Chapter 417
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Chapter 417: Immortals for the People
Inside the Xuantian Sect sect.
With the sect leader dead and most of the Nascent Soul Elders defeated, and the last Mountain Protection Formation broken, the cultivators had lost their will to fight.
Rainbows of light appeared one after another, with some cultivators fighting martial artists and others trying to escape in the chaos.
Even someone as strong as Qiao Mu couldn’t foresee the developments in the chaotic battlefield, and ended up losing sight of a few cultivators.
"No need to worry too much," Elder Cangyang followed behind Qiao Mu, smiling a bit flatteringly.
Just now, he witnessed Elder Yao Yin’s death, possibly leaving him as the only Nascent Soul cultivator in the whole Xuantian Sect, which made him feel a sense of sorrow.
"Without the support of the sect, they either lose their cultivation skills and regress, or they have to travel to other regions and join another Immortal Gate, but this path is not easy."
Elder Cangyang thought about this and shook his head silently.
With many Taoist temples in Nan Province already destroyed, he is also about to lose his source of support. It’s uncertain whether he can maintain his Nascent Soul cultivation… No, what he needs to consider now is how to survive in Qiao Mu’s hands.
Maintaining his cultivation level is not the priority.
The key is how to stay alive and make the other party see one’s worth.
Thinking about this, he became a little more respectful and said:
"Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates are each located in a different state. Each has its own strengths in the Dao of immortality."
"In our Xuantian Sect, we excel in the art of alchemy," Elder Cangyang said cautiously, casting a glance at Wang Songhe beside him.
Wang Songhe was once a Medicine Man under Elder Yaoyang and his fate depended entirely on others’ decisions.
Nowadays, Elder Cangyang has become a guide and dare not make any moves, even speaking carefully to avoid upsetting Wang Songhe with his sad stories.
However, Wang Songhe showed no emotion on his face and just nodded slightly.
Elder Cangyang continued, saying:
"The path of alchemy is vast and profound, especially at the Qingming Medicine Valley, where rare herbs have been cultivated for many years."
Wang Songhe also nodded.
"Xuantian Sect excels in alchemy, producing spiritual pills that are only useful for cultivators. However, the vast amount of unformed spiritual herbs…"
"Such as the Centennial Vermilion Fruit and thousand-year ginseng, which can enhance a martial artist’s power and serve as ingredients for spiritual pills for cultivators."
"Many spiritual herbs in Qingming Valley can greatly benefit martial artists by creating powerful elixirs."
Watching from the side, Elder Cangyang’s eyes suddenly lit up.
He was thinking hard about how to stay alive earlier, but now he has figured it out.
As an experienced member of the Xuantian Sect, he also studied the art of potion-making.
"Everyone," Elder Cangyang spoke loudly:
"Xuantian Sect has long been in Nan Province, collecting countless treasures of heaven and earth."
"Follow me to the sect’s treasure trove, to let those treasures shine again and not gather dust."
Qiao Mu and the others glanced at each other in surprise.
Elder Cangyang suddenly became more active.
But now that the Xuantian Sect’s power has waned, they were not worried about him playing tricks…
……………………………
After a moment.
Elder Cangyang led Qiao Mu and the others to a building next to the main peak of Xuantian Sect.
Li Changshi followed Elder Cangyang’s guidance and went to Xuantian Sect’s Library Pavilion.
Inside are the ancient books and secret techniques of Xuantian Sect.
Li Changshi’s cultivation had reached a halt at the Foundation Building Stage without the assistance of the Incense Symbol of Divine Fire or other opportunities. He knew it would be difficult to break through to the Golden Core stage, but that wasn’t his main goal.
Going straight to the Library Pavilion, Li Changshi had the mindset of "know yourself and know your enemy to win a hundred battles".
"Even though it’s one of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates, and has declined from its former glory, the techniques and books in the Library Pavilion are vast and profound."
Upon entering the Library Pavilion, Li Changshi saw numerous jade scrolls shining brightly, which made him sigh in amazement.
"In the era of abundant spiritual energy, the Library Pavilion of one of the Nine Heavenly Immortal Gates might have contained treasures that even the heavens and earth could not match."
"You are right," said the floating stone sword, which was none other than Earth Sword Immortal.
"Earth Sword Immortal, why are you here too?" Li Changshi turned to look at him.
In the past, in the solitary city in the desert, there were only two people with spiritual roots who practiced immortality properly. One was Li Changshi, and the other was Earth Sword Immortal.
"I am not very interested in the immortal path," sighed Earth Sword Immortal.
