Dao Companions Help Me Live Forever

Chapter 122: Accepting the Role of a Dog

In the courtyard, the moonlight was clear and still, reflecting like still water. The aquatic plants intertwined, and the pine and cypress trees cast shadows, creating a serene scene like a painting.

After a while, Zhao Laozu let out a sigh and said, "Friend Yu, if we must blame someone, blame it on your youth and excellence."

Yu Xian held back for a while before coldly laughing and said, "Shouldn't you be happy that I'm excellent? It proves that your discerning eye has chosen me, a talented individual. This is your accomplishment, so why do you want to erase it?"

"Is that a reason?" Zhao Laozu asked.

"Why wouldn't it be? Being young means you have a long life ahead of you, and being excellent means you have even greater achievements in your future. Both of these pose a great threat to the Zhao family."

Yu Xian paused for a moment and said, "It seems like my guess was correct. During the battle when the demonic beasts attacked the city, your lifespan was greatly reduced."

Zhao Laozu smiled bitterly and said, "Friend Yu is indeed quick-witted. You guessed it right away. I was heavily injured that day. If it weren't for using a secret technique to stimulate my life force, I would have already perished."

"Just because you don't have much time left, you want to kill me?" Yu Xian said with a speechless expression.

"Just because you think I might take over the Zhao family's legacy in the future? But ever since I came to the Zhao family, I have been minding my own business and have not shown any intention of interfering with the Zhao family. Moreover, I have no interest in your family's legacy. Otherwise, the Zhao family would have been renamed the Yu family long ago."

"Furthermore, what's the use of killing me? If the Zhao family's legacy is taken away in the future, there is only one reason for it: it is too weak. Even without me, there will be others."

"Friend Zhao, I have no intention of fighting you to the death. Since you don't like me in the Zhao family, I will leave."

"Let's pretend tonight's events never happened."

He didn't want to fight someone over such a ridiculous reason, especially someone who had a limited lifespan and had powerful backers.

Zhao Laozu shook his head and said, "In fact, after I was seriously injured, I hesitated whether to entrust the Zhao family to you."

"When I heard the news of the demonic beast chaos in the clan, and when I learned that you alone controlled the formation to kill two second-stage demonic beasts, one of which had previously ambushed me, I knew that your strength had far surpassed when you first left Shangyang City."

"The Four-Colored Bamboo Formation is indeed powerful, but it also depends on who is controlling it."

"When you left, you had just broken through to the Foundation Building stage. Even a first-grade spiritual vein in the Zhao family's territory couldn't restrict you."

"Do you know how amazed I was when I received the news? If you were a member of the Zhao family, how good would that be?"

Yu Xian didn't blush at all. Instead, he nodded seriously and said, "My talent is indeed not bad."

He had never cared about the spiritual energy environment. If it weren't for considering Yulan's cultivation, he could have stayed in the mortal world and reached the Foundation Building stage or even the Nascent Soul stage.

Choosing to come to the Zhao family's territory was initially for Yulan's cultivation experience.

As for himself, he simply ignored it.

But in the eyes of others, his aptitude seemed excessively good.

A first-grade spiritual vein was more than enough for Qi Refining cultivators, but it was somewhat insufficient for Foundation Building cultivators' daily cultivation.

Many Foundation Building families with weak foundations had their patriarchs' cultivation stuck at the early Foundation Building stage.

Apart from poverty, the main reason was the cultivation environment.

Just as it was difficult for the mortal world to enter the cultivation world, the spiritual energy of a first-grade spiritual vein was no longer enough to satisfy the daily cultivation of Foundation Building cultivators. To make progress in cultivation, they needed a better cultivation environment.

Apart from Shangyang City, within a radius of thousands of miles, there were only two nearby second-grade spiritual veins, one occupied by the Jiang family and the other by the Lin family.

This was also why among the eight major cultivation families in Shangyang City, these two families had the strongest presence.

In such an environment, Yu Xian could still maintain a decent cultivation speed, which was enough to prove that he was a true genius.

"Yes, you are a genius, so I both want to kill you and keep you," Zhao Laozu said.

