89: Chapter 78 Dao Jiu’s Request 89: Chapter 78 Dao Jiu’s Request Kill these people, and the Dao Furnace will be yours!

Xie Xuanyi narrowed his eyes, scrutinizing Dao Jiu who sat suspended in the air before him.

This Artifact Spirit seemed amiable and kind, genial and good-natured.

But within…

was the complete opposite.

After Dao Jiu finished transmitting his message, he smiled and said, “There’s only one condition, isn’t it very simple?”

The disciples of Baihua Valley were somewhat confused.

They didn’t know what the condition was.

However, Lu Yuan had already faintly sensed that something was amiss.

Yuan Yi, with her innately pure nature, blinked her large eyes and curiously asked, “Master Xie, what is the condition it mentioned?”

“…Nothing much.”

Xie Xuanyi shook his head and said, “Let’s go, I’m not interested in this Dao Furnace.”

To others, this Dao Furnace was indeed very tempting.

But for Xie Xuanyi, it was of little significance.

He had seen treasures of higher quality than this Dao Furnace at Lotus Peak…

His sole purpose in coming to the Bai Ze Secret Realm was one thing only.

To retrieve the Chen Ke.

“Don’t leave.”

Upon hearing these words, Yuan Yi became somewhat anxious.

She tugged at Xie Xuanyi’s sleeve and earnestly said, “I heard from Master that artifacts capable of cultivating Spirit Wisdom are rare in this world, and those that can transform into human form are one in ten thousand!

If you could take this true treasure with you, even if you return to the Imperial City empty-handed, it would still be enough to establish great merit!”

Xie Xuanyi’s expression was complex; this young girl really took him for the envoy of the Imperial Guards.

But such a “naive” creature was also rare in this world.

It was just a life he had casually saved, yet Yuan Yi truly considered his well-being in every aspect.

“Yuan Yi.”

Lu Yuan softly chided, “You are a disciple of Baihua Valley, do not interfere with Master Xie’s choices.”

“Yes…

Sister.”

Chided like this, Yuan Yi calmed down.

She realized her impropriety.

After all, she and Xie Zhen belonged to two different forces, merely forming a temporary alliance due to the Chu Family’s sneak attack…

Baihua Valley and the Imperial Guards had different philosophies, and once they left the Secret Realm, she and Xie Zhen were destined to have no further intersection.

Retreating a thousand steps, even if Xie Zhen were a Loose Cultivator with no sect or affiliation, what right did she have to interfere with his decisions?

“Master Xie—”

Dao Jiu, who had been eavesdropping, now used the title adopted by the Baihua Valley disciples to address Xie Xuanyi.

In a gentle voice, he reminded, “Do you really intend to walk away like this?”

“Why can’t I walk away like this?”

Xie Xuanyi looked at the Artifact Spirit and said indifferently, “Although this Dao Furnace is a good item, surely the great sage Bai Ze didn’t leave a rule saying that whoever sees it must take it.”

Dao Jiu smiled wryly.

“Of course, there’s no such rule,” he said.

He slightly lowered his gaze and chuckled softly, “However, since you don’t want this opportunity, I will have to ask the others.”

The next moment.

The Dao Furnace trembled, and the same divine soul voice transmitted into the heart lakes of every Baihua Valley disciple!

All of them showed drastic changes in their expressions!

“What, to obtain the Dao Furnace, we must kill all the others?”

“Only one person can seize this opportunity!”

The already injured disciples of Baihua Valley turned even paler.

They looked toward Xie Xuanyi at the forefront with fear and trepidation.

Yuan Yi became stunned, standing motionless.

Lu Yuan’s face was complex; she realized something was wrong as soon as the Dao Furnace transmitted its message.

If this Bai Ze Secret Realm wasn’t a good place, how could the Artifact Spirit be any better?

But nobody expected the rule to be so malicious!

“Ladies, there’s no need to look at me with such eyes,” Xie Xuanyi said lightly.

