The poison of Thousand Tears could afflict even Golden Immortal Venerables, causing pain and torment to their life force. While it wouldn't be life-threatening, the suffering was extreme.
Moreover, this drop of Myriad Tears was formed from Qing Ling's ten thousand tears shed over fifty thousand years, a fusion of his Golden Immortal Nascent Soul and his dantian's power, which was comparable to that of a Golden Immortal. Even a Taiyi Grand Cultivator like Qu, if poisoned by it, would find his combat strength significantly diminished.
Qu's face contorted in a mask of ferocity. The Nirvana Fire within him surged, burning and circulating throughout his body. His Taiyi Nascent Soul split into myriad fragments, and the threads of Nirvana True Flame compressed the life-force poison that had spread throughout his body to the right side of his chest cavity. Nearly forty percent of his internal cultivation condensed into a giant fiery red egg, sealing the deathly gray toxin within.
"Excellent. I've actually been tricked by a Heavenly rank serpentine creature. Mark my words, I will exact ten thousandfold revenge!"
With his words, Qu's escape light flashed, and he returned to Misty Pearl Island. During his chase with Granny Hua Geng, they had flown tens of millions of li away from the island. Even with the divine sense of a Great Luo Supreme, he could only perceive the fluctuations of their aura. Unless his divine sense descended from afar, he wouldn't be able to hear conversations tens of millions of li away.
This was why Qu dared to fly back without fear of exposure.
On Misty Pearl Island, the gaze of Ancestor Qing Luan, which had been directed eastward, shifted away. Qu's escape light from the south arrived in an instant.
"I have failed the Ancestor's entrustment. Qu has erred."
Qing Luan let out a soft "Oh." A smile graced her elegant, orchid-like face. "Even if that little golden snake is the third-generation descendant of Old Ancestor Tai Geng, it shouldn't be beyond your abilities. How could you fail?"
Qu lowered his head, his killing intent as palpable as a tangible substance. "It was that Heavenly rank green snake! As a congenital deity, it possesses an incredibly bizarre life-force poison. I was caught off guard."
Qing Luan's smile faded. "Since it was your carelessness, you must bear it. The pain from that poison will serve as a lesson for you. Let's go. The purpose of this trip has been achieved; the Dragon Clan's Great Luo has arrived."
As she spoke, she beckoned. The Sea Calming Divine Pearls held by the nine Golden Immortal Venerables below floated up and were collected by Qing Luan into her sleeve. The nine individuals wore bitter expressions, filled with extreme reluctance at losing their spiritual treasures, yet immensely relieved that the Great Luo Supreme hadn't attacked them.
Qu nodded and rose, walking to Qing Luan's side. The world's congenital wind surged. The emerald hurricane condensed into a colossal pillar of wind, enveloping the two of them. Then, green mystic patterns flowed, twisting space. In the next instant, they were about to teleport away.
"Leave them!"
At that very moment, a dragon's roar echoed from a million li to the east. In an instant, it traversed a million li, and a blue, five-clawed crystalline dragon, enveloped in wind and clouds, descended. A palm strike materialized, transforming into a vast ocean, pressing down with the power of the world.
Within the emerald hurricane, Ancestor Qing Luan shook her head and chuckled, "A junior of the Dragon Clan, and you think you can stop me? Not only can you not stop me, but you yourself are in peril."
With a distant finger flick, the boundless wind surrounding them transformed into infinite wind blades, like a river of stars. Innumerable sword qi rent the sky. The strands of the Great Dao of Wind pierced into the illusory sea, instantly shattering into myriad fragments. The colossal palm transformed into countless droplets of water, scattering downwards.
The clash between two Great Luo Supremes reduced Misty Pearl Island to ruins, and cultivators below the Golden Immortal realm were nearly annihilated. The remaining Golden Immortal Venerables scattered in all directions, no longer harboring any thoughts of observing the battle of powerhouses.
The blue crystalline dragon retracted its form, transforming into a young man in blue robes. He stared at Qing Luan in the emerald hurricane with a grim expression. For the moment, he didn't attack again, because Qing Luan was right. He was merely at the fifth heaven of Great Luo Golden Immortal, and facing Ancestor Qing Luan, one of the three Ancestors of the Phoenix Clan, whose cultivation reached the twenty-eighth heaven of Great Luo, he was no match.
"Qing Luan, you're quite arrogant. If a junior is no good, then am I qualified?"
A majestic old man in black robes tore through space from the nine heavens, enveloped in black energy and crisscrossed by lightning in the clouds. The young man in blue robes' expression brightened, and he quickly bowed, "Greetings, Ancestor Black Dragon."
The old man in black robes nodded to the young man in blue, then turned to Qing Luan, his voice cold, "Qing Luan, you have trespassed into our territory without authorization, violating the Three Clan Agreement."
Qing Luan, within the boundless wind, stiffened. She was annoyed, not expecting it to be Ancestor Black Dragon, ranked third among the five Ancestors of the Dragon Clan! He was second only to Dragon Ancestor and Ancestor Zhulong! She dared not rashly attempt to teleport away. She said with a smile, "Daoist Black Dragon, I have not violated the Three Clan Agreement. When the agreement was established, our clan's three Ancestors, the two Qilin Kings, and your Dragon Clan's five Ancestors were all present. I distinctly recall a clause stating that Great Luo of the three clans should not easily enter other clans' territories to slaughter. Although I have entered the Dragon Clan's domain today, I have not once acted against beings of lower cultivation. This does not count as a violation, does it?"
Ancestor Black Dragon's eyes glinted with a hidden light. He glanced at Qu beside her. "Qing Luan, you have indeed calculated well! Very well, hand over our Dragon Clan's spiritual treasure, and you may depart today."
"I was merely acting on a whim, guided by the spiritual treasure to this place. This treasure should belong to me. Why is it your Dragon Clan's treasure?" Qing Luan showed no intention of handing over the treasure.
Ancestor Black Dragon's expression darkened, and he said coldly, "It seems Daoist Qing Luan wishes to spar with me?"
"Sparring is certainly possible. However, beside me is our clan's Holy Son. If he is angered by the Phoenix Ancestor's summons, the Immortal Volcano to the south might erupt, capable of destroying a thousand tribes in the Eastern Wilderness and an area spanning ten million li along the eastern coast!"
Qing Luan looked at the impassive Black Dragon and continued with a smile, "I am aware that your clan's fourth Ancestor, Ancestor Green Dragon, has been in seclusion for several epochs and is currently unable to awaken. Without his blessing of spring order, the fires of my South Heaven will turn every place they touch into a dead land!"
Ancestor Black Dragon's eye twitched. He said frigidly, "How do you know?"
Qing Luan chuckled. "Originally, I merely inferred it from the cyclical changes of spring and winter over several epochs. Now it appears to be true. Spring order has lacked Brother Green Dragon's reinforcement for several epochs. Only Ancestor Black Tortoise in the far north pushes winter order. Such an anomaly naturally cannot escape my keen sight."
Ancestor Black Dragon fell silent for a moment, then said, "Fine, I'll let you go today. It's merely a middle-grade spiritual treasure; it's not worth provoking disharmony between our two clans."
Seeing this, Qing Luan's voice softened slightly. "Thank you, Ancestor Black Dragon, for your understanding. Qing Luan will adhere to the Three Clan Agreement henceforth. Farewell!"
As her words fell, the boundless emerald hurricane spun abruptly, tearing through the nine heavens, and teleported away.
The man in blue robes walked to Ancestor Black Dragon's side and cupped his hands. "Ancestor, if I'm not mistaken, that innate spiritual treasure is a water-attribute spiritual treasure."
Ancestor Black Dragon waved his hand. "There's no need to regret it. I have calculated that this treasure was destined not to be entirely ours. A middle-grade innate spiritual treasure, while precious, is not a matter of great importance. Don't dwell on it."
"Yes, Lan Kui remembers. However, Ancestor Green Dragon's seclusion for breakthrough has indeed been quite lengthy; even the Phoenix Clan has noticed." The young man in blue robes cupped his hands.
