Chapter 264: Chapter 23: West Mother Great Venerable and the Northwest Bai Family (Part 2)
Bai Canglang was in the middle of eating some grilled fish. You could see that all his teeth were sharp, his four canines particularly prominent. The White Tiger Blood in him must be quite potent.
The young man had now recovered from the effects of Su Zhou’s Suppression. He spoke fluently while taking large bites of fish. "So, it wasn’t until recently that the Daoist Discipline Bureau’s technicians managed to perform a preliminary unlock on the Secret Realm Gate at Kunlun Mountain, using information from ancient inheritances. At this rate, the Secret Realm Gate will open completely in another month or two."
Su Zhou truly knew nothing about this. After all, even though he was a Transcendent, he had only become one in the last year. When it came to common knowledge, he was certainly no match for these "Indigenous People" who had grown up in the Extraordinary World.
As Bai Canglang spoke, Su Zhou gradually began to understand why the Artifice Sage had called on him for the Kunlun Mountain affair, and why Bai Canglang’s side seemed somewhat resistant.
Kunlun Mountain was, after all, the main stronghold of the Demon Transformation and Dao Simulation system. Most of the inheritances and activation methods left behind from the old days were in the hands of Dao Mimic Clans like the Bai Family. Furthermore, the Immortal Gods of the Kunlun lineage seemed to have left Earth extremely early—not at the final hour a thousand years ago, but rather some four thousand years ago.
Thus, not even the Immortal Gods could have predicted that by the time the world’s spiritual channels reopened, the era would be completely different. The path of Demon Transformation and Dao Simulation was no longer considered orthodox, family inheritances were no longer the prevailing trend, and various cultivation methods no longer required the intake of Demon Blood—a practice that was now even subtly looked down upon.
For many years, the conflict between the two sides had been a turbulent undercurrent. Many families with Divine Beast Bloodlines were scattered, their inheritances lost. The Bai Family was one of the few that managed to survive.
For instance, of the Four Symbols Sacred Beasts’ inheritances, only the Bai Family of the Northwestern White Tiger and the Xuan Family, which had been absorbed into Zhenwu Academy, remained. Both the Vermilion Bird and the Cyan Dragon lineages had been lost. The Cyan Dragon inheritance, in particular, had vanished seven hundred years ago. Its descendants were now impossible to find, and the bloodline was presumed completely extinct.
There had been suspicions that Su Zhou’s lineage was connected to the Cyan Dragon, but it turned out not to be the case.
Now, with the Kunlun Mountain ruins about to open, all of Zhengguo’s surviving Divine Beast Bloodline families were overjoyed. Even many fallen families who had lost their inheritances but still remembered their ancestral origins pinned their hopes of revival on the potential Immortal God Inheritances within Kunlun. For a time, the Su Family had been classified as one of these declining bloodlines, though given its dilution, one would have to trace it back at least two or three thousand years.
But if you traced a lineage back two or three thousand years, whose family among Zhengguo’s billion-plus population *hadn’t* produced some great figure or another? It was utterly meaningless.
In any case, the orthodox cultivation faction didn’t seem pleased to see this development and had been secretly obstructing it. Su Zhou understood this perfectly. After all, that was just how the Supervision of All Saints operated: all peace and harmony on the surface, but a landscape of competing cliques underneath. Besides, the revival of the Demon Blood path would indeed complicate the situation.
Su Zhou, having awakened a Dragon Blood inheritance of at least the Immortal God Dragon King Level, should have been seen as one of their own by these families. His Dragon Blood would be an undeniable asset for exploring the Kunlun ruins. However, Su Zhou had always associated with the orthodox cultivation faction. Then, with no prior communication, he was suddenly shoved into the Kunlun investigation team, which made many people unhappy.
So, from their perspective, Su Zhou was just someone sent by Zhengguo’s orthodox cultivation system to steal their prize.
"You guys are so dramatic."
Although Su Zhou understood the struggle and animosity between the different paths, it didn’t stop him from feeling it was all a complete waste of energy. He picked up a piece of braised pork with his chopsticks, popped it into his mouth, and chewed. "Orthodox cultivation requires talent. Demon Transformation and Dao Simulation requires a bloodline. The two don’t actually conflict. In the future, if some ordinary person can’t get far with orthodox cultivation, they can just spend some money to get a Divine Beast Bloodline implant and convert to the demon transformation path. Wouldn’t that be perfect?"
"That’s... a little too ahead of our time." Hearing this, Bai Canglang looked mortified, even forgetting to eat the cumin lamb chop in his hand. "A Divine Beast Bloodline is, in essence, a condensation of Extraordinary elements. Even within a family, awakening it is a matter of luck. If it could be spread that easily, many families wouldn’t have declined to the point of losing their inheritances."
In any case, Bai Canglang apologized for testing him earlier. He could tell that Su Zhou had only just found out about all this himself. He figured Su Zhou really had just been shoved onto the team because of his Dragon Blood, and it wasn’t some move directed at them.
On second thought, it made sense. The conflicts during the Era of Severed Spiritual Qi had been caused by a lack of resources. Now, with the Spiritual Energy Revival, the reopening of inheritances, and a great abundance of resources, all of humanity was about to face new challenges. In such a climate, any hostile or obstructive impulses would surely be squashed by the more rational higher-ups.
"The gate to Kunlun Jade Mountain will fully open in the week around October 14th. In theory, the Immortal Gods wouldn’t set traps in a place of inheritance they deliberately left for their descendants, but there will surely be many trials. At that time, we will have to rely on you, Professor Su, a powerhouse of the Extraordinary Realm."
In less than half an hour, Su Zhou and Bai Canglang had devoured all the food. The young man from the Bai Family also confirmed the specific exploration time for Su Zhou. "I’m letting you know in advance mainly so you can prepare, Professor Su. This is Zhengguo’s first expedition into an Immortal God’s Ruins, so we’re taking it very seriously. Other countries around the world are also watching us closely, so we absolutely cannot fail."
"Don’t worry," Su Zhou said with a smile. He had no intention of taking this exploration lightly. "I’m a very reliable guy. You can count on me."
After paying the bill, Bai Canglang departed. He had to act as a messenger to notify the descendants of the Vermilion Bird lineage living in the south. Their family’s inheritance had been broken for over two hundred years, but they maintained close ties with the Bai Family, fellow holders of a Four Symbols Sacred Beasts bloodline. This trip to Kunlun Mountain might be their chance to reclaim their ancestors’ glory.
"The Spiritual Energy Revival allows us to reclaim the glory of our ancestors."
As he was leaving, Bai Canglang cupped his fist toward Su Zhou in a serious gesture. "But this doesn’t mean the path of demon transformation is just about coasting on our ancestors’ legacy without making any progress. For many years, the Bai Family has leveraged our bloodline’s sensitivity to the properties of the Gold Element to make huge strides in materials science. Our family has contributed to the development of many satellite and aerospace alloys, and even entirely new Extraordinary alloys."
"Demon Blood, like Spiritual Power, is just a form of power—one that we humans can wield. Professor Su, I’m sure you feel the same. In this new age of great conflict, we should encourage one another, not waste our precious strength on infighting."
Hearing this, Su Zhou nodded slightly and replied in earnest, "Indeed. We should encourage one another."