“If I were interested in the Dao Furnace, would any living soul still be here?”

The Baihua Valley disciples all showed expressions of shame.

Thinking back to what had happened before…

everyone understood why Xie Zhen remained silent.

“Master Xie, please don’t blame them,” Lu Yuan stepped forward and sincerely said, “My disciples usually cultivate in seclusion and have not been exposed to the world…

They respect you and fear you, and there’s no other intent.”

“…”

Xie Xuanyi didn’t say anything.

He looked at Dao Jiu.

This spirit of the Dao Furnace, with thousands of years of cultivation and a belly full of schemes, was no different from a human.

The guy had deliberately concealed the divine soul message for a moment before making it public.

Clearly, he was trying to “sow discord.”

It was because the strengths of the people who had come before the Dao Furnace were uneven, and he was completely capable of crushing all others…

that a tragedy hadn’t ensued.

What would be the outcome if several cultivators of equal strengths arrived here?

They would certainly have been in a fierce battle by now!

“Eh…”

Dao Jiu looked around the crowd, and not getting any response, he asked in disappointment, “Doesn’t anyone want this Dao Furnace?”

The next moment.

The response was a Sword Sound!

Xie Xuanyi pulled a reed from Yuan Yi’s bosom and threw it!

The sword light tore through the sky, forming a rainbow, and headed straight for the Dao Furnace suspended above the hall, striking it—

With a thunderous “boom”!

The reed returned where it came from.

The Dao Furnace rang out like a majestic ancient bell, its divine radiance scattered by the impact of the Sword Qi!

Shockwaves rolled and spread out.

Xie Xuanyi caught the reed that flew towards him, and due to the tremendous force, he was forced to retreat two steps.

Stopping his backward movement, the base of his palm was shaken to the point of bleeding by the recoil of the sword, but under the nourishment of the flowing primordial energy of the Undying Spring, the wound healed completely within a single breath.

He took a deep breath and reinserted the reed back into Yuan Yi’s sword scabbard.

“Young Master Xie, what are you doing?”

Dao Jiu’s clothes flapped in the wind as if they were the veils of a curtain.

His tone carried a hint of mockery, “You wouldn’t be trying to destroy the Dao Cauldron, would you?”

“Brother Dao Jiu jests.”

Xie Xuanyi spoke lightly, “I am well aware of my own abilities.

I just wanted to see for myself what kind of treasure this Dao Cauldron, that has birthed a Transformed Artifact Spirit, really is.

Brother Dao Jiu surely won’t mind that sword strike just now, will he?”

“A mere sword strike, why would I care?”

Dao Jiu shook his head and said indifferently, “Young Master Xie, that strike of yours was too weak, not even enough to tickle.”

“Indeed, the Dao Cauldron is extraordinary.

I’ve learned something new,” said Xie Xuanyi with a smile.

He had thrown that sword strike…

actually, it was to find out just how durable the Dao Cauldron really was.

Of course, he knew that with Yuan Yi’s reed, he could not even scratch this true treasure.

But what if that sword strike he had just thrown was Chen Ke instead?

After careful consideration,

Xie Xuanyi felt that even with his current realm, it would probably be very difficult to damage this strange Dao Cauldron with Chen Ke in hand…

When the flying sword touched the Dao Cauldron just now, Xie Xuanyi felt the scorching heat from within the great cauldron, which could very well be the Dao patterns left by the great saint Bai Ze!

This Dao Jiu could probably exchange blows with a Cultivator of the Yin God Realm!

Xie Xuanyi raised both hands and bowed with clasped fists.

“Brother Dao Jiu.”

He said earnestly, “The Dao Cauldron is indeed precious, and I am not worthy of it, so I will not bother you any longer…

I hope Brother Dao Jiu will show me the way out.”

The Artifact Spirit of the Dao Cauldron was taken aback at first but then laughed out with a sneer.

A sword strike delivered, no movement made, and then giving up?

“Xie Zhen, is this your path of Cultivation?”

