Chapter 161: A Hundred Years' Promise
Li Changzhou smiled, like a banished immortal from the sky, and landed on the Moon-Watching Platform.
He calmly landed in front of the stone table, then extended his hand and said, "Come over and have a chat."
Although he had guessed it long ago, Ye Linyuan still felt a little depressed when he heard Li Changzhou give his name.
However, he was not stage-frightened. Instead, he calmly came to the stone table and sat opposite Li Changzhou.
But Li Changzhou smiled, then looked at Ye Linyuan and said, "Yue Muchen was the enemy I personally selected. I thought he was the one who would compete with me, but I didn't expect him to be defeated by you."
“It’s beyond my expectation.”
Ye Linyuan couldn't help but frowned slightly, and just looked at Li Changzhou quietly, without any intention of responding.
Li Changzhou took the wine gourd from his waist and took a sip. A hint of intoxication appeared on his handsome face. After a long time, he looked at Ye Linyuan and said, "Don't worry. I didn't invite you here to attack you."
Ye Linyuan was silent, then said calmly: "Since we are our common enemies, what is there to see?"
"There is more to this world than just fighting."
Li Changzhou smiled, picked up the wine gourd and threw it to Ye Linyuan, saying: "Compared to cultivating immortals, I prefer to compose poems, play the piano, and also like fine wine and beautiful women."
Ye Linyuan took the wine gourd, a look of surprise in his eyes.
Looking at Li Changzhou again, Ye Linyuan felt that this man had an indescribable sense of freedom and an ethereal feeling that was otherworldly.
"Like a fairy descending from the earth, detached from the world, you and I are the same kind of people."
Li Changzhou opened his mouth slowly, a smile appeared on his face, but he shook his head with some regret and said: "If you and I were born in ancient times, people like you and I might have become close friends."
"Unfortunately, we don't have a choice now."
Speaking of this, a hint of gloom appeared in Li Changzhou's eyes.
Ye Linyuan did not answer, but just looked at Li Changzhou silently, then looked at the bright moon hanging high in the sky, and a trace of melancholy slowly emerged in his heart.
Yes, they have no choice, and in the end one of them will fall.
"Brother Ye." Li Changzhou spoke slowly, and finally said with a smile: "Why don't we make an agreement?"
"Agreement?" Ye Linyuan's eyes moved slightly.
"A hundred-year agreement."
Li Changzhou opened his mouth, his eyes solemn as he said: "I will give you a hundred years to grow. After a hundred years, you and I will fight each other fairly, and we will have no complaints whether we live or die."
Ye Linyuan was silent. With his current cultivation speed, coupled with the increasingly sufficient cultivation resources, a hundred years would be enough for him to cultivate to the state of great perfection in foundation building.
Li Changzhou didn't know this, and said with a gloomy look: "A hundred years is still too short for you. Even if you swallow Yue Muchen, you may not be able to cultivate to the great perfection of foundation building."
"But this hundred years is the longest time I can buy for you."
When Ye Linyuan heard this, he already understood vaguely in his heart that the person behind the scenes might be impatient.
In a certain sense, Ye Linyuan couldn't help but sigh in his heart. Li Changzhou was actually just a poor man, and he might have been completely plotted to death since the beginning of his cultivation.
Thinking of this, Ye Linyuan's eyes became solemn, and he couldn't help but say: "You and I are in the same boat, why don't we cooperate?"
"it's useless."
Li Changzhou shook his head and said calmly: "No matter who wins or loses, we will face an inevitable death. Even if we join forces, there is no chance of success."
"Instead of struggling in vain, it is better to enjoy life."
"Reciting poems, composing fu, playing the zither, enjoying fine wine and beautiful women, how can it not be joyful?"
Ye Linyuan was silent for a long time before he spoke: "I still want to give it a try."
Having said this, Ye Linyuan said no more and returned the wine gourd to Li Changzhou.
Li Changzhou smiled, threw the wine gourd back and said, "This is our first meeting, so consider this as a gift from me to you."
"..."
Ye Linyuan held the gourd and walked out of the Moon-Viewing Platform.
Minghuang Jianzi had been waiting for a long time. When he saw him coming out with the gourd, he sighed and said, "It seems that he didn't embarrass you."
Ye Linyuan shook his head and told Minghuang Jianzi about the hundred-year agreement.
After listening to this, Minghuang Jianzi couldn't help but sigh and said, "This Li Changzhou's nickname is 'Cang Yue Junzi'. It is said that he has never troubled any enemy since he started practicing, and he is always fair and honest to his enemies."
"Judging from what we did today, it seems that the rumors are somewhat credible."
Upon hearing this, Ye Linyuan nodded slightly.
Thinking of this, he pondered for a moment and then asked, "Has Li Changzhou ever swallowed the Tao?"
"Never heard of it."
