txolops Chapter 98 Things Have Changed
Chapter 98 Things Have Changed
A palace nestled on the mountainside, adorned with mulberry and elm trees.
Guided by his senior brother Xiong, Zhang Tie arrived at this place.
Senior Brother Xiong reported to Dai Sangyu that Zhang Tie had successfully completed his foundation building and expressed his desire to visit their master.
But Dai Sangyu stopped them.
Dai Sangyu told them that their master was in seclusion and that Zhang Tie could only become his disciple after his master came out of seclusion. He could stay on the mountain for the time being.
Zhang Tie dared not leave Qinglong Mountain, lest he be unable to find the person when the True Immortal emerged from seclusion. He could only find a secret room to meditate and wait for True Immortal Fenglan to emerge from seclusion.
Although he couldn't leave Qinglong, he asked someone to come down from the mountain and tell his master and elder brother that he had successfully established his foundation.
After patiently waiting for more than half a month, Zhang Tie finally saw Master Fenglan emerge from seclusion and accept him as his disciple.
After he had done all this, he went to Xiantao Mountain to find his elder brother.
However, Bai Lin told him that Li Ping had already left the Immortal City and returned to the Jiang Kingdom after learning that he had successfully established his foundation.
Hearing this, Zhang Tie could only leave disappointed, planning to visit his elder brother again after he returned to the Immortal City.
……
Inside the palace atop Qinglong Mountain.
Mr. Yan smiled and said, "This boy is kind, honest and steady. I congratulate Lord Bai on taking on such a fine disciple."
"Thank you for your kind words, Mr. Yan." Fenglan Zhenren sighed upon hearing this, "Unfortunately, that fiend Yan Liming is truly cunning. He's kept us waiting for so long, yet he himself hasn't shown up in the end. I can only trouble Mr. Yan to continue staying in the Immortal City for a while longer!"
Mr. Yan smiled and nodded: "It's alright, it's alright, Lord Bai, don't worry. I've just met an interesting young friend, so I don't find it boring at all."
"Oh? Then I'm relieved." Fenglan Zhenren was puzzled, but didn't say anything more.
……
The Jiang Kingdom is located in the western part of the central part of the Western Wilderness.
The mighty Jianglan River flows from north to south, cutting the entire Jiang Kingdom into two parts. The abundant water brought by the river has resulted in numerous lakes throughout the Jiang Kingdom, earning it the nickname "Land of Swamps".
The terrain of Jiang State is mainly composed of lakes and hills, with few high mountains and plains.
Most people live in hilly areas, and through generations of development, a unique terraced farming environment has been formed. On the small plains, cities are mainly located.
On this day, at the western border of the Jiang Kingdom.
A black shuttle-shaped phantom flew rapidly from the neighboring country and then flew towards the south of Jiang Kingdom without stopping. This black shuttle was Li Ping's second-tier flying boat, the "Floating Shadow Shuttle".
Inside the shuttle, Li Ping and Daoist Ji Xiu sat facing each other, with a short table between them, on which were placed tea sets and other items.
While chatting and drinking tea with Master Ji, Li Ping looked out of the flying shuttle, his eyes filled with mixed emotions.
Jiang Kingdom was his hometown in this life. After he transmigrated, he stayed in Jiang Kingdom for eight or nine years. Later, in order to establish his foundation, he had to follow a caravan to the Immortal City.
Now that he has successfully completed his foundation building and returned to the Jiang Kingdom, he feels like he is returning home in glory.
"Whoosh!"
The shuttle flew rapidly, and after half a day, it stopped above a hill that was about 140 or 50 feet high.
Standing on the flying boat, Li Ping looked down at the hills below. According to what Master Ji had told him on the way here, these hills were called "Little Plum Mountain," which was the first-grade mid-level spiritual land that the Ji family had rented.
This sacred land is only about a hundred acres in size, but the rent is sixteen spirit stones a year, which is much more expensive than the rent for sacred land in the Immortal City.
However, Jiang Kingdom is a cultivated land developed by humans, with many cultivators but few spiritual lands, so the rent for spiritual lands naturally rises.
As for why those cultivators don't go to the immortal cities where the income is higher, the reason is quite simple: in Jiang Kingdom, demonic beasts have almost disappeared, and the safety is far superior to that of the immortal cities.
Most cultivators don't actually have such grand ambitions; they prefer to live ordinary, simple lives.
Hard work, procreation, that's all.
……
Li Ping smiled and cupped his hands in greeting, saying, "Brother Ji, I'll return to the Sword Forging Manor to pay my respects to my master first, and then I'll come to visit you at Little Plum Mountain in a few days!"
Master Ji nodded with a smile: "Alright, Brother Li, it's settled then. You must come to Xiaomei Mountain before you return to Immortal City. I have some things to discuss with you."
Although he had some doubts about what Master Ji said, Li Ping was in a hurry to return to the Sword Forging Manor and didn't think too much about it.
He smiled and nodded: "Don't worry, Brother Ji, I'll definitely let you know before I leave."
……
Inside the simple, rustic study, a dignified old man, around sixty years old, dressed in a black robe with gold thread, was carefully examining the manor's income and expenditure accounts for the month.
He was so engrossed in his work that he didn't notice a figure in a green robe standing beside him, smiling at him.
After a long while, the old man finished checking all the accounts before raising his head and pressing his temples with both hands, trying to relieve the throbbing pain in his head.
While feeling relieved, he couldn't help but lament the relentless passage of time.
