Becoming an Immortal and Ancestor, Starting from the Clan-protecting Divine Beast

42: Chapter 42 A Journey of Many PathsLiquan Town is located south of Liming Town, tens of thousands of miles away, and a branch of the Tianli Mountain Range separates the two.

However, High-level Great Yao Beasts do not frequent this mountain forest; even Qi Refining level Yao Beasts rarely appear.

Therefore, communication and travel between the two towns mostly involve passing through the branch of the Tianli Mountain Range.

Although there are no Yao Beasts, the most crucial thing to watch out for when traveling is not the Yao Beasts, but fellow Cultivators of the Human Race.

One can never truly know another’s heart; there’s no guarantee that the next moment your companion won’t betray you, killing you for a minor Opportunity.

”Liquan Town—I read about it in the Tianli Geographic Records. This town has the weakest foundation among the nearby towns, with only two major Foundation Establishment Families.”

On the road, Chen Zhuyun proactively started a conversation to prevent the atmosphere from becoming too dull.

Ruan Zhirou smiled and said lightly, ”Zhuyun, my little brother, why do you say that? A small number of major Foundation Establishment Families doesn’t necessarily mean a weak foundation. If a Foundation Establishment Peak Great Cultivator is overseeing things, their strength might even surpass Liming Town.”

Although there is only a small difference in Realm between the Late Foundation Establishment Stage and the Foundation Establishment Peak, the gap between the two is not insignificant.

A Foundation Establishment Peak Great Cultivator stands at the pinnacle of the Foundation Establishment Realm; their Inner Landscape is complete, their Profound Phenomena are at Perfection, and they gain the qualification to Cultivate Divine Abilities.

Whether in terms of Magic Power or Spell might, they are more than one level stronger than a Late Foundation Establishment Stage Great Cultivator.

”Miss Zhirou, you may not know this, but the two major Foundation Establishment Families in Liquan Town are the Lin Family and the Gu Family. The Lin Family, where we are headed, is one of them, and it only has one Foundation Establishment Great Cultivator overseeing it—that is the Lin Family Old Ancestor, who has Mid-stage Foundation Establishment cultivation.”

”As for the Gu Family, their strength and foundation are greater than the Lin Family’s. They have two Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators overseeing them: one Early-stage Foundation Establishment and one Mid-stage Foundation Establishment. These are all the Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators in Liquan Town.”

”In terms of quantity, they are inferior to Liming Town, and in terms of quality, they are also inferior to Liming Town. The number of Peak Qi Refining Families there is pitifully small, only three, and they are tightly controlled by the Lin Family and the Gu Family, basically having no chance to rise.”

Chen Zhuyun spoke eloquently. When he wasn’t practicing martial arts, he would take time to read books, covering both the Immortal Dao and the Martial Dao, giving him a thorough understanding of the distribution of power in the surrounding area.

Ruan Zhirou clasped her hands behind her back, two small dimples appearing on her fair, jade-like face. She leaned slightly closer, a fragrant scent wafting over. ”Well then, Zhuyun, my little brother, according to what you said, since Liquan Town’s power is so weak, why haven’t the three major Foundation Establishment Families of Liming Town annexed it?”

”I’ve heard that Liyang Town is eyeing Liming Town like a tiger, eager to destroy the three major Foundation Establishment Families and control this territory.”

Chen Zhuyun’s face flushed slightly. A faint fragrance lingered around his nose, making his blood rush to his head, but he suppressed it by circulating the Crimson Sun Limitless Dao.

”Miss Zhirou, destroying a Foundation Establishment power is not that simple. If our Liming Town wanted to annex Liquan Town, Liyang Town certainly wouldn’t stand idly by; they wouldn’t just watch Liming Town grow stronger.”

”The reverse is also true. If Liyang Town wanted to annex Liming Town, the nearby towns definitely wouldn’t just watch; they would secretly send Foundation Establishment Great Cultivators to interfere.”

Chen Zhuyun sighed internally. The towns in the vicinity restrict each other. If the Chen Family wanted to dominate Liming Town, they would have to strike with the force of thunder, quickly sweeping away the Zhang Family and the Tang Family, unifying Liming before other powers could react.

”Oh?” Ruan Zhirou raised an eyebrow, slightly tilting her head. Her skirt billowed as her steps remained light. ”Zhuyun, my little brother, you weren’t in the mountains that day, so you didn’t witness the Divine Might of your Family’s Clan-Guarding Spirit Beast. That Old Ancestor Wang was suppressed and killed in the air outside Luoyun Mountain after just a few moves.”

As she spoke, she leaned closer, her bright eyes dazzling, emitting a fragrant burst. ”I think that in another ten or twenty years, Liming Town will belong to the Chen Family.”

Chen Zhuyun turned his head away, forcibly controlling his turbulent Qi and Blood, and chuckled, ”Miss Zhirou, you must be joking. You think too highly of my Chen Family. Our Chen Family’s foundation ranks last among the three major Foundation Establishment Families. Without a hundred or eighty years, we can’t catch up to major families like the Tang Family, which has a Legacy spanning thousands of years.”

