No sooner had the burly man finished speaking than the youth beside him chuckled.
"What are you laughing at, Nanmingzi?" The burly man bristled. "If Hanyanzi hadn't dragged me down back then, would you have gotten the better of me? I wouldn't be saddled with all this trouble now!"
"You're right, Senior Brother Qiuyuzi, but why dwell on the past?" The Young Daoist stopped smiling. "Still, you promised me you would stay here and keep watch. If you leave without warning and something happens with the Creation Dao cultivator sealed in the river, it will be hard to explain."
The two were Qiuyuzi and Nanmingzi.
Before entering the Divine Treasury, Chen Cuo had sensed that he would be drawn inside. So before leaving, he had specifically asked Qiuyuzi to watch over the Great River—
He had once sealed a Longevity Cultivator of the Creation Dao within it.
After providing the Earth Element Treasure, Breath Soil, Chen Cuo's Fourth Senior Brother, Nanmingzi, had dealt with the remaining loose ends and stayed to help keep watch.
At Nanmingzi's words, Qiuyuzi's smile turned even more bitter. He sighed. "Junior Brother, Master’s Sect just sent word. They really do want me to put aside what I'm doing, and it concerns that junior brother of yours..." He paused and looked at Nanmingzi. "Don't tell me you haven't noticed the Chen boy has returned."
"Of course I noticed," Nanmingzi said with a nod. "His aura has reappeared, but it's even harder to detect than it was a year ago. Without the Master’s Sect token as a medium, I wouldn't have sensed him at all. His cultivation has clearly advanced to the point of approaching a return to unadorned truth. I fear he's no weaker than me, perhaps even stronger! Great Hua Mountain has gained another Longevity