Some time later, Li Ling returned from Northsky Island and specially summoned Shu Changsheng for a chat.
"Changsheng, you seem to have gained quite a lot from your travels over the years?"
"Yes," Shu Changsheng said. "During my travels, I visited the Bamboo Step Kingdom, the Ashili Kingdom, the She Lanzhe Kingdom, the Bu Fang Kingdom, the Fangzai Kingdom, and the Red Sand Kingdom. I experienced their local customs and met fellow cultivators from all corners of the world. Only then did I understand that your words about reading ten thousand books and traveling ten thousand miles truly were a profound truth, Master. I learned a great deal."
He picked out a few amusing incidents to recount, along with the strange tales and sights he had encountered in various lands.
From Shu Changsheng's account, Li Ling learned that this disciple had also been deceived and ambushed during his travels. Fortunately, the magical artifacts bestowed by the sect had protected him, allowing him to turn the tables.
There had also been grudges in the wider world and affairs of the heart. He had indeed met a woman who stirred his feelings, but alas, the roads of the world stretched far. After several misunderstandings that seemed like cruel tricks of fate, they had drifted farther and farther apart.
He had also relied on his divine abilities to slay demons and monsters, earning the reverence of small mortal kingdoms as an immortal master. They had even offered him rank and riches to persuade him to stay, but Shu Changsheng had no interest in such things. Imitating the extraordinary figures of old, he had hung up his official seal and departed, leaving behind only legends of an overseas immortal sect and the Incense Path.
Experience after experience became nourishment for his growth, continually reshaping