Volume 1 Volume 6 Chapter 148

Volume 6 Chapter 148: Feng Qingtian (Part 1)

"I won’t go!"

Although Dongfang Qingling spoke quickly, her words were very strong.

No one asked her why; everyone could guess a little about her and Xu Qingfan.

These three words seemed to bring up all of Dongfang Qingling’s courage. She quietly waited for Xu Qingfan to ask why, and then she would share all the feelings she had kept inside for so long.

However, Xu Qingfan just looked at her deeply and said, "Okay."

But he didn’t ask anything.

Dongfang Qingling did not feel happy about Xu Qingfan’s agreement; instead, all her hope and courage turned into uncontrollable anger.

Xu Qingfan was avoiding her, avoiding her feelings for him, and he had no intention of facing it.

Dongfang Qingling wanted to question him in anger, but she found that the courage she had just gathered faded away so easily. She could only glare at Xu Qingfan, unsure of what to say, but Xu Qingfan’s next words made her anger slowly disappear.

"Without you, I… I do feel a bit unaccustomed. After all, it is hard to meet many people after hiding away. It’s good to hide away with you."

The words that followed clearly seemed unnecessary, as if added to disguise the truth. Everyone looked at Xu Qingfan, then at Dongfang Qingling, all with smiles in their eyes.

Only Jin Qinghan looked at Dongfang Qingling with a sigh in his eyes.

He knew that the reason Xu Qingfan agreed was first because he didn’t want Dongfang Qingling’s feelings to become known and cause future embarrassment, and second because Xu Qingfan didn’t know how to say no and couldn’t bear to hurt Dongfang Qingling. In the cultivation world, there is the way of Double Cultivation, which is different from marriage in the mortal world. When male and female cultivators choose Double Cultivation, it is because there is a special cultivation method that balances yin and yang to improve their skills, and also because in the endless journey of cultivating immortality, watching those around them pass away brings great loneliness, and they seek a form of emotional support, with no desires for physical pleasure.

However, Double Cultivation emphasizes "trust," while cultivating immortality emphasizes "freedom." Although both "trust" and "freedom" are parts of the Heavenly Way, having "trust" leads to worries, and with worries comes distraction, making the path much narrower and more difficult. Over thousands of years in the cultivation world, only one or two cases have reached the peak of cultivation through Double Cultivation.

Xu Qingfan, with his calm character, was devoted to seeking the Heavenly Way and had never considered the option of Double Cultivation.

Overall, Jin Qinghan did not have high hopes for the future of Dongfang Qingling and Xu Qingfan.

However, Jin Qinghan was not a talkative person and did not oppose Dongfang Qingling’s choice. He simply cupped his hands toward everyone, including Dongfang Qingling, and then two golden lotuses slowly appeared beneath him and Lv Qingshang. They transformed into two beams of golden light, swiftly carrying the two towards "Black Emperor Cliff," moving so fast that they quickly disappeared from everyone’s view.

…

Under Jin Qinghan’s lead, Lv Qingshang felt the surrounding scenery turn blurry. The speed exceeded his wildest imagination. After a moment of curious observation, he no longer felt it was new. He turned to see Jin Qinghan’s face calm, neither happy nor sad, yet filled with deep concern. Knowing what Jin Qinghan was thinking, he sighed and said, "I never expected Junior Brother Xu to make such a decision to retreat from the world. It’s truly a shame. He never did anything wrong from the beginning. Until that old man Gongsun Huasa revealed it to the public, I firmly believed that once Junior Brother Xu became the Master of Jiuhua, our Jiuhua would be better off."

Jin Qinghan shook his head and said, "At this point, saying anything more is useless. Besides, living in seclusion and practicing has always been the life that Senior Brother Xu has longed for."

"But this is very unfair to Junior Brother Xu," Lv Qingshang replied.

"Under the Heavenly Way, what is fair and what is unfair? Has there ever been true fairness? It’s just that everyone’s opportunities are different…"

Jin Qinghan wanted to say more, but suddenly his body shook, as if he sensed something. He looked towards the Southern Wasteland and felt a powerful force suddenly erupt from deep within it. The Heavenly Way trembled in response, and the energy was extremely hot and cold at the same time, very strange. Even though there was a lot of cold energy, Jin Qinghan immediately sensed that it was Feng Qingtian’s presence.

Such a strong force and such a reaction from the Heavenly Way could mean only one thing—Feng Qingtian has achieved enlightenment and has become a master in his own right.

When someone achieves enlightenment, the heavens respond. Even if they are far apart, cultivators above the master level can still clearly sense it. Xu Qingfan’s situation can only be considered an exception, so when Feng Qingtian attained enlightenment, all masters in the world felt it.

Jin Qinghan’s eyes flickered, appearing surprised, hateful, and joyful all at once.

"Junior Brother Jin, what’s wrong with you?"

Jin Qinghan’s lips curled into a faint smile as he said softly, "It’s nothing; I just sensed an old friend’s presence."

