It was hard to imagine that a sect with a Dou Venerate expert would only have a little over two hundred people in total.
That number was less than even the outer disciples of the Purple Firmament Pavilion.
Yellow Maple Valley was vast internally, but had very few disciples, making it feel incredibly desolate. Walking through it, one could hardly see any disciples moving about.
After strolling through the valley's main square for over ten minutes, an old man in yellow robes, who looked like an Elder, finally appeared before Chen Xiao.
"Young friend, please wait."
Chen Xiao looked up and assessed the old man. He only had the strength of a Two-Star Dou Zong, nothing remarkable.
However, seeing a stranger walking within the valley without immediately questioning him, and instead appearing quite courteous, was rather baffling.
The same applied to some of the Yellow Maple Valley disciples Chen Xiao had encountered along the way. Their vigilance was so low, it was as if this wasn't a sect but a marketplace, which was truly hard to comprehend.
If such a situation were to occur in the Purple Firmament Pavilion, the Elder responsible for such matters would be fired.
"I am Han Feiyu. Young friend, you have been wandering within the valley for a quarter of an hour, yet you haven't headed to the Elixir Hall. It seems you aren't here to seek medicine?"
Seeing Chen Xiao look over, the old man said thoughtfully.
Seek medicine?
Chen Xiao was even more confused.
In his perception, besides the Dou Venerate expert he hadn't met, there were no other souls in the Spirit Realm within the valley.
In other words, there couldn't possibly be an Eighth-Grade Alchemist.
Alchemists below Eighth-Grade weren't exactly rare in the Central State, not to mention common. Who would specifically come to a hidden sect to seek medicine?
Moreover, judging by the old man's words, it seemed such occurrences were frequent.
"It seems young friend isn't from within a ten-thousand-mile radius, but has traveled from afar. The reason Yellow Maple Valley has been able to sustain itself to this day is by taking on alchemy commissions. This isn't a secret within a ten-thousand-mile radius. Unfortunately, the Elixir Hall is currently experiencing a shortage of talent, and those seeking medicine are becoming increasingly rare."
Noticing Chen Xiao's expression, the old man explained.
So that's how it is!
Chen Xiao suddenly understood. Although it was hard to imagine a hidden sect sustaining itself solely on alchemy without other means of livelihood, the Dou Qi Continent was so vast, and anything was possible. It was understandable for such an anomaly to exist.
"Thank you, Elder Han, for the explanation. I... I have come to this valley with the intention of meeting your esteemed Elder, Duanmu Yang. Could you introduce me?"
Chen Xiao nodded slightly, having no intention of getting involved in Yellow Maple Valley's affairs, and directly stated his purpose.
This trip was solely to obtain the Nine-Colored Original Stone to complete the pre-payment.
Anything else was irrelevant to him.
"Elder Duanmu... alas, follow me."
Elder Han showed a fleeting moment of surprise, then sighed and turned to lead the way.
Being able to meet the person so easily made Chen Xiao somewhat astonished.
Little did he know, in Elder Han's view, Chen Xiao's entry into Yellow Maple Valley at this time, and his lack of action for so long, likely meant he harbored no ill intentions.
Furthermore, although Yellow Maple Valley was in decline, it still had a Dou Venerate-level master presiding over it. If Chen Xiao harbored any malicious intent, he could easily suppress him.
After all, although he couldn't discern Chen Xiao's strength, seeing how young Chen Xiao looked, even the most talented individual couldn't have reached a very high cultivation level.
Following Elder Han through winding paths, they ascended a steep cliffside trail, and finally arrived outside a courtyard built on the valley's cliff face.
The cliff here was deeply recessed, with the courtyard nestled within, making it difficult to spot from above.
"Old Yang, someone's here to see you."
After knocking on the courtyard door, Elder Han entered with Chen Xiao.
What came into view was an old man lying on a lounge chair, looking as if he were on his last legs.
The old man's face was aged, covered in 'liver spots,' and his aura was like a candle flame about to be extinguished in a cold wind, appearing as if he could pass away at any moment.
Hearing Elder Han's voice, Elder Duanmu Yang struggled to sit up, his cloudy gaze sweeping over them.
"Old Yang, you chat with him. See if he's the one you've been waiting for. I'll be going now."
Elder Han cupped his fists and left with a sigh.
No one paid attention to Elder Han. Duanmu Yang's cloudy eyes held a hint of hope, and his aged voice slowly emerged from his mouth.
"Young friend... do you... do you know Yiqing?"
Chen Xiao didn't understand the meaning, but he had no intention of deceiving a dying person, so he shook his head truthfully.
