Chapter 927: Arrangements (I)

In this world, there were always people busy searching for treasures, and one of them was the Whale-Riding Immortal. He had spent half his life searching far and wide, yet he often returned empty-handed.

The Whale-Riding Immortal had spent over twenty years searching for pieces of the Divine Ruins Monastery map, yet he had only found one piece. Chu Liang, on the other hand, had casually picked up two. The Whale-Riding Immortal had spent so many days searching for the Water Spirit Ginseng but found nothing... Then Lackey B fell into a lake, just so happened to grab it, and then brought it before him.

It was hard to say whether the Whale-Riding Immortal was lucky or unlucky.

"You did great this time," Chu Liang said, patting Lackey B on the shoulder. "You've really helped us out."

Lackey B stepped back cautiously, shielding his harvest. He stated, "I dug these up myself."

"This spirit plant won't be of much use in your hands. Just give it to me, and I'll compensate you at market value," Chu Liang coaxed.

"Oh, you wanted the spirit plant?" Lackey B uttered in surprise. He let out a sigh of relief and handed over the Water Spirit Ginseng. "I thought you were after my zhilanti vegetables!"

"..." Chu Liang was speechless.

Why do I not have a single normal subordinate? Who in the world would covet two carts of wild vegetables?

The Whale-Riding Immortal took the Water Spirit Ginseng and examined it. After a while, he sighed. "This spirit plant fell from the heavens and survived for so long in the mortal realm. It has been cultivating for over seventy thousand years. If it were given another thirty thousand, it would ascend and become a deity. Unfortunately, to fulfill my wish, I now have to destroy all of its cultivation progress. If only there were another way... I truly wish I didn’t have to do this."

It had been Yang Buwei's warning that made him realize that the Divine Ruins Monastery was likely more dangerous than he had thought. He initially thought having a legendary artifact would be enough, but the warning made him think otherwise. That led him to pursue the Water Spirit Ginseng and gain more power.

"Thank you," the Whale-Riding Immortal said earnestly to Lackey B. "What Chu Liang gives you is from him alone. As for me, I owe you a tremendous favor."

Then he turned to Chu Liang. "You have helped me so much with this journey to the Divine Ruins Monastery. Chu Liang... I truly have nothing I can offer you right now. But once I rescue my wife and we return to Mount Shu, I will find a way to repay you."

Chu Liang smiled and waved, dismissing the idea. "Oh, don't worry about it. We're family. There is no need for talk of repaying favors."

"Those are two separate things," the Whale-Riding Immortal stated seriously. "If Yuebai decides later on that she doesn't like you anymore, I will not sacrifice her happiness just to repay a favor. Let's be clear on that."

Chu Liang nodded and replied, "Of course."

However, he was actually thinking,

I feel it's more likely that Jiangjiang won't want to acknowledge you as her father, though.

"With the Water Spirit Ginseng, I now have confidence that I can reach the pinnacle of the eighth realm. By then, even if I enter the Divine Ruins Monastery alone, I'll have a chance of rescuing her," said the Whale-Riding Immortal. Looking at the Sword Emperor, Jiang Yuebai, and Chu Liang, he added, "None of you need to help me anymore."

"No way," the three of them replied in unison.

"This problem has always been mine and mine alone. I shouldn't drag the rest of you into it," the Whale-Riding Immortal insisted.

He had originally planned to gather more help, but after that warning from Yang Buwei, he realized that his assessment of the Divine Ruins Monastery had been incomplete. Bringing his loved ones along at this point might put them in danger, and that was the last thing he wanted.

"It's fine if the young ones stay behind, but I have to go with you," said the Sword Emperor. "I promised to help you. Now that you've helped me rebuild my corporeal body, how could I go back on my word?"

"Considering my part in your corporeal body getting destroyed, it's only right that I'm responsible for helping you rebuild it. I've helped you regain your corporeal body, but I have no way of helping you reclaim your Great Dao. I already feel guilty for that. How can I let you face danger again?" the Whale-Riding Immortal asked solemnly.

