Volume 5 Chapter 68
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Volume 5 Chapter 68: Exploration
Generally, when a sect reappears after many years of being closed, it makes a grand announcement. The strongest members of the sect showcase their power to declare their existence and select elite disciples to send invitations to all major sects for the grand reopening ceremony.
The reason for this is twofold: first, sects that seal themselves, like Jiuhua, usually do so because their strength has greatly weakened for some reason and they must recover their vitality; this retreat can lead others to underestimate them, so they need to display their strength. Second, during the closure, a sect actively gives up its benefits in the cultivation world, and the reopening ceremony is a gathering to reassert their place and discuss how to reclaim those benefits with other sects.
For example, before Jiuhua Mountain was sealed, most of the resources, whether spirit stones or spiritual herbs, within a radius of six thousand six hundred miles belonged to Jiuhua. Additionally, well-known sources of spiritual herbs and spirit stones in the cultivation world also shared a part of Jiuhua’s production.
However, now, as the cultivation world is going through a great calamity, Jiuhua would not loudly announce its reopening; instead, as decided by the elders, they would first select a group of cultivators to explore the current situation of the cultivation world outside the mountain and then decide how to proceed.
On this day, all the disciples of Jiuhua gathered at the foot of the mountain, while Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan, and Gongsun Huasa stood at the front with forty-two other elders, each wearing a serious expression. Ting’er also stood among these forty-two elders, but she could not stop staring at Xu Qingfan in front of her.
Behind the elders stood nearly two thousand ordinary Jiuhua disciples. After sixty years of hard training, these ordinary disciples made great progress. Even those who could only slightly gather the Spirit Qi of the heavens and earth reached the late stage of Qi Refining. However, there were the most disciples at the Lingji Stage, about nine hundred. These disciples had all reached the limit of their talent, making it very difficult to go further. This was one reason Jiuhua had to open the mountain because Jiuhua had reached a point where without progress, there would be a decline.
Compared to the solemn faces of the elders, the disciples showed more signs of panic and excitement.
In front of everyone, a swirling chaos appeared, the reversed "Nine Pole Array."
"Let’s begin," Zhang Hualing said slowly after a moment.
Then, forty-five Condensed Core Stage cultivators of Jiuhua moved from stillness to motion, their hands constantly changing various gestures, softly chanting an ancient and mysterious spell. Although their movements were complicated, they were coordinated, and their whispers merged into a loud sound. At the same time, the Condensed Core Stage cultivators began to shine with various colorful lights, their power gathering together and growing stronger.
Under the control of these elders, the chaotic fluctuations in front of everyone grew stronger and more chaotic. After a long time, a deep rumbling sound continuously erupted from this chaos, and with a huge bang, the chaos suddenly transformed into a misty clarity.
The protective mountain array of Jiuhua, the "Nine Pole Array," finally began to operate normally, which also meant that Jiuhua was officially reemerging into the world.
Seeing this clarity, the elders had complex expressions. Although their offerings had been greatly reduced over the years to maintain the reversal of the "Nine Pole Array," these years had indeed been the most peaceful days of their cultivation, focusing solely on their practice and ignoring worldly matters. But now, Jiuhua was about to reemerge into the noisy world and would face the terrifying calamity as soon as it appeared.
Then, more than ten elders walked out from the group, mostly young elders who were unfamiliar, but there were also a few elders who usually secluded themselves. Xu Qingfan led them, and at his suggestion, Ting’er was included as well.
These elders were the ones sent to investigate the current situation in Jiuhua.
Xu Qingfan, worried about his reputation after making a name for himself in the cultivation world during his two descents, had to change his appearance. Even if he took off his mask, his obvious features, Little Black on his shoulder and the "Oshine Jade Pendant" at his waist, would reveal his true identity.
Xu Qingfan’s long hair was no longer tied up like a Taoist priest, but instead, it was gathered like a young hero from the mortal world. He looked less serious but more stylish. He also changed his long white robe, which he had worn for many years, to a green long shirt. He asked an elder skilled in jade crafting to slightly modify the "Oshine Jade Pendant" to make it smaller. Then, he took some "Qinglin Powder" used for refining tools from the Jiuhua Secret Library and added it to the pendant’s exterior, transforming it into a piece of jade that glowed with a green light. Along with his rapid improvement in cultivation from the middle stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage to the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage, his demeanor also became more ethereal and mysterious.
