Chapter 312: The Destiny of the Night Watcher
“Disciples from the Five Great Immortal Sects have already consumed the relic fruits, and their Realms have rapidly improved without any abnormalities or signs of evil transformation.”
“However, the methods of consumption vary among the great Immortal Sects. Some refine them into medicinal liquids to drink, some process them into Medicinal Pills,
while others absorb them after they are integrated into the Qi and blood outside the body.”
“Additionally, the Tianchi relic on the west side of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion Dao field in Yong Province has been opened.”
“One of the five main pulse of Asked the Dao Sect has gone to Duanhun Mountain.”
“Recently, there have been vast Wujiang Realm auras emanating from Tianjian Peak, suggesting that those in higher Realms have already tried the fruits.”
It was a drizzly spring day, with the sky covered by dark clouds, the surroundings gloomy, and no sunlight piercing through.
Ji You was sitting in a teahouse in a county town called Wangyue in southeastern Qing Province, holding a message from the little Master Jian, examining it carefully.
Ever since the Dan Sect left, he had traveled directly here, then staked out the vicinity of the Great Barren Forest for a long time, confirming that people were indeed entering and exiting the relic.
However, the Immortal Sects acted with strict secrecy, tightly sealing off the area around the Great Barren Forest. Even the surging torrents of the Mist River were cut off by secret methods, making it impossible for him to enter the relic and investigate for a long time.
Nevertheless, auras of breakthrough often emanated from the forest, confirming to Ji You that someone had already consumed the fruits.
After all, for cultivators in the Qingyun World, it was truly difficult for them to resist using a “celestial item” that could enhance their Realm.
And this letter from Yan Shuyi completely confirmed his thoughts.
Even without the aid of an Alchemist, they had still begun to experiment, even developing various methods for consuming the relic fruits, such as integrating them into the Qi and blood outside the body for absorption, which sounded truly advanced.
Ji You finished reading the letter, then asked the waiter for paper and a brush, and wrote a reply to Yan Shuyi amidst the distant rumble of thunder.
“Two disputes have broken out in the Great Barren Forest, with two major lineages of Asked the Dao Sect clashing. It seems that, like your Lingjian Mountain,
their internal unity is not complete, and now their desires have been magnified by the so-called Immortal Opportunity, leading to growing conflicts. This is indeed cause for celebration.”
“Furthermore, the number of people coming and going in the forest has steadily decreased in recent days, especially almost all experts above the Innate Realm have withdrawn. I believe this place must have been emptied, which might be why the Mountain and Sea Pavilion opened the relic right at their doorstep.”
“No Evil Seeds have been found in the forest, which is good news. I will go to Yong Province to take a look later.”
“Qiu Ru doesn’t like cultivating and is also gluttonous. Please look after her well for me and don’t spoil her too much.”
After writing the letter, Ji You put it into his sleeve, then drank all the water from the teapot.
Currently, it seems the fruits in the relic are truly a great fortune bestowed upon the Human Race by the Heavenly Dao, just like the Heavenly Dao’s favor that cultivators often speak of.
However, the existence of Dao fruits within a relic, and the appearance of Immortal Opportunities in a place that devours people, is inherently problematic.
But for Ji You, if this Immortal Opportunity truly wouldn't lead to disaster, wouldn't leave corpses strewn across the land, and wouldn't harm Feng Province, he truly wouldn't want to meddle in such affairs.
Ji You pondered for a long time, then got up and walked towards the teahouse, deciding to go to Tianchi again.
As he stood up, the sixteen bamboo chopsticks arranged in a formation on the table suddenly fell with a “clatter,” as if all support had been withdrawn, scattering across the wooden table.
The Spiritual Qi that had previously gathered in the middle of the chopsticks lost its direction and instantly began to swirl, scattering the uneaten tea snacks on the table.
After a few breaths, the Spiritual Qi gradually dissipated, and everything returned to calm.
The waiter in the teahouse had never seen such a strange thing. He stared at it for a long time before cautiously approaching to clean up.
Three days later, the temperature gradually rose, and wildflowers bloomed across the hills.
