parentshiftbook Chapter 210: Transition
Chapter 210: Transition
Time flew by when we returned.
After arriving in Luhua City, those who pass the trial do not immediately go to Qingdan Immortal Sect, but wait for half a year. After half a year, a special person will come to guide them.
Of course, if you are capable, you can also go to the Qingdan Immortal Sect on your own.
As long as you can reach that point within three years, your status as a sect disciple will be recognized.
This was quite different from the sect environment Zhang Ping had imagined.
However, upon closer reflection, it makes sense. The Azure Pill Immortal Sect boasts a vast population and a continuous stream of talented individuals; it doesn't lack even one or two. Perhaps entering the sect won't be as easy as some trial participants imagine.
"Selling candied hawthorns! One cent a skewer!"
An old man walked down the street carrying a large pillar covered with candied hawthorns. The pillar was thicker than his waist, making him look rather strange at first glance.
The pedestrians on the street, however, were not surprised by this. Those who could survive in Luhua City all possessed some level of cultivation.
Otherwise, not a single person in the family could earn money. They would have to gather in impoverished areas outside the city.
There are many such people: fishermen who make a living by fishing, woodcutters, and those who go up the mountain to find cheap medicinal herbs. Unable to afford the expensive rent in the city, they can only live in some wooden huts built outside.
Every place has its underprivileged, and Luhua City is no exception.
Zhang Ping used to know all this clearly, but now, perhaps he doesn't. He hasn't been in contact with people living at the bottom of society for far too long.
Not far from the Pingfan Winery, at a street corner, a few small bamboo chairs are set up. It's a roadside tea stall. In summer, the tea is refreshing and thirst-quenching, and in winter, it warms the stomach. Many working people passing by like to stop and have a big bowl—it's very satisfying!
"Hey, have you heard? It seems the three big shots in town are at odds lately?" The man drinking tea suddenly leaned down and whispered, trying to find a topic to talk about.
The man opposite them was an old man wearing a straw raincoat, his hand holding the teacup trembling slightly: "When have these big shots ever gotten along well?"
The Three Masters was a nickname they used for the An, Xuan, and Qi families.
"It's just a different approach, what does it have to do with us?"
The old man didn't want to talk much, and the man, feeling bored, picked up his tea and moved to another table to continue chatting.
"Hey, let me tell you..."
The not-so-bright sunlight fell through the window sill on the second floor of the ordinary winery, landing on a figure in blue.
Zhang Ping's ears twitched, and he could hear all sorts of conversations on the street.
He noticed that there had been a lot of discussion about the three major families in the last three days.
"Even a monkey knows when a tree falls; it seems the Xuan family is having a tough time."
Zhang Ping lowered his hands from behind his back, in a good mood.
Back in Angu Continent, he killed five elders of the Xuan family, which represented more than half of the Xuan family's elite combat force! It was an irreconcilable feud!
He was prepared to face the Divine Monks upon his return.
After all, after cultivating the Soul Sea, he had already integrated some of his blood and qi into his divine sense, and with the power of the beast pattern, he was not afraid of the power of the Divine Union.
However, the fact that the An family has been able to exist in Luhua City for hundreds of years proves they are not fools.
Taking advantage of the Xuan family's severe damage, the An family patriarch personally approached the Qi family in secret, and the two sides reached a cooperation agreement to jointly divide the Xuan family's assets.
All interactions in the world are driven by self-interest.
The Xuan family went from being wolves to lambs to the slaughter in an instant. Within just half a month, their various businesses suffered suppression.
The cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage were hiding in their lairs, too afraid to venture out.
The combined forces of the An and Qi families are keeping a close watch on Xuan Yanhu, and will launch a full-scale attack to kill him if he appears!
Only by staying in their home turf can they take advantage of their home field and have a certain degree of competitiveness.
This also explains why Zhang Ping, despite killing five elders of the Xuan family, a fact known to everyone, did not face any retaliation from the Xuan family. In fact, after that incident, the An and Qi families quietly increased their purchases of the spirit wine from the Pingfan Winery.
