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Chapter 15: The New Patriarch
Two hours ago, Bluecloud Summit.
After Wei Tianli took Jing Yue away, the rest of the people looked at each other in bafflement. What just happened? Why did the Jadecloud Bell chime again?
… No idea.
… Oh, such a coincidence. I have no idea either.
They were Golden Core cultivators and not privy to the sect’s secrets. They only knew the sect was looking for the auspicious person.
Thus, someone asked, “Could it be… that person just now?”
“Maybe.”
Subsequently, about a dozen Amethyst Abode cultivators barged into the hall, “What happened?”
All the Zhenren in the hall shook their heads.
The crowd started discussing the events that unfolded, without much substance, merely speculations, totally unbecoming of their positions. If Jing Yue was here, he would realize that there was not much difference between the esteemed cultivators and the villagers of Minisun Town when it came to gossiping.
Liu Tianhao clenched his fists in anger and nearly grounded his teeth into pieces.
Look at me! Look at me quickly! Have you forgotten my existence!
My talent was not too bad, right?!
He wanted to shout aloud, but it was merely a thought.
Time slowly passed. Liu Tianhao hung his head low the whole time. He saw different pairs of shoes walking past him, different robes flowing beside him, but none of them stopped for him.
He felt alone.
Suddenly, the bell rang again.
The hall went silent before all the cultivators walked outside.
Liu Tianhao hesitated for a moment, wondering what was happening in Frostcloud Sect. Hadn’t the Jadecloud Bell been silent for the last ten thousand years? With burning curiosity, he plucked up the courage and stood by the door.
Thereafter, he witnessed the miraculous spectacle.
Frore City.
It was late in the evening and the tavern was bursting with customers. The burly man who took the limelight in the daytime was still busy retelling his encounter with the young boy, and the chime of the bell added a mysterious aura to the story.
Everyone was lost in the tale and their minds were active with different imaginations.
Suddenly, they turned their heads towards the scene in the sky in unison.
Under the resounding chimes of the bell, the evening sky looked like it was split apart, half yellow and half blue.
As if the hot summer had met with the cold winter, the desert had met with the ocean.
Sword Inscription Sect.
A young man in dark robes stood ramrod straight with a sword in his hand. A Daoist priest standing behind him waved, “A change in Frostcloud Sect. Yanzhi, I’m afraid you’ll have to make a trip to the Evernorth.”
The young man’s voice was sharp and clear, “Yes.”
Ghost Lurking Sect.
In the bedchamber, about a dozen naked young men and women were sitting or lying around, each one with outstanding appearance and tantalizing figures. The only man standing among them, dressed in red robes, slowly untied the ribbon that held it together, removed it and tossed it carelessly to the side. The red silk floated in the air and one corner of it slid over his lanky but muscular body.
This person had deep-set eyes and a high nose, eyes piercing like an eagle, and even when placed within such a provocative scene, he did not seem lewd in the least.
Suddenly, he turned towards the North and his eyes became ominous, voice betraying his hatred, “Damn that Frostcloud Sect!”
Three Realm Temple.
A long browed reverend sat majestically in the chanting room, his weather-beaten face full of smiles, “An old acquaintance has returned.”
Present time, Frostcloud Sect, Hall of the Patriarch.
Jing Yue nodded at Yi Ye, diverting the latter’s rapt attention from the unusual occurrence.
Yi Ye said solemnly, “To all summit leaders, come forth to the Hall of the Patriarch on Whitefog Summit to pay your respects to the Patriarch!”
His voice was not loud but it permeated every single corner of Frostcloud Sect.
On that very night, every light in Frostcloud Sect shone brightly. All the elders’ confusion and wild guesses were not answered. When dawn broke, all the cultivators and residents of Frore City heard one piece of news.
A new patriarch had appeared in Frostcloud Sect.
“Apparently, the new patriarch accidentally inherited Daoist-Master Jing Yuan’s legacy, the Art of Ten Desolate Universe, a Heaven-grade technique! Even the previous internal disciples of the Daoist-Master have only mastered one small portion of the technique each.”
“So, the unusual occurrence at the Frostcloud Sect the other day, it must be an apparition caused by Daoist-Master Jing Yuan!”
