After hearing Xu Fu’s disparaging remarks about Zhang Liusun, Mei Qing couldn’t help but chuckle and said, “Senior, you’re mistaken. Speaking of Master Zhang, he truly is an extraordinary figure.”
Having said that, he briefly recounted how Zhang Liusun originated from the Celestial Sect, later joined the imperial court as the national preceptor, established his own school, and unified all Daoist sects across the land. He also briefly mentioned why Zhang Liusun had come to Jieshi and the matter of him crossing the heavenly tribulation. Naturally, Mei Qing omitted the part about Zhang Liusun intentionally destroying his physical body, for fear that Zhang might become furious and lash out on the spot.
At first, while Mei Qing was speaking, Xu Fu wore an expression of disdain, constantly sneering. But as he listened further, his expression gradually turned serious. Muttering to himself, he said, “This young fellow actually has some ability. If that’s the case…”
Initially, he had intended to say, “If that’s the case, it wouldn’t be too humiliating for me to have been outsmarted by him.” Although these words, which would have boosted someone else’s morale, reached the tip of his tongue, he found them impossible to utter and naturally swallowed them back.
Mei Qing continued, “Senior Xu, you must understand that Master Zhang has his sights set on the entire world, so he wouldn’t be so petty as to fight over a single place. Moreover, Master Zhang is merely temporarily staying here. If given the opportunity, he would leave immediately to reconstruct his physical form and pursue the ultimate Dao.”
Xu Fu listened thoughtfully, feeling that Mei Qing’s words made some sense, though he remained somewhat skeptical. He turned his gaze toward Zhang Liusun, looked at him twice, opened his mouth, but said nothing.
During Mei Qing’s narration, Zhang Liusun had simply gazed at the sky in silence. Seeing Xu Fu’s expression now, he snorted coldly and didn’t even bother to glance at him.
Turning to Zhang Liusun, Mei Qing continued, “Master Zhang, no matter what, I must express my gratitude for your previous kindness toward me.”
Zhang Liusun smiled bitterly and said, “You actually have a conscience.”
Sighing, Mei Qing said, “Some things are indeed hard to explain clearly. Master Zhang, you’re an extremely intelligent person, so you should naturally understand what the best course of action is, regardless of how this situation arose. Continuing to entangle ourselves here is meaningless. The priority is to recover your lost soul fragment and rebuild your original body.”
Zhang Liusun naturally understood Mei Qing’s meaning. Forcing a confrontation with Mei Qing now and coveting his doppelgänger was no longer meaningful. Even if soul transplantation were successful, it would only result in mutual destruction, rendering Zhang Liusun’s painstaking efforts in vain. What Zhang Liusun needed was a physical body completely compatible with his soul, crafted from his own spiritual essence. Mei Qing had already become a completely different person, so even if he willingly merged with Zhang Liusun, it would not fulfill Zhang’s original vision.
Initially, when he was first outsmarted by Mei Qing, Zhang Liusun naturally felt resentment. Now, however, upon hearing Mei Qing’s reasonable words, Zhang, being a person who could take things in stride, quickly calculated his options and calmly asked, “Then according to you, what should we do?”
Mei Qing smiled and said, “If both seniors can agree on this, the solution is actually simple. Senior Xu wants to reclaim his cave dwelling, Master Zhang wishes to recover his soul fragment, and as for me, I have no desire to stay here long and am eager to return home. Why don’t we stop this conflict now? Senior Xu can assist Master Zhang in breaking through the formation and send us both out of the cave dwelling; I will accompany Master Zhang to search for his soul fragment. In the future, if you have any requests, I won’t refuse. What do both of you think?”
Zhang Liusun cast a calm glance at Mei Qing, then swept his gaze over Xu Fu, who was deep in thought, and said, “At first glance, it seems reasonable. However, Mei Qing, your optimism seems excessive. Senior Xu’s mother cauldron is still inside you. I invested tremendous effort and even damaged my soul fragment in the process, yet all the benefits ultimately went to you. Do you really think you can resolve everything with just a few words? That seems too easy.”
Mei Qing inwardly grew annoyed. Zhang Liusun’s words, though seemingly a challenge, were actually insidious. Mentioning the cauldron was merely an attempt to shift Xu Fu’s suspicion toward him.
In fact, the cauldron was Mei Qing’s greatest crisis. For Xu Fu, it was a treasure born from his mother cauldron, naturally of utmost importance to him. For Zhang Liusun, who wished to recreate a doppelgänger, the cauldron was also extremely valuable.
Though Mei Qing thought this, he showed no sign of anger on his face, instead bursting into hearty laughter and saying, “Master Zhang, you actually speak like this? Whether it’s the cauldron or the soul fragment, did I obtain them through trickery or brute force? Indeed, I gained some advantage in the end, but didn’t both of you also have ulterior motives in your actions? Strictly speaking, wasn’t the cauldron originally your idea? Now that your plans have failed, are you really going to demand compensation for some minor losses? Moreover, given the current situation, even if you wanted to, do you really have the capability to reclaim them?”
Mei Qing’s barrage of questions left no room for the other party’s dignity. This aggressive stance caused Xu Fu to keep glancing between the two of them, visibly unsettled.
Zhang Liusun coldly said, “Then aren’t you afraid that we might pretend to agree now and then turn against you once we leave this place?”
Mei Qing shook his head and said, “If I were afraid of everything, I should have died of fear already, so why even come out here in the first place? Besides, I believe both seniors have the wisdom to distinguish right from wrong and wouldn’t engage in such self-destructive actions.”
