Cultivating for a hundred lifetimes to ascension

Chapter 66 The Performance Ends and Another Begins

At the entrance of the Outer Object Hall, Liu Quji excitedly said to Zhao Sheng, "Brother Zhao, you're in luck. The ancestor Qiong Shen wishes to see you!"

Indeed, as expected!

Having anticipated that Master Qiong Shen might wish to see him, Zhao Sheng felt no surprise.

Zhao Sheng handed over the Hundred-year Token to Zhao Jijian and then followed Liu Quji away.

After a moment, on the sixth floor of the Outer Object Hall, Zhao Sheng met Master Qiong Shen standing by the window.

At that time, Liu Quji tactfully left the room and carefully closed the door behind him.

As the room's door closed, Zhao Sheng immediately bowed respectfully and said, "Junior Zhao Chonghe pays his respects to the Master!"

"A name meaning 'one's zeal matches one's peace'—well chosen!"

After praising him, Master Qiong Shen waved his hand to release a stream of mana, lifting Zhao Sheng up, and spoke with a pleasant countenance.

Zhao Sheng straightened his posture and spoke candidly, "Master has invited this junior to meet. Could it be about the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms?"

Master Qiong Shen smiled without giving a direct reply and suddenly asked, "Were the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms discovered by you?"

Zhao Sheng nodded and said, "Indeed. I found the Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms in a secluded valley cliff on Heavenly Pillar Mountain while gathering herbs. Besides those I presented, I still have a dozen or so in my possession."

"Hehe, you're quite candid. There are not many Qi Refining disciples in my sect as astute as you," Master Qiong Shen said, admiring Zhao Sheng's dignity and poise.

Zhao Sheng smiled slightly but didn't continue the topic. Instead, he took the initiative to bring out a spirit worm bag and place it on the table.

Before coming to the Elixir Cauldron Sect, he had anticipated all possible emergencies that could arise.

The current situation did not surprise him.

Would a cultivator who obtained Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms foolishly turn them all in?

No,

A typical cultivator would intentionally conceal some, especially the best quality batch.

Zhao Sheng had done just that.

Master Qiong Shen took the spirit worm bag into his hand, and his Divine Sense penetrated it, his face quickly revealing a hint of joy.

There were twelve Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms in the bag; the shortest one was five feet long, and one of them was incredibly over thirty feet in length.

You should know that as long as Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms do not split and replicate, they will continue to grow.

Those that grow over thirty feet indicate potential to revert to their Ancestor Mountain Dragon lineage.

The longer they are, the greater the likelihood of reverting!

A three-feet-long Golden Ring Spirit Earthworm approaches a Second Order grade and is considered an extremely rare treasure. Its chances of reverting are as high as one percent.

Don't underestimate one percent; this probability is quite high already.

In the Cultivation World, there are Golden Core Masters who would invest all they have for this one percent chance.

After carefully inspecting them, Master Qiong Shen flipped his wrist, tucking the spirit worm bag into his sleeve, and with an amiable smile praised, "Very well, you've been considerate!"

Zhao Sheng spoke modestly, "This junior does not dare to take credit; I only ask the Master to forgive my concealment."

Master Qiong Shen replied, "What crime is there to speak of? It is but human nature. Now, you may state any requests you have."

Upon hearing this, Zhao Sheng's mind whirled with numerous thoughts. Suddenly, he ventured, "Master, it seems... True Spirit Ginseng is quite interested in this junior?"

He did not directly say that True Spirit Ginseng was also eyeing this batch of Golden Ring Spirit Earthworms, instead, he subtly chose different words.

Master Qiong Shen appeared unconcerned upon hearing this and said, "Don't worry, I will deal with True Spirit Ginseng and it will not involve you."

Relieved, Zhao Sheng then said, "This junior dares not presume anything, I only ask the Master to bestow upon me an Elixir Scripture."

In fact, Zhao Sheng had already planned what to exchange for these spirit worms.

Initially, he only wished to exchange them for a few Elixir Recipes, but after witnessing the importance that both Qiong Shen and Spirit Ginseng placed on the spirit worms, Zhao Sheng secretly raised his asking price by two levels.

In the Cultivation World, Dharma, Wealth, Comrades, and Place are the four crucial secrets, with Dharma being the foremost.

Having finally encountered a splendid opportunity for bargaining, Zhao Sheng would have wasted his several hundred years of life if he did not take advantage and suggest somewhat excessive demands.

Master Qiong Shen laughed and said, "You truly dare to ask!"

Upon hearing these words, Zhao Sheng's face changed color.

...

A short while later, Zhao Sheng, with a composed expression, emerged from the room and immediately saw Liu Quji guarding beside the staircase on the sixth floor.

"Brother Zhao, how did it go?" Liu Quji asked eagerly as soon as he saw Zhao Sheng.

"What do you mean, how did it go? Are you asking about Master Qiong Shen?" Instead of answering, Zhao Sheng deflected with a question.

Liu Quji's face turned pale, and he suddenly slapped himself, pleading, "I misspoke just now. Please don't take it to heart, brother."

Zhao Sheng laughed and said, "What are you talking about, Brother Liu? If it wasn't for your help, how could I have stumbled upon such an opportunity? Master Qiong Shen is quite fond of me, she even gifted me some alchemy notes from her youth."

"What? The Ancestor actually gave you her own handwritten insights. That's impossible!"

Liu Quji was extremely excited; he would rather believe that Zhao Sheng acquired a top-grade Spiritual Artifact than believe what he had heard.

Zhao Sheng did not explain but silently pulled out a booklet and waved it in front of him.

Gazing at the graceful handwriting on the cover of the booklet, Liu Quji's eyes turned red with envy.

Seeing the other party's reaction, Zhao Sheng knew he had been hoodwinked.

In reality, how could the alchemy insights of a Golden Core Master possibly be bestowed upon an outsider?

Master Qiong Shen simply gave him some casual notes, which recorded only a dozen or so Elixir Recipes, including her analyses and summaries.

Even so, Zhao Sheng was very satisfied in his heart.

A Golden Core Master's partial alchemy insights were sufficient to provide the Zhao family with an additional alchemy legacy.

Of course, the actual situation was something that Zhao Sheng would naturally not reveal to Liu Quji.

When it came to bluffing and grandstanding, Zhao Sheng was an old hand, always yielding extraordinary results.

Indeed,

after this incident, the way Liu Quji looked at him was different, filled with a mix of respect and eagerness.

Upon learning that Zhao Sheng was going to take over Taifu Mountain, Liu Quji volunteered to accompany him and directly offered to help resolve some minor troubles, such as difficulties posed by certain individuals during the handover.

No need for superfluous words!

Four days later, with the full assistance of Liu Quji, Zhao Sheng and another took over Taifu Mountain without any effort from the disciples stationed there by external forces.

Ten days later, at the Cloud Boat Pier of Nine Tripods Square.

After bidding farewell to Liu Quji several times, Zhao Sheng turned and boarded the Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat with Zhao Jijian to return to Pocket World City.

...

Five days later, as the sun set in the west,

watching the Mountain Shifting Cloud Boat ascend and depart, Zhao Jijian burst into laughter as if he had let go of an immense burden.

Seeing this, Zhao Sheng seemed to be infected by the mirth, his face breaking into a radiant smile.

After laughing their fill, Zhao Sheng's expression became serious, and he said in a deep voice, "Let's go! The grand show at Dragon Carp Lake has already begun. If we don't hurry, we'll miss the finale."

Hearing this, Zhao Jijian's expression turned solemn, and he nodded, saying, "Some people have really gone too far!"

Zhao Sheng said indifferently, "When a great disaster looms, everyone flies separately. That's all there is to it!"