Chapter 554 - 552: The Prophesied Person of Pure Evil
Chapter 554: Chapter 552: The Prophesied Person of Pure Evil
"So it seems you’re quite the expert."
"I am Xu Huosheng. If you would be willing to join our Holy Medicine Palace, we would welcome you with the highest honors."
Su Qing chuckled softly. "That won’t be necessary. The Taiqing Sacred Land arguably has the most abundant Spiritual Veins on the Continent."
"Your Holy Medicine Palace, aside from the Spirit Medicines that coalesce into a Spiritual Mist, has no other notable features."
"You even invest more Spiritual Qi into growing Spirit Medicines than you do in your own disciples."
"I’ve heard enough about the Holy Medicine Palace, and I’m not interested in going."
Su Qing stated a blunt truth.
Xu Huosheng fell silent for a moment. "Our Holy Medicine Palace made its name through Alchemy. Naturally, cultivating our Spirit Medicines takes priority over training our disciples."
"And that," Su Qing said softly, "is precisely why I don’t want to join the Holy Medicine Palace."
Qi Wansheng burst into laughter. "Fellow Daoist Xu, you might not be aware, but Fellow Daoist Su has a younger sister who is cultivating here at the Taiqing Sacred Land."
Xu Huosheng fell silent again. It was true; from ancient times to the present, the Holy Medicine Palace had always prioritized the cultivation of Spirit Medicines.
They couldn’t dedicate themselves wholeheartedly to training their disciples.
Everyone fell into silence.
Xu Huosheng returned to his faction’s Flying Ship.
Su Qing returned to the Flying Ship, where the Elders and Peak Lords of the various peaks were gathered.
However, since none of them possessed the strength of Su Qing or Qi Wansheng, their voices carried little weight.
"It seems your arrival at the Taiqing Sacred Land was no accident, Fellow Daoist Su."
The corner of Su Qing’s mouth lifted slightly. "Perhaps this is just another accident, born from a series of other accidents."
"Everything is coincidence, and yet everything is inevitable."
Hearing this, Qi Wansheng’s expression changed drastically, becoming incredibly serious. "Coincidence, and also inevitable?"
"Fellow Daoist Su, are you talking about... fate?"
"Perhaps."
Su Qing gazed at the Secret Realm, which had not yet closed.
"Fellow Daoist Qi, what is the strength requirement for entering this Secret Realm?" Su Qing asked.
"Only those at or below the Foundation Establishment Realm can enter."
"This Secret Realm is a Pocket World paradise. The concentration of Spiritual Qi within it is even richer than that of the Spiritual Vein on the main peak of the Taiqing Sacred Land."
"So even if the juniors do nothing but cultivate inside, their progress will likely be far better than it would be at the Taiqing Sacred Land."
"I see." Su Qing nodded.
’The Spiritual Qi in this world is entirely sustained by Spiritual Veins.’
’It’s nothing like the Spirit Realm, with its countless Pocket Worlds.’
’Unfortunately, the Spiritual Qi in these Spiritual Veins will one day be depleted.’
’Without a sustainable source of Spiritual Qi, this world is just heading for a slow death.’
"More Cultivators are here."
"They seem to be Demon Cultivators," Su Qing said, looking into the distance.
Qi Wansheng was surprised. "Demon Cultivators?"
A moment later, three Flying Ships flew over.
Qi Wansheng was even more astonished. "Fellow Daoist Su, your perception is truly far-reaching."
"It’s decent."
"We can’t let this gang of Demon Cultivators into the Secret Realm. If they get in, the casualties among the juniors will be even more severe."
Qi Wansheng’s expression turned grim, and he vanished in a flash of Escape Light.
Su Qing, however, watched these people from a distance.
The other three factions all went over to negotiate.
Before long, Qi Wansheng returned.
He wore a pained expression.
"I didn’t expect the forces of three great Demon Sects to show up. We could only compromise and let them enter the Secret Realm."
"I wonder which Orthodox Sect leaked the news."
Qi Wansheng was clearly displeased, but he still had to turn and reassure the other Peak Lords and Elders.
The arrival of the Demonic Forces made the atmosphere outside the Secret Realm grow tense.
"Oh my, Qi Wansheng, why so serious?"
A Ninth Realm Demon Cultivator appeared on the Flying Ship, causing the assembled Elders and Peak Lords to tense up as if facing a formidable foe.
She was a stunningly beautiful woman, her figure graceful and alluring, moving like a butterfly in flight.