Minghuang Jianzi shook his head and then said, "This Li Changzhou is an extraordinary talent, a rare genius with heavenly water spiritual roots. It is said that he established his foundation at the age of seventeen, and after only sixty years, he reached the great perfection of his foundation."
Upon hearing this, Ye Linyuan nodded slightly.
Those with natural spiritual roots cannot compare to those with Taoist body geniuses, but they are still considered rare geniuses in the world of immortal cultivation.
If he was born in ancient times, Li Changzhou could be considered a true Nascent Soul seed, and the probability of him breaking through to the Nascent Soul stage would be at least 30% to 40%.
But in this era, it is difficult for the second spiritual root to even build a foundation. Although the heavenly spiritual root is much stronger, it can only be regarded as a golden elixir seed.
Of course, the aptitude of natural spiritual roots is still very strong, especially the cultivation speed in the Qi training and foundation building stages, which is dozens of times faster than that of ordinary spiritual roots.
Li Changzhou possesses the Heavenly Water spiritual root, and his speed in practicing water magic is ten times that of a cultivator with five spiritual roots, and more than five times that of a cultivator with three spiritual roots.
Even when reaching the Golden Core Realm, where cultivation gradually becomes the key to determining the speed of cultivation, Li Changzhou's basic cultivation speed should be about twice as fast as Ye Linyuan's.
This advantage in cultivation speed will generally not decrease until one reaches the Nascent Soul stage, or even be caught up by those with multiple spiritual roots.
Li Changzhou had such talent, and with the abundant resources of the Canghai Sect, it could be said that he hadn't put in much effort in cultivating to the great perfection of foundation building.
"It's a pity that even with the talent of a natural spiritual root, one cannot control one's own destiny."
Minghuang Jianzi spoke slowly, a hint of pity appearing in his eyes.
Seeing this, Ye Linyuan couldn't help but think of Minghuang Jianzi and said, "I remember your sect's path, it doesn't seem to be the path of swallowing the Tao?"
"Strictly speaking, my lineage also follows the same path, but the core methods are very different."
Minghuang Jianzi smiled slightly, and a hint of pride appeared in his eyes. He held the Minghuang Ancient Sword in his hand and said, "The core method of my Tianxing lineage is not the way of swallowing the Tao, but the method of sacrificing the sword."
Ye Linyuan's eyes showed a hint of understanding, but he still asked, "What is the sword sacrifice method?"
Minghuang Jianzi hesitated for a moment, then said, "Everyone in the Seven Domain Alliance knows this, it's not a secret, it's okay to tell you."
"The sword masters or sword slaves of our Tianxing Sword Sect would all become Daoists when they were dying, integrating the Dao seeds they had cultivated throughout their lives into their swords, using the sword sacrifice method to store the power of the Dao."
"In addition, by killing the enemy who is also practicing with you, you can also integrate their Dao essence into the sword, leaving it for you to continue to comprehend in the future."
"Later, people who were recognized by the famous sword only needed to comprehend the famous sword to understand the Dao, which was not much different from the method of swallowing the Dao."
After hearing this, Ye Linyuan had some understanding of the Tianxing Sword Sect's approach.
The method of this lineage is the method of sword sacrifice, which strictly speaking is a variation of the Way of Swallowing the Dao, that is, the method of suppressing the Dao.
After the ancient war, the great Dao of heaven and earth was incomplete, and even the golden elixir of the spiritual roots could hardly break through, so people in the world explored many special methods to help break through.
The most mainstream one among them is naturally the method of swallowing the Tao.
It is said that some of the surviving sages from ancient times believed that the method of swallowing the Tao was too evil and might leave extremely serious consequences, so they created some special methods to break through their cultivation. The method of sword sacrifice was a product of that era.
This method does not swallow the Tao, but seals one's own understanding of the Tao into the sword at the moment of death.
After people comprehend the great Dao and wield these famous swords, they can break through their cultivation by comprehending the Dao in the swords. They do not need to take the path of swallowing the Dao which will bring endless troubles, and can break through to the Golden Core and even Nascent Soul realms.
In fact, in today's Tianxing Sword Sect, most of the swordsmen and sword slaves follow the method of sword sacrifice, but many of them practice the way of swallowing the Tao while practicing the method of sword sacrifice.
Of course, Ye Linyuan knew very well that the method of sword sacrifice was definitely not as simple as allowing future generations to break through.
Because as far as Ye Linyuan knew, those great masters who had cultivated to the level of the universe studied the method of sword sacrifice, definitely not for the purpose of allowing future generations to break through their cultivation.
After the ancient war, the path to immortality was cut off. The original origin of the sword sacrifice method was actually a method created by a powerful person in order to achieve immortality.
This method can refine one's own Nascent Soul or Primordial Spirit into the sword and transform it into the sword spirit of the famous sword.
After abandoning their physical bodies and transforming their spirits into swords, the strength of these powerful beings will be greatly reduced, but their lifespan will be greatly extended. They can even live for tens of thousands or even hundreds of thousands of years by falling into a deep sleep.
