"Our Meng Family has always been dedicated to delivering people from dire straits. There's really no need to thank me over such a trivial matter."
When the war ended a hundred thousand years ago, the Falling Coin Chamber of Commerce didn't even exist yet. As one of the two great clans contending for supremacy under the heavens, the Meng Family had been the supreme power of that era, rivaled only by the imperial court.
The imperial court had never purged the Meng Family, nor had it ever clipped their wings, which demonstrated the immense trust the court placed in them.
"Speaking of which, what really happened back then during the battle between your Meng Family ancestor and the First-Generation Emperor Xia? How did your ancestor lose, and what cultivation stages were they at?" Li Haoran asked. Everyone was deeply curious about this piece of history.
Meng Jingzhou shook his head. "Don't look at me. I honestly have no idea. Never mind me—even my father and grandfather don't know what happened.
"You'd get more reliable answers asking Eldest Senior Sister than asking me."
At once, everyone waved their hands, claiming they weren't curious after all.
What a joke! Who would dare question Eldest Senior Sister over trivia? If it were a question about cultivation, that would be one thing. But if anyone disturbed her just to satisfy petty curiosity, they would likely be hurled from the summit of Tianmen Peak all the way down to the foot of the mountain.
"I actually know a little something about that," Man Gu said hesitantly.
"You do?"
"Yeah. The Barbarian clan had an ancestor at the Tribulation Transcendence stage who served by the First-Generation Emperor Xia's side and witnessed the battle between the Meng Family ancestor and the emperor. That ancestor left written records about it. However, it's considered a clan secret, so I'm not qualified to read the original text; I only heard about it from the clan chief."
Although the Barbarian clan wasn't as mighty as the Meng Family, when it came to depth of history, only a handful of great clans in the Demon Domain could rival them.
Man Gu continued, "Judging by their military might at the time, the Meng Family was actually stronger. And in a one-on-one duel, the Meng Family ancestor also had the higher chance of winning. I do believe both sides chose not to deploy their armies in an all-out showdown to avoid unnecessary casualties, but what our clan chief couldn't figure out was why the First-Generation Emperor Xia ended up the victor.
"In any case, the First-Generation Emperor Xia won, and the two sides made an agreement during the fight: the victor would not punish the defeated. Judging by Brother Meng's family today, that agreement has held true all the way to the present."
Before long, Bai Ming led the five of them to another area and leapt into a deep pit. "This is the Earth Vein."
Stepping onto the Earth Vein brought a feeling of solid, grounded heaviness, as though one's entire body merged into the earth itself. Clearly, the soil of the Earth Vein was no ordinary dirt.
"The Earth Vein is renowned for defense. Once a practitioner masters its techniques to great attainment, so long as their feet touch the earth, an endless wellspring of power surges forth."
"Doesn't that mean an opponent just needs to fight in the air?"
Bai Ming shook his head with a smug smile. If a countermeasure were that easy to find, how could the Earth Vein have maintained its standing in the Five Elements Sect?
He pointed up toward the ground two or three meters above their heads. "Do you know what this place is?"
"Isn't it a pit?" Man Gu asked, bewildered.
"Leap out and you'll see."
Hearing this, the group sprang up, easily clearing the hollow.
Reaching midair, they looked down at the depression, and their pupils contracted in shock.
That was no mere pit—it was clearly a footprint!
Glancing across the landscape, they saw identical "pits" scattered everywhere across the Earth Vein!
"Cultivators of the Earth Vein never bother fighting in the sky. They learn the Law Phenomenon of Heaven and Earth and Size Manipulation to enlarge their bodies. As long as they can reach their enemy, why would they ever need to fly?"
Lu Yang felt that the cultivation methods of the Earth Vein suited him down to the ground.
"Make way, please! Don't stand beside the footprint!" a voice called from the distance.
Hearing the shout, Bai Ming hurried to jump clear.
The moment he bounded away, the ground swelled upward. The firmly packed soil turned soft, and the pit was leveled flush by a spell.