"No, I don't. I've come to see you because I heard you possess a Seven-Colored Original Stone. This item is useful to me, and I've come to exchange for it."
The strongest person in the entire Yellow Maple Valley was only a Three-Star Dou Venerate. Chen Xiao wasn't worried about being price-gouged.
If the other party truly took him for a fool, he wouldn't mind using some unconventional methods.
Chen Xiao was determined to obtain the Nine-Colored Original Stone!
Hearing Chen Xiao's answer, a flicker of disappointment crossed Duanmu Yang's eyes, followed by a trace of relief.
He smiled and slightly raised his withered palm. A stone about the size of a fist, with colorful patterns on its surface, was retrieved.
Without any hesitation, Duanmu Yang lightly raised his palm, and the Seven-Colored Original Stone flew towards Chen Xiao.
"It was not brought when I was born, nor will it be taken when I die. It is useless, so I will gift it to you, young friend."
Chen Xiao was still a little dazed as he held it in his hand.
He never expected things to go so smoothly!
Unable to confirm if this Seven-Colored Original Stone was the Nine-Colored Original Stone he needed, Chen Xiao stored it in his storage ring.
In an instant, the pre-payment information in his mind was updated.
[Pre-payment for Nine-Colored Original Stone completed!]
Seeing the pre-payment information refresh, Chen Xiao had no further doubts.
He looked up at the old man opposite him and cupped his hands slightly.
"I don't accept rewards without merit. You can name a condition. As long as it's not too troublesome, I will fulfill it for you."
Hearing this, Duanmu Yang shook his head slightly. "This old man is already old. I originally had about twenty more years of lifespan, but after using a secret technique last time, my lifespan was exhausted. I am a dying person."
"In my life, I began practicing Qi at the age of four, condensed my Dou Qi Cyclone at ten, and entered the Dou Zong realm at thirty-six. Even after more than two hundred years, I couldn't break through to Dou Venerate. Although I have regrets, I can consider my life complete."
The lifespan of a Dou Zong expert was far longer than this.
Of course, those who lived to the theoretical limit of their lifespan were still a minority.
Throughout their lives, the injuries sustained from battles, big and small, or the use of certain secret techniques when necessary, all affected their lifespan.
"I am ashamed to say that I cultivated diligently my entire life and never engaged in personal relationships. However, due to an accident, I had a daughter late in life, which became a laughingstock in Yellow Maple Valley."
"That girl, Yiqing, couldn't bear the strange looks from others. A few years ago, as soon as she broke through to Dou King, she went out to train and hasn't returned. Last year, I received a letter from her, stating that she had gone to the Northwest Continent. That was the last time I heard from her."
"A few months ago, the Azure Ocean Sect attacked, and I was forced to use a secret technique. Although I repelled the enemy, I also exhausted my lifespan."
"As I was on the verge of death, I sent someone to inform Yiqing at her last known location, but there has been no reply to this day."
"When I saw you arrive just now, I both hoped to get news of her and feared hearing bad news. Fortunately, no news is the best news."
After hearing the whole story, Chen Xiao finally understood the emotions in the other party's eyes.
If he hadn't been involved, this would have been just one of countless anecdotes on the Dou Qi Continent.
But experiencing it firsthand now made him feel a bit more wistful.
"In my current condition, it is impossible for me to see Yiqing again in this life. This is probably my only regret."
"Yellow Maple Valley does not involve itself in worldly affairs, and you, young friend, are not a member of Yellow Maple Valley. If there is even a one in a billion chance that you might encounter my daughter someday, please inform her for me. The elders in the valley are actually very kind and never truly mocked her. Don't... let her resent them because of this."
Chen Xiao nodded.
Finding someone in the vast sea of people was difficult for others, but for Chen Xiao now, all he needed was to know if the person possessed something unusual. With the pre-payment system, it was easy to locate them.
However, when Chen Xiao looked up, ready to ask, he found that the old man on the lounge chair seemed to have expended his last ounce of strength with his words and had peacefully closed his eyes.
A peak Dou Zong expert had passed away so quietly.
"Dong!" "Dong!" "Dong!"
Long bell tolls echoed through the valley, reverberating endlessly.
Clearly, Yellow Maple Valley also had a method similar to the Soul Thunder Stele to confirm life and death.
The space distorted slightly, and a figure quietly appeared in the courtyard.
This was a middle-aged man who wouldn't stand out in a crowd, giving the impression of a vendor commonly seen in any market.
However, his cultivation was not ordinary.
His identity was obvious: he was the Valley Master of Yellow Maple Valley, that Three-Star Dou Venerate expert!
