Chapter 192: Chapter 192: Land of the Far North

Little Plum Mountain

After paying his respects to Daoist Ji and discussing the Underground Spirit Vein with Ji Shuchen, Li Ping departed, satisfied.

The Illusion Shuttle transformed into a black streak of light and flew toward Sword Casting Manor.

His third senior brother, Yan Jingxing, and Yan Hengchuan were both there.

Since Yan Hengchuan wasn’t planning to focus on his cultivation for the time being, it didn’t really matter whether he had a Spiritual Land or not.

Even if he stayed in the mortal world, he wouldn’t have to worry about depleting his Magical Power as long as he didn’t use it extravagantly.

Of course, even if he did over-exhaust his Magical Power, he could always recover it with Spirit Stones and Pills.

However, advancing his cultivation would require the aid of a Spiritual Land.

One’s cultivation wouldn’t advance in the slightest by relying on Spirit Stones and Pills alone.

...

Li Ping didn’t deliberately conceal his movements, so as soon as the Illusion Shuttle flew over Sword Casting Manor, Yan Hengchuan spotted it.

He flew out of the manor, a joyful expression spreading across his face when he saw it was Li Ping. "Grandmaster, you’re back!"

Li Ping nodded slightly. "Yes. You’re about to get married. Of course I had to come back."

"Hehe!" Yan Hengchuan chuckled proudly at the remark before leading Li Ping into Sword Casting Manor.

His third senior brother, Yan Jingxing, and the others were already inside the residence to welcome him.

Nearly thirty years had passed since Li Ping’s last return to Sword Casting Manor.

The last time he returned, Yan Jingxing was already a little old man with graying hair and a beard. Now, so many years later, he was nearly ninety and utterly ancient. His gaze had grown cloudy, and his face was covered in age spots the size of copper coins.

Mortals in the world of cultivation could not be compared to those in modern society.

At his age, Yan Jingxing had lived a truly long life.

If Li Ping hadn’t secretly used his Nourishing Life Skill Power to nurture his Origin, he probably wouldn’t have lived this long.

Supported by two younger members of the family, Yan Jingxing called out with a trembling voice, "Junior Brother."

In his eyes, Li Ping looked almost exactly the same as he had thirty years ago—unchanged, still just as young and dashing.

Time had left no trace on Li Ping.

"Third Senior Brother, I’ve returned," Li Ping said with a small smile.

Hearing Li Ping’s voice, Yan Jingxing’s spirits lifted considerably. "Good, good... It’s good that you’re back."

"Grandpa, let’s go inside to talk."

At a look from Yan Hengchuan, the two younger family members helped Yan Jingxing inside to rest.

Only then did Yan Hengchuan say with a smile, "Grandpa heard you might be coming back, Grandmaster. He’s been looking forward to it for a long time."

Li Ping sighed but said nothing more.

He could see that Yan Jingxing had reached the end of his natural lifespan.

This was the true end of his natural lifespan. Even if he were to nurture his third senior brother with Nourishing Life Skill Power, it would be of no use.

’Third Senior Brother is aging too quickly. Unless I were to stay by his side every day and continuously infuse him with Nourishing Life Skill Power, I might only extend his life by another ten years or so.’

’But I won’t choose to do that.’

’Never mind that it would delay my own cultivation—what meaning would there be for Third Senior Brother himself to cling to life for another ten years?’

’Birth, old age, sickness, and death are the law of the Dao. How can a mortal go against the will of the heavens?’

...

After paying respects to his late master, Li Ping settled down in Sword Casting Manor.

Taking advantage of this time, he asked Yan Hengchuan about his plans for the future.

Yan Hengchuan admitted that the Ji and Yan families only had about twenty-some cultivators between them, and their two existing Spiritual Lands were sufficient to house them.

As for himself, he planned to move to Bifeng Lake after his wedding to live with Yu Peiling, where a ready-made Tier Two Spirit Vein was available for his cultivation.

