Starting Cultivation During a Trip

The next day, in the morning.

At Qilu City’s high-speed rail station, Zhang Fan and his group finally ended their journey to East Mountain and set off on their return.

Wei Qingsong made a special trip to see them off, and even brought Zhang Fan some local specialties from East Mountain—ten catties of bean curd sticks, twenty bags of hand-pulled chicken.

This time, he really managed to ingratiate himself, not only obediently following Zhang Fan’s orders, but also establishing good relations with Shi Shougong and Su Shiyu, just waiting for the transfer order back to Shangjing City.

In Wei Qingsong’s heart, Zhang Fan’s group of Daoists from White Crane Temple would never let his loyalty go to waste.

”Brother Fan, is everything settled here?”

After getting in the car, Liu Xingchui couldn’t help but ask.

”Mm.”

Zhang Fan nodded, saying no more. Some things were best left known to as few people as possible.

For example, the existence of the Lord of the Red Palace—seeing that person yesterday was like the clouds parting to reveal the blue sky; even Zhang Fan himself was taken aback, realizing how vast the world was, always someone greater out there.

No wonder the Wuwei Sect could endure for so long without perishing—they had such terrifying experts.

Looking at the whole world, the Wuwei Sect was just one corner. There was no end to learning, and the Dao had no limits; Zhang Fan had a long, long road ahead.

Luckily, Liu Nanxu rushed over from Zhenwu Mountain; otherwise, relying on Lao Mountain Sect Leader Li Chengge alone wouldn’t have been enough to withstand the terrifying Lord of the Red Palace.

Of course, Liu Nanxu came mainly to clean up after Zhang Fan.

His view was similar to Li Chengge’s—Divine Techniques should not be used rashly; the consequences and unpredictability were too great.

Especially Zhang Fan’s Divine Technique, Samadhi True Flame, which was a Third-Grade Divine Technique. Though the phenomena it produced weren’t world-shattering, those with high Dao Practice and sharp senses could still detect it.

Take Li Chengge, for example—he was in East Mountain Province, close by, and naturally felt its effects.

Besides that, Liu Nanxu’s Daoist Skill was attuned to sense Celestial Beings, so even though he was far away at Zhenwu Mountain, he could still sense a trace of it.

The Lord of the Red Palace, Ming Shenshou, also came chasing the scent.

This is the peculiarity of Divine Techniques—like the butterfly effect, a single ripple can cause waves throughout, especially once one reaches the Celestial Master rank: techniques follow nature, the mind merges with heaven and earth, and it’s even easier to sense such things.

Of course, Divine Techniques are divided into seven grades—not every Divine Technique causes such a stir.

Generally, once a Divine Technique reaches Fifth Grade, phenomena begin to appear, though this also varies among them.

Wuma Wuqilu’s All Things as Talisman is a Fifth-Grade Divine Technique; when performed, it leaves no trace or mark.

Li Changgeng’s Headless Regeneration, a Fourth-Grade Divine Technique, doesn’t cause any bizarre phenomena detectable by others either.

Ultimately, it’s Zhang Fan’s Samadhi True Flame that’s truly defying the heavens; even among Third-Grade Techniques, it’s top-tier, specializing in slaughter—once unleashed, its fluctuations naturally draw attention.

Thus, Zhang Fan couldn’t help but be worried. Clearly, the Lord of the Red Palace had set sights on his Divine Technique; with a monster like that stalking him, how could there be any peace?

If it were someone else, maybe it wouldn’t matter—but the Lord of the Red Palace’s original Divine Technique is Stealing Divine Mechanism, which specializes in forcibly seizing others’ Divine Techniques. Once targeted, death is not far away.

The four Divine Techniques he hides on himself were all ripped from others.

Facing such worries, Liu Nanxu gave Zhang Fan a figurative pill of reassurance.

”There’s a great expert hidden in Yujing City, strong enough to rank among the top five in the world. As long as this person is around, even someone like the Lord of the Red Palace wouldn’t dare to act recklessly.”

Zhang Fan recalled Liu Nanxu’s advice to him in his mind.

”A top five expert in the world!?” Zhang Fan’s heart was filled with deep suspicion.

Among the world’s top masters, the number one seat definitely belonged to Chu Chaoran—the Living Zhenren of this era. Ever since he defeated the former number one, Three Corpses Daoist, his position has been unshakable.

For sixty years, he’s lived in seclusion at Zhenwu Mountain, rarely stepping into mortal affairs, yet his influence could be felt everywhere.

Aside from him, White Crane Temple’s Jiang Wansui is mentioned with Chu Chaoran as ”South Chu and North Jiang”—his strength is unquestionable, also holding a spot among the world’s top five.

Just these two, and the top five already claim two seats.

Looking across the realm—the Ten Great Taoist Sects, famous Daoist mountains, provincial Daoist Alliances, and countless hermit masters like Zhang Lingzong, not to mention Wuwei Sect’s whole crew... With such a vast Jianghu, how many experts and prodigies are there? To squeeze into the world’s top five—how difficult could that be?

”Celestial Master Liu probably isn’t mistaken,” Zhang Fan mused.

Liu Nanxu’s knowledge was far beyond Zhang Fan’s, far more familiar with tales of the world’s experts. Since he was so certain, then the hidden master in Yujing City must truly possess power worthy of the world’s top five.

”Top five in the world... If I ever get the chance, I really want to meet them, learn from them.” Zhang Fan’s mind began to stir.

This trip to East Mountain had yielded much: not only did he step into the High Skill rank and bring back Jiang Lai, but he also obtained Zhang Beijiang and the Golden Radiance Treasure Box, figured out Li Changgeng’s background, and successfully made contact with the Evil Gods.

Now, all he wanted was to succeed in Divine Fusion and completely transcend his Tribulation.

Never mind being targeted by a being like the Lord of the Red Palace—even just Li Changgeng himself was a thorn in the side; who knows when he’d try to come back for revenge?

This time, Li Changgeng had been repeatedly weakened by Zhao Jie Xuan’s scheming, worn down by the Group of Demons Birthday Celebration Painting and the Golden Radiance Treasure Box, allowing Zhang Fan to defeat him.

Next time, he’d be facing a Li Changgeng at full strength.

At this moment, Zhang Fan was more desperate for power than ever—desperate to become stronger.