Three days later, atop a cliffside peak.
Wei Yuanji stood in the morning light, straight as a pine, with none of his former stoop or withered frailty remaining.
His jet-black hair was gathered beneath a crown, and his handsome features had shed decades of hardship and timidity. In their place were traces of heroic spirit and resolve.
A simple set of azure martial clothes made his figure appear sharp and neat. The spiritual energy around him was steady and profound, and the pressure of the Dao Palace Realm flickered in and out of existence. Yet it was more solid than that of an ordinary cultivator who had only just entered the Dao Palace Realm.
He raised a hand, and a strand of lustrous spiritual energy quietly emerged at his fingertips, flowing without the slightest obstruction. A long-lost light glimmered in his eyes—wild joy at regaining his cultivation, relief, and the clear brilliance of a life reborn.
His vigor, energy, and spirit had returned.
He was no longer the old man guarding a ruined temple, barely dragging out an existence. He had become once more the high-spirited youth of old, one who dared charge forward without hesitation even when the road ahead was uncertain.
"Great Immortal."
Wei Yuanji turned and deeply cupped his fists toward Qin He. His tone was respectful, yet neither servile nor humble. "Steward Li and Zhao Dekun have both been executed."
Qin He lifted his eyes, swept his gaze over Wei Yuanji's aura, and gave a slight nod.
He could tell that Wei Yuanji had not only broken through to the Dao Palace Realm, but that his temperament had also grown increasingly steady through this revenge and transformation. His future path of cultivation would only become more stable.
"The karma here has been settled. You should not