"Hmph!" Qi Wansheng said to his sect members on the Flying Ship, "Everyone, please step aside."
"Yan Chun, what are you doing here?"
Su Qing frowned from the side.
’These two have the tone of old rivals.’
’It makes me not even want to watch.’
’One Demon Cultivator, one Spirit Cultivator.’
’Interesting.’
Su Qing retreated to the rear deck.
He had no habit of eavesdropping on gossip.
’To attain the Dao of the Grand Thousand.’
"..."
Su Qing gazed calmly at the distant ocean.
"Peak Lord, is something on your mind?"
Zhang Baiyuan stood next to Su Qing, his gaze also turned toward the distant ocean.
Su Qing smiled faintly. "What makes you think something is on my mind?"
"I was just asking."
"Usually when I have something on my mind, I’m on Zuyang Peak, looking out over the mountains below."
Su Qing fell silent. He did have something on his mind, but telling anyone would be pointless.
"Perhaps all Cultivators, past and present, are just like us."
"Whether Female Cultivators or male, by the time we reach our Realm, our attachments may have grown or they may have lessened."
"But when we encounter hardship, we can only solve it on our own, ponder it on our own."
"I truly envy the lives of mortals. They can share their suffering with others, with Immortal Gods, with statues of Buddhas and deities."
"But I’ve discovered that for us Cultivators, with every step we take, we lose so much."
Zhang Baiyuan sighed with emotion.
Su Qing remained expressionless.
"In truth," Su Qing said, "you’re not so different. The Immortal Gods, the Buddha statues, the deity statues... they are just receptacles for mortals’ lamentations. They hold their pain inside for so long that speaking it aloud might lessen the hurt."
"They’re all just looking for someone powerful to pour their misery out to. In their hearts, they know the powerful won’t pity them, yet they still crave help."
"And it is precisely because the powerful generally ignore the pleas of the weak that they feel willing to voice their grievances."
"It’s no different from you finding me, someone powerful, and telling me what’s on your mind."
Hearing this, Zhang Baiyuan fell silent.
He felt that what Su Qing said made a lot of sense.
Zhang Baiyuan laughed self-deprecatingly. "Peak Lord, so it turns out I’m still just a mortal..."
"So am I. Just a slightly stronger one,"
Su Qing added.
Coming from Su Qing, such humble words only made Zhang Baiyuan feel that his Peak Lord’s thoughts ran even deeper.
In short, he was a man of incredible depth.
Suddenly, the entrance to the Secret Realm erupted with a violent fluctuation of Spiritual Qi.
The Ninth Realm Cultivators appeared one after another in the sky above the Secret Realm,
investigating the situation.
Zhang Baiyuan was also stunned by this phenomenon, his expression turning grave.
"A little mouse has appeared here."
"I’ll go and meet him."
’It seems they’re not targeting me, but Su Qianyou.’ Su Qing was puzzled.
’But Su Qianyou can’t possibly die.’
Zhang Baiyuan only saw Su Qing disappear, but he had no idea where he had gone.
「Inside the Secret Realm.」
Su Qing came face to face with a Tenth Realm being.
"Who are you?" The Tenth Realm Cultivator wore a strange red mask and a Tier Eight Daoist Robe.
He produced a bow.
He drew the bowstring and aimed at Su Qing.
"You ask who I am?"
"Who are *you*? Why do you keep targeting my sister? This time, you even paid the price to enter this worthless Secret Realm." Su Qing’s voice was low, his eyes seeming to pierce right through the Tenth Realm Cultivator before him.
"Sister?"
"You mean the one from the prophecy? She was born evil, without kith or kin. How could she have a sister?"
"Sir, I’ll give you a Tenth Grade Spirit Medicine. Don’t interfere with my affairs."
"Oh?" Su Qing laughed in surprise.
He said coolly, "You’re not qualified. And furthermore, she was not born evil!"
The bowstring sang. An arrow materialized out of thin air, aiming to run Su Qing through.
Unfortunately, Su Qing blocked it with one hand. "You use the Power of Space quite well."
"But unfortunately, it’s far from enough."
Su Qing spoke flatly. His Great Dao Immortal Eye Technique activated, and his opponent dissolved into nothingness, his Divine Soul obliterated.
Su Qing couldn’t care less about any prophecy.
Su Qing was determined to protect the girl, Su Qianyou.
He would protect her, if for no other reason than the fact that she was a "Standardized Pure Good" person.
He wanted to see for himself just how a Pure Good person managed to remain so.
...