The rain in Linghai Prefecture was continuous. Located in the south of Yue State, it was surrounded by mountains, humid and stifling. Rainwater gathered in the valleys, often flooding the low-lying areas.
A young man trudged through the water in the dense rainforest, annoyed by the constant croaking of frogs. He frowned and grumbled, "Master, why are we circling back to this godforsaken place?"
"Who knows what madness has taken over the Azure Pond Sect..."
The man behind him, with wild hair and a fierce look, walked on a black mist and spoke in a hoarse voice, "They did not send even one related Foundation Establishment Realm cultivator... We have to first cross Linghai Prefecture and then head to Yi Mountain City at the southern border! This body is already useless. If I had not practiced Blood Drinker , suppressing this body, it would have long turned into a puddle of pus from Metallic Essence erosion..."
The young man squinted his eyes and said ambiguously, "But Master, are you not searching for some special Dao foundations? If you forcefully enter Yi Mountain City, you may never return and have to keep heading south. If you reach the depths of the southern border, where will you find a body for your soul transfer..?"
This young man was none other than Jiang Yan, who had been missing for many years. Many cultivators were causing trouble all over Yue State under his name while he had secretly returned to Linghai Prefecture.
A trace of suspicion flashed in Jiang Yan's eyes as he asked this question tentatively. Jiang Boqing, however, waved it off nonchalantly and replied, "Your Master, a genius who reached the Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty and Purple Mansion Realm at sixty, will figure something out when the time comes!"
Jiang Yan shook his head and laughed, then responded simply, "Since Master claims to be a genius who achieved Foundation Establishment Realm at thirty and Purple Mansion Realm at sixty, why did you abandon the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao and switch to practicing curses and strange scriptures?"
"Damn it..." the rough man groaned, his wrinkles deepening with his changing expression.
He grumbled, "I was a genius back then, oblivious to the filth between the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao. I never met anyone with the same immortal foundation as mine, always burying myself in cultivation... Later, when I reached the Purple Mansion Realm—Only then did I realize that the Lord of Mount Wu, Duanmu Kui, cultivated the same Dao!"
He controlled the body that was on the brink of collapse, his expression twisted and hideous, barely managing to smile as he continued, "Duanmu Kui is a figure of overwhelming power in his era... How could I ever wait for him to make a move? It scared me so much that I immediately diminished my divine abilities and cut down my Dao foundation, seeking emptiness to create talismans. I lost most of my cultivation in the process, which is how I became like this."
"Oh?" Jiang Yan remained composed and asked, "What does seeking emptiness to create talismans mean?"
Jiang Boqing shook his head, a hint of pride on his face as he explained, "This is a method I obtained from an ancient text. It involves treating one's life divine abilities as talismans, turning one's entire cultivation along with the Dao foundation into an immortal talisman, transitioning from the Golden Core Dao to the Shamanic Talisman Dao..."
A glimmer of hope appeared on his face as he continued warmly, "When I was young, I received the legacy of a predecessor from Moonlight Origin Mansion. This technique was part of it, and it is not easy to master. Only I, who sought the Supreme Shaman's Three Nine Blood Essence that had a close relationship with talismans, managed to succeed!"
"Turning one's entire cultivation into talismans..."
Jiang Yan pondered these words, then suddenly looked back, this time with tears glistening on his face as he asked in a low voice, "Master... are you now turning my cultivation into talismans?"
Jiang Boqing, still babbling on, suddenly froze when he heard this and cursed, "What nonsense are you talking about?!"
Jiang Yan, however, became more certain. His tears gradually stopped as he stared into Jiang Boqing's eyes and said coldly, "Although I do not cultivate the Purple Mansion Golden Core Dao, I understand that this path cannot be easily switched. Turning a core into a talisman is already the limit, how can one so casually seize metallic essences?!"
His eyes glinted as he continued coldly, "If my guess is correct, Master, your metallic essence was already heavily damaged... Now that it has disintegrated, there is no more opportunity for you to seize any Dao foundation and start anew!"
Jiang Boqing sighed loudly as his angry expression gradually calmed, turning into a look of appreciation. He said softly, "Indeed, I have no chance of seizing a body..."
