a sweet, milky scent too!" Xu Ying sniffed his hand again.
Yuan Qi sneered, "Disgusting!"
Xu Ying turned apologetically to Yuan Weiyang. "Brother Yuan, before I could even thank you for helping me on the road, I ended up dragging you into this mess. I truly feel terrible about it."
Yuan Weiyang shook his head. "I came looking for you in the first place, so of course I would lend a hand. As for being kept here by the ancestor of the Zhou clan, that has nothing to do with you. I only came because I saw another sudden upheaval at Shuikou Temple and couldn't resist my curiosity. You already warned me; it was simply my own poor luck."
Xu Ying smiled. "I was really happy that you came to catch fish with me."
"I came to discuss the subtleties of cultivating and circulating divine sense," Yuan Weiyang corrected him with a shake of his head, "not to catch fish."
Xu Ying continued heedlessly, "We could also dig for loaches together. Have you ever caught river prawns? You have to be careful when you grab them—creep up slowly, then strike fast, or else they'll flick backward right out of your hands and slap you in the face."
Standing nearby, the green-robed old servant Uncle Xiao wore a look of deep worry. Seeing Yuan Weiyang's eyes sparkle with obvious intrigue, his heart sank.
*You little brat!*
He wanted nothing more than to give the boy a piece of his mind, but Zhou Qiyun was right there. Before the most powerful being in the world today, he did not dare make a scene.
The Yuan clan's lineage was withered and sparse. By Yuan Weiyang's generation, hardly any children had survived to adulthood; this ancient family was on the verge of being erased from history. Uncle Xiao was naturally terrified for Yuan Weiyang's safety, and the last thing he wanted was for the boy to get too close to dangerous elements.
A moment later, auspicious clouds coiled through the sky, revealing glimpses of dragons writhing in the mist. When they drew near, it turned out to be a magnificent carriage drawn by four divine dragons.
These were Dragon Gods, suffused with a heavy aura of incense. They were likely carved from wood or stone and, after centuries of veneration and offerings, had gained the ability to ride the mists and summon clouds.
Zhou Qiyun stepped aboard the carriage. Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang followed behind him. Though the carriage did not seem large from the outside, the interior was remarkably spacious. Yuan Qi lowered his head as he slithered inside, surprised to find that he had more than enough room even if he stretched out completely.
*Could this be a magic artifact?* the snake thought to himself.
The four divine dragons took flight upon the clouds, pulling the carriage swiftly into the distance.
Xu Ying pulled back the carriage curtain to look outside. Wisps of white vapor swirled around them as the carriage flew through the dense fog. The moisture was heavy, and before long, the interior grew damp.
Water constantly dripped from the bodies of the four divine dragons as well. Occasionally, arcs of lightning from the clouds struck their hides, setting off bursts of fiery sparks. Every time this happened, the scent of burning incense filled the air.
To keep the carriage from getting too soaked, Xu Ying closed the window and looked out through the glazed pane instead.
As the carriage broke through the clouds, a breathtaking expanse of mountains and rivers suddenly rose before his eyes. A majestic peak ten thousand fathoms high thrust into the sky like a sheared cliff. Within the mountains, some terrifying creature let out a sequence of roars, unleashing waves of visible sound that rippled outward!
The incense aura surrounding the four divine dragons was noticeably scattered by the shockwaves. Their bodies wobbled, the clouds beneath their feet drifted apart in disarray, and the carriage jounced violently.
Zhou Qiyun let out a soft grunt. The sound was quiet, but lightning and thunder suddenly clashed violently within that magnificent mountain, as if an invisible giant had smashed a fist straight into the origin of the roar, rattling the entire valley.
The roaring abruptly ceased.
Yuan Qi marveled, "The White-Browed Ancestor is truly overbearing! My grandfather lost to him, and he had no right to feel wronged!"
Xu Ying gazed out the window. The four divine dragons pulled the carriage around the massive peak and flew through the gorge between two mountains. Below flowed a brilliant river, resembling a shimmering silver ribbon under the sunlight.
Faintly, he seemed to catch sight of fish-dragons leaping from the water.
The landscape was like a painting, magnificent as an epic hymn.
The four dragons pulled the carriage for countless li, yet they still saw no sign of human cities. A chilling thought suddenly struck Xu Ying: *Just how big is this new territory?*
Why hadn't they seen Lingling City after flying for so long?
He had not even spotted the Xiang River or the Xiao River. Moreover, Yongzhou City was supposed to be nearby, yet why was Yongzhou nowhere in sight?
He looked as far as his eyes could see, but found only towering mountains thrusting into the clouds. A twinge of panic crept into his heart; not a single place here was familiar to him!
"When I first entered the new territory, it had already grown to roughly eight hundred li along both banks of the Nai River," Zhou Qiyun remarked, looking out the window. "I do not know how much more it has grown during this time."
Ahead, an enormous, towering tree came into view. Its crown soared above the surrounding mountains, with clouds drifting beneath its branches.
Xu Ying caught sight of the Nai River once more. This colossal tree grew at a sharp bend in the river; in fact, the waterway had altered its course entirely because of it.
