Chapter 110: Chapter 108: [Taiyin Mother Qi]
"Are you going to give it to me or not?"
"I am not!"
"No room for discussion?"
"None whatsoever!"
In the center of a tranquil Celestial Lake, surrounded by the Ten Directions Celestial Peak.
Within an elegant pavilion at the lake’s heart.
The Blood Demon Master, Deng Yin, sat across from a middle-aged Daoist with long black hair, a long beard, and a gaunt face.
Faced with the Elder Master’s sudden visit and blunt demand, Qing Li Master kept his hands tucked into his wide sleeves, his eyes half-closed. He projected an air of keeping others at a distance, leaving absolutely no room for negotiation.
He couldn’t even be bothered to spare Deng Yin a single glance.
"A few tattered scrolls of cultivation insights in exchange for my Taiyin Mother Qi?" Qing Li Master lifted his head slightly, snorting through his nose and shaking his head repeatedly. "Senior Brother Blood Demon, isn’t this a bit of a low blow?"
His words were laced with clear displeasure.
The Taiyin Mother Qi was an item of the Innate Attribute, a rare treasure in Heaven and Earth used to knock on the door of the Dao. How precious it was!
Although for a Master like him who had long since established his Dao Foundation, it was of no personal use.
But whether used to forge a peerlessly powerful Magical Treasure or traded for other urgently needed treasures, it was an excellent choice.
The Blood Demon Master wanted to trade a few scrolls of who-knows-what kind of notes for his treasure.
’Does he really take me, Qing Li, for a fool?’
Seeing Qing Li Master refuse so decisively, the Blood Demon Master, Deng Yin, didn’t get angry. Instead, he chuckled, his tone as calm as ever.
"Junior Brother Qing Li, don’t be so quick to shut the door on this.
If you feel those scrolls of insights aren’t suitable, then I... can offer a different price. How about it?"
Hearing the Elder Master’s words loosen, as if he had another bargaining chip, Qing Li Master’s tucked hands twitched slightly. He slowly opened one eye, casting a sidelong glance at Deng Yin.
Facing this Elder Master, the most senior and inscrutably profound in the Holy Sect, he naturally had to show some respect.
Besides, the Elder Master was famous throughout the Holy Sect for his immense wealth.
’If he can really produce something that tempts me, a trade wouldn’t be out of the question.’
"Oh?" Qing Li Master’s tone softened slightly, tinged with a hint of inquiry. "What price? Senior Brother, feel free to tell me."
The smile on Deng Yin’s face didn’t falter. He slowly picked up his teacup, took a light sip, and spoke as if making casual small talk.
"I heard... that your only daughter, the one you cherish like the apple of your eye, is nearing the end of her lifespan... and is about to reincarnate again, isn’t she?"
He paused briefly, his gaze seeming to casually sweep over the subtle shift in Qing Li Master’s expression, then continued.
"If I recall correctly, this upcoming reincarnation should be her fourth, correct?"
The reincarnation of a Qi Refining Cultivator was not without its limits.
For an ordinary Cultivator, a soul could only withstand the cleansing of three reincarnations before its inherent past-life imprints and True Spirit nature were completely washed away by the Heaven and Earth Laws, leaving nothing behind.
At that point, not even a True Monarch acting personally could call back the "past life" that had already dissipated.
In other words, after three reincarnations, though the returnee’s soul shared the same origin, they would be a completely new person, a stranger with no connection to the past.
Qing Li Master’s only daughter was the sole bloodline left behind by his deceased wife, the deepest source of care and vulnerability in his heart.
To help his daughter break free from the shackles of her lifespan and successfully extend her life through Foundation Establishment.
Over the years, he had poured immeasurable effort and resources into this, swallowing his pride to call in every favor, seeking out countless Life Elixirs and Secret Skill Manuals.
Unfortunately, his daughter’s aptitude for cultivation was utterly mediocre.
Even when she consumed Spirit Pills like candy, with her Foundation Establishment Master father personally holding nothing back in his one-on-one tutelage, she could never break through that crucial barrier.
She remained trapped in the Qi Refining Realm, her years wasting away.
Now, her lifespan was nearly at its end, and this was already her third life.
If she were to reincarnate again, once her Soul Spirit was thoroughly cleansed, even if he could find her reincarnated self in the future...
...it would no longer be the daughter he remembered, no longer the unique child his beloved wife had left him.
This matter had become a sickness in Qing Li Master’s heart, a fishbone caught in his throat, leaving him anxious day and night, yet completely helpless.
"What do you mean?" Qing Li Master’s half-closed eyes snapped open, a sharp light bursting from them. He leaned forward unconsciously, staring intently at Deng Yin.
"Could it be, Senior Brother... you have a way to help my daughter achieve Foundation Establishment?!"
His voice carried a note of urgency and hope that he himself hadn’t noticed.
"Achieving Foundation Establishment and seeking the Dao is a personal journey on the Great Path. How could another person possibly do it for her?" Deng Yin slowly shook his head, his calm tone shattering Qing Li Master’s fantasy.
The light in Qing Li Master’s eyes dimmed, the hope that had just risen deflating. He furrowed his brow and said,
"Then what did you mean by what you said just now, Senior Brother...?"
"While I cannot achieve Foundation Establishment for your daughter," Deng Yin’s words were unhurried, carrying the calm confidence of someone in complete control.
"But... buying her some more time... that might be possible."
