Chapter 180: Chapter 97: Blessed Land, Sect_2

The cost difference between cabin first-class and third-class was tenfold. How could he let this go?”

Xuan Le showed urgency on her face, but Xuan Kong could only shake his head helplessly:

“Our purpose of this trip is merely to get to Qingping County in Cang Province. Everything else is minor. The Multifarious Spirits Faction has already set up attempts to encircle and intercept us. If we make trouble here, it’s likely the faction will notice.

Let it be third class then. The mix of all sorts provides better cover from being traced by the people from the Multifarious Spirits Faction. The voyage isn’t that long anyway; we should arrive at Qingping County by tomorrow.”

Xuan Kong’s comforting words gradually eased Xuan Le’s anger.

The two of them together headed to the most crowded and simple bottom deck of the cruise ship.

Surveying the crude surroundings and recalling the first-class tickets she had been cheated out of by the ticket scalpers, Xuan Le clenched her fists and complained to Xuan Kong:

“Xuan Kong, once we get back the properties of Xuanming View, we must teach those scalpers and their accomplices a lesson!”

Xuan Kong replied with a helpless smile, “All right, all right, I’ll heed your words, Miss Xuan Le.”

Xuan Le sniffled, then softly said:

“You don’t have to heed my every word. As long as you can defeat the Multifarious Spirits Faction at this Taoist Assembly and recover the properties of Xuanming View, I will be satisfied.”

A flicker of hope appeared in Xuan Le’s eyes.

Xuan Kong and Xuan Le were both of Xuanming View heritage, raised as Disciples who received master’s personal coaching from the Master.

Xuanming View is situated atop Xuanming Mountain in Yun Province. As the location is remote with few inhabitants, very few incense offerings are made, and even the Master could not tell why Xuanming View was built there, nor its exact age.

Over half a year ago, the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge returned. A book long covered in dust displayed a divine light, leading the Master to learn from the book that Xuanming View was a genuine lineage of the grotto heavens sacred ground, resting against one of the 72 Blessed Lands: the Living Mountain.

Three thousand years is a tremendously long period. The lineage of Xuanming View was severed multiple times and even their descendants didn’t know the origin of Xuanming View.

As the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge reappeared, the many treasured texts, fragmented Vestment robes, and spirit treasures within Xuanming View began to show extraordinary power. The Disciples of Xuanming View, with the aid of the canonical books in their lineage, successfully entered the cultivation realm.

The ancient book stated that after the return of the Spirit Energy Tidal Surge, Xuanming View should start to make contact with the Living Mountain Blessed Land. However, the Disciples at Xuanming View never received any messages from the Blessed Land.

Until a cultivator claiming to be from the Multifarious Spirits Faction forcefully established a faction on the mountain where Xuanming View was located and evicted everyone from Xuanming View, the Disciples only learned from the Multifarious Spirits Faction that the Blessed Land of Living Mountain had collapsed during the Spirit Energy depletion period.

Even the Blessed Land of Heaven’s Pillar Mountain, which was backing the Multifarious Spirits Faction, had collapsed hundreds of years ago.

However, a True Monarch had survived in the Blessed Land of Heaven’s Pillar Mountain. Before the Blessed Land had collapsed, he fortuitously transferred some treasured canonical texts and precious items to the Multifarious Spirits Faction, thus revealing the secrets within.

Instances of factions like the Xuanming View and Multifarious Spirits Faction were not uncommon. Even cases of the complete destruction of grotto heavens and their lineage during the period of Spirit Energy depletion weren’t rare.

Among the precious texts transferred from Heaven’s Pillar Mountain, was information that Xuanming Mountain, where Xuanming View was located, possessed a valuable Class 3 ore vein.

Once the Multifarious Spirits Faction confirmed that Xuanming View had lost contact with the Blessed Land, they swiftly and forcefully occupied Xuanming Mountain.

The Multifarious Spirits Faction and Xuanming View were equals in strength, but the former was backed by the Yun Province noble families, and Xuanming View simply lacked the strength to resist.

Only the Qi Transformation Stage-metamorphosed Xuan Kong was able to escape with Xuan Le. After hearing that the Imperial Astronomical Bureau’s Taoist Assembly could help Xuanming View restore justice, he decisively spent all his money to purchase two boat tickets to Qingping County.

In order to avoid being found by the Multifarious Spirits Faction, he had purposely used anonymous routes to purchase the tickets, never expecting to be cheated.

Despite the disappointment in his heart, Xuan Kong still held out hope for the upcoming Taoist Assembly.

Only one person at the Multifarious Spirits Faction had reached the early stage of Qi Transformation. Xuan Kong hoped to be able to defeat him in the challenge arena.

All the passengers had boarded the ship. The cruise ship started to journey along the River Ji slowly.

The huge cruise ship broke through the river and travelled slowly.

Xuan Kong sat cross-legged in the lower deck cabin. Despite the worldly chaos and extremely low concentration of Spirit Energy, Xuan Kong did not want to give up any opportunity to cultivate.

Next to him, Xuan Le had already fallen into a deep sleep. The cabin was overwhelmingly silent.

However, the quiet did not last long. Accompanied by a fierce crashing sound, the entire cruise ship began to shake violently.

Xuan Kong and Xuan Le in the cabin were abruptly awoken. Upon getting up to check what was happening, they saw a gigantic river-patrolling ferocious monster several meters high standing on the crest of the waves, staring menacingly at the cruise ship.

“All Human Clan, surrender thirty percent of your wealth and offer ten young men and women as sacrifice to me, and I will ensure your safe passage across the River Ji.”

“Or else!”

Hearing those words, the river-patrolling ferocious monster took his huge fork and slammed it into the water, causing a massive ripple on the water surface.

The river-patrolling ferocious monster, augmented by the power of the river, portrayed a formidable bearing. Just appearing instantly exerted an intangible oppressive feeling.

The river-patrolling ferocious monster was only at the Qi Transformation Stage early period but could harness the power of the river, displaying a force far beyond a simple early stage Qi Transformation cultivator.