Jiang Yan took a step back, seeing that Jiang Boqing was completely unguarded. A bitter smile appeared on his face as he snarled, "It seems you and the Azure Pond Sect are of the same ilk. No wonder... No wonder the Azure Pond Sect, a colossal entity, could not capture even a small cultivator like me after so many years of wandering through the five prefectures."
"So much bloodshed along the way... and every time I broke through a stronghold of the Azure Pond Sect, materials suitable for breakthroughs always appeared... Those resentment qi and blood qi collected dozens upon dozens of years always ended up in my hands one gourd after another."
His pupils dilated, and his fists were clenched so tightly they nearly bled. He then screamed, "Jiang Boqing! What a self-directed, self-acted play... You and the Azure Pond Sect each got what you wanted... You have really put on such a good show!"
"You were never trying to seize some special immortal foundation... It was just a comforting lie for me! The Three Nine True Talisman in my qihai acupoint, the Shamanic Blood Talisman in my Shenyang Mansion, those were what you plotted for!"
His venomous voice echoed through the mountains, silencing Jiang Boqing. Flesh fell from Jiang Boqing's face in shreds. After a few moments, Jiang Boqing spoke.
"I was indeed close with Buzi, and the devil plague was indeed a trade of interests between the Azure Pond Sect and myself... That is why the resentment qi and blood qi were sent to you one after another. You are a smart child, and you guessed all of these correctly."
He paused, shaking his head slightly as he continued, "But my metallic essence is damaged beyond repair. No talisman or seal can save it. The two shamanic talismans on you are something I nurtured myself... They are exceptionally miraculous, but they are not meant for body seizing."
Jiang Boqing's body was covered in blood, yet his gaze remained gentle. He said softly, "Occupying this body is merely to protect you. Without special elixirs or matching techniques, it will eventually perish along with this body. I thought I could hide it from you until I sent you out of the southern border..."
Jiang Yan remained unmoved, taking another step back with a wary expression, his voice ice cold as he replied, "You say it is not... and I should believe you just like that? How can I trust you!"
Jiang Boqing frowned at him, suddenly startled. He then shouted loudly, "Hey!"
His lips and teeth came together, releasing a thunderous shout that made Jiang Yan's head buzz. Jiang Boqing's expression changed drastically as he cursed, "Damn it, it is a divine ability!"
Jiang Yan's eyes cleared up, and he was taken aback. Jiang Boqing quickly grabbed him, lifted off into the air, and shouted, "We must leave quickly! If he is using a divine ability to block us, he must be close!"
"A Purple Mansion Realm cultivator?"
Jiang Yan's hair stood on end as he pushed his mana to fly, asking, "Are you not in cahoots with the Azure Pond Sect? Why would they send a Purple Mansion Realm cultivator after you!"
"Probably an old enemy of mine!"
Jiang Boqing's rough, wild-haired body cursed loudly, calculating in his mind, "How is this possible?! Who could have predicted this?!"
They had only flown for a moment when the biting wind in the sky suddenly ceased. The wind formed from their mana stopped flowing, and streams of black light appeared in the void before them, bursting with the colorful brilliance of a Purple Mansion Realm's divine ability.
"Senior Jiang," a young man said as he leisurely stepped out from within the void. He wore a simple Daoist robe, his features delicate and refined, holding an unremarkable grayish pearl in his hand.
"To think that this day finally came for you..."
"Qing Jifang..." Jiang Boqing muttered as he stared at the young man, clearly surprised by his appearance and unsure of his intentions. He asked in a low voice, "What do you want?"
The Purple Mansion Realm cultivator's robe fluttered as he turned the pearl in his hand gently, calmly looking at Jiang Boqing. "Senior, no need to be tense... I have many questions to ask you. Perhaps about the Answers to a Beggar's Questions Under the Mulberry Tree , or about Sword Immortal Shangyuan, Xiao Chuting, Tang Yuanwu... What are you plotting? Who has the immortal book now? Everyone from Mount Changhuai is very curious... Please come with me to Wu State, Senior."