Chapter 275: Chapter 275: Two Peaks and a Valley (2nd Update)

Yu Changqing considered a possibility that the other party might want to thoroughly assess his background before deciding whether to teach him.

Indeed, this was a very likely scenario. Among cultivators, conflict was common and in no way less intense than in the mortal realm.

Conflicts between sects, over resources, ideologies, and the Great Dao… Strictly speaking, the proportion of cultivators dying in battle was far higher than those in the mundane world.

So Yu Changqing could understand the other party’s concerns—if one inadvertently taught someone from a rival force, it would truly be disheartening.

At the same time, she was somewhat surprised, “Wuyou Platform is one of the Five Platforms, haven’t you heard of it?”

“Five Platforms?” Feng Jun’s facial muscles twitched, and he asked with an odd expression, “Is it… the path of ascension through meritorious deeds?”

What he actually wanted to mention was “Incense Fire Ascension,” but since arriving in this plane, he had not heard of any temples offering incense to deities. Everyone’s offerings were aimed at honoring ancestors, hence he used a more peculiar term.

“Meritorious deeds ascension?” Yu Changqing eyed him strangely, “That is the Great Dao of the ancient times. Why would you think… my sect practices it? And the way you speak is different from what we are accustomed to.”

“Terminology is of no importance,” Feng Jun spread his hands and spoke indifferently, “It’s merely a name, after all. The Dao that can be trodden is not the eternal Dao, the name that can be named is not the eternal name… the Dao produces all things. As long as we confirm we’re referring to the same essence, why fuss over the name?”

“How marvelous, Senior Feng’s words are!” Yu Changqing’s second son stood up, clapping excitedly with a strange gleam in his eyes.

She had always been quite wilful, not fond of adhering to traditions. Hearing such words, she genuinely felt that her usual behaviors were supported by theory—this was the Great Dao articulated by an immortal.

So she expressed her excitement, “I think your reference to Immortal Crystals is more fitting… ‘Spirit Stone,’ what a wonderful name. Unlike Immortal Crystal, which immediately conveys full malice towards mortals upon hearing it.”

“Zhu Er, cease your disrespect!” Yu Changqing glared at her fiercely, “When the two of us are conversing, who gave you permission to interject? Immortal Crystals are originally known as Spirit Stones; don’t speak nonsense if you are ignorant.”

Although her scolding was harsh, Zhu Er did not take it to heart. The special bond between twin sisters was not something to be underestimated; she knew her sister was worried that her words might seem disrespectful to the immortal, and should they displease Senior Feng, it could lead to serious trouble.

Indeed, Yu Changqing was worried; after all, immortals differed vastly from mortals, and if her sister’s words reached a petty cultivator, they might be erased with a single palm strike.

Therefore, she swiftly moved past this interlude and directly asked, “I would like to ask Senior, why do you think the Five Platforms are connected to… ascending through meritorious deeds?”

“I just said it casually,” Feng Jun chuckled, fetched a cigarette, and lit it up, leisurely puffing out smoke.

Yu Changqing eyed him doubtfully, “You haven’t heard of the Five Platforms, but have you heard of the Three Mountains and Two Lakes?”

“No,” Feng Jun shook his head straightforwardly and then smiled, “Why don’t you enlighten me?”

Yu Changqing was relieved to see he truly didn’t know: the man was not pretending to be knowledgeable.

The Five Platforms were real, but the Three Mountains and Two Lakes… those forces did not exist in reality.

She posed the question to try and gauge his reaction.

Should he continue to admit his ignorance, at least it showed a willingness to be genuine. If he claimed to have heard of that name, then… the man was definitely not to be trusted.

However, on reflection, in history, the Three Mountains and Two Lakes did exist, albeit in a very distant past. Hence, asking him was not meant to put any true cultivator in a difficult position.

When Senior Feng openly admitted his lack of knowledge, she smiled faintly, “I have disclosed my origin, Wuyou Platform, which is one of the Five Platforms. As for your ‘Season of Fallen Flowers’… could you please enlighten me?”

“If you haven’t heard, then never mind,” Feng Jun responded nonchalantly, “I have no intention of receiving your guidance, so there is no need for a detailed explanation of my origins.”

Yu Changqing found herself at a loss for words; his response was quite blunt and direct.

She desired instruction and therefore had to answer some of his questions. He had no interest in receiving guidance and thus felt no inclination to respond to her.

But when all was said and done, who could she blame? She could only lament her own lack of broader insight.

Yu Changqing pondered for a moment before speaking up again, “Has Senior ever heard of the Four Great Sects?”

Feng Jun smiled and, after a long while, slowly shook his head without speaking.

In truth, he could have straightforwardly stated that he never heard of them, but… wasn’t the aim to put on some airs?

Yu Changqing remained silent; she had already surmised that this person likely came from some secretive power.

From the first sight of him, she knew his background wasn’t ordinary. Not to mention his short hair, completely out of place when compared to any group or faction she knew of, his accent was also greatly amiss.

Next, of course, were the ingenious devices and items he carried with him.

The ingenuity of those devices was beyond anything she had ever heard of; the items’ exquisiteness also opened her eyes to new possibilities.

