Eternal Life: I Can Control My Essence Qi-Chapter 102 - 100: The Qingping Rebellion

Zhang Yao’s gaze turned to the young boy on the small fishing boat.

To be precise, it was the boy’s long sword on his back. The color and pattern of its hilt made him feel familiar.

"It is... the Chixiao Sword."

Zhang Yao’s expression flickered for a moment but quickly regained composure, thinking:

"Unexpectedly, after two hundred years, I can see this Chixiao Sword again."

"So... this boy might be a descendant of the Zhao Family, and I cannot just sit by idly."

Thinking so, he immediately stood up, flicked his sleeve, and stepped onto the waves.

The vast lake surface was as easy to traverse as flat land.

Miles away.

On the small fishing boat, an old man with gray hair and beard was furiously rowing, beads of sweat faintly visible on his forehead.

The boy beside him, looking around twelve or thirteen, was also helping row, but was clearly struggling.

"They’re about to catch up..."

The boy glanced back and couldn’t help but show a hint of despair.

The pursuers were relentless, and their boat was obviously faster. Their only hope was to row into the misty forbidden zone in Bai Bo Lake, praying that the pursuers would hit rocks and sink first.

However, judging by the current situation, they might not make it to the misty forbidden zone before being caught.

"Hmm?"

But at that moment, the boy seemed to notice something and paused.

For some unknown reason, the few black-roofed boats chasing them behind were gradually veering off course.

The pursuers on those boats were still shouting and cursing, but their eyes seemed unable to see them, chasing straight toward empty areas.

"What’s going on..."

The boy felt a moment of joy, followed by a hint of unease.

This was clearly not a pre-arranged scenario. If the pursuers really wanted to give him a way out, they wouldn’t chase into the depths of Bai Bo Lake.

Looking at the pursuers, it seemed like they were bewitched by something.

"Could it be they really encountered a ghost?!"

Just when he was deeply uneasy, the old man beside him grew anxious, repeatedly saying:

"Young sir, don’t stop, row harder!"

"If they catch us, we’ll be fed to the fish after being cut to pieces!"

The boy shook his head, pointing at the pursuers behind and said:

"Look, they seem unable to see us..."

"Ah?"

The old man was taken aback and quickly turned to look, and upon clearly seeing the scene behind, he couldn’t help but show a hint of fear:

"This, this... I’ve never heard of ghosts haunting the depths of Bai Bo Lake?"

"This is not a ghost."

A gentle voice with a faint smile suddenly echoed near their ears.

They instinctively turned around and saw a young Daoist clad in a Daoist Robe, appearing to tread the lake water effortlessly, as if ascending invisible steps, step by step onto the bow of the boat.

This scene stunned both of them, even a little girl huddled beside them widened her eyes, staring blankly.

"Immortal, Immortal!"

The old man shivered all over, knelt with a thud, and kowtowed frantically, trembling:

"Greetings to the Immortal, greetings to the Immortal..."

The boy quickly came to his senses and knelt down as well:

"Thank you, Immortal, for your lifesaving grace."

"Please rise."

Zhang Yao waved his sleeve, and their bodies were lifted by Invisible Magical Power, standing upright involuntarily.

Once the boy stood upright, Zhang Yao examined him carefully before speaking:

"Where does your Chixiao Sword come from?"

"Chixiao Sword?"

The boy paused, clearly not expecting the Lake Immortal’s first question to be about this sword.

"This is a family heirloom."

The boy was quite quick-witted. After replying, he quickly removed the long sword from his back and respectfully held it up with both hands.

"Swish!"

Zhang Yao took the long sword and unsheathed it, seeing the gleaming, pristine blade.

The three-foot-long blade had no nicks or dull edges, not a speck of rust, clearly well-cared for.

"Two hundred years have passed, yet its sharpness remains as it were back then..."

Zhang Yao sighed, then reinserted the Chixiao Sword back into its sheath.

"Two hundred years?"

The boy paused, unable to resist asking;

"Did the Immortal see this Chixiao Sword two hundred years ago?"

"Indeed."

Zhang Yao nodded slightly, then inquired:

"Are you by chance surnamed Zhao?"

"Yes."

The boy answered honestly:

"My name is Zhao Hechu. This Chixiao Sword was passed down by my ancestor Zhao Ling."

"So it is."

Zhang Yao’s face revealed a hint of understanding, then he asked:

"How did you come to this situation? Who is pursuing you?"

Upon hearing this, the boy’s face showed a hint of sorrow, his voice heavy:

"The Immortal may not know, this group is under Qingping Sect..."

"Qingping Sect?"

Zhang Yao was taken aback.

"Yes..."

The boy steadied himself and began to recount his experiences. 𝙛𝒓𝒆𝙚𝒘𝒆𝓫𝙣𝓸𝙫𝓮𝒍.𝒄𝒐𝓶

Zhang Yao had ventured into the mortal world many times but never paid much attention to the affairs of the Jianghu. After listening to the boy’s account, he finally understood the story.

Everything dates back to two hundred years ago.

Two hundred years ago, before Zhang Yao went south in search of the Immortal Dao, he entrusted his pinnacle work of Martial Dao, the "Qingxu True Scripture," to Qingzhuo, the head of Qingping Palace.

At the time, Qingzhuo didn’t think much of it. But upon later perusal, he found it to be a Supreme Treasure, placing it as the highest secret transmission of Qingping Palace, available only to the most outstanding disciples.

Thanks to the "Qingxu True Scripture," Qingping Palace produced over a dozen Martial Arts Grandmasters in the following century, becoming a prominent and powerful Daoist Sect in the south.

Many years further:

Qingping Palace was renamed Qingping Sect, honoring Lord Qingxu as the patriarch, commanding tens of thousands of followers with influence sprawling across southern provinces, boasting nearly ten Grandmasters in leadership, unrivaled.

"...Wait!"

As Zhang Yao listened to his account, he couldn’t help but interrupt:

"Qingping Sect, honoring Lord Qingxu as the patriarch? That seems incorrect."

"To my knowledge, the founder of Qingping Palace was ’Lord Taihe’ over three hundred years ago."

Qingping Palace’s heritage has a complete lineage which Zhang Yao still remembers.

Even though a major upheaval destroyed the tablets and memorial plaques within the palace, Qingzhuo and the elder Lord Guan Yuan would surely reconstruct the lineage.

How come, two hundred years later, he, as ’Lord Qingxu,’ inexplicably became recognized as the founder of Qingping Palace?

"I don’t really know about this."

The boy hesitated for a moment and whispered:

"My father once mentioned, it seemed decades ago, when Qingping Sect was renamed, there was a major contention over Daoist orthodoxy within the sect."

"Eventually, the current headmaster’s faction won, resulting in the renaming and honoring of Lord Qingxu, who left behind the ’Qingxu True Scripture,’ as the patriarch."

"...I see."

After hearing this, clarity dawned in Zhang Yao’s heart.

It appeared simple, deciding whom to honor as the patriarch, but it was actually an internal division of factions.

The contention over Daoist orthodoxy was merely a facade, fundamentally about internal power distribution and the struggle for authority.

The "Qingxu True Scripture" he left, being the pinnacle secret tome of Martial Dao, could be said to be the new foundation for Qingping Palace, granting such treatment was not surprising.