Chapter 167.1: The Meticulous Qi Yuan, Setting the Right Tone for the Cultivation World

In the Moonlight Kingdom.

The woman in white looked at the young girl standing before her, helplessness flickering in her eyes. "High Priestess, are you really going to follow him to the Canglan World?"

"You'll have to go to the Upper World alone," Qi Jianjun said with a sweet, gentle smile. "I have to stay here."

The girl was nothing like the high priestess the woman in white had known before. All because of that man.

"High Priestess, do you think his current state might be a side effect of devouring this world's Heavenly Dao?" she asked carefully.

In truth, she was warning Qi Jianjun. After all, there was no knowing when someone who behaved so erratically would end up hurting others.

"In a world as dreamlike as this, isn't it actually quite nice to be a little crazy?" Qi Jianjun replied, dodging the question.

The woman in white fell silent.

Qi Jianjun said, "Alright. The teleportation array has already been activated. Go to the Upper World. If you manage to reach the Divine Moon Palace, tell Mother that I've found Father."

Ascension teleportation arrays were random, no one could choose where they would arrive. It would take hundreds, or perhaps thousands of years for the woman in white to find the Divine Moon Palace

Qi Jianjun glanced at her once more, then walked outside. When the girl saw the blood-robed figure waiting there, her eyes lit up with delight. "Daddy, are we going to the Canglan World?"

Qi Yuan nodded. "

Mhm

.”

Over the past few days, he had intended to pay a visit to the world where the Moluo Clan resided. Unfortunately, the gateway had long since closed.

He had even thrown a punch toward the Moluo World from afar, but nothing happened. Later, in a single day, he traversed the entire Moonwatch Continent, hoping to find traces of the past. However, whether it was the Xuanyuan Forbidden Zone, the Garment Tomb Forbidden Zone, the Five Elements Forbidden Zone, the Yinyang Forbidden Zone, or Heaven's End—every place was empty.

He did not see any familiar faces, nor find what he was looking for. Without becoming a Yin Spirit and attaining the power of reincarnation, rebirth was almost impossible. Death was the end and going back into the world itself. Although the world remembered none of them, Qi Yuan did.

In the end, he decided to return home. Still, before that, he planned to pay a visit to the Heavenly Ascension Pavilion. Jiang Ya still owed him quite a few cultivation manuals.

Qi Yuan lifted his head and took a deep look at the Ancient Qichun Tree. "Everyone's here. Let's go."

The towering giant was draped in silver, its branches laden with snow. Such a breathtaking sight it was!

"Let's go. We're heading back," Qi Yuan said, glancing at Lord Great Wisdom, Xu Tongchen, and Jiang Ya.

Four had come, but five were leaving.

"

Haa...

Time to leave." Lord Great Wisdom sighed. "Am I the one leaving this world, or is the world leaving me?"

In an instant, the group of five returned to the desert they had first arrived in, then swiftly entered the teleportation tunnel. Qi Yuan could feel the terrifying authority he had over the Moonwatch Continent was slowly fading. Still, he didn't let it show on his face. When he stepped into the Canglan World once more, Qi Yuan narrowed his eyes.

Holding Qi Jianjun's hand, he sensed four overwhelming presences. "There are quite a few people here. Don't tell me they're also Venerable Ye Qiong’s lackeys?”

Moreover, all four were Yin Spirits.

Venerable Yunju was the first to greet him, "Greetings, Senior Blood-Clothed Sword God."

The others quickly followed with respectful salutations, gazing reverently at Qi Yuan.

"Senior, we have no close ties with Venerable Ye Qiong."

"I am Lei Chen. Greetings, Senior."

Before Qi Yuan, these lofty Yin Spirits were akin to Violet Palaces standing before a Yin Spirit. Many also noticed the girl Qi Yuan was holding, strange expressions flashing in their eyes.

"You're all Yin Spirits from the Eastern Lands?" Qi Yuan asked.

As far as he knew, only three were publicly acknowledged.

"Yes."

"Not exactly," said the elderly Venerable Hu Xiao hurriedly. Standing before Qi Yuan, he seemed more like a nervous child. "I have come to apologize."

Qi Yuan glanced at him, and Venerable Hu Xiao immediately explained the full story. At the end, he said anxiously, "I knew nothing about Venerable Ye Qiong's schemes."

Qi Yuan smiled mildly. "Those who didn't know are not at fault.”

Sure enough, power was everything. Back then, when the Bright Palace launched the Hundred Nations Blood War and sought to plunge the lands into chaos, not a single Yin Spirit spoke up for the Hundred Nations. Now, Ling Jiao had merely spoken a few harsh words toward him, and Venerable Yunju halted the Water Cloud Palace's army. Before Qi Yuan even said a word, the Palace Master of Water Cloud Palace had already been brought over, awaiting judgement.

Hearing Qi Yuan's words, Venerable Hu Xiao finally breathed a sigh of relief. He was truly terrified of the Blood-Clothed Sword God.

From Gu Xiaoyao and the other Nascent Soul cultivators, they had already confirmed that the Blood-Clothed Sword God had devoured the Moonwatch Continent’s Heavenly Dao.

One had to at least be a Great Venerable to swallow a Heavenly Dao. Moreover, on the Moonwatch Continent, his strength could even surpass that of ordinary Great Venerables.

"You didn't come all this way just to welcome me back, did you?" Qi Yuan asked the four Yin Spirits.

For some reason, the sight reminded him of the Violet Palace cultivators who had sought him out after the fall of the Bright Palace.

Venerable Yunju stepped forward. "We've sealed all information regarding you. At present, besides the four of us, only Venerable Bing Hun knows."

"I will repay you and Bing Hun in the future," Qi Yuan said.

Earlier, Venerable Hu Xiao had already explained how Venerable Yunju had intervened to assist the Blood-Clothed Alliance.

Venerable Yunju's face lit up with joy. He sighed inwardly. Sometimes, being cautious really was a virtue. Had he joined Venerables Ye Qiong and the others, he'd be walking straight into a tiger's mouth.

Then, he said, "Senior, we came because we have a request."

All the Yin Spirits turned their gaze toward him.

"What is it?" Qi Yuan replied calmly.

He knew nothing in this world came for free.

"When the Great Calamity arrives, we hope Senior will show mercy and allow us to take refuge in the Moonwatch Continent," Venerable Yunju said expectantly.

On their own, a Great Venerable and the Moonwatch Continent would be useless against the Great Calamity. However, a Great Venerable who had devoured a Heavenly Dao was another story. If they hid there, the chances of surviving the Great Calamity would be very high.

Qi Yuan looked at the Yin Spirits before him. "Helping you is simple. In return, I want cultivation techniques—the more, the better."

There were still several hundred years before the Great Calamity. It was plenty of time. For now, securing tangible benefits was what truly mattered.

"Do you have any other conditions?" Venerable Lei Chen asked.

The request was far too easy.

"For now, that's all. I'll think of more later," Qi Yuan said.

The other Yin Spirits grew uneasy. They almost wanted to beg him,

Senior, please ask for more!

The price was too small, they simply couldn't rest easy.