Chapter 188 - Reincarnation
The battle continued on for around ten minutes, and those who were watching outside of the Qing Xuan Hall were dazed.
Bai Suhuan was indeed capable, but what was out of their expectation was Shen Lian"s ability to keep up with him.
Moreover, Shen Lian had only been cultivating for such a short period of time. On the other hand, Bai Suhuan had been cultivating for a very long period of time. Some of them could not help but think that perhaps Shen Lian could break through the Absurd State, cultivate his Primordial Spirit, and become one of the land immortals before he reached one hundred years old.
The last person to attain something like that was Lu Jiuyuan.
It was not saying that Shen Lian was comparable to Lu Jiuyuan. However, if one were to talk about the speed of cultivation and techniques of supernatural powers, Lu Jiuyuan would probably be around Shen Lian"s level when he was at his age.
Bai Suhuan could not defeat Shen Lian within a short period of time, and now he was caught in a dilemma. He wondered if he should give it his all. At this moment, the faraway sky was frosty. Half of the sky was frozen.
The cold air blew past, and the Qi of heaven and earth was locked in. Shen Lian and Bai Suhuan had no choice but to stop.
Under the sky full of frost, a lady walked over with a sword in her hand.
She was dressed in green Daoist clothing and was gorgeous. She seemed proud as she walked over slowly. Shen Lian was graceful, but this lady was beyond that. Her grace and elegance could never be captured by a painting.
The sunlight fell into the frost and took on different colors. The beautiful scene was merely a backdrop for the lady in green Daoist robe.
The lady in green was the other side of Ziling Fairy, Qing Xiao.
Qing Xiao"s eyes were cold, and her gaze was like dots of icy stars. Bai Suhuan s.h.i.+vered inside as he was met with her gaze.
Bai Suhuan was of the same generation as Qing Xiao. However, Qing Xiao had attained Dao twice, but he had not even attained immortality. If there was anyone that he did not want to see the most, it would be Qing Xiao.
Moreover, Qing Xiao was not as nice as Ziling Fairy. She had a bad temper and never held back whenever she had to fight.
Shen Lian bowed respectfully as he said, "Dear founding master."
Qing Xiao looked at Shen Lian and nodded in response. "Bai Suhuan, why are you fighting with Shen Lian. If you have the guts, come and try my long sword out," she said coldly.
Bai Suhuan held back his anger. "Shen Lian is going to be the next chief. I am afraid that his lack of seniority would be the cause of contention, which was why I volunteered to test him out in front of everyone in order to ease everyone"s concern," he replied lightly.
"Seniority does not play a role in the cultivation of Dao, it"s the matter of one"s capability to reach the pinnacle first. Even if they were blind, could you not tell that Shen Lian was a hundred time stronger than the idiots?" Qing Xiao smiled coldly.
After that, Qing Xiao stood in the void with her sword in her hand. "Anyone who is not happy with Shen Lian being the chief can head up here for a battle against him. If he cannot sort you out within three moves, he might as well not be the chief," she spoke to the cultivators below.
Even though she was far up in the sky, but her icy gaze gave everyone s.h.i.+ver. Moreover, they had seen the battle between Shen Lian and Bai Suhuan. If there was anyone who stood a chance against Shen Lian, it would be the likes of the Drunken Daoist and Ge Yuan.
However, these few people were ignoring all the stare directed at them. Moreover, they had always agreed to Shen Lian being the next chief anyway.
At this moment, Bai Suhuan had returned to his own Daoist courtyard back at the Zifu Peak. He could not stay on any longer due to his failure to defeat Shen Lian after the prolonged battle, and Qing Xiao"s presence was another factor too.
Zhang Ruoxu was sitting on the stone couch, and Qing Xiao had created a small couch for herself. She hugged her sword with her eyes closed.
The chief enjoyed the highest position in Qing Xuan, and this was a rule set by the Grandmaster Yuanqing. Even if she had attained the status of a land immortal again, she merely enjoyed the superior status and was freed from restraints.
Shen Lian"s battle with Bai Suhuan earlier managed to secure the support and respect of everyone. Moreover, Qing Xiao had returned. No one had the guts to publicly disagree, not when Shen Lian had the support of this immortal Zhenren.
The cultivators did not care about procedures and ceremonies. Shen Lian"s succession was a simple process.
After receiving the wors.h.i.+p of everyone, he dismissed them after saying a few brief words. He stayed on in the hall and accompanied Zhang Ruoxu during his last few moments in life.
The sky was setting bit by bit, and so was Zhang Ruoxu"s lifespan.
Shen Lian was silent, and Zhang Ruoxu was speechless too. He did not have to give further instructions. He knew that Shen Lian would do his best after agreeing to take on the position. Zhang Ruoxu felt inner peace that he had never felt before, and his bier was completely quiet.
He was slightly tired, and now was finally the time for relief.
The last ray fell onto his clothes, and he opened his eyes and smiled. "My time is up," he said.
"Do you have anything that you want to say?" Qing Xiao asked.
Zhang Ruoxu thought about it, and the person on his mind now was no other than his own Junior Apprentice-Brother, Yanxu.
He was such a talented person, and until today, Zhang Ruoxu still could not harbor strong hatred towards him.
"Is Yanxu dead?" He spoke slowly.
Qing Xiao gave it some thoughts. "Not sure," she replied.
"Sigh, after rounds of scheming and your partic.i.p.ation, someone like him would still have a secret trick up his sleeve. He might have escaped death again this time," Zhang Ruoxu sighed.
Qing Xiao did not reply. She waited for Zhang Ruoxu to calm his emotions.
The sun had set and the night was falling soon.
Qing Xiao stood up with her sword. She drew her sword and pointed it at the void. Amidst the ripples, a small and dense black hole was created. It was almost unnoticeable to n.a.k.e.d eyes.
Zhang Ruoxu"s divine Qi had gone completely, and a drop of divine aura flew out from the sh.e.l.l and went into the black hole created by Qing Xiao"s "One Sword to Break the Void". The dark and mysterious aura seeped through from it.
Shen Lian"s spirit was excited by it too. The "Mastery of Senses" mastered by him had an intriguing state. It was called "connecting the netherworld". He could feel a big world that gave off the same aura that the black hole did.
He was driven by a desperate desire to toss his Yin Spirit into it, as though that would free him from the cycle of life and death; that he would continue to exist perpetually in another form.
"Do you want to be Guixian? I can send you to the Nine Underworlds," Qing Xiao"s cold and clear voice spoke.
Shen Lian collected his thoughts and asked, "Founding master, did you send the chief"s divine aura to the Nine Underworlds? He could be reincarnated?"
"He was sent to the Six Realms of Samsara, which could be considered as a part of the Nine Underworlds. The River of Spirits outside of the Zifu Peak flew from the Nine Underworlds. Back then, Grandmaster Yuanqing joined the underworld with just a strike of his sword. This is one of the consequences. As to whether Zhang Ruoxu could reincarnate successfully, this would depend on his luck. All I could do was to make sure that he would be reincarnated as a human in his next life if he managed to be reincarnated at all." It was rare for Qing Xiao to speak so much, and when she did, she exposed one of the secrets of the world beyond the Boundless Universe.
"I will be cultivating in solitary retreat for a long time after this. You should handle both the internal and external matters of Qing Xuan on your own. If there is anything that you cannot solve, you can look for my Uncle-Master at Taiwei Pavillion," Qing Xiao continued speaking.
When she was done speaking, she disappeared from the hall in a flash. Her supernatural powers were unpredictable, and there were not even the slightest bit of Mana vibrations. Perhaps, it had escaped Shen Lian"s attention.