Footsteps echoed in the hollow mountain belly. The person in front knowingly pushed open the stone door, and the echo vanished all at once. Monk Zhengyan propped himself against the doorframe, just as the clouds parted in the sky, and he squinted his eyes to look at the sun, remaining silent for a long time.
"Congratulations on regaining your new life!" Yu Ci smiled from behind.
Monk Zhengyan uttered an acknowledgment and said, "Many thanks to Immortal Yu for coming all this way specifically to let me out."
"What kind of talk is that? Master Zhengyan was in the evil den yet did not yield to the fiend, truly worthy of admiration by the likes of us. As for moving you into the Dan Cliff mountain belly, it was mostly to ensure your safety. Look, as soon as we confirmed your body was unharmed, we invited you right out; there is no such talk as releasing or not releasing you."
Yu Ci smiled and patted the monk on the shoulder, then asked, "The Jingshui Altar is gone. Where will Master Zhengyan go?"
"The blood monk is dead. From now on the sky is high and the waters are vast—the East China Sea, the Western Pole, the Southern Barbarians, the Northern Wastes—where is a place I cannot go? The 'new life' Immortal Yu spoke of is precisely the portrayal of my heart."
As Monk Zhengyan spoke, he turned and cupped his hands in a bow: "This monk takes his leave here, please stay your step!"
Yu Ci did not urge him to stay either and returned the bow: "Take care."
Monk Zhengyan turned and left, descending Dan Cliff, but he did not leave the city immediately.
Perhaps he still held a sliver of affection for Juebi City, for he walked through