"It's a locust tree!" Yuan Qi squeezed his large head against the window, pressing his eyes against the lattice to peer outside, immediately recognizing the species.
Xu Ying stared wide-eyed. A locust tree of this size was something he had never seen or heard of in his life!
"Trees are born immortals. As long as their trunks do not wither or break, and their roots are not devoured by rot or insects, they can live on forever. This tree is no exception," Zhou Qiyun said with deep feeling. "This great locust has grown for who knows how many ages; it can truly be called a Locust Immortal of the mortal world. Even though it grows in a place as unsuitable as the Netherworld, it has survived through the ages because no one has ever felled it, becoming an immortal plant. It is also known as the Yang Locust, the most yang and unyielding entity in the entire Netherworld. Here, a hundred ghosts cannot invade! You can sense its spirit."
Hearing this, Xu Ying released his divine sense. Sure enough, he sensed an ancient consciousness slowly stirring within the colossal locust tree—thick, deep, ancient, and vast.
He could not tell what the great locust was murmuring. Perhaps it was merely a meaningless chant, or perhaps it was expounding its own insights into life and the Great Dao. For an ancient living entity such as this, spoken language seemed to have lost all meaning.
Clusters of locust blossoms hung in abundance from the branches. It was mid-spring, the season for them to bloom. Golden blossoms covered the entire canopy, on the verge of opening, yet their fragrance was already drifting through the air.
Catching a whiff of the scent, Xu Ying felt the primordial qi within his body unconsciously rise!
*This is definitely a supreme ground for cultivation! Once the locust flowers are in full bloom, the worldly primordial qi here will surely be even richer!*
The dragon carriage flew straight toward the locust tree. When they arrived beneath its canopy, Xu Ying discovered an ancient palace complex nestled there, with Zhou clan disciples bustling in and out. Arriving before the main hall, Xu Ying looked up and saw characters carved in bird-and-worm seal script.
*Huaihua Palace blessed land,* Xu Ying read silently to himself, keeping his thoughts to himself.
This was an archaic script that even the bronze bell could not read; he felt it was best not to show off in front of Zhou Qiyun.
Ancient predecessors had likely discovered that cultivating under this great locust tree yielded twice the results with half the effort, and had therefore treated it as a grotto-heaven and blessed land, erecting this palace here.
Yet for some unknown reason, those ancients had abandoned the Huaihua Palace. Now that the new territory had emerged, experts from the Zhou clan had located it and turned it into an outpost for exploring the new territory.
*So why did the ancients abandon this place?* Xu Ying wondered in bewilderment. *With such dense worldly primordial qi, it is a blessed land that anyone would fight tooth and nail to claim. Even if it was located in the Netherworld, an underworld deity or a powerful being of the Netherworld should have occupied it instead of leaving it vacant.*
The dragon carriage descended gently. Attendants had already thrown open the palace gates, and led by the four divine dragons, the carriage drove into the Huaihua Palace.
Zhou Qiyun stepped down from the carriage and instructed an old servant who came forward to greet him: "Buyi, take Young Master Xu and Young Master Yuan to study Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture."
As Xu Ying and Yuan Weiyang stepped off the dragon carriage, the old servant named Buyi bowed slightly. "Young masters, please follow me."
The green-robed old servant Uncle Xiao cast a lingering glance at him. He could tell that this servant's cultivation was unfathomably deep; he was the head steward of the Zhou clan's inner manor, who had been bestowed the Zhou surname and was known as Zhou Buyi.
Xu Ying immediately activated the Taiyi Guiding Technique. An exotic floral fragrance rolled toward him from the sky, laden with rich primordial qi. It coalesced in midair into a mu of Dao field, from which Dao seeds flew steadily into Xu Ying's body.
Seeing this, Yuan Qi also began circulating the Great Sun Guiding Technique. Feeling his cultivation steadily climbing, he marveled inwardly: *Anywhere else, I could only cultivate for a brief spell in the morning, but under this great locust tree, I can cultivate day and night without stopping! What a pity the blossoms only stay in bloom for less than half a month.*
Still, even half a month here was equivalent to an entire year of cultivation outside. What was more, the peak of the blossoming had not even arrived yet!
Furthermore, the primordial qi contained within the locust blossoms was almost entirely pure yang, sparing them countless steps of refining and purifying qi.
Seeing the boy and the snake cultivating so brazenly, the old servant Zhou Buyi sneered inwardly: *Monster cultivators!*
Yuan Weiyang looked up in astonishment at the mu of Dao field above Xu Ying's head, quickly discerning its brilliance. "Demon King Xu, your technique is quite extraordinary. Watching you cultivate, it seems entirely different from other monster cultivators, almost as if it's another remarkably exceptional path altogether."
Xu Ying replied, "This is the seed-planting method. I comprehended it by accident. If you'd like to learn, I can teach you."
Yuan Weiyang thought for a moment, then said, "I will need to ask my mother before I can give you an answer."
