Chapter 518 Part 3

Chapter 518 Part 3: Return to Peach Blossom Villa (3)

Before Qiao Mu left the Great World of Jiu Province, he once told Qiao Xin that there has never been a savior; the fate of the ordinary people in Jiu Province must be earned by themselves.

Without members of the Qiao family in the Great World of Jiu Province, the people would not simply wait for death with their eyes wide open. Instead, they endured fifty years of hardship and forged a difficult path of self-reliance for survival.

Fifty years ago, the Immortal Gate was powerful, and some hoped that the members of the Qiao family would step in to turn the tide at Peach Blossom Villa.

Now, fifty years later, as the struggle between immortals and mortals comes to an end, Qiao Mu stands here in Peach Blossom Villa, while Xue Changhe and the martial artists of Jiu Province do not seek his help to defeat the Immortal Gate.

"Fifty years is indeed a very long time."

Qiao Mu closed his eyes slightly and couldn’t help but sigh.

Between the long life dream of fifty thousand years, he planted a strong desire to return to Jiu Province, to take another look at the world and see if his "afterthought" was useful.

Now that he has returned to the old place, even though the struggles in the world have not yet reached their end, the desire in his heart has gradually begun to show results.

"If you want to go, then go." Qiao Mu did not see them off, nor did he leave with them.

He still remembered his purpose for returning to Nan Province: to send a message about Immortal Diyuan.

……………………………………………………

"Qingming Medicine Valley is located near the ruins of the Xuantian Sect, and it is the area in Nan Province with the most abundant spiritual energy."

"This Medicinal Valley was once the main place where Xuantian Sect grew medicinal herbs, and for the past fifty years, it has continued to be a key place for growing spiritual plants."

"Moreover, and more importantly, there is also a spiritual temple inside this Medicinal Valley!"

A thousand people at the entrance of the Medicinal Valley.

Two young swordsmen with swords at their waists crouched behind a big tree, speaking in low voices.

"This is a secret I found out after a lot of hard work!"

The swordsman on the left wore the usual strong clothes of a martial artist, but at his waist hung a clear piece of white jade, and the sword had fine carvings, making him look less like a wandering hero.

"Young master, is this really reliable?" the other one hesitated, his head down.

"This valley is in Nan Province, and it’s not far from Peach Blossom Villa."

"Logically, there shouldn’t be a spirit temple here, right?"

"Nonsense," the young master with the sword said confidently.

"It is precisely because everyone thinks this way that we have the chance to clear the forest and break the temple, making a name for ourselves!"

"If we go to Dong Province or Southeast Province, aren’t we just walking to our doom?"

The young master looked quite youthful, probably around fourteen or fifteen years old.

Even before entering Medicinal Valley, he seemed to already envision the moment he would become famous.

He wanted to follow the example of the Immortal Slaying Army and the great masters in Jiu Province, who conquered mountains and destroyed temples; this was his purpose for sneaking into Medicinal Valley under the cover of night!

At this moment, the sky was starry and there was little light in Qingming Medicine Valley.

"The Spiritual Farmers who do the farming are also people; they need to rest at night. We can sneak in without anyone noticing and destroy that hidden temple in the mountain!"

The young master with the sword walked ahead, and his equally young servant had no choice but to follow behind.

As they just entered Medicinal Valley, they saw gigantic shadows about two to three meters tall walking along the mountain path, making a deep rumbling sound.

A dark red light radiated from the shadow’s face, and with a hissing sound, invisible blades of wind swept through the field filled with spiritual grains.

In the dark night, faint cries of rodents and insects could be heard, then fell silent, leaving only the rumbling sound of the large shadow continuing on.

"This thing seems to be called a Taoist soldier? It is an inhuman thing that knows magic." The young master seems to have done some homework; at this moment, he has goosebumps and his hair stands on end.

"It looks like if we are discovered, we might also die!"

But amid the excitement and fear, he also looked at his little follower with a bit of pride.

"I told you, there really are inhumans in this valley, so there must also be a wild temple in the mountains that worships inhumans!"

The young master was having his great adventure in the night, facing countless life-and-death dangers of almost being discovered by the Taoist soldier and finally arrived at the center of this Medicinal Valley.

In the middle of the Medicinal Valley was a small stone mountain, but at the top of the stone mountain, there was a sunken area.

With the vague moonlight, the young master noticed that in front of him stood a strange clay statue.