Of course, this didn’t mean he was marrying into her family.

If the number of cultivators in the Ji and Yan families grew in the future, he might approach the Jiang family to lease a Tier Two Spiritual Land for the families’ development.

Li Ping agreed with his approach. It was right to manage the families and plan for gradual growth.

The Ji and Yan families had too few cultivators, so there was no need to force the issue of leasing a Tier Two Spiritual Land. A single Tier Two Spiritual Land required at least a hundred Qi Refining Cultivators to manage properly, and the two families’ resources were far from sufficient.

Towards the end of their conversation, Li Ping also told him the news of Ji Shu Xuan’s disappearance.

Yan Hengchuan and Ji Shu Xuan had been sent to the Immortal City together at a young age to cultivate and grow up, and their relationship was even closer than his with Ji Shuchen.

Hearing of Ji Shu Xuan’s disappearance, Yan Hengchuan couldn’t help but become agitated.

Back when Ji Shu Xuan had written to him about going to the Yan Kingdom to gamble on a chance for Foundation Establishment, he had strongly opposed it. But Ji Shu Xuan’s mind was made up; no amount of persuasion could change it.

He suspected that his own success with Foundation Establishment had spurred Ji Shu Xuan. He’d been worried that if he persisted, Ji Shu Xuan would think he was just trying to hold him back, so he hadn’t insisted.

And now, something had really happened to Ji Shu Xuan.

"Since they didn’t find a body, Shu Xuan might still be alive," Yan Hengchuan comforted himself.

...

「Tens of thousands of miles north of the Yan Kingdom, on a stretch of wilderness.」

A gray streak of light flew unhurriedly northward. On closer inspection, it was revealed to be a gray Flying Ship.

Inside the Flying Ship were three figures. Two sat cross-legged, while the third was at the helm, steering the vessel forward.

Suddenly—

One of the two figures, a refined-looking young man, opened his eyes. The moment he did, his gaze was like a sharp sword piercing the void.

He stood up and looked at the figure piloting the Flying Ship with a smile. "Senior Sister, you must be tired after piloting the ship for several days straight. Let me take over. You go rest for a while."

"Okay." The female cultivator piloting the Flying Ship nodded and moved aside.

If Li Ping were here, he would have recognized them at a glance. The three on the Flying Ship were none other than Xu Guikai, Lin Yue, and Ah Yun, who had mysteriously disappeared during the battle in the Yan Kingdom.

As Lin Yue moved aside, the Flying Ship faltered for a moment, but Xu Guikai quickly took control, and it resumed its steady northward course.

"Junior Brother, by leaving the battlefield like this, have we become deserters?" Lin Yue said in a low, dejected voice.

When Xu Guikai first prepared to flee the battlefield, she had disagreed. But she had a gentle disposition and couldn’t dissuade her junior brother, so she ended up being led away by him.

Thinking of the cultivators who had arrived in the Yan Kingdom with them, still fighting the Tuluo People while they had secretly slipped away, she couldn’t help but feel guilty.

Xu Guikai shook his head. "Senior Sister, haven’t I already explained this to you? We’re not deserters. At most, we’ve just successfully escaped a dangerous situation and are staying out of their affairs."

He paused, then explained further, "Master and Grandmaster were both killed by them on trumped-up charges. We have an irreconcilable blood feud with them. If we stayed in the Yan Kingdom to fight the Tuluo People to the death, wouldn’t we be serving our enemies? If Master found out, she would be the one to truly blame us."

Lin Yue still looked conflicted. She had spent a long time with Qi Hanmo and had unconsciously adopted her way of thinking.

After thinking for a moment, she spoke again, "But right now, the Alien Races are invading the Western Wilderness. If we just leave like this, what if the Western Wilderness falls?"

’Xu Guikai was speechless. His senior sister was wonderful in every way, but how could she be so naive?’