Xu Ying was utterly puzzled, unable to fathom why learning a seed-planting method required asking one's parents.
Uncle Xiao, however, felt a jolt in his chest. *Is Weiyang planning to exchange cultivation arts with him? Only an affair as momentous as exchanging techniques requires consulting the matriarch! But how could the Yuan clan's techniques be shown to outsiders so lightly? What kind of seed-planting method could possibly compare to the Yuan clan's ancestral arts?*
He eyed Xu Ying with deep suspicion. *Little swindler! If I weren't by the young master's side, our clan's techniques would probably have been conned right out of him!*
Xu Ying followed Zhou Buyi into a great hall. Inside were men and women, young and old, standing, sitting, or reclining in a myriad of postures.
One person had sprouted three heads and six arms, stretching his necks extremely long as he cradled three books before and behind him, holding three brushes and frantically writing and sketching as he stared at the texts.
Another had grown extra eyes on his forehead and the palms of his hands, seemingly trying to inspect the scriptures floating in the air from bizarre angles.
Yet another lay fast asleep with his head thrown back, snoring like thunder. From his mind, divine sense drifted out, floating in the air like bubbles. His soul sat within one of the bubbles, staring at the hovering scriptures and testing out various cultivation arts again and again.
Around another cultivator, books and manuscripts were piled up like mountains, surrounding him completely. He had eighteen arms, constantly flipping through ancient texts and cross-referencing the scriptures.
Some had worried themselves gray-haired, some muttered deliriously in madness, while others pulled their hair out in handfuls, already bald.
Suddenly, someone burst into raucous laughter, crying out, "I've comprehended it! I've comprehended it!"
Immediately afterward, he began vomiting mouthfuls of blood. Someone slapped him across the face, barking, "You brute, what did you comprehend?" Only then did he snap back to his senses.
The scriptures floating in midair consisted of individual sheets of golden paper inscribed with handwritten script. Judging by the handwriting, it belonged to a woman, looking exceptionally elegant.
These golden pages radiated a faint glow, projecting the words into the air for everyone in the hall to study.
Yuan Qi was thrilled beyond measure. He turned to Xu Ying and said, "There are books to read here! I already finished every book in my home over the last century! I'm well-read, so if there's anything you don't understand, just ask me!"
The old servant Buyi said, "Young Master Xu, Young Master Yuan, these writings are the contents of Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture."
Xu Ying looked up. The contents of Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture began with foundational guiding arts, progressing through gathering qi, knocking on the pass, cross-refining, the second pass knocking, the Multistoried Pavilion, the Jade Pool, the Divine Bridge, the third pass knocking, and finally ascension.
This was a complete set of monster race cultivation techniques!
Beyond that, there were other sections, which appeared to be magical arts, divine abilities, elixir formulas, and commentaries.
*What is there to decipher about this?* Xu Ying was thoroughly perplexed.
To his eyes, Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture laid out every cultivation step with crystalline clarity, detailing precisely how each stage should be practiced. As long as one followed it step by step, there shouldn't be any major problems.
Yet inside this hall, a host of talented figures from the Zhou clan were exhausting themselves to gray-haired senility, bitterly agonizing over its comprehension and scouring countless ancient texts, as if it were an impenetrable mystery.
*Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture is a qi refinement technique meant for women. If a man cultivates it, he will likely lose his primordial yang first.*
After a quick skim, Xu Ying caught the issue. If a man practiced Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture, before long all of his primordial yang would be drained away, transmuting into primordial yin and leaving him with the face of a man and the body of a woman.
For a woman, however, there would be no problem at all; in fact, her progress would be astonishingly swift. It was just that certain parts of the technique were vaguely phrased, almost as if incomplete.
He also glanced through the magical arts and divine abilities in the scripture. Most of them were techniques that could only be unleashed in tandem with the cultivation art; without learning the core art, one could hardly bring out their true power.
Yuan Weiyang, however, was keenly interested in Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture, reading it meticulously from the very beginning.
Xu Ying sidled up beside him and whispered, "Brother Yuan, this is a technique meant for women. Men can't cultivate it."
Yuan Weiyang whispered back, "I feel this technique suits me quite well, and seems to complement my Yuan clan's Nuo arts."
With a darkened expression, Uncle Xiao materialized behind them and reached out to pry the two apart. "Young Master, your heads are practically touching. Mind your manners."
At that moment, Xu Ying noticed another dozen or so elderly men with snow-white hair seated in the center of the hall. Instead of looking at the hovering scriptures, they were fixated on a piece of emerald bamboo floating above an altar in the middle of the room.
It was a green jade slip.
The slip was about a foot long, verdant and translucent, as if sculpted from exquisite jade, yet looking just like freshly sprouted bamboo. One could almost smell a faint, elusive bamboo fragrance wafting from it.
A single column of characters was carved into this jade bamboo, written in bird-and-worm seal script!
Xu Ying's heart pounded violently. *This is the real Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture! No, that's not right. The characters on this jade bamboo don't say Granny Tuo's Immortal Scripture—they read Taiyin Primordial Nurturing Technique!*
Chapter 48