When he was younger, he could work all night without feeling tired, but now, just looking at the accounts for a while makes him feel dizzy and mentally exhausted.
"Third Senior Brother, how have you been?" Just then, a calm voice rang in his ears.
"Who?" The old man stood up warily, and only when he stood up could one see that he was extremely tall.
Turning his head and looking around, the old man immediately spotted the person standing beside him. Upon seeing the person's face, disbelief flashed in his eyes, and he exclaimed in surprise, "Junior Brother?"
Li Ping smiled and said, "It's me."
……
Outside the ancestral hall of Zhujian Mountain Villa.
Two figures walked slowly towards them. The one walking in front was Yan Jingxing, the current owner of the manor, while the one walking beside him was a young man.
"Greetings, Master!" Upon seeing Yan Jingxing, the two guards watching over the ancestral hall quickly bowed.
As they bowed, their gazes involuntarily fell on the young man beside the manor lord, as if wondering why the manor lord would bring such a young man to the ancestral hall where the ancestors of the manor had been sleeping for generations.
Yan Jingxing nodded and calmly instructed, "Open the door, my junior brother and I need to go in and pay respects to our ancestors."
"Yes, Master!" The two guards naturally dared not disobey the Master's order and respectfully opened the ancestral hall door to let the two of them in.
Once the footsteps inside had faded into the distance, one of the guards asked curiously, "Is that young man the Master's junior brother? He looks much younger than the Master."
Another guard was also puzzled: "I've been at the manor for over ten years and have never seen this young man before. When did he become a member of the manor?"
……
Inside the ancestral hall.
With Li Ping's cultivation level, he could easily hear the conversation between the two guards. He didn't say anything, but just sighed in his heart.
Children meeting each other don't recognize each other, and laughingly ask, "Where do you come from, stranger?" This is probably what it means.
The difference between immortals and mortals is no joke.
He embarked on the path of immortality, and although he was only at the Foundation Establishment stage, his lifespan far exceeded that of ordinary people. In another forty or fifty years, there would probably be no one he knew left in the Sword Forging Manor.
When he returns to the Sword Forging Manor, everything will have changed, and he will probably only be able to find familiar names on the memorial tablets in the ancestral hall.
"Perhaps this is what cultivators often refer to as severing worldly ties." Li Ping seemed to understand something, and his state of mind was slightly elevated at this moment.
Yan Jingxing's voice rang out from ahead: "Junior brother, after Father passed away, in accordance with his last wishes, his body was cremated and placed in the ancestral hall."
Li Ping nodded, having already seen the brand-new memorial tablet on the outermost layer among the densely packed wooden tablets above.
The inscription reads "The memorial tablet of my late father, Lord Yan, whose given name was Gui Ke Jun," which is actually the memorial tablet of his master.
He slowly walked to the memorial tablet, staring blankly at the words on it, but what came to mind was the warm hand that reached out to him in the dead of winter when he cried out to heaven and earth in vain.
He took the incense from his third senior brother and placed both hands in the incense burner in front of his master's memorial tablet.
Then he knelt down respectfully and performed the three kneelings and nine kowtows to his master.
……
After paying respects to his master, Li Ping, at the invitation of his third senior brother, went to a hall in the manor.
The two sat facing each other. Yan Jingxing looked at Li Ping, who still had a full head of black hair and looked like a young man, and couldn't help but feel envious: "Junior brother, you are still young, while I am old and frail."
Li Ping shook his head inwardly. He knew that since ancient times, death has been the only inevitable outcome, something no one could avoid.
From the highest emperor to the lowest commoner.
Most people reveal their ugly side when faced with death.
Even among cultivators, who doesn't fear the limit of their lifespan?
He smiled and comforted him, "Third Senior Brother, I see you are clearly still vigorous despite your age, how can you say you are old and frail?"
Yan Jingxing smiled wryly. Thanks to the pills Li Ping sent back, his body was indeed well-maintained, much better than his peers. But naturally, he couldn't compare to his immortal junior brother, Li Ping.
Shaking his head and skipping the topic, Yan Jingxing inquired about the situation of his eldest grandson, Yan Hengchuan.
When Li Ping told him that Yan Hengchuan had settled down in the Immortal City and was on the right track on the path to immortality, he smiled with relief.
He himself has no spiritual root and cannot cultivate immortality.
But his eldest grandson became an immortal, which is another way of fulfilling his long-cherished wish.
……
I stayed at the Sword Forging Manor for two days and left some elixirs and weapons that ordinary people could use for my third senior brother.
Li Ping even personally used the power of the Health Preservation Technique to treat his third senior brother's long-standing injuries, curing his chronic illnesses and restoring his physical condition to its best.
Subsequently, despite his third senior brother's repeated attempts to persuade him to stay, he left the Sword Forging Manor without hesitation.
As for the methods of cultivators, he did not leave any for his third senior brother.
It wasn't that he was reluctant to part with it, but rather that all methods, whether talismans or magical artifacts, required the cultivator's magical power to activate.
Even if he stays, the third senior brother won't be able to use it.
……
After leaving the Sword Casting Manor, Li Ping did not rush to visit Master Ji at Xiaomei Mountain.
Instead, they rode the shuttle to another place.
Li Ping looked down, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
In his view, it was a lake that spanned several dozen miles in circumference. The lake was filled with ethereal energy, and cultivators would occasionally fly in and out.
This is the ancestral home of the Yu family of Bifeng Lake, one of the dozen or so Foundation Establishment Immortal clans in the Jiang Kingdom.