After a thought, he patiently explained, "Even if the Western Wilderness really does fall, it’s not something that two Foundation Establishment Cultivators like us can prevent."

"But—" Lin Yue started to say.

Xu Guikai cut her off. "Senior Sister, you’re always thinking about the big picture, but have they ever? Master, Grandmaster, and Little Cyan Dragon... that was three Core Formation-level combatants. They could have turned the tide of a local battle. Instead, they were framed for colluding with Demon Cultivators and killed. They showed no regard for the big picture, so why should we throw our lives away for them?"

He looked at Lin Yue. "Senior Sister, surely you don’t believe that Master colluded with Demon Cultivators and murdered Grandmaster?"

Lin Yue’s head snapped up. "Of course not!"

Xu Guikai’s gaze was firm. "So we must cultivate diligently, reach Core Formation, and then go back to avenge Master and Grandmaster. How can we waste our lives in a place like the Yan Kingdom!"

He smiled and coaxed her, "Alright, Senior Sister, you should hurry up and meditate to recover your Magical Power. The Land of the Far North is still millions of miles away. It’s not a place we can reach anytime soon!"

Lin Yue obediently went to meditate and recover her Magical Power.

But Xu Guikai, gazing ahead, had a thoughtful look in his eyes.

’When leaving the Immortal City to reinforce the Yan Kingdom, Li Ping had reminded me that I could go to Jixia and seek shelter with the Daoist Guardian Alliance.’

’At first, I did plan on doing that. Besides, Senior Sister Lin Yue really trusts those Confucian cultivators.’

’But then, I changed my mind.’

’Because I thought of Master. She believed in the Daoist Guardian Alliance’s mediation, believed in Alliance Leader Xiao’s promises.’

’And what happened?’

’She and Grandmaster died on Cyan Dragon Mountain, yet the Daoist Guardian Alliance did nothing.’

’Perhaps the Daoist Guardian Alliance was too pressured by the four Demon Dao Sects and the Tuluo People to intervene. Perhaps they needed something from Purple Cloud Valley and decided to set the matter aside for now. Perhaps...’

’But no matter their reasons, it doesn’t change the fact that they stood by and did nothing while Master was killed.’

’How could I dare entrust my own life and safety to the protection of the Daoist Guardian Alliance?’

’What if they decided to sacrifice me for the "greater good" to curry favor with Purple Cloud Valley?’

’Still, Li Ping was right about one thing.’

’Others might be fine, but Lin Yue and I can’t go back to the Immortal City.’

’Staying in the Yan Kingdom would be a dead end sooner or later, too.’

And so, Xu Guikai made his decision: he would take his senior sister and Ah Yun away from the Western Wilderness, travel to the Land of the Far North to cultivate, and only return for revenge after reaching Core Formation.

Coincidentally, because of the Tuluo People’s large-scale push south, the interior of the Grassland had become empty, giving him a chance to slip in while it was undefended.

And so, during a mission, he used the Tier Two Upper Grade Spirit Talisman Li Ping had given him to launch a decisive sneak attack, killing the other Foundation Establishment Cultivator and four Qi Refining Cultivators on his team.

He then fled into the Grassland with Lin Yue and Ah Yun.

’The cultivators on that mission were from Purple Cloud Valley and two other sects. Killing them was just collecting a down payment on my revenge.’

"The Land of the Far North... I’ve heard the cultivation conditions there are even worse than in the Western Wilderness. It’s the domain of the Alien Races, while the Human Race is just a minor power."

Silently mulling over the intelligence he’d bought from a Snow Race Foundation Establishment Cultivator, Xu Guikai gave a carefree smile. "No matter how bad it is, it’s better than the Western Wilderness. At least I won’t have enemies watching my every move there!"

The Flying Ship flew for two days over a seemingly endless expanse of desert and grassland.

Suddenly—

"Huh? What’s he doing here?"

Xu Guikai’s Divine Sense swept over the Tuluo People’s tribe below, a strange look appearing in his eyes.

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