Chapter 247: Chapter 136: Seeing Xiao Shan Lord Again
As a Third Realm Great Cultivator, Zi Luan had always worn a cheerful, confident smile in front of Wang Ping. Today was the first time he had revealed a different expression.
"Is there a problem?" Wang Ping asked, retracting his Divine Soul into his body.
"No problem at all."
Zi Luan returned to his usual state. He looked at Wang Ping and smiled. "The stability of your Divine Soul is beyond my imagination. I remember when I finished the first half of the third volume, my Divine Soul could only leave my body for three breaths. It took me thirty years to reach your current level."
"It’s all thanks to Yu Lian."
Wang Ping reached out and gently stroked Yu Lian’s head, and she responded to him happily.
Zi Luan looked over at Yu Lian, thought for a moment, and said, "A Spirit Snake is indeed complementary to the cultivation of the *Taiyan Talisman*. It’s just a pity we can’t establish a connection with them."
"It is all a blessing from the Ancestral Master!"
"That is why the sect’s legacy is of the utmost importance."
Zi Luan sighed in admiration, then changed the subject. "Fellow Daoist, with such good fortune, coupled with the Divine Soul Guide left by Si Ran, you can save at least sixty years of time. You should be able to advance to the Third Realm before the great chaos arrives."
At this, Zi Luan let out a loud laugh. "It feels like you’ve claimed a third of all the good fortune in the world."
"You jest, Fellow Daoist!"
Wang Ping quickly denied it.
Zi Luan continued to laugh heartily. "The Lord once instructed that as soon as you complete the first half of Volume Three, you may go and pay your respects to him on your own..." As he spoke, he took out a brush and paper and wrote a letter by hand. "Take this letter from me. The petty functionaries below won’t dare to block your way."
"Thank you, Fellow Daoist!"
Wang Ping accepted the handwritten letter.
This was Zi Luan’s way of telling everyone else in the Six Heart Sect that Wang Ping was his man. And it was an offer Wang Ping could not refuse.
The two made small talk for a while longer before Wang Ping rose to take his leave.
After seeing Wang Ping off, Zi Luan returned to the main house and cast several divinations in a row. As he interpreted the hexagrams, he murmured, "Someone with such soaring fortune will have a difficult time cultivating in the Third Realm. The key to the Third Realm is the principle of ’concealment.’ With such incredible luck, heaven, earth, and all of creation are watching him. How is he supposed to hide?"
"Isn’t that perfect?"
The Qi Cultivator from the courtyard had appeared at the doorway at some point. He said with a grim expression, "That way, he’ll have no choice but to focus on assisting us."
"You are mistaken."
But Zi Luan shook his head. "There are thousands of Third Realm Cultivators in this world, yet after all these years, how many have successfully ascended to the position of a Lord? Everyone is scheming, but most of them give up in the end."
"Furthermore, a Wood Cultivator in the Third Realm has a lifespan of nearly three thousand years. Ever since the Human Dao began to flourish, those who’ve reached the Third Realm with the *Taiyan Talisman* still have over a thousand years of good life left to live. Why would they be willing to give up that millennium?" The Qi Cultivator’s face was tinged with sarcasm as he looked up at Zi Luan and smirked. "You still have nearly two thousand years of life left. This time, have you truly resolved to advance to the Fourth Realm?"
Zi Luan was silent for several breaths before murmuring to himself, "The *Taiyan Talisman* is considered the most difficult Cultivation Technique to master among the Five Profound Sects. Yet, once mastered, it grants twice the lifespan of the other four. This long life has successfully eroded our initial lofty ambitions."
"So, what are your intentions?"
"This time, I’ll just sit back and watch Xiu Yu’s performance." Zi Luan’s characteristic smile returned to his face. "That disciple of his, Wulang... is there still no news of him?"
"None!"
"Put more effort into it. Try to find him by the time Changqing advances to the Third Realm. Consider it a great gift from me to both Junior Brother Xiu Yu and Fellow Daoist Changqing."