As the two spoke back and forth, Xu Fu felt increasingly sidelined, his mood darkening. He snorted disdainfully, “As long as my cave dwelling is returned to me, everything else can be discussed. As for the cauldron matter…” Xu Fu looked at Mei Qing and said, “We’ll set it aside for now.”
Zhang Liusun sneered but said nothing further.
Seeing both of them speaking in this manner, Mei Qing chuckled and said, “Since both of you insist on hounding me for my meager possessions, it seems I can’t act as a mediator anymore. We’ll just have to keep this stalemate going.”
Having said that, Mei Qing ignored the two of them, sat cross-legged, and brazenly began cultivating right there.
Xu Fu glared hatefully at the bronze figure beside Mei Qing for a while, secretly trying to activate it several times, but it felt like throwing a stone into the sea, with no response at all. He could only give up. At this point, his internal energy was nearly depleted, so he couldn’t forcefully act either. Turning his gaze to Zhang Liusun, he found the latter also sitting in meditation with his eyes closed, silently resting.
Though furious, Xu Fu knew he couldn’t handle the two of them at present. Seeing them both adopting postures of recovery, he felt rather bored and could only sit down first, trying to see if he could recover.
Although all three of them assumed postures of recovery, none dared to fully concentrate on meditation, each reserving a portion of their attention for self-defense. Particularly Xu Fu, who had first been repeatedly outmaneuvered by Zhang Liusun and then discovered that this fellow Mei Qing was no less scheming than Zhang, felt especially uneasy.
Moreover, this place had three layers of restrictions placed upon it. Especially the thunder restriction techniques of Zhang Liusun and Mei Qing, which, once activated, restricted all five elements. Xu Fu himself belonged to the water element, which was within the five elements. Therefore, after meditating for half a day, he could hardly feel any recovery of his spiritual energy, forcing him to open his eyes in frustration.
Upon closer inspection, Xu Fu was startled. Mei Qing was sitting on the spot, his hands constantly forming various mudras, moving continuously over the bronze figure. In such a short time, the inscriptions on the bronze figure had become increasingly dense. He couldn’t tell how many more formations Mei Qing had added to it. Moreover, Mei Qing’s own aura had visibly improved compared to earlier, clearly indicating that he had recovered significantly.
Seeing this, Xu Fu was momentarily stunned. As he calculated the situation in his mind, he suddenly realized something was wrong.
Earlier, Xu Fu had deliberately delayed, secretly plotting to reclaim the bronze figure. He had thought that although Mei Qing had temporarily subdued the bronze figure, it was merely due to luck and a temporary success. The bronze figure was an ancient artifact, refined by Xu Fu over many years. He believed that a young upstart like Mei Qing, with shallow cultivation, couldn’t possibly maintain control for long. He had planned to wait until Mei Qing’s energy ran out, then launch a surprise attack to reclaim the bronze figure and turn the tide.
However, the current situation was unexpected. Mei Qing clearly understood the bronze figure’s importance. Looking at the various inscriptions on it, many of which were unfamiliar to Xu Fu, he felt increasingly worried, his gaze involuntarily turning anxious.
Looking at Zhang Liusun, Xu Fu was startled again.
Logically, Zhang Liusun, as a soul-body, should have been recovering even slower in this place. However, his spiritual aura now appeared significantly more robust, far surpassing Xu Fu’s.
Seeing this, Xu Fu’s heart sank.
In truth, if it came down to a fight to the death, Xu Fu wouldn’t fear Zhang Liusun and Mei Qing. After all, he wasn’t an ordinary loose immortal. His current reluctance was mainly due to the two “scoundrels” threatening him with the cauldron and bronze figure, making him hesitant to act rashly for fear of damaging them.
However, if pushed to the brink, Xu Fu could still choose to destroy the cauldron and bronze figure in a desperate move to break through the restrictions. In such a scenario, Zhang Liusun and Mei Qing would inevitably face dire consequences.
However, the higher one’s cultivation, the more reluctant one becomes to take such risks. Thus, although Xu Fu repeatedly gritted his teeth, he ultimately couldn’t bring himself to make that decisive move.
At this moment, Zhang Liusun lightly coughed and spoke up, “Mei Qing, I have a word for you. Are you willing to listen?”
Upon hearing this, Mei Qing turned his head toward Zhang Liusun. Upon seeing Zhang’s improved aura, he was momentarily stunned, then replied, “Master Zhang, please speak freely.”
Zhang Liusun had already noticed the expressions on Xu Fu and Mei Qing’s faces after seeing his improved aura, yet he pretended to be completely unconcerned. In reality, he was well aware that in this place and under these circumstances, he was at the greatest disadvantage. Therefore, he deliberately feigned ease and used a secret technique to create a false impression of abundant spiritual energy. His goal was to prevent the other party from acting rashly and to secure his own authority in negotiations.
Zhang Liusun chuckled lightly before saying, “Regarding the proposal you made earlier, Senior Xu was unconvinced, mainly due to the issue of the cauldron. To be honest with both of you, this cauldron is also quite useful for me to refine a doppelgänger, and I have no intention of letting it go. However, Mei Qing, this item is of little use to you. Therefore, I have a suggestion that could satisfy all three of us and avoid damaging our harmony.”
After hearing Zhang Liusun’s words, both Mei Qing and Xu Fu exchanged glances, then turned their gazes toward Zhang Liusun.
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