Cultivation: Fortune by Lots

Qin Caiwei herself found Dragon Tiger Mountain to be quite comfortable.

Gazing up at the purple thunder-filled sky at the summit, she couldn’t help but sigh, "It truly is like a wondrous realm of immortals!"

After looking up at the sky with her hand propped on her cheek for a while, she spoke again, "Is Kunlun also like this?"

After a moment, the young woman stood up and stretched, full of vigor. "No matter what, I am now a person of Taoist cultivation, and a Tao Boy is also a disciple of the Taoist Sect!"

「In Youzhou, within a separate courtyard of Prince Zhao’s Mansion.」

In the garden, three people sat together: two men and one woman.

One was an elder, Ye Moquan, the former head of the Cangzhou Ye Clan, who was currently residing in the separate courtyard.

The remaining two were Ye Moquan’s eldest son, Ye Wei, who had formally taken over as head of the Cangzhou Ye Clan. The other was Lin Huan, the current head of the Youzhou Forest Clan.

Ye Wei had left Cangzhou to visit Youzhou and see his father, Ye Moquan.

Since he had come to Youzhou, apart from Ye Moquan, he naturally also needed to pay a visit to King Zhang Teng of Youzhou and Lin Huan, the current head of the Youzhou Forest Clan.

King Zhang Teng was currently in seclusion and not seeing visitors. His mansion treated Ye Wei politely, but Zhang Teng himself never made an appearance.

Ye Wei was not surprised by this.

He knew that King Zhang Teng was currently immersed in arduous cultivation.

To some extent, his personal journey to Youzhou to meet Ye Moquan was indeed related to Prince Zhao’s seclusion.

"Prince Zhao is finally attempting to take that last step, isn’t he?" Ye Wei asked softly.

Ye Moquan and Lin Huan did not speak, but both nodded slowly.

Ye Wei said, "Prince Zhao’s age..."

As the most senior member of the Great Tang Imperial Clan, King Zhang Teng was also of a considerable age, over four hundred years old.

In other words, under normal circumstances, he would have entered the decline phase for Upper Three Heavens Cultivators.

From that point on, merely maintaining one’s cultivation strength carefully to avoid significant regression was already quite a challenge.

Under such conditions, attempting to advance further most often led to perishing during the Heavenly Moat Tribulation that occurred between great realms.

New sprouts on an old tree were, after all, extremely rare exceptions.

The reason such cases are exceptions is precisely because, even if they occur, they are incredibly seldom seen.

Ye Yan, the chief of the Qingzhou Ye Clan, had been able to take this step successfully because of a special opportunity.

What about King Zhang Teng?

He actually had a special opportunity as well.

And it was closely related to the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

The Jinzhou ancestral land was lost, and substantial losses were incurred. Despite this, Ye Moquan managed to find a path to survival in defeat. He harnessed an energy of tenacious resistance that could aid the cultivation of Martial Arts Practitioners.

In doing so, he could offer King Zhang Teng a greater chance of success in his endeavor.

But even so, whether the latter could ultimately succeed in crossing the final Heavenly Moat Tribulation was still something no one dared to guarantee.

"And yet, I feel His Highness himself seems quite confident?" Lin Huan said slowly, though her tone was somewhat uncertain.

Ye Wei expressed surprise upon hearing this.

Ye Moquan said, "His Highness has his own firm views and decisions. With unique strategies at his disposal, it’s not impossible for him to succeed."

Ye Wei nodded.

King Zhang Teng would naturally not reveal everything to the Youzhou Forest Clan and the Cangzhou Ye Clan.

Since he harbored the ambition to compete for the throne, he must have something to rely on.

The help provided by the Cangzhou Ye Clan was more likely an additional safeguard for his current attempt to break through to the Nine Heavens Realm, helping him make the final decision.

But what exactly could that be? 𝕗𝗿𝕖𝐞𝐰𝗲𝕓𝐧𝕠𝕧𝗲𝐥.𝚌𝐨𝚖

"Elder Ye, about the Southern Wilderness..." Lin Huan turned to Ye Moquan at this point.

Ye Moquan said, "Leave it entirely to Fourth Brother to handle. He knows what he’s doing."

Ye Liang had fallen at the hands of a Jiuli powerhouse.

Both publicly and privately, the Cangzhou Ye Clan needed to respond.

However, if one were to ask Ye Moquan and Ye Morong, they would under no circumstances wish to engage in a deadly struggle with the Jiuli People at this time. Unfortunately, they were now in a difficult position. They had to deal with the Tang Imperial Court and also needed to stabilize and appease their own clan members.

However, Ye Morong was even less likely to rashly escalate the situation, which would only draw the Cangzhou Ye Clan deeper into trouble.

One day, when the time was right, the Ye Clan would have its own way of responding to the Jiuli.

"The Jiuli People, in relation to our Mortal World, are ultimately enemies, not friends. They are even more brutish than the unruly tribes of the Southern Wilderness, making communication difficult."

Lin Huan continued, "In that case, it’s good for General Ye to make the trip. He can ascertain the true situation, so we can better understand both them and ourselves."

Ye Moquan said, "The Jiuli People have been isolated from the Mortal World for a long time, and their language is vastly different from ours. Consequently, Fourth Brother and his group have made limited progress so far. Fortunately, after continuous attempts during this period, they finally achieved a small breakthrough."

The Jiuli expert who had killed Ye Liang was named Li Yan. He belonged to the Blood River Lineage, his cultivation had reached the Nine Layered Heaven First Layer realm, and he was cold-blooded and bloodthirsty.

However, aside from the areas eroded by the black mists of the Earth Sea, Li Yan rarely ventured into the outside world.

Meanwhile, the Tang Imperial Court and individuals like Ye Morong were currently further exploring those black mists of the Earth Sea.

"Any news from your fourth uncle should also be copied to Youzhou," Ye Moquan instructed Ye Wei, who was beside him.

Ye Wei agreed, while Lin Huan, also present, offered her thanks.

After they chatted for a while longer, Lin Huan was the first to bid farewell, leaving the father and son, Ye Moquan and Ye Wei, alone.

After a short silence, Ye Wei spoke again, "Father, regarding Fifteenth Brother, it seems the situation is beyond remedy."

"So be it. Let him be," Ye Moquan said slowly. "This way, it might even be a means of allowing the family to branch out and flourish."

Ye Wei said, "Yes, Father."

Ye Moquan then asked, "How is Feishan doing?"

Ye Wei answered, "He has begun his seclusion to study and challenge the Eighth Heavenly Layer realm. Having accumulated cultivation for a long time, he is quite confident and should face no major issues."

Ye Moquan said, "That is the best we could hope for."

After the father and son talked for a little longer, Ye Wei also bid farewell and left.

Ye Moquan stood up, left the garden, and returned to his house.

Once he was alone, the old man raised a hand and rubbed the bridge of his nose, clearly plagued by worries.