"Okay, okay, I'm fine."
The old man before them didn't look like a powerful Golden Core True Person commanded respect in the region; rather, he seemed like a kind old man seeing a junior. He pulled Yi Chongyue to sit down.
" Wenyan, watch the tea."
Liu Wenyan respectfully agreed, quickly taking out a set of elegant tea utensils and beginning to brew spiritual tea. His movements still carried the tension he had shown before, and he would occasionally steal a glance towards the entrance of the cave abode.
Chen Shuangbai took this in.
The two sat down and chatted for a while.
Gongye Chun smiled and glanced at Yi Chongyue, his eyes filled with a mixture of satisfaction and emotion. " Foundation Establishment Late Stage? Not bad, not bad. If your master knew this in the afterlife, he would be very pleased."
Chen Shuangbai's grandmaster failed to break through to the Golden Core stage and passed away.
The time when Gongye Chun met him was also the time when Foundation Establishment.
But now, one has long since ascended to immortality, and the other, though he has broken through to the Golden Core stage, is already very old, showing how merciless time is.
Yi Chongyue replied with a smile, "When my master passed away, he instructed me to cultivate diligently. I have not dared to slack off over the years, and that is why I am where I am today."
After speaking, Yi Chongyue took the initiative to pull Chen Shuangbai to the front and said, "Senior Uncle, this is my disciple, named Shuangbai, surnamed Chen."
" Shuangbai, come quickly and pay your respects to your grandmaster."
Chen Shuangbai stepped forward, performed the disciple's salute, and bowed again. The latter's cloudy eyes looked him up and down, quite surprised.
Foundation Establishment Middle Stage?!
Liu Wenyan, who was brewing tea, almost spilled it outside the cup, staring at Chen Shuangbai in shock.
He was much older than Chen Shuangbai, yet he was only at the Foundation Establishment Early Stage, and had remained at that stage for quite some time. In contrast, this junior brother... was already at the Foundation Establishment Middle Stage?
"Truly a talented and beautiful person!"
Gongye Chun, with his keen eyesight, praised him thus.
"Grandmaster, you flatter me. I am unworthy of such praise. My meager cultivation is entirely due to the cultivation of the sect and the guidance of my master."
Chen Shuangbai replied modestly, her tone neither humble nor arrogant.
But the more he acted this way, the more Gongye Chun appreciated him.
Do not underestimate a Golden Core. Even a Golden Core cultivator nearing the end of their lifespan possesses Divine Ability powers that are far beyond what Foundation Establishment can match.
What he can see far exceeds that of ordinary Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Gongye Chun sighed, then seemed to remember something, a hint of sadness flashing in his eyes, but he quickly composed himself and gestured for Liu Wenyan to serve tea.
Liu Wenyan respectfully offered the brewed spiritual tea to the three of them.
The tea has a delicate aroma, carrying a subtle herbal Spiritual Qi that is refreshing and soothing.
"This is the Cloud Ridge and Mist Peak in the mountains, nourished by spiritual mist year-round. It has the effect of clearing the mind and brightening the eyes, nourishing the spirit and soul. You should try it."
Gongye Chun explained.
The master and apprentice tasted it and confirmed that it was indeed a fine tea.
Yi Chongyue said with a smile, "Good tea. I'll have to come back and ask my senior uncle for some before I return to the sect."
Gongye Chun replied with a smile.
What followed was a conversation between Master Yi Chongyue and this Golden Core True Person, with Chen Shuangbai and Liu Wenyan simply standing by as background figures, listening quietly.
Yi Chongyue mentioned some of his own experiences over the years, and also talked about his senior brother Shi Yubai and junior sister Peng Yu.
Gongye Chun knew them, and when he learned that they were all well, a look of relief appeared on his face.
Since entering, Chen Shuangbai had been observing this Golden Core True Person.
Since he began cultivating, he had seen quite a few Golden Core.
These Golden Core were either vigorous and powerful, or possessed extraordinary bearing, or were ambitious, or harbored ulterior motives.
But this was the first time I had ever seen a withered Golden Core.
Rather than calling the person before him Golden Core True Person, it would be more accurate to describe him as an old man in his twilight years. The large Daoist robe he wore could not hide his thinness, as if there was not a fleshy body inside, but an empty skeleton.
His cloudy eyes and wrinkled, white hair all testified to his advancing age.
As they talked...
Liu Wenyan and Chen Shuangbai's ears twitched simultaneously. It wasn't that someone was trying to break in, but rather that the entire cave abode had fallen silent.
But both of them seemed to have figured something out, so they didn't show any surprise and simply waited quietly.
The atmosphere suddenly became heavy.
The fire in the stove was blazing, making the tea gurgle and bubble, but it couldn't break the invisible heaviness.
Gongye Chun broke the silence first, his voice low and hoarse, filled with deep weariness, " Chongyue, your presence gives me some confidence now."
"You must have noticed something about it too?"
Yi Chongyue's expression also darkened, and he asked, "I inquired before I came... Is the disagreement growing?"
Gongye Chun gave a bitter laugh, his wrinkles seeming to deepen. "I have been in charge of Spring-Returning Mountain for nearly three hundred years, and I have always been conscientious and diligent... But now... alas, people's hearts are fickle."
Seeing that their teacher wanted to have a private conversation, Liu Wenyan and Chen Shuangbai tacitly withdrew.
Outside the cave abode, just as Liu Wenyan was about to exchange a few words with his Junior Brother Chen, he suddenly heard a noisy commotion and shoving sounds coming from outside.
Liu Wenyan's face immediately darkened, but then he saw a man stride in, looking indignant, shouting and trying to come in.
Liu Wenyan naturally wouldn't let them make a racket inside, so he stepped forward and pushed the other person even further outside, then turned around and opened the entire cave abode's protective barrier.
After doing this, he turned around, glared at the man, and shouted, " Xie Hong, how dare you storm True Person's cave abode? How dare you offend the dignity of Golden Core cultivator?!"
Xie Hong was tall and imposing, standing out wherever he went. He wore a crimson robe and carried a gourd-shaped sword, indicating that he was also a Foundation Establishment cultivator.
Upon hearing Liu Wenyan's rebuke, he didn't hesitate for a moment, instead shouting even louder, "What Golden Core elixir and dignity... I ask you, will that Gongye fellow hand over the inheritance left by my grandfather?"
Liu Wenyan's face grew even uglier, and he roared in fury, "Are you out of your mind!"
"My master has explained to you many times that it's all baseless. You've been instigated by others, and it's one thing to be foolish... but if you really offended my master, I will break the sect rules and take you down!"
This matter was originally an internal affair of the Spring-Returning Mountain Sect, but this person insisted on putting on a show in front of the esteemed guest of the Grandmaster, making Liu Wenyan feel utterly humiliated and furious.
Xie Hong, however, acted as if he hadn't seen anything, and instead sneered repeatedly, his voice loud and clear, carrying an air of reckless arrogance.
"Explanation? What explanation?"
"I think it's obvious he embezzled the money, but he's been refusing to hand it over, making me..."
"How dare you!"
Liu Wenyan's face turned pale with anger, his magical Law Power fluctuating slightly, and his hand pointing at Xie Hong trembled. "Our grandmaster is of high moral character and prestige; how could you slander him like this!"
"Today I will suppress you, convene a sect assembly, and execute you on the spot!"
That's all.
Liu Wenyan raised his hand, and streams of spiritual fire floated up, transforming into the shape of cranes, which pecked at the opponent's face from the air.