Ji You flew to Yong Province and, under the cover of night, went to Tianchi, not far from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion.
This place is located in a warm wind zone, with a circular high mountain in the center. The accumulated rain over the years has formed a huge lake in the depressed mountain top, which looks magnificent from afar, hence its name.
The Tianchi relic is located in a desolate, uninhabited dense forest on its southeastern side, and its scale is even larger than that of the Great Barren Forest.
Yong Province only has one Immortal Sect, the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. Although it is not written in the qingyun immortal rules, by common consent of the people of the world, the Mountain and Sea Pavilion is the true master of Yong Province.
Therefore, unlike the situation in the Great Barren Forest where Immortal Sects gathered, the area around the Tianchi relic only had Mountain and Sea Pavilion Disciples, no other Immortal Sects, and the defense was even stricter than in the Great Barren Forest.
However, even though there was only one Family, it didn't mean there was no contention.
As soon as Ji You concealed his aura and entered the forest, he saw constant flashes of blades and swords, and Spiritual Qi flowing everywhere.
“Second Young Master, we are of the same Sect. Why did you suddenly launch an attack?”
“Father has entrusted this matter entirely to me. I'm not sure what Huo Xingzhong’s intention was in sending you here.”
In the dim forest, a man in luxurious robes with a jade-like face spoke slowly, his eyes cold.
The questioner looked up and said, “The Eldest Young Master is the next Sect Master of our Mountain and Sea Pavilion. He naturally has the authority to handle Sect affairs. Second Young Master, aren't you being a bit presumptuous by being so aggressive?”
“Don’t try to pressure me with that. Eldest Brother is merely attempting to control the Sacred Artifact; he is not yet the Sect Master.”
“You—”
The man in luxurious robes looked up at him: “After the relic fruits are taken out, I will naturally send them all to the Pavilion. Please go back and tell Eldest Brother to focus on controlling the artifact and not waste his thoughts on mundane things.”
Ji You watched this scene from the side, finding it quite interesting.
The Legacy model of the Qingyun World was destined for the disorderly proliferation and dispersion of bloodlines. For example, if an Immortal Sect Master had three sons, these three sons would become the three major lineages for the next hundred years.
For a vast Immortal Sect, three main lineages might not seem like many, but within the Immortal Sect, there were also their Elders, and Elders of Elders, all of whom would participate in the struggle for succession, secretly placing their bets.
In ordinary times, everyone would sit in deep mountains, competing on Realm and talent. Whoever was superior would win, and there wouldn't be too much friction.
But now that the Immortal Opportunity of the relic had appeared, it seemed to offer everyone a cheat option, naturally stirring up countless desires.
Ji You often read literary works in the past where certain wealthy Sect had a single heir for three generations, or five generations, and always wondered if they had committed too many sins to be unable to have sons.
But putting himself in this environment, he realized that a single heir was entirely for the purpose of consolidating power during succession.
Otherwise, just through Family divisions, a top-tier Family would inevitably be broken apart within three generations.
Even if an Immortal Sect had a Sacred Artifact to suppress it and prevent Family division, internal struggles within the Family would quickly deplete the Family’s Luck.
During his time in the Great Barren Forest, Ji You hadn't investigated the specific situation of the relic, but he had learned a lot of gossip, and thus remembered some people.
For example, the third Young Master of Asked the Dao Sect, and also the second Young Master of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion before him.
The third Young Master of Asked the Dao Sect, named Shang Xiyao, was no weaker in talent than his direct Elder brother, Shang Xiyao, and had always been eager for the right of succession.
The previous conflict in the Great Barren Forest was due to Shang Xiyao's sudden intervention, and at that time, many Asked the Dao Sect Disciples were shouting for the third Young Master.
Moreover, from Ji You's observation, this third Young Master had quite a few supporters behind him, and it seemed they all wanted to use the Immortal Opportunity in this relic to turn things around.
After all, although Asked the Dao Sect had just announced that Shang Xiyao would control the artifact, he hadn't actually succeeded yet. For this third Young Master, if he borrowed the Immortal Opportunity, he wasn't entirely without a chance.
