Chapter 525: Farewell
Erging from the top floor of the Demon Sealing Pagoda, Chen Huaian's cultivation had already advanced to the early Nascent Soul stage.
At the sa ti, within his dantian, alongside the adorably chubby wild boar Dang Kang, there now resided a plump qilin with its paws tucked into invisible pockets, its eyes narrowed in a perpetual smile.
"Leave the rest to . I'll fulfill your wish," Chen Huaian sighed. Dang Kang had forged his sword path, and now this qilin would likely shape his alchemy path. This was all part of the Ancestral Dragon's arrangent, gradually molding him into a versatile master.
But to accelerate this process, these auspicious beasts had to sacrifice themselves one by one, becoming part of his power.
"Ancestor, is there anything else?" Dan Bai glanced around nervously, instinctively hiding behind Chen Huaian. The Demon Sealing Pagoda felt eerie - while the noisy qilin had been present, there'd at least been so vitality. But after its disappearance, only expressionless demons and thick deathly aura remained.
The demons didn't attack, rely watching silently from afar as they walked forward.
"Nothing else. Do you want to return now?" Chen Huaian patted Dan Bai's head.
"I should go back," Dan Bai nodded obediently. "Although this is a rare opportunity, I'm not skilled in combat. If sothing unexpected happened, I might just hold you back."
"That's reasonable." Chen Huaian agreed. This place was dangerous, and without his full Cangyun Realm-level power, he couldn't guarantee Dan Bai's safety.
Activating the Sect Summoning Token, he sent Dan Bai back. However, nearly all the pills Dan Bai and the qilin had refined remained with him in his player's inventory, along with surplus materials. Dan Bai only took one pill back for research.
...
In the Cangyun Realm, spatial fluctuations announced Dan Bai's return to her small wooden hut. The alchemical fire beneath her cauldron still burned, but the spiritual herbs inside had long since charred.
Oh no! Had so much ti passed? Weren't the tilines between worlds supposed to be synchronized?
Staring at the blackened mush in her cauldron, Dan Bai felt impending doom. Looking up, she t her mother's stormy expression.
"So you abandon your cauldron mid-refinent to wander about? How will you ever assist the Ancestor like this?"
Seeing her mother's livid face, Dan Bai panicked: "Mother! Let explain! I was helping the Ancestor! I was only gone less than an hour!"
"Lies now too?" Dan Yun snorted coldly. "Copy the Taihua Alchemy Sutra ten thousand tis! No leaving until you finish!"
With a slam of the door, Dan Yun stord out.
"Motherrrr!"
"I'm innocent!!!"
Dan Bai's despairing wails echoed through the wooden hut.
...
"Sect Master, Elder Dan Yun requests an audience."
Behind the screen in the main hall, Li Qingran paused her ditation. Dan Yun visiting? That was rare. Using her master's world's terminology, the Alchemy Pavilion elder was the ultimate shut-in, never erging unless absolutely necessary.
Yet here she was. And specifically asking to see her.
Li Qingran felt slightly nervous. "Show Elder Dan Yun in."
The disciple soon returned with an anxious-looking Dan Yun, who spoke urgently before Li Qingran could inquire: "Sect Master, I've discovered sothing strange."
Li Qingran nodded for her to continue.
"The Ancestor occasionally summons so disci... I an, elders and disciples to that Earth Star world, yes? Previously, no matter how long passed there, our tilines remained nearly synchronized."
"Correct," Li Qingran agreed. "Our ti flows almost identically to the Ancestor's world."
"But..." Dan Yun bit her lip. "My daughter Dan Bai was summoned by the Ancestor. When she returned, nearly a day had passed here - her cauldron's herbs had burned dry. The Ancestor never keeps anyone long, so... could our tilines be diverging?"
Li Qingran's heart skipped a beat. Co to think of it, she hadn't seen Chen Huaian for almost a day either. She'd assud he was busy, but was ti now flowing faster in the Cangyun Realm than on Earth Star?
Would she... age faster than her master?!
Her first instinct was to touch her face. As a cultivator - and a gifted one at that - she needn't worry about aging appearances. Like the Green Cloud Ancestor, she could revert her appearance instantly.
But ntal age was different. The way she viewed things would mature. Now she could still playfully snuggle in her master's arms, but at the Green Cloud Ancestor's age, even with a youthful face, such behavior would be... embarrassing!
"I'll verify this with the Ancestor," Li Qingran said solemnly. If the ti differential had increased, wouldn't that an her master would spend even less ti in the Cangyun Realm?
And she certainly didn't want to beco an old maid!
"Sect Master, Rice Bucket requests an audience."
Another report ca from beyond the screen. Dan Yun clasped her hands. "Then I shall take my leave. That silly girl is probably still wailing in the Alchemy Pavilion. I should supervise her copying that sutra. I've been waiting for an excuse - today's incident provided the perfect opportunity."
Li Qingran: "..."
This Alchemy Pavilion elder certainly knew how to seize teachable monts. Rather than reporting the anomaly first, she'd used it to discipline her daughter...
Noted. She'd rember this tactic for when she and her master had children. Heehee!
As Dan Yun left, Jade Compassion's middle corpse Rice Bucket was ushered in. Unlike Dan Yun's agitation, Jade Compassion appeared calm, easing Li Qingran's tension sowhat.
This was a Great Ascension Stage powerhouse after all. If she remained composed, matters probably weren't dire.
Yet...
"Sect Master Li, I ca to inform you and Sword Master Chen that I likely won't remain much longer."
Rice Bucket's eyelashes fluttered, her usually bright eyes now shadowed with subtle lancholy.
"During my ti at Moon Shadow Sect, I've been very happy. Thank you for accepting , even letting consu an entire mountain..."
That lancholy didn't escape Li Qingran's notice. She studied Rice Bucket curiously. In all the vast Cangyun Realm, who could make a Great Ascension Third Tribulation Perfection expert speak like this?
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