Chapter 174: Disciples from Other Clans
If it were up to Chen Jingzhai and Jiang Lin, they would never have let any rogue cultivators approach the abandoned residence of the Spirit Plane cultivator. They would never allow it. That was how potent a celestial clan could be.
However, they noticed from Hua Anxiang’s words that the cultivators of the Mingyuan Dao Sect had forgotten that they had control over their region. Not only that, but it would seem like the Mystic Sound Pavilion and Emerald Wave Island were the same as well.
It was clear that this wasn’t the first time rogue cultivators had tried to enter their region.
Yet, Chen Jingzhai had no right to tell them that it was wrong.
“I’ve heard that clues to the abandoned residence were provided by rogue cultivators?” Chen Jingzhai asked.
“We were the first to spot the residence after the undersea earthquake. But, it was the rogue cultivators’ information that helped us confirm that it was the residence of the Venerable Ning.”
“I see. Who would’ve thought that such a thing had happened?” Chen Jingzhai nodded. “It looks like we’ll be able to meet a lot of talented individuals in this expedition.”
“That’s not wrong.” Hua Anxiang smiled. “But, I advised against looking down on rogue cultivators. Those who have gathered their cores are powerful, and so are their disciples.”
“Oh? Can you tell me the details?” Jiang Lin asked.
“Sure thing.” Hua Anxiang nodded. “Let’s start with Tidal Sound City. There’s a Sage who’s proficient in using fire methods and item alchemy. The Sage’s disciple is also in the Advanced Foundation Plane and is known as the Little Item Alchemist in the city. The most important part is that the disciple is a female cultivator.”
“Are you looking down on female disciples?” Su Qinghuang coldly asked.
“No, of course not!” Hua Anxiang quickly explained. “There are a lot of water-attributed cultivators here in the Eastern Ocean, but only a handful of female cultivators are attributed to the fire element. What’s more, she doesn’t belong to any celestial clan.”
“Ah! I know! Little Item Alchemist Zhang Jiao. She sure is a feisty one!” Jiang Lin grinned.
“You better not let her hear that unless you want a taste of her fireball.” Hua Anxiang sweated. “Other than her, there’s also the son of the True Venerable Spirit Plane.”
“His son?” Chen Jingzhai exclaimed.
“That’s right. The Spirit Plane cultivator has close ties with our clan. The mother of the son was his disciple whom he had spent 300 years raising.”
“I’ve heard of him as well,” Jiang Lin said. “He had already reached the Complete Foundation Plane but forcefully stopped himself from gathering his Golden Core because of the expedition.”
Jiang Lin had not wasted the past five months staying in Tidal Sound City. Instead, he had collected a lot of information.
Only Chen Jingzhai and Su Qinghuang had been living in their own world and had no idea what was happening outside.
“Who would’ve thought that the Spirit Plane cultivator had gone to such lengths to preserve his bloodline? Unfortunately, it looks like he had already long lost his dream of achieving the True Immortal of Tribulation, or, to be more precise, he doesn’t have the confidence he would achieve it.”
“It’s actually best if we don’t dwell too much on the speculations of why the Spirit Plane cultivator did that,” Hua Anxiang awkwardly said. “Let’s talk about other genius talents. Next are the Three Great Direct Disciples of the Mystic Sound Pavilion.”
“Oh? The Three Great Direct Disciples?” Chen Jingzhai raised an eyebrow as his interest was piqued.
The biggest reason was that he had realized that Sage Kumu had a close friendship with Sage Chang Xiao from the Mystic Sound Pavilion, to the point where the former had a lot of talismans from the Mystic Sound Pavilion. Due to that, Chen Jingzhai didn’t like the Mystic Sound Pavilion that much.
“The Mystic Sound Pavilion focuses on talismans and sound methods,” Hua Anxiang continued. “The Three Great Direct Disciples are the Divine Brush Ma Yuliang, the Enchantress Yin Cailing, and the Jade Flute Xiao Changming.”
The Divine Brush Ma Yuliang has the ability to create thousands of talismans with a wave of his brush.
The Enchantress Yin Cailing has a pair of Enchantment Bells and was undefeatable among the Foundation Establishment Plane cultivators.
The Jade Flute Xiao Changming is able to kick up waves with his flute.
These three were the most prominent disciples of the Mystic Sound Pavilion and had all reached the Complete Foundation Plane.
“Wow! They all have their own titles!” Chen Jingzhai grinned and asked Hua Anxiang, “What’s yours?”