The statue was a tall and mighty giant, with a blurred face, holding a huge stone the size of a house with both hands raised.

On either side of the statue were only candles for lighting, but there were no incense burners or prayer mats commonly found in temples.

However, at this moment, the young master did not notice this subtle detail; he was already lost in excitement.

"There really is a wild temple!"

He excitedly clenched his fists and called to his sidekick:

"Quick, take out the hammer and light the firecracker!"

"Today, I will act for the heavens and break the mountain and destroy the temple!"

The young sidekick took out the prepared hammer, but just as he lit the firecracker, the young master cried out in surprise and almost fell.

Next to the clay statue, there lay an old man with a strange expression, resting and looking at them with a puzzled face.

"There’s still someone guarding it? I heard that the Xuantian Sect in Nan Province used to keep martial arts slaves to guard the temple." The young master was completely thrilled.

"They secretly built a wild temple in this deep mountain and secretly worshipped the gods—"

Before the words finished, the old man kicked him down.

"Little child, do you know who this clay statue is?" The old man had no expression.

"No matter which god it is, they should be brought down—" The young master refused to give up.

The old man tilted his head to look at him, then laughed out loud.

"Little child, read more books."

He lifted his foot off the young master’s chest, casually picked up the fallen torch, and lit up the clay statue.

On the top of the clay statue, there were two lines of writing.

"Worshipping the gods is not as good as worshipping yourself; admiring the strong is not as good as becoming strong yourself."

Even the young master, though slow, realized something was wrong at that moment. He held the torch higher and took a few more steps, but on the huge stone above the clay statue, he saw countless words.

At the very beginning of thousands of words, three characters are written.

Human Path Sutra

"The summary of the Human Path Sutra? Which immortal temple would carve such a thing?"

The Human Path Sutra has spread to Jiu Province; even this young master, who knows little of the world, recognizes it, but he is quite puzzled at this moment.

"Young master, you should read more books," the old man said with a sneer.

"There are not only immortals and gods who can be honored with statues, but also ancestors, wise people, or heroes."

"And this statue of the Grand Martial Ancestor reaching for the heavens represents the moment when mortals first defeated the Immortal Gate."

"Ah?" The young master was stunned, not knowing how to react at that moment.

Suddenly, footsteps could be heard from a distance, with a group of Spiritual Farmers quickly approaching, attracted by the commotion.

"What happened? Did a thief come in?"

"A thief? There are powerful guardians watching at night. Ordinary thieves wouldn’t dare to come here. I think they are refugees fleeing from a war."

"Don’t call me a guardian of the fields…" The old man’s eyes twitched slightly.

"Look, the guardian of the fields is getting anxious again," laughed the arriving Spiritual Farmer.

The old man was speechless. His complaints were very quiet, and in the end, they turned into a helpless sigh.

"A tiger falls from its peak and is bullied by dogs. I am a proud Nascent Soul cultivator. In the past, when the Xuantian Sect was still strong, I was a respected elder. How did I end up farming and dealing with naïve little kids, being laughed at by the Spiritual Farmer…"

Taoist Cangyang let out a sigh.

After the Xuantian Sect was destroyed back then, he quickly decided to become a guide for others.

With his experience in alchemy and nurturing spiritual energy, he was sent to this Medicinal Valley to farm, and he has been doing this for fifty years…

His cultivation had fallen to the early Golden Core stage, and after suffering a great loss in lifespan, he was almost out of resources.

It was impossible to restore his Nascent Soul Stage cultivation, and in the Qingming Medicine Valley, there were masters in control. Even in the time when the world had no Qiao, he did not dare to make a move.

At first, the local Spiritual Farmers were a little afraid of him, but gradually they grew bolder and began to boss him around.

What made him, a once-great Nascent Soul cultivator, do tasks like controlling Taoist soldiers to weed, kill pests, and water plants?

At night, ordinary people cannot see, but his cultivator’s senses were sharp, so while others could rest, he could not; he worked nonstop at night.

He had been waiting for fifty years.

He was already waiting until his lifespan was almost exhausted, yet he still could not find the opportunity for freedom.

"I am a distinguished Nascent Soul Elder, an influential person even among the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates. What kind of miserable life am I living now…" Taoist Cangyang gritted his teeth.

At that moment, he heard a faint voice coming from somewhere unknown.

"What? Let you live your life like a spiritual farmer. Does that make you feel sad?"