Several months later.
Jade Bottle Continent, a shattered undersea mountain range.
Ning Daoran exerted his mana to isolate a vast area of seawater, walking along a fragnted mountain path. Behind him, Little Bai, dressed in a pristine white immortal dress, followed closely.
Ahead, a massive stone stele had toppled to the ground, encrusted with nurous seaweeds and shells.
Ning Daoran raised his hand, brushing away the debris to reveal three large characters carved on the stele—
Qinghe Sect!
In ancient tis, second only to the Divine Leaf Sect on the Jade Bottle Continent, it was said the Qinghe Sect once boasted over ten thousand disciples and was safeguarded by three Nascent Soul Great Cultivators—a sect that made a resounding na for itself.
Alas, at the outset of the Battle of Descent, the Qinghe Sect bore the brunt of the attack, being the first victim. It was obliterated by Chaotic Heaven Star Monarch and Liu Zhu Star Monarch, who led massive forces of North Sea cultivators, cleaving the land in two and sinking it beneath the waves.
"Finally found it. So, the Qinghe Sect lies subrged here after all."
Sighing deeply, Ning Daoran carried his dicine basket and continued down the mountain path.
"Hmm?"
Suddenly, he halted. By the side of the path, a wild herb emitting a faint glow caught his attention. Despite being subrged underwater for so many years, it still retained traces of vitality—a rare and curious sight indeed.
"This is the one."
Raising a finger, Ning Daoran summoned the Evergreen Magic Power, surging it toward the wild herb to begin its refinent.
"Zzzzz~~~"
The wild herb trembled slightly, its tip nourished by the Evergreen Magic Power. It swiftly sprouted a bud, then produced a seed. Within seconds, the seed withered, and the entire wild herb rapidly decayed.
In the air, however, a luminous speck of light was drawn away—a fragnt of primordial energy from the plant essence of the Qinghe Sect.
"Collect!"
Ning Daoran produced a jade bottle, and with a gesture, the speck of light swiftly flew into it and was sealed inside.
He shook the jade bottle. Its spacious interior was already half-filled with primordial energy of various lifeforms, yet it was still far from what Ning Daoran desired. It seed the journey would require further travels and exploration.
"Young Master."
Little Bai asked curiously, "Since the primordial energy is sealed within the bottle, why do you still carry a dicine basket on your back? What purpose does it serve?"
"Purpose?"
Ning Daoran turned and gently tapped Little Bai on the forehead, speaking in a tone of mock regret, "Young people shouldn’t be so shortsighted. Carrying this dicine basket makes look more like an enlightened master. It suits the scene better this way!"
"Suits the scene..."
Little Bai was at a loss for words.
Nonetheless, she had always admired Ning Daoran’s diligence and ticulous nature. She thought to herself, "Truly worthy of being my young master—steadfast, reliable, shouldering the affairs of an entire continent like a true Great Cultivator!"
With that, Little Bai conjured a point of light to illuminate their path and continued to follow him as he journeyed across the world. Everywhere they went, they refined local flora, extracting and collecting the unique spiritual characteristics of each region on the Jade Bottle Continent.
...
Thus, every few years, Ning Daoran ventured out to collect the spiritual energy of a continent. When not traveling, he diligently worked on unraveling the Array Dao inheritance of the Heavenly Yuan Wind Thunder Array atop Bi Yi Peak. The years passed swiftly but were richly fulfilling.
Before long, twelve years had passed.
In this year, Ning Daoran turned 542 years old and finally achieved a breakthrough in the study of arrays!
"Success!"
In the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven, he laughed heartily, stepping out of his room and kneeling in front of a small wooden hut. Raising both hands to the heavens, he shouted, "Oh heavens! You have not failed a man of perseverance—at last, I have succeeded!"
At that mont, he had finally created a complete inheritance of the Heavenly Yuan Wind Thunder Array.
