Daily life of a cultivation judge Chapter 1469: Bloom of life and death (1)

Yang Qing remained contemplating Tang Xiadan’s admonition for a moment. A grateful smile touched his lips as he responded, "Thank you for the warning. I will ensure it is relayed with the utmost seriousness."

Tang Xiadan offered a nod, an inner sigh of relief escaping him. His Senior Sister had never quite been herself since that particular incident. Even before their departure from the Green Fog Region, she had gravitated towards solitude and the avoidance of conflict, a marked contrast to Tang Xiadan's own nature.

Yet, even in her reclusiveness, a certain boldness had been evident, demonstrated by her agreement to leave the Green Fog Region with him and venture into the wider world. Perhaps, though, it wasn't solely her adventurous spirit that influenced this decision. The inciting factor might have been the Rank Four Palace Realm Twin Horned Liger, which they had provoked to a furious rage when they purloined the Quasi Ascendant Grade Three Lightning Calabash it was nurturing for its own future use. The theft itself was accomplished. An unobserved escape, however, proved to be another matter entirely.

For months, they were pursued by that colossal beast, its horns unleashing destructive black and gold lightning, so potent that even spirit beasts boasting the most resilient defenses would hesitate to confront either strike. Through a combination of cunning strategy, sheer luck, and evasive maneuvers honed to a lethal sharpness—further intensified during the prolonged chase—Tang Xiadan and his Senior Sister Yanyu finally managed to elude the liger's pursuit. The creature had become entangled in a battle with a band of human cultivators, against whom it had indiscriminately unleashed its lightning while still on their trail. Tang Xiadan and Yanyu capitalized on this brief interlude, employing Yanyu's concealment abilities to vanish and escape.

That arduous chase had stretched for nearly two months, pushing towards three, during which Tang Xiadan and Yanyu encountered the precipice of death more times than he could tally. On a few occasions, they remained bewildered as to how they had survived. Nevertheless, irrespective of how perilous and unnerving that ordeal was, and despite the evident fear his Senior Sister Yanyu displayed throughout the chase, the dread he witnessed in her eyes at the border of the Deer Mountain Kingdom was a magnitude beyond anything he had observed in those preceding three months.

He had no insight into what she perceived, nor the true magnitude of her premonition—even she herself did not fully grasp it, beyond the visceral knowledge that overwhelming death and calamity lay ahead. However, her reaction alone was sufficient to instill a profound terror in Tang Xiadan regarding that specific location. At the very least, for him, having not personally sensed it, his mind had recalibrated itself upon their departure, and he had returned to his normal state. The same could not be said for Yanyu.

A significant part of his motivation for bringing up the Deer Mountain Range was precisely this matter. If the Order could resolve the issue, then perhaps his friend might regain her former self. The revelation of the Bi Xie Empire's secrets, and even the grotto's hidden nature, served as a form of recompense for the ultimate request he had been cultivating. Yang Qing's response brought him a measure of peace.

Perhaps, upon reuniting with Yanyu and informing her of the Order's intervention, her mind might finally achieve a state of calm, enabling her to rejoin him in his adventures once more, instead of remaining withdrawn and secluded within one of the enigmatic realms they had discovered together.

As for Yang Qing, he took Tang Xiadan's warning to heart with genuine sincerity. How could he not, considering the events that had transpired there mere months ago? Furthermore, even if they had not suffered losses due to some insidious scheme orchestrated by the Blue Soul Flame Crow Syndicate, Yang Qing would have still accorded the matter the gravity it intrinsically deserved.

It is preferable to err on the side of caution, to overreact to a perceived threat and discover it to be unfounded, than to be negligent in assuming its absence, only for it to materialize with devastating reality. Time, once elapsed, can never be reclaimed.

The very moment he concluded his current engagement, he intended to transmit the warning to Fan Mei and instruct her to disseminate it to the Flying Shadow Hawks and all other pertinent entities, Yang Qing mused.

Beyond his apprehension regarding the ancient fiend, his formidable supervisor was, in actuality, the most dependable individual to contact for matters of this nature, as Yang Qing had learned through direct experience. If swift action and a prompt response were required, no one surpassed the diligent and meticulous Old Lei.

Having resolved that Old Lei would be his initial point of contact, Yang Qing expressed his gratitude to Tang Xiadan once more. "Merely for the value of the information you have imparted, you have already earned this flame," he stated, a smile gracing his features as he gestured towards the flame still resting gently on his palm.

Before Tang Xiadan could offer a reply, Yang Qing gently nudged his palm, as if flicking the flame across; this was exactly what he had done. The flame rose softly from his palm, drifted over to Tang Xiadan’s chest, and immediately coiled around the Soulfrost Sequoia’s nascent bud before channeling inwards.

Instantly, the web-like veins that had suffused Tang Xiadan’s entire body began to writhe like wriggling worms, only to recede back into the bud one by one, akin to roots retracting into the trunk of their mother tree. Concurrently, the hardened, crystallized portions of his skin commenced regaining the ruddy, supple softness characteristic of normal skin.

Before long, Tang Xiadan’s complexion reverted to its natural warm, gold-bronze hue.

A subtle gleam flickered in Yang Qing’s eyes as he observed several details during this transformation, notably a faint aura that emanated from Tang Xiadan’s form as his flame performed its task.

Sensing several familiar auras from Tang Xiadan, Yang Qing mused. There existed a characteristic within Tang Xiadan that mirrored his own, the very same one found in Feng Xin and Kang Huilang, and even within the wine gourd resting at the table's center.

And what did the four of them share in common? Kang Huilang, Feng Xin, and himself were all blessed with Peerless Jade Physiques, while that particular gourd had been crafted from wood originating from an Empyrean World Jade Tree.

All objects fashioned from jade inherently possess a refined and pure quality, which explains why jade, in most instances, exhibits particular purifying or nullifying properties when confronted with contaminants, such as miasma.

Yang Qing silently pondered.

Having spent considerable time in Yang Shitong’s company, he had cultivated an instinctive discernment for auspicious phenomena, considering the entire nest, right down to that audacious bird, was brimming with such qualities.

This did not imply Tang Xiadan was a member of a mythical race, naturally. The auspicious qi radiating from him was subtle when juxtaposed with Yang Shitong’s.

Yet, however faint, it was a discovery worth noting and quite illuminating. Auspicious qi was not the exclusive domain of mythical races. Dragon Spiritual Veins, from the lesser varieties up to the ancestral dragon veins, were permeated with it.

Furthermore, it was not solely confined to them. A variety of treasures, spiritual flora, and fauna were known to harbor it, and these were almost invariably linked to fortune, destiny, or matters of a similar nature.

Nevertheless, despite these two clues, illuminating as they were, Yang Qing remained unable to ascertain Tang Xiadan’s precise species.