Chapter 1994: The 12 Lower Earth Eccentrics
The Eccentrics looked at Zhao Hai with weird expressions. They didn’t expect Zhao Hai to be the disciple of the Yin Yang Elders. In addition to their battle exploits, the two elders were also famous for not accepting disciples. In addition to having no intentions of getting disciples, the two elders also carry a very heavy killing aura. If they received a disciple, that disciple would also be affected by their aura. Once that disciple practices blade techniques, they might get overwhelmed by the killing aura and become a crazed murderer.
But now, Zhao Hai was saying that he was the disciple of the two elders. It was no surprise that the Eccentrics were stunned. The leader of the group looked at Zhao Hai and then cupped his fist as he said, “So Junior Brother is the disciple of the Yin Yang Elders, allow this Dao Shu to pay respects.”
Zhao Hai also cupped his fist and said, “Senior Brother is too polite. Senior Brothers, please come in, let’s share a few cups.” Then he invited them into the courtyard. The Eccentrics also knew that it would be impolite to reject the invitation. At the same time, they wanted to know more about Zhao Hai, so Dao Shu accepted, “Then we’ll be disturbing Junior Brother.” After saying that, Dao Shu led the Eccentrics inside.
Zhao Hai designated the left side of the courtyard block as a kitchen and dining room. He brought the Eccentrics there.
Upon entering the dining room, the group was met with a huge round table. The table was covered by a white tablecloth with tableware on top. There were also two robots standing on the sides.
Zhao Hai turned to the robots and waved his hand as he said, “Bring us liquor, ten vegetable dishes, and six meat dishes.” The two robots turned and left without making a sound.
After inviting the Eccentrics to sit down, Zhao Hai turned to Qiu Tie and said, “Little Tie, tell the robots to heat a pot of tea first. If those fellows aren’t told, they won’t do it.”
Qiu Tie complied and immediately went to the kitchen through a nearby door. Then Zhao Hai turned his head towards Dao Shu and said, “Senior Brother, I’ve made you laugh.”
Dao Shu smiled and said, “It’s nothing. Actually, we’re envious. Although we have our own servants, Lower Earth Mountain isn’t a good place. Because of this, we requested the sect to take our servants back. Now we don’t have anyone serving us. This is why we look like such a mess. It’s us who made Junior Brother laugh. Haha.”
Zhao Hai smiled and said, “If Senior Brother agrees, I can send some robots to your courtyard once my place gets cleaned up. But these robots cannot fight, they can only do housework.”
Dao Shu smiled and said, “Then we won’t decline. If Junior Brother needs help, don’t hesitate to tell us. We’ll help you if we’re not busy. Right, Junior Brother, if possible, you should make your little servant leave. Lower Earth Mountain is too dangerous.”
Zhao Hai stared. Just as he was about to speak, Qiu Tie’s voice was heard, “I won’t leave Young Master. Young Master, don’t drive me away. Otherwise, Grandfather will kill me.” Zhao Hai turned his head to see Qiu Tie who was already sobbing. Zhao Hai quickly shook his head and said, “Don’t worry, I won’t chase you away. Go and see if the tea is ready.” Hearing Zhao Hai, Qiu Tie gave a bright smile before turning around and running.
Zhao Hai turned his head towards Dao Shu and sighed, “It seems like that won’t happen. By the way, Senior Brother Shu, I don’t know the names of the other Senior Brothers yet. I’ll have to trouble you to introduce them to me.”
Hearing Zhao Hai, Dao Shu couldn’t help but pat his head as he said, “Look at me, I actually forgot to introduce everyone. Alright, let me introduce you. These are my Younger Brothers. All of us came from the same mother. My father didn’t expect to have so many children. Later on, when they saw that there’s twelve of us, they changed our names. My name is Dao Shu, this is my second brother Dao Niu, my third brother Dao Hu, fourth brother Dao Tu, fifth brother Dao Long, sixth brother Dao She, seventh brother Dao Ma, eighth brother Dao Yang, ninth brother Dao Hou, tenth brother Dao Ji, eleventh brother Dao Gou, and twelfth brother Dao Zhu.”
