Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant Chapter 2399 202: Three Swords, Two

Previously on Longevity, starting from being a chicken raising servant...

Wang Ba congratulated Deng Yingjue on reconstructing his physical body and praised Tao Bingji's rapid progress toward Void Refining, offering further guidance rooted in his profound insights. Tao Bingji, grateful for past mentorship, agreed to inquire about merging Yunhuo Realm into a greater realm to avert its impending doom, though he knew nothing of the elusive Quiet Cave. Meanwhile, Yin Tianzhi grappled with mounting worries, contemplating departure from Zhang’s Ruins if circumstances worsened. In the Laowen Sect's depths at Xin Gate, a middle-aged Taoist lamented the sect's inability to harness their Patriarch's ancient horn relic, pondering the mysterious absence of late-stage Tribulation-Transcending cultivators across Zhang’s Ruins and questioning whether the ruins themselves stifled such ascendance.

Though the answer escaped him, this very question had indeed haunted his thoughts time and again since he stepped into the Tribulation-Transcending Realm.

Still, a definitive response had always eluded him.

A soft sigh escaped his heart once more, and he whispered to the treasure box in front of him:

"Patriarch, this unworthy disciple merely wishes to grasp this once-in-ten-thousand-years chance to fulfill the mission you left behind, to unite Zhang's Ruins, and then follow in your path to ascend to the Second Realm Sea..."

Right then.

Beyond the quiet room, an urgent knock rang out abruptly.

The noise yanked the middle-aged Taoist from his deep contemplation in an instant, sweeping away the bewilderment and concern from his features, which gave way to a warm, benevolent grin.

The treasure box in his sight faded away silently, as if it had never been there.

He called out gently toward the space outside the quiet room:

"What's going on?"

From beyond the quiet room, the young disciple replied in a hurried tone:

"Sect Master, it's the Yin Family from Baichu..."

At the mention of that name, the middle-aged Taoist's demeanor brightened. With no apparent effort, the quiet room's door swung open on its own, and he asked with a touch of anticipation:

"Have they consented to the alliance?"

The young disciple lingered just outside the threshold, hesitant to step in, but shook his head vigorously:

"No, no..."

The middle-aged Taoist's eyes narrowed a fraction, and his smile twisted into something laced with a chilling malice:

"They turned it down?"

The young disciple flailed his hands in denial:

"Not exactly, wait, it's out there! The tribute from the Yin Family of Baichu dropped off a visiting card right outside the Taoist Field, claiming he'll come calling in three days..."

"Tribute? Coming in three days for a visit?"

The middle-aged Taoist froze for a beat, his harsh and ominous look locked in place, a touch of confusion crossing his face:

"What reason could the tribute of the Yin Family of Baichu have for visiting us?"

"On top of that, merely a tribute... Unless I'm mistaken, the Yin Family of Baichu lacks any Tribulation-Transcending Realm tribute, doesn't it?"

The young disciple shook his head swiftly and explained:

"Have you forgotten? More than three centuries back, the Yin Family of Baichu brought on a Tribulation-Transcending tribute called Taiyi, though he got chased off by the Spirit Origin Prefecture and the Illusion Sky Realm..."

With the disciple's jog to his memory, the middle-aged Taoist's eyebrows knit together lightly, before enlightenment dawned:

"Oh, yes, that fellow arrived in a flash and vanished just as quick, barely making a mark, but regarding this Taiyi tribute..."

He paused briefly, seeming to recall something, and queried with creased brows:

"He's not connected to True Man Taiyi of the Cloud Sky Realm, is he?"

"Unlikely."

The young disciple, familiar with the details, responded:

"The Taiyi tribute from the Yin Family of Baichu was ousted by the Spirit Origin Prefecture, the Illusion Sky Realm, and the fake Palace Master of the Ten Thousand Demon Palace. If he were the 'True Man Taiyi' of the Cloud Sky Realm, those three powers probably wouldn't have lasted. A powerhouse who single-handedly crushed over twenty Bodhisattvas—such might—wouldn't tolerate that kind of humiliation; it's almost certainly just a name coincidence."

Listening to this, the middle-aged Taoist gave a subtle nod, a measure of ease washing over him, and he commended:

"You've researched this thoroughly."

Yet the young disciple didn't crack a smile, instead venting with irritation:

"That tribute from the Yin Family is truly overstepping, scribbling a message right outside our Taoist Field about a visit, but it reeks of bad motives—if you laid eyes on it, you'd be just as furious as me!"

At these words, the middle-aged Taoist's brow furrowed faintly, and with a mere shift in focus, he spotted a row of striking letters suspended beyond the Taoist Field. Sparse though they were, they brimmed with commanding presence, compelling him to voice them out loud:

"Three days from now, I shall visit."

Appended with just two letters: Taiyi.

Direct and potent, brimming with unyielding confidence, subdued but hiding a keen edge.

"Impressive script, impressive cultivation!"

Observing those words, despite his prior bias against them, the middle-aged Taoist found himself admiring them, his gaze igniting with interest.

Just one stride from the late Tribulation-Transcending Realm stage, he faintly sensed the intent and densely packed principles woven into those sparse lines.

Naturally, being etched from afar, the infused power was restrained, so no further insights emerged.

Withdrawing his Spiritual Sense, he creased his forehead a bit:

"Yin Tianzhi isn't one to act foolishly; he ought to see who has the upper hand in Zhang's Ruins... We've schemed to assault Yutang Prefecture and Longcong Prefecture, but at this juncture, he dispatches a tribute who's openly cut links with the Yin Family and Zhang's Ruins—what scheme is he weaving?"

"A probe? Or signaling his position to rival powers?"

Yin Tianzhi's purpose in this action remained a puzzle to him.

As he mulled it over, multiple beams of light streaked in succession past the Taoist Field.

The middle-aged Taoist felt a twinge of surprise, while the young disciple shot upward without delay, intercepting each glow, perusing the notes inside rapidly; his expression shifted, and he gazed up in shock:

"Sect Master, the Yin Family has dispatched visiting cards to the remaining Eight Families too!"

"What?"

This news hit the middle-aged Taoist like a thunderbolt, prompting him to grab the dispatch hastily, eyes racing over it, his astonishment deepening:

"In three days as well?"

"Calling on all Nine Families together...?"

"What scheme is the Yin Family hatching?"

He'd first assumed the card signaled conflict and prepared to retaliate.

But discovering it went to every one of the nine families at the same time left him riddled with uncertainty.

"Sect Master, how do we proceed?"

The young disciple voiced his concern:

"We've already committed to action with Golden Water Pond, and everything's aligned on the Ten Thousand Demon Palace front..."

The middle-aged Taoist's eyes tightened once more, turning the matter over repeatedly in his mind, unable to pierce Yin Tianzhi's true aim, deeming the play utterly enigmatic. After a brief pause, he uttered gravely: