Chapter 286: 181, Return to East Huangzhou
After receiving the Gangsha Vein and the Heavenly Flame Liquid from Yan Xiling's hand, Xu Xing saw that Yan Xiling didn't intend to instruct him further, so he got up and prepared to say goodbye.
Yan Xiling agreed.
However, as Xu Xing just walked to the door of the hall, Yan Xiling transmitted a message through divine sense, asking him to stay and said softly:
"After becoming an Outer Hall Elder in the Immeasurable Sect, you will be given a hundred years of seclusion. Once the hundred years are over, the sect will issue tasks, mostly to guard threatening locations near the Silver Ring Zhai's power..."
"Junior Brother Chang, remember this. It's not that our Immeasurable Sect is being stingy... Even people's fingers have different lengths, and someone always has to guard the dangerous places..."
"Without any surprises, Sect Master Gu should arrange for you to go to Lingbo Mountain. That is the frontline of the battle with Silver Ring Zhai."
"However, Junior Brother Chang has good aptitude and has also joined my Golden Rainbow Valley. If you consider marrying a female cultivator from my Yan family, you would truly become one of our own..."
Toward the end, Yan Xiling threw out a Hundred Beauties Picture and gave it to Xu Xing.
The portraits on the picture were of suitable-aged female cultivators from the Yan family, all with stunning beauty.
Moreover, these female cultivators' aptitudes were quite decent. Although they couldn't compare to Xu Xing's immortal genius, most of them were around the Immortal Foundation Middle Stage.
"Pulling me in while also subtly threatening me..."
Xu Xing stopped, slightly sighing as he flipped through the Hundred Beauties Picture.
Whether in the mortal world or in the cultivation world, people like to use marriage to bring powerful people closer together. At this time, Yan Xiling's approach was no exception.
Compared to other exchanges of interests, marriage is indeed the most straightforward and effective way of drawing people in.
Spouses accompany each other day and night... Even plants would gradually be moved by that idea.
Cultivation aristocratic families may lack resources, artifacts, cave mansions, and so on, but they certainly don't lack mediocre-talented and beautiful female cultivators.
For these female cultivators, a marriage alliance is also a good thing. With a talented husband to support them and the backing of their family, it's a win-win situation...
The marrying, the married, and the cultivation families all win.
In the fate deduction, his marriage to the Gong family and becoming Daoist partners with Zuoqiu Ying from Nanhua Sect was not a coincidence but inevitable.
"If I really wanted to marry, I would have made a choice during the time at the Flying Feather Immortal Palace..."
Xu Xing shook his head secretly.
The Yan family only has the backing of a single Golden Rainbow Ancestor who is merely a Nascent Soul Daoist Lord. While the Gong family of the Flying Feather Immortal Palace has a Primordial Spirit True Monarch.
If it truly came to the point where he had no choice but to marry, he would definitely choose the Gong family from Flying Feather Immortal Palace and the Zuoqiu Clan from Nanhua Sect.
He did not oppose marriage alliances.
It's just that marrying the Yan family at this time didn't seem to bring many benefits.
"Before the task approaches, I will give an answer to Uncle Yan."
Xu Xing didn't outright refuse, leaving room for himself to maneuver.
He had been in secluded cultivation for twenty-two years, and there were still seventy-eight years left in the hundred-year term. After seventy-eight years, he might not necessarily be a mere Returning Core Cultivator anymore.
According to fate deduction, he would probably spend about a hundred years in the Returning Core Realm before reaching the Dao Pill Realm.
Once he became a Dao Pill cultivator, the heavens and the earth would let him roam freely. He wouldn't be hindered by the Immeasurable Sect or even the Golden Rainbow Valley's Yan family.
"As you wish..."
Yan Xiling didn't think too much and slightly nodded, transmitting through divine sense, "If you become a son-in-law of the Yan family, you wouldn't be unable to come see your senior sister."
As the words fell, Yan Xiling carefully observed Xu Xing's manner and expression after hearing them. She saw that his face was slightly astonished, so she giggled, laughter like the trembling of flower branches.
"Uncle Yan..."
"I take my leave."
Xu Xing couldn't handle Yan Xiling's "crazed words", and didn't dare to linger in the Golden Rainbow Hall any longer. So, he quickly bowed and left for the hall's exit.
In the world of cultivating immortality, strength is respected. High-level cultivators treat low-level cultivators with arrogance.
In the Immeasurable Sect, he was just an Outer Hall Elder. Unlike in the Flying Feather Immortal Palace, where he had a prestigious status as a First-Class True Disciple.
