The old man stroked the lifelike green lotus without speaking, only calmly saying:
"Yin'an, you are already nineteen..."
Zhou Yin'an respectfully replied:
"Yes, in a month's time, it will be my birthday, and after that, I will be nineteen."
Zhou Hebi sighed and murmured:
"Nineteen, if you were still in the Wu Country at this age, wherever you go, you would be a promising talent of remarkable literary charm, ha, liking one country over another doesn't matter, they are all here; Chu Sheng is unrestrained, Wu Territory is vivacious, even walking the Jianghu, there are young heroes from various sects to accompany you."
"Great lakes and mountains, you can look and play to your heart's content."
"Why would you want to be in this place with nothing? Accompanying those grassland barbarians who understand nothing? You've suffered."
Zhou Yin'an shook her head and said:
"It's not suffering at all. Father and mother named me Yin'an, so I would never forget where our home is in this lifetime, wear Wu Family attire, talk of fishing boat lights, recite water shield and perch, always remembering that the Zhou family will forever be the Zhou family of Wu Country, no matter how much time passes, this must never be forgotten."
Zhou Hebi's face showed a look of comfort and excitement, saying:
"Not just you must remember, but throughout your life, your children, your grandchildren, all generations, as long as one day we haven't returned to the true lineage of Wu Country, then for a lifetime, two lifetimes, ten lifetimes, this must never be forgotten! This alone, must never be forgotten, cough cough cough..."
The old man became quite emotional, followed by a violent cough, his wrinkled hand still firmly pressing the scroll on the table, Zhou Yin'an soothing his back and helping him catch his breath, after a good while, Zhou Hebi finally regained his strength, pointing to the scroll on the table, murmuring:
"This artwork, was created fifty years ago, or was it sixty, I can't remember."
"It was painted by the former Yin Yang Family head in the Danqing Scroll, containing thousands of mountains and rivers, and in the Lotus Pond, green lotus flowers, white lotus flowers, red lotus flowers total sixty-seven figures, never exhausting, withering one, blooming another, carrying my Wu Family's enduring vitality and inexhaustible aura..."
Zhou Yin'an looked at the scroll the old man kept pressing down.
In her memory, when the wrinkles on the old man's face weren't as many as they are now, he often stared at this scroll, lost in thought, watching for many hours, becoming tearful unknowingly. Back then, the Zhou family was more prosperous than now, yet those lotus flowers were half-alive.
Later, many Zhou descendants died due to various circumstances; dispatched by the Xiongnu Khan King on foreign missions and got harmed, secretly went to the Central Plains never to return, the vast and prosperous Tian Zhou family dwindled in numbers, however, the green lotus on the Danqing Scroll by the Yin Yang Family head gradually became more vibrant, recently showing signs of blooming.
Zhou Hebi murmured a few sounds, stroking the lotus, saying:
"Originally, I thought I'd never see this lotus bloom, but now, with the Khan King dead, his factions and offspring in discord, I know the Khan King exchanged a great amount of gold for treasures stored in Jade Pot Mountain, if those treasures could be obtained, applying the horizontal techniques..."
"Now, tyrannical Qin has dominated the world for merely over twenty years, patriots of various countries still exist, national and family grudges remain unresolved, great things can be achieved."
"It's just a pity, the final key lies in the hands of that ordinary-born Princess Consort, only by getting those treasures from her can things from Jade Pot Mountain be obtained."
Zhou Yin'an heard about this matter for the first time today, saying:
"In Jade Pot Mountain?"
Zhou Hebi glanced at her, sighed, and said:
"Are you trying to say, why can't it be forcefully broken open?"
Zhou Yin'an nodded, softly saying:
"Jade Pot Mountain, even in Xiongnu Tribe legends holds high status, but it's practically just an ordinary Snow Mountain, ice and rocks may be hard, but they can't be harder than steel, a Martial Artist of Middle Third Rank communicating Qi Mechanism could easily penetrate steel, let alone Jade Pot Mountain..."
Zhou Hebi's expression turned slightly peculiar, saying:
"This matter, I must say, is to blame on myself..."
Zhou Yin'an was lightly taken aback.
Zhou Hebi stroked his beard, saying:
"Back then, he obtained a lot of gold, worth tremendously, but gold is incredibly hard to conceal, so I suggested he could exchange all the gold for treasures containing Qi Mechanism and charm, storing them in Jade Pot Mountain."
"Three hundred years ago, the Taoist surveyed the world, finding three places with the most Qi Mechanism; Kunlun Mountains ranked first, Mount Buzhou beyond the East Sea, appearing and disappearing, Jade Pot Mountain lies in the Northern Lands, with glaciers unmelting year-round, like Kunlun Jade at the peak of Kunlun Mountains, snow on Jade Pot Mountain also contains Qi Mechanism."
