A young man in a gray robe, his hair tied up, possessed a handsome face adorned with a pair of amorous peach blossom eyes, giving him an air of being rather unconventional.
"Junior, the mountain master of Little Wind Earth, Feng Xiaoshan, pays his respects to senior."
Qing Ling couldn't help but curve his lips upward. "Feng Xiaoshan? What a name!"
"Heh heh, thank you for the compliment, senior." He walked up to Qing Ling, a smile on his face. "Few people praise my humble moniker. You are the first expert I've met to compliment me."
Though he had a handsome face, his peach blossom eyes and fawning smile gave him an appearance that was rather sly.
Qing Ling didn't mind and asked, "You didn't see me just now, why were you running so furiously?"
Feng Xiaoshan's face showed embarrassment. "It was junior's poor eyesight. I thought another enemy had arrived, and as soon as I sensed a disturbance, I fled through the air."
Qing Ling glanced at him and said indifferently, "Then your life must be quite difficult. Constantly on guard against powerful enemies. Perhaps some spiritual treasure has been coveted?"
At these words, Feng Xiaoshan's face instantly turned pale, and he wailed without tears, "Please, senior, don't tease me. I am fleeing from enemies and hiding here. If I truly had any spiritual treasures, how could I have ended up like this?"
Qing Ling ignored his quibbling, simply placing one hand behind his back and walking a few steps away from him. He looked at Feng Xiaoshan and muttered to himself, "The wind from all directions is still here, the earth veins are difficult to connect, and there are no precious spiritual items for ten thousand miles. It is likely that some object nurtured by wind energy is absorbing spiritual energy. This object should possess the ability to calm the wind. Your form is hidden, seemingly real yet ethereal. Your evasion techniques are skilled in wind. It seems you have the foundation of a congenital wind spirit."
At this statement, Feng Xiaoshan, who was about to quietly slip away, was struck with horror. The evasion technique he had secretly prepared halted. He immediately knelt down, crying, "Senior, spare my life, senior, spare my life! I am willing to offer spiritual items, I only beg you to spare my worthless life."
Qing Ling turned around and looked at Feng Xiaoshan, who was as humble as an ant, and couldn't help but recall his own predicament when he, a Heavenly Rank cultivator, faced the Golden Immortal Venerable Mo Chan.
With a slight wave of his sleeve, he lifted Feng Xiaoshan and said with a faint smile, "Spiritual treasures have spirits. Since it chose you as its master, it belongs to you."
Feng Xiaoshan's face lit up with joy, and he quickly bowed. "Thank you, senior, for your mercy."
Qing Ling sighed leisurely. When did the absence of greed become mercy? Feng Xiaoshan's humility was merely a microcosm of the countless beings in the Primordial World, the weak seeking a foothold, humbled to the point of utter uselessness.
"What realm is this? How far is it to the Western Regions?"
"Reporting to senior, this is a buffer zone between the eastern tributaries of the Qilin tribe and the northern tributaries of the Phoenix tribe. It is probably tens of millions of miles from the Western Regions. Junior does not have the strength to traverse the chaotic regions, so I truly do not know. Moreover, in the last three thousand years, the Eastern Azure Dragon Ancestor led the dragon tribe's grand army to personally attack the Eastern Forest Secret Realm. Many cultivators and tribes, with nowhere else to go, have flocked to this chaotic land. The chaotic land is now extremely chaotic and dangerous. Of course, for an existence like yours, senior, it is naturally nothing."
Feng Xiaoshan recounted the numerous circumstances of the chaotic land with a fawning smile throughout, and subtly flattered Qing Ling.
Qing Ling nodded and said, "Very well, you may leave."
Upon hearing this, Feng Xiaoshan eagerly said, "Thank you, senior. Junior takes his leave."
As soon as he finished speaking, he shot into the sky, his wind traversing the clouds, and he disappeared without a trace.
Qing Ling shook his head helplessly. He truly lived up to his name, Feng Xiaoshan. The latter half of his sentence, which he hadn't spoken, remained unsaid. Being cautious and timid was good, but sometimes it led to missing too many opportunities.
