Chapter 167 - 115: Golden Crow Pool

Chapter 167: Chapter 115: Golden Crow Pool

Inside the Thirty-Three Layered Palace on Zhengyang Dharma Vein’s main peak.

Several elders, who usually ignored mundane affairs and were rarely seen by ordinary Dharma Vein disciples in their entire lives, were already arguing heatedly.

Only the Sixth Elder, who had been slouched in his throne the whole time, remained silent.

Apart from agreeing with the others when the Grand Elder proposed putting effort into nurturing Li Yinsheng, he hadn’t said another word.

Even though the others were squabbling, he remained absolutely silent.

It wasn’t that he didn’t need a good successor. It was just that the cultivation path of his lineage was unique; once a successor was chosen, they couldn’t be easily replaced.

Therefore, excluding the Ninth Elder, who had the shallowest seniority and no right to compete, he was the only one present who kept out of the affair from beginning to end.

Seeing that even the usually steady Grand Elder was arguing endlessly with the others, he couldn’t help but shake his head.

If the Vein Master were here, it probably wouldn’t be their turn to fight over him.

Speaking of which, with this bunch fighting back and forth right now, had they even considered that the junior might not want to take a master at all?

A Cultivator who could become a Daoist in their twenties was already a prodigy of any Dharma Vein, boundlessly arrogant.

Becoming a Grand Daoist in one’s twenties... even if faced with an Imperial Decree Daoist, such a person probably wouldn’t lightly take them as a master.

"Senior brothers, senior sisters, and Seventh Junior Sister," the Sixth Elder spoke up. "Stop arguing for now. You won’t get any results squabbling like this."

They all stopped at the same time.

They all knew that the Sixth Elder’s Dao Lineage was unique and that he was unlikely to compete for Li Yinsheng. Hearing him speak up, they all looked at him.

"After all, we haven’t even met Li yet. How can you be so sure he’ll definitely be willing to take a master?"

The Sixth Elder said leisurely, "I remember Xuanzhen Temple once produced a rather talented Sword Cultivator. Shen wanted to take her as a disciple, but wasn’t he rejected?

"Li also hails from Xuanzhen Temple and possesses even more outstanding talent. What if he refuses too?"

"That was just an isolated case!" Elder Shen said, his face darkening. "I have only been rejected that one time!"

"Indeed. It’s almost unheard of for a Cultivator from a Daoist Temple to reject an apprenticeship offer from a Dharma Vein Elder," Elder Jin agreed.

"But what if he does refuse?" Elder Yu scratched his head. "We can’t exactly tie him up and force him to become a disciple, can we?"

The Grand Elder pondered for a moment before saying, "If that’s the case, why don’t we summon Li here and ask for his intentions first?

"If he’s willing to take a master, we will each give a Dao lecture and let him choose for himself.

"If he’s not... then we’ll just have to persuade him thoroughly."

Elder Jin nodded repeatedly. "Good, good! We’ve been arguing here for half the day. Even if we come to a decision, if he doesn’t accept it, wouldn’t it all be for nothing?

"Call him over right now and let him choose for himself! That way, whoever loses won’t have any complaints!"

As she spoke, she glared at Elder Shen.

"Right now?" A beautiful woman in a palace dress shook her head. "There’s no need to be in such a rush. Ling’Er told me that Li will be coming to the Dharma Vein during the Dao examination anyway. It’s only a matter of four or five months."

"The Dao examination?" Elder Shen was momentarily taken aback before nodding. "Oh, his cultivation progressed so quickly that he probably never participated in a Dao examination. He might just want to come and take a look."

"We have to wait another four or five months?" Elder Jin was a bit impatient.

"Hmm... Four or five months isn’t that long. Let’s just wait a bit longer," the Grand Elder agreed with a nod, his eyes rolling thoughtfully.

Waiting four or five months was great! Four or five months was enough time for him to make plenty of preparations.

"Coming during the Dao examination?" Elder Yu thought for a moment and shook his head. "No, we have to go get him and make him come a month early!"

"Yu, what do you mean?" the beautiful woman asked, puzzled.

The other elders also looked at Elder Yu in confusion.

They all knew that Elder Yu had a bit of a fiery temper and was impatient, but the options were either calling the person here now or waiting for him to come on his own during the Dao examination. Why insist on having him come a month early?

Elder Yu chuckled. "The Golden Crow Pool on my mountain peak will be available for use a month before the Dao examination.

"Since he’s a Body Cultivator, the Sun Essence in the Golden Crow Pool will naturally be of great benefit to him. It can help elevate his Body Refining Foundation to the First Layer.

"Every year, I’m the only one who gets to use the Golden Crow Pool. My disciples are only fit to have a bit of the leftover soup.

"This time, I’ll be generous and let him use the Golden Crow Pool too!

"However, the Golden Crow Pool can only be used for one month each year, so we have to make him come early. If he waits until the Dao examination to arrive, the pool will already be closed!"

The others exchanged glances, instantly realizing his motive.

"You sly old fox! You said you were calling him to the Dharma Vein, but it turns out you just want to drag him to your Golden Stone Peak for a month!" Elder Jin said angrily, "You’re scheming right in front of my face!"

"Hmph, Evil Dao tricks!" Elder Shen scoffed coldly.

