Chapter 857: A Silver Tongue Earns a Divine Art
"If I'm not mistaken," Ji Shaoli began, his voice calm and assured, "the treasures each of us can retrieve from this fishing pond are entirely independent. What you fish out has no bearing on what I can get, and vice versa. This means there's no need for a life-or-death struggle between us. That's my first point."
"Furthermore," he continued, "we share a common interest: the fewer cultivators who know about this pond, the better. Daoist Zhong, do you truly believe you can guard this secret on your own?"
"I discovered this place's anomaly today. Sooner or later, someone else will too. Can you stop every single one of them?"
Ji Shaoli's gaze was sharp and unwavering as he posed the question, his tone leaving no room for evasion.
Zhong Shentong had no answer, his silence a tacit admission.
"But with our help," Ji Shaoli added, a confident smile playing on his lips, "we can significantly reduce the risk of discovery. We might even be able to secure this ultimate treasure for ourselves, forever."
"'We?'" The word sent a jolt through Zhong Shentong, his expression finally shifting.
After a long, tense moment of hesitation, he let out a sigh of resignation, stowing the Primordial Chaos Purple Gold Gourd. "Come down and talk, Daoist," he said, his voice tinged with weariness.
"Daoist Zhong, that Primordial Chaos Purple Gold Gourd of yours... you fished it out of this pond, didn't you?" Ji Shaoli inquired, his eyes gleaming with curiosity.
He kept a safe distance, however.
Zhong Shentong let out a dry, self-deprecating laugh. "I've been guarding this fishing spot for the better part of my life, and this is the only decent thing I've managed to pull out."
"The Primordial Chaos Purple Gold Gourd. Purple-grade. I have no idea which cultivation world it came from, but it contains the twin energies of primordial chaos. With a single thought, I can shape them into flying daggers. They say it can slay even a Soul Transformation cultivator in an instant. A pity, though..."
Zhong Shentong shook his head. "That's how it works in other cultivation worlds. Here in the Xuanhuang Realm, cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage and above bind their existence to the world itself. As long as heaven and earth endure, they cannot truly be killed. Against such an opponent, this gourd loses much of its bite."
His explanation revealed why he hadn't attacked rashly.
Bolstered by the power of numerous protective treasures, the aura radiating from Ji Shaoli far surpassed that of a typical Golden Core cultivator.
Zhong Shentong couldn't gauge his true cultivation level and lacked the confidence to guarantee a fatal first strike.
The mention of a potential organization backing Ji Shaoli was the final straw, forcing him to abandon any hostile intent.
"Daoist Zhong, how long have you known about this pond's secret?" Ji Shaoli asked, finally descending from the clouds.
A nostalgic glimmer flickered in Zhong Shentong's eyes. "I can't recall exactly. It was back when I was young... How time flies."
Meanwhile, Ji Shaoli's attention shifted, his gaze subtly studying the Daoist child, Liuli, who remained sheltered behind Zhong Shentong.
She was as exquisite as a porcelain doll, with delicate, perfectly formed features.
Dressed in a loose-fitting Daoist robe, it was difficult to discern her gender at a glance.
Liuli peeked out from behind him, her eyes showing little fear.
Instead, she puffed out her cheeks and glared defiantly at Ji Shaoli.
"This child..."
Zhong Shentong said with a strained smile, "She's just a mortal orphan I took in..."
Just then, Liuli's eyes went wide. She stared up at Zhong Shentong in utter shock. "Master, didn't you tell me you fished me out of this pond, too?"
"Mmmph—"
Before she could finish, Zhong Shentong clapped a hand over her mouth, his face a mask of regret.
"Hahahaha!" Ji Shaoli threw his head back and roared with laughter, then cut it off abruptly.
His expression turned menacing as he sized up the old man. "Daoist Zhong, if you insist on these games, then don't blame me for what happens next."
"Lin Ling!"
Realizing she had caused trouble, Liuli immediately stopped struggling.
Zhong Shentong didn't scold her. He simply stroked the little girl's head, gently comforting the tearful child.
The standoff held for a long moment.
Then, a figure materialized in the sky, and the overwhelming pressure of a Dao Integration cultivator washed over them.
Zhong Shentong's face went deathly pale. With a long sigh, he finally relented.
"Little Liuli... it's true. I fished her out of the pond."
"At first, she was just a transparent, glass-like fruit. I was about to eat her when I faintly heard a baby crying from inside."
...
Having abandoned all resistance, Zhong Shentong slumped to the ground and began his story.
Lin Ling, meanwhile, was utterly fascinated by the pretty little Daoist. Her divine sense swept over the child again and again.
Remarkably, the little girl seemed to feel the scans, and she glared right back at Lin Ling, not about to be intimidated.
The two stared each other down, neither willing to give an inch.
The sight made Zhong Shentong unsure whether to laugh or cry, and the knot of anxiety in his chest began to loosen.
He had felt a surge of despair when the other party revealed their Dao Integration cultivation.
But judging by this Dao Integration cultivator's behavior, perhaps the situation wasn't as dire as he had imagined.
Just then, Ji Shaoli walked over to the edge of the pond.
With his back to Zhong Shentong, he spoke slowly. "I'm not a man who enjoys killing. I won't take a life unless absolutely necessary. But the secret of this pond cannot, under any circumstances, be revealed."
"Daoist Zhong, you now have two choices."
"First, you can take your own life. If you do, I give you my word that I will ensure this child lives the rest of her life free from worry."
"Or second..."
Zhong Shentong's eyes narrowed at Ji Shaoli's deliberate pause.
"...you can join our Federation of All Worlds. If we're all on the same side, there's no need to worry about secrets getting out, is there?"
"'Federation... of All Worlds?'" The name was entirely foreign to him, and Zhong Shentong was momentarily stunned.
But with a Dao Integration cultivator at its helm, it was clearly no trivial organization.
Left with no real choice, Zhong Shentong readily agreed.
"I'll join you."
"Excellent! A wise choice, Daoist Zhong!" Ji Shaoli applauded.
"Lin Ling!" he called out again.
Lin Ling glanced at Ji Shaoli, then pointed a slender finger toward the sky.
A moment later, the blurry image of a faceless stone statue materialized above Zhong Shentong's head.
Though he couldn't make out its features, a bone-chilling dread washed over Zhong Shentong.
After years of facing the countless, star-like orbs of light in the fishing pond, he had developed an almost intuitive ability to appraise the quality of powerful items.
And with a single glance, Zhong Shentong knew this statue was something extraordinary.
Just as he suspected, Ji Shaoli's voice became respectful. "This is a statue of the Red Dust Compassionate Immortal. All new members must recite an oath before it."
As he spoke, an oath of more than two hundred words was transmitted directly into Zhong Shentong's mind.
"A True Immortal..." Zhong Shentong's heart skipped a beat.
"Could it be that this Federation of All Worlds is backed by..."
He dared not dwell on the implications.
He had seen far too many items from countless different cultivation worlds pulled from that pond.
He was utterly convinced that an Immortal World, a realm far above all others, truly existed.
His expression turning solemn, Zhong Shentong began to recite the oath in front of them all.
The process felt impossibly long, and the oath itself seemed to thrum with a profound, mystical power.
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