Qing Ling passed over the mountain, his view once again blocked by rolling mountain ranges. However, amidst the vast expanse of mountains and seas, he saw that mountain! Even separated by tens of millions of miles, the divine mountain was visible as a mere speck. It towered into the heavens, as broad as the world, its single silhouette capable of suppressing myriad mountains. The heavenly divine mountain, Buzhou. Eons of Buzhou, though only a glimpse of its form, had already imprinted itself upon his heart and mind.
Qing Ling's steps quickened, his golden bell chiming, the wind growing urgent. A craving, an urgent craving, arose within him. He wanted to see Buzhou, not just from afar, but he wished to climb it, to ascend this divine mountain Buzhou, formed from Pangu's spine.
Qing Ling's steps grew faster, striding forward. A hundred miles with each step, a hundred miles with every stride, a hundred miles year after year, day after day. Who knew how long his journey had been? Was the road to the West not tens of thousands of miles long? Qing Ling traveled on, and countless obstacles blocked his path, but they all eventually turned into the red flowers beneath his feet.
On the vast plains, lush green grass grew taller than a man, resembling trees. On the grasslands, myriad wolves galloped, each wolf measuring hundreds of feet, with even some reaching thousands or tens of thousands of feet in size. The ten thousand wolves formed a vortex, spread out and dispersed, with an open space in the center. Four giant wolves, each over half a million feet tall, stood shoulder to shoulder like mountains, at the four cardinal directions. In the center of the four wolves, stood only a young man in a green robe. Amidst the howling of the ten thousand wolves, the faint sound of tinkling bells was occasionally interspersed.
"Esteemed ones, why do you stir up trouble?"
The leaders of the black, white, gold, and green wolves spoke in unison: "The Hulu Grand Plains are the habitat of our Desolate Wolf clan. It is rather unreasonable for you to trespass, sir."
Qing Ling heard this and couldn't help but laugh. "This heaven and earth were created by the great god Pangu and belong to all beings. What basis is there for such words? Moreover, even if I wanted to leave, could you stop me?"
The black wolf sighed. "We must block even if we cannot stop you. Senior, we are under orders and cannot disobey. Our tribe's elder invites senior to temporarily reside on the plains."
"Oh? Based on four Grand Unity cultivators and dozens of Golden Immortals?" Qing Ling chuckled faintly. "It seems people like me can't stay idle."
"Flower Planter!" the green wolf exclaimed. "Senior, are you the Flower Planter of legend, the one who 'plants three thousand flowers, and remains unborn and undying'?"
"Oh? When did I acquire such a title?" Qing Ling couldn't help but laugh.
"What?"
The black, white, and gold wolves' faces all changed dramatically. For a thousand years, in the Southern Wilderness, there had been a powerful being who walked on foot, his aura inconspicuous. Reckless cultivators would often provoke him. However, all who provoked this powerful being were planted into flowers, neither alive nor dead, forever imprisoned in place. No one, whether a Golden Immortal or a Grand Unity cultivator, was exempt; none escaped. Even the descendant of a Grand Unity Golden Immortal, and even a holy son of the Heavenly Leopard clan, were planted into flowers and stood on mountain cliffs. Later, the powerful being of the Heavenly Leopard clan personally retrieved the flower, only to end up with a self-detonating blood flower and the demise of his holy son. Although the four wolves had the backing of a Grand Unity elder, they couldn't help but feel apprehensive facing this strange and powerful being.
Qing Ling smiled. "Since you all know who I am, you should be obedient. Enter my flowers and find your proper place."
With that, he gently waved his sleeve. The Dao seeds, which he had long since planted in the hearts of the four wolves through their eyes, began to sprout, drawing their vital energy, spirit, and essence, and attaching themselves to their hearts and souls. The immense pain made the four wolves contort in agony. The feeling of their life force being plundered was an unbearable torment. The four wolves wailed, their Grand Unity Dao power surging wildly, hoping to suppress the strange flower seeds within their bodies.
Qing Ling smiled faintly. "Another four added. You will become one of the one hundred and thirty-three Luo Sheng." He showed no mercy to his enemies. Qing Ling was neither a benevolent being nor a great philanthropist. Since you have formed a karmic connection with me, you shall bloom! Three thousand Luo flowers enter the stupa, three thousand Dao seeds enter reincarnation. He would continue to plant flowers and make them bloom.