Chapter 2983: Taiji Token
When Feng Xi was calm, she resembled a pure young girl, the divine light on her body receding, yet her skin still possessed an extraordinary whiteness. The veil was very thin, making her sharply defined nose and lips appear faintly visible, stirring a strong desire in others to lift the veil and peek.
She handed the jade box in her hand to Zhang Ruochen, glanced around, and said, "The formations in this cave dwelling are not very reliable."
Her jade hand withdrew a green jade talisman from her sleeve and cast it out.
"Whoosh!"
A talisman realm enveloped the entire cave dwelling.
Zhang Ruochen opened the jade box and looked inside, surprise appearing in his eyes.
Inside was an ancient iron token.
The iron token was forged from divine-smelted material, with the two characters "Taiji" on it.
Feng Xi had been observing his expression the whole time.
Zhang Ruochen picked up the iron token, examined it, and said, "This... is the thanks? It seems quite ordinary."
"This token is far from ordinary; it has a great origin."
Feng Xi's eyes blazed with intense light, and she said, "Since Senior was born into the Daoist lineage, you must know the Primordial Dao Lord, the founder of Taiji Dao?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "That is naturally known to all! The Primordial Dao Lord forged the divine artifact Dao Soul Platform, left the divine technique 'Primordial Dao Method,' passed down through the ages, with boundless merit."
Feng Xi said, "This Taiji Token was left by the Primordial Dao Lord! Fewer than ten remain in existence. After endless years, the divine power on the token has dissipated completely, unable to suppress the gods. To other cultivators, it might be of limited value. But to Daoist cultivators, it is a priceless treasure."
Zhang Ruochen looked at the iron token in his hand in surprise, carefully stroking it, and indeed found some unique Dao marks on the token.
"Such a precious item—why are you giving it to me, this poor Daoist?" Zhang Ruochen was puzzled, feeling that Feng Xi must have another motive.
Feng Xi looked at his slightly aged face and said, "This junior just felt that this might be returning the item to its rightful owner."
Zhang Ruochen's expression was calm as he met her lively and piercing eyes. At this moment, she was nothing like a pure young girl. From the very beginning, she had been testing him, possessing strategy and deep cunning.
Zhang Ruochen said, "We are all gods, so let's drop the 'senior' and 'junior' titles. What harm is there in calling each other 'Daoist friend'?"
Feng Xi's eyes brightened, and she said, "So, Daoist friend admits to coming from Taiji Dao?"
Perhaps because of his connection with Feng Yan, Zhang Ruochen had little guard against Feng Xi. He took the sword wrapped in black cloth from his back and handed it to her.
Feng Xi took the sword, lifted the black cloth, and exclaimed in shock, "Qingping Sword!"
The Qingping Sword was not a divine artifact, but its former owner was very famous, and it had only fallen two hundred thousand years ago, not too distant.
Zhang Ruochen said, "This poor Daoist was not born in Taiji Dao, but in Liangyi Sect. Yet we share the same origin. Shangqing is my master. In that fierce battle at the end of the Middle Ages, this poor Daoist was fortunate to survive."
The old yellow ox was tied to a pillar in the cave dwelling by a divine rope, unable to open its mouth, just staring at Zhang Ruochen, its large ox eyes showing a lot of white.
Zhang Ruochen said, "By the way, Daoist friend Xi, how did you guess that this poor Daoist is a cultivator from Kunlun Realm?"
"Dao method!"
Feng Xi held the Qingping Sword with both hands and returned it to Zhang Ruochen, saying, "In the world, there are only four holy lands of the Daoist lineage: Douluo City in Heavenly Beginning Civilization, Five Elements Temple in the Heavenly Court, the Wind Clan in Pangu Realm, and Taiji Dao in Kunlun Realm. Other Daoist forces have branched out from these four holy lands."
"The reason these four holy lands can be called holy lands is not just because they have many experts and vast power."
