653: Chapter 64 Leizhou City, The Road Ahead

"Younger Brother Kang?"

"What Younger Brother Kang?" Hearing Jing Tian's words, Tang Xuejian asked, puzzled.

Jing Tian did not respond.

Meng Li understood in his heart. Following Jing Tian's gaze, he looked and discovered that he had indeed seen Yang Kang—no, it should be Yun Ting.

The other party was strolling along the street, followed by a group of guards who vaguely formed a circle, separating him from others, yet he lacked an overbearing demeanor.

The surrounding commoners looked normal, seemingly accustomed to it.

Because they were far away, Jing Tian and Tang Xuejian's words did not attract Yun Ting's attention.

Meanwhile, Hong Kui and Lan Kui also spotted Yun Ting and were taken aback.

Like Jing Tian, they had seen Yang Kang in Meng Li's memories regarding the legend of the condor heroes world.

At this moment, Xu Changqing and Tang Xuejian also saw Yun Ting, but only felt that his status was extraordinary.

Immediately after, Tang Xuejian noticed that Hong Kui and Lan Kui were acting strangely and couldn't help but ask: "Hong Kui, Lan Kui, do you and Stinky Tofu know that person?"

Hong Kui shook her head: "Not exactly."

Tang Xuejian was stunned.

Knowing someone is knowing them; not knowing them is not knowing them.

What is this "not exactly" situation?

Lan Kui saw her confusion and explained: "In the memories of that lifetime where Hong Kui and I were Mu Nianci and Brother was Guo Jing, there was a person who looked almost exactly like this man. His name was Yang Kang, he was the son of Mu Nianci's foster father Yang Tiexin, and he was also sworn brothers with Guo Jing."

"That is the reason why Brother just called him 'Younger Brother Kang'."

"However, that was a matter of that lifetime."

"In this lifetime, we don't know him yet, so it doesn't count as knowing him."

Upon hearing this, Tang Xuejian was very surprised.

Xu Changqing was a bit confused.

He knew nothing about the other lifetime Lan Kui spoke of, but thinking that he also had memories of his two previous lifetimes, he did not doubt it.

When Tang Xuejian was at the Inn in Fengdu, she had heard Jing Tian, Hong Kui, and the others talk about the legend of the condor heroes lifetime, and had even teased Hong Kui and Lan Kui about it. However, she only heard a general outline at the time and was not very clear about some details and other people.

As one of the main characters, Yang Kang had a certain presence in the memories and stories.

Tang Xuejian had heard of him, but had never seen the person.

Now hearing Lan Kui say this, she immediately recalled some related things and then speculated: "Could this person be the Reincarnation of Yang Kang?"

As she spoke, Tang Xuejian couldn't help but look at Jing Tian, a strange thought arising in her heart.

That lifetime as Long Yang gave Stinky Tofu two extra younger sisters.

Now that such a Younger Brother Kang has appeared, will he gain another younger brother?

To Tang Xuejian's surprise, although Jing Tian had exclaimed "Younger Brother Kang," he did not run over to acknowledge the other as a brother.

She couldn't help but tease: "Stinky Tofu, didn't you call him 'Younger Brother Kang'? Why aren't you going over to acknowledge him?"

Jing Tian rolled his eyes at her: "He just looks like Yang Kang; he might not be the Reincarnation of Yang Kang. Even if he is, he probably doesn't have the memories of that lifetime. Didn't my sister say so? I don't know him in this lifetime. If I suddenly run over to acknowledge him, I'm afraid I'll be thought of as trying to claim a false relative."

"It might even get me mistaken for a lunatic."

In reality, he was quite conflicted.

Encountering an acquaintance in a strange place naturally brings surprise.

That was why he had called out "Younger Brother Kang" directly.

But upon reflection, Jing Tian realized this acquaintance was from another lifetime, and he felt an indescribable, complex emotion in his heart.

Joy, a sense of loss, sighing... it was all there.

Subconsciously, he turned to look at Meng Li.

Because Meng Li had more experience with this kind of thing.

Unexpectedly, upon turning his head, he not only didn't see Meng Li, but he couldn't see Xu Maoshan either.

"Where did Elder Brother Meng and Maomao run off to?" Jing Tian asked in surprise.

"They are over there." Hong Kui pointed to a food stall on the other side of the street and said.

Having said that, she and Lan Kui walked over together.

Jing Tian looked in the direction and discovered that Xu Maoshan and Meng Li were sitting on the benches provided for customers at the food stall.

Xu Maoshan was looking at the wontons the stall owner had just brought over, excitedly rubbing his chubby hands, appearing drooling and ready to start eating.

Meng Li, on the other hand, was slowly and methodically stirring them twice with a spoon.

Jing Tian's face turned black instantly, and he ran over quickly: "You rascal Maomao, eating without calling me!"

Xu Maoshan replied with a silly smile: "Boss, I didn't mean not to call you. It's just that the food here is so fragrant, I was dazed by the aroma."

Meng Li ate a wonton and added, following up on the conversation: "Not only is it fragrant, but the taste is also quite good."

Jing Tian's mouth twitched, but he didn't say much more.