As for Huo Xingzhong, the second Young Master of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, his situation was similar to Shang Xiyao of Asked the Dao Sect.
Huo Xingzhong, the direct Disciple of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, was his half-brother, but ever since Huo Xingzhong became a direct Disciple, Huo Xingzhong had always harbored resentment.
In the past, no matter how unwilling he was, it would only be impotent rage, but the Immortal Opportunity of the relic gave him a glimmer of hope.
This was like the struggle for the Imperial Dynasty throne; everyone would try every means to gain an advantage, even if the risks were unclear.
Even if they ultimately couldn't control the Sacred Artifact, as long as they increased their stakes before the power succession, they could avoid being purged during the succession.
The standoff in the gloomy mountain forest lasted for a long time, and in the end, the people arranged by Huo Xingzhong temporarily retreated.
They were, after all, of the same Sect, and it was impossible for them to truly fight to the death openly.
Ji You watched that group of people leave, then turned his gaze back to Huo Xingzhong.
He had just entered the Innate Realm not long ago, and his aura was gradually stabilizing. He wondered if he had eaten a Vermilion Fruit.
If he hadn't, he truly counted as a Prodigy, and it was no wonder that a desire for power struggle was vaguely revealed in his eyes.
As soon as this thought occurred to him, he couldn't help but recall Huo Hong, the illegitimate son of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion who had broken both his legs in the Dongping Mountain Range.
This person had disappeared without a trace after leaving the Dongping Mountain Range, and he must have become a casualty of the power struggle. He was different; his Family had no Family property to inherit, and presumably, whoever's child it was would inherit their Family's things later on.
While he was deep in thought, Ji You suddenly came to his senses.
In the gloomy mountain forest, a surging Divine Thought was assaulting this place.
Seeing this, Ji You instantly pulled down a few branches that were in front of his eyes, and at the same time, quickly retracted the golden light in his eyes, leaping down from the cliff.
However, that Divine Thought pursued relentlessly, roaring directly along the ridge.
Buzz!
The mountain forest trembled, and all the trees.
An aged figure appeared from under the night, with hair like snow and robes fluttering, like a flapping eagle. He suddenly shook his arms, and a pair of wrinkled large hands abruptly clapped down across the sky.
Vast palm force, enveloped in a blinding Mystic Light, poured down like a celestial river, heavily smashing towards the foothills.
In an instant, dust and sand surged into the sky like enraged Dragons, earth and stones splattered, and deafening explosions awakened the entire night.
However, after the dust settled, the Elder couldn't help but frown.
Because the spot he struck only had a few broken branches and a Spirit Stone shattered by the Qi, with no trace of a person, which made him feel strange.
He had clearly felt a faint Spiritual Qi fluctuation just now, pursuing it with the Wujiang Realm's distance-ignoring movement technique, so how could he not find anyone?
The Elder looked at the few branches, then glanced at the surrounding trees, and his frown deepened.
These broken branches and the surrounding trees were clearly not of the same species.
Just then, Huo Xingyun, dressed in splendid robes, stepped through the air, his clothes fluttering as he landed beside the Elder.
"Uncle, what happened?"
"I felt a faint aura just now, as if someone had been peeking from outside the forest, but when I arrived, I found no one."
Huo Xingyun frowned tightly upon hearing this, his cold gaze sweeping around: "It must be someone from Huo Xingzhong's subordinates again."
The Elder looked at Huo Xingyun upon hearing this: "The First Young Master is taking over the Sacred Artifact; he doesn't have that much thought to arrange things so meticulously.
The person who came might be from the Fifth Young Master."
"Huo Xingzhou? What can he do?"
"The Second Young Master should not underestimate the Fifth Young Master too much; none of you brothers are simple."
The Elder's name was Huo Shun, a figure from the previous generation's main lineage of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. He had placed his bet on Huo Xingyun among the Five Young Masters of the Mountain and Sea, and was also his Dao Protector.