Once this array was successfully refined, he would ascend to the rank of a Fifth-order Lower Grade Array Master!
If there were no unforeseen circumstances, he would likely beco the only living Fifth-order Array Master across both the Eastern Wilderness and the North Sea realms!
Furthermore, through the long years of perseverance and countless hours of refining ti, Ning Daoran had cultivated the Eternal Green Technique to the fortieth layer before erging from seclusion. Although no new abilities were awakened, his lifespan had extended significantly, and the power of his summoned Chaos Immortal Vine, Dragon Vine, and Thunder Vine was markedly enhanced.
Tests revealed that the strength and flexibility of these vines had improved by at least forty percent—a considerable boost in power!
"Screee~~~"
The Big Stupid Deer leapt over, nudging Ning Daoran’s arm in admiration, expressing how incredible its big brother was and declaring his unrivaled mastery of divine skills!
Little Blackie, Ning Xiaogui, Er Hei, and the seven-colored falcon, now in its black-clothed youth form, all fell to their knees, collectively exclaiming that their big brother was "Old Immortal Jian Jia, unparalleled in power." Even Little Qing hesitated for a mont before kneeling as well, though she felt too embarrassed to join in shouting praises about "unparalleled power"—it was just too humiliating.
"Hehehahaha~~~"
Ning Daoran laughed triumphantly.
"Swoosh!"
At that mont, a snow-white figure entered the Cave Heaven—it was Little Bai. Seeing the scene before her, she rely rolled her eyes dramatically. She was beyond any urge to offer comnts, having long since beco used to such antics.
"Little Bai, is sothing the matter?"
"Yes."
Little Bai respectfully bowed and replied, "Young Master, a late-stage Golden Core female cultivator has arrived outside the mountain gate, claiming to be a forr acquaintance of yours. She introduced herself as Yunting Fairy and seeks your refuge."
"Forr acquaintance?"
Ning Daoran frowned. "I don’t recall knowing anyone nad Yunting Fairy."
"Brother Ran,"
Little Blackie comnted, "Could it be that during so stormy, fateful night, you had a fleeting encounter with so fairy, shared a reckless mont of passion, but then forgot about it over the passage of ti?"
"Do you think I’m that kind of person?!"
Ning Daoran roared in rage, "Old Lu! Xiaogui! Teach him a lesson! Little Bai, co with to et this Yunting Fairy!"
"Understood, Young Master!"
The two of them flew out of the Spirit Garden Cave Heaven. Monts later, the Cave Heaven was filled with Little Blackie’s pained screams: "Ahhhh! Brother Lu, go easy on ! Not the face! I rely on this face to make a living!"
...
Outside the great array.
Suspended in mid-air was a woman dressed in a faint red immortal dress. Her beauty was undeniable, but an overwhelming aura of deadly hostility emanated from her body, and a deep-seated ferocity lingered between her brows.
This Yunting Fairy appeared to be soone from the Demon Path.
"Hmph!"
Ning Daoran lifted a portion of the great array, smiling as he spoke, "Fairy, if I’m not mistaken, I don’t believe we’ve ever t before, have we?"
"Oh?"
Yunting Fairy pressed her crimson lips together, putting on an aggrieved expression as if she were about to cry. "Does Young Master Ning truly not rember ? Have you forgotten that windswept, rain-soaked night and the tender monts we shared?"
"You..."
Ning Daoran gritted his teeth. Could such words be spoken so casually? Lin Man might very well be in the Earth Immortal Realm using so thod to monitor him. If she heard this, how many washboards would he have to kneel on in the future?
"Fellow Daoist, I advise you to watch your words..."
A streak of golden light erged, transforming into the Golden Silk Sword, its tip pointed directly at Yunting Fairy.
With Ning Daoran’s current cultivation, a single Golden Silk Sword would suffice to kill a late-stage Golden Core cultivator. If he sent out this strike, there was a 99% chance she would perish on the spot!
