Dawn's light was faint.
A thin morning mist drifted through the withered yellow mountains.
The rear mountain of Crouching Ox Ridge.
There stood a massive bluish stone, formed by nature itself.
At this moment, seven or eight figures were already seated cross-legged around the stone in a scattered arrangement.
Some wore straw raincoats and bamboo hats, their eyes gently closed; others wore coarse hemp clothes, stood barefoot with swords in their arms, and faint thunder rumbled with every breath.
They came in all ages and genders, each with a different bearing, yet none revealed even the slightest trace of aura.
But if any cultivator had been present, they would have been horrified to discover that these seemingly ordinary men and women had already become one with heaven and earth in every gesture and movement.
This was what it meant to return to simplicity.
As the morning light gradually broke through the clouds and spilled over the bluish stone.
Everyone remained silent, waiting patiently.
In one corner.
He Bi sat cross-legged in silence, repeatedly watching the movements around him. Yet as time ticked by, no new figure appeared.
"..."
Noticing He Bi's unusual habit of glancing about.
Very soon.
A calm voice sounded.
"What is the matter with Junior Brother He today?"
The speaker was the hemp-clad man holding a sword in his arms.
He slightly opened his eyes and glanced at He Bi.
"So restless... could it be that someone else is coming?"
As soon as those words fell.
Everyone around the bluish stone opened their eyes and looked toward He Bi curiously.
After all.
Aside from He Bi and their junior sister, who remained at their master's side year-round and handled his daily needs.
The rest traveled across the Nine Provinces and four seas, each with their own affairs