"Enough." The Sword Emperor pressed a hand on the Whale-Riding Immortal's shoulder. "From the start, I've always seen you as a true friend. I can't just watch you walk into danger alone."

"They can stay behind, but I have to go," Jiang Yuebai said as well. "Anyone else might be an outsider, but I am not. I grew up without my parents and spent many years searching before I finally found you both. Now, even if I die, I want to die beside my parents."

The Whale-Riding Immortal tried to dissuade her. "You're still young, and you're far from done with your cultivation. There's no need to—"

"When are we ever done cultivating? It's all just a matter of resolve," Jiang Yuebai replied calmly.

"They can stay behind, but I have to go," Chu Liang said, repeating the same line. "I can fight eighth-realm cultivators."

"Eh?"

That one sentence, that short and direct justification, was like a stone dropped into still water, sending shockwaves in all directions. The Whale-Riding Immortal, the Sword Emperor, and Jiang Yuebai turned their gazes to him, all three looking stunned with disbelief.

The Sword Emperor was a genius cultivator of the sword Dao. It had taken him decades to rise from the Sword-Hanging Kingdom to becoming the Dao Master of the Cloud of Determination.

Born with a Transcendent Spirit constitution, Jiang Tiankuo was extremely talented. Like the Sword Emperor, he had taken decades to get from the start of his cultivation until he became a Dao Master.

Jiang Yuebai was a cultivation genius as well. She was one of the best of her generation, but she was only at the beginning stage of the seventh realm.

This young man standing before them was barely of age, yet he claimed he already possessed the eighth-realm combat power. How could that possibly make sense?

"Don't force yourself. This is no trivial matter," said the Whale-Riding Immortal.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

"When it comes to matters related to Jiangjiang, I would never be careless." Chu Liang smiled and extended a hand. "Daoist Cangqiu of Penglai died by my hand. If you want to know whether my cultivation power is real, just test me."

Seeing that Chu Liang didn't seem to be bluffing, the Whale-Riding thrust his palm out. A wisp of divine light swirled in front of his palm. It was the manifestation of his surging foundational qi, the purest cultivation energy at work. If the opposing party's foundational qi wasn't of a similar level, they would be pushed back immediately, they would not be harmed.

A burst of lightning flashed from Chu Liang's palm as he gently pushed forward.

When his foundational qi made contact with the Whale-Riding Immortal's foundational qi, there was a dull thud, but Chu Liang didn't take a single step back. He held firm against the Whale-Riding Immortal's immense cultivation power. Of course, the Whale-Riding Immortal had not used his full power against Chu Liang. Nevertheless, the test showed that Chu Liang's cultivation power had clearly reached the level of the Heavenly Origin Realm.

Inside the White Pagoda, lightning cracked and thunder boomed. The Large-Headed Dolls were under tremendous pressure.

Meanwhile, Chu Liang looked calm and composed. "Well?"

During the brief exchange, the Whale-Riding Immortal sensed that Chu Liang had the genuine power of an eighth-realm cultivator.

Feeling astonished, he blurted out, "How did you do it?"

Cultivators usually avoided prying into another's cultivation secrets, but the Whale-Riding Immortal had simply been too shocked to hold back.

"Just a mix of good fortune and hard work," Chu Liang answered with a smile.

Of course, the good fortune had been his, but the hard work had been done by the Large-Headed Dolls.

"In that case, we truly will need to rely on your support for this trip to the Divine Ruins."

As the four of them finished their discussion, Lackey B approached them timidly. "Esteemed Senior, are you all heading to the Divine Ruins?"

"That's right," replied the Whale-Riding Immortal.

Lackey B said cautiously, "Then there's no need for you to owe me a huge favor. There were some dangerous spots I didn't dare approach when I was there, but since you're going to the Divine Ruins... Would it be too much to ask if you could dig up some wild vegetables for me?"

...