Great Thunder Mountain, deep underground.
The scorching earth fire burned fiercely, scorching the Treasure Light shuttle suspended in the sea of fire. The floating talismans on its surface vibrated and hummed, absorbing the essence of the earth fire and tempering the shuttle itself.
Many disciples of Beppu were moving about in the mountains, some riding the clouds and mist, others walking along the mountain walls.
Every now and then, disciples riding flying magical Law Artifact would step forward and pour buckets of molten metal into it, constantly enhancing the power of the flying shuttle, adding to its depth, and making it even more mysterious.
The one presiding over this ritual was a Daoist priest with a beard and red eyebrows.
Master of the Great Thunder Mountain Branch, Middle Golden Core Stage cultivator, Shi Zhang.
Shi Zhang was observing the refining process of the flying shuttle when suddenly a streak of fire descended from the sky, transforming into a white-haired Daoist from the Jade Spring Sect in front of him. However, judging from his aura, he was not Golden Core cultivator, but rather Foundation Establishment Late Stage cultivator.
"Junior Brother Yao!"
Shi Zhang looked at the newcomer and called out his name.
This person was Yao Jie.
Yao Jie nodded, then activated his divine eye to look at the flying shuttle, carefully observing the numerous patterns that lit up one by one. He exclaimed in amazement, "Truly worthy of being a treasure that fell from the mountain gate's Grotto-Heaven... Judging from this, once the task is completed, it will become Spirit Treasure, right?!"
"Yes!"
Shi Zhang exclaimed with emotion, "A spiritual Spirit Treasure... In this era, I'm afraid only our sect could successfully refine it!"
In this day and age, high-level spiritual resources are becoming increasingly scarce, and the creation of Spirit Treasure requires time and, more importantly, fortuitous opportunity.
Take the [ Ninefold Heaven-Conquering Thunder Drum ] of the Profound Firmament Sect as an example.
In order to forge this spiritual Spirit Treasure, the Profound Firmament Sect spent at least three generations accumulating spiritual resources and then secretly refining it for many years. However, in the end, due to the lack of several key spiritual resources, they were exposed and almost suffered the calamity of the destruction of their lineage!
It was only at the crucial moment that True Lord Xuanyuan joined the Vast Waves Alliance and offered up this item, thus saving the entire Profound Firmament Sect.
This clearly demonstrates just how powerful the Vast Waves Alliance, and especially the Jade Spring Sect, is now!
Shi Zhang sighed for a moment, then suddenly noticed Yao Jie's full head of white hair. He sighed again and said, "Junior Brother Yao, your foundation is solid. If possible, you can use your merits to exchange for a [ Azure Parasol Tree Star Fruit ] at the Expenditure Hall."
"In that case, you also have a chance to break through to the Golden Core stage..."
Yao Jie interrupted Shi Zhang, his gaze indifferent, and said calmly, "No."
"But your lifespan is already..."
"I only have a few years left to live. I only wish to accumulate a little more Merit Points to prepare a Foundation Establishment ritual for Qi'er."
Upon hearing this, Shi Zhang stopped trying to persuade him.
Yao Jie should have perished long ago, but he took longevity-promoting substances and exchanged a Aging-Delay Pill from the Jade Dew Hall. He is still able to hold on now entirely because of the Divine Ability of Foundation Establishment cultivator.
He will remain in this state until the very end of his life.
As for the Qi'er he mentioned, it was the posthumous son of his deceased and only disciple, Du Zifeng.
Perhaps out of guilt, or perhaps out of love for Du Shaoqi, Yao Jie spent a great deal of effort laying a solid foundation for his skills after bringing Du Shaoqi back from the foot of the mountain, sending him into the inner sect, and treating him like his own son.
He was extremely stubborn; once he made up his mind, he would not change it. All I could do was sigh and offer no further advice.
Six months passed.
The flying shuttle within the subterranean fire had already withdrawn all its Treasure Light, and the once vibrant subterranean fire had also quieted down again, as if all its essence had been drained away. All the disciples and followers in the cave had also withdrawn.
Above the cave, Shi Zhang, Yao Jie, and the other disciples of the Great Thunder Mountain Branch watched silently.
Suddenly.
A brilliant purple light suddenly appeared as a purple-gold gate materialized from the void. From it emerged a young man in a cloud-like robe and a young man in a feathered robe, standing with their hands behind their backs in the void. Behind them emanated a magnificent array of Divine Ability light, stirring the changes in the spiritual energy of heaven and earth.
Upon seeing the young man in rosy robes at the head of the group, Shi Zhang and the rest of the Great Thunder Mountain disciples immediately bowed and greeted him, "The entire Great Thunder Mountain Branch pays respects to Dao Child True Lord!"
Their voices rang out in unison, shaking the mountains and rivers.
The young man in the rosy robes was Chen Shuangbai, followed by Feiguang.
His gaze swept over the group of disciples from Great Thunder Mountain, he nodded slightly, and with a gentle gesture of support, a soft force straightened their bent backs. "No need for formalities."
Shi Zhang and Yao Jie stepped forward to pay their respects to Chen Shuangbai, the Dao Child.
Among the disciples of the Jade Spring Sect, the title of Dao Child True Lord is often placed before Far-Reaching Luminous Sword Immortal.
Chen Shuangbai's gaze fell on the two teachers in front of him, especially the latter Yao Jie. A faint smile appeared on his face as he asked, " Martial Uncle Yao."
A gentle smile appeared on Yao Jie's aged face. "It's kind of you, Dao Child, to remember me. It's my good fortune."
Chen Shuangbai simply shook her head and said, "When I was still weak, my martial uncle and Senior Brother Du were kind to me."
"I have never forgotten this matter."
Yao Jie shook his head and said, "It's such a small matter, Dao Child 've remembered it for so many years... It makes me feel quite uneasy."
As Chen Shuangbai chatted, she noticed the politeness and slight distance in Yao Jie's words.
Upon closer reflection, it's not surprising.
He's standing so high now.
It was like the distance between the clouds and dust; mortals couldn't see it and therefore had no fear, but Yao Jie, being a fellow cultivator... how could he not understand?
After thinking about this, Chen Shuangbai also found it somewhat boring.
He chatted with Yao Jie for a few more minutes, then said, "For the past forty-nine years, it has been thanks to the fellow disciples of Great Thunder Mountain who have taken care of this matter. The Expenditure Hall will soon send someone to verify the Merit Points one by one, so that the disciples in the mountain will not have worked in vain!"
Shi Zhang and Yao Jie expressed their gratitude, then watched as their True Lord Dao Child his hand and placed the shuttle, which had been roasted in the earth fire for forty-nine years, into his palm.
The object reacted as soon as it landed in Chen Shuangbai's palm, its entire body radiating rings of talismanic light, shimmering with blue and gold hues, as if it were breathing within his palm.
After carefully sensing the surroundings and confirming that everything was correct, Chen Shuangbai turned around and stepped into a purple-gold gate once again.
Shi Zhang glanced at it from a distance and saw only an overwhelming thunderstorm approaching from the other side, with endless white lightning Yin Lightning thunderclaps, giving off a sense of the end of the world.
He was startled and turned to tell Yao