Chapter 59: The Laurel Branch

After arranging the exchange for the laurel tree, Bai Jing took out the fragments of the Creation Jade Disc and the two Enlightenment Tea Trees, and began to comprehend the Dao of Devouring.

Two decades passed in the blink of an eye.

Ever since Qing Lin moved from the Source-Sun Cauldron to Yingzhou Immortal Island, it had been frolicking on the island every day.

Although called an island, Yingzhou Immortal Island was vast, comparable in area to a small world, and infinitely larger than the space within the Source-Sun Cauldron.

However, precisely because Yingzhou Immortal Island was so vast, with Qing Lin's cultivation at the Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, flying across it at full speed without rest would take nearly a hundred years. This speed was far too slow for Bai Jing.

This was the primary reason why Bai Jing wanted Qing Lin to break through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal realm before riding it.

On one hand, once Qing Lin broke through to the Da Luo Golden Immortal realm, it could attempt to learn the White Lotus Escape Technique.

On the other hand, a Da Luo Golden Immortal was already a being of great divine power in the Primordial World. Having condensed the Da Luo Dao Fruit, they could jump out of the River of Time, bind their own karma, and realize the unique True Self. Their life level would undergo a sublimation, making them truly free from all kalpas and granting them a lifespan coeval with heaven and earth.

Once Qing Lin attained the Da Luo realm, the Qilin bloodline and ferocious beast bloodline within its body would further sublimate, increasing its flight speed by at least a thousandfold.

Only then would its speed and majestic bearing barely be sufficient to serve as Bai Jing's mount.

On this day, Qing Lin, who was once again frolicking on Yingzhou Immortal Island, suddenly heard someone calling Bai Jing's name from the outside.

Remembering Bai Jing's instructions before his seclusion, Qing Lin hurriedly transformed into the Xiantian Dao body, donned the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress, passed through the protective barrier of Yingzhou Immortal Island, and arrived above the East China Sea.

As soon as Qing Lin emerged, it saw two female immortals who were identical in height and attire, yet possessed completely contrasting temperaments.

One of the female immortals carried a dignified posture, her every gesture exuding majesty.

The other had a cold expression, her face frosty like an iceberg.

"Greetings, Immortal Maidens. May I ask if you are here to see my master?" Qing Lin flew forward and asked.

"Is your master the Daoist Bai Jing?" the dignified immortal asked, looking up and down at the youthful, red-lipped, and white-toothed child who appeared to be about ten years old.

"Indeed."

"Why is Daoist Bai Jing not to be seen?" asked the frost-faced immortal.

"My master is currently in seclusion to break through his cultivation realm. Before entering seclusion, he instructed me that if an immortal maiden named Changxi came to seek him, I was to come out and complete the transaction with her. Might one of you be Immortal Maiden Changxi?"

"I am, and this is my elder sister, Xihe," the frosty-faced woman said, stepping forward.

"Greetings, Immortal Maiden Xihe, Immortal Maiden Changxi."

"No need for formalities. You said Daoist Bai Jing instructed you to complete the transaction on his behalf. Do you have the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress in your possession?"

"I do." With that, Qing Lin produced the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress and held it out in its hands.

Xihe stepped forward to examine it and said, "Indeed, this is the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress. Since Daoist Bai Jing is in seclusion, we sisters will not disturb him and shall simply make the exchange with you. This is the laurel tree branch requested by Daoist Bai Jing; within the branch lies a layer of the laurel tree's origin essence. You may inspect it."

Qing Lin accepted the laurel tree branch, and according to the knowledge in its inherited memories, verified that the branch was genuine before handing the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress over to Xihe.

Seeing that Xihe had obtained the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress, a trace of a smile appeared on Changxi's detached face.

Xihe glanced at Changxi, and the smile on Changxi's face instantly vanished.

"The transaction is complete, so we sisters will no longer intrude."

"Farewell to the two Immortal Maidens."

Xihe nodded and flew away, taking Changxi with her.

Watching them leave, Qing Lin returned to Yingzhou Immortal Island and temporarily planted the laurel tree branch in an area with a relatively high concentration of Xiantian spiritual qi.

It was completely impossible to approach Bai Jing's location. Although Qing Lin did not know what Dao its master was comprehending, it knew that approaching at this moment was tantamount to seeking death.

The Dao rhythm surrounding its master was not something a mere Taiyi Golden Immortal like itself—or even a Quasi-Sage—could dare to approach lightly.

This could be clearly seen from how the spiritual qi of the entire Yingzhou Immortal Island was frantically surging toward its master's location.

Meanwhile, turning to Xihe and Changxi:

Having obtained the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress, the two sisters immediately hurried back to the Lunar Star.

Returning to the Lunar Palace, Xihe took out the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress and handed it to Changxi, "Little sister, you should refine this dress!"

"Sister..."

"Say no more. You and I are of one body; what is mine is yours. Go ahead and refine it!"

Changxi nodded, infused a wisp of magical power into the Nine-Colored Fairy Dress, refined the first layer of its protective barrier, put on the dress, and then said to Xihe, "Sister, that child of Bai Jing's said earlier that Bai Jing is breaking through his cultivation realm. Could he be breaking through to the Peak Quasi-Sage realm?"

"How would I know? Do not gossip idly about such matters. This Bai Jing is not someone to be trifled with. Do not forget that Zhunti had half his body shattered by him. To not even give face to a future saint—such a person is not someone our sisters can afford to provoke."

"Sister, rest assured, I know my limits. I was merely surprised to hear that Bai Jing is breaking through his realm once again! You and I are both top-tier Xiantian divine beings; upon taking human form, you possessed the cultivation of the early Da Luo Golden Immortal realm, and I had the peak Taiyi Golden Immortal realm, placing us not far behind the Three Pure Ones. No matter how profound Bai Jing's foundational origin is, it shouldn't surpass ours by this much. He lacks the Grand Purple Qi and is not a predestined saint; why is his cultivation speed so astonishingly fast?"

"Neither of us is skilled in the Dao of divination, so we cannot calculate Bai Jing's origin. However, I observed that he wears a white lotus Dao robe and a white lotus crown, so he should be the reincarnation of a white lotus."

"A white lotus? Sister, do you mean to say that Bai Jing is the incarnation of the Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus?"

Xihe nodded and said, "I am merely guessing. If Bai Jing truly is the incarnation of the Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus, it is normal for his cultivation to be swift. The Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus is considered an offspring of the Thirty-Sixth-Grade Chaos Green Lotus, sharing a close kinship with the Great God Pangu. When the Great God Pangu cleaved open the heavens and earth, the Chaos Green Lotus also exhausted all its power to assist him before finally disintegrating into scores of Xiantian spiritual treasures. If Bai Jing is indeed the incarnation of the Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus, then he is the sole surviving living being of the Chaos Green Lotus lineage, and naturally carries the great destiny of that lineage. Possessing such immense destiny, his cultivation speed cannot possibly be slower than that of a predestined saint, and perhaps..." Xihe shook her head halfway through her sentence and said no more.

Changxi shared a telepathic connection with her sister, and after a moment of thought, she understood what Xihe's unuttered second half implied. Xihe meant that if Bai Jing truly were the incarnation of the Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus, relying on the destiny of the Chaos Green Lotus lineage, Bai Jing ought to have been counted among the predestined saints.

Yet Bai Jing had not obtained a saintly throne, so Xihe dared not be certain whether he was truly the incarnation of the Twelfth-Grade World-Purifying White Lotus; her words just then had been mere speculation.