Chapter 609: Chapter 351: Divine Eye
One day, the Shushan Sect received an extremely important guest, Venerable Huike from Qianye Temple, who personally made his way there, welcomed by Elder Zuo of the sect.
The entire Shushan Sect buzzed with excitement, as Venerable Huike’s visit was public, so the Shushan Sect had to demonstrate their welcome for a Nascent Soul Ancestor.
Li Shiming received a message from Elder Zuo to proceed to his cave dwelling.
In the absence of other Nascent Soul Ancestors from the sect, Elder Zuo was the highest authority in the Shushan Sect, and his commands could not be ignored by Shiming.
Elder Zuo’s cave dwelling was located in the core area of the sect; when Li Shiming arrived at the outskirts of the Mountain Protection Array Formation, a pathway had already been opened for him.
He flew into the formation and saw two people beside the waterfall, one was Elder Zuo, and the other was Venerable Huike.
What caught Li Shiming’s attention the most was that the water of the waterfall was actually spiritual spring water. As it fell from the waterfall, the entire area was filled with a mist full of Spiritual Energy, making any cultivator within it feel refreshed and tranquil.
To know that such quality spiritual spring water, in the hands of other Golden Core cultivators, was used for brewing Spiritual Tea.
And this grandeur, even for the worldly Li Shiming, was extremely surprising.
“Li Shiming pays his respects to Elder Zuo and to the Venerable!” Li Shiming landed beside the two Nascent Soul Ancestors and bowed respectfully.
The two Nascent Soul Ancestors were partaking in tea, and from the scent of the Spiritual Tea, he could tell that it was the very Third Grade Spirit Tea he had roasted.
With Elder Zuo’s status, the portion of the Third Grade Spirit Tea Li Shiming handed over to the sect was likely largely taken up by the Nascent Soul Ancestors.
With the reputation of this Third Grade Spirit Tea, it was undoubtedly the best spiritual tea next to the Fourth Grade Spirit Tea, sufficient for entertaining a distinguished guest.
Li Shiming had only heard of Fourth Grade Spirit Tea but had never seen it; he had acquired items from a False Infant Cultivator and from a Nascent Soul Ancestor, yet had seen no trace of Fourth Grade Spirit Tea; it seemed extremely rare even among Nascent Soul Ancestors.
“Shiming, your strength has improved remarkably fast; it looks like I’ll have to rely on you for my alchemy in the future!” Elder Zuo said smiling and gestured to Li Shiming.
Elder Zuo harbored a very favorable attitude towards Li Shiming, something he had noted long ago. Elder Zuo didn’t concern himself with the competition among the younger generation; in his realm, perhaps only someone at the Great Elder’s level would capture his significant attention.
Li Shiming possessed exceptional alchemy talents and such a talent was highly valued in any large sect; Elder Zuo’s attitude reflected this importance.
“Thank you for your praise, Elder!” Li Shiming replied cautiously.
He restrained his spirit; at such a time, he suppressed his ‘Telepathy’ tightly, daring not to reveal even the slightest hint of it.
He was facing two Nascent Soul Ancestors, and he knew the limitations of ‘Telepathy’; revealing ‘Telepathy’ would definitely be detected by the two Nascent Soul Ancestors before him.
If it were just Elder Zuo, perhaps Elder Zuo would just laugh it off, considering it a naive act of the younger generation.
But with Venerable Huike present, it would be different— should Huike discover that Li Shiming mastered ‘Telepathy’, he would definitely investigate the origin of ‘Telepathy’.
Most crucially, ‘Telepathy’ and such mental Divine Skills were extremely susceptible to backlash; using them before much stronger cultivators meant the backlash would be even more terrifying.
“This time I’ve called you here because Venerable Huike of Qianye Temple has honored a previous agreement to bring you the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance. You only have one chance, do you choose to study it now or wait until your strength is greater to decide?” Elder Zuo explained smilingly why he had summoned Li Shiming.
Elder Zuo’s words were entirely considerate towards Li Shiming, concerned that he might choose to undertake the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance test immediately because of Venerable Huike.
Venerable Huike’s visit served two purposes: one was to foster relations because Venerable Huijing of Qianye Temple developed a heart demon, leading to a significant drop in the top combat power of Qianye Temple. Assuming that the attack on Qianye Temple was by Skywalk Trading Company, it necessitated forming tighter alliances with other major sects to prepare for possible future attacks.
The second was to deliver a previously promised compensation; Qianye Temple owed Li Shiming an opportunity for the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance.
In this affair, Venerable Huike harbored some ulterior motives; Li Shiming had just advanced to the Golden Core Stage recently, and undertaking the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance test now would make success highly improbable.
Qianye Temple certainly did not want Li Shiming to pass the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance test; though not a powerful Divine Skill, ‘Divine Eyesight’ was one of the key Divine Skills inherited in Qianye Temple, its importance goes without saying.
By letting Li Shiming undertake the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance test just after his advancement to the Golden Core, they would fulfill their promise without benefiting Shushan Sect, an advantageous move.
Elder Zuo intentionally reminded Li Shiming, knowing Venerable Huike’s intentions.
“I wish to learn ‘Divine Eyesight’ now, please grant this, Venerable!” Li Shiming’s eyes brightened; he had long intended to remind Qianye Temple of their agreement, but due to recent instabilities in the Beishu Continent, he had not.
He had not expected Qianye Temple to proactively deliver the ‘Divine Eyesight’ inheritance, which perfectly aligned with his wishes.
Elder Zuo said no more; the choices on the path of cultivation often relate to a cultivator’s entire life, even as a Nascent Soul Ancestor, Elder Zuo could not make choices for sect cultivators.