Before his voice had even faded, a faint light flashed in the Elder Master’s palm. A vast, ocean-like, and incomparably pure Life Essence Qi suddenly diffused, instantly filling the entire lakeside pavilion. A Longevity Peach appeared out of thin air in his hand—vibrantly alluring, flawlessly pink, and as large as a soup bowl, with radiant light and Dao Patterns flowing around it.
The life force, so dense it was tangible, seemed to make the waters of the surrounding Celestial Lake ripple with joy.
The instant he saw the peach, Qing Li Master’s pupils contracted to the size of pinpricks. The hands he had kept tucked in his sleeves shot out and slammed onto the stone table. He abruptly stood up, his face a mask of utter disbelief as he cried out in shock,
"Th-this... this is... a Longevity Peach?!"
"Well? Is this item to your satisfaction?" Seeing Qing Li Master’s loss of composure, the Blood Demon Master, Deng Yin, gave a faint smile. Everything was under his control.
"It is! It’s more than satisfactory!"
Qing Li Master took a deep breath, forcibly suppressing the excitement that threatened to burst from his chest, but his eyes remained glued to the Longevity Peach.
This kind of natural treasure from Heaven and Earth that could directly increase one’s lifespan was exactly what he coveted most right now!
But he was a Master of a sect, after all, with a steady disposition. After the initial ecstasy, a trace of doubt crept into his mind. He forced himself to calm down and asked in a low voice,
"But this Longevity Peach... Senior Brother, where did you obtain it? As far as I know, this item seems to only..."
"Since when did Junior Brother Qing Li become so fussy?" Deng Yin didn’t answer directly, merely posing a question back in a flat tone, his deep gaze showing not the slightest ripple.
"Do you want it or not?"
Qing Li Master’s heart skipped a beat, and he immediately realized he had asked something he shouldn’t have.
The background and methods of this elder senior brother before him were far beyond his ability to fathom.
The fact that he could produce such an item already said everything.
’Pressing the issue was indeed overstepping my bounds.’
"I misspoke. Please don’t take offense, Senior Brother." Qing Li Master quickly apologized, no longer hesitating. With a flip of his wrist, he retrieved an object from his wide sleeve.
It was a jet-black Treasure Bead, the size of a longan fruit, perfectly round and smooth to the touch.
The Treasure Bead appeared simple and unadorned, but if one examined it closely with their Divine Sense, they would discover that the inside was not completely dark.
Instead, countless specks of pale white energy, fine as stardust and as cold as eons-old Profound Ice, were slowly circulating and floating within.
This energy sometimes coalesced into blurry characters, other times dispersed like a hazy mist, all the while emitting an extremely pure and ancient Power of the Great Yin, as if the core of frozen moonlight had been sealed within.
A mere glance was enough to make one’s Divine Soul shiver with a chilling tremor.
"This is the Taiyin Mother Qi." Qing Li Master pushed the black Treasure Bead toward Deng Yin, a flicker of reluctance, almost imperceptible, flashing in his eyes.
He had treasured this item for many years, originally saving it for his daughter’s Foundation Establishment.
But right now, he could only use it to solve this urgent crisis and save his daughter’s life.
Deng Yin reached out and took the Treasure Bead. He swept it with his Divine Sense, and after confirming it was genuine, he passed over the Longevity Peach that was flowing with radiant light.
The exchange was complete.
Qing Li Master carefully cradled the Longevity Peach, which pulsed with immense Life Essence Qi. Feeling the vast life force within, his eyes filled with a mixture of joy and complexity.
He hesitated for a moment, but ultimately couldn’t restrain his curiosity and asked,
"Senior Brother, it seems none of your disciples are in urgent need of Foundation Establishment. May I ask what you require this Taiyin Mother Qi for?"
Deng Yin was just about to stand up and leave. Hearing the question, his movements paused slightly, and he lifted his gaze to glance coolly at Qing Li Master.
His gaze was calm and ripple-free, yet as deep as a ten-thousand-fathom abyss, carrying an indescribable majesty and pressure, as if it could see directly into the deepest thoughts of a person’s heart.
Just from that one glance, Qing Li Master felt his Heart and Spirit tremble violently. A chill shot up his spine, and all the words he was about to say were instantly choked back. He didn’t dare utter another syllable.
The Elder Master retracted his gaze without answering. His figure flickered and vanished from the lakeside pavilion like a phantom.
Leaving Qing Li Master alone, still cradling the Longevity Peach, his heart in turmoil, but no longer daring to dwell on the matter.
...
"So this is the Taiyin Mother Qi?"
In the private courtyard of his single residence in the Outer Mansion, Qi Yun’s expression tightened the moment he took the black Treasure Bead from the Elder Master. He felt as if he were holding a ten-thousand-fathom-tall iceberg.
It was not only incredibly heavy but also unimaginably cold.
He had to circulate all of his True Qi just to hold it steady.
"Mm. Your Innate Qi Heart Method, if we are to be specific, allows for three types of Dao Foundations to be built."
"First: the Hundred Rivers Return to the Sea Dao Foundation.
"Second: the All Things True Dao Foundation.
"Third: the Primordial Heaven Extreme Skill Dao Foundation!"
"The first two are Lower Grade Dao Foundations.
"Although they allow one to step into the Foundation Establishment Realm, at best, one can only reach the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage before it becomes impossible to advance another inch.
"A weak foundation cannot support a tall building.
"But the final one, the Primordial Heaven Extreme Skill Dao Foundation, is an Upper Grade Dao Foundation.
"However, as good as an Upper Grade Dao Foundation is, forging one is fraught with a thousand difficulties and ten thousand dangers.
"You must consider this carefully."
...