Zhao Hai looked at the 12 brothers and said polite words. He couldn’t help but commend the father of the twelve. He was courageous enough to change the name of his children to the twelve chinese zodiacs.
The 12 brothers don’t think that their names lost them face. In fact, with how strange the names of people were in the True Spirit Realm, their names were actually common.
After the introduction, Dao Shu opened his mouth and said, “Our Dao Clan is a huge family from Flowing Flower City that the Tyrant Blade Sect governs. Our Ancestors once served as an elder in the Tyrant Blade Sect. However, when he took the oath, there were no decent successors in the clan. Because of this, our relations.h.i.+p with the Tyrant Blade Sect has been a bit distant. But when we 12 brothers became inner disciples of the sect, the clan’s relations.h.i.+p with the Tyrant Blade Sect became closer.”
Zhao Hai was aware that the Tyrant Blade Sect governed no less than ten thousand large and small cities. Flowing Flower City was a mid-grade city located right by the Flowing Flower River. The city was famous for peach blossom wine and peach blossom perch. There are plenty of peach blossom trees on both sides of the river. Every year, when the peach blossoms fall, the petals would fall into the river, causing the river to smell like peach blossoms. Peach blossom wine was made from this river water. Peach blossom wine was mellow and soft with a tangy aroma. It’s a famous wine in the True Spirit Realm.
At the same time, perch fishes that live in the river would eat the fallen peach blossoms. Whenever they go back to the sea to mate, they would eat peach blossoms along the way. Because of this, the meat of the perch would have the aroma of peach blossoms. It was also tender and delicious, making it a rare delicacy.
At this moment, Qiu Tie led a robot inside the dining room. The robot was holding a tray with a heated pot of tea as well as two rows of teacups. After placing the pot of tea on the table, the robot gave everyone their teacups and poured them tea.
Once everyone was served tea, the robot went to the side. Zhao Hai held his teacup as he looked at the 12 Eccentrics and said, “Senior Brothers, me coming to Lower Earth Mountain should be fate. Let this Junior Brother offer you a cup of tea.”
Dao Shu smiled and said, “Then we’ll taste brother’s tea today.” After saying that, he drank from his teacup and closed his eyes. Before long, Dao Shu nodded and said, “Good tea, the fragrance is mellow but not very strong. Very good tea.”
Zhao Hai smiled faintly and took a sip from his teacup. To be honest, the tea made by the robot wasn’t anything to him. This was because the tea made by the robot lacked the trace of spiritual qi, unlike tea made by hand.
Dao Shu sipped from his teacup before putting it down. Then he looked at Zhao Hai and said, “Junior Brother Zhao, you said that you made a contribution in the Soaring Dragon Realm, which promoted you to the inner sect. Can you tell us what this contribution is?”
Hearing Dao Shu, Zhao Hai replied, “I’m afraid I cannot tell you.” Zhao Hai truly cannot inform Dao Shu about what he did. He told Dao Shu about his relations.h.i.+p with the Yin Yang Elders because it wouldn’t matter if word got out. If people heard about this, then they might only think that Zhao Hai was lucky. But if Zhao Hai told Dao Shu and the others that he has exterminated an entire realm, then troubles might appear in the Tyrant Blade Sect.
Hearing Zhao Hai, Dao Shu gave an awkward smile as he said, “I’ve overreached. I apologize.”
Zhao Hai shook his head and said, “It’s fine. My Masters forbade me from talking about this. So I can’t tell anyone.”
Dao Shu waved his hand and said, “Alright, then let’s forget it.” At this time, the robots began bringing the liquor and the dishes. Then Zhao Hai got busy giving toasts to everyone at the table.
The group drank until it was late, then Dao Shu and his brothers returned to their residence. After Dao Shu and the others left, Zhao Hai commanded the robots to clean up the dining room before he went to rest.
Zhao Hai entered his bedroom while Qiu Tie went to the servant’s room. Although Zhao Hai went to bed and closed his eyes, he didn’t actually sleep. Instead, he was monitoring Dao Shu and the others through the s.p.a.ce.
