Chapter 152: Chapter 152: Expectation

In the training chamber.

Li Ping took out precious Fire Element Spiritual Objects one by one from his Storage Bag and placed them beside the Desolate Fire Sparrow, which was lying on the ground.

At this moment, wisps of Flame occasionally flickered around the Desolate Fire Sparrow’s body, and its tail feathers quivered like dancing fire sprites. But its eyes were shut tight, as if it had fallen into a deep slumber.

’Now, I just have to wait,’ Li Ping nodded to himself.

Once the Desolate Fire Sparrow advanced, with the power of its bloodline, it would likely possess strength on par with a Mid-stage Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

He would finally have a powerful ally.

Together, the man and bird might even possess the combat strength to rival Xiao Yunzhi.

Xiao Yunzhi also had a Blazing Sun Bird with a True Spirit Bloodline.

Li Ping sighed to himself. ’It’s a shame I gave that Bloodline Fruit to Xiao Yunzhi. Otherwise, I could have fed the Desolate Fire Sparrow a thousand-year Bloodline Fruit during its advancement and used the opportunity to stimulate even more of its True Spirit Bloodline!’

As the Desolate Fire Sparrow began its advancement, Li Ping simply sat cross-legged beside it, cultivating while he waited.

...

His wait lasted for a full month.

When the Desolate Fire Sparrow awoke again, the aura it emitted was no weaker than Li Ping’s, and its control over Flames had reached a new level.

The Lifebound Spirit Fire it spat out was far more terrifying than the Innate True Flame of a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Feeling the joyous spiritual fluctuations from the Desolate Fire Sparrow, Li Ping couldn’t help but smile. ’I’ll have to learn how to refine Tier Two Beast Feeding Pills now.’

With the rapid advancement speed of a heavenly Spirit Bird like the Desolate Fire Sparrow, there might come a day when he’d be riding the coattails of his own Spirit Beast.

...

"Sir, are you all right?"

Bai Lin’s soft call came from outside. Clearly, she had felt the intense Spiritual Power fluctuations caused by the Desolate Fire Sparrow’s breakthrough. Worried that something had happened to Li Ping, she had grown uneasy and had come over to check on him.

"Come in."

Li Ping ordered the Desolate Fire Sparrow into the Spirit Beast Pouch, then pushed the door open and walked out.

Seeing the worried look on Bai Lin’s face, his heart warmed, and he said with a smile, "Don’t worry, I’m fine. The commotion just now was just one of my Spirit Beasts having a breakthrough."

Hearing this, Bai Lin let out a sigh of relief. "That’s wonderful."

...

In the midst of Li Ping’s secluded cultivation, another year quickly passed.

However, since the oath of the Friends Association had been fulfilled, the fixed annual gathering was canceled and replaced with irregular meetings.

Furthermore, Bai Qing had gone to Jixia and was not in Fenglan Immortal City.

Li Ping had also specifically told them not to come to Immortal Peach Mountain beforehand.

So this year, Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and Cheng Yao did not appear at Li Ping’s cave-dwelling as they had in previous years, and Bai Lin had returned to Gaoji Mountain as usual.

Thus, on the last day of the year, Li Ping was the only one left in the Immortal Peach Mountain cave-dwelling.

He stood in the pavilion, gazing at the bright, clear moon in the sky.

After a moment, Li Ping gave a carefree smile and returned to the training chamber to continue his arduous cultivation.

’I haven’t even achieved immortality yet. What time do I have to be sentimental and melancholic?’

...

「Meanwhile, in a square in Donghua Mountain’s Jixia City.」

Several thousand Qi Refining Cultivators were gathered here.

They were all Cultivators from the various Sects and Cultivation Clans of the Western Wilderness that had joined the Daoist Guardian Alliance.

Over the past year, they had trickled in, led by the Foundation Establishment Cultivators of their respective factions. They had come to the waiting area arranged for them in Jixia Immortal City, each choosing a spot to sit and cultivate.

Although the square was crowded, it was orderly, without the slightest hint of argument or commotion.

Soon, with only five days left until the Secret Realm opened, staff from Jixia Immortal City appeared once again.

Noticing this, the Qi Refining Cultivators grew both excited and apprehensive, for they knew the Secret Realm was about to open.

Bai Qing blended in inconspicuously among the nearly one hundred Qi Refining Cultivators from Fenglan Immortal City.

He touched his Storage Bag, his eyes filled with confidence.

’With all the items Big Brother prepared for me, if I still can’t get a Foundation Establishment Pill, just how bad would my luck have to be?’

’It’s a shame Fifth Brother went to the Yuan Kingdom. I didn’t get to see him when I came to Jixia,’ Bai Qing sighed softly to himself.

As he sighed, his gaze shifted to three people around him.

These three were also Cultivators from the Bai family, just like him, but they shared one thing in common.

Without exception, all three Bai family Cultivators were elderly men with heads full of white hair.

Bai Qing knew that these three Bai family Cultivators were actually in their eighties or nineties, with not much time left in their lives.

They should have been enjoying their later years in peace.

However, when the family conscripted Cultivators to enter the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm to gather Spirit Medicines, they had signed up without hesitation.

Risking their lives to enter the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm in their twilight years.

Bai Qing wasn’t sure if they had volunteered to sacrifice everything for the family, or if they were burdened by their reputation within the clan and had no choice but to make this trip.

He knew full well that as clan Cultivators, these three Elder Cultivators surely had many descendants.

’As elders of the clan, if they were to just hide away and live out their old age while letting the younger Cultivators risk their lives... once word of that spread through the clan, their reputations would be ruined.’

