Without looking back, Li Qinghou murmured, “Existence without existence is the most wonderful existence. Emptiness without emptiness is the true emptiness....” [1]


    Bai Xiaochun was shaken by the words. Clearly, they contained profound meaning, and yet, he had no idea what that meaning was. However, Li Qinghou only seemed more impressive because of it.


    Before long, they were in the air behind Mount Daoseed. Even as they neared their apparent destination, Bai Xiaochun still didn’t see anything out of the ordinary. After a moment of thought, he opened his third eye. Li Qinghou sensed what he was doing, and looked back at him, eyes shining with praise. Then, he stopped in ce, hovering there while he waited to see what would happen.


    As Bai Xiaochun examined the area with the Heavenspan Dharma Eye, he saw nothing. Therefore, he decided he might as well unleash some of the power of his three spiritual seas. Pouring their power into his Heavenspan Dharma Eye, and adding in some of his Heaven-Dao aura, he once again looked around.


    Pain stabbed into his third eye, but at the same time, his view of the world changed. Just barely, he could now see the vague image of a majestic mountain floating in the air behind Mount Daoseed.


    “A mountain....” he blurted in shock. Unable to sustain the use of his Heavenspan Dharma Eye any longer, he closed it. Panting, he looked over at Li Qinghou, an expression ofplete incredulity on his face.


    Suddenly, an ancient voice spoke out of nowhere. “What you just saw is something that only the sect leader, the legacy echelon, and the prime elders know about. The Spirit Stream Sect’s ninth mountain peak!”


    Along with the voice, an old man emerged out of thin air. He had long white hair, and wore a flowing blue robe.


    His face was ruddy, and on his forehead was a red, finger-nail sized birthmark. Despite his white hair, his face wasn’t very wrinkled, and his eyes shone with a piercing light. Clutched in his right hand was a four-colored jade pendant that glowed with dazzling light.


    The air around him immediately began to ripple and distort, and the clouds in the sky began to churn. Shocking fluctuations flowed out from him, fluctuations which seemed to Bai Xiaochun to be like pressure from heaven. Even more shocking was the murderous aura which surrounded him, making him seem less like an old man and more like an ancient wild beast!


    “Greetings, Master,” Li Qinghou said softly, sping hands in formal greeting.


    Despite having never seen the old man before, from his energy and murderous aura, Bai Xiaochun instantly guessed who he was. Taking a deep breath, he sped hands and bowed. “Bai Xiaochun offers greetings, Patriarch!”


    The old man looked Bai Xiaochun up and down, a smile on his face that, because of his murderous aura, seemed particrly ferocious.


    “You’re not in the legacy echelon, and thus, have seen things you have no right to see. Admit to your crimes immediately, child!” The man’s murderous aura almost immediately seemed to wrap around Bai Xiaochun.


    Bai Xiaochun shivered, and his face drained of blood. To him, it felt as if he were surrounded by death and destruction, leaving him scared witless.


    “Master, you’ve frightened Xiaochun,” Li Qinghou said, sounding a bit embarrassed.


    Bai Xiaochun really was frightened. Thebination of the old man’s smile and his murderous aura caused all of the hair on Bai Xiaochun’s body to stand on end. He felt like he was in the grip of death, and it even felt as if his blood qi wanted to explode out of him topare itself to the old man’s murderous aura.


    The old man chuckled darkly, waving his hand so that a field of mist sprang up, surrounding him and ensuring that only a vague outline of his form was visible.


    “Very well,” he said from within the mist. “But I’m going to remember this, child. If you make any mistakes in the future, punishment will be waiting for you!”


    Bai Xiaochun blinked a few times, then stuck his chin up and tried to look as obedient as possible. Inwardly, though, he couldn’t help but feel a bit of disdain. From what he could tell, the old man was just trying to scare him and teach him a lesson. Bai Xiaochun himself had used such methods back when he was acting as blood master in the Blood Stream Sect.


    “Sir, since you’re my uncle’s Master, then that makes you my Sect Grandfather. Sect Grandfather, please ept the formal greetings of the younger generation!” Bai Xiaochun wasn’t very impressed, but still bowed deeply. Looking up, he patted his bag of holding to produce a medicinal pill bottle, which he held up above his head with both hands.


    “Sect Grandfather, since this is our first meeting, sir, I would like to present you with the most precious spirit medicine I possess. Everyone who has consumed it has praised it to no end. The wonderful uses for this spirit medicine are virtually endless. Sect Grandfather, this gift is the sincerest expression of my familial piety, and I sincerely hope that you will ept it....” As he spoke, he kept his eyes fixed on the old man in the mist, and especially the four-colored jade pendant he held, which was obviously some sort of precious item.


    Li Qinghou already felt a headacheing on. For any other person to offer a gift to someone of the older generation would be something rtivelymonce. However, when it came to Bai Xiaochun, Li Qinghou could already tell that something different was going on. Then he realized what Bai Xiaochun was looking at, and smiled wryly.


    This was clearly not a situation of offering a gift to the older generation, it was obviously him asking for a gift to be given to him....


