Floating Immortal Order

Chapter 9: Ink Blot on the Painting

Thick Ink on the Verdant Pine Painting

In the Western Ravine Palace of the Xu Clan ancestral domain, the lanterns were still brightly lit as before, emanating light from within. Xu Qinying walked into the main palace hall with Xu Disheng in his arms, where he placed him down.

There were four old men sitting cross-legged in the hall. When they saw Xu Qinying come in, they each opened their eyes.

“Great Elder, how did it go?”

Xu Qinying responded in a low voice, “It was a good thing that I was watching the ceremony from the shadows. Before the Dao Channel Measurement Platform could completely measure the result, I interrupted it and brought Sheng’er here.”

The Second Elder, who was the longest-lived among the four elders, asked somewhat impatiently, “Then what of this child’s Dao Channels?”

Xu Qinying only shook his head and didn’t answer. Instead, he lowered his head to look at Xu Disheng. “What Grade of Dao Channels do you think you have?”

Although Xu Disheng had been carried here the entire way by the Great Elder, he wasn’t flustered at all as a normal 5 year old should have been by such a method of travel. His eyes retained an air of calmness, and after he heard what he was asked, he first dusted off and straightened out his robe before responding. “I don’t know.”

Xu Qinying slightly nodded, and said to the Second Elder, “If the halo of light on the Dao Channel Measurement Platform first constricts before expanding, then expands completely, it will measure a result of at least Grade 3 Dao Channels! That’s why I interrupted it right away. But Guo Renhou and Bai Fanyu both have sharp eyes, so I probably wasn’t able to completely hide this fact from them. Once Guo Renhou goes back, I’m afraid he will report this to Youyang City, the capital of You Province.”

The Shangqing Path, which was the religion of the Grand Chu Dynasty, had a seat of power in every Province, overseeing their entire realm! Their authority exceeded even that of the one presiding over the Province. Although Prince Xing presided over the You Province, commanding all 19 Regions in the tens of thousands of li in the Province, it was rumored among the citizens that the people in the Shangqing Dao Palace were on equal footing with him, or even slightly surpassing him in power! However, the people in the Shangqing Dao Palace were mainly focused on cultivation, and did not care too much about worldly affairs.

“Grade 3 Dao Channels! To think that such a proud, heaven-defying talent could actually appear in our Xu Clan!” The Second Elder stood up quickly, looking moved.

“My Xu Clan ancestor, who reached the strength of the half-step Xiantian stage, was the personal guard of the one presiding over the Region at the time when he was conferred his fiefdom. But that ancestor’s aptitude was only Grade 4!” The Third Elder, also known as Elder Shadow, said with a happy expression on his face.

The faces of the other two elders held expressions of pleasant surprise.

“I’m not sure if this matter is a blessing or curse,” Xu Qinying started, not looking as optimistic. He gestured for the other elders to sit down before continuing in a low voice, “Even in the entire 19 Regions of the You Province, someone with Grade 3 Dao Channels has practically never appeared before! The highest is Grade 4 Dao Channels, and even those are considered extraordinary talents under the heavens! Their breakthroughs are incomparably easy, and reaching the Xiantian stage for them is simply a foregone conclusion!”

At this time, Xu Chaoyang, the Patriarch of the Xu Clan, approached the palace hall. After he had sent off the guests, he quickly flew straight here to the Western Ravine Palace. He walked into the palace hall and cupped his fists in salute. “Greetings to the Great Elder, and all elders of the Council of Elders.”

The elders all nodded their heads in acknowledgement. Even though Xu Qinying was the father of Xu Chaoyang, the authority of the Great Elder in the Xu Clan’s Council of Elders was unquestionable. In front of others, he still had to call him ‘Great Elder’.

Xu Qinying raised his hand in a gesture, saying, “Chaoyang, at ease. From your point of view, how do you think we should handle this matter?”

Xu Chaoyang glanced at the octagonal Dao platform that he cultivated on every day, which was currently being sat upon by Xu Qinying. His eyelids twitched slightly, but he didn’t dare to say anything about it. “Great Elder, from my point of view, Sheng’er most likely has Upper Third Dao Channels! I once saw in an ancient text that the white light of the Dao Channel Measurement Platform will only constrict then expand dramatically for those with Upper Third Dao Channels!”

The term ‘Upper Third Dao Channels’ collectively referred to Grade 3 Dao Channels, Grade 2 Dao Channels, as well as the Grade 1 Dao Channels that only existed in legends.

“En! Our Xu Family already had 3 peak Houtian stage martial artists, and today alone, we now have Xu Qingcheng with Grade 5 Dao Channels, and Sheng’er, who has a Xiantian Companion Artifact and suspected Upper Third Dao Channels! This generation of the Xu Clan will undoubtedly be greatly prosperous!” Xu Qinying was also feeling rather moved. “But unfortunately, now that one with Upper Third Dao Channels has appeared in our clan, it is no longer a matter that we can handle ourselves. You must swiftly arrange for some of our people to hurry under the cover of night to the Youyang City of the You Province, and recount this matter to Prince Xing and the Shangqing! Do not allow the Guo Clan to report to them first. We absolutely cannot be passive here. As for the Xiantian Companion Artifact… continue to keep it a secret for now.”