Yan Xiling was a Dao Pill Daoist and jokingly said a few words to him, which was within reason.
Nobody would make a big deal out of this little matter and blame Yan Xiling for it.
At this moment, a clear voice came from outside the hall.
A handsome young man in a white robe walked toward the Golden Rainbow Hall.
The white-robed youth and Xu Xing were about to brush past each other.
"Stop!"
The white-robed youth's eyebrows furrowed. He saw the smile on Yan Xiling's face in the hall and Xu Xing's handsome appearance, and he suddenly felt uncomfortable. "I've never seen you in the Immeasurable Sect before. Which lineage do you belong to?"
"Brother Kang is a favored son of Heaven, while I am just a speck of dust on the ground. It's only natural for Brother Kang to overlook this speck of dust..."
Xu Xing didn't make a fuss over his pride and didn't engage with the white-robed youth.
He maintained a humble demeanor as he introduced his background, subtly hinting in his words that he only came to the Golden Rainbow Hall for resources and had no other entanglements with Yan Xiling.
This white-robed young man named Kang Yu was the grandson of the Immeasurable Sect's Ze Sheng Ancestor. With his decent aptitude, he was highly regarded by the Kang family and the Immeasurable Sect.
However, for some unknown reason, Kang Yu developed a relationship with Yan Xiling and considered her his personal property.
While investigating Yan Xiling's information, Xu Xing had already memorized Kang Yu's name in his heart.
For the sake of a small matter, it would be unwise to greatly offend Kang Yu and the Ze Sheng Ancestor backing him, which was something Xu Xing did not want.
He may hold a grudge, but he still needed to assess the situation...
There is a saying 'a gentleman takes his revenge ten years later, not too late.'
There's no need to jeopardize the big picture and ruin his own future for a trivial dispute at this time.
Just a few humble words...
As for not humble nor arrogant...
For someone like Kang Yu, who was born with a silver spoon in his mouth, not being humble nor arrogant would be considered an insult to him. On the contrary, it would deepen the enmity between the two.
"Outer Hall Elder..."
"Preparing to marry into the Yan family..."
Kang Yu's expression softened a bit.
Since Xu Xing was about to become a son-in-law of the Yan family, he would be considered Yan Xiling's junior. Yan Xiling wouldn't be daring enough to break the Yan family's rules and bring severe punishment from the Golden Rainbow Ancestor upon herself.
"Nice to meet you for the first time, this bottle of Snow Spirit Water is for Junior Brother Chang."
After Xu Xing's flattering, Kang Yu no longer had any thoughts against Xu Xing.
When he heard that Xu Xing would be Yan Xiling's junior, he acted as an elder and gave a meeting gift to Xu Xing.
During the conversation, Kang Yu took out a three-inch jade bottle from his waist and stuffed it into Xu Xing's embrace. He then strode towards the inside of the Golden Rainbow Hall and didn't bother with Xu Xing anymore.
"Interesting..."
Leaving the temple steps and brushing past Kang Yu, Xu Xing's mouth slightly curled up in a smile. His right hand hidden in his sleeve, playing with the bottle of Snow Spirit Water.
When he was an official in Fengxi Country, he reminded himself that since he had chosen to be an official, he should not care about his face.
Now it was the same.
Face is the cheapest thing.
However..., Kang Yu's humiliation of him today, he remembered in his heart. If there was a chance, he would definitely repay it.
Of course, if there was no chance, he wouldn't dwell on such a minor matter.
...
...
After leaving the Golden Rainbow Hall, Xu Xing casually took a task outside the sect, then turned into an escaping light and headed straight to Tianbo Lake.
On the way, there was no conversation.
Tianbo Lake was in South Yue Nation. This place is a dangerous area in the Hundred Slashes Mountain Range, rarely visited by humans.
However, there were many Demon Kings in the Hundred Slashes Mountain Range. Tianbo Lake was on the edge of the territories of Fire Feather Demon King and Azure Fall Demon King. Both Demon Kings were Nascent Soul Daoist Lords, not to be underestimated.
But Xu Xing had other methods, as he had purchased several third-level talismans in the Flying Feather Pavilion.
For a third-level talisman to avoid the divine sense detection of a Dao Pill Great Demon was not an easy task.
However, Tianbo Lake was on the edge of the two Great Demon's territories, just in the blind spot of their divine sense detection, Xu Xing only needed to be careful not to leak his aura and he could easily enter Tianbo Lake.