As the middle-aged man appeared, he first glanced at Duanmu Yang, who no longer showed any signs of life. He sighed deeply, then turned his gaze to the only witness present.
With just one glance, he froze on the spot.
The person was clearly standing there, yet with his strength, he couldn't sense anything. If he closed his eyes, it was as if Chen Xiao's location was completely empty, as if no one was there at all.
This situation was completely different from using a secret technique to make oneself imperceptible. There was only one explanation.
The person before him was stronger than him!
And not just by a little!
"Yi Ziqian pays his respects to Senior! May I ask what brings Senior here..."
Chen Xiao waved his hand to interrupt. "I am only here to complete a transaction with him. You can take his remains to arrange the funeral. I will look around here casually and will not interfere with anything in Yellow Maple Valley."
The Valley Master of Yellow Maple Valley dared not ask further. He nodded in agreement, bowed, picked up the old man's remains, and vanished from the spot.
Chen Xiao was left alone in the courtyard. He shook his head slightly and walked towards the open room, heading for the two easily visible bookshelves.
On these bookshelves were several conspicuous letters.
The owner of this place had perished, and the Valley Master of Yellow Maple Valley had already agreed. Therefore, there was no issue of prying into someone's privacy.
Chen Xiao did not leave in a hurry, hoping to find some clues about Duanmu Yiqing from the letters left behind.
Since he had benefited, Chen Xiao didn't mind helping to fulfill this small wish, considering it a way to pass the time.
That night, Chen Xiao returned the letters to their original places.
From these letters, he gained a general understanding of Duanmu Yiqing's personality and image, but unfortunately, he couldn't find any rare items that could be used to pinpoint a location through pre-payment.
"With the strength of a Dou King or higher, it's not difficult to protect oneself in the Northwest Continent if one is clever enough."
Chen Xiao shook his head slightly, temporarily giving up on further investigation.
His soul perception spread out, and he could sense a faint sadness pervading the entire Yellow Maple Valley. This indicated that even though Yellow Maple Valley had fallen into such decline, the atmosphere within the valley was still quite harmonious.
No one disturbed Chen Xiao. Occasionally, disciples of Yellow Maple Valley would pass by below the cliff, lowering their voices as they spoke. This demeanor suggested that the Valley Master, Yi Ziqian, must have given some instructions.
Chen Xiao was happy to have it this way. He took a deep breath and, without further hesitation, communicated with the pre-payment information in his mind.
"I should be able to pre-pay for a Heaven-Rank Advanced Cultivation Technique, right?"
[Ice Attribute Heaven-Rank Advanced Cultivation Technique "Ice Hell Scripture": Available for pre-payment.]
[Pre-payment requirements: Read one million scrolls and reach Dou Saint level strength!]
[Pre-pay now?]
"Yes."
Chen Xiao had thought about how to use his pre-payment opportunities several times. Seeing the requirements now, he confirmed without hesitation.
As soon as the thought arose, Chen Xiao felt familiar yet somewhat unfamiliar information flooding into his mind, like new wine in an old bottle – the packaging was the same, but the contents had been upgraded.
It took a full two to three minutes before the sensation of being 'infused' completely disappeared.
[Progress on pre-payment of "Ice Hell Scripture" follow-up—
(72566/1000000)]
Looking at the string of numbers in his mind, Chen Xiao couldn't help but be speechless.
Since he last completed the follow-up for a pre-paid cultivation technique, he had maintained the habit of flipping through scriptures in his spare time, but he hadn't actively collected them to complete the follow-up as he had before.
As a result, after so much time had passed, the number had only increased by a little over twenty thousand.
Chen Xiao silently calculated. With the Bodhi Heart currently within him, refining it would make it not difficult to advance to Dou Saint.
Therefore, this follow-up wasn't difficult either.
It would just take a considerable amount of time to complete.
"All three pre-payment opportunities are used up, and the follow-up for the Bodhi Heart and the cultivation technique will be difficult to complete in a short time. I'll have to put more effort into the Heavenly North Ruins."
The pre-payment opportunities were a major trump card for Chen Xiao. Even if he encountered danger, he could use them to pre-pay for related items to overcome crises. Just like when he was in the Extreme Northern Land, Chen Xiao was fearless because he had pre-payment opportunities available.
Now that the opportunities were exhausted, if he encountered such a situation again, he would have to be even more cautious and careful.
With a plan in mind, Chen Xiao stopped thinking and sank his consciousness into his mind, beginning to examine the Heaven-Rank cultivation technique he had been longing for.