"In fact, the more important reason is that each holy land has its own unique inheritance and different understanding of Daoist thought. This includes differences in techniques, Dao methods, and divine abilities."
"Although Five Elements Temple was founded by Daoist sages from Pangu Realm and Kunlun Realm, after so many years, it has become its own school with a new system."
"This system was born from the fusion of Daoist thought from Pangu Realm and Kunlun Realm."
"When Daoist friend helped the Wind Clan Great Saint remove the corpse poison, the Dao method you used might have made Feng Qi True God suspect you were from Five Elements Temple. But I saw no trace of Wind Clan Dao method!"
"Unrelated to Wind Clan Dao method, and with Feng Qi not knowing your identity, it is highly likely that Daoist friend is a god from Kunlun Realm. A god from Kunlun Realm deliberately hiding themselves also makes logical sense."
Zhang Ruochen sighed deeply, "I ask Daoist friend Xi to help conceal my identity."
"You don't need to mention that, Xi understands."
Feng Xi's expression was unusual, slightly dim, and she said, "Actually, before the Middle Ages, Kunlun Realm and Pangu Realm had a very close relationship, considered an alliance of interests. Just our Wind Clan alone had multiple gods die outside Kunlun Realm. Seeing the Qingping Sword, Xi truly breathed a sigh of relief, able to relax my tense nerves a little."
Zhang Ruochen pretended not to understand and asked, "What do you mean by that?"
Feng Xi looked worried and said, "The Corpse Clan army suddenly appearing behind the Starry Sky Defense Line—doesn't Daoist friend find it strange at all?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "This is not impossible! There are always some undiscovered wormholes that can pass through the Starry Sky Defense Line."
"Even so, this operation by the Wind Clan cultivators was extremely secretive. How could the Corpse Clan army have known about it?"
Zhang Ruochen said, "What if the wormhole's location happened to be on the route the Wind Clan cultivators were taking, and they stumbled upon it by chance?"
"Is it that coincidental?"
Feng Xi shook her head and said, "Even if it were that coincidental, why did Feng Qi True God, Qiuyu Divine Lord, and Nine-Tailed Heart Fox happen to pass by here? Aren't there too many coincidences?"
"Are you suspecting your own people? If so, didn't this poor Daoist also happen to pass by?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Feng Xi said, "I don't want to suspect my own people, but ever since boarding the Divine Wood Warship, I've been uneasy. Moreover, when Feng Qi True God acted to annihilate the Corpse Clan army, wasn't it too clean? It was like destroying evidence!"
"Daoist friend should understand that in this world, there are endless methods for driving and controlling corpses. Plus, with the Starry Sky Battlefield erupting, it would be easy for Feng Qi and the others to capture a batch of Corpse Clan troops, refine and control them, and use them for their own purposes."
Zhang Ruochen thought to himself that she had already been on guard, then took out a Divine Source and said, "Actually, it wasn't completely wiped clean!"
"Is this the Divine Source of that Corpse Clan false god?" Feng Xi looked at Zhang Ruochen.
"Exactly!"
Feng Xi immediately used her spiritual power to probe the Divine Source.
Zhang Ruochen said, "It's useless. When Feng Qi gave me this Divine Source, he had already refined it, leaving no trace of corpse control."
Feng Xi was initially disappointed, but after carefully pondering Zhang Ruochen's words, her mind stirred greatly, and she said, "Daoist friend means that Feng Qi refined this Divine Source?"
"Exactly! This is also a case of him being too clever for his own good, overcompensating to cover up." Zhang Ruochen said with a smile.
Feng Xi frowned and said, "But why didn't I see any traces of refinement?"
Zhang Ruochen said tactfully, "Because Feng Qi is an Upper-Level God, and you are a Lower-Level God."
Feng Xi's expression turned strange, realizing she had asked a foolish question, and quickly returned to normal, saying, "So it really was them. I didn't expect that at such a critical time on the Starry Sky Defense Line, there would be gods in the rear engaging in such dirty dealings, disregarding everything for profit."