"The Foundation Building Pill was indeed my test. In fact, I had already arrived at the Zhao family a long time ago, and I even saw Xiao Shu passing on the message to you that day."

"Whether you acted or not, you were moved in the end. Since you were tempted by two Foundation Building Pills, it's possible that you will be tempted by the Zhao family's legacy in the future."

"Although I am somewhat disappointed, I never thought of killing you. Otherwise, back at the Zhao family's territory, with the Four-Color Ghost Bamboo Formation, it would have been as easy as flipping my hand to kill you.

You wouldn't have been able to bring your wives and concubines to the market."

"These words were supposed to be said to you at tomorrow's banquet, but you have figured out something after all.

I was too impatient in my actions.

Now that you are wary of me, even if I say that I want you to take over the Zhao family in the future, you probably won't believe it."

Listening to Zhao Laozu's rambling, Yu Xian couldn't help but roll his eyes and responded with a cold laugh.

"Oh, Lao Zhao, you've said enough. If I act, it's unjust; if I have thoughts, it's insincere.

Damn it, when you see a spiritual weapon fall in front of you, don't you have any thoughts? Don't you want it?

In terms of intentions, not appearances, everyone in this world is a villain.

I don't think those two Foundation Building Pills you gave me were a test, but rather your own reasons to convince yourself.

You want to kill me, but you're concerned about your reputation, or rather, you can't get past that hurdle in your heart, so you find a ridiculous excuse for yourself."

"No, it's not that you don't want to kill me, but you think I can't escape from your grasp.

You're also afraid that if you kill me, the Zhao family will have no one left and will inevitably be swallowed up in the future, so you've been waiting, waiting for your own descendants to break through Foundation Building."

"I guess not all of them failed to break through, right? You're afraid that I'll escape early, so you announced the news of the two failures, making me think that the Zhao family can't do without me, so I would enter your trap defenselessly."

Zhao Laozu neither confirmed nor denied, just sighed.

"Friend Yu, you are a smart person, you know what is the best choice for you."

"Phew! It seems I was right!"

"Damn it, why are you pretending to be a big shot!"

A crimson light flew out from Yu Xian's palm, piercing through the moonlight.

He hadn't learned any sword techniques, so his use of the flying sword was straightforward, relying on speed and strength.

But this move was effective against demonic beasts and cultivators lower than him. Faced with a senior Foundation Building like Zhao Laozu, he was a bit lacking in technique.

Zhao Laozu lightly flicked his finger, and a formation pattern appeared in front of him. A black bamboo suddenly grew out of thin air, blocking the crimson light.

Clang!

The two forces were evenly matched, and the crimson light flew back into Yu Xian's hand.

Yu Xian's expression changed slightly. "When did you gain control of the market's formation?"

Zhao Laozu chuckled. "The market's formation was originally designed and arranged by me. When did I lose control of it?"

"Friend Yu, as I said before, unless absolutely necessary, I don't want to kill you.

As long as you are willing to sign this blood contract, make a great vow to suppress your inner demons, then tonight, everything will be as you said, as if nothing happened."

Zhao Laozu flicked out a piece of animal skin with deep red characters written on it.

It was a contract for Yu Xian to protect the Zhao family for the next hundred years, obeying the orders of the Zhao family's elders, and not doing anything that would harm the interests of the Zhao family...

If violated, the blood contract would backfire.

There were mysterious patterns drawn on the side of the animal skin, and Yu Xian felt a sense of fear just by looking at it. He knew that this was a high-level blood contract, at least two levels higher than the one he signed with the market and Li Ge.

If Li Ge violated the blood contract, at most, his cultivation would regress, but if Yu Xian violated it after signing, he might not even be able to keep his soul.

Yu Xian's gaze lowered, and he flipped his palm, revealing two sections of bamboo, one red and one black. These were the core of the market's formation, and formation patterns appeared under his feet.

"Lao Zhao, if you want me to be a dog for the Zhao family, why bother with all this nonsense? Just defeat me."

"The Two-Color Ghost Bamboo Formation, I can also use it."

"Formation, activate!"

Buzz!

The moonlit sky turned crimson, as if stained with blood. A forest of red bamboo illuminated the void, and patches of heavenly fire fell.

(End of this chapter)