"Senior Brother Kong, you nearly buried me!" Bai Ming complained to the owner of the voice.
"Well, you didn't get buried, did you?" The voice's owner strode over—a two-meter-tall giant built like an iron tower.
"Who are these five?" Senior Brother Kong asked, noticing Lu Yang and the other newcomers.
"They're guests from the Dao Seeking Sect."
Bai Ming turned to the guests. "This is Senior Brother Kong Ling, the Eldest Senior Brother of the Earth Vein. He's currently contemplating the boundary between the Void Refining stage and the Body Integration stage, trying to achieve a breakthrough. Those footprints you just saw were all left by him."
"Greetings, Senior Brother Kong Ling."
"Good to meet you all. How's Old Dai doing? Is he still in the Mission Hall?"
"The Great Elder is frequently away, so Senior Brother Dai has taken over all affairs of the Mission Hall."
"Old Dai really has unmatched talent. He's already reached the Body Integration stage, while I'm still a step behind," Kong Ling said with evident envy.
As he spoke, Kong Ling's aura plummeted from completely undetectable down to the readily observable Foundation Establishment stage, before soaring straight back up to a realm Lu Yang and his companions could not fathom.
*This kid is about to break through to the Body Integration stage,* the Immortal Fairy concluded.
Bidding farewell to Senior Brother Kong Ling, the six proceeded to the Wood Vein. Similar to the Dao Seeking Sect's Herb Garden, the Wood Vein was a sanctuary for cultivating spirit herbs. Lush and green, it radiated a subtle, wonderful aura that gave anyone standing there a light, buoyant sensation.
Groves of trees thrived, vibrant with life, like an eternal spring day.
Towering giants reached into the firmament, blotting out the sky so thoroughly that their canopies seemed boundless, the treetops concealed behind thick foliage as if guarding ancient secrets.
"The hallmark of the Wood Vein is vitality, granting formidable regenerative powers. In that respect, it's somewhat similar to the Nirvana True Fire Brother Meng commands."
"Have the little ones from the Dao Seeking Sect arrived?" A girl's cheerful voice floated down from a giant tree.
She somersaulted down from a branch and landed gracefully on the ground, a twig still dangling from her mouth.
It was none other than the very person Old Ba had come to the Five Elements Sect to find—Shangguan Yu.
"Not bad, kid! Your cultivation is rock-solid." Shangguan Yu patted Lu Yang's shoulder. Ever since her last visit to the Dao Seeking Sect, she had taken a keen interest in this youngster who had managed to become acting sect master.
After a parting of more than a year, Lu Yang's rate of growth had far exceeded her expectations.
"Greetings, Ancestor Shangguan." Lu Yang and the others dared not show any disrespect. After all, this woman was Sect Master Qiu's elder.
Hearing herself addressed as "Ancestor," Shangguan Yu frowned, looking rather displeased. "Ancestor? Do I look that old to you? Call me Elder Sister!"
Lu Yang and his companions wouldn't dare. Even if they managed to satisfy Shangguan Yu, they certainly wouldn't survive Qiu Jin'an's reaction.
"Call me Elder Sister, and Big Sister will give you something nice."
Shangguan Yu produced a small wooden plaque humming with vibrant life force. The moment the Immortal Fairy saw it, her eyes lit up, and she urged Lu Yang urgently.
*Lu Yang, hurry up and call her that! That's a genuine treasure!*
Caught in a pincer between Shangguan Yu in front and the Immortal Fairy behind, Lu Yang had no choice but to cave. Risking his life, he obediently said:
"Elder Sister Shangguan."
Shangguan Yu beamed with delight. Rising on tiptoe, she patted Lu Yang on the head. "Good boy. This talisman is yours."
Lu Yang successfully obtained the wooden plaque.
*Fairy, what on earth is this wooden plaque?* Lu Yang could only sense its flourishing life force, but he couldn't tell what tree it came from.
*Jianmu.*
Chapter 536