Seeking Immortality

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Although the white sunshine of Jiuhua Mountain is bright, there is a dead smell everywhere.

Since Zhang Xusheng attacked four years ago, Jiuhua Mountain's strength was greatly damaged, and it was reluctantly announced to close the mountain indefinitely. Jiuhua Mountain has lost the kind of activity in the past. In that catastrophe, although more than half of Jiuhua elders were lost, in terms of absolute numbers, the most injured were the ordinary disciples of Jiuhua.

There is a problem that can be fully explained by data. Before, Jiuhua Mountain had nearly 40 elders with high skills who had reached the stage of Jiedansi, as well as nearly 100 disciples of the elders, more than 500 disciples, and about 2,000 registered disciples.

On weekdays, those talented disciples were only responsible for cultivation, and they were also the most likely to reach the stage of Jiedansi and become masters of the world of cultivation in the future, and they were the pillars of Jiuhua Mountain in the future.

In addition to cultivating immortality, the disciples who enter the room are also responsible for assisting their masters in managing various matters in Jiuhua Mountain every day. Although their talents are not as good as those of the direct disciples, and the magic tools given to them by their masters are also ordinary, their strength is not weak. Many of them have reached the stage of fasting or even the stage of spiritual silence. In fact, there have been disciples who have entered the room in Jiuhua Mountain for generations, relying on their diligence and yearning for cultivating immortality, and eventually became a generation of masters.

The largest number of registered disciples spend most of their time dealing with miscellaneous items, feeding spirit beasts, cleaning, dressing elders, and receiving guests. They have low qualifications, practice the lowest level of skills, and have no magic tools in their hands. Very few of them have reached the stage of fasting. Rather than saying that they are Jiuhua disciples, it is more appropriate to say that they are servants, but at the same time they are also an indispensable part of Jiuhua Mountain. It is because of them that everything in Jiuhua Mountain seems to be just in order. The Jiuhua Mountain that seemed like a fairyland before was created and maintained by them.

After Zhou Huahai's rebellion and Zhang Xusheng's attack with a group of demons, these disciples were seriously damaged. Of the nearly 100 disciples, less than 60 were left, and of the more than 500 disciples, only 300 were left. The 2,000 registered disciples, who had almost no ability to protect themselves, were the most seriously damaged, with only more than 800 left. Moreover, a large number of these surviving disciples had suffered serious injuries that would affect their lives, or would never be able to make any progress in their cultivation.

It is precisely because of this that, although nearly five years have passed, these disciples still feel guilty about the catastrophe a few years ago. Although their injuries have healed, they don't know when the shadow in their hearts will heal. They can't express how they feel when they see their companions around them die tragically one by one and they are unable to resist the terrifying demons.

Because of this, they had no intention to manage the miscellaneous affairs of Jiuhua Mountain for a while, nor did they have the intention to play games as before, and even had a little resentment towards Jiuhua Mountain. As a result, although five years had passed since the incident, the appearance of Jiuhua Mountain was still as dilapidated as it was five years ago. Not only did the original immortal realm not recover at all, but it was even more infested with dust. The originally destroyed houses were just hastily built with a few bamboo and wooden houses.

As for the elders and high-level disciples of Jiuhua Mountain, they were either practicing Dharma in the "Jiuji Cave" or practicing hard after realizing their shortcomings after the battle with Zhang Xusheng. Or because of the "Tianling Pill" matter, no one cared about the lazy behavior of these low-level disciples.

Although there were still more than a thousand cultivators in Jiuhua Mountain at this time, the huge Jiuhua Mountain looked extremely deserted without a single figure wandering in the mountains.

It is precisely because of this that no elder or disciple noticed the abnormality of Jiuhua Mountain in the past five years.

At some point, Jiuhua Mountain suddenly became humid, and the water flow in several lakes and streams increased a lot. Even many originally dry rock cracks became streams. All the changes originated from the top of Jiuhua Mountain, as if the thousand-year-old snow on the top of Jiuhua Mountain had gradually melted without knowing when.