When the Sect Master announced that Huo Xingzhong would take over the Sacred Artifact, they originally thought it was settled, but who knew that the sudden appearance of an Opportunity in the ruins rekindled hope, so they were also the first to send people to the Great Barren Forest.
Huo Xingyun pondered for a while before suddenly speaking: "Uncle, why did you come to Tianchi Mountain late at night?"
"The second batch of original fluid has been refined."
"How much was kept?"
"Fifty percent. We told the Sect it was thirty percent; the remaining fifty percent was given to the Sect."
Huo Xingyun nodded upon hearing this, then, led by Huo Shun, he rushed back to the Sect.
Not long after, in the Elder Peak on the right side of the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, countless people received a jade bottle.
Inside the jade bottle flowed a fiery glow, emitting countless alluring Immortal lights. Just uncorking the bottle and taking a light sniff was enough to feel a vast and majestic Immortal power.
In the silent deep night, Ji You, who had escaped pursuit from a Wujiang Realm expert, had already arrived at a mountain in the southeast, sitting cross-legged.
He was simultaneously cultivating and gazing at the distant, cloud-shrouded Mountain and Sea Peak, which resembled a colossal beast devouring the sky.
He had overheard some of Huo Shun and Huo Xingyun's conversation and knew that the Mountain and Sea Pavilion processed the ruin fruits by refining them into liquid, so he had been observing their reactions.
In the silent night sky, all was quiet, with only the constant chirping of insects and birds, as if everything was perfectly calm.
As he watched, he suddenly recalled the story of the Night Watcher, and he couldn't help but frown.
To be honest, he was currently on watch, as if it were his destiny.
Perhaps it was because he had read too many literary works about 'my fate is up to me, not up to heaven' before his Transmigration, he actually didn't believe in fatalism, but at this moment, he felt more and more like a Night Watcher.
But that was just his personality.
After seeing the broken branch that his sister had cut by the river that day, he had to see everything with his own eyes, fearing he would miss something.
Time passed until the latter half of the night, and Ji You gradually began to feel sleepy.
He had been traveling for several days, from Dan Mountain to Qing Province, and then from Qing Province to Yong Province. Even cultivators would get tired without regular sleep.
However, just as he was about to close his eyes, a Mystic Light suddenly appeared among the peaks in the sea of clouds, instantly dispelling all his sleepiness.
Before long, another Mystic Light appeared, followed by the third, fourth, and fifth, until finally fifteen Mystic Lights rose towards the sky simultaneously, causing the surrounding wind and clouds to surge and grass and leaves to fly chaotically.
Indeed, no one could resist the temptation of an Opportunity, especially an Opportunity already in hand.
Ji You rose from the wild grass, gazed into the distance, then reined in his aura and leaped down the mountain.
The surging aura on the mountain was indeed that of breaking through to a new Realm; there was nothing strange about it.
He had once been a Dao cultivator, so he could confirm this point.
He drifted down to the foot of the mountain and sat on the water tower in the small town at the mountain's base, waiting until dawn.
The fifteen Mystic Lights lasted all night, then gradually disappeared. There was no sound from the mountain, and no Evil Seed appeared in the small town at the mountain's base. Everything was different from what he had worried about.
Was it truly an Opportunity bestowed by the Heavenly Dao?
Ji You sat quietly on the water tower, muttering to himself.
For the Mountain and Sea Pavilion, two batches of items from the ruins had already been salvaged. One batch came from the Great Barren Forest, and various Immortal Sects each had a few in hand.
After these fruits appeared, they were originally supposed to be refined by Alchemists, but according to Yan Shuyi's message, after the plan failed, the Immortal Sect selected collateral Disciple within the Sect to test the fruits on humans.
Including last night, many people waited until the latter half of the night to consume the fruit liquid, fundamentally because of their caution.
After all, with the matter of Qi Ridge preceding it, no one would easily believe that it was a benevolent fruit.
But the current facts seemed to prove that it was indeed a true Opportunity.
As Ji You pondered, he suddenly noticed countless sounds of aerial flight roaring from the Mountain and Sea Pavilion. Figures soared above the Void Realm, weaving through the dazzling lights in the sky, descending towards the Tianchi direction.
