Volume 5 Chapter 77
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Volume 5 Chapter 77: Joining (Part 3)
Hearing Fan Xiaoyao’s obvious sarcasm, Xu Qingfan’s expression did not change at all, and he used his gaze to silence Bai Yu, who was about to speak, but inside he thought that even though Bai Yu had not yet officially become a disciple of Jiuhua, he was already learning to protect Jiuhua’s reputation.
Xu Qingfan did not mind Fan Xiaoyao’s sarcasm. Although Fan Xiaoyao might not like this remark, Xu Qingfan actually looked forward to Fan Xiaoyao’s mockery.
Jiuhua suffered great losses in strength after the disaster seventy years ago, and Xu Qingfan understood that some people were curious about Jiuhua’s treasures and cultivation methods. Jiuhua, after losing strength, chose to seal the mountain and hide away to recover its power, which Xu Qingfan also knew. He was aware that now, when Jiuhua chose to come out, people would definitely have their thoughts about it.
On the way to "Ronghua Mountain," Xu Qingfan had been thinking about these things. If these thoughts didn’t change or even grew, then even if Jiuhua joined the Righteous Alliance, they would be looked down upon when facing the disaster. After the disaster was over, the benefits they should receive would also not be guaranteed, and even Jiuhua’s reputation built over two thousand years could be ruined.
Because of these reasons, Xu Qingfan had to find an opportunity to say something for Jiuhua, to find some reasons to change others’ attitudes toward Jiuhua. Whether Jiuhua Shut Down was indeed weak or if it was to avoid disaster, as long as he changed the wording and the presentation, it would mean something different.
This opportunity was immediately provided to Xu Qingfan by Fan Xiaoyao. Although Fan Xiaoyao acted with ill intent, Xu Qingfan still felt a strange sense of gratitude for Fan Xiaoyao’s mockery.
The hostility that Fan Xiaoyao showed did not bother Xu Qingfan at all. To Xu Qingfan, a rival who could not hide their emotions was not difficult to deal with, as their next move was clearly written on their face. On the other hand, a rival who did not show their feelings, like Deng Tianao, had created a big grudge with Xu Qingfan during the Newcomer Comparison. Because of this, he almost lost his skills due to his master. Yet, after initially showing surprise at seeing Xu Qingfan, Deng Tianao continued to smile with no change on his face, making him hard to read.
Alright, back to the main topic.
Under everyone’s gaze, facing Fan Xiaoyao’s mocking, Xu Qingfan did not respond immediately and did not show any anger on his face. Instead, he first followed the rules of the cultivation world and slowly bowed to Fan Xiaoyao, greeting him. Compared to Xu Qingfan’s politeness and elegance, Fan Xiaoyao’s mockery and hostility instantly lost their grace, leading everyone to think less of him. However, after mocking Jiuhua, Fan Xiaoyao was too prideful to return the greeting to Xu Qingfan.
Clearly, Fan Xiaoyao had not realized that, as a high-ranking individual, he needed to protect his own power and reputation, while his personal pride was less important.
After doing all this, Xu Qingfan finally began to respond to Fan Xiaoyao’s earlier mockery.
With a slight smile on his face, Xu Qingfan slowly replied, "Thank you for your concern, Sect Leader Fan, but there is one thing that you got wrong."
"What did I get wrong? Isn’t the timing of Jiuhua’s return perfect enough?" Fan Xiaoyao sneered.
Just when everyone thought Xu Qingfan would argue back, he smiled and said, "The timing of Jiuhua’s return is indeed just right, so you are not wrong about that. I say you are mistaken because I believe that the calamity in the cultivation world is far from over."
Seeing that Fan Xiaoyao wanted to say something, Xu Qingfan quickly continued, "During my trip down the mountain, I learned about the current situation in the cultivation world. While the ‘Eight Wilderness Hall,’ which stirred up the calamity, is slowly fading under the efforts of the seniors here and is on the verge of being completely uprooted, I believe the ‘Eight Wilderness Hall’ only plays a role in igniting the calamity. The peak of the calamity is not something this ‘Eight Wilderness Hall’ is capable of creating. Otherwise, although the destruction it caused seems enormous, it is actually limited to the prosperous western Middle-earth and doesn’t do justice to the term ‘calamity.’ Looking back at the previous eight calamities, I believe that the seniors here would agree with my viewpoint. Moreover, when I came to ‘Ronghua Mountain,’ I noticed signs of ‘Beast Madness’ reappearing in many places of the cultivation world, which is one proof of this."
After a pause, Xu Qingfan said again, "In fact, before I was born in Jiuhua, the elders within the sect had differing opinions. With my Jiuhua’s savings of over two thousand years, it could easily keep the mountain closed for another hundred years. At that time, the disaster in the cultivation world would have long passed, so why should we come out now? But most of the elders believed that as a member of the cultivation world, I have the responsibility and duty to help maintain its stability. They believed that the peak of the disaster was about to arrive, so we should come out immediately and join hands with the seniors to respond."