"In the beginning, like you, I also practiced immortality in an unconventional way. The method of transforming into a sword was not really a martial arts technique."
"To solve a problem, you have to go to the source. I came here just to find a way to restore my physical body."
With that, Earth Sword Immortal snorted coldly.
"It’s really unbearable that someone wants to touch my sword handle all day long."
"You must be thinking about practicing the Iron Crotch Skill…" Li Changshi thought to himself quietly.
………..
On the other side, inside the treasure pavilion.
"Goodness, this wave can really make someone fat for a hundred years!"
Bandit Zhang Kui grabbed four or five flying swords and effortlessly chopped a common soldier’s blade in half with a swift swing.
These immortal weapons, even without being controlled by immortal means, are powerful weapons in the martial arts world of Jiu Province.
To Zhang Kui and the other martial artists, these weapons were treasures.
Jade Mountain Girl stood beside a large pile of various sparkling jade stones, creating a beautiful scene.
Qiao Mu glanced around and silently drew out the King Qin Sword.
Among the various colored jade stones, he only recognized the Blazing Essence Gold material used in the King Qin Sword.
The Blazing Essence Gold in this treasure trove is piled up like small mountains. It is estimated that the likes of King Qin could maybe use it to forge dozens of statues.
Deeper in the treasure trove, the amount of jade, gold, and iron is obviously less.
"This is the Purple Marrow Celestial Stone." Elder Cangyang pointed to a purple jade the size of a person next to him, emitting a faint glow even visible in broad daylight.
"This Purple Marrow Celestial Stone is a precious material taken from the Qingming Cave Small World, intended by the sect leader to be used for making defensive magic tools…"
"Now that the Qingming Cave Small World has disappeared, obtaining this Purple Marrow Celestial Stone again might be very difficult."
"Then there is this Deep Sea Marrow Silver… it is a precious treasure obtained by a powerful figure from my Xuantian Sect in ancient times while traveling through different worlds… It is in diminishing supply now."
"Since you are a monster transformed from jade marrow, using this jade, gold, and iron as nourishment could help you become a demon king, it is truly your lucky chance." Elder Cangyang felt a bit of heartache.
The jade, gold, and iron in these treasure troves are rare and precious materials seldom seen.
Some of them are treasures accumulated since ancient times, even though Elder Cangyang is now a prisoner below the ranks, he couldn’t help but feel sorrow in his heart.
He simply turned his head away, unwilling to look anymore, and instead led Qiao Mu and the others to continue walking forward.
"There are indeed many refining materials like jade, stone, gold, and iron in the sect."
"However, the Xuantian Sect has the most various kinds of spiritual elixirs and medicines."
"You have already seen the spiritual herbs and medicines of our sect, they are located in the Qingming Medicine Valley."
Elder Cangyang stopped in his tracks in the treasure trove, pointing to a spot inside.
In the corner of the treasure trove, there were several unremarkable storage bags filled with colorful crystal-like grains.
These crystal-like grains were transparent and displayed several different colors, making them quite a sight.
"This is the Seven-colored Spiritual Rice," Elder Cangyang explained.
"This spiritual rice has a gentle nature, suitable for medicine refining but lacking in potency. Among the various spiritual plants in the Qingming Valley, it is considered average. Its only advantage is its high yield."
"If there is a special farmer called a Spiritual Farmer to grow, supported by Taoist soldiers and cultivators, they can harvest over ten thousand kilograms per acre every year."
"Not enough for making medicine, but if given to Spiritual Farmers… as food for ordinary people, it is excellent spiritual rice that can withstand hunger much better than regular rice."
As soon as these words were spoken, the surroundings became quiet.
Wang Songhe was momentarily speechless.
At one time, he was a high official in the court of the Great Yan Dynasty, although he was the Minister of Punishments, he naturally had an understanding of the sentiments of the Great Yan people.
The grain output of the Great Yan Imperial Court, several hundred kilograms per acre at best… and this is the output without natural disasters or human misfortune.
Since the Inhuman War over forty years ago, disasters have been frequent in Jiu Province, with famines occurring during major droughts.
Just like the wave of bandits he had gathered outside Yan City at the beginning, many of them were actually refugees from Yan City.
The words of Elder Cangyang shook him to the core, leaving him speechless for a moment.
After seeing this, Elder Cangyang felt a bit calmer and said:
"Even ordinary people can eat it, let alone martial artists," said Elder Cangyang.
