"This is really ridiculous..."
Zhang Yao shook his head and motioned for the young man to continue speaking.
"Yes, Immortal."
The young man nodded and began to tell his story again.
It turned out that decades after Zhang Yao left, the Zhao family and the Qingping Palace had some interactions.
After the two parties interacted, they realized that they actually had a close relationship with each other, and the Zhao family took advantage of the opportunity to join the Qingping Palace and get close to the big tree.
More than a hundred years later:
Relying on this relationship, the Zhao family has always had someone in a high position, holding great power within the Qingping Sect.
Until a few years ago, when the Lu Kingdom entered the final years of its dynasty, the order in various places gradually collapsed. The Qingping Sect saw the right opportunity and took advantage of the situation to launch a rebellion directly under the banner of Shuntian and Uprising.
In just a few years:
Relying on the strong power it has accumulated, the Qingping Sect has conquered all directions and conquered several states in the south, becoming the leading warlord in the world.
But as the cake grew bigger, the internal conflicts within the Qingping Sect did not ease.
In the process of conquering all the way, the Qingping Sect took advantage of the situation and absorbed many aristocratic families, powerful people, and martial arts sects from all over the world.
The major factions within the sect are desperately trying to win over and compete for these new forces. With frequent conflicts of interest, internal conflicts have become increasingly acute.
Finally, a month ago, a big fight broke out within the Qingping Sect.
The young man's father died unexpectedly during this internal turmoil. His mother took him out of the Qingping Sect General Forum, but in order to protect him on the way, she died in the hands of a group of pursuers.
Unfortunately, he was alone and homeless, and luckily escaped to Baihe City. Relying on the favors left by his father, he found a Cao Gang leader's home and asked for asylum.
It’s sad to say:
The leader of the Cao Gang died in an accident a few years ago, leaving only his father and young daughter at home.
But this old boatman was also a tough-minded hero in his youth, and he always kept in mind the life-saving grace of his young father to his son.
After hearing what happened to the young man, the old boatman took him and his granddaughter without saying a word, and planned to escape by boat to the depths of Baibo Lake to temporarily avoid the limelight and wait for an opportunity to leave Jiangzhou.
Unexpectedly, they had just walked halfway through the journey when someone followed the clues and followed them. If Zhang Yao hadn't helped, they would have almost died.
"It's time and destiny..."
Zhang Yao sighed, looked at the young man, and said warmly:
"It's your fate that you and I can meet today."
"You have a rough life and are now lonely and helpless. If you have no other place to go, you can follow me to the island to practice for a few years."
"I am an old friend of Master Qingxu, and I know a little bit about his Qingxu True Sutra."
When the young man heard this, he was immediately overjoyed and quickly knelt down on the ground:
"Thank you, Immortal... No, thank you Master for your mercy."
"There is no need to call me master. Although I have a predestined relationship with Dharma, I am not a master or disciple. Please get up first."
Zhang Yao waved his hand, looked at the old boatman and the little girl aside, and said:
"Those people just now will no longer remember you."
"I still have some gold and silver treasures here. You can take them and find an island to wait for half a month before you can leave Jiangzhou safely."
The old boatman opened his mouth, as if he wanted to say something, but in the end he just bowed his head and said yes.
"Let's go."
Zhang Yao turned around with a flick of his sleeves, raised his flying sword and escaped with light, took the young man with him, and flew away.
"Hey... let's go too."
The old man touched his granddaughter's head and looked sad:
"That boy from the Zhao family can actually meet an immortal on Baibo Lake. Even if he cannot become a disciple, it is still a great opportunity."
"But we don't have that fate, so we don't have to force it..."
…………
After a while.
On Kirigakure Island, the young man Zhao Hechu, who had just landed, was still a little dizzy and almost fell to the ground.
"Immortal."
He shook his head, recalling the scene of his flight just now, and couldn't help but show a hint of anticipation:
"Can I learn these immortal spells?"
Zhang Yao shook his head and said:
"You don't have spiritual roots, so you can't learn these immortal methods."
"I will leave this Kirigakure Island in a few years at most. You'd better take advantage of this time to learn as much as possible about the Qingxu Sutra."
"……I see."
Zhao Hechu looked a little disappointed, but after all, he was a young man and quickly regained his energy.
After he got Zhang Yao's permission, he explored around Wuyin Island. Everything he saw opened his eyes and made him exclaim in surprise from time to time.
A few hours later, Zhang Yao cooked some spiritual rice and served it to Zhao Hechu.
Zhao Hechu took it carefully, and while eating it politely, he seemed to be unable to hold back his curiosity and asked:
"Immortal, since you know Master Qingxu, what kind of person is he?"
"I heard from my father that he is an elder of our ancestors. It is said that his martial arts skills are earth-shattering, but very mysterious..."
Hearing this, Zhang Yao was silent for a moment, then smiled lightly and said:
"You don't have to be so restrained."
"As for Master Qingxu... he is a lazy guy who is greedy for life and afraid of death."
…………
Five years later.
In the quiet room, Zhang Yao carefully looked at the earth soul crystal in his hand.
The feeling of all things coming to life was so intense that if he were not in a closed room, the golden light emitted from the crystal would be enough to illuminate a hundred feet in radius.
"It should be very close to the completion of transformation..."
With Zhang Yao thinking like this, he skillfully mobilized his vitality and once again entered the earth soul crystal.
He has repeated this action thousands of times.
But this time, it was obviously different.
"Um?"
Zhang Yao's expression changed slightly, and he noticed that the Earth Soul Crystal in his hand began to actively absorb his vitality.
The bright golden light became more and more dazzling, almost shaking people's eyes and making it difficult to look straight.
Zhang Yao showed a hint of surprise and quickly increased his energy flow:
"It seems we are finally reaching the final stage!"
Two years, five years, ten years...
Twenty years, one hundred years, five hundred years...
The Earth Soul Crystal frantically absorbed vitality, and in just a few moments, it absorbed more than a thousand years of lifespan.
"Damn...this thing is so suckable."
Zhang Yao's face gradually turned pale, and his skin showed signs of dryness.
The two breaths of essence and essence are closely related. Too severe fluctuations in vitality will also cause damage to essence and blood, but the degree is far less than direct burning of essence and blood.
Less than half an hour later.
"call……"
The flow of vitality finally slowed down, and Zhang Yao couldn't help but let out a sigh of relief.
After a few breaths, the ocean-like golden light gradually dissipated, revealing a pale golden crystal.
Inside the crystal, cyan air flow surged, and there was a small baby curled up at the core, with his eyes closed and his expression peaceful.
"this……"
Zhang Yao looked at it carefully and showed a hint of hesitation:
"What is this?"
(End of chapter)
