Eternal Tale

In the end, the big black ox cultivated spiritual herbs on the side and then researched formations, layering one small formation upon another.

Without a master to guide him, the big black ox also embarked on a different path of formation, and even Chen Xun couldn’t tell if it was the right path or not.

According to normal reasoning, once a formation was set up, the number of flags used would no longer matter. However, after tinkering for over a hundred years, the big black ox actually found a different path in enhancing the power of formations.

The more flags used, the stronger the effect of the formation stacking! At times like these, Chen Xun could only praise him as a peerless genius. What else could he say... he couldn’t understand it at all.

The big black ox also perfectly utilized his manipulation of objects and the power of his divine consciousness to control various formation flags. It truly was the more, the better, when it came to the big black ox’s formations.

Now, Chen Xun was feeling quite pressured by the big black ox. Sometimes he felt like grinding his teeth to powder. It was so frustrating!

Although he had long recognized the big black ox’s ”Formation Emperor” potential, he had his own alchemy skills, and with celestial beings and buddhas protecting him, he had also made arrangements...

It was truly fearing for his brother’s miserable existence while fearing his grand ambitions.

That year passed like this, and they also added immortal points to their spiritual energy.

Today, just as the sky was getting light, outside the cave, Chen Xun rolled up his sleeves and prepared for action.

He held an axe in his hand, his arm veins bulging, not using any spiritual energy, just slowly swinging towards the air, seemingly weak and powerless.

The big black ox began to cultivate spiritual herbs again, its only hobby besides formations. It glanced at Chen Xun.

”I have nothing, but life and patience left. I can only resort to the most foolish methods.” Chen Xun took a deep breath as the sun rose; his eyes filled with determination. ”There may not be any axe techniques in the cultivation world, perhaps I just haven’t come across them…But no matter what, nothing can crush me!” With a sudden roar, Chen Xun swung the mountain-opening axe in front of him, ”Stop with the tricks; there are no tricks, just chopping! Ha!”

In the cave, the big black ox heard the continuous laughter, and its belly kept twitching from its own laughter. Suddenly, its pupils contracted, oh no!

It had been forgotten that Chen Xun could secretly observe his surroundings with divine consciousness...

The big black ox trembled all over, cold sweat breaking out on its back. Suddenly, a huge shadow appeared behind it, like the abyss of despair gradually approaching.

”Black Ox...”Chen Xun smiled slowly, warm as the flowers blooming in all four seasons, yet suddenly erupting like a mountain torrent. ”Dare to laugh behind my back!”

”Moo!!!”

A cry of alarm came from inside the cave. The big black ox was lifted up alive, its four legs kicking in the air as it struggled and screamed.

After an incense stick’s worth of time, the big black ox became extremely obedient, never daring to laugh secretly again, and went back to managing the spiritual herbs.

Chen Xun resumed chopping outside the cave in the direction of the rising sun, one chop after another, without any feeling for the time being.

In the days to come, Chen Xun practiced the axe every morning, while the big black ox cultivated spiritual herbs. In the afternoon, Chen Xun practiced alchemy, while the big black ox studied formations.

At night... Chen Xun took the big black ox out for a stroll, expanding their horizons, sometimes chatting with the scattered cultivators below the mountain.

Then they went to various shops, not buying anything but just looking around and estimating prices in their minds.

At night, Yu Xu City was quite bustling, with countless cultivators walking around. There were Qi Refining stage cultivators with worry or hope on their faces, as well as high-level cultivators planning the future of the Qian Nation’s cultivation world.

There were also many senior and junior brothers and sisters from various sects strolling at night, with happy smiles on their faces.

But in many inconspicuous places, there might be a person and an ox walking past them, blending into the hustle and bustle of the city.

Every month, they started selling two bottles of mid-grade Cold Spirit Pills. Sometimes they sold them in the East City, sometimes in the South City, and sometimes even in the North City.

Although it took a little more time, for Chen Xun, having less unnecessary trouble was good.

With each bottle containing six pills and selling for a high price of three hundred low-grade spirit stones, Chen Xun and the big black ox’s horizons were slowly expanding.

They also went to a restaurant and had a big meal, spending two hundred low-grade spirit stones. In the end, Chen Xun and the big black ox unanimously agreed that it was not necessary—they should just make their own meals at home.

After satisfying their innermost desires, they both resumed their busy lives.

The years continued to pass, quietly cleansing away the old and yellowed memories, like a talisman without spiritual energy, disappearing without a trace.

Now, it had been fifty years since Chen Xun and the big black ox arrived in Yu Xu City. They heard that the centennial grand event would be held next year.

Due to the Great War in the cultivation world, the timing had changed. Now Yu Xu City was overcrowded, and many residential inns had been occupied by cultivators from various countries.

Giant boats often sailed towards the sky outside the West City, and many formidable cultivators descended from them.

The Ten Great Sects had already mobilized many disciples to maintain public order in the city. Blood was already being shed on the fighting platform in the central city area, and literary debates had begun as well.

The city was bustling with noise, full of discussions about the auction event, the showdown between the geniuses, and the Flower Festival, seeming even more lively than the mortal world.

In the East City, on Qing Immortal Mountain, in a secluded Yellow- grade cave.

Chen Xun was still shirtless, sitting by the creek. He sat cross-legged, with his left hand raised all along, and in front of him lay a crooked mountain-opening axe, his face extremely serene.

He seemed to be in a trance, as if he were looking at the axe, but also as if he were listening to the melodious sound of the creek.

Chen Xun was like he had entered a state of meditation, as if he had returned to the time when he used to observe the mountains and rivers, his temperament becoming ethereal and out of the world.

The big black ox widened its eyes in the cave, with no trace of mockery in its eyes anymore. It also possessed such a temperament, a truly unique cultivation path that Chen Xun had embarked on.

At this moment, a breeze blew by, and the surrounding leaves swayed continuously, gently brushing against Chen Xun’s face. He moved.

The axe swung in the direction of the flowing creek in the air, still weak and slow, without any spiritual energy, without any sharp momentum.

But in the big black ox’s eyes, Chen Xun was so natural, as if there was a strange feeling that Chen Xun should do just that.

The creek still flowed gently, creating a picturesque scene on the water surface, as if Chen Xun had chopped away a bit of loneliness.

He remained serene, as if his soul had merged into it. Countless fallen leaves brushed against his face, but he didn’t make any unnecessary movements, just letting things be.

The swinging of the mountain axe remained slow, continuously chopping in the direction of the flowing creek.

”Moo~” The big black ox’s pupils widened more and more, blinking its eyes from time to time, full of disbelief.

That feeling... was like walking on a mountain path, where there would be flowers, trees, and gravel around, as it should be, natural and normal.

The more the big black ox thought about it, the more it felt right. After following Chen Xun for so long, it now felt that it was quite cultured.

Now, Chen Xun, sitting by the creek, was so natural that even when swinging the axe, there was no sense of abruptness, as if he naturally belonged in this environment.

”