If someone discovered these changes and went to the top of Jiuhua Mountain to investigate, they would find that the originally snowy Jiuhua Mountain had been filled with a fiery red light at some point. Although the top of Jiuhua Mountain is located at an altitude of more than 2,000 feet, and the cold wind howls all year round, it is like being in the hot summer when you are on the top of Jiuhua Mountain. The original snow-white and crystal mountaintop ground has now exposed a large area of ​​rock surface.

The reason why Jiuhua Mountain has suddenly become more humid in recent years is that the temperature on the top of Jiuhua Mountain suddenly increased and the snow melted a lot.

That's it. The red light became more and more intense and dazzling day by day, and the temperature on the top of Jiuhua Mountain also rose rapidly as the snow melted. Finally, after Jiuhua Mountain was closed for five years, the dazzling red light and blazing temperature suddenly shrank and fell at a very fast speed, as if they were all absorbed by something or someone.

Somewhere on the top of Jiuhua Mountain, a dilapidated thatched house was located on it. As the red light and high temperature on the top of Jiuhua Mountain quickly dissipated, the temperature and red light near the thatched house became more and more dazzling. After an unknown period of time, a clear phoenix cry suddenly sounded from the thatched house. Although the phoenix cry, the red light and high temperature near the thatched house also suddenly dissipated.

After a long time, a clear sigh came from the thatched house. Although the sound was not loud, it was clearly transmitted throughout the top of Jiuhua Mountain. Although the sound was full of helplessness, after listening carefully, it seemed that there was still a hint of expectation in the sound.

In the thatched house, after sighing, Xu Qingfan slowly opened his eyes, and a flash of fire flashed through his eyes. His eyes were mixed with disappointment and expectation.

The reason why his expression was so complicated was because of the results of Xu Qingfan's retreat this time.

This retreat was a mixed success for Xu Qingfan. The success was that after this retreat, with the help of the huge spiritual energy in the "Wutong Branch", the spiritual energy of the mountain spirits and monsters accumulated in Xu Qingfan's body and the spiritual energy transformed by the inner elixir of the Azure Dragon Python had been successfully absorbed and refined by Xu Qingfan. With the help of these spiritual energies, Xu Qingfan also successfully entered the realm of the late stage of spiritual silence.

But the failure was. Although Xu Qingfan's power increased greatly, and his compatibility with the "Wutong Branch" also increased greatly, he not only failed to reach the realm of the Dan stage, but also failed to merge with the "Wutong Branch" successfully.

But there are gains and losses. After this retreat, Xu Qingfan's compatibility with the "Wutong Branch" in his body and consciousness increased greatly. Xu Qingfan believed. After the next retreat, he will definitely be able to merge with the "Wutong Branch" successfully.

More importantly, because Xu Qingfan's cultivation is almost reaching the limit of the Spiritual Silence Period, the possibility of forming a pill will increase slightly after the next successful fusion with the "Wutong Branch".

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan's initial regret for the failure of the fusion suddenly disappeared, and his expectations became stronger.

Shaking off the dust accumulated on his body and standing up from the straw bed, Xu Qingfan gently pushed open the door of the straw house, only to find that his straw house was surrounded by a colorful barrier, which was obviously arranged by Liu Huaxiang to prevent accidents. He couldn't help but feel a little warmer in his heart, and looked forward to meeting Liu Huaxiang and Ting'er later. Xu Qingfan even missed the way Xiaobi roared at him.

"I don't know how long this retreat took. Ting'er was a skinny little girl at first, but now she has grown into a different person. Uncle Liu has been seriously injured since the Zhang Xusheng Rebellion. I don't know if he is better now, or has he become older? I don't know if Xiaobi is making trouble again. Compared to the rare flowers and plants that Uncle Liu has been trampling on over the years, he has trampled on a lot of them, right?"

