Chapter 76

Twelve years ago, Gu Ping left the Yunqing Sect. At that time, Gu Yan was only eight years old, but he knew about Lin Xuege's past. (He also knew that the Divine Thunder could be taught. The癸水阴雷 (Gui Water Yin Thunder) of the Leishan Sect had no method of transmission; it could only be gradually fused from the Five Elements Thunder after the disciples became proficient and thoroughly understood the Five Elements Thunder Techniques, with water thunder as the main element, which is the癸水阴雷 (Gui Water Yin Thunder). This癸水阴雷 (Gui Water Yin Thunder) was by no means comparable to the癸水阴雷 (Gui Water Yin Thunder) drawn by Lin Fan, and it was listed alongside the Taiyi Divine Thunder as one of the two major divine thunders of the righteous path. Although the path from Divine Thunder to Taiyi Divine Thunder was still very long, the Divine Thunder could be taught, which was a shortcut. The Divine Thunder itself could dispel evil and qi, with immense power, making countless people drool.)

Gu Yan only knew that Lin Xuege was still alive, but he did not know that Lin Xuege had become a recluse, a fact even Gu Ping did not know. Lin Fan thought that even if Lin Xuege understood the Taiyi Divine Thunder, it would be useless. Such a hero, what a pity. If he himself knew the Divine Thunder, he wouldn't need to learn the Tianmang Heart Method; promoting the Divine Thunder would be the right path. Lin Fan couldn't help but think of the celestial tribulation of the dragon, with thousands of heavenly thunders pouring down, even a semi-divine dragon could not match it.

After leaving the Jiulang Mountains, the gloom of the Ghost Sect was dispelled. Except for Gu Yan, the other three began to joke and chat again. Then they were intercepted by a white rainbow.

"This road is mine, this tree is mine, if you want to pass this road..."

The words stopped abruptly. Lin Fan looked and saw it was Zhang Tongyuan. This guy was naturally combative, blocking the road to fight everywhere. Last time, he was defeated by Lin Fan and Ximen Shuai, but he still didn't收敛 (restrain himself).

Zhang Tongyuan smiled, "It's an old acquaintance, heading to the Zixiao Hall, right?" Damn, can't beat him. Zhang Tongyuan couldn't think of a good way to counter Lin Fan's Buddha Blade. Although he could also match Lin Fan, last time Lin Fan didn't play fair in a one-on-one, and this time he definitely wouldn't either. They had a clear relationship in the Green Valley, so Zhang Tongyuan stepped forward, waved, and smiled, "You're still alive, that's good."

Lin Fan was also annoying, taking out a suckling pig from the Qiankun Ring, "Want to eat one?"

Zhang Tongyuan laughed, "You have good fortune, this fox fur is yours, it won't escape." Although he grabbed the fox fur as soon as he saw it, it was out of a sense of fairness. Lin Fan took the fox fur, and Zhang Tongyuan wasn't angry; to survive under the purple cloud of the Hundred-Eyed Demon Lord's avatar was Lin Fan's good fortune.

Lin Fan felt a bit embarrassed, putting the suckling pig back awkwardly.

Zhang Tongyuan leaned close to Lin Fan's ear, "I heard there are thousand-year-old demonic beasts in the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. Want to go for a big score?"

A big score? This didn't sound like something a cultivator would say, more like a mountain bandit or kidnapper. But last time, he and Ximen Shuai did something like kidnapping.

Zhang Tongyuan said, "You have the Qiankun Ring, you don't care. I'll give you an unopened magical treasure, how about that?" To cooperate, he needed to work with someone who had a Qiankun Ring. Zhang Tongyuan was very smart; if it weren't for the Li Huo Bird Sect, he would have gone to the West Continent to find Ximen Shuai. Although there was a misunderstanding before, they later had a clear relationship, and he wanted to see if he could persuade him to go fight a thousand-year-old demonic beast. The Qiankun Bag was the most needed magical treasure for him right now.

"No." Lin Fan shook his head. It wasn't that he looked down on magical treasures, but in the battle with the thousand-year-old fox, the fox only had two hundred years of cultivation, and in the end, if it weren't for the beauty, Ximen Shuai, himself, and Zhang Tongyuan would have been trapped. Moreover, the demonic beast was just appearing; there was no need to travel a thousand miles to eliminate it. If the demonic beast left the Ten Thousand Great Mountains and harmed people, Zhang Tongyuan wouldn't find him; he would gather people from the Zixiao Hall, using the excuse of eliminating the demonic beast to protect the people, and go for a group attack.