“Understood, Great Elder,” Xu Chaoyang forcefully repressed his excitement. He called to the outside of the palace hall, “Come!”

An armored soldier from the Zhenhai Army entered from the palace gate, and kneeled in front of Xu Chaoyang, awaiting orders.

“Great-Grandfather, what kind of power is the Shangqing Path? Why have I not heard of them before in the last 5 years?” Xu Disheng suddenly asked, his voice clear and his eyes bright. He very rarely interacted with others, to the point that the entire Xu Clan thought of him as a strange child. Only the Council of Elders knew that he had a Xiantian Companion Artifact, and that he had always been inherently different from others since birth.

He suddenly opened his mouth to ask this, but it was actually a good question. The five elders in the palace hall, as well as Xu Chaoyang, all saw him as just a child. Xu Disheng also never said too much, so no one had ever asked him for his input. As a result, upon hearing him ask this question at this moment in time, they all couldn’t help but stare blankly.

“The Shangqing Path…” Xu Qinying began, a deferential look on his face. “You certainly must have heard of Prince Xing?”

“Yes. Prince Xing is the eldest son of King Xing, one of the three Kings of the Grand Chu Dynasty. After he was appointed as the Crown Prince, he now presides over the You Province, and rules over the tens of thousands of li of land composing the 19 Regions of this Province.” 𝘣𝑒𝑑𝑛𝘰𝑣𝘦𝘭.𝘤𝑜𝑚

“Not bad. Prince Xing has another identity as a disciple of an Executive of the Shangqing Path. If he didn’t have this position, he wouldn’t have been able to obtain power over an entire Province despite being a Crown Prince.”

“Could it be that the Shangqing Path can interfere with the Grand Chu Dynasty?” Xu Disheng asked.

“Hmph!” Xu Qinying scoffed. “Interfere? They oversee their realm in name only. After all, how often do you hear of the Shangqing Path on a day to day basis?”

“Great Elder, you’re saying too much,” the Second Elder gently interrupted. “Xu Disheng, since you are the most exceptionally talented individual in this generation of the Xu Clan, the Council of Elders has already made the decision to fully support you with our clan’s resources. In addition to our Xu Clan’s Heavenly Dipper Martial Technique, we also have two Secret Martial Techniques which were bestowed to us by the Grand Chu Dynasty. Only those with Grade 5 Dao Channels and higher can cultivate them, so you can select one to cultivate. As for the Martial Skills, they will all be available for you to choose from!”

“Thank you Elders, thank you Great-Grandfather,” Xu Disheng bowed gratefully, the latter half of his statement directed towards Xu Qinying. This way of referring to him was extremely prudent. If it was any other person, they would have to call him ‘Great Elder’. But as the direct great-grandson of Xu Qinying, only Xu Disheng could afford to call him ‘Great-Grandfather’, and no one could object to it.

“Great! With this child, our Xu Clan will surely prosper!” Xu Qinying said, laughing to his heart’s content. He and the other Elders had been stuck at a bottleneck at the peak of the Houtian stage, and even his son, Xu Chaoyang, had caught up and was now also at the peak of the Houtian stage.

Xiantian! As long as they could just reach the Xiantian stage, they could break away from this land and preside over an entire Region! The Xu Clan seemed to be well-off, holding autonomy over a radius of several hundred li of land. However, several hundreds of years had gone by, going from one generation to the next, and not a single Xiantian stage martial artist had appeared within their family! Peak Houtian stage martial artists were innumerable. If one were to put it nicely, the Xu Clan was one of the four great clans in the Ruyang Region, but in the grand scheme of the entire You Province, they could really only be considered a small countryside clan.

In a magnificent study in the Guo Clan property in Ruyang City of Ruyang Province, a black-robed, middle-aged man was moving his hands freely as he painted. His expression was conscientious, and his looks were solemn. But when he suddenly heard a burst of noise from outside the door, his brows wrinkled.

“Your Excellency, as you know, when the Regional Minister is painting, it is strictly forbidden to disturb him. Please do not make things difficult for this subordinate of yours.”

“I have an important matter I must report,” Guo Renhou said in a heavy tone.

“Let him in,” a middle-aged voice sounded from within the study.

“Understood.”

Guo Renhou closed the door behind him, then turned around and saluted, “Respectful greetings to Patriarch.”

“At ease. What is it that makes you so anxious? Didn’t you bring people to attend the Ceremony at the Xu Clan? According to the tradition from previous years, there are always several days of banquets after the Dao Channel Measurement Ceremony. Why have you hurried back this time?” The paintbrush in the middle-aged man’s hand was still moving unaffected as before.

“Reporting to Patriarch, someone with Grade 5 Dao Channels called Xu Qingcheng has appeared in the Xu Clan!”

The brush came to a halt on the canvas, which portrayed a verdant pine tree after the rain. A large blot of ink began to bleed outwards, completely destroying the atmosphere of the entire painting.