"Yes!"
...
「Six Heart Sect.」
After Wang Ping presented Zi Luan’s handwritten letter, an Entering Cultivator quickly emerged from the mountain gate to welcome him. No conflict arose. Led by the Entering Cultivator, he proceeded unimpeded to a wooded courtyard behind the Heart Inquiry Hall.
This time, Wang Ping once again waited in the pavilion outside the courtyard. After about half an hour, the Xiao Shan Lord emerged from the main house of the small courtyard. Upon seeing Wang Ping, he immediately beckoned him over.
"You are doing very well. Your Divine Soul is stable, and your humanity is exceptionally vibrant."
The Xiao Shan Lord sized Wang Ping up with a glance, then settled back into his reclining chair, lounging comfortably. He called out to the Entering Cultivator at the gate, "I suddenly have a craving for grilled fish. And bring me a jug of my hometown’s yellow wine."
After the Entering Cultivator received his orders and left, the Xiao Shan Lord turned his gaze back to Wang Ping. "Let us continue our previous conversation. When you fused with the memories of the locust tree, what else did you see?"
Hearing this, Wang Ping suddenly had a thought. ’It seems likely that the Xiao Shan Lord’s routine meetings with Cultivators who’ve reached this stage with the *Taiyan Talisman* are solely for him to learn about the memories they gain from fusing with the Locust Tree Divine Soul.’
"I saw countless powerful civilizations marching toward their doom!"
"Did you see any life? Beings like us humans, for example!"
"No..."
For some reason, as the words came to his lips, Wang Ping chose to lie. He did so with a clear conscience, as if it was the answer he was always meant to give.
The Xiao Shan Lord’s expression didn’t change. He then said, "Describe to me in detail everything you saw."
"Yes..."
Wang Ping selected scenes of destruction and glimpses of civilized worlds from his visions and began to describe them. The Xiao Shan Lord listened with great concentration, his gaze occasionally lingering on Wang Ping as if trying to discern whether he was lying.
After listening intently, the Xiao Shan Lord mulled it over for a long moment before speaking. "In return for these memories, I will also tell you what I have seen..."
"The perspective in my memories is constantly shifting, and the view is very blurry. At first, there was an endless forest. I’m certain there was life within it, but the memory’s perspective couldn’t communicate, only vaguely sense its presence. Then came a vast city constructed from steel. In this city, I saw tracks that stretched to the heavens. I could still sense life there, but I was unable to see what they looked like."
"Finally, the memory sensed an unstoppable cataclysm. The civilization was destroyed, and its life forms vanished one by one. In the end, it was the turn of the memory’s own consciousness to fade. In a single instant, the world of that civilization seemed to fall silent."
The Xiao Shan Lord squinted, staring up at the sun. "A locust tree, which we nurture into a Divine Soul, and yet the Inspiration Realm endows it with such memories. Or perhaps, it rediscovers memories it lost in the Inspiration Realm... No, that’s not right either. It’s as if those memories do not belong to a single consciousness."
His final words seemed to be a mix of muttering to himself and posing a question to Wang Ping.
After careful consideration, Wang Ping decided to remain silent.
The Xiao Shan Lord looked at the silent Wang Ping and smiled. "Ever since I began my path of cultivation, I’ve maintained my curiosity about all things unknown. That is the meaning of my life. Advancing to the Fifth Realm is merely a way to climb higher so I can satisfy that curiosity."
"Over the past sixty-odd years, you have proven your own worth, as well as the worth of your Qianmu Temple..."
The Xiao Shan Lord’s tone became cold and flat as he concluded, "Your worth is sufficient to allow you to achieve the Third Realm..." As he spoke, he manifested a Talisman and shot it into the spot between Wang Ping’s eyebrows.
The Secret Technique for the latter half of the *Taiyan Talisman’s* third volume instantly flooded into Wang Ping’s mind.
The next moment, a glowing panel popped into view...
