Several days later, Mo Tiange, Qin Xi, Nie Wushang, and Lord Daoist Lingxi left Mount Taikang and went to Gujian Sect.
Four Nascent Soul cultivators came to visit at the same time, which shocked the Gujian Sect disciple so much that his eyes almost fell out. He hurriedly went to report, and Jing Xingzhi didn't delay and immediately welcomed them in.
Compared to Mount Taikang, Gujian Sect's encampment was much steeper, and Jing Xingzhi's cave was even more so.
This fellow chose a lone peak as his abode, and it was a direct path that was utterly impossible for anyone to live in. He lived alone at the peak of the mountain, and he only left two managing disciples to take care of it, causing him to seem cold, aloof, and have the bearing of an expert.
Mo Tiange clicked her tongue in admiration. "Living alone on a peak … Gujian Sect is really generous!"
Jing Xingzhi pouted. "That's where they're generous!"
He was referring to the peak at the back, which was the highest peak of Gujian Sect. Compared to this lone peak, that peak was more imposing and had better scenery.
Although it was Mo Tiange's first time here, she knew it was where Venerable Swordsman Yuanying's cave was. She smiled and said, "Senior Yuanying is obviously training you as her successor. Won't it be yours in the future?"
Upon hearing that, Jing Xingzhi hurriedly waved his hand. "Don't talk nonsense! I still have two senior martial brothers in my sect!" He looked very humble.
Mo Tiange and Nie Wushang rolled their eyes.
Qin Xi couldn't help but smile. "Fellow Daoist Jing, when did you become so cautious?"
"I've always been cautious, okay?" Jing Xingzhi also rolled his eyes.
In fact, before he left Gujian Sect, he had always been cautious in the sect. People from Venerable Swordsman Fuling's sect were always watching him. If he wasn't cautious, he would be caught.
It was just that he had a cynical nature, so after leaving Gujian Sect, he inevitably became a bit dissolute …
When they entered the cave, Ling Yunhe and Yang Chengji were already waiting for them. They greeted each other and sat down.
They hadn't seen each other for dozens of years, but both of them had advanced to the middle stage.
Mo Tiange looked them up and down. Yang Chengji was as silent as ever and couldn't see anything. Ling Yunhe looked less gloomy, seeming to have been living well these years.
Ling Yunhe looked at them and said with a smile, "I really couldn't tell in the past, but not only do Fellow Daoists Qin and Mo come from famous cultivation groups, Fellow Daoist Jing is also extraordinary, and Fellow Daoist Yang is the successor of the number one cultivator in the Celestial Pole.
What's wrong with you cultivators of the Celestial Pole?
All of you ran to Yunzhong, making us Yunzhong cultivators feel ashamed? "
Mo Tiange shook the teacup in her hand. "Fellow Daoist Ling, what are you talking about? Could it be that your Yunzhong doesn't have any talented cultivators?
Even the two of you are not older than us when you formed your Nascent Soul. "
Among the seven people present, Qin Xi, Jing Xingzhi, and Lord Daoist Lingxi were slightly older, Ling Yunhe and Nie Wushang were in the middle, and Yang Chengji and Mo Tiange were the youngest.
For Nascent Soul cultivators, being over a hundred years old wasn't even worth mentioning. Among them, Qin Xi, who advanced to the Nascent Soul realm the earliest, was only a hundred years old. Now, just like them, he was in the middle stage of the Nascent Soul realm.
"What are you talking about? You're the youngest among us to form our Nascent Soul. Are you trying to provoke us?" Lingyunhe said half-jokingly.
Mo Tiange smiled and waved her hand to beg for mercy. "Okay, okay, I said something wrong, okay?"
After chatting for a while, Jing Xingzhi got to the point. "Fellow Daoists, it wasn't convenient to communicate before, so I didn't tell you about the Qilin Sacrificial Temple in detail. Now that everyone is here, I'll tell you about the location and situation of the sacrificial temple."
