The Ancestor of Shouxian Pavilion

Tianbao Pavilion Restaurant, top-floor VIP room.

Li Chengjie pushed the door open and entered.

Gao Chen was sitting cross-legged before the window, eyes closed as he regulated his breath. Yan Xingci leaned against the wall, leafing through a jade slip. Master Lakong sat cross-legged in the corner, prayer beads pinched in his hand as he murmured under his breath.

When the three saw Li Chengjie come in, they all rose together.

Yan Xingci quickly came forward and looked Li Chengjie up and down, his eyes filled with concern. "Senior Brother Li! You're finally back. This past year, Senior Brother Gao, Master Lakong, and I have been asking everywhere about how you were. We heard that in the battle at the Witch Curse Sea, more than a dozen Spirit Transformation stage cultivators fell. We were worried sick. Senior Brother, you're not hurt, are you?"

Gao Chen also walked over and cupped his hands. "Senior Brother, it's good that you're all right. This past year, news outside has been flying all over the sky. Some said you were badly wounded, some said you were being hunted by Nether Cultivators, and some even said you... said you were gone. Junior Brother Yan, Master Lakong, and I didn't believe it, but our hearts were still hanging."

Master Lakong pressed his palms together and softly chanted a Buddhist invocation. "Amitabha. Now that Benefactor Li has returned safely, this old monk can be at ease."

Li Chengjie slightly nodded and sat down by the table, his gaze sweeping over the three of them.

Gao Chen was at the peak Golden Core stage. His aura was steady, only one step away from Nascent Soul.

Yan Xingci was at the Foundation Establishment Late Stage, his foundation solid and his spiritual power pure.

Master Lakong was at the mid