And then there were the occasional odd phrases that slipped from his mouth.

Yu Changqing was currently only at the seventh layer of mortal transformation; strictly speaking, she had not yet truly started qi cultivation. Her status in Wuyou Platform was quite ordinary, but she was well aware of the general powers of cultivators, and this man was certainly not among them.

However, she didn’t think that this person would be some kind of spy with ulterior motives—who would be so high-profile as a spy?

In all seriousness, she found Feng Jun’s interpretation of certain principles not only refreshing but also vaguely enlightening after listening to them.

She could be certain that anyone who could speak of such principles must come from an extraordinary background.

Therefore, this person could only come from some secretive forces spoken of in legends.

Especially since Senior Feng could so easily think of ancient Great Dao, most cultivators nowadays are very pragmatic, only focusing on enhancing their cultivation level and competing for resources, who else would ponder those things?

She pondered for a long time before finally asking, “It seems that you don’t understand much about the forces in cultivation?”

Feng Jun smiled and nodded, thinking to himself where was it just “not much”? He knew absolutely nothing.

Yu Changqing’s eyes shifted, “If I were to explain it to you, would that be considered repaying cause and effect?”

“It would,” Feng Jun said with a smile and a nod, “but let me state first, if you come to me with questions, I might not be able to answer all of them… no one is omnipotent.”

Yu Changqing harbored a skeptical attitude towards this statement; she did not think that Senior Feng was omniscient, but she also doubted that he knew very little. She felt that he would likely use “not knowing” as a guise when it came to questions he found inconvenient to answer.

In the end, it was still because she knew too little about him and the forces behind him, making it difficult to ask questions that were too direct.

But she was not going to fret over this; instead, she smiled and nodded, “Let’s do that then, have we started now?”

After thinking for a moment, Feng Jun replied, “There’s no rush, you can start with a general introduction… There are quite a few messy things going on outside, I don’t have much time to spare at the moment.”

These were just mundane worldly matters, and Yu Changqing didn’t quite understand his attitude.

However, it wasn’t her concern, so she began with a simple introduction, “Then I’ll start by giving you an overview. In the vicinity of Donghua, besides the Four Great Sects, there are generally two peaks and one valley…”

“Cough cough,” Feng Jun choked on a smoke inhalation, coughing violently. Are you sure you’re talking about cultivation?

Yu Changqing looked at him strangely, “Is there something wrong with what I’m saying?”

“No problem, cough cough,” Feng Jun continued coughing, “I just… cough cough, got choked by the smoke.”

The Four Great Sects are Qinggang, Crimson Pheonix, Taiqing, and Yinsha; the two peaks are Sword Forging Peak and Pine Cypress Peak, and the one valley is Guanquan Valley.

There is no need to mention the Four Great Sects, they are certainly disciples of sects; however, the two peaks belong to cultivator families.

Pine Cypress Peak would be more aptly called Pine Cypress Villa, with the main family being the Pine Cypress Yan Family, under which there are eight major families and several vassal families.

Sword Forging Peak is composed of seven major families: Qi, Jie, Qu, Miao, Mi, Feng, and Mei.

Guanquan Valley has a sense of myriad flowers blooming; the valley possesses many springs, including cold springs, heavenly springs, spiritual springs, fire springs, etc., and it is a gathering place for renowned experts in various industries.

In the vicinity of Guanquan Valley, industries like spirit plant cultivation, alchemy, artifact crafting, and talisman crafting are very developed. However, they are mostly populated by loose cultivators.

While explaining these points, Yu Changqing intentionally and subtly made some slight errors, while carefully observing Senior Feng’s reactions, only to find that he seemed completely oblivious.

Even though she had expected this, she was still a bit perplexed: in this day and age, is there really such a cultivator who knows nothing?

After listening to her explanation, Feng Jun waited a moment before asking, “Then… what about Wutai?”

“Wutai…” Yu Changqing hesitated for a moment before answering nonchalantly, “Generally speaking, they are five families that don’t involve themselves too much in the conflicts here, possessing detached statuses and relative neutrality.”

Seeing her vague response and the lack of emphasis on introducing her own family, Feng Jun guessed that she had other thoughts in mind.

He didn’t mind, though, and proceeded to ask, “Are these people easy to approach in normal times?”

Yu Changqing hesitated again, then spoke, “For ordinary mortals, it certainly won’t be easy, but for fellow cultivators, it’s not too difficult. However, Senior Feng…”

She glanced sideways at Feng Jun, a hint of amusement in her eyes, “Forgive my bluntness, but I don’t sense the aura of cultivation on you.”

Feng Jun also glanced sideways at her and silently took out a spirit stone, placing it on the table, then extended his left hand.

In the eyes of the Yu sisters, his left index finger touched the spirit stone only once, then his arm trembled violently, and his body also shook slightly.

When he lifted his finger, the previously dim spirit stone appeared to become even duller, evident to the naked eye.

Their attention was focused entirely on the spirit stone, and they failed to notice the slight spasms in Feng Jun’s facial muscles.

Yu Changqing noticed the change in the spirit stone instantly, drawing in a sharp breath as she looked up at Feng Jun in alarm, her eyes filled with fright, “How… how is that possible?”