“I don’t have one.” Hua Anxiang shook his head. “I mostly help my master with his affairs in Tidal Sound City. Although, people do know me as the Smiling Fox or the Smiling Tiger. It’s nothing as grand as theirs.”
“However, I would rather have someone like you in my clan,” Chen Jingzhai said.
Hua Anxiang grinned and bowed.
“Let’s talk about the Emerald Wave Island,” Jiang Lin cut in. “They are the most mysterious of the Great Three Overseas Celestial Clans. Their disciples rarely leave the clan. Is there anyone we should know?”
“Of course. The Emerald Wave Island is an island that is bigger than the East Pole Spirit Turtle Island. That’s why the disciples all live on the island.”
The cultivators of the Emerald Wave Island were proficient in elixir alchemy and adored planting spirit herbs and plants.
Most of the rogue cultivators in the Eastern Ocean would purchase elixirs from the elixir pavilion of the Emerald Wave Island. Not only that, but the clan also had close ties with the Elixir Twilight Clan and would always exchange elixir alchemy techniques with each other.
The only reason that the Emerald Wave Island remained mysterious and had always kept a low profile was that most of them were elixir alchemists.
“There are two genius talents from the well-known island. One is Lu Chang’an, who has reached the Complete Foundation Plane. The other is Shao Hongxia, an Advanced Foundation Plane cultivator.”
“Only two?” Jiang Lin exclaimed.
“There are more, but the others are focused on their path of elixir alchemy on the island, and they don’t like getting into fights,” Hua Anxiang explained. “Most of their disciples are like that.”
“I see.” Chen Jingzhai nodded. “I should find some time and head there. Maybe I can learn something from them and buy some herbs. Some can only be found there.”
“The chance will come.”
The Soaring Clouds Ship was traveling at its top speed with the help of the Golden Sage Core. It only took them an hour to reach the southern region of the Eastern Ocean.
The southern region was actually on the other side of Crescent Moon Bay. From East Pole Spirit Turtle Island to the mainland was considered the western region, while the inner bay of Crescent Moon Bay was the northern region.
Although it differed from how the mainland cultivators would name their regions, it was acceptable for Chen Jingzhai. What attracted their attention wasn’t the name but the cultivators who were running on top of the water.
“Look at the surface,” Hua Anxiang reminded. “There is a huge stone bridge in the water. It’s a test for the disciples. Even those who weren’t invited can enter the abandoned residence if they can travel through the entire bridge.”
“Is there anything unique about that bridge?” Chen Jingzhai asked.
“The bridge is a spiritual item in itself. It has a range of formations carved into it known as the Thousand Folds Wave Formation. The further you proceed, the heavier you will feel. They would feel like they were carrying a mountain while running on water. Those who have yet to completely establish their foundation or don’t have magic treasures won’t be able to withstand it.”
“But, isn’t the test a little too simple?” Jiang Lin asked.
“It’s not ideal for it to be too harsh either.” Hua Anxiang then pointed forward. “It looks like the cultivators from the Emerald Wave Island and Mystic Sound Pavilion have arrived. My fellow cultivators from the Mingyuan Dao Sect are here as well.”
Chen Jingzhai glanced toward where Hua Anxiang was pointing and spotted three magic treasures set on the edge of the stone bridge. They were a drum, an elixir cauldron, and a plantain leaf.
Sage Yuan Lie guided the Soaring Clouds Ship toward the leaf and stopped next to it. Then, everyone got off the ship and stepped onto the leaf while the Sage introduced them to the others who had already arrived.
The Mingyuan Dao Sect had sent out Lord Dong, a Nascent Plane cultivator.
The plantain leaf they were stepping on was his. Although it wasn’t a spiritual treasure, they could feel its power radiating through them.
Lord Dong smiled and greeted the crowd. He was extremely friendly toward Chen Jingzhai.
In contrast, he didn’t even greet the cultivators from the Soaring Clouds Clan. They couldn’t help but feel awkward.
After a round of greetings, the cultivators from the Soaring Clouds Clan stood on the edge of the leaf with their mouths shut.
On the other hand, the Sages from the Mingyuan Dao Sect were enjoying a friendly chat with the cultivators from the Luo Sheng Sword School.
Everyone was extremely curious about Chen Jingzhai, who was the Master-Uncle of the Luo Sheng Sword School. Their interests were piqued even more when they saw him grabbing Su Qinghuang’s hand.
Fortunately, Hua Anxiang was able to calm his fellow cultivators down. If not, Su Qinghuang would’ve already gone insane.