"Who is it?"

"Feng Qingtian," Jin Qinghan said, a fierce look of battle flashing in his eyes.

"I didn’t expect you to achieve your goal at this time. This time, I am one step ahead. It’s good that before you succeeded, our skills were too far apart. I would surely win, but I didn’t want to win like that. Now that you have achieved your goal, I must defeat you to truly wash away the shame from before. Just wait, Feng Qingtian, after everything is done, I will come find you. I am no longer the Jin Qinghan of old."

Jin Qinghan silently thought to himself.

…

Xu Qingfan quietly watched Jin Qinghan and Lv Qingshang leave. As he thought about them going their separate ways and possibly not meeting again, he sighed. But the melancholy feeling quickly faded. Turning around, Xu Qingfan’s mood returned to normal. He smiled gently at the people around him and said, "Now it is time for us to discuss our hiding place."

The sadness of parting also made everyone feel a bit downcast. To live in hiding, in another way, means to say goodbye to the life we had before. But upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, they were all suddenly energized and began to debate. Bai Yu and Zhang Ningmei still had very different opinions, while the two brothers, Tian Zhenxian and Tian Zhenling, found themselves caught in the middle, not wanting to offend anyone but unsure how to express their views. Ting’er looked at them curiously, not quite understanding what they were arguing about, while Wang Zegang and Dongfang Qingling just smiled and watched on from the side.

"How about North Iceland? The scenery in North Iceland is the most beautiful. We could build a big castle there, surrounded by a world of ice and snow, it would be very majestic."

Bai Yu said.

"The scenery in North Iceland is beautiful, but the weather is harsh, and the Spirit Qi is unstable. Even for us cultivators, it is hard to live there for a long time, so how can we hide away there? And what about the huge fortress? We are going to hide, not to fight."

Zhang Ningmei expressed her disagreement.

"Does hiding away mean there is no danger?"

"Do you still think you are an ordinary person? Do cultivators need fortresses for defense?"

"Then where do you suggest we go?" Bai Yu asked, feeling unconvinced.

"Of course, we should go to the East Sea. There, the Spirit Qi is abundant, the scenery is beautiful, and there are few people. It is the best place for us to hide. We can build a few simple huts, raise some magical cranes and rare flowers, and that would be perfect."

At this moment, because of her longing for a future life, the usually calm Zhang Ningmei showed some childlike emotions.

Xu Qingfan listened to the debate between the two disciples, thinking deeply about how to make a decision.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan’s body shocked. He discovered Feng Qingtian’s achievement even earlier than Jin Qinghan. However, unlike Jin Qinghan’s battle-ready spirit, what Xu Qingfan discovered and thought about was much more.

"Did Feng Qingtian really achieve enlightenment? Although he reached the peak of the Golden Core Stage a few years ago, there is still a huge difference between the peak of the Golden Core Stage and the early Nascent Soul Stage. Even for a genius, it takes hundreds of years to break through this line. I achieved it by merging two holy objects, and Junior Brother Jin did it by absorbing the relics of over ten great Buddha and Dao masters. So, what caused Feng Qingtian to step into the Mahayana Stage so quickly? Could it be…?"

"Wait a moment, the place where he achieved enlightenment is deep inside the Southern Wasteland. If we judge by distance, it should be in that black giant mountain where the kylin is located. Could it be in that ‘Jiazi Cave’ he visited before?"

For a moment, Xu Qingfan thought of many things.

"Master! Master!"

"What is it?"

Xu Qingfan was startled awake by Bai Yu’s call and asked.

"Which idea do you think is better, mine or elder martial sister’s? You support me, right?"

As he spoke, Bai Yu wore a flattering smile, while Zhang Ningmei stared at him fiercely from the side.

Looking at Bai Yu, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but laugh, but he quickly gathered his emotions and suddenly asked Bai Yu, "Is the ancestral spirit tablet your father left you still with you?"

"Here." Bai Yu didn’t understand why Xu Qingfan asked these questions and quickly nodded in response.

Xu Qingfan nodded, thought for a moment, and said, "Let’s wait to see where we will hide when we are on the road."

Wang Zegang, hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, was slightly surprised and asked, "Daoist Friend Xu, where are we going now?"

Xu Qingfan said, "First, we will go to the edge of the Western Desert to meet my Little Black, who is waiting there, and then we will take a trip to the Southern Wasteland."

As he spoke, Xu Qingfan glanced meaningfully at Bai Yu.

Looking into Xu Qingfan’s eyes, Bai Yu couldn’t help but lower his head to check himself again. He didn’t find anything unusual and felt puzzled.

"Bai Yu and Feng Qingtian both come from families of Mythical Beasts, but one is a Qiongqi and the other is a Phoenix. Taking Bai Yu to ‘Jiazi Cave’ might lead to other discoveries."

Xu Qingfan thought to himself.

At the same time, deep in the Southern Wasteland, Feng Qingtian was undergoing an unexpected transformation.