“Is the new patriarch the auspicious person they’re looking for?”
“I don’t think so. The auspicious person the Frostcloud Sect is looking for should be below the age of eighteen. How can the new patriarch be that young?”
“I’ve heard that the Art of Ten Desolate Universe is still incomplete. Even a talented genius like Daoist-Master Jing Yuan was unable to complete it, so can the new patriarch do it?”
Everyone was curious about the new patriarch of Frostcloud Sect, and the entire cultivation world was talking about this matter. Despite that, other than the summit leaders of Frostcloud Sect, nobody knew that the new patriarch was, in fact, only a child.
Not long after that, Frostcloud Sect sent out a notice for all the traveling disciples to return to the sect. Consequently, notices and invitations were sent to all the other sects that a formal Patriarch Initiation Ceremony will be held in a year’s time.
The news was abuzz in the outside world, but Jing Yue simply moved into the Whitefog Summit calmly.
This was one of the places with the most spiritual energy in Frostcloud Sect, highly beneficial for practice, and Jing Yue’s cultivation improved by leaps and bounds.
At the same time, he had developed a piece of land for farming at the back of the mountain, and would spend most of his time growing plants and playing with ‘the bird’. At leisure, he would give some pointers to the patriarchs and elders in their cultivation, trying his best to make up for some of the lost legacies of Frostcloud Sect.
It was said that the few hundred medicinal shops under the influence of Frostcloud Sect had recently launched many new medicines, and even the pre-existing medicines had been enhanced. On a daily basis, their business was so good that even the other medicinal shops were jealous.
With the current progress, Jing Yue had attained Level 3 Qi Refining within half a year.
A lightning blast about the size of two-finger width was released from Jing Yue’s hands, blasting a big rock to pieces.
“Cheep, cheep, cheep!”
Jing Yue turned around and saw the blue phoenix being held upside-down by Yi Ye, struggling and flapping its little wings miserably.
Very well, the daily performance of the silly stand-up comedy had started again.
Yi Ye tossed the blue phoenix aside, straightened his robe, and said, “Shizun, I heard that you’ve been practicing the basic swordplay of Frostcloud Sect recently?”
“That’s right. The Canglan swordplay can only be practiced at the Foundation Establishment stage, while the basic swordplay is derived from the Canglan swordplay, so it’s the perfect time for me to practice it now.”
Of course, Yi Ye also knew that the Canglan swordplay was the most important part of the Art of Ten Desolate Universe, and also the part that Shizun had never been able to complete. Despite that, the Canglan swordplay was revered by the world’s sword cultivators, and the power of the basic swordplay that was derived from it was not to be underestimated.
However, he was not here because of this.
Yi Ye took out a sword box from his Qiankun pouch and offered it up to Jing Yue with both hands. “Shizun, this is the Frostflame Sword with double elements of lightning and water. This disciple obtained it by chance from a hidden realm.”
Jing Yue used his divine consciousness to scan the sword, and found it to be a premium-quality precious artifact.
In the cultivation world, all the weapons were categorized into 5 levels from the lowest of Gradeless Artifact, Magical Artifact, Spiritual Artifact, Precious Artifact, and Celestial Artifact. Each level of artifact was further categorized into low-quality, mid-quality, high-quality, and premium-quality. According to the legends from the mid-historic era, there was even the Divine level artifact, but that was just a legend.
Jing Yue, “This sword is very compatible with me. You’re too kind.”
Looking at Yi Ye’s wrinkled smiling face, Jing Yue continued, “But I’m just at the Qi Refining stage and can’t even wield one-thousandth of the power of this sword. It’ll be a waste.”
He took out another sword from his Qiankun pouch, “This is the Purple Wood Sword, and it belongs to the Chen family of Megasun City that I’ve mentioned to you. Before I left, the Chen family head has given this sword to me. Although it’s only a magical artifact, it’s enough for a Qi Refining cultivator like me.”
“But…”
“Be good. Keep the sword.”
Seeing Jing Yue’s resolute attitude, Yi Ye kept the sword box dejectedly. Although he was very old with a respectable status, he dared not raise any objections, even if the other party was only eleven years old.
