Li Chang’an used a few elixir pills to keep Xu Yang hanging on, simply because Xu Fugui and Chu Daniu hadn’t arrived yet.
A while later.
Xu Fugui and Chu Daniu arrived from Yellow Crane Immortal City, their faces etched with anxiety.
"Second Brother Xu!"
"Second Brother, how are you feeling?"
Even though they were now esteed Foundation Establishnt Cultivators, the two of them still addressed Xu Yang with the sa title from all those years ago.
In their old group of immortal-seekers, Li Chang’an was Big Brother, and Xu Yang was Second Brother.
The two of them hurriedly channeled their Magical Power to check Xu Yang’s condition.
Upon checking, their expressions dimd.
In his early years, Xu Yang had sacrificed too much for his family. He had repeatedly used magic that burned away his lifespan. He was originally only expected to live into his seventies or eighties; living past one hundred was already quite a feat.
Now, Xu Yang finally stopped worrying about his family.
He knew that as long as Li Chang’an and the other two were around, the Xu Family would never completely fall into decline.
Hanging on by a thread, he reminisced with the three of them about their past in the Mortal Realm, slowly slipping away.
At the very end, his mind grew hazy.
One mont, he thought he was still a martial arts instructor in the mortal world. The next, he believed they were still on their quest to find an Immortal Sect.
His voice grew weaker and weaker, his pupils gradually lost focus, and before his eyes, only a blurry silhouette of Li Chang’an remained.
Li Chang’an asked in a low voice,
"Xu Yang, can you still hear ?"
"Big Brother... I... I’m fine... We... we’re going to seek the immortals... to find an Immortal Sect..."
...
「A few days later.」
An autumn wind stirred the withered, yellow leaves.
Deep within the Xu Clan Territory, a new, low burial mound had appeared.
Li Chang’an, Xu Fugui, and Chu Daniu all stood before the grave, silently bidding farewell to their friend.
"Journey well, Xu Yang!"
The group of immortal-seekers from all those years ago had lost another mber.
Now, perhaps only six of them remained.
Besides the three of them, there was Su Yuyan, Ye Hao, and Mu Qiuyan, who had beco a Demon Cultivator.
「A few days later.」
Mu Qiuyan and Su Yuyan arrived late.
"Second Brother Xu, journey well."
They lit a pile of paper money to bid Xu Yang farewell.
Not long after they left, Ye Hao arrived in a hurry. Seeing the low grave mound, he heaved a deep sigh.
"Alas, a step too late."
He silently bid farewell to his old friend, placing several jars of fine wine on the grave mound.
...
「Several more days passed.」
Li Chang’an headed to the Cyan Cloud Sect.
After a month of cleanup, the Cyan Cloud Sect had already been restored to its appearance from before the great war.
Wisteria vines intertwined, ethereal mists swirled, Spirit Beasts danced in the air, and pavilions and terraces lood faintly in the distance.
Li Chang’an landed before the Immortal Gate. He looked up at the towering, cloud-piercing Cyan Cloud Mountain and couldn’t help but feel a surge of emotion.
’This must be the first ti I’ve formally entered the Cyan Cloud Sect.’
The scene of his rejection all those years ago was still fresh in his mind. In the blink of an eye, so many years had passed.
He took a deep breath and stepped through the mist-shrouded Mountain Gate, intending to head for the Cyan Cloud Sect’s main hall.
But he hadn’t gone far when he heard the sound of wailing.
’What’s going on?’
Puzzled, Li Chang’an headed toward the source of the wailing.
He saw several Cyan Cloud Sect disciples kneeling and weeping bitterly on the ground. Before them lay a body that was already cold.
He stepped forward and asked, "What happened here? Why is this man lying dead?"
Sensing the Foundation Establishnt aura on him, the disciples dared not be disrespectful.
Their faces were filled with grief as they answered Li Chang’an.
"Senior, this man is our elder brother."