He took out several Jade Slips, one for each person, and gave them to them. "This is a map. We'll have a long way to go, and there'll be many dangers. If we get separated, we'll go there by ourselves.
We won't waste our time waiting for anyone, so we have to be careful. "
No one had any objections. They all knew the current situation of Xiaoyang.
Yunzhong moved northward. Xiaoyang was surrounded by a vast sea, and the north was connected to the former South Sea of the Celestial Pole, which was extremely dangerous.
Jing Xingzhi found out that the Qilin Sacrificial Temple was in Xiaoyang, but the location was a bit off. As for where it was, they had to search carefully. If it went missing on the sea, how could other people find it?
Lord Daoist Lingxi probed with her divine sense and found a clear map drawn in the Jade Slip. Several points were marked on it, and they were the places where Gujian Sect disciples found the Qilin's breath.
The experiences and deductions of many disciples were recorded densely on the side, and it was extremely detailed.
His heart stirred slightly, and he sent a voice transmission to Qin Xi: "Senior Martial Brother Shoujing, this map is too detailed. Who exactly is this Fellow Daoist Jing …"
When going on a joint expedition, the person in charge would usually keep some important information, but the level of detail on this map was far beyond what they could tell their companions. It seemed to be all the information Gujian Sect disciples found.
Qin Xi smiled and said, "Rest assured, this information is all true."
Lord Daoist Lingxi didn't ask any more questions, but he had a different attitude towards Jing Xingzhi.
It seemed that this Venerable Swordsman Jing of Still Water and Senior Martial Brother Shoujing trusted each other to an unusual degree.
"… As you can see, we can only confirm that the Qilin is at the bottom of Xiaoyang's sea, but the location is a bit off.
That sea area is unimaginably dangerous. Core Formation disciples can't explore it, so we can only do it ourselves. "
Ling Yunhe cupped his hands and thanked him sincerely. "Fellow Daoist Jing, this information has saved us a lot of effort. It's all thanks to you that we can find out the location of the Qilin Sacrificial Temple."
Jing Xingzhi waved his hand. "Don't mention it.
I've always reaped the fruits of others' labor. Now that I have the ability, I should do my best. Okay, I've said what I wanted to say. Do you have anything else to add? "
No one spoke. Qin Xi said, "I have one thing to ask."
He pointed at Lord Daoist Lingxi next to him. "My junior martial brother will also go to Xiaoyang. Does anyone have any objections?"
Although he said "everyone", he was actually asking about Yang Chengji and Ling Yunhe.
They brought Lord Daoist Lingxi here, and Jing Xingzhi didn't hide anything, so how could the two of them not know?
Now that Qin Xi told him frankly, Ling Yunhe said, "We're not going to fight for treasures. If Fellow Daoist Lingxi is willing to go with us, I'm more than happy to."
Yang Chengji only said three simple words, "I have no objections."
Qin Xi smiled and said, "Similarly, if you have someone to go with you, you can come with us."
They looked at each other. Jing Xingzhi was the first to shake his head. "Gujian Sect isn't like Xuanqing School. My Martial Uncle Yuanying has to oversee the sect, and one of the two remaining senior martial brothers has to go to Kunzhong City. We don't have enough manpower." Then he looked at Ling Yunhe.
Ling Yunhe smiled bitterly. "Although I've regained Martial Uncle Yuanmu's favor, he still doesn't believe this matter.
Besides, Yunzhong has been in chaos these years, and Jiuyan Sect is short of manpower. I was able to leave because Martial Uncle Yuanmu gave me special authority. "
As for Yang Chengji, he didn't need to say anything. Does this guy have other friends?
"Then it's settled." As the host, Jing Xingzhi made the decision. "If there's nothing else, we'll leave tomorrow."
No one had any objections. They were already prepared to meet here.
The next day, before leaving, Jing Xingzhi went to bid farewell to Venerable Swordsman Yuanying, and Mo Tiange and the others also greeted him.