In a blink of an eye, three months had passed, and Jing Yue’s spiritual garden thrived under his care, but the Golden Chestnut Flower he transplanted had started wilting for some reason.
Blue phoenix crossed its wings over its chest and wiggled its legs, “The Golden Chestnut Flower must be accompanied by a ferocious beast as the seedling will only draw nutrients from the secretions of the ferocious beast as nourishment. But there are only spiritual beasts in Frostcloud Sect, so it’s no wonder the growth is stunted.”
“Really?”
Jing Yue had very little knowledge about farming, so it was the first time he had heard about the special characteristics of the Golden Chestnut Flower.
“Humph, forget it if you don’t believe me.”
Jing Yue was mildly skeptical, but he decided to give it a try.
He went down the mountain and headed directly towards the Ferocious Beast Market in Frore City.
Since ferocious beasts were used not only in refining medicines and weapons, but the blood of ferocious beasts could also be used in charm creations and formations, so the trading of ferocious beasts was very popular.
It was currently past 9 in the morning and was one of the busiest times in the marketplace. There were many shops on both sides of the street and many customers walking in and out of each shop. There were also some street vendors scattered around; due to limited funds, they could only use cages enhanced with simple formations to confine the beasts.
The noise in the marketplace was deafening and a stench filled the air.
As Jing Yue walked along, he listened to the blue phoenix’s explanation. He had discovered that the blue phoenix was quite knowledgeable in all kinds of beasts, whether the hierarchical structure, species, habits, strength, or even habitat distribution, it could provide useful commentaries about everything.
“Wait! That one’s not bad, the Golden Crocodile beast. It has a little Yao bloodline so its blood Qi is very strong. The spikes on its back secrete a type of fluid that is favored by the Golden Chestnut Flower.”
The ferocious beast mentioned by the blue phoenix looked like a crocodile with long spikes on its back.
Of course, Jing Yue recognized the golden crocodile beast, but it was the first time he had heard that it could be used in this manner.
“This crocodile loves to eat fish the most, and will even eat ordinary fish, so it’s very easy to rear.”
Jing Yue, “Ji-ji, you really surprised me today.”
With that said, he ignored the blue phoenix that extended its beak high up in the air and turned to the stall owner instead, “I want two golden crocodile beasts, one male and one female. By the way, do you sell fish here?”
The stall owner had noticed him for quite a while, but since he was just a kid, he thought he was browsing around out of curiosity, so he had not bothered to greet him.
Who knew the kid would actually purchase something.
The stall owner asked reflexively, “Why do you want the fish for?”
“To feed it.”
The stall owner sucked in a breath of cold air, “This is a level-2 ferocious beast and its strength is comparable to a Qi Refining cultivator! Don’t be fooled by its docile behavior now, it’s been fed with some medicine not too long ago. Usually, it’s very fierce and uncontrollable…”
Before he finished speaking, a spirit-stone struck the stall owner on the chest.
“I want all the golden crocodile beasts from your stall.”
The stall owner wanted to reject the request outright. One spirit-stone for all the crocodiles? Was that a joke? However, when he saw the token held out by the slanted-eyed man, he got a fright and hastily said, “Sure, sure, sure.”
Subsequently, he looked apologetically at Jing Yue.
Jing Yue turned around and saw a man in his twenties, not ugly, but with his slanted eyes and eyebrows, he looked like a villain.
He said, “I wanted to buy it first.”
The slanted eyed man was taken aback. He could not believe someone would dare to fight with him.
When he saw that the other party was a young boy, alone and inconspicuously dressed, he laughed jeeringly, “You? Someone with your size, it could easily snap your neck with one bite, hahaha…”
Jing Yue was unmoved and reiterated, “First come, first served.”
The slanted eyed man frowned, “How dare you! Are you trying to make an enemy out of Frostcloud Sect?”
Author’s Notes: Mini-theater
Peanut Gallery: Who can the new Laozu of Frostcloud Sect be?
Jing-jing’s eyes flashed: One who looks like a child but more intelligent than most adults… a third-grader in elementary school (not)
…
Young man in dark robes: I finally made an appearance (scatters flowers)