In a remote Secluded Place, thin clouds and mist shrouded the rolling, wooded mountains.
A stream wound through the rolling woods, its waters babbling, their gentle, soothing sound echoing among the trees.
Birdsong and animal calls rose and fell throughout the mountain woods, like an immortal paradise in the mortal world.
Dressed in white, Su Mo walked slowly through the mountains. His white hair drifted in the breeze, lending him a peaceful, scholarly grace, like an immortal returned to the mortal dust.
With the Ink Zither on her back, Luo Yin followed silently beside Su Mo. Her long dress stood against the misty woods, and she looked as otherworldly as a fairy.
Prince Ying's Princess Consort and Prince Ying walked behind them, watching the two ahead with gentle expressions.
In the end, Su Mo had heeded the advice of Prince Ying's Princess Consort and the others and left the Imperial City, intending to withdraw from the world and recuperate for a while...
He had made no plans for exactly how long he would remain in seclusion.
The instant he handed the affairs of the realm over to First Elder Ning Wuya, Su Mo unconsciously let out a long breath.
The ease that washed over him amid green mountains and flowing waters left Su Mo more relaxed than he had ever been.
With the loss of the national fortune, Su Mo's Hundred Ghosts, which had been fused with national fortune power, had dissipated as well. Everything would now have to rely on imperial authority to govern the people.
Su Mo believed that the First Elder, with his Difficult Realm cultivation, was more than capable of keeping the realm peaceful.
The First Elder had still refused to take Su Mo's Human Emperor's Throne. He had only asked for the post of chancellor,