Chapter 625: 583 Actions, Part 3
As for retrieving the herbal medicine ship over at Cituogang Port, the White Ten Sect has come from afar across the sea, and the high-end forces they can deploy should not be many.
According to Yue Shi’s temperament on that side, they will likely soon realize and take action to suppress.
By then, it won’t be difficult for the Celestial Character Institute to move and seize the herbs.
"By the way, as mentioned earlier, the surrounding Siping Escort Agency, Rongshan Sword Sect, and Divine Wind Sect have all sent people to wait for a long time, hoping to affiliate with us. They have already sent their gifts to me..." the messenger Daoist said in a deep voice.
Being able to convey messages for Zhang Rongfang at any time, he also holds a special status within the Human Immortal Temple.
So having such situations and treatment is quite normal, and he never conceals such matters.
"The Human Immortal Temple currently doesn’t need to increase personnel. To be included, they need to show sincerity." Zhang Rongfang does not intend to expand the number of Bloodlines within the territory of the Great Spirit’s ruling country.
The United Nations side has already done very well, and here, the control of gods and Buddhas is stricter; expanding too quickly will hasten the intensification of conflicts on both sides.
He has not yet reached the level where he can fully confront all gods and Buddhas.
"Understood, I will go and respond to them now." The messenger Daoist received the order and withdrew.
Before long, the cave returned to tranquility once more.
Zhang Rongfang recalled the specific information about the White Ten Sect, his expression thoughtful.
’A surprise attack on Citong with surrounding support delayed, it seems... there is an issue here....’
’You intervening now, aren’t you just getting into trouble?’ White Scale asked curiously.
’Trouble? It’s just a small puddle.’ Zhang Rongfang didn’t mind and soon put it out of his mind. He closed his eyes again, perfecting the newly compiled Five Qi Facing the Origin.
Based on his foundation in martial arts, he collected all the slightly advanced martial arts manuals from the Human Immortal Temple, and after summarizing them, he finally completed a rough route of a cultivation technique called Five Qi Facing the Origin.
He temporarily named it Five Heart Qi Collection Skill.
The so-called five hearts refer to the fundamental sources that produce five types of Qi.
He did not select the traditional Daoist essence qi of the five organs as the source. After all, the Bloodlines’ physical structure essentially does not care much for internal organs.
Aside from the head being damaged, any part of the Bloodlines’ body can be discarded without concern.
For them, the five organs are not important; blood is what matters most.
Therefore, the traditional Daoist Five Qi was no longer applicable.
Zhang Rongfang adopted five types of emotions as the basis for gathering the Five Qi.
These five emotions are joy, anger, sorrow, fear, and pity.
The Five Qi gather and transform into one, known as Five Qi Facing the Origin.
In this regard, he also adopted the basic system of the Great Spirit martial arts.
After reaching Grandmaster, they mainly enhance the divine consciousness and will, which in turn drive the body. The strength of the divine consciousness and will can also combine with external momentum, such as military momentum, principles, great momentum, etc., and thus advance further, enhancing the spirit.
Therefore, the Human Immortal Dao’s Five Qi Facing the Origin follows the path of developing the five emotions to the extreme, then gathering five divine Qi, merging them into one to achieve unity.
Of course, this cultivation technique that Zhang Rongfang is just beginning to perfect actually also incorporates many concepts of Extreme Realm and Confucian martial arts.
Extreme Realm is about developing a single emotion to the utmost, using it to resist the oppression of the will of gods and Buddhas.
Luckily, Zhang Rongfang’s self-creation, though seemingly unreliable, is verified by the attribute bar; as long as it doesn’t succeed, the attribute bar will not automatically form options.
This allowed him to unconsciously avoid many detours.
First, he used scattered small branch martial arts, verified them with the attribute bar, and then merged them, using this method.
Zhang Rongfang is gradually bringing Five Qi Facing the Origin from fantasy to reality step by step.
The rest only requires time to perfect.
*
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Yongjing Mountain.
This is a mountain foot ferry point from the Mountain Province to the coastal area of Citong.
By the sparkling Yongjing River, outside a small town named Zhou Family Town.
A group of people holding wooden signs is walking along the official road, passing by outside the small town.
While passing by a large tea house, the weather is gloomy and chilly, and the leader of the group looks up at the sky.
The overcast sky, dense with clouds, seems like it might rain at any moment.
"This damn weather! If it’s going to rain, let it rain already, all this holding off is so frustrating!" the leader muttered curses, glancing back at the team.
The team, composed of more than ten people, was tilting and swaying; the rush from early morning has left everyone exhausted and unable to hold out.
"Captain, let’s rest for a while and have some hot tea?" The vice-captain, a dark-skinned man in his thirties, approached and whispered.
"Alright." The captain nodded, looking towards the tea house.
This tea house, named Baihong Tea House, is considered a long-standing establishment in this area. Every time they pass this place, they often stop to have some tea, about half the time out of ten.
In winter, they drink hot tea; in summer, cold tea is available, along with some complementary snacks to adjust their mood and body, which is a routine.
At this moment, the group got off the official road one after another and headed toward the tea house.
In the tea shop, only a few scattered guests were seated, and in the corner, two women attracted some attention.
Both women were dressed in long black garments covering their entire bodies, with black scarves on their heads and black veils, leaving only their eyes exposed.
Moreover, with both women keeping their heads lowered while eating tea snacks, it was difficult to discern what their eyes looked like.
