At the Abbot’s residence…
“Cough, cough… Uncle-Master Zong, why have you… come…”
Lying on the bed, Duan Wuyu saw Song Yuanzong, Ghost Grandfather, arrive. He motioned for his daughter to help him sit up…
“Alright, you are unwell now, just lie down and rest.”
Ghost Grandfather waved his hand. Although his old face was grim and his demeanor indifferent, he was actually very worried about Duan Wuyu’s health. Otherwise, when Chang Wude and Wan Yunting went to the back mountain to find him earlier, and upon hearing that Duan Wuyu was in trouble, Ghost Grandfather would have immediately descended the mountain with them.
Having never descended the mountain in decades, though he no longer concerned himself with the affairs of Daoist Temple, Ghost Grandfather was still the ancient ancestor of Wuliang Daoist Temple in this world.
“The disciple of Xiuliang, how is his condition? How much longer can he live?” Ghost Grandfather turned his head and asked Wan Yunting, who was following beside him.
Duan Yingying, standing by her father’s bed, looked stunned, and Yang Jingyi also turned to look at Wan Yunting. He said to Ghost Grandfather, “Old Ancestor, Abbot Martial Uncle’s internal organs are damaged. Coupled with the Thunder God Vine toxin hidden within his kidneys, if we want to cure his illness, the first step is to neutralize the Thunder God Vine toxin!”
“How?”
Ghost Grandfather’s sharp old eyes stared directly at Wan Yunting and said, “You are Xiuliang’s only personal disciple, you should inherit his medical art. Neutralizing this poison should not be difficult, right?”
Wan Yunting nodded and said, “It’s not difficult. Phoenix Tail Grass is needed to neutralize the Thunder God Vine toxin within Abbot Martial Uncle. As long as the poison is resolved, Martial Uncle’s life can be saved.”
“However, this Phoenix Tail Grass is extremely rare. I called my friends before to see if I could find it on the market, but it might take some time. Therefore, the only hope now is what Martial Uncle Wuwei mentioned before, to go to the Kunlun Mountains to find Phoenix Tail Grass!”
Yang Jingyi frowned and asked, “Besides Phoenix Tail Grass, is there any other way?”
“No.”
Wan Yunting shook his head and sighed, “To neutralize the Thunder God Vine toxin, only Phoenix Tail Grass is the most effective!”
“Then go find it.”
Ghost Grandfather clasped his hands behind his back, cast a sharp glance at Duan Wuyu on the bed, and then turned to leave. He then called out, “Disciple of Xiuliang, escort me back. I have something to ask you.”
“Yes.”
Wan Yunting responded, glanced at Chang Wude, and waved his hand, urging Wan Yunting to escort Grand Uncle Zong back. He knew that Ghost Grandfather definitely had something to ask him, regarding Gongsun Xiuliang…
Thus, Wan Yunting quickly stepped forward, supported Ghost Grandfather, and left the Abbot’s residence, heading towards the back mountain…
“Cough, cough…”
Duan Wuyu on the bed breathed weakly, his dim and listless old eyes looking at Chang Wude. He sighed and said, “Junior Brother Chang, your senior brother has failed you…”
“Senior Brother, this is not your fault.”
Chang Wude shook his head and waved his hand, saying, “Alright, Senior Brother, let’s not talk about this now. Your most important task is to recover.”
“In that case, tomorrow, let Junior Brother Wuwei lead the disciples to the Kunlun Mountains to search for Phoenix Tail Grass.” Chang Wude then said to Yang Jingyi, who was beside him.
“Okay.”
Yang Jingyi nodded. Chang Wude said no more, cast a glance at Duan Wuyu on the bed, and also turned to leave.
He happened to run into Wuweizi returning, so he also told him about letting him lead Wan Yunting to the Kunlun Mountains tomorrow to find Phoenix Tail Grass. Wuweizi naturally agreed.
“Kid, tell me about your master. How exactly did he die?”
At this time, in the back mountain, Wan Yunting supported Ghost Grandfather as they ascended the stairs, holding a lantern. Chang Wude and he had gone to find Ghost Grandfather earlier, and Chang Wude had only revealed his identity as Gongsun Xiuliang’s personal disciple. Ghost Grandfather did not know the specific details of Wan Yunting and his master.
So, as Wan Yunting supported him up the mountain, he recounted his story from when he entered prison and met his master Gongsun Xiuliang, to how his master was framed by Sima Boyong, causing him to lose everything overnight, constantly being on the run, and finally hiding in prison to eke out a living, only to die with regrets…
“Hmph, if I had known this would happen, I would have killed him with a single palm strike just now.”
Upon returning to the cave where the past ancestors were enshrined, Ghost Grandfather, after hearing Wan Yunting’s account of Gongsun Xiuliang being framed by Sima Boyong and ultimately dying in prison, was furious and almost shattered the stone platform with a palm strike. He regretted not having killed Sima Boyong earlier.
“Old Ancestor, calm your anger.”
Wan Yunting bowed low and stood respectfully before Ghost Grandfather, saying with a solemn expression, “Please rest assured, Old Ancestor, I will personally avenge my master and seek justice for him. I will never let Sima Boyong go.”
Ghost Grandfather looked up, his sharp old eyes fixed on him for a full ten seconds. It was as if his sharp old eyes could see through Wan Yunting, making him a little uneasy under Ghost Grandfather’s gaze. He knew that this Old Ancestor was a Grandmaster level cultivator.
“Come here, let me see your skills.”
Ghost Grandfather beckoned him over. Wan Yunting’s expression faltered, but he still lowered his head and approached. Ghost Grandfather then extended his extremely thin, withered hand and directly grabbed Wan Yunting’s crown. Instantly, Wan Yunting’s body trembled, feeling a powerful surge of qi pouring into his body from his crown.