’They would be seen as selfish and disrespectful in their old age, and be despised by all.’

’Conversely, if they took the initiative to venture into the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, it would be for the best if they came out alive. But even if they died in the Secret Realm, they would leave behind a legacy of selflessness and dedication to the clan, their deeds sung by later generations of Cultivators.’

’Perhaps it’s a bit of both. The power of gossip is a frightening thing,’ Bai Qing mused silently.

It was just like him. He had been holed up in the Immortal City for years, not even returning for his own father’s funeral, and completely ignored the kinsmen his father had left behind.

In the eyes of some uninformed clansmen, his actions were probably synonymous with being ’unfilial’ and an ’ungrateful wretch’.

But Bai Qing didn’t care. His daily life was centered in the Immortal City anyway, and he had no intention of returning to Gaoji Mountain. As for the idle gossip of his clansmen, he’d let them say whatever they wanted.

As Bai Qing was lost in thought, the gazes of the three elderly Bai family Cultivators fell upon him. One of them, a square-faced old man, warned him solemnly, "Qing’er, you’re still young, with a long life ahead of you. Once you’re inside the Secret Realm, your first priority is to protect yourself. Gathering Spirit Medicines is secondary, understand?"

"Yes, Seventh Grandpa, I’ll be careful," Bai Qing quickly agreed.

The square-faced old man sighed. "Ai, if us old-timers die, so be it. But you’re so young. Why did you have to get involved in this trip to the Secret Realm?"

Bai Qing remained silent.

If it were possible, he would have gladly teamed up with the three Bai family elders to protect them and ensure they made it out alive.

Unfortunately, upon entering the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm, they would be teleported to random locations. He might not even run into the three Bai family elders before the Secret Realm closed.

’Ai... I hope everyone makes it out alive,’ Bai Qing sighed to himself.

...

The days passed one by one, and the opening of the Secret Realm drew ever closer.

On the day before the Secret Realm opened, Bai Qing finally made a decision. He took out three Tier Two Lower Grade Spirit Talismans from the many supplies his Big Brother had prepared for him and gave one to each of the three Bai family elders.

The three Bai family elders hurriedly refused, but Bai Qing forcefully pressed the Spirit Talismans into their hands. "Seventh Grandpa, Ninth Grandpa, Twelfth Grandpa, I hope that you will also put your own lives first, and the task of gathering Spirit Medicines second!"

After a moment of silence, the three Bai family elders accepted the Spirit Talismans.

But they did not respond to Bai Qing’s suggestion that they prioritize their own survival.

They knew how difficult the Bai family’s situation was. The Old Ancestor only had about ten years left to live. If the Old Ancestor were to pass away without a second Foundation Establishment Cultivator emerging in the family, what kind of situation would the Bai family face?

The Xue family of Mist and Smoke Mountain was a cautionary tale!

Their eyes were filled with determination. ’Even if it costs us our lives, we must secure a Foundation Establishment Pill for the clan!’

Seeing this, Bai Qing sighed in his heart and no longer tried to persuade them.

...

On the day the Cyan Cloud Secret Realm opened, a beam of white Escape Light flew down from the mountaintop and landed in the square.

The Escape Light dissipated, revealing a handsome male Cultivator with a dignified air, dressed in a white Magic Robe.

As he appeared, the Spiritual Pressure of the Core Formation Stage instantly filled the entire square.

His gaze swept over the thousands of Qi Refining Cultivators and their supervising Foundation Establishment Cultivators in the square. The man smiled and said, "Is everyone here? Get on my Flying Ship. I’ll take you to the entrance of the Secret Realm."

With that, the man flung a foot-long, ink-black Flying Ship from his sleeve.

The moment the foot-long Flying Ship left his sleeve, it expanded in the wind, rapidly transforming into a gigantic, nine-story tower ship, over a thousand feet long and hundreds of feet high.

Seeing such a magnificent Flying Ship, the Qi Refining Cultivators in the square were all stunned.

But while they were still in shock, the supervising Foundation Establishment Cultivators, who were already used to such sights, began organizing everyone to board the Flying Ship. "Form a line! No pushing!"

Bai Qing and the three Bai family elders quickly got in line, occasionally overhearing the discussions of other Cultivators.

Only then did he learn that this colossal Flying Ship was a famous Magical Treasure from Jixia Immortal City called the ’Giant Whale Wave-Piercing Shuttle’. At full capacity, it could carry one hundred thousand Cultivators!

Carrying a mere few thousand Cultivators was, of course, effortless for it.

And the one piloting this Magical Treasure was the newly ascended Core Formation Cultivator, Song Yushu!

A Core Formation Cultivator, Song Yushu.

Filled with envy, Bai Qing committed the name to memory.

...

After everyone had boarded, the Flying Ship instantly accelerated, turning into a streak of white light and plunging into the clouds circling the mountain as it flew toward the peak of Donghua Mountain.

The Cyan Cloud Secret Realm produced the vast majority of the main ingredients for Foundation Establishment Pills in the Western Wilderness; it could be said to be the lifeline of the entire Western Wilderness’s Cultivation Realm.

Its entrance was located in the very core of the Academy Palace, not only protected by a Tier Three Grand Array but also guarded year-round by three Core Formation Cultivators to ensure its absolute security.

Watching the scenery flash by outside the Flying Ship, Bai Qing couldn’t help but feel a surge of excitement. ’Enter the Secret Realm, gather Spirit Medicines to exchange for a Foundation Establishment Pill... I’m only a stone’s throw away from Foundation Establishment!’

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.