Seeing his reaction, Ruan Zhirou couldn’t help but let out a soft laugh and proactively stepped back. ”Alright, I won’t tease you anymore, Zhuyun, my little brother. But you shouldn’t belittle yourself. I see the Chen Family has the momentum to soar to the heavens, likely reaching an extremely high level in the future.”

Chen Zhuyun turned his head, his brows radiating Righteousness, and asked with confusion in his eyes, ”Miss Zhirou, why do you say that?”

”Heaven’s Secrets must not be revealed.” Ruan Zhirou suddenly acted like a riddle-maker, adopting a demeanor that suggested she knew but didn’t want to say.

Chen Zhuyun muttered internally, ”This Miss Zhirou usually seems quiet and cool, with outstanding temperament, and she’s beautiful too. I didn’t expect her to have such... a wicked sense of humor in private.”

For the next stretch of the journey, the atmosphere between the two was somewhat dull. Neither spoke, instead looking to the side and appreciating the scenery along the way.

Finally, Chen Zhuyun couldn’t hold back and asked, ”Miss Zhirou, I observe Spiritual Power flowing around you, clearly indicating you possess cultivation. Why do you still need someone to protect you?”

After he Broke through to the Xiantian Realm, he became extremely sensitive to a Cultivator’s Spiritual Power. Even if Chen Fufeng, who is at the Eighth Layer of Qi Refining, concealed his aura, Chen Zhuyun could still sense it slightly.

In Master Huang’s words, this is a characteristic of a Martial Artist after achieving an Innate Breakthrough—a specific trait. The more times the Blood Exchange is performed, the stronger this characteristic becomes.

Hearing this, Ruan Zhirou’s eyebrows curved into crescent moons, and she countered, ”Zhuyun, my little brother, do you want to know?”

”Uh... yes, I do.” Chen Zhuyun scratched his head, stating what was truly on his mind; he genuinely wanted to know.

Ruan Zhirou smiled slightly and said seriously, ”You should know that a Midwife is one of the hundred arts of cultivation. As someone specialized in delivering babies for Immortal Cultivators, I naturally cannot be a Mortal, as that would contaminate the purity of the newborn’s Physical Body.”

”I inherited my skill from my Aunt. I followed her traveling across the north and south since childhood, meeting all sorts of people. I only settled down in Liming Town in recent years. If I didn’t have cultivation, I would have died on the road long ago.”

”As for the path I Cultivate, it belongs neither to the Five Elements nor the Four Symbols, and it is not within Yin and Yang.”

Chen Zhuyun was stunned. It neither belonged to the Five Elements, nor the Four Symbols, nor was it within Yin and Yang.

”Could Miss Zhirou be following the Two Paths of the Universe? Up, down, and the four directions are called Yu (Space); past and present are called Zhou (Time). One represents space, and the other represents time, enough to rival Yin and Yang, perhaps even surpassing them.”

Most Immortal Cultivators’ paths in this world belong to the Five Elements. Four Symbols Cultivators are much fewer, and those of the Yin and Yang Dao are even rarer.

Besides these, most Cultivators follow the Two Paths of Wind and Thunder, though those belonging to the Thunder attribute are relatively fewer.

Cultivators of the Two Paths of the Universe are extremely rare, even fewer than Cultivators of the Yin and Yang Dao.

Cultivation classics concerning the Two Paths of the Universe are also extremely scarce, rarely seen even over thousands of years, let alone practiced.

”None of those,” Ruan Zhirou shook her head, offering a different view. ”Zhuyun, my little brother, you must know that there are Three Thousand Great Daos and Countless Minor Daos. The end of any path in this world has a position one can occupy. It doesn’t have to be Yin and Yang, Four Symbols, Five Elements, Wind, or Thunder; those are just the current mainstream paths.”

Ruan Zhirou shook her head, offering a different perspective, and continued,

”The Purple Mansion Cultivates Divine Abilities, and the Golden Core seeks Golden Nature. After the Five Methods of the Purple Mansion reach Perfection and the Inner Landscape becomes unified, one can no longer change their Cultivation Technique. If they wish to, they can only Reincarnate and re-Cultivate.”

”When reaching the Realm of Purple Mansion Perfection, one must pass the Heart Demon Trial, clearly understand their own Dao, see the road ahead, and decide which position they intend to seek.”

”This step is crucial. If the Divine Ability one Cultivates and the Golden Nature one seeks are mismatched even slightly, it will be like an ant hole destroying a thousand-mile dike—they will instantly die and turn to golden dust.”

Chen Zhuyun listened, utterly confused. The information in Ruan Zhirou’s words sounded important, but it seemed to be of no help to him.

He was a Martial Dao Cultivator, and the path he followed was different from that of an Immortal Dao Cultivator.

The latter’s focus on Cultivating Divine Abilities and seeking Golden Nature held little reference value for him.

Because Martial Artists seek within, while Immortal Cultivators seek without.

”Miss Zhirou, you still haven’t said what Dao you Cultivate,” Chen Zhuyun cleared his chaotic thoughts and asked instead.

A mischievous glint seemed to flash in Ruan Zhirou’s eyes. She used her fair hand to tuck the strands of black hair falling by her ear, and softly said, ”The path I follow is called the Destiny Dao.”

Chen Zhuyun’s steps froze, and his eyes held deep confusion as he looked at the beauty beside him.

What kind of Dao is the Destiny Dao?