Indeed, Jiuhua’s savings of over two thousand years could allow it to remain closed for another hundred years, if nothing unexpected happened. However, most of Jiuhua’s savings were spent on the "Jiuji Cave." While this shaped Xu Qingfan and the other young high-level cultivators of Condensed Core Stage, it also reduced Jiuhua’s time to remain closed by a hundred years. This approach seemed unwise, but Jiuhua had no choice. First, Jiuhua urgently needed to increase its strength, and second, if it truly remained closed for nearly two hundred years, it would be stable, but it would not be able to absorb fresh talent, causing a gap in strength, which would have a greater impact on Jiuhua’s future.
Of course, the Sect Masters of all major sects did not know this. From their perspective, Jiuhua’s savings of over two thousand years could indeed support a hundred more years of closure, and at this time, the disaster had certainly not passed. This made Jiuhua’s decision to come out and support the cultivation world truly admirable. Even if there were doubts, they could not investigate or refute it.
Thus, in front of the major forces of the current cultivation world, Xu Qingfan slightly modified and concealed Jiuhua’s situation, and Jiuhua’s image immediately became grand and shining. This left Fan Xiaoyao almost speechless, wanting to argue but unable to find the words.
By the way, Fan Xiaoyao initially thought that "Xingyin Sect" becoming the new Holy Land to replace Jiuhua was a sure thing, so he did not hide this from the sect leaders before discussing it. Many people present knew about this, and piecing it together, they began to understand, especially when considering Jiuhua’s choice, only to be met with Fan Xiaoyao’s doubts. Seeing Fan Xiaoyao’s uncertain expression, some inexperienced junior disciples looked at him with disdain.
But Xu Qingfan did not plan to let Fan Xiaoyao off so easily; this opportunity was rare. Xu Qingfan wanted not only to change the perception of Jiuhua in the cultivation world over the years but also to alter the outside world’s understanding of Jiuhua’s strength.
Xu Qingfan chuckled lightly and then continued, "As for the seniors’ concerns about the safety of my junior brothers who are going out with me, there is no need to worry. Although my junior brothers aren’t very impressive, after staying closed in Jiuhua for these years and cultivating peacefully, they have all reached the Condensed Core Stage. As long as they don’t ask for trouble and don’t accidentally run into high-level evil cultivators, their safety should be completely fine."
Upon hearing Xu Qingfan’s words, everyone was stunned, and Xuan Jian, who had remained silent, suddenly spoke up.
"Apart from Xu, the ‘Qing’ generation of Jiuhua, are there any other disciples who have reached the Condensed Core Stage? Is it Feng Qingtian or Jin Qinghan? With their talent, they must be nearing the Real Golden Core Stage by now, right?"
Xuan Jian was responsible for the Newcomer Comparison back then, so he knows a lot about the young masters of Jiuhua.
Unexpectedly, Xu Qingfan said, "This time when we came down the mountain to check on Junior Brother Jin, he did not come down. He is in seclusion trying to break through to the Golden Core Stage, but he is about to finish his retreat. With me down the mountain are three Martial Uncles and ten junior brothers. Although those ten junior brothers are not as skilled as Martial Brother Jin, they can still protect themselves."
As soon as he spoke, everyone was shocked.
Jiuhua is about to join the Righteous Alliance to fight alongside various sects, so Xu Qingfan did not hide Jiuhua’s strength. In fact, when Jiuhua formally gets involved in the turmoil in the future, the strength cannot be hidden anymore. It is better to show their strength now to scare off some ill-intentioned individuals.
They need to be cautious about becoming targets for those with small minds, but Zhang Hualing and Xu Qingfan already have a strategy for this, so they are not worried.
As for Feng Qingtian, Xu Qingfan did not mention it at all.
"Oh? The ‘Qing’ generation of Jiuhua already has more than ten disciples in Core Formation?" Master Xu Heng asked slowly, his eyes flickering.
It is known that the younger generation of the Mercy Cloud Temple has eleven disciples in Core Formation, which is the most among all the sects. Does Jiuhua have even more than the Mercy Cloud Temple?
Xu Qingfan smiled and said slowly, "Including myself and Junior Brother Jin, there have been twenty-four brothers and sisters from the ‘Qing’ generation who successfully achieved Core Formation over the years."
If the sect leaders were surprised by what Xu Qingfan said earlier, now they are shocked.
Over the years, Jiuhua surprisingly has twenty-four young disciples in Core Formation? They have truly overshadowed the entire younger generation of the Righteous Alliance. If that is the case, how powerful will Jiuhua become in two hundred years?
For a moment, all the sect leaders and guardians were thinking about this question.
In fact, these sect leaders and guardians have overestimated Jiuhua. Although the "Jiuji Cave" helped these elite disciples of Jiuhua succeed in Core Formation, it also drained Jiuhua’s potential for the next hundred or so years. In fact, unless some elder from the "Hua" generation takes in more talented disciples, there will not be any "Qing" generation disciples from Jiuhua who can succeed in Core Formation. All disciples with the hope of Core Formation have already achieved it, and the rest have reached the limits of their talent.
But this overestimation is exactly what Xu Qingfan hoped for.