"You want to kill ?" Yunting Fairy froze for a mont.
"What else?"
Ning Daoran flicked his sleeve, sending the flying sword straight toward her.
"Wait!"
Yunting Fairy suddenly spread her arms, a hint of grievance on her face. "Fellow Daoist Ning, how can you be so heartless? Take a closer look—I am Wanhua! Do you not rember at all?"
"Wanhua... Wanhua True Monarch?!"
Ning Daoran’s eyes widened. "Wait a minute... Are you Fellow Daoist Wanhua?"
When he extended his Divine Soul to investigate, the truth beca clear. The Divine Soul Mark was unmistakably that of the Wanhua True Monarch from years ago. It was just that the overwhelming hostility emanating from her had distracted him from probing earlier.
"Who else could I be?"
Wanhua True Monarch gently patted her chest. "If I had known in advance, I wouldn’t have joked around. I was nearly killed by Fellow Daoist Ning!"
"Hahaha, what a misunderstanding!"
Ning Daoran quickly invited, "Co, co, let’s go inside the cave mansion for so tea. You can tell what’s happened to you over all these years."
...
Inside the cave mansion.
Little Bai brewed tea and served a cup to Wanhua True Monarch with a smile. "Fairy Wanhua, please have so tea to calm your nerves."
Wanhua True Monarch nodded with a smile. "Thank you, Little Bai!"
"Fellow Daoist Wanhua, where have you been all these years? And this body of yours..." Ning Daoran asked.
"It’s a long story."
Wanhua True Monarch sighed. "Back then, after parting ways with you, my Nascent Soul drifted over the Eastern Sea, heading to the Xia Country’s cultivation world. I was determined to find a suitable body for seizing, but it proved to be an incredibly difficult task."
Her eyes clouded with pain. "In Qingzhou and Ningzhou of Xia Country, heavenly spirit root cultivators were mostly true inheritors of major sects—kindhearted and pure-hearted. How could I bring myself to harm such people? As ti passed and my Nascent Soul weakened, it beca clear that if I didn’t seize a body soon, I would perish. Then I heard news that a Yunting Fairy from the Demon Sect in Ningzhou had murdered her master and destroyed her ancestral line. I went to the Demon Sect and seized the body of this Yunting Fairy. Alas, her disposition was exceptionally ruthless, and the hostility lingering on this body has persisted for years."
"No wonder the hostility around you is so potent."
Ning Daoran frowned. "I nearly couldn’t hold back from delivering justice on behalf of the cultivation world..."
Wanhua True Monarch chuckled softly, "I must thank Fellow Daoist Ning for his restraint, or the consequences would have been dire!"
Ning Daoran laughed awkwardly and asked, "What are your plans now?"
After a mont of hesitation, he added, "To be honest, your senior brother, Golden Leaf True Monarch, has led a group of Divine Leaf Sect disciples to establish themselves on Li Yue Continent. They’ve seized a Fifth-rank Middle-grade Spiritual Vein. While their foundation isn’t as deep as the old Divine Leaf Sect, it’s still a major sect on Li Yue Continent. Do you have any intention of returning to the Divine Leaf Sect?"
"Fellow Daoist Ning."
Wanhua True Monarch smiled bitterly. "Even the Ancestor Hall was abandoned. With their core disciples fleeing during a ti of crisis, do you think the spirit of the Divine Leaf Sect still remains? That sect in Li Yue Continent—does it even count as the Divine Leaf Sect anymore?"
With a wistful sigh, she said, "The Divine Leaf Sect I held in my heart perished along with my original body when I was forced to seize Yunting Fairy’s."
"So be it."
Ning Daoran responded, "I’ve been appointed to oversee the Jade Bottle Continent. There’s a vacancy for a caretaker here on Bi Yi Peak. Would you be interested?"
Wanhua True Monarch smiled faintly. "As long as it includes food and lodging, I’m in."
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