Chapter 255: Chapter 253: Immortal Master Xia (Part 2) Lou Yi and Chi Ye stood aside, not daring to make a sound. Lou Yi silently sensed, discovering that the hawk in his mind could not sense the strength of Immortal Master Xia’s cultivation. This indicated that either the other party was practicing a cultivation technique that concealed their aura, or their cultivation was much stronger than his. After nearly half an hour. The red lines finally changed, most of them suddenly disappeared, while a small portion solidified into black lines engraved on the talisman paper. Immortal Master Xia breathed a sigh of relief, then raised his head to look at Lou Yi, smiling as he said, "Sorry to keep you waiting, I really couldn’t stop just now. Otherwise, the blood essence of so many demons and the six-hundred-year peach tree bark talisman paper would have been wasted." "Being able to witness the talisman drawing divine skill is truly a rare opportunity, so in a way, I got lucky," Lou Yi said. "Haha!" Immortal Master Xia laughed upon hearing Lou Yi and said warmly to Chi Ye, "This young friend means no harm, you can go out first." "Immortal Master..." Chi Ye hesitated to speak. Yet he had great respect for Immortal Master Xia, so after giving Lou Yi a slightly warning look, he reluctantly left. "How do you find living here, young friend? Are you getting used to it?" Immortal Master Xia waved a hand, gathering all the talisman paper, brushes, and inkstones from the Eight Immortals Table, making the table spotlessly clean. Then, without knowing from where, he took out a teapot and two teacups and started pouring tea skillfully. It seemed like magic, leaving Lou Yi amazed. "Although Ping’an Village often faces attacks from spirits and demons, the people here diligently cultivate and work hard, with a simple, honest way of life, without the intrigue found elsewhere. It’s truly an ideal place to live," Lou Yi thought and replied. He accepted the teacup offered by Immortal Master Xia, the tea inside lushly green, and drank it all without thinking. Initially bitter, the tea revealed a subtle sweetness upon further tasting, leaving a pleasant aftertaste and a lingering fragrance. Lou Yi might not understand tea, but he could tell this tea was anything but ordinary. "Do you plan to live in Ping’an Village permanently since you like it so much?" Immortal Master Xia smiled faintly. "If I didn’t know about the path to immortality, perhaps I would have," Lou Yi said seriously, expressing his determination to Immortal Master Xia. "But since I’ve learned there’s a way to attain eternal life, soar to the heavens, and escape into the earth, I must certainly attempt it in order not to waste my journey through this world." Immortal Master Xia was not surprised upon hearing this and said, "Cultivating immortality requires a spirit root, and this alone stops ninety-nine percent of people from the path." "May I ask the Immortal Master to test my spirit root?" Lou Yi felt a stir and asked. Recently, he helped Ping’an Village resist spirit and demon attacks, killing many demons, thus increasing his Yin affinity several times. If tested again, would the result differ from what the black-robed man got before? "This is easy." Immortal Master Xia nodded, suddenly appearing a palm-sized copper mirror, similar to the one the black-robed man had. The copper mirror shone at Lou Yi’s head. Within the mirror, an irregular stone appeared, composed of numerous hexagonal honeycomb-like particles. Most were dim gray, with slight differences at the upper left and right protrusions. The left side radiated a faint dark glow, and the right side emitted a faint cyan glow. The cyan section was extremely small, almost invisible unless closely observed. The dark glow was much larger but still only occupied 2%-3% of the stone’s surface. "No-grade Wind Spirit Root, Lower-Grade Yin Spirit Root," Immortal Master Xia concluded with some surprise, "Though your aptitude is average, you have the talent to practice Yin Technique. Even in this aspect alone, you surpass countless people." ’The Yin Spirit Root indeed changed!’ Lou Yi rejoiced. In this case, he could enhance the Yin Spirit Root by slaying more spirits with Yin Attributes. Now it’s lower-grade, but who knows if it might not become middle, upper-grade in the future? However, the Yin Spirit Root might not be most suitable for him. Ignorant about cultivation, Lou Yi asked Immortal Master Xia, "Immortal Master, which is stronger, Yin or Wind?" Immortal Master Xia shook his head, "The Five Elements—metal, wood, water, fire, earth—plus Yin, Thunder, and Wind, although nature has interactions and enmity, there’s no intrinsic strong or weak distinction. It mainly depends on the cultivator’s power level. Just like the blades, spears, swords, and halberds used by martial artists, their power varies in different hands." "Understood, Senior." "However, the major sects have different specialties. Yan Kingdom’s True Blood Sect follows Body Cultivation, not emphasizing the Five Elements. Chu Kingdom’s Red Sun Sect excels in Fire Techniques. Zhao Kingdom’s Corpse-Driving Sect predominantly comprises Yin Practitioners..." "Corpse-Driving Sect?" Lou Yi’s eyes lit up upon hearing this. His strong senses as a martial artist told him he was connected to this sect! "Corpse-Driving Sect masters corpse control. Don’t let its name fool you; it’s a legitimate sect," Immortal Master Xia explained carefully, thinking Lou Yi might dislike it. "To the north of Ping’an Village is Cyan Wolf Ridge, Demon Clan territory, mainly countered by Zhao Kingdom’s Corpse-Driving Sect and Yan Kingdom’s True Blood Sect. Otherwise, Ping’an Village would struggle to survive and would have been devoured by the demon army long ago." "Do I have a chance to join the Corpse-Driving Sect?" Lou Yi asked. This mattered most to him. "You have the Yin aptitude and are still young, theoretically you should be able. However, I spent my early years in the Yan Kingdom, not much in the Zhao Kingdom," Immortal Master Xia said. "Every large city in Zhao Kingdom has a Seeking Immortality Hall. If you’re interested, you could try." "Thank you for informing me, Immortal Master!" Lou Yi cupped his fists in gratitude. Now that he knew about the Corpse-Driving Sect, he’d have to change his upcoming plans. Lou Yi decided to head to Zhao Kingdom after some time. Afterward, he consulted Immortal Master Xia on many matters, gaining a clearer understanding of the world. In this world, humans and demons jointly govern, fiercely conflicting, incompatible like fire and water. The world is mainly divided into three large regions. They are the Northern Border, Central Continent, and Southern Demon Kingdom. Bordered by the Longjiang River. North of the Longjiang River lies the Northern Border, a domain primarily dominated by humans, with demons rarely seen, almost vanished. Lou Yi’s former home, Wei Kingdom, belonged to the Northern Border’s area. South of the Longjiang River, including Ping’an Village, Zhao Kingdom, Yan Kingdom, Chu Kingdom, Cyan Wolf Ridge, and other small territories, are part of the Central Continent. Central Continent coexists with humans and demons. In some places, human forces dominate, while in others, demon forces are stronger. Overall, they have back-and-forth exchanges, neither able to overwhelm the other. The Central Continent’s range is the largest, hosting no less than a hundred human nations, of which Immortal Master Xia visited four or five. As for the Southern Demon Kingdom, it’s a forbidden area for humans. Rumor has it that demons there imitate humans to establish kingdoms, raising humans as livestock, feeding on them, exceptionally cruel. ...