After the Great Luo left, Ke stayed behind.
Ke was somewhat puzzled and asked, "Where exactly are we going?"
Qing Ling smiled and replied, "Now that the heavenly secrets are in the hands of the Sages, I cannot say too much, for fear of loopholes. However, the five clans need to leave the Primordial World for a while. Even if the other clans are counted along with the human race, they are not worth my distraction. But the Xi Shan clan, I must consider. If at a critical moment, someone uses Xi Shan to threaten me, what then?"
Ke suddenly understood something in his heart, sighed, and said, "Are we really of no use at all?"
Qing Ling couldn't help but smile, "You have been in seclusion for too long, which has greatly affected your destiny. Going there will be your opportunity to step into the eleventh level of the Great Power. You must grasp it well. I don't want to cultivate for a lifetime and finally stand at the highest point, only to find that there is no one familiar beside me."
Hearing this, Ke's eyes flickered, "The highest point? Then I will wait, and the old friends of Xi Shan will also wait, watching that day arrive for you, sharing the glory!"
Qing Ling's smile deepened. He got up and patted her shoulder, saying, "Let a few Great Luo from the clan start preparing. The ordinary clansmen do not need to be informed in advance. They can be told at the last Yuan Hui to avoid panic."
Ke nodded, and the heavy feeling in his heart instantly vanished as he returned to the clan.
Qing Ling looked in the direction she had left, silent for a long time. In those years, among the old friends of Xi Shan, only Ke and Qi remained. Although his grandmother had been resurrected, she was ultimately no longer Granny Hua Geng of Xi Shan.
Dú, who had once laughed like the wind under the desolate star-night banquet; the elder of the Chi Li clan who had died for the clan; and Qi's father, Venerable Mí; and Chī, who was mischievous and accompanied him for the holy sacrifice...
The appearances of past friends were fixed in his mind. These people, even if they had reached the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm by borrowing the luck of Xi Shan, ultimately died during their breakthrough to Great Luo because of their "foundation."
He could break through to Great Luo because he was born a divine being, with an supreme foundation forged by the Ancestor of the Azure Dragon. Ke could become a Great Luo because she was a Primordial World exotic species. Even with his later assistance, Hua Geng's breakthrough was due to the inheritance of the Tai Geng bloodline. In the end, effort and diligence are useful in the Primordial World, but very limited. Unless effort is combined with great fortune, one can achieve great things that break through the limitations of one's foundation. If one has both a good foundation, is more diligent and hardworking, and also has great fortune, then one is like the Six Sages.
Thinking of this, Qing Ling remembered.
With a flash, he appeared at Tai Chong Peak of Xi Shan, beneath the towering ancient trees. The giant ancient snake instantly woke up, its two vertical pupils meeting his.
Zhan Mu said faintly, "May I know why the Ancestor is here?"
Qing Ling glanced at Zhan Mu's huge snake body hidden within the ancient tree, on which patches of golden scales were already beginning to appear.
"I'm here to inform you that the Xi Shan snake clan is leaving the Primordial World."
"What?!" Zhan Mu was startled, his giant snake head frozen in place. After a long while, he reacted, "Where to?"
Qing Ling smiled and pointed to the sky.
Zhan Mu pondered. If they were going to the Heavenly Court, he wouldn't have said they were leaving the Primordial World.
"What about me? And where are you going?"
Qing Ling slowly said, "I will naturally stay in the Primordial World. The Jian Mu is here. As for you, whether you go or stay is entirely up to you."
Zhan Mu's heart stirred, "I want to go too! To go with the Xi Shan snake clan."
Qing Ling nodded and said, "That would be good. I was thinking about how to let go, and it seems best to return it to its rightful owner."
Zhan Mu's face first showed joy, then shock, and he even seemed incredulous, "You, you have actually reached that stage?"
Qing Ling looked at Zhan Mu's giant snake head, which was forcefully contorted into a shocked expression, and smiled and nodded, "I have obtained a great fortune, and I am now at the thirty-second heaven."
Zhan Mu shook his head, "Incredible, simply incredible!"
Qing Ling ignored his daze and continued, "The chaos outside the heavens cannot bear too many living beings, so this chaotic spiritual tree behind you must also be taken, and it will be used by me."
"What!" Zhan Mu was shocked, his snake head stunned with anger, "This is my life's fortune, you are taking my root!"
Qing Ling laughed, "There, the Heavenly Dao will not investigate. And even if the Heavenly Dao takes over in the future, you will have a new identity."
"What identity?"
"Ancient Demon Clan!"
"Ancient Demon Clan?" Zhan Mu looked strange and said, "Why do I feel that there is a great mystery in this? You are not trying to set a trap for me, are you?"
Qing Ling chuckled, "Although a chaotic spiritual root is precious for its ability to transform wind, water, fire, and earth into spiritual energy, for an ancestor, it is a great benefit for your freedom."
Zhan Mu's vertical pupils flickered for a long time after hearing this before he said, "Alright, I will believe you this time. However, the spiritual root beneath me cannot be touched before I leave the Primordial World, as I still need to hide here."
Qing Ling naturally agreed and returned with satisfaction.