"Heh heh, the longer the seclusion, the better. Currently, that Zhulong fellow and I are increasingly at odds. Below Dragon Ancestor, apart from my Black Dragon lineage and Zhulong's faction, there are no neutral forces left. Green Dragon is currently accumulating the power of the myriad green wood of the heavens to prepare for a breakthrough to the twenty-eighth heaven. When he awakens, our faction should try our best to win him over to our side, at the very least preventing him from aligning with Zhulong's faction."
Lan Kui nodded. "Ancestor Zhulong has been sealing the ancestral land for ages; he doesn't have much time to win over hearts and minds."
Ancestor Black Dragon sighed. "Although I have reached the thirtieth heaven, I still have not entered the realm of Zhulong and Dragon Ancestor."
Lan Kui was about to offer words of comfort when the elder shook his head again. "I will return to the Dragon Palace first." He paused suddenly, then added, "When the Ten Thousand Races come to pay tribute next time, the Saint Selection is only a few epochs away. Remember to pay attention. Green Dragon once ordered his subordinates to search for his newly born congenital helper god. If you encounter similar congenital deities, inform Green Dragon's subordinates."
Lan Kui's heart skipped a beat. "Ancestor, rest assured, Lan Kui will be vigilant."
Ancestor Black Dragon nodded. He was confident in Lan Kui, a young Great Luo belonging to his faction.
.......
At Xi Mountain, nearly five hundred years had passed since Qing Ling returned. For five hundred years, three Golden Immortals took turns to remove the residual Nirvana Fire from his body, and it took them five hundred years to finally eradicate it. This was only possible because he had used various means to remove most of the Nirvana Fire beforehand, making the removal of the hidden danger relatively easy.
Although this trip to Misty Pearl Island had delayed his cultivation by five hundred years, the opportunities he gained were considerable.
Not to mention the terrifying quantity of Nine Yuan Heavy Water, the three Sea Calming Divine Pearls stolen by Granny Hua Geng could be considered a significant boon!
One of the three Sea Calming Divine Pearls was placed at the heart of Xi Mountain's spiritual脉, enhancing the spiritual energy of the entire mountain. Another was temporarily used by Patriarch Hua Geng for comprehension. The third was in the pool within Qing Ling's Hundred Springs Valley.
Even though the full power of the Sea Calming Divine Pearls was only significant when they were a set, each individual pearl was still an innate spiritual treasure. The water-attribute spiritual energy converged by this single pearl was enough to increase the spiritual energy density in the valley by more than thirty percent! It was also drawing innate water energy from the depths of the earth's ley lines into Hundred Springs Valley, making every flower and plant within the valley appear exceptionally vibrant.
As for the large amount of Nine Yuan Heavy Water Qing Ling acquired, he didn't hoard it all but gave it to Granny Hua Geng. However, Hua Geng only took one-fifth of the quantity, returning the rest to him. Of that one-fifth, only Hua Geng and Du had use for it among the four Golden Immortal Venerables of the clan. The Grand Cultivation of Patriarch Chi Li, who cultivated the Great Dao of Blazing Fire, and Patriarch Shu, who cultivated the Dao of Heavy Mountains, were somewhat restrained.
Therefore, even after the remaining Heavenly rank clan members received some, there was still a considerable amount of Nine Yuan Heavy Water stored within the clan. Qing Ling alone possessed nearly six zhang square of Nine Yuan Heavy Water! Even with his full effort to refine it, it would take him dozens of epochs. This gave him a feeling of sitting on a treasure mountain but not knowing where to begin.
And everything Hua Geng had done for Qing Ling made him increasingly consider Xi Mountain as his true home! This was also Hua Geng's wisdom, the wisdom for the survival of the clan. Qing Ling did not know about other clans, but at least, every snake in Xi Mountain was willing to give their all for the clan, even their lives! Over time, Qing Ling even forgot that his kin were cold-blooded beings and truly began to consider himself a snake of Xi Mountain, shouldering the responsibility of a race.