"If martial artists eat it, although not as beneficial as consuming demon beast flesh and blood, it can still improve their energy and blood…"
"Since you have such a spiritual rice, why didn’t you bring it out earlier?" asked Wang Songhe, stepping forward and questioning.
But as soon as the words left his mouth, his expression changed, ending with a slight bitter smile.
The answer to the question did not need Elder Cangyang to respond; it was clear just by thinking about it.
Elder Cangyang also realized this now but didn’t answer, just chuckling to himself on the side.
Beside them, Qiao Mu calmly spoke:
"That’s why we don’t see you planting Seven-colored Spiritual Rice in the Qingming Medicine Valley."
"These special grains can only be consumed by ordinary people, not used by cultivators for making pills. They are just low-grade spiritual plants, so why bother planting them? They can only be found at the corners of this treasure trove."
"Mr. Qiao is indeed clever," Elder Cangyang flattered.
Li Changshi sighed, "If the Qingming Medicine Valley planted all these Seven-colored Spiritual Rice, wouldn’t it be able to feed half of Nan Province, or maybe all the common people in Nan Province?"
Li Changshi stayed in the Zhong Province Hundred-mile Desert for a full thirty years.
In fact, that desert was a soul nurturning Secret Realm created by the Immortal Gate.
The food stored in the city was not enough to sustain the military and civilians for thirty years, but since this Secret Realm was created by the Immortal Gate, it wouldn’t let them starve to death.
They wouldn’t starve to death, but they also wouldn’t be able to eat their fill and live a peaceful life.
That’s why the Xuantian Sect didn’t extensively plant Seven-colored Spiritual Rice.
Moreover, why bother planting it?
The Immortal Gate values devoted followers, not those who eat and drink all day long.
"Spirit energy is limited, just like the Medicinal Valley’s herb fields. If you plant this Seven-colored Spiritual Rice, you won’t be able to grow other more useful herbs…" Elder Cangyang explained this much, but didn’t elaborate further.
He had an implied message left unsaid.
Asking cultivators, who have to spend energy and magical power to perform spells, to grow spiritual rice for ordinary people to eat? Who would be willing to do that?
Everyone understood in their hearts.
"Since that’s the case, then go to the Qingming Medicine Valley and become a Spiritual Farmer."
Qiao Mu said lightly:
"Would you be willing to use your immortal techniques and Nascent Soul cultivation for the benefit of the people?"
Elder Cangyang’s expression changed rapidly, his face turning pale and then red, unable to contain his rising anger.
He had been cultivating in the path of immortality for almost two thousand years, even among the Nine Immortal Gates now, he was a respected Nascent Soul Elder, a high-ranking figure in the sect.
Yet this person named Qiao was so disrespectful, wanting the esteemed Nascent Soul Elder to work in the spiritual field serving the crops of mortals…
A prestigious Nascent Soul cultivator naturally had dignity—–
"Choose to be a Spiritual Farmer, or be fertilizer," said Qiao Mu calmly.
"Mr. Qiao, you are noble! Using immortality for the people, paving the way for Jiu Province, Mr. Qiao is a person of great vision, I admire him!"
Elder Cangyang’s face turned pale and then white again.
That’s enough.
Just to be able to keep his life…. If he stayed in a place with rich spiritual energy like Qingming Medicine Valley, his cultivation level might not decline too drastically…
………………………………………….
Several days later.
Qingming Medicine Valley.
This valley once suffered a catastrophic disaster, but the calamity suddenly stopped, except for the destruction of a small rocky mountain with the highest elevation in the middle. The rest of the area was not greatly affected and remained unchanged.
The middle rocky mountain was crushed into pieces, with dozens of long cracks visible on its surface, looking terrifying.
However, the most eye-catching thing was at the top of this small rocky mountain.
At the top of the rocky mountain, there was a sunken pit, with a conspicuous large rock next to it, about the size of a house.
Beneath this house-sized rock, there stood a strange clay sculpture of a figure, looking somewhat rough.
The clay figure was of a tall and mighty man unlike any ordinary person, with his hands raised upwards, palms tightly pressed against the large rock above, as if he were lifting it up.
When Qiao Mu returned to Qingming Valley several days later, this was the scene he encountered.
"What is this?" he asked, frowning slightly.
Lingling Taoist Priest and Qiao Canxue, teacher and apprentice, had not left yet and were standing by.
Lingling Taoist Priest explained:
"That day, it was the Qiao family’s children who saved our lives. How could we entertain thoughts of falsely claiming credit for their bravery?"
"Later, we tried our best to inform the Spiritual Farmers in the valley… and this clay figurine, it was their spontaneous creation."
