Venerable Xiaoyao

Liu Qingqing's tone was firm. Seeing this, the others had no choice but to agree.

The journey from here to Mount Qi was quite long, and heading straight there would be a bit inefficient. They decided to train along the way.

Knowing that she was heading to Mount Qi, Jiang Lu felt relieved.

She headed in a different direction. Chi Li and Cang Chen needed to train on their own.

And now, she felt the spiritual energy within her body starting to stir; she needed to find a place to cultivate as well.

There was still a month and a half left. The final half-month would be more than enough to reach her destination.

Chi Li and Cang Chen were training nearby, not too far from her. Just as Jiang Lu was preparing to sit down and meditate...

“Master, head over there! I feel an exceptionally dense concentration of spiritual energy in that direction!”

Mengbao suddenly spoke up, pointing toward a direction ahead.

Jiang Lu ran forward. The area was covered in brambles, with towering demon plants, and there were clearly no traces of demon beasts.

She glanced around suspiciously. It really was an incredibly desolate place.

A few wind blades flashed, and Jiang Lu chopped down the brambles, clearing a path just wide enough for one person to pass.

She walked forward, but suddenly felt as if she had stepped on something. Looking down, a flash of light erupted beneath her feet, and before she could react, she vanished from the spot.

This was...

Looking at the unfamiliar space around her, Jiang Lu couldn't help but feel puzzled.

“Master, it's here! I feel a very dense concentration of spiritual energy.”

Mengbao's excited voice rang out.

Here?

Not on the surface?

This meant that this place was part of the same space and hadn't been completely sealed off. It was likely because she had accidentally stepped on some kind of mechanism just now.

Looking at the vast, empty hall, she noticed twelve stone pillars lining its perimeter. She walked over to take a closer look.

The pillars were carved with various types of spirit beasts. Each beast held a dragon pearl in its mouth, and all of their heads were turned toward the same direction.

They were looking toward the opposite side of the hall, which was blocked by a heavy stone door.

Jiang Lu cautiously walked past one of the stone pillars.

She froze in her tracks and saw the furthest stone pillar sliding toward her, pieces of stone seemingly flaking off from it.

It was an array!

Jiang Lu immediately scanned her surroundings. Since she was alone and couldn't break the array normally, she stared ahead with a look of determination.

Thinking of a movement technique she had learned before, she summoned several magic treasures from her space.

“Shift and Swap Shadow!”

It could create multiple illusory duplicates of herself. These phantoms carried the magic treasures and darted in all directions.

If there were no conditions to work with, she would create them.

The moment a duplicate was attacked and dissipated, the offensive magic treasures would collide with the stone pillars.

Directly destroying the array.

Witnessing the scene inside the array, a phantom hiding in the shadows glared with bulging eyes. This little kid didn't play by the rules at all! If she couldn't break the array, she just wanted to blow it up!

If it weren't for the fact that she was the only human to set foot in here in ten thousand years, he would have kicked her out long ago.

Forget it, forget it. He was a magnanimous man, so he would let her off the hook and deactivate the offensive array.

Jiang Lu cautiously walked forward. Within a few steps, she easily walked right out of the array.

That simple?

Jiang Lu was a bit bewildered. She had already prepared to destroy the place; after all, she had plenty of offensive magic treasures in her space.

Though she didn't know why it hadn't attacked her, it was a good thing nonetheless.

She glanced at the stone pillars behind her, then pushed the door open with both hands.

With a loud rumble, Jiang Lu stepped inside.

A tall statue stood right in the center of the chamber. The surrounding walls were embedded with countless night luminescent pearls, brightly illuminating the entire space.

“Hehehe—”

A creepy laugh echoed, and Jiang Lu instantly gripped Qianming in her hand.

The little old man: ...

His figure slowly emerged from the stone statue. A phantom of an old man, whose beard dragged all the way to the floor, appeared before Jiang Lu.

“May I ask who you are, Senior, and what is your purpose in drawing me here?”

Jiang Lu furrowed her brows tightly and asked in a sharp tone.

“Oh, you girl, why are you so fierce?”

His face stiffened, and he gave Jiang Lu an annoyed glare. This little kid was truly impolite.

Well, whatever. He was a magnanimous man, so he wouldn't hold it against her.

He had very little time left, so his only option now was to pass his legacy on to this girl.

“I am Venerable Xiaoyao. I drifted to this place while fleeing from my enemies. Now, my legacy has no successor. Seeing that fate has brought you here, are you willing to accept it?”

Venerable Xiaoyao looked at Jiang Lu smugly after speaking, waiting for her to eagerly agree. After all, no cultivator could resist the temptation of a legacy.

Jiang Lu glanced at him without saying a word. Instead, she walked around the stone statue to examine it. At the base of the statue, the life story of Daoist Xiaoyao was inscribed.

She read it carefully; his life had indeed been filled with rich experiences.

“Senior, if I accept your legacy, I won't have to help you seek revenge, will I?”

Jiang Lu was all too familiar with these cliches. She had no desire to get dragged into such troubles. After all, she had her own master and didn't particularly need this minor legacy.

In three words: not worth it.

Venerable Xiaoyao froze, his eyes widening as he stared at Jiang Lu.

How did this little kid know?

Seeing him hesitate like this, Jiang Lu understood everything instantly and grew vigilant. She had to make sure she wouldn't be possessed by him. Who knew if he was an evil cultivator?

“You girl, what's with that expression?”

Seeing Jiang Lu's increasingly guarded look, he curled his lip. Surely she didn't think he was going to possess her?

It had to be said, she had hit the nail right on the head.

“I won't force you to seek revenge for me. Besides, ten thousand years have passed; he might have fallen long ago.”

Venerable Xiaoyao quickly explained, fearing that Jiang Lu would refuse and run away.

He couldn't let his lifelong skills die with him.

“Let me tell you, I know astronomy above and geography below. There is basically nothing I cannot do. If you accept my legacy, your future path will be much easier.”

He looked at Jiang Lu expectantly.

“That amazing? What exactly can you do?”

His words actually piqued Jiang Lu's interest, and she asked curiously.

“Hehehe, of the hundred cultivation arts, there is none I haven't mastered, and all to the absolute peak.”

“So you have multiple spiritual roots?”

Jiang Lu said with certainty. It would be impossible to achieve without multiple spiritual roots.

“Correct. I have a five-elements spiritual root with a purity as high as ninety percent. However, back in the golden age, even with my talent, I was still far behind those supreme geniuses.”

“Unfortunately, the conflicts during that golden age were too immense, leading to the closure of the passage to the upper realm. I suppose no one in later generations has been able to ascend anymore.”

Jiang Lu nodded. She was somewhat curious about what the golden age of ten thousand years ago was like.

“What was that golden age all about?”

“Hehehe, if you accept this old man's legacy, you will naturally learn everything.”

Seeing that she was interested, Venerable Xiaoyao kept a card up his sleeve and deliberately withheld the information.

“What exactly does your legacy contain?”

Seeing this, Jiang Lu asked casually.

“Naturally, things that can boost your strength. It contains the last sliver of my power. If you absorb it slowly, it's even possible for you to become a Mahayana cultivator in the future.”

Hearing this, the corner of Jiang Lu's mouth twitched. This old man really dared to boast. For a Foundation Establishment cultivator like her to reach the Mahayana realm, the amount of spiritual energy required was no small matter.

“Are you sure?”

Jiang Lu raised an eyebrow.

“Of course. You little kid, why must you be so stubborn?”