True Person Huanglong, with one hand behind his back, stroked his goatee and said with a smile, "Because of my special status, I chose to join the Hengyue Sect. I just didn't expect that the Hengyue Sect would produce a genius like you."
"For a small, abandoned cultivation star field to produce First Decay of Heaven and Man in just a thousand years, I truly admire him."
Looking at True Person Huanglong before him, Luo Chuan sighed softly. "When he left back then, I already knew that True Person Huanglong had returned to the Cultivation Alliance."
I never expected that he would be the one to save me today.
True Person Huanglong said, "Now that we are both at the Heavenly Human Realm, it will be difficult for me to break through to the third step of the realm in this lifetime, so I will continue to call you Ancestor."
Just as Luo Chuan was about to say something, True Person Huanglong raised his hand to interrupt him, clearly indicating that he already regarded Luo Chuan as his ancestor.
Otherwise, he wouldn't have traveled all the way to the Demon Spirit Land to help Luo Chuan resolve these troublesome matters.
True Person Huanglong continued, "Ancestor, what has become of the Hengyue Sect of yesteryear?"
"Now the Hengyue Sect is the strongest sect on the Vermilion Bird Planet, and the Zhao Kingdom has also been promoted to an eighth-level cultivation nation. However, the cultivation star region is still a sixth-level cultivation star because it has not yet been certified by the Cultivation Alliance."
"But it doesn't matter. Even if it's a level six star field, I've left an opportunity at the Hengyue Sect, enough to protect Vermilion Bird Planet for ten thousand years."
Upon hearing this, True Person Huanglong nodded slightly and then asked, "How is Elder Liu Wenju?"
Mentioning Liu Wenju, a barely perceptible sadness flashed in Luo Chuan's eyes, after all, according to seniority, he was his junior apprentice.
Back then, Elder Liu Wenju became a disciple of Yuqing True Person and later took True Person Huanglong as his apprentice. Even though he has now broken through to the Ascendant Realm, he is still nearing the end of his life after a thousand years and will eventually return to dust.
Elder Liu Wenju... has returned to dust.
"He dedicated his life to the Hengyue Sect, working diligently and tirelessly, but ultimately could not overcome the inevitable passage of time. Several years ago, he passed away peacefully in the sect's ancestral shrine, his body returning to dust and his soul returning to heaven and earth."
As soon as he finished speaking, the surrounding air seemed to fall silent.
The smile on True Person Huanglong's face, which had been slightly smiling just moments before, vanished instantly.
His hand, which was stroking his goatee, froze in mid-air. A faint sigh and melancholy appeared in his cloudy eyes. After a long while, he let out a soft sigh.
The sigh was soft, yet it contained endless emotions—a sigh for the ruthlessness of time, for the departure of old friends, and for the helplessness one feels on the path of cultivation.
"In the end, we didn't live to see that day..."
True Person Huanglong murmured softly, his gaze fixed on the distant Vermilion Bird Planet, as if he were reminiscing about his mentor who had imparted his knowledge and skills to him.
"My master was diligent throughout his life, not seeking the ultimate path to enlightenment, but only wishing to protect the Hengyue Sect. His peaceful death can be considered a fulfillment of his wish."
Luo Chuan nodded silently. The path of cultivation is inherently about defying fate. Countless people of mediocre talent spend their entire lives trying to break free from the shackles of life and death.
It was already remarkable that Liu Wenju was able to cultivate to the Ascendant Realm and ensure the prosperity of the Hengyue Sect. When his time came, his soul returned to its final resting place, which is the common fate of cultivators. Even if there was reluctance, he could only accept it calmly.
True Person Huanglong glanced at the sky and said, "Ancestor, now that the Tian Yunzi has left, you should find a place to quickly recover your Immortal Essence. I still have matters to attend to."
"Okay." Luo Chuan nodded and said, "After you're done here, you can come find me in the Heavenly Demon Prefecture of the Demon Spirit Land. I'll be cultivating in the Soul Refining Tribe there."
True Person Huanglong nodded slightly, cupped his hands in a respectful bow to Luo Chuan in front of him, and then vanished from the spot in a flash.
Watching True Person Huanglong's departing figure, Luo Chuan took a deep breath, slowly turned around, and gazed in another direction.
We haven't obtained the treasures from Immortal Emperor Qinglin's Abode yet, and we don't know if Tajia is still here.
After a moment's thought, Luo Chuan decided to take the cave dwelling with him. Once he took the cave dwelling, the things inside would naturally be his.
If the Ancient Demon Tagga were still here, he would be trapped in the Immortal Mansion. I could then take this opportunity to shatter his soul, thus completely eliminating this scourge of Taga.
Thinking of this, Luo Chuan instantly appeared at the place where the previous battle had taken place. Because he had received energy from the Immortal Emperor Qinglin, he did not encounter any danger after entering this place.
Looking at the palace that was about to be destroyed, Luo Chuan walked straight into the distance. Because of the previous battle, the space here was shattered, and the Immortal Emperor Qinglin's Abode was already in a state of collapse.
The palace seemed poised to collapse completely at any moment.
With one hand behind his back, Luo Chuan took a pill and arrived at the deepest part of the place, where he saw a stone statue of the Immortal Emperor Qinglin made of spirit stones.
Upon seeing the stone statue before him, Luo Chuan waved his right hand forward, and a drop of pure red-gold blood instantly flew out, naturally merging into the statue's body.
The moment the stone statue came into contact with that drop of crimson-gold blood, it was first deathly silent, and then suddenly began to move.
The statue of the Immortal Emperor, meticulously carved from millennia-old warm jade mixed with spiritual stones, suddenly emitted a series of crisp "crackling" sounds, like withered trees coming back to life, from beneath its originally solemn robes.
Then came a violent tremor, as if a slumbering beast from the earth had been awakened and was struggling to overturn the decaying palace.
"Boom!!!"
A deafening roar, as if the heavens and earth were collapsing, suddenly erupted. The entire Immortal Emperor Qinglin's Abode could no longer withstand the immense pressure of the collapsing space and disintegrated completely like dominoes.
The sky was filled with flying debris, carrying a violent torrent of energy that formed a terrifying tornado in the void, and the stone statue was at the heart of all this storm.
It first shone brightly, its crimson-gold radiance scorching the void like a blazing sun, and then shattered inch by inch before Luo Chuan's eyes.
The fragments of the crumbling stone statue streaked across the sky like shooting stars, yet they did not harm Luo Chuan in the slightest, as if the invisible protective barrier of the immortal Immortal Mansion was still silently guarding its inheritor.
As the last fragment landed, the crimson-gold light suddenly contracted, transforming into a stream of light that hovered steadily in Luo Chuan's palm.
As the light faded, a token, its entire body condensed from seven-colored divine light and seemingly forged from the very origin of the void, quietly emerged.
The token is engraved with intricate cloud patterns in the center, and a lifelike blue divine bird is carved at the top. Just by holding it in one's hand, a vast pressure comes over one's face, carrying the nobility and domineering power of Immortal Emperor.
Luo Chuan lightly twirled the token between his fingers, feeling its weight, a knowing glint in his eyes.
He muttered to himself, his voice ringing out clearly amidst the echoes of the collapsing void. "So this is the entrance to the Immortal Emperor Qinglin's Immortal Mansion... Truly extraordinary."
With a thought, Luo Chuan's figure transformed into a streak of azure light, even storing the newly acquired Immortal Emperor Token into his storage bag, leaving only a fleeting glimmer of divine light.