The chaotic spiritual root behind Zhan Mu was no less than the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots. Although its wondrous uses in the Primordial World were inferior to the Ten Great Innate Spiritual Roots, its role in the chaos was much greater. Not to mention anything else, just by tricking that spiritual root into his possession and planting it in the center of the demon realm, it could transform spiritual energy required by several top Great Powers. Even without Nuwa's Qian Kun Cauldron, it would be enough to support the five clans. Moreover, with the spiritual root belonging to the demon realm, the spiritual energy would naturally flow into heaven and earth. Zhan Mu would no longer be able to monopolize the spiritual energy of this tree. In this way, even if it recovered its original form, it would take several hundred Yuan Hui of seclusion to do so. During these hundreds of Yuan Hui, the demon clan would definitely enter the demon realm to compete for spiritual energy resources. With Zhan Mu present, and if Qing Ling were to bestow the mark of the Snake Ancestor back to it, it would surely protect the Xi Shan snake clan with the luck of the snake clan. And after hundreds of Yuan Hui, even if Zhan Mu recovered his full strength and left the Primordial World, Xi Shan would have already grown. It would be as if Zhan Mu had been a bodyguard for the snake clan for hundreds of Yuan Hui. After all, Zhan Mu was not truly Tai Geng and still had feelings for the snake clan. If he were not constrained and calculated, he would surely run away as soon as he recovered his strength. Qing Ling had rarely tricked this old fellow, and his mood became joyful. He returned to Jian Mu and summoned the four realm-protecting envoys.
Beneath Jian Mu, Qing Ling had built a small pavilion by the water. A winding river flowed past. A bridge and pavilion were built over the river, dividing the water into a pond. The fish, shrimp, and lotus flowers in the pond were all spiritual creatures of Du Guang. Even the flying birds and cranes were ordinary species from Du Guang. Even the most ordinary spiritual creatures, living forever in Du Guang for a long time, had become spirits, possessing considerable intelligence. Although they did not cultivate magic, they were ancient immortal beasts and could transform into human form. Although they possessed magical powers, they rarely transformed into human form. Their worldview was limited to the million miles of Du Guang. Only the Dao Master and the four realm-protecting envoys could transform into human form. The small pavilion on the river had no name, and was simply called the Nameless Pavilion by word of mouth. In the Nameless Pavilion, Qing Ling sat by the stone table, watching the four people stand respectfully, not daring to overstep. He couldn't help but smile, "What? Am I usually too strict with you? You are all so reserved?"
The four were startled, but Bai Fu, the most cunning, immediately changed to a jovial and relaxed demeanor, saying, "It's just that you just summoned the Great Luo of the five clans and then summoned your subordinates. We naturally thought there was something important to do, so we put on serious faces."
Qing Ling nodded in agreement, "There is indeed something important. After ten Yuan Hui, the five clans of the Eastern Desolation will leave the Primordial World. Your tribes will also follow."
Bei Xu asked, "Then what about us?"
Qing Ling smiled, "You are the realm-protecting envoys of Du Guang and the guardians of Jian Mu. As long as Jian Mu stands, you stand; if Jian Mu falls, you fall. You will naturally continue to guard here. Do you have any resentment in your hearts?"
The four quickly bowed, "Your subordinate strictly obeys the Dao Master's decree, and would rather die ten thousand times!"
Qing Ling nodded, "Just being willing to die ten thousand times is not enough; you must also have strength."
The four were all stunned.
Qing Ling said calmly and leisurely, but what he said shocked their hearts, "The enemies I face now are not only those old fellows, but also the Sages! Do you dare to oppose the Sages?"
The four were deeply shocked. Sages, they were beings of supreme power, capable of destroying heaven and earth with a flip of their hand. They were to oppose such beings?
The oldest among the four was You. "Dao Master, please rest assured. Even if it is a Sage, I will at most die. My puppet body, as long as I protect you, I will not hesitate to die."
Hei Bao then said in a rough voice, "If it weren't for the Dao Master's promotion and protection, I would have died long ago on some unknown mountain. If the Dao Master gives an order, I am willing to die!"
Bei Xu said faintly, "It's the same for me." This Flower Goddess had been following Qing Ling since he attained Great Luo. Her loyalty was natural, but it was somewhat surprising that she was willing to stake her life.
Bai Fu, however, was the most obsequious, "If the Dao Master truly orders me to die, then this humble life will be given to you, Dao Master."
Qing Ling couldn't help but smile, and the other three also couldn't help but chuckle. The atmosphere, which was so solemn moments ago, instantly dissipated. Qing Ling cursed him with a smile, "You ungrateful wretch." Then, with a wave of his hand, a hundred spiritual treasures appeared in the air. Various colorful spiritual lights instantly illuminated the entire world. This nameless pavilion was now resplendent with treasures.
"I just said that loyalty is not enough; you must also have strength to be of use. Choose two or three for yourselves. Although they are all innate spiritual treasures of the middle to lower grades, they can still be useful."
Bai Fu watched the spiritual treasures flying in the sky, and stammered in disbelief, "These, these are all innate spiritual treasures?"
Hei Bao was also stunned, "My heavens, this is like a dream!" Although Bei Xu was shocked, she was much better than the other two. As for You, after a moment of shock, he recovered. His puppet heart had few emotions and could not express them. After their shock, the four each took three treasures and put them away as if they were precious.
Qing Ling then said, "Next, I need to take some of your natal primordial spirits. Hand them over to me yourself, to avoid adding to your pain by forcing me to act."
The few were confused. Did the Dao Master fear that they would run away with the treasures? They were not that kind of people, but the Dao Master was not such a petty person either. Although the four were confused, they did not hesitate to take out three wisps of their natal primordial spirits. Each primordial spirit was severely damaged, and they would likely need a long time to recover.
Qing Ling sighed, "Don't worry, I am taking your primordial spirits for your own good. Today, I guarantee you that as long as Jian Mu does not fall, you will not die. Even if you die, I will bring you back to life!"