He no longer concealed the mockery in his tone.

After confirming that the Dao Cauldron was a top-tier Spiritual Treasure, this Xie was even more determined to give up.

He could see it.

Young Master Xie did not have any acquaintances among these people, they must have just met for the first time.

Killing these people would grant him the Dao Cauldron…

yet this Xie actually chose to decline!

“What about you?

Does nobody else wish to take a chance for a great opportunity, for a great fortune?”

Dao Jiu looked toward the disciples from Baihua Valley.

The disciples looked at each other, then silently moved to stand behind Xie Xuanyi…

This was their response.

“My master set up array patterns on the outskirts of the Secret Realm to block those without destiny or will,” Dao Jiu said slowly.

“Only those with the determination to die and a thirst for the Dao, the ‘ones with destiny’, can enter the inner parts of the Secret Realm…

To be able to see me is already a blessing cultivated over ten lifetimes.

Do you understand that by obtaining this Dao Cauldron, you could save at least a hundred years of arduous Cultivation?!”

He looked at these unmoved people, completely baffled.

After a long while,

Dao Jiu chuckled softly.

“Interesting…

interesting…”

“The ones who entered the Secret Realm in the past, they fought bloody battles over the Dao Cauldron…

Not only are your realms mediocre, but even your hearts seeking the Dao are so weak…”

Upon raising his head again to look at Xie Xuanyi, he asked with bewilderment, “What on earth has happened to the Cultivation world outside these past years?”

This remark caught Xie Xuanyi’s attention.

Cultivators who entered the Secret Realm in the past?

What does that mean…

Bai Ze’s Secret Realm has never appeared in the Imperial City of Da Chu!

Moreover, it was not difficult to deduce from Dao Jiu’s tone.

The Cultivators who had entered the Secret Realm before.

Their realms and strengths were much higher than those of Xie Xuanyi and his companions!

Xie Xuanyi said calmly, “It’s precisely because our realms are so low that our top priority is to survive…

At times like this, not competing for the Dao Cauldron is the right choice.”

“What about you then?”

Dao Jiu stared at Xie Xuanyi again, his tone full of incomprehension, “You could have taken the Dao Cauldron, so why didn’t you?”

“Does Brother Dao Jiu really want to know the answer?”

Xie Xuanyi spoke softly, “I have a proposal, I wonder if it’s appropriate.”

Dao Jiu’s eyebrows rose.

“I can stay here to answer all of your questions about the ‘outside world’.”

Xie Xuanyi continued softly, “As for the others, I would trouble you to show them a ‘path of life’ to leave the Secret Realm.”

“Hahaha…”

Dao Jiu laughed.

He took a round around the great hall and then looked at Xie Xuanyi again, his eyes twinkling with a strange light, “I guessed it…

Are you a Cultivator of the Joyful Union Skill?

Are these women all cauldrons of your fancy?

Have you cast the Heart Refining Gu on them?”

In his view, only those who cultivated such deviant arts would value women so highly.

Other than that, he truly could not comprehend the reason why Xie Zhen would save these people!

“…”

This discourse silenced everyone.

Xie Xuanyi said helplessly, “The Joyful Union Skill, do I look like that sort of person to you?”

“Hmm…

It really doesn’t seem like it.

You, young man, are most likely a Pure Yang Body, never having indulged in pleasures of the flesh,” Dao Jiu frowned.

With this, he was now really at a loss.

Xie Xuanyi sighed lightly and said, “As a Transformed Artifact Spirit such as you, Brother Dao Jiu, opening a convenient gate shouldn’t be difficult, right?”

Dao Jiu looked troubled for a long time.

Focusing on Xie Xuanyi, he said, “I can open a door and send these people away.

But I have a condition.”

“Oh?”

Xie Xuanyi raised an eyebrow.

“I want you to take me with you.”

Dao Jiu said seriously, “I no longer wish to continue sleeping in this Secret Realm.

I want to see the outside world.”