In his previous life, Ye Linyuan had seen an old monster who had lived for tens of thousands of years. His Nascent Soul was placed in a powerful spiritual treasure, just waiting for the day when the world would recover and the path to immortality would reopen.
That person charged directly into the forbidden area of Jiexu, and the cultivation level he displayed shocked all the Yuanying Zhenjuns.
Ye Linyuan strongly suspected that the Tianxing Sword Sect might be the inheritance of some ancient top sect, and each of those famous swords might represent a former Yuanying Zhenjun.
Now, countless tens of thousands of years have passed, and the sword spirits sleeping in the famous swords may have exhausted their lifespans long ago, but there is no guarantee that one or two are still alive.
Moreover, Ye Linyuan strongly suspected that these sword masters, sword slaves and sword masters might be the nourishment of famous swords.
They comprehend the Dao in the sword and practice, but when they are dying, they return the Dao they have cultivated to the famous sword until the next new swordsman takes charge of the famous sword.
The relationship between the famous sword and the sword boy has reached a tacit symbiosis.
The famous sword helps them to break through their cultivation level, and the sword master must return his spiritual essence to the famous sword when he is dying.
"This Tianxing Sword Sect is either a legacy of an ancient sect, or it dug up the grave of a great sect from ancient times."
Ye Linyuan whispered slowly in his heart and had some guesses about the origin of the Tianxing Sword Sect.
At this time, Minghuang Jianzi smiled and said, "Well, the Seven Domains Conference is about to begin, so let's not waste time."
Ye Linyuan nodded and followed Minghuang Jianzi all the way to the depths of Canghai Mingyue Palace.
This barter conference was held in Cangyue Tower. They came all the way to the top of Cangyue Tower and immediately sensed the boiling Dao aura.
The Cangyue Tower has seven floors. Ye Linyuan and Minghuang Jianzi came to the fifth floor together. Looking at the huge Cangyue Tower, they found that it was already crowded with people.
But unexpectedly, there was no noise at all with thousands of monks here. Instead, it seemed particularly quiet and peaceful.
"This Cang Yue Tower can isolate spiritual consciousness and noisy sounds. You and I can't hear any noise here."
Minghuang Jianzi spoke at the right time, and then began to close his eyes and rest.
Ye Linyuan nodded and began to observe the general situation of this barter conference.
The standard of this barter conference is extremely high. Only cultivators at the foundation-building stage and above are eligible to participate, including even dozens of fake elixir masters and seven or eight golden elixir masters.
"With so many fake elixir and even golden elixir cultivators participating, it seems that there must be some valuable treasures in this exchange conference."
Ye Linyuan's mind was wandering, and a hint of anticipation appeared in his eyes.
Not long after, bursts of faint celestial sounds were heard from Cangyue Tower, and then a beautiful woman in a moon-white gauze dress descended from the sky and slowly appeared in the Taoist temple.
The moment he saw that person, Ye Linyuan's brows couldn't help but frown slightly.
The woman's cultivation had reached the perfection of foundation building, and she seemed to have extraordinary talent and potential. It seemed that she was not far from forming a pill.
Seeing this, Minghuang Jianzi at the side couldn't help but smile and said, "This is Fairy Yuehua, the number one female cultivator in Canghai Mingyue Palace, and she practices the Jiutian Cangyue Jue."
"This girl was originally a casual cultivator in our Tianxing Sea Region. Later, she got a chance in the Blood Prison Secret Realm, and was chosen by the Canghai Sect's man as his concubine."
"Now that we haven't seen each other for over a hundred years, it seems that she is not far from forming a pill."
Ye Linyuan's eyes moved slightly when he heard this.
But I saw that the Fairy Yuehua had a graceful figure, beautiful appearance, and an outstanding temperament like a fairy from the Moon Palace.
"The Secret Realm of Blood Prison?"
Ye Linyuan whispered in his heart, a thought emerged in his mind, but he quickly suppressed it.
At this time, Fairy Yuehua was seen standing barefoot in the air, her watery eyes swept over the crowd calmly, and then she slowly said: "I will entertain you all during the auction of this barter meeting."
As Fairy Yuehua said this, she raised her hand and a tray suddenly appeared in her palm, on which there were actually hundreds of Foundation Establishment Pills.
"Everyone, let's start with the Foundation Establishment Pill for today's auction."
As Fairy Yuehua finished her words, everyone present began to bid immediately.
In the entire Seven Domain Alliance, Foundation Establishment Pills have always been a much-needed treasure, so naturally there was no problem selling them. After just half an hour, this batch of Foundation Establishment Pills were sold out.
As the Foundation Establishment Pills were sold out, Fairy Yuehua took out various treasures to sell.
There were many treasures, and most of them were useless to Ye Linyuan, until one moment when one of them was taken out, which immediately made Ye Linyuan look surprised.
(End of this chapter)