"The so-called formation is nothing more than borrowing the forces of mountains, rivers, lakes, and seas. If one can use weapons and treasures containing various qi mechanisms as the material basis, relying on the spiritual charm of Jade Pot Mountain itself to create a grand formation, if anyone attempts to seize the treasures within, the qi mechanism will naturally circulate, as if opposing the entire Jade Pot Mountain." Official source ıs NoveI~Fire.net
"On that mountain, every flake of snow contains a trace of qi mechanism, and when it erupts, it is as if an avalanche occurs. Even a grandmaster would have no chance of withstanding it..."
Zhou Hebi scoffed at himself:
"That Khan King holds the elite soldiers of the world, and with the power you and I have at this moment, to harbor any ulterior motives would be like smashing an egg against a rock. It is not to be done."
"Back in the day, I only thought, once his formation gradually took shape, every time he took out a weapon, it would be like actively creating a void within the formation. I would leave you guys with a backhand, so when both he and I are gone, you could enter and retrieve the object used as the formation's eye."
"Even though there may be countless gold and treasures, they do not compare to that one object."
"Although it would take many years, it is no different than that of Emperor Qin, who cared not for temporary victories or defeats."
"Just did not expect that the Khan King, so young, would leave earlier than I, making the watertight formation truly watertight, relying solely on that Princess Consort to retrieve the items."
"But she is a stubborn character, preferring to die rather than submit."
Zhou Hebi smiled bitterly.
"As the folks say, lifting a stone only to drop it on one's foot, I guess I have experienced that."
Zhou Yin'an pondered and said:
"Then how about seeking the grandmasters from various nations, together to break the formation?"
Zhou Hebi sighed: "Foolish child, with such a method, how can it succeed? Don't you know? Since Jade Pot Mountain is one of the most abundant areas of qi mechanism in the world, how could it not be claimed by someone? Among the three great mountains of the world, Jade Scroll Mount Buzhou, Kunlun Mountains, Jade Pot Mountain, consider, which one lacks a master?"
Zhou Yin'an was taken aback.
Zhou Hebi recounted one by one:
"Mount Buzhou is the rumored immortal mountain in the sea, far beyond the East Sea."
"A thousand years ago, it was shattered by a Great Grandmaster practicing horizontal technique, the sea waves surged high for miles, it has since vanished from heaven and earth, yet some say they have seen Mount Buzhou while sailing the East Sea and collected immortal herbs."
"One day absorbing the qi mechanism, three turns to Kunlun, yet it is likely just a rumor, better to believe in the Star Palace of yore, and now the Dongfang Clan, that the place where they reside is where Mount Buzhou fractured."
"This can also explain why the Dongfang Clan for generations has always produced individuals with extraordinary mystical arts."
"Mystical arts are not subjects and principles that can be comprehended through imparting verbally or through physical instruction."
"But if one meditates daily at a place where the qi mechanisms are purest and most abundant in the world, naturally there are many marvels, just like establishing the An Family by the river, even the dumbest person, picking up a stone, the river is right in front, will always create a splash, those residing in arid lands, even in the Great Desert, naturally cannot compare to them."
"The Kunlun Mountains... that naturally needs no further mention."
"He, eighty years ago, has already roamed the world, entered the Kunlun Mountains fifty years ago, most of the people who have seen him make a move are no longer in this world, but every time the world's absolute rankings are made, whether it's the Central Plains making the list, or the Northern Region, the Kunlun Mountains always occupy the top spot."
Zhou Hebi couldn't help but sigh.
"There are so many peerless talents in the world, at the end of their lives, fate is charismatic, but no matter how much they compete, they can only vie for second place. As long as that person doesn't die, the number one in the world is his. Such an old monster is hiding in the Kunlun Mountains, even the Kunlun Jade has become a rare thing, who can possibly seize it from him?"
"Jade Pot Mountain is indeed a blessed land on par with the Kunlun Mountains and Mount Buzhou. In the nineteen years of spring and autumn you have been here, have you ever seen any famous master coming to seize it?"
Zhou Yin'an hesitated and shook his head.
Zhou Hebi smiled self-mockingly and said:
"Around the world, no martial artist is not striving with all their might, fearing to fall behind others, refining their body, nurturing their qi to enter the Longmen, but he is not the same, he does not aim to be second in the world, rather than being the phoenix's tail, he chooses to be first. He established a life-and-death constraint, in this life, never to enter Great Grandmaster."
Zhou Yin'an was curious: "Never enter Great Grandmaster?"
"So he became the world's number one grandmaster."
PS: Today's update is presented...