Venerable Swordsman Yuanying didn't say much. It was impossible for Jing Xingzhi to hide this from him. He already said what he should say and do, so he just said a few words and told the disciples to send them off.
After leaving Gujian Sect, Ling Yunhe sighed. "In the past, the cultivators of Yunzhong always thought Yunzhong was ranked first. The outer seas, whether it was Yuanzhou, Xiaoyang, or the Celestial Pole across the ocean, they couldn't compare to Yunzhong. Now that I think about it, they were really ignorant and arrogant.
The Celestial Pole has geniuses like you and a senior like Venerable Swordsman Yuanying. Even if they don't have enough people, they're not worse than Yunzhong … "
Mo Tiange joked. "Fellow Daoist Ling, when you went to Xuanqing School, why didn't you sigh like this?
Is Xuanqing School not as good as Gujian Sect? "
Ling Yunhe shook his head with a smile.
"No. Xuanqing School is indeed powerful and only lacks in number of Nascent Soul cultivators compared to Jiuyan Sect. However, Xuanqing School's cultivators have never exceeded what I've seen. As for Gujian Sect … Fellow Daoist Jing's senior is completely different from the cultivators of Yunzhong."
"Oh?" Jing Xingzhi was curious. "May I know what's different about Martial Uncle Yuanying?"
Ling Yunhe said, "Although Yunzhong doesn't have a powerful sword cultivation group like Gujian Sect, it also has a lot of sword cultivators.
The cultivation path of sword cultivators is nothing more than one sword to break ten thousand laws, and once the sword is drawn, there's no turning back. This Senior Yuanying is different. He has the spirit of a sword cultivator, but he also has the breadth of mind of a Dao cultivator … In the current cultivation world, sword cultivators only remember to cultivate the sword, but how many people remember that the reason why sword cultivators are different from martial cultivators is because sword cultivators have Daoism as their foundation?
Even Fellow Daoist Jing, aside from tempering your mental state, you don't attach too much importance to your Dao foundation, right? "
At first, he was just curious, but as he listened, Jing Xingzhi's expression became serious. This was an evaluation of sword cultivators he'd never heard before.
"… To put it bluntly, sword cultivators nowadays are too obsessed with power, so they've become a side path.
As for this Senior Yuanying, he's crazy about swords, but he's more tolerant. This is something that all the sword cultivators in the world, including Fellow Daoist Jing, can't compare to. "
"Yes," Jing Xingzhi couldn't help but say, "Everyone in the Celestial Pole knows that Martial Uncle Yuanying is upright and never biased. Even when I wasn't willing to return to Gujian Sect, he could still casually give me a huge fated chance. This kind of breadth of mind is indeed unparalleled …"
"Of course, this is just my personal opinion. Fellow Daoist Jing, you don't have to believe everything," Ling Yunhe added.
At this moment, Jing Xingzhi was overwhelmed with emotions. How could he really not believe it?
Ling Yunhe's words seemed to have opened a new door for him, letting him know that there was another way to walk the path of a sword cultivator, and this example was right beside him.
Aside from Jing Xingzhi thinking hard along the way, the group of seven of them flew to the small town where the long-distance Transporting Formation was located and used it to go to Yunzhong. Then, Ling Yunhe showed up and teleported from Nanzhou to a small island in the boundless sea.
Back then, when the continents changed their positions, the Transporting Formation between Yunzhong and Xiaoyang couldn't be used anymore. There was also the South Sea of the Celestial Pole in between, so it was extremely dangerous. Later on, a Nascent Soul cultivator bypassed the South Sea of the Celestial Pole from the east and spent several years to find a relatively safe small island near Xiaoyang. He re-established the Transporting Formation there and only then was he able to get in touch with Xiaoyang. Furthermore, he even used this opportunity to restore contact with Yuanzhou.
Nie Wushang had walked this path before. Once they arrived at the island, she said, "I'll lead the way."