"This is an Intermediate Grade One Ghost Snake Gang Aura Vein, it's indeed much better than a fifth-grade Cold Sword Gang Aura Vein..."
"The Gang Aura is deep and contains no impurities. Its spiritual nature is also not low."
Xu Xing took out the deep-sea rock jade he purchased along the way, and his magic power transformed into a giant hand that grabbed the Ghost Snake Gang Aura Vein trapped by the array technique.
A Grade One "Generating" Gang Aura Vein had a strength equivalent to the Late Immortal Foundation Stage, but its speed was very fast, much faster than a Returning Core Realm cultivator in the early stage.
Also, because the Gang Aura Vein was created by heaven and earth, it can "generate" and also return to normal.
For example, this Ghost Snake Gang Aura Vein, being a water attribute Gang Aura Vein, once it chose to hide and blend into the water of Tianbo Lake, it would be difficult to see even a trace of it.
However, such a small matter was not a problem for Xu Xing.
Although Tianbo Lake was large, the lakebed was only about a hundred feet. After setting up the array technique, even if the Ghost Snake Gang Aura Vein was "cunning", it would be hard to escape.
Seeing the green and red giant hands of magic power approaching, the trapped "Ghost Snake" was frightened and retreated continuously, spitting out snake letters, pretending to attack.
However, all of this was in vain.
Soon after the Ghost Snake was caught by the magic power giant hand, Xu Xing stuffed it directly into a jade bracelet similar to the yellow jade finger ring that Yan Xiling had given him earlier.
Soon, several sealing talismans were attached to the surface of the jade bracelet.
"There's no rush for the Purple Mansion Realm..."
"After selling the Cold Sword Gang Aura Vein and exchanging it for some resources, I'll make a breakthrough. And there's also the approaching deadline for Master's life..."
After getting the Grade One Intermediate Ghost Snake Gang Aura Vein, Xu Xing didn't dare to stay in the Hundred Slashes Mountain Range for too long.
He put on a third-level "Concealing Message Talisman" and escaped all the way before stopping to rest after getting thousands of miles away from the Hundred Slashes Mountain Range.
...
...
Leaving South Yue Nation, Xu Xing arrived at the Small Ring Mountain near the Immeasurable Sect of North Yue Country.
The palaces inside Small Ring Mountain were all mortal servants who didn't know that Jinglian True Monarch had died, so they continued to operate as usual.
He arrived at the Ancient Melting Cave.
Activating the Cross-State Teleportation Array.
"The array technique hasn't been tampered with, and there's no aura of cultivators around, it's safe and sound..."
Xu Xing wasn't in a hurry to leave the nameless island with the Ancient Teleportation Array.
Instead, he circled the island first and checked the array techniques he had set up before leaving East Huangzhou.
"It's true, the Outer Sea is vast, tens to hundreds of times larger than the Inner Sea, and resources are scarce, so no one would come here unless by chance..."
Xu Xing breathed a sigh of relief.
The cultivators who came to explore the Outer Sea were mostly Dao Pill or above, with very few Returning Cores, if someone discovered this island, even with the help of the array technique, it would be difficult for him to have a good result.
Along the way, carefully avoiding any potential dangers in the Outer Sea, Xu Xing arrived at the Eastern Sea area of the Flying Feather Immortal Palace.
Once he arrived at the ruled sea area of Flying Feather Immortal Palace, he relaxed slightly and began to look for the black market, preparing to sell the Cold Sword Gang Aura Vein in his hands...
Although the Flying Feather Pavilion's offer was always generous to their true disciples.
But the origin of the Cold Sword Gang Aura Vein was unclear.
To cause unnecessary trouble for some wealth would not be a good thing.
With the first-class genuine transmission's Purple Ribbon Gold Seal, Xu Xing quickly learned about the nearby black market from the mouths of external cultivators.
"3,700,000 Spirit Shells..."
"This price..."
In a private room, under the black cloak that concealed the divine sense, Xu Xing sat across from the auction house manager. Touching his chin hesitantly, he said, "The offers from the business associations under the command of the Ten Major Sects are much higher than this. I brought it to the black market to sell it at a high price."
"If your chamber isn't willing to offer a high price, I'm afraid I'll have to find another place..."
Xu Xing said discontentedly.
A fifth-grade Gang Aura Vein was a scarce resource everywhere, even for the Ten Major Sects.
In the black market, a fifth-grade Gang Aura Vein was even more precious.
3,700,000 spirit shells were definitely a low price.