    As Li Qinghou smiled wryly, the old man’s jaw dropped. After looking at Bai Xiaochun for another long moment, he was fairly certain he understood what Bai Xiaochun was thinking, and suddenlyughed.


    “Ah, so you want a gift from me? Very well, I ept the medicinal pills, and will give you this jade pendant!” With that, the four-colored jade pendant flew out from the mist to hover in front of Bai Xiaochun. At the same time, the spirit medicine flew from Bai Xiaochun’s hand into the mist.


    Bai Xiaochun was actually surprised. This wasn’t at all what he had intended. In fact, the unexpected gift of the jade pendant left him feeling a bit embarrassed. However, he didn’t hesitate at all to reach out and grab it, his heart swelling with excitement. After examining it closely, he realized that it was anything but ordinary. Furthermore, the power inside of it reminded him very much of themp that the Song n patriarch had given him.


    “That’s a spirit treasure that can be used by a Core Formation cultivator,” the old man said, smiling. “Your cultivation base is a bit low, but if you catalyze the treasure with your Heaven-Dao Foundation Establishment aura, you should be able to use it.” With one more look at Bai Xiaochun, the old man turned to leave.


    “Qinghou, this kid isn’t bad at all. Why don’t you go ahead and pass on the Magic nt Arsenal incantation to him?”


    “Many thanks, Master!” Li Qinghou sped hands and bowed. His entire purpose ining here had been to gain his Master’s approval to pass on the Magic nt Arsenal to Bai Xiaochun.


    After all, Bai Xiaochun was not his apprentice, but rather, the apprentice of another Master in the sect.


    Having gained the patriarch’s approval, Li Qinghou shot a re at Bai Xiaochun, then led him back to Mount Daoseed. Outside of Bai Xiaochun’s immortal’s cave, Li Qinghou gave him a jade slip that contained the secret magic of the Magic nt Arsenal.


    “The Magic nt Arsenal isn’t a type of control magic. Instead, you will be able use the power of nts and vegetation to create battle prowess. Every type of nt and vegetation has innate spiritual qualities that you can incite, thus creating a certain level of power!


    “Of course, that’s only the first step. Bybining different types of medicinal nts, you can create something like a spell formation, unleashing even greater power. With the Magic nt Arsenal, you can create weapons almost instantly!


    “The truth is that the spell formation I just mentioned isn’t really a spell formation, but rather, a pill form. Not the type of pill form that you use with a pill furnace, but rather a form to create weapons that can unleash the deadly power of nts and vegetation!”


    It was a technique that required a certain level of skill with nts and vegetation. Considering the level of Bai Xiaochun’s Dao of medicine, he almost immediately understood what Li Qinghou was talking about, and in fact, didn’t need any further instruction. With the jade slip Li Qinghou had just given him, he only needed the most important parts exined, and could cultivate the rest of it on his own.


    Most important of all was that the jade slip contained the weapon form, which had been pieced together over sessive experiments performed by eighteen past cultivators of the Spirit Stream Sect!


    Around the time evening fell, Li Qinghou prepared to leave. Before he did, he thought back to the medicinal pill Bai Xiaochun had given to his Master, and asked, “What kind of spirit medicine did you give to Patriarch Ironwood?”


    Bai Xiaochun blinked guiltily, but having no other option than to tell the truth, he stuck his chin up and proudly said, “Patriarch Ironwood? Oh, I gave him the most precious type of medicinal pill I have in my bag of holding! It’s the most famous pill in the Spirit Stream Sect, which I myself created!”


    As soon as Li Qinghou heard this, his expression flickered with disbelief. A moment passed, and then he hesitantly asked, “Aphrodisiac Pills?”


    Bai Xiaochun nodded, feeling a bit guilty, and when he saw Li Qinghou’s ashen face, he suddenly started to get nervous.


    “Hey, that pill is great,” he said, “and that’s no lie. Really, everybody loves it. Even the old dragon from the north bank praised it incessantly. After all, the patriarch is already getting pretty old, isn’t he...?”


    Mind spinning, Li Qinghou red at Bai Xiaochun onest time and then flew at top speed toward the ninth mountain peak....


    Bai Xiaochun still felt a bit guilty, and continued to mutter to himself after Li Qinghou left. “I didn’t say anything that wasn’t true! That pill really is the most precious one I have! What gives that old fogey the right to go scaring people! I didn’t do anything to him!”


    Bai Xiaochun was actually a bit scared, and after some thought, decided it wasn’t a good idea to stay in one ce. Calling Bruiser over, he left his immortal’s cave and headed toward the north bank.


    By this point it was dark. Bai Xiaochun and Bruiser slipped noiselessly into the north bank, and were soon in the Beast Conservatory. At that point, he started to rx.


    “With Bruiser and the old dragon here, even if Patriarch Ironwood tries toe teach me a lesson, I’ll at least have some backup to help me!” Sighing, Bai Xiaochun couldn’t help but muse that life had been much better in the Blood Stream Sect. As the Blood Devil, all he had to do was snap his finger, and any patriarch who came to teach him a lesson would have his cultivation base instantly reduced by half.


    1. This is an expression thates from ancient Chinese philosophy/religion. Here is a bit of outside information about it. I originally tranted "existence" as "possession", but came backter to change it.