"A few days ago, our brother’s dao companion caught Elder Wan Xing’s eye. Unwilling to be humiliated, she took her own life to preserve her honor."
"Our brother was furious and went to confront Elder Wan Xing, only to be beaten to death..."
After listening to their account, Li Chang’an understood the whole story.
’So it was Wan Xing.’
Wan Xing was a Body Refinent genius.
But his Magical Cultivation had long failed to break through, stagnating at the Late Stage of Foundation Establishnt.
The Cultivation Technique he practiced was called the "Yang Cauldron Technique." This technique was extrely sinister and required the assistance of Female Cultivators.
At first, he had been more cautious, not daring to openly prey on the Sect’s female cultivators.
But ever since he broke through to Tier Three in the Path of Body Refinent, achieving a status comparable to that of a Golden Core Cultivator, he had grown increasingly brazen.
The Cyan Cloud Sect’s Golden Core Cultivators all turned a blind eye, simply because they hoped he would reach Core Formation sooner.
"Senior, please, you must get justice for our brother!"
"With my ager Foundation Establishnt Cultivation, how could I get justice for you?"
Li Chang’an shook his head slightly and left the area.
’I’d like to deal with Wan Xing myself and take his Tier Three Body Refining Technique. But Wan Xing cultivates in the Cyan Cloud Sect year-round. I have no opportunity to make a move.’
Not long after, Li Chang’an arrived at the Cyan Cloud Sect’s great hall and went to pay his respects to the cultivators from the Purple Mist Sect.
The Zi Xi Saintess sat on the seat of honor, flanked by a dozen or so other cultivators from the Purple Mist Sect.
She glanced at Li Chang’an and said casually, "Li Chang’an of the Changqing Mountain Lineage? Go find a seat to the side."
"Yes!"
Li Chang’an gave a cupped-fist salute, walked to the rear of the great hall, found a corner seat, and sat down, trying his best to remain inconspicuous.
The front seats were all reserved for Golden Core Cultivators, and further back were the Foundation Establishnt Celestial Prides.
’A Junior Loose Cultivator like belongs in the very back.’
At that mont, among the dozen or so Purple Mist Sect cultivators, one of them suddenly looked up and glanced at Li Chang’an.
’Huh? The aura of a Ten Thousand Demon Blood Stone?’
The Ten Thousand Demon Blood Stone was a type of Treasure used to raise the tier of a Demon Beast’s bloodline.
Its refining thod had long been lost.
Li Chang’an had once obtained a piece, which had raised Dahuang’s bloodline from Middle Grade to Top Grade.
He frowned, feeling soone discreetly sizing him up.
’Strange. I’m already sitting in a corner. How did I still attract soone’s attention?’
Li Chang’an glanced around but couldn’t spot who was watching him.
Within the great hall, he didn’t dare to release his Divine Sense, so he could only push his doubts to the back of his mind.
Ti flew by.
Representatives from various Golden Core and Foundation Establishnt powers continued to arrive, gradually filling the great hall.
In the end, almost all the prominent figures of the entire Southern Domain had arrived.
Gu Qinghong of the Cyan Cloud Sect cupped his hands and said, "Saintess, everyone is here. We can begin the eting."
"No rush. We’ll wait a little longer."
The Zi Xi Saintess sat high above, her gaze serene, quietly looking outside the great hall.
It seed she was waiting for soone.
Everyone present couldn’t help but wonder.
’What kind of person could be so important that the Saintess of a Nascent Soul Sect would personally wait for them?’
As this thought crossed their minds, Cyan Cloud Mountain beneath everyone’s feet suddenly began to shake violently.
"What’s happening?"
The color drained from their faces, for the tremors were not limited to Cyan Cloud Mountain.
As far as the eye could see, the distant land was also shaking, as if an Earth Dragon were turning over deep underground.
The Zi Xi Saintess’s gaze remained serene.
’The Divination Grandmaster within the Sect was right after all.’
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