Xuantian Immortal Cultivation Record

"In Changshu of the Star Moon Gate pays his respects to Daoist Fire Crow! Congratulations on advancing to the late stage, may your journey on the Great Path reach even greater heights!" The speaker was a man in his forties with a round face and small eyes, smiling before he even spoke, resembling a typical worldly merchant.

"So it's Elder Yin! This old Daoist returns the courtesy!" Daoist Fire Crow cupped his fist in salute, quite politely.

The six factions stationed Core Formation cultivators in the Immortal City to jointly maintain its safety. The Star Moon Gate's permanent resident in the Immortal City was this Yin Changshu. With a Core Formation Stage Two cultivation, he was amiable and treated everyone with courtesy, whether they were cultivators from the five factions or rogue cultivators. Therefore, people enjoyed interacting with him, and he had considerable prestige in the Immortal City and among rogue cultivators.

Yin Changshu's gaze passed over Daoist Fire Crow and landed on Zhang Yuanjing, his eyes lighting up slightly. He smiled and said, "This must be Daoist Brother's junior? With a profound foundation and mysterious aura, his heritage is extraordinary. Has he come to the Immortal City to compete for the twenty spots? Yin will take the liberty of granting him one."

Before he could finish speaking, You Fangming sneered from the side, "Compete for the twenty spots? Brother Yin, you're really lying through your teeth! Have you even filled half of those twenty spots? Old Daoist Fire Crow, if you really care about this junior, take him back. The Immortal City isn't a place where just anyone can survive!"

Yin Changshu ignored him and continued with a smile, "Daoist Fire Crow, I carry a Profound Yin Token with me. With this token, as long as he enters the Immortal City, my Star Moon Gate will guarantee his safety!"

Daoist Fire Crow was about to reply when Hao Taichang, who had been silently bowing his head, suddenly looked up and said, "Brother Yin, you can't give him that Profound Yin Token. This man is a wanted criminal being pursued by my Hidden Sun Sect. He colluded with that Lao Deren to attack the Fire Dragon Hall, killing the six Foundation Establishment cultivators of the Guo family. The Sect Leader is furious and has issued a death warrant, demanding that these two be captured and brought back to the sect for public execution!"

Yin Changshu's small eyes darted around, and he feigned surprise, saying, "Brother Hao, that's not right. As Yin remembers, your esteemed sect only issued a warrant for Lao Deren alone, without mentioning anyone else!"

Hao Taichang had anticipated this and immediately replied, "That's because this person's whereabouts are elusive and his identity concealed. My sect hasn't yet ascertained his identity, so he wasn't included on the wanted list. However, I personally saw the murderer at Fire Dragon Abyss that day, and it was indeed him!"

Yin Changshu smiled mysteriously, "Brother Hao, you are one of the Hidden Sun Sect's Three Sons, you can't just frame people and arrest them arbitrarily!"

Hao Taichang cast a cold glance at him, then chuckled, "Very well, since Elder Yin has doubts, we still need to produce some evidence. The aggrieved party from the Guo family is here, and he witnessed it firsthand!"

Then, he turned and called out, "Pingjian, step forward and tell Elder Yin what kind of spiritual weapons that thief used and what his distinguishing features were!"

"Yes, Master!"

Guo Pingjian, a handsome man in his thirties with a slightly weathered look, responded and walked forward. Despite being scrutinized by the profound gazes of four Core Formation cultivators, he remained composed and steady, earning him the respect of the crowd.

"This child is named Guo Pingjian, the direct descendant of the Guo family of Fire Dragon Hall, and the only surviving Foundation Establishment cultivator from that day! He exchanged blows with Lao Deren and the other culprit, and knows their characteristics very well. I'll have him tell Elder Yin about the situation at that time." Hao Taichang glanced at Guo Pingjian behind him and nodded, signaling him to speak.

Guo Pingjian respectfully saluted the Core Formation cultivators before recounting the events of that day in detail. Finally, he specifically mentioned that the two surviving culprits, besides Lao Deren, used three spiritual weapons: a top-grade spiritual weapon in the shape of a hoe, a black flying knife good at concealing its movements, and a crystalline great axe a丈 long.

"I won't make a move. I'll just ask Elder Yin to check the Foundation Establishment cultivator's storage bag to see if he has these three spiritual weapons. If he doesn't, I'll step aside and won't interfere. If he does, then please hand him over to my Hidden Sun Sect!" Hao Taichang revealed a sinister smile at the corner of his mouth and said in a firm tone.

Seeing Hao Taichang's certainty, Yin Changshu hesitated. To issue the Profound Yin Token without checking would be blatant protection, and the fragile balance that the Star Moon Gate had managed to maintain with the five factions over the past decade would be completely shattered. But to check, and the result was as Guo Pingjian described, there would be no room for maneuver. The Profound Yin Token could no longer be issued, and rumors would inevitably spread that the Star Moon Gate refused to accept a Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator who sought refuge, allowing the five factions to kill him at will, which would affect the sect's grand plan.

"What's wrong, Elder Yin doesn't want to act? If you don't want to, why don't I act on your behalf!" You Fangming, who had been watching with great interest, interjected.