"Master, that girl is here again."
A girl wearing revealing clothes approached and spoke.
"So what if they're here? Don't bother with them," Zhang Ping said calmly.
His gaze shifted to the figure in patched hemp clothing among the waiters on the first floor.
A girl named Jingyue was of ordinary appearance. Her brother participated in the Qingdan Trial but failed. After returning to Luhua City, his injuries recurred, and he died.
This is all Zhang Ping knows about this girl.
It's unclear when it started, but this girl began coming to the Pingfan Winery every morning to help out, asking for no pay and no position. She only said she was learning martial arts from a senior, though no one knew who that senior was.
Confused yet stubborn.
Zhang Ping shook his head.
The struggle between the three families profoundly affected the entire city of Luhua. Anyone who could make a living in the city sensed that something was amiss.
Fights occur on some streets every day, although they are kept within a certain range, but it is still much more chaotic than before.
Many people walk on the street, keeping their eyes and ears open, afraid of getting into unnecessary trouble.
Of course, none of this had anything to do with Zhang Ping.
His life seemed to have suddenly settled into a routine. Each day, besides improving his Soul Sea proficiency, he would meet with traveling merchants, selling wines from his estate while also inquiring about interesting stories from various places.
The unique features of other places outside Luhua City, and the characteristics of the monsters that exist there.
During this time, Zhang Ping also collected some useful animal patterns through these merchants.
For example, the Phantom Butterfly, capable of changing its form, can perfectly disguise itself as another person. If it could obtain the blood of the person it was impersonating, it could even disguise their blood and vital energy characteristics.
Even the closest relatives would find it difficult to detect.
There's also the innate talent of a berserk gorilla, used to increase combat power. However, Zhang Ping already has quite a few of these beast patterns; he's only collected and preserved the important ones and doesn't have any immediate plans to imprint them on him.
Zhang Ping was more interested in some of the demonic beasts that possessed additional elemental powers.
He also learned from a traveling merchant that in the far north of Taihu Lake, there was a sect with many female cultivators called Qingchi Sect. Near Qingchi Sect lived a type of demonic beast called the Gale Otter.
This monster has an exceptionally strong reproductive ability and is known as the Swift Wind Water Lazy because of its powerful waist strength.
It is also a spirit beast that some cultivators of the Qingchi Sect like to keep in captivity.
Zhang Ping wasn't very interested in raising these monsters, but he was quite interested in their waist strength.
Half a year has passed in the blink of an eye.
In six months, Zhang Ping successfully raised his proficiency in the Soul Sea to perfection, allowing his Qi and blood to perfectly merge with his divine sense, and his Qi and blood underwent a transformation.
In the past six months, the Xuan family has been forced to retreat step by step, and has reached a dead end. However, as long as Xuan Yanhu, a cultivator at the Divine Integration Realm, exists, neither family dares to go too far.
Otherwise, if the God of Harmony goes berserk and recklessly assassinates younger disciples, it's no laughing matter.
One day, while he was enjoying wine at the winery, An Ran came to his door and asked him to help deal with the Xuan family.
Zhang Ping refused. This guy was too much of a troublemaker; getting too close wouldn't be good.
Zhang Ping, however, liked to get quite close to the other party's mother.
Half a month later, the Qingdan Immortal Sect's guiding elder arrived in a larger flying boat. An Ran agreed to withstand three moves from him in exchange for the privilege of delaying her journey to the sect for three years.
Three days later, the guiding elder departed in a flying boat. Before leaving, he struck the Xuan family with a sword strike. The next day, the Xuan family was shrouded in white mourning clothes.
The An family and the Qi family divided up the Xuan family's assets.
Zhang Ping calmly watched it all begin and end.
On the day the guiding elder made his move, he stood on the pavilion and witnessed the magnificence of that sword strike. It was incredibly powerful.