“Ah…”
Immediately, Wan Yunting’s eyes widened. At this moment, he wanted to struggle, but no matter how hard he tried, he felt that he couldn’t control a single finger. His body trembled violently, but he couldn’t lift an arm, unable to break free from Ghost Grandfather’s thin, withered hand, which seemed to be like a suction cup, firmly gripping his crown…
As the surge of qi entered Wan Yunting’s body, Ghost Grandfather’s pale white eyebrows furrowed. His qi was unable to enter Wan Yunting’s Dantian!
Wan Yunting’s Dantian erupted with a powerful green inner energy, forming a qi barrier that blocked his qi. This surprised Ghost Grandfather, and he increased the flow of qi, wanting to forcefully open his Dantian…
“Ah…”
Immediately, Wan Yunting let out a roar. His pupils suddenly burst with a faint green light, and a powerful surge of qi erupted from his entire body, causing Ghost Grandfather to open his eyes wide. He released his grip and looked at the kid with surprise, marveling at the powerful green inner energy contained within his Dantian. It was truly rare and peculiar for a kid at the early stage of Martial Dantian Realm to possess such abundant and potent inner energy.
“Kid, what’s going on with the inner energy in your Dantian? And your eyes…!”
Ghost Grandfather looked at Wan Yunting’s green pupils again, which seemed like eerie snake eyes gazing at him, even startling Ghost Grandfather.
Then, Wan Yunting took a deep breath, and his pupils gradually returned to normal. Looking at Ghost Grandfather’s surprised old face, Wan Yunting knew that his intention was not malicious, but merely to test his skills.
“It’s green, isn’t it?”
Wan Yunting also knew about the peculiarity of his eyes. Ghost Grandfather squinted his old eyes and said, “You have a secret, kid.”
Wan Yunting smiled and waved his hand, saying, “Actually, it’s not much of a secret. I was trapped in a cave before and encountered a large black snake. While fighting it, I drank a lot of its snake blood. After I woke up two days later, I found that I had broken through to the Huajin stage and entered the early stage of Martial Dantian Realm. Moreover, my eyes can also see in the dark, just like that snake.”
“Oh, what kind of snake?”
Ghost Grandfather found it peculiar and asked.
“I don’t know what kind of snake it was.”
Wan Yunting shook his head, then gestured with his hands, “It was this big, about eight or nine meters long, its scales were all black. No, thinking about it now, its scales were more of a black-green color. Especially its eyes, which were verdant, like two green gems under a light, emitting a green glow, giving people a chilling sense of dread. I don’t know what kind of snake it was, it must have attained sentience.”
Ghost Grandfather listened with great interest and asked, “Did you kill that snake?”
“No, it ran away in the end.”
Wan Yunting saw Ghost Grandfather’s interest and smiled, saying, “I found it in a mountain called Ling Mountain in Lingyun County, Jiang Province. I guess it doesn’t know where it ran off to now.”
Ghost Grandfather nodded and said, “You drank its blood, yet it allowed you to break through to the Dantian Realm, and has such efficacy. This indicates that the snake must be an intelligent serpent capable of absorbing the energies of heaven and earth to cultivate!”
“Intelligent serpent?”
Wan Yunting heard the term and felt confused.
Ghost Grandfather said, “It’s what we commonly call a sentient serpent. ‘Intelligent serpent’ refers to animals that have gained sentience and can absorb the energies of heaven and earth to cultivate and become spirits.”
“I understand.”
Wan Yunting nodded.
Ghost Grandfather sat down and said, “You kid had a fortunate encounter. Drinking the snake blood not only doubled your inner energy, but also changed your physique, making you practice martial arts much faster than ordinary people.”
“It seems so.”
Wan Yunting nodded. Thinking about it now, ever since he drank that snake blood, he found that his practice had become much faster than before.
Ghost Grandfather said, “Also, the cultivation technique you practice is not the Nine Seals Inner Cultivation Heart Method of our Wuliang Daoist Temple, is it?”
“Mm.”
Wan Yunting nodded and truthfully replied, “I am currently practicing the Wuji Tiangang Inner Cultivation Heart Method!”
“What, you said you are practicing the Wuji Tiangang Inner Cultivation Heart Method?”
Suddenly, Ghost Grandfather stood up, his sharp old eyes fixed on Wan Yunting, and said, “How is that possible? Where did you learn the Wuji Tiangang Inner Cultivation Heart Method?”
“Old Ancestor, please don’t get excited, let me explain slowly.”
Seeing Ghost Grandfather’s agitated posture, Wan Yunting quickly soothed him to sit down. But Ghost Grandfather was impatient, “Quickly tell me, how exactly did you obtain it?”
So, Wan Yunting recounted to Ghost Grandfather the story of his accidental discovery of Daoist Lexin’s tomb while surveying dendrobium medicinal materials in Anhui…
“You kid, you actually found Senior Lexin’s tomb and obtained the Wuji Tiangang Inner Cultivation Heart Method from his grave!” Ghost Grandfather’s old eyes widened. Listening to his account, he was completely astonished.
“Yes.”
Wan Yunting nodded and said, “At the same time, I also got the Five Elements Palm, and a dual cultivation technique for men and women, the Yin Yang Complementary Art!”
“Uh…”
When Ghost Grandfather heard about the Yin Yang Complementary Art, he was certain that what he said was indeed from a predecessor in the sect named Lexin. However, he had been expelled from Wuliang Daoist Temple at that time, simply because Lexin’s nature was too unrestrained and unruly.