The defensive barrier outside the thatched house was set up with great skill, and it could even record Xu Qingfan's spiritual fluctuations. In other words, except for Liu Huaxiang and Xu Qingfan who set up this defensive barrier, no one else could enter or leave freely in front of this defensive barrier.

After Xu Qingfan walked out of this barrier with anticipation, he found that the entire top of Jiuhua Mountain had changed drastically. The snow that had accumulated for thousands of years had disappeared, revealing the rock surface that was originally buried deep downwind, but Liu Huaxiang and Ting'er were gone.

After a brief thought, Xu Qingfan figured out the reason. The snow on the top of Jiuhua Mountain disappeared because the Phoenix spirit was released when he was in seclusion, and melted under the high temperature. Liu Huaxiang, Ting'er and Bubi were probably taken down the mountain by Liu Huaxiang to collect materials for him to perform the secret method.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan felt warmer in his heart, a feeling of home. His steps on the top of Jiuhua Mountain became lighter. The last time he felt this way was when his senior brother Yue Qingru was still alive.

Suddenly, Xu Qingfan paused, and a bitter smile appeared in his eyes, because he suddenly found that the exotic flowers and plants that Zhang Hualing had painstakingly planted for many years on the top of Jiuhua Mountain had withered one after another without knowing when. Only some rare and exotic species with extremely tenacious vitality were still growing tenaciously, but they looked weak.

It was probably because when Xu Qingfan was in seclusion, the high temperature generated by the Phoenix Qi released outside not only melted the thousand-year-old snow on the top of Jiuhua Mountain, but also drained all the water on the top of Jiuhua Mountain. Under the strong temperature and without water, it was not surprising that these exotic flowers and plants withered.

But thinking that this was the result of Liu Huaxiang's life's work, and now most of them were accidentally destroyed by him, Xu Qingfan felt very upset.

Thinking of Zhang Hualing's furious look when Xiaobi rolled on the ground and crushed some exotic flowers and plants, Xu Qingfan's headache became worse. Because of Xiaobi's destruction, he, as the "uncle of the culprit's master", had already owed Liu Huaxiang countless exotic flowers and plants seeds. This time, most of the exotic flowers and plants in the "Hundred Herbs Circle" were accidentally destroyed by him. When Liu Huaxiang rushed back, he didn't know what kind of expression he would have. He would ridicule and annoyance, and it was possible that he would curse. It was certain that he would ask Xu Qingfan to collect countless exotic flowers and plants seeds as repayment.

In this way, unless Xu Qingfan suddenly realized the way to immortality, it would be difficult for him to repay the rare flowers and herbs seeds he owed Zhang Hualing in this life.

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan's relaxed expression disappeared, and only a bitter smile remained on his mouth.

Shaking his head, Xu Qingfan put aside these troubles. For him now, the fastest way to merge with the "Wutong Branch" and enter the Danjie stage is what he needs to consider now.

So Xu Qingfan didn't think about it anymore. Anyway, he had plenty of time to compensate Liu Huaxiang for the rare flowers and herbs after Danjie, so he turned around and walked towards his house.

Because of the state of mind, it is impossible for a cultivator to retreat continuously. Otherwise, once he feels irritable and bored, it is not enough to get half the result with twice the effort, and he may even fall into the danger of going crazy.

In the next month, Xu Qingfan returned to his leisurely days, reading books and drinking tea, or browsing the scenery of Jiuhua, or trying his best to help those dying exotic flowers and plants. Apart from the daily routine of meditation, he no longer did anything related to cultivating immortals.

A month later, Xu Qingfan felt that his mood had become peaceful and natural again, so he returned to his thatched house and continued to retreat. The red light began to fill the entire top of Jiuhua Mountain again, and the temperature of the top of Jiuhua Mountain became hot again. Everything changed, and nothing changed, but only the withered flowers and plants on the top of the mountain were left, drifting in the wind. At the same time, in a barren mountain thousands of miles away from Jiuhua Mountain, three figures suddenly appeared, strolling on the mountain road, as if they were constantly looking for something.