"Yu, don’t you always claim to be an honest man?" The beautiful woman narrowed her eyes. "For an honest man, you don’t seem very honorable."

"How am I not honorable?" Elder Yu smiled warmly. "Don’t you all have some good things on your own peaks? You can invite him over too."

Aside from the Grand Elder, who looked thoughtful, the others glared at him with even greater anger.

True, they did have some treasures on their peaks that were in no way inferior to the Golden Crow Pool. But just as Elder Yu had mentioned that the pool was only open for one month, the "good things" on their peaks weren’t available for use just anytime either.

In other words, Elder Yu had calculated this exact point before proposing that Li Yinsheng go to the Golden Crow Pool.

They did possess some other treasures, but very few could rival the Golden Crow Pool, and most of them were of great use to themselves. In contrast, Elder Yu’s Golden Crow Pool, while also extremely precious, had been used by him so many times that its effects on him were already minimal. Even if he let Li Yinsheng use the Golden Crow Pool once, he wouldn’t be losing out.

But they wouldn’t go so far as to give away their own precious treasures just to fight for a chance to take an apprentice.

Yet rejecting Elder Yu’s proposal would be meaningless. He had no shortage of disciples and grand-disciples; he could easily find someone to go privately to Xuanzhen Temple and invite Li Yinsheng. And when the time came, he could perfectly justify badmouthing the rest of them.

The elders had spent many years together, so they could even roughly guess what Elder Yu would say when that time came.

"Li, I previously proposed in the Dharma Vein that you come cultivate in the Golden Crow Pool and use the incredibly precious Sun Essence to temper your Flesh Body.

"But the other elders were too wicked! They all disagreed!

"So I secretly had my disciples bring you here. Just soak in it yourself, and whatever you do, don’t tell anyone on the outside!

"And above all, don’t hold a grudge against the other elders!"

The Grand Elder’s gaze shifted as he laughed heartily. "Although Junior Yu indeed has some selfish motives, the preciousness of the Golden Crow Pool to a Body Cultivator is undeniable.

"We all just agreed to nurture Li. Regardless of who he takes as a master, entering the Golden Crow Pool for a round of cultivation will be extremely beneficial to him.

"Since Junior Yu is being so generous, it naturally doesn’t make sense for us to block someone’s fortuitous encounter. Wouldn’t you all agree?"

Looking at the old man smiling so widely his eyes were practically shut, Elder Shen, Elder Jin, the beautiful woman in the palace dress, and even Elder Yu knew in their hearts that he definitely had other schemes in mind. But after each of them made their own calculations, a confident smile simultaneously surfaced in their eyes.

They then nodded in agreement one after another.

"Nephew Shangguan, we’ll leave this matter to you. Go inform Li and ask him to come to the Dharma Vein a month early."

The Grand Elder continued, "Remember, have him come to the main peak first so we can meet him. After we meet, he can go to Junior Yu’s Golden Stone Peak."

Shangguan Ling’Er cupped her hands in compliance, feeling a bit odd inwardly. She hadn’t expected that she would have to go back right after leaving. But this was good too. She could see Ningzhi and Yin Sheng again. She wondered if they had missed her while she was away.

While she was thinking, she suddenly noticed her master looking at her with a smile on her lips. However, Shangguan Ling’Er was absolutely certain that the smile on her master’s lips was definitely not one of kindness or affection, but rather one harboring ill intent. It was as if she were scheming against her!

The next day, inside Xuanzhen Temple.

"Junior Sister, have you really thought this through?" Li Yinsheng asked hesitantly.

Mu Xiaoyu sat cross-legged in front of Li Yinsheng, her face full of determination. "Yes, Senior Brother, I’ve made up my mind!"

Two motes of light, one red and one white, emerged in the palm of his hand. The red light was a Fire Seed, and the white light was ten drops of Moon Dew pooled together.

"To be honest, I don’t think this will work," Li Yinsheng said with utter sincerity. "Heat and cold can cancel each other out, but the heat of the Fire Seed and the cold of the Moon Dew shouldn’t be the same."

Li Yinsheng’s expression was incomparably sincere, and reasonably speaking, he had no motive to deceive his junior sister on such a matter. In fact, he truly wasn’t deceiving her.

But Mu Xiaoyu didn’t believe him. If one were to ask why, it was because she had trusted her senior brother’s words before—many, many times—but most of the time, the outcomes had not been very good.

"Senior Brother, I really want to try," she said solemnly. "Just do it! I won’t regret it!"

Unable to dissuade her, Li Yinsheng helplessly sighed and nodded. Anyway, with him protecting her, Refinement of the Moon Dew itself posed no danger, and the Refinement of the Fire Seed wasn’t very dangerous to her current Three Yang Spirit Fire. If she wanted to try, he would just let her.

Mu Xiaoyu opened her mouth, and Li Yinsheng flicked the red and white motes of light inside.

A cool and warm sensation first spread through her body, which then transformed into extreme cold and searing heat in the blink of an eye.

In that moment, Mu Xiaoyu realized a fundamental truth. Her senior brother’s words were, sometimes, still worth listening to.

She shakily reached her hand out toward Li Yinsheng and squeezed out two extremely emotionally complex words through clenched teeth:

"Senior... Brother..."