He had only been interested in the giant ape, but now that he saw the situation taking a turn, he found it quite interesting and couldn't help but want to participate.

When Daoist Fire Crow heard Guo Pingjian's description of the three spiritual weapons, which were exactly what Zhang Yuanjing usually used, how could he let them inspect him? He immediately sneered, "The five factions really have great power, blocking the road, seizing beasts, capturing people, fabricating charges, and making false accusations. You're truly doing whatever you want and acting like you're the only ones who matter. Although I don't want to cause trouble, I can't just let people slaughter me. I've already said that I'll stand here and see what abilities you have to capture people and seize beasts!"

Yin Changshu took the opportunity to step back a few paces, watching the two sides argue with a smile, secretly pondering how to take the opportunity to win over Daoist Fire Crow and bring that Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivator into his camp.

Hao Taichang said contemptuously, "Old Daoist Fire Crow, you'd better think carefully. You finally advanced to the late stage, and you could have lived freely for dozens or hundreds of years. If you get involved in my sect's affairs, not only will you not be able to protect yourself, but your disciples will also lose their heads! Don't blame us for not respecting the old and cherishing the young!"

He emphasized the words "lose their heads" and "respecting the old and cherishing the young," as if they were popping out from between his teeth.

You Fangming also threatened, "We still can't contact Fairy Lin. She has a deep connection with the Sect Leader of our sect. If something happens to her, your entire Qiong Mountain might have to be buried with her!"

Relying on their sects as backing, they didn't show any respect to Daoist Fire Crow, a Core Formation Stage Three cultivator, and even threatened him directly, not caring about face at all.

Daoist Fire Crow was so angry that he laughed, releasing the pent-up resentment in his chest in this earth-shattering laughter.

Hao Taichang and You Fangming had seen this kind of situation many times and didn't take it to heart. In their opinion, the old Daoist was just temporarily agitated, and after a while, he would naturally understand the pros and cons and make the right choice.

They guessed correctly. Daoist Fire Crow had cultivated for more than five hundred years and was experienced in the ways of the world. Naturally, he wouldn't be so easily provoked. Of course, he had to weigh the pros and cons and make the choice that was right for him.

In Flying Phoenix Valley, he had accidentally sensed the Thick Earth Transformation Cauldron on Zhang Yuanjing's body, and thus had the idea of bestowing kindness in exchange for opportunity. In the Earth Abyss, through personal experience, he had judged that the Thick Earth Transformation Cauldron was a divine treasure, and speculated that Zhang Yuanjing either possessed a peerless opportunity or was born into the direct lineage of one of the top sects in this world, and thus had the idea of personally befriending him and seeking a future. Of course, this future was mainly for his third disciple, Yuan Zhilin.

Regarding Zhang Yuanjing's background, he only saw a hazy picture. Therefore, his deliberate friendship stopped at general danger. If he had to pay the price of destroying his foundation and scattering his disciples when the future he sought was still illusory, he would of course find it difficult to make a decision.

Although he had long known that the five factions were buying off Core Formation cultivators among the rogue cultivators to intercept and kill Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivators, he had never thought that the five factions would personally take the field. However, Hao Taichang, You Fangming, and Yin Changshu's attitudes made him understand that the Star Moon Gate and the five factions had reached some kind of tacit understanding on this matter, and that the five factions could take action against Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivators as long as they found a reason.

The Star Moon Gate only protected Foundation Establishment Perfected cultivators who possessed the Profound Yin Token, and only after they entered the Immortal City. This meant that if he wanted to escort Zhang Yuanjing to the Six Peaks Immortal City, he would have to directly conflict with the cultivators of the five factions. To advance or retreat, he could only choose one, there was no third way to go.

What frightened him even more was, why was the Star Moon Gate so weak in the face of the five factions' aggressive advances? This was not their usual behavior! What exactly had happened that would make the Star Moon Gate so restrained and submissive? What exactly was the problem in the Profound Yin Cave? Could it be that this matter was stirring up trouble, affecting not only the six major factions, but all the cultivators in this large area? If that were the case, where should he go?

For a time, he couldn't figure it out, but a decision had to be made right now. Daoist Fire Crow naturally understood that in times of life and death, hesitation was the most undesirable thing. But knowing was one thing, and doing was another, how difficult it was to unite knowledge and action!

Suddenly, he remembered Zhang Yuanjing's words, "Opportunity is a thing that comes and goes in an instant, it is elusive, you only know it when you get it, but you are confused when you don't," and at this time, it was not just "confused when you don't"!

How to break this "confusion"? The experience of obtaining a magic weapon upgrade and a realm improvement for dozens of days flashed through his sea of consciousness, and he immediately understood: There is no trick to break this "confusion" except to move forward bravely! If he were to be trapped in Qiong Mountain, he would definitely be at the end of his road. So he sighed secretly: It is useless to think too much, how the road ahead will be, is only to change according to the situation, and to deal with the situation as it comes.

He immediately stopped laughing wildly and said sternly, "I must send this junior into the Immortal City, who will stop me!"