Zhang Tongyuan was bored, looking at Gu Yan, "Is that guy the top expert of your Yunqing Sect's young generation?"

"What do you want? Want to fight again?" Lin Fan asked.

"No, you're a sneak, you'll use underhanded tactics." Zhang Tongyuan said as if he was very familiar with Lin Fan, "Let's go together."

...

Last time, Lin Fan was taken to the Zixiao Hall, feeling unhappy, and had to recite lines with Sanzhen, so he didn't have the mood to enjoy the beauty of the Zixiao Mountains. Now, looking carefully, he had to admit that the Zixiao Hall could be the first righteous sect, and the Zixiao Mountains deserved credit. The sea of clouds moved with the wind, the peaks appeared and disappeared, with thousand-year-old ancient pines, strange forests, and rocks, and the Ten Great Springs of the Three Eyes and Twelve Continents, making it a rare immortal mountain and blessed land.

The main hall was on the highest peak, magnificent. Zhang Tongyuan led the four to land on a side peak, which was the Welcoming Mountain. Guests from outside all stayed and waited here, and could only go to the main hall at the designated time. The Welcoming Mountain was covered with a sea of grass, very comfortable to walk on. The guest rooms were spacious and grand, built with white original stone, perfectly seamless. There were also several hundred-year-old ancient pines and many spirit beasts and cranes on the mountain.

This was not something the Yunqing Sect could compare to. The Yunqing Sect usually led guests to a certain sect, where the sect master would receive and accompany them. Guests followed the host's convenience, and there was no specific place set up for guests. Zhang Tongyuan had a strange expression, and Lin Fan asked, "Zhang Tongyuan, how much effort did you put into this Welcoming Mountain?"

Before Zhang Tongyuan could answer, Bai Mu interrupted, stroking the sea of grass, "This is the highland grass from the first mountain range of the North Continent. It is soft and resilient, emitting a faint fragrance that can repel mosquitoes and insects. When stepped on, it is extremely soft, and when the foot is lifted, the highland grass will return to its original state. The North Continent emperor, using the country's resources, only managed to lay a ten-square-meter sea of grass in the imperial garden."

Lin Fan asked, "It's just grass, right?"

"Highland grass must be watered with the meltwater from thousand-year-old ice. The North Continent's high peaks have accumulated ice for ten thousand years, and a little ice melts in summer, flowing down the mountain to nourish this highland grass. Without the thousand-year-old ice water, the highland grass would become ordinary grass in a few years." Bai Mu continued, "The North Continent emperor was extravagant, setting up a cavalry to transport the ice from the North Continent's high peaks to water the grass. The distance from the Central Continent to the North Continent is far, so the Zixiao Hall must have taken the meltwater from the thousand-year-old glacier at the border of the Yun Continent, seven hundred miles away. As for these ancient pines, which can attract cranes to perch and linger, they must be from the South Sea. The South Sea pines are planted on the sandy soil of the South Sea islands, and to transplant them, the roots must be covered with the sand from the islands every year."

Bai Mu added, "The white original stone used for the guest rooms is probably from the South Continent's Snow Rock. Snow Rock is extremely sturdy, making the guest rooms warm in winter and cool in summer. The stone can also transmit light, so the guest rooms don't need windows and are still bright enough. This stone is good, but after four or five years of wind and rain, it becomes no different from ordinary rock. As for the wood used in the guest rooms..."

Bai Mu spoke with great familiarity about the layout of the Welcoming Mountain, and Lin Fan and the others listened as if in a dream. The layout of the Welcoming Mountain was incredibly luxurious, using the finest materials from the twelve continents. Even the paving stones on the paths were taken from the Dawei River in the West Continent.

Zhang Tongyuan remained silent. The Welcoming Mountain was built after the Qingping Sect's turmoil. The new sect master expelled the Qingping Sect, and the sect masters who quelled the turmoil were rewarded, but they only followed orders and not announcements, reducing the Zixiao Hall's prestige. The new sect master wanted to re-establish his authority and show the Zixiao Hall's depth, so he used all the resources of the Ziyang Sect to build the Welcoming Mountain. After the sect master passed away, the new sect master, Ziyun Zhenren, took over and spent three months carefully redecorating the Welcoming Mountain. This move was very effective; during the sect master's inauguration, the sect masters of various sects were deeply moved by the luxury of the Welcoming Mountain, using words of admiration without hesitation. Even Sanzhen said to Lin Fan that the Zixiao Hall's Welcoming Mountain was a great place.