Chapter 2906 — The Matter of the Successor

"Is there any need for me to lie to you about something like this? Otherwise, why would I ask you for the earth-attribute essence liquid?" Wei Zhao frowned, unable to read the Earth Tyrant's expression. Was this news truly so shocking?

"No, no, Leader Wei Zhao, don't misunderstand me. What I meant was, I had assumed a friend of yours—an earth-attribute cultivator—had suffered a qi deviation in cultivation and needed the earth-attribute essence liquid to stabilize them. But now it seems that is not the case at all. What you describe is very likely the earth-attribute successor our Yellow Earth High Sect has been searching for all along—the condition you describe matches an earth-attribute successor exactly!" the Earth Tyrant hurried to explain.

"Earth-attribute successor?" Old Man Wei had mentioned such things before, though never with any certainty. But now that the Earth Tyrant had said it outright, it was all but confirmed—Little Nine must be what they called an earth-attribute successor!

At that thought, Wei Zhao could not help but grow wary. He knew that from the very moment Feng Xiaoxiao became a successor, he had been reluctant, for the little ice-sugar girl had said that a successor must undertake a dangerous task.

Feng Xiaoxiao had gone to the Ice Palace and become a successor against Wei Zhao's wishes, but where Little Nine was concerned, Wei Zhao would not give in so easily. So he said only, very calmly: "I just want to know how this earth-attribute essence liquid is used. As for successors and such, I care nothing for it, and my friend will not become any sort of successor."

"That..." The Earth Tyrant realized he had been too excited. The man before him was Wei Zhao—not just anyone! There was no chance of swaying this man's will. So the Earth Tyrant could only smile bitterly and say: "Leader Wei Zhao, it is like this. If that person truly is in the condition you describe, then using the earth-attribute essence liquid as a medicinal catalyst, together with parts from an earth-attribute heaven-rank spirit beast, could relieve the condition to the greatest extent. But there is a flaw in doing so: the earth element within your friend's body will vanish, and the body will become exceedingly weak. Even if life can be prolonged, they will not live long—within ten or twenty years, they are certain to perish."

"What... what you say, is it true?!" Wei Zhao was taken aback, for the Earth Tyrant's words were remarkably similar to what the little ice-sugar girl had said back in the Ice Palace. At the time, Wei Zhao had wanted to feed Feng Xiaoxiao the Fire Spirit Sacred Fruit, but the little ice-sugar girl had stopped him—and now the Earth Tyrant was saying much the same thing.

"Naturally. I might lie to anyone, but never to my esteemed Leader Wei Zhao!" The Earth Tyrant sighed and said: "To be frank with you, Leader Wei Zhao, my journey this time from the Western Regions to the Central Plains was partly to broaden my horizons at the Mystic Pill Sect's trials, but more than that, to search for... to search for an earth-attribute successor to bring back to our Yellow Earth High Sect."

There was another reason the Earth Tyrant had come here—to find his cousin Tu Ranran. But his uncle Tu Qingsong had specifically instructed him to be cautious about this matter, for the events of those years were complicated and must not be mentioned casually to others. So even to Wei Zhao, the Earth Tyrant said nothing of it.

Wei Zhao nodded. Having learned from the previous trip to the Ice Palace, he did not think the Earth Tyrant was deceiving him. Little Nine's condition might indeed be as he said—that of an earth-attribute successor who must go and receive the inheritance.

"Is there no other way to resolve this for a cultivator of such a constitution, besides receiving the inheritance?" Wei Zhao asked, unwilling to give up. "For instance, some cultivation method or mnemonic formula?"

"If one had cultivated from childhood, it might be possible, but from the look of it, this cultivator, though younger than you, Senior Wei Zhao, cannot be much younger. In terms of time, it is too late—at least for cultivators of our earth attribute, it cannot be done." The Earth Tyrant shook his head and said with certainty: "To be frank with you, Leader, if there were a solution, the direct bloodline of our Yellow Earth High Sect would not be so thin. Down to the present, only my uncle and I remain! That is also why my uncle agreed so readily to trade the earth-attribute essence liquid for my life—because everyone else in our family has already passed away..."

"Oh?" Wei Zhao was somewhat shocked. The Earth Tyrant's family... all dead as well? Of course, Wei Zhao did not doubt that the Earth Tyrant would joke about such a thing; a single inquiry to Ge Xian would reveal whether it was true.

"There is no need for surprise, Leader Wei Zhao. Our family's bloodline is in fact the same as the one you described—the body contains a great quantity of earth elements, and one must cultivate our Yellow Earth High Sect's mnemonic formulas from childhood. Moreover, before the age of twenty, one must step into the heaven rank, or else face death. At that point, one needs the earth-attribute essence liquid combined with parts from an earth-attribute heaven-rank spirit beast to relieve the condition, but the effect varies from person to person, and it buys only ten or twenty years of life..." The Earth Tyrant said: "But reaching heaven rank before twenty—a sect, even with all its strength, can cultivate only one or two such disciples in any given period. After all, the accumulation of pills is limited. It is like the Mingri Fu Mingri Sect concentrating its efforts on cultivating Zhang Naipao; our Yellow Earth High Sect concentrated its efforts on cultivating me."

"But could you not become successors? Why not accept the inheritance, then?" Wei Zhao asked, puzzled.

"Successors are all women. Male cultivators cannot receive the perception of the inheritance and cannot become successors. And our Yellow Earth High Sect's bloodline is very peculiar—all descendants are male. To produce a daughter, one must employ a highly complicated method, expending vast effort and rare treasures, before a female descendant can appear. This is done specifically for the cultivation of successors," the Earth Tyrant said.

"Then... why did you not produce a female descendant yourselves to receive the inheritance?" Wei Zhao asked, rather curious.

"There is... my uncle has a daughter, who is also my cousin. It should have been a cause for great celebration, but..." Here the Earth Tyrant suddenly realized he had said too much. Before Wei Zhao, he had let down his guard, and in an unguarded moment had spoken of a secret that must not be told.

"What is it?" Wei Zhao, seeing the Earth Tyrant suddenly stop short, was at once puzzled.

"My apologies, Leader Wei Zhao. This is a matter of some secrecy within our family, and I have let slip more than I should..." the Earth Tyrant said with some embarrassment. "In any case, all you need to know is that we tried, but did not succeed..."

"Did not succeed? So even if my friend went to your sect, there is no guarantee she would successfully receive the inheritance?" Wei Zhao countered.

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