Although each change was small, together they made him seem like a completely different person. If someone didn’t pay close attention, no one would recognize that the Southern Wasteland rogue cultivator was Xu Qingfan.
The biggest flaw remained Little Black on Xu Qingfan’s shoulder, but it was merely a suspicion. Dark Crows were notoriously difficult to evolve, and Little Black had made faster progress than Xu Qingfan over the years. Even if there were doubts, no one could believe that Little Black could evolve to Earth level in just a few decades. It was like doubting that Xu Qingfan could break through from the middle stage of the Fake Golden Core Stage to the late stage of the Real Golden Core Stage in such a short time, so in the end, it remained just a suspicion.
Because of these reasons, Xu Qingfan was confident that even if Jiuhua worked with the Righteous Alliance in the future, he would not expose his identity.
"Thank you all."
Zhang Hualing walked up to the thirteen elders responsible for investigating the cultivation world and said with a bow.
"Please don’t worry, Sect Master." Under Xu Qingfan’s lead, the thirteen elders bowed and said in unison to Zhang Hualing.
Zhang Hualing nodded slightly, and suddenly a spell appeared between his fingers. With a wave of his hand, the spell quickly flew to the clear area in front of everyone. Then, without any wind, it caught fire. When the flames went out, a glowing entrance appeared before everyone, which was the exit of the Nine Pole Array.
"Everyone, be careful."
Before Xu Qingfan and the others left, Zhang Hualing reminded them once more.
※※※※
Outside Jiuhua Mountain, the view was endless. Although the sun was shining brightly in the distant sky, the light was not blinding. Under the gathering clouds, a light drizzle was falling, quietly floating in the air. Feeling the gentle breeze and tiny raindrops around them, the nervous hearts of everyone began to feel more at ease.
"Dear friends, the disaster in the cultivation world should not be over yet, and it may even be reaching its peak. Everyone must be careful."
As the exit of the Nine Pole Array slowly closed, Xu Qingfan once again instructed the eleven other elders.
Most of these eleven elders belonged to the younger generation, so they had a very good attitude towards Xu Qingfan. Especially after the two intense battles between Xu Qingfan and Jin Qinghan and Feng Qingtian, as well as the last time Xu Qingfan saved everyone in the underground tunnel, there was not only respect but also a hint of admiration in their eyes when they looked at Xu Qingfan. Therefore, after hearing Xu Qingfan’s reminder, they all nodded in agreement and continued to float in the air, waiting for Xu Qingfan’s next instruction.
After Xu Qingfan waved goodbye and said "Go," the elders all bowed to him and then, in pairs or threes, quickly flew off in different directions.
Xu Qingfan looked at Ting’er, who was quietly standing behind him, and gently said, "Ting’er, let’s go too."
Ting’er nodded slightly, and under Xu Qingfan’s guidance, they flew towards a small hill in the south of Jiuhua, which was the exit of Jiuhua’s secret path.
With a wave of Xu Qingfan’s hand, a silent exit opened on the hill, and then Bai Yu hurriedly jumped out, excitedly shouting as he looked at the scene outside the hill. Amid Bai Yu’s shouts, Zhang Ningmei also appeared with a smile from the tunnel.
This time, Xu Qingfan went down the mountain not only to explore the current situation in the cultivation world and secretly contact the Righteous Alliance on behalf of Jiuhua, but also to officially give Bai Yu and Zhang Ningmei the identity of Jiuhua disciples, making them his students. So before leaving, he brought them to the tunnel exit and let them wait calmly. He also worried that Ting’er might feel lonely and anxious alone in the cave, so he decided to take Ting’er along with him to explore outside the cultivation world.
After this exploration, Xu Qingfan would bring Zhang Ningmei and Bai Yu back to Jiuhua and tell others that they were students he had recruited from outside the mountain. As for their existing Lingji Stage cultivation, Xu Qingfan could explain that they were originally disciples of a certain sect who joined him, since there would surely be many sects destroyed in the chaos, and the record of disciple recruitment was managed by his Deacon Elder; no one would question it.