From their silhouette, one could just barely tell they were women.
"Mother, it seems that the martial arts atmosphere is quite strong around here? We’ve seen several martial artists along the way."
One of the women glanced with the corner of her eye at the captain who had just entered the tea shop and spoke softly.
"Being located deep in the mountains, many people here make a living by escorting or guarding, so naturally, their martial skills are quite good.
There are numerous martial schools and sects around here, many of which have intricate ties with other factions of the Great Teaching Alliance, so we should not stir up trouble while we’re here."
The other older woman answered softly.
"All these people carry the mark of a silver dagger, likely disciples of the Cold Blade Sect renowned around here," the older woman continued, "This sect is a long-established one, deeply rooted in the area for many years. The backing force behind it isn’t small, and rumor has it that their Sect Leader is the wife of a high-ranking member of the Celestial Lock Teaching."
"Tsk tsk... These old folks truly have connections everywhere," the younger woman said, lifting her head to reveal a pair of bright, crescent moon-like eyes.
She lifted her veil slightly and gently put a piece of flatbread in her mouth. The face revealed under the veil was unexpectedly that of Yan Shuang from the Taiqing branch of the Sensing Sect, who had vanished for quite some time.
And the older woman sitting opposite her also gently lifted her veil, eating the steaming hot mung bean porridge.
Looking at her face, it was her mother, Gong Shuyin, who looked even more charming and mature.
The two women had come here together to search for a core disciple who had defected from the Sensing Sect.
"Don’t say that; the longer a power has been stable, the more likely these situations will arise," Gong Shuyin replied gently. "Just remember to keep your identity hidden and avoid alerting the target, or they might escape."
"If that traitor colludes with the local faction, how should we handle it?" Yan Shuang asked.
"The Sect Leader of the Cold Blade Sect is an Extreme Realm practitioner who has secluded themselves for years, and they have considerable influence in several nearby highways. It’s best not to attract her attention..." Gong Shuyin replied.
"So, you’re saying we shouldn’t get into any conflicts with these people?" Yan Shuang asked, furrowing her brow.
Just as Gong Shuyin was about to reply, numerous red dots suddenly appeared in the distance along the main road.
The red dots approached quickly, and even from afar, one could faintly smell a rusty, blood-like scent.
The moment the red dots were spotted, the Cold Blade Sect members who had just entered the tea shop immediately fell silent, their expressions changing slightly, and they bowed their heads without speaking further.
They had been chatting quietly a moment before, but now they had no desire to chat at all.
The tea shop owner and staff also visibly paled, bowing their heads in silence, each going about their business.
’What’s going on?’ Yan Shuang and Gong Shuyin exchanged a glance, both somewhat confused.
Both women were Super Grade experts, and as those red dots approached, they sensed that the speed of these people’s movements was unusually fast.
And their eyes...
"Their eyes are red!" Yan Shuang felt a chill in her heart.
"It’s the Red-eyed Taoists! Everyone stay silent and don’t cause trouble!" At this moment, the Cold Blade Sect captain quickly instructed, then lowered his head to eat the tea snacks before him.
Red-eyed Taoists?
Gong Shuyin and Yan Shuang understood those whispered words, both puzzled in their hearts. They didn’t know what Red-eyed Taoists meant.
Soon, the red dots closed in, revealing themselves as a group of over a dozen red-robed, red-eyed, dark-haired Daoists.
Without pausing, they walked straight along the main road past the tea shop door, their faces indifferent, not sparing a glance at those inside.
In the blink of an eye, the Daoists moved away from the tea shop, heading further until they gradually disappeared from view.
Once they were gone, the Cold Blade Sect members finally breathed a sigh of relief.
"Why are there suddenly so many red-eyed Daoists coming down from the mountain? Earlier, I even saw that the leader was from the Celestial Character Institute!" the captain said with a heavy expression.
"Celestial Character Institute? Captain, are you sure about this?" Several people around him gasped.
"Our Cold Blade Sect has dealt with these red-eyed Daoists more than once or twice; we wouldn’t mistake them.
The marking of the Celestial Character Institute is entirely different from the Earth Character Institute or Human Character Institute. I’ve seen the Sect Leader host them several times during internal competitions from afar. There’s no mistaking it!" the captain said solemnly.
"A storm is coming..." he sighed.
"Gentlemen, I wonder what you mean by red-eyed Daoists and the Celestial Character Institute? Why is everyone so wary and even fearful of these Daoists?"
Yan Shuang couldn’t hold back anymore; she stepped forward and asked, cupping her hands in salute.
She lifted her veil, revealing a pretty and graceful face.
Her light blue irises and fair skin made it clear at a glance that she might have Huxi bloodline.
The Cold Blade Sect captain only glanced at her before quickly standing up and cupping his fists, not daring to neglect her.
Having walked the Jianghu for many years, he was well aware that any woman so beautiful and daring to walk the mountains alone was definitely no easy person.
So, being overly courteous was never a mistake.
"No need for such courtesy, miss. You must be from out of town?" he said in a deep voice.
"Indeed, my mother and I are passing through from elsewhere, and having witnessed that scene just now, we were puzzled and came to ask for guidance," Yan Shuang spoke softly, her voice carrying an irresistible charm.
"Alas..." the captain sighed, "Many local martial artists here are aware of a saying, ’Better to provoke a tiger, leopard, or wolf than to mess with the red-eyed ghosts.’ It refers to those Daoists we just saw."
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