"If it were just for profit, that would be fine. But I'm afraid..."
Zhang Ruochen paused mid-sentence, looking toward the entrance of the cave dwelling, and said, "They're coming to test us. Just say you came to consult this poor Daoist about Dao methods."
"Whoosh!"
The cave dwelling door opened.
Zhang Ruochen's deep, hoarse voice came out, "Since Daoist friend has come, please enter!"
As Feng Qi stepped inside, Zhang Ruochen had already put away the Taiji Token and Qingping Sword. He sat with Feng Xi beside a stone table, using his finger to draw a Primordial Eight Trigram Diagram on the table, discussing something.
"So Divine Lord Xi is here too." Feng Qi said with a hearty laugh.
Feng Xi said, "Feng Qi, you've come at the right time. As a disciple of Yu Divine King, your Dao methods must be profoundly deep. Xi is consulting Daoist friend Yellow Ox about some mysteries of the Primordial Eight Trigrams. Would you like to join?"
Feng Qi sat down and said solemnly, "Discussing the Dao—there will be plenty of time for that. We can explore together for three to five years. But right now, there is a more urgent matter."
Feng Xi said, "Feng Qi, are you referring to those Corpse Clan armies?"
"Exactly!"
Feng Qi looked worried and said, "How did the Corpse Clan army appear behind the Starry Sky Defense Line? How did they know the route of the Wind Clan Great Saints transporting supplies? Until these matters are investigated, this god's heart will not be at ease."
Feng Xi said, "Even if we're worried, there's nothing we can do. We already used our spiritual power and divine soul to probe the nearby star domain and found no spatial wormholes."
"As for internal matters in the Wind Clan, I will conduct a thorough investigation."
Feng Qi slammed his palm on the stone table and snorted, "The Corpse Clan is cunning; they must have hidden the spatial wormhole."
Zhang Ruochen sat like an old monk in meditation, motionless, staring at the Primordial Eight Trigram Diagram on the table.
Feng Qi glanced at him and said with respect, "Actually, this god came here for one thing, seeking help from Daoist friend Yellow Ox."
Zhang Ruochen showed no emotion, stone-faced, and said, "What matter?"
Feng Qi lowered his voice, "Speaking of this, it has some connection to the Yin Corpse Poison. About thirty years ago, the Fox Clan's Heavenly Fox Grandmother was injured on the Starry Sky Battlefield by the Corpse Clan's Clan Leader, Three Calamities Emperor Lord. The Three Calamities Corpse Poison in her body has not been fully removed to this day."
"Even though the Fox Clan spent a large amount of divine stones to invite two Great Gods from the Western Buddha Realm and Paradise Realm to purify it with Buddhist golden light and Radiant power, they could only remove ninety percent of the corpse poison, saving the Heavenly Fox Grandmother's life. To completely eliminate the Three Calamities Corpse Poison is as difficult as ascending to heaven."
"The Three Calamities cling to the body, enter the soul and penetrate the flesh, endless and boundless."
"But I saw that Daoist friend Yellow Ox's method for resolving the Yin Corpse Poison is quite unique. Perhaps you can help the Heavenly Fox Grandmother remove the remaining poison."
Zhang Ruochen didn't know if Feng Qi was telling the truth, suspecting he wanted to invite the Heavenly Fox Grandmother to probe his background.
Zhang Ruochen said, "The Heavenly Fox Grandmother's cultivation is so profound. This poor Daoist's meager skills are not worthy of helping her remove corpse poison. Why don't you invite a Boundless Realm Buddhist Venerable or a Radiant Lord God?"
...
I've been saying I'd stream, but my updates have been lagging, so it's been delayed!
This afternoon!
Around two in the afternoon, I'll stream directly while writing, so it won't delay anything. Let everyone see how two fingers press the keyboard and how slow my typing speed really is.
If I unconsciously read the plot or hum random songs during the stream, please don't laugh.
I'll stream on Douyin, account "feitianyu877," name "Flying Fish."