"The fruits are harmless, and those who consumed them have shown great improvement. It seems it truly is the Heavenly Dao's favor."
"If I had known this, I shouldn't have been so cautious in the first place, and gone to the Dan Sect unnecessarily, losing one of my Wujiang Realm Elders."
"Continue to explore deeper, be cautious, and do not reveal the news for now, even to the Sect."
The temperature in Qingyun World continued to rise, and the green seedlings in the fields were already emerging.
Ji You had been staking out the Mountain and Sea Pavilion for a long time and received another letter from the Little Master Jian.
Just as he had seen that morning, after human trials and various methods of extraction and refinement, the major Immortal Sects had all confirmed that the fruits were harmless.
News that Asked the Dao Sect, the Chen Clan, and the Xuan Yuan Immortal Mansion had secretly opened the ruins in their respective controlled areas made Ji You frown tightly.
To be honest, even if there was news that someone had eaten the fruit and transformed into an Evil Seed, he could accept it, but the problem was that there wasn't. How exactly did the Bu family acquire the ability to transform into Evil Seed?
Could it be that what they ate was not the fruit from the ruins?
Ji You held Yan Shuyi's message and read it for a long time, then took out another letter from the Tianshu Academy from his sleeve and gently unfolded it.
The Tiandao Conference is held once every five years, and in between, there is another grand event called the Youxian Assembly.
And what was inside this letter was an invitation to the Youxian Assembly.
Ji You originally didn't plan to go, because the Youxian Assembly wouldn't allow him to enter the Xianxian Holy Land again. Only during the Heavenly Dao Sacrifice, which is rumored to be a day when Immortals guide and the Human Race sacrifices to Heaven, there will be feedback from the Heavenly Dao, and cultivators will gain Dao comprehension and Legacy under the starry sky.
But he couldn't break through to a new Realm anyway, so he naturally avoided it.
However, after seeing Yan Shuyi's message, he still decided to go and join the fun.
Of course, he wouldn't participate in the competition, because with his current combat power, if he were to compete in the Tong Xuan Realm, he truly wouldn't be able to hold back.
Moreover, after learning that the Night Watcher's Legacy might have been severed by the Immortal Sect, he was indeed afraid that someone would see something in him.
The reason he wanted to go was to see with his own eyes those who had consumed the ruin fruits.
Calamity must have traceable signs; it couldn't be hidden so perfectly, unless it truly was an Opportunity.
Then he would have nothing to say, and from then on, he would give up the investigation, cultivate diligently, outlive the old man, and lead Feng Province to prosperity.
As he pondered, Ji You suddenly looked sideways at the nearby mountain stream.
Huo Xingyun, perhaps to guard against Huo Xingzhong's secret inspections, had significantly strengthened the blockade around the Tianchi ruins, with even Innate Realm and Wujiang Realm experts appearing.
He had kept his aura perfectly concealed for the past few days, but at this moment, he was still being followed.
With this thought, Ji You soared into the air, his fiery aura swaying and rising, his entire being like a rising sun, shooting through the sky.
Just then, the mountain forest below suddenly exploded. Huo Shun rose from the ground, wielding a colossal lightning bolt, and shot into the sky, his palms like thunderous strikes, slamming down forcefully.
But in the next instant, he was met with a fierce counter-strike. The lightning was shattered with a roar, and the immense Qi directly shook his blood and Qi, causing a hint of shock to appear in his eyes.
The Disciple who followed him couldn't help but look up at the Void Realm, only to see a strong Physical Body had created a shimmering horizontal ripple in the sky, stretching for ten miles.
"Huo Xingzhong?!"
Huo Xingyun, hearing the commotion, stepped through the air, his brow tightly furrowed as he looked at the figure.
To be able to exchange blows with a Wujiang Realm expert, and to be such a young man, in his opinion, only Huo Xingzhong or other direct Disciple-level figures from Immortal Sects could barely achieve it.
Who knew that as soon as he spoke, Huo Shun immediately shook his head grimly: "It's not him."
"If not him, then who?"
"Ji You of Tianshu Academy."
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