Dao Shu was too curious about Zhao Hai. When they first met, he didn’t talk to him at all. But later on, it seemed like he wanted to know everything about Zhao Hai. Feeling that something was strange, Zhao Hai wanted to see what they were up to.
And Zhao Hai didn’t guess wrong. When Dao Shu and his brothers returned to their courtyard block, they didn’t sleep immediately. Instead, they gathered around in their common room. Dao Ma looked at Dao Shu and said, “Brother, you shouldn’t have asked all those questions. It’s hard for a person to come here. If you scare Zhao Hai away, then we’ll be left alone on this mountain.”
Dao Shu forced a smile and said, “I don’t want to ask too much either. But I don’t know anything else to talk about. With our reputation, n.o.body would reach out to us. Now, after seeing someone, I naturally want to talk to them more.”
Then Dao Zhu replied, “Brother, what should we do if Zhao Hai gets scared away by us? Master ordered us to make a friend. Otherwise, Master will expel us from the sect.”
Dao Shu became quiet and could only force a smile. On the other hand, Zhao Hai was happy when he heard this. He didn’t expect to see such people here. Dao Shu and the others were naturally not very good at communicating with people. They were a group of cultivation addicts. Zhao Hai also noticed that although they were covered with beards, Dao Shu and the others weren’t that old. They were also stronger than Lin Ling. The only thing they knew was to practice. So when it came to communicating with people, they would have certain problems.
And then there’s their strange appearances. No wonder they couldn’t make any friends. Their master clearly noticed this point, so he threatened them with expulsion unless they made a friend.
But with how long they have stayed in the desolate Lower Earth Mountain, communication became their greatest weakness.
Upon finding that the 12 Eccentrics had no ill intentions, Zhao Hai let the matter go. He took out a jade slip and read its contents. This jade slip wasn’t from the Blade Pavilion but instead the jade slip he received from the Miscellaneous Hall. Inside was an introduction to the Tyrant Blade Sect as well as the cultivation levels in the True Spirit Realm. This information should have been learned when one was a serving disciple or an outer disciple, but now it was in the hands of an inner disciple. But there was no other way about it. Although Zhao Hai was an inner disciple, he was a newcomer to the True Spirit Realm.
Zhao Hai first memorized the rules of the Tyrant Blade Sect. Before, he only looked through the rules to see the overall situation. But looking at it now, the Tyrant Blade Sect seems to not have many rules. But there was one thing that must never be violated, and that was to kill fellow sect disciples. This rule was written at the very top. This showed how much importance the Tyrant Blade Sect placed upon its disciples.
After memorizing the sect’s rules, Zhao Hai focused on the cultivation stages of the True Spirit Realm. Before this, the only stage Zhao Hai was aware of was the lowest Rebirth Stage. He didn’t know the succeeding stages. Now, there was a detailed introduction provided in the jade slip.
In the True Spirit Realm, cultivation was divided into 9 stages. The first stage was Rebirth. This process actually refers to when a person from the Soaring Dragon Realm enters the cleansing pool to rid their body of toxins.
The second stage of cultivation was called Condensed Avatar. When Immortal Cultivators enter the True Spirit Realm, they would find that the laws of the realm forbade their dao avatars from coming out. On the second stage, one would need to condense their dao avatar to fit the laws of the True Spirit Realm. To enter the peak of the Condensed Avatar stage, a cultivator would need to condense a dao avatar the same size as their body. And it must look like a person, to the point that people won’t be able to tell that it was a dao avatar.
The third stage was called the Clone stage. The Clone stage was closely related to the second stage. The Clone stage refers to cultivating one’s dao avatar to the point where it would also be able to cultivate. It would essentially become a clone, thus the name of the stage.
The fourth stage was called the Fusion Stage. The description of the Fusion stage was very simple, and that was to fuse one’s clone with their main body. One might think that it was going around in circles, but it was actually not. Once fusion between the clone and the main body was achieved, the cultivator would experience a very sharp increase in spiritual qi, spiritual force, and soul strength. At the same time, the cultivator’s cultivation speed would increase. And during battles, the cultivator would be able to absorb spiritual qi while attacking the enemy due to the increase in soul strength. This meant that the cultivator would be more durable during battle.