"Heaven-Rank Advanced, there should be more profound mysteries, right?"
With anticipation, Chen Xiao slowly closed his eyes.
After a while, when he opened his eyes again, the joy in them was difficult to conceal.
The Heaven-Rank Advanced "Ice Hell Scripture" was worlds apart from the Earth-Rank Advanced version!
Besides the common benefits of improving cultivation speed and expanding the 'blue bar,' the most satisfying aspects for Chen Xiao were the two unique marvels of this cultivation technique.
After this cultivation technique was upgraded to Heaven-Rank Advanced, it could actually increase the number of Ice Soul Talismans in his body to nine!
In other words, in future battles of attrition, Chen Xiao alone would be able to contend with ten people of the same cultivation level who practiced the same tier of cultivation techniques!
Even if he used them for self-detonation against enemies, their power would be greatly enhanced!
"In the future, I'll truly be an army of one..."
Furthermore, after this cultivation technique was upgraded to Heaven-Rank Advanced, it gained an additional special ability.
That was, he could extract the Ice Soul Talismans from his body and leave a trace of his consciousness within them for preservation, also up to nine.
These extracted Ice Soul Talismans would appear ordinary and unremarkable in daily life, like ordinary jade pendants. However, when encountering danger, they could form external avatars, exhibiting sixty percent of the main body's strength until the energy of the Ice Soul Talisman was depleted, at which point they would dissipate!
Recalling the introduction to the cultivation technique, Chen Xiao nodded with satisfaction.
Developing the number of Ice Soul Talismans and being able to preserve them long-term after extracting them from his body had always been the direction he was expanding towards.
And leaving a trace of consciousness within them to form external avatars seemed to be inspired by the forbidden techniques in the "Heavenly Wind Soul Scripture" and the formation of the Three Thousand Lightning Phantom Body.
As he pondered this, Chen Xiao felt his thoughts flow like a spring, with inspiration constantly emerging.
Chen Xiao only slowly regained his senses after meditating for half the night.
These external Ice Soul Talismans, capable of only sixty percent of the original strength and with limited duration, seemed to have limited utility, but in reality, they had great room for application.
Setting aside other aspects, consider just one point.
In the future, when the people closest to Chen Xiao, such as Yao Yao and the fetus in Cao Ying's womb, grew up and wanted to go out for training, Chen Xiao could give them an Ice Soul Talisman for protection. This way, Chen Xiao could be more at ease when they acted alone.
For this reason alone, Chen Xiao found it difficult to refuse.
Sixty percent of the strength, while seemingly not much, was already terrifying.
Take Chen Xiao himself as an example. Even with only sixty percent of his strength, he was confident he could crush most Eight-Star Dou Venerates!
"Good stuff! In the future, this cultivation technique..."
"Let's call it the 'Frost Soul Nine Chapters'!"
Heaven-Rank Advanced, already reaching the limit on the Dou Qi Continent, making further improvement highly unlikely.
After a moment of consideration, Chen Xiao silently chose a more fitting name.
With a slight smile, Chen Xiao stopped thinking and immediately sat down cross-legged, forming the cultivation hand seals.
As Chen Xiao entered his cultivation state, the entire Yellow Maple Valley, along with the Ten Thousand Li Golden River it was situated in, felt like the earth was turning over. A tremor suddenly ran through the ground beneath their feet.
Figures, still shaken, shot up into the sky, finally all looking towards Chen Xiao's location.
They could clearly sense that this violent energy fluctuation was emanating from there.
"Boom!"
Just as the people of Yellow Maple Valley were looking around in confusion, suddenly, a massive crack split open on the cliff face. Immediately after, extremely dense extreme cold mist billowed out, causing the temperature of the world to plummet to freezing point.
The mist surged upwards, covering the sky and obscuring the sun. The brilliant starry river was quickly swallowed by it, revealing not a single ray of starlight.
At the same time, layers of thick dark clouds suddenly surged across the sky. A fierce wind began to blow, whistling incessantly.
The Valley Master of Yellow Maple Valley watched in shock. Suddenly, he felt a cool sensation on his cheek.
Looking up, he saw snow falling everywhere, stretching for ten thousand li!
"Snow? It's snowing!"
"This place is on a fire vein, how could it possibly snow?"
The exclamations of disbelief from some disciples rang out one after another.
The Valley Master of Yellow Maple Valley was also slightly stunned by this sight.
A moment later, he seemed to recall something. His gaze suddenly shifted to Chen Xiao's location, and disbelief flooded his eyes.
"This is a celestial phenomenon! A Heaven-Rank Cultivation Technique is emerging?!"
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