The largest figure was about three feet tall, with green scales all over his body, fangs and sharp horns, white feet and blue eyes. It was the rare blue-eyed cloud-kicking beast in the world of immortal cultivation. However, this blue-eyed cloud-kicking beast, which was supposed to have a violent temper, had a ferocious face but a gentle demeanor. It was Ting'er's "good pet" Xiaobi, who was following the other two figures step by step.

I don't know how many spiritual herbs Liu Huaxiang and Ting'er have fed Xiaobi over the years. Compared with before. Although Xiaobi's body is only slightly larger, her momentum is far more powerful than before.

Another thin human figure, when you look closely, is a beautiful girl with a quiet and beautiful face. Although she has not fully grown, she has already become a stunning beauty, as if a light cloud covers the moon. It was like snow drifting in the wind, and from a distance, it was as bright as the morning glow of the sun; from a close look, it was as blazing as a whip emitting green waves, like a fairy from heaven.

It was a pity that the girl's face was covered with countless black flame patterns, which made her look even more strange under her fair and delicate skin. Although she was so beautiful, her eyes were full of indifference, as if she was not interested in anything in the world. However, these black flame patterns and the indifferent look made the girl less natural and gentle, but more strangely stunning and charming.

This girl was Ting'er. When Xu Qingfan first raised her, she was just a thin little girl under twelve years old, but after seven years of growth, Ting'er has now become a graceful eighteen-year-old girl. Especially in the past five years, Ting'er's figure has grown very fast. I am afraid that even if Xu Qingfan saw her now, Xu Qingfan would not dare to be sure that the beautiful girl in front of him was his niece Ting'er, right?

Although her appearance and figure have changed greatly, Ting'er's personality is still silent and indifferent. Liu Huaxiang has tried his best over the years, but he can't change it at all.

And the old man who is walking in the front and seems to be dying soon is Liu Huaxiang.

Liu Huaxiang, who had collected enough blood of wronged souls half a year ago, didn't know that "Zhang" and "Lie" in the "Ming" organization had been waiting for him for half a year and wanted to capture him. Otherwise, if he had the current cultivation level, he would have a slim chance of escaping under the joint efforts of "Lie" and "Zhang".

Of course, he didn't know that Xu Qingfan had inadvertently destroyed the exotic flowers and plants he had cultivated for hundreds of years. He didn't expect Xu Qingfan to move so much during his retreat. Otherwise, once he knew, he couldn't rule out the possibility that his life span would be greatly reduced again.

After the two men and the beast had been searching for a long time in this barren mountain, a trace of joy flashed across Liu Huaxiang's old face. With a wave of his right hand, the ground in front of him suddenly cracked, and a green stone flew into his hand.

Liu Huaxiang murmured: "I have finally collected 100 green stones, and the materials needed to perform the secret method are finally ready."

Then, Liu Huaxiang turned to Ting'er and said softly: "Ting'er, we should go back to Jiuhua Mountain. I guess your uncle has already gone to the mountain? I don't know if he succeeded."

Ting'er heard what Liu Huaxiang said, but didn't say anything else, just nodded quietly, but Ting'er's originally calm eyes seemed to flash a trace of nostalgia for a moment, but I don't know whether it was for Uncle Xu Qingfan or Jiuhua Mountain, the place that can be called "home".

Three days later, Liu Huaxiang returned to Jiuhua Mountain, looking at the dilapidated flowers and plants in front of him, his mind became sluggish.

"Xu Qingfan! You prodigal boy, are you really going to piss me off to death?"

At this moment, the tone of Liu Huaxiang, who was originally extremely old, was so full of energy when he shouted angrily.