Just now, he was just habitually complaining and didn't really blame Xu Maoshan.

Subsequently, the stall owner brought over a few more bowls of wontons.

After a simple distribution, the quantity was just right—one bowl for each person in the entire team.

It was obvious that Meng Li and Xu Maoshan had ordered for Jing Tian, Hong Kui, and the others just now.

After the late-arriving Jing Tian and the others sat down, Xu Changqing did not immediately eat the wontons like Jing Tian, but looked around with a puzzled expression.

Jing Tian noticed this and asked: "White Tofu, you're looking around, what are you looking for?"

Xu Changqing withdrew his gaze and answered: "I'm not looking for anything; I just feel that the situation in this Leizhou City is a bit strange."

"What's strange about it?" Jing Tian asked.

Xu Changqing replied: "We all saw with our own eyes when we came that there are many demons near Leizhou City. But in this city, there is no trace of demons at all; on the contrary, it is a scene of commoners living in peace and prosperity. It is no exaggeration to say that the inside and outside of the city are two different worlds. Isn't that strange?"

Then, without waiting to be asked, he answered: "I believe that there must be something in this city that deters the demons, preventing them from entering."

"That deterrent is likely the thunder spirit pearl we are looking for."

"In other words, the thunder spirit pearl is highly likely to be inside this city, rather than outside the village like it was in Anning Village before."

"That makes sense." Jing Tian nodded, then asked: "Then do you know exactly where the thunder spirit pearl is?"

Xu Changqing shook his head: "This will require further searching with the Dongqing Mirror to know."

Jing Tian said: "Then let's eat first. After we're full, we'll find an Inn to stay, and then look for the thunder spirit pearl."

After speaking, he didn't say anything more and buried his head in devouring the wontons.

Xu Changqing nodded and turned his attention to the wontons.

Before long, the wontons were finished, and the group found an Inn to stay at.

After settling their luggage, Xu Changqing went out with the Dongqing Mirror to search for the whereabouts of the thunder spirit pearl.

Jing Tian, Hong Kui, Lan Kui, Tang Xuejian, and Xu Maoshan followed along to act.

Meng Li did not follow, but stayed at the Inn.

Others might not know, but he knew that the thunder spirit pearl was on Yun Ting, and obtaining it would not be difficult.

However, he had recently encountered some problems in his cultivation that required time to solve, so he was not in a rush.

And the problem he encountered happened to be related to the thunder spirit pearl.

Meng Li's current cultivation was Dao comprehension, specifically following the "Three Flowers Gather at the Crown, Five Qis Return to the Origin" path. The "Three Flowers Gather at the Crown" step had already been completed, and for the "Five Qis" of the "Five Qis Return to the Origin," by utilizing the earth spirit pearl to comprehend the Earth Element Law, he already possessed the Earth Element Qi.

With the fire spirit pearl in hand, comprehending the Fire Elemental Law and cultivating the Fire Element Qi was just a matter of time.

The problem was that the "Five Qis" of "Five Qis Return to the Origin" were "Metal, Wood, Water, Fire, and Earth."

But the five spirit orbs of this world were the earth spirit pearl, fire spirit pearl, thunder spirit pearl, water spirit pearl, and wind spirit pearl.

In addition, there was a special sacred spirit pearl.

There were simply no metal spirit pearl or wood spirit pearl.

Therefore, the "Five Qis Return to the Origin" was missing "two Qis."

After thinking about it, Meng Li came up with two methods based on the situation:

One was to follow the original path, and after using the earth, fire, and water spirit pearls to cultivate three Qis, he would deduce the rest by analogy to cultivate the Metal and Wood Qis, achieving "Five Qis Return to the Origin."

The second was to modify the path, and based on existing conditions, take the path of "evolving Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire."

Both had their pros and cons, and neither was easy.

The advantage of the "Five Qis Return to the Origin" path was that it had been deduced in a previous life, and one only needed to follow the steps to achieve it.

The difficulty was that the Metal and Wood Qis lacked spirit pearl Laws to comprehend, and wanting to cultivate them later by analogy was by no means easy.

Moreover, after achieving "Five Qis Return to the Origin," one would have to continue to open up a new path.

The advantage of the path of evolving Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire was that all four major elements had spirit pearl Laws to reference, and cultivation would not be difficult.

The disadvantage was that it hadn't been deduced before; after cultivating the four major elements, how to evolve them further would require new planning.

At present, Meng Li only had some scattered inspiration and a vague framework for this.

For example, in the Buddhist definition, Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire were the four basic elements that constitute the material world and were the fundamental forms of material existence.

For another example, in the Investiture of the Gods world, Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind were also the four major elements that constituted the world.

After the defeat of the Master of Heaven, his intention to re-establish Earth, Water, Fire, and Wind was to destroy the world and then recreate it.

Judging from these situations, the status and upper limit of the path of evolving Earth, Water, Wind, and Fire were higher than "Five Qis Return to the Origin," and once taken, the future would be relatively clear—creation!

It was just that this path was not easy to walk, and Meng Li was not sure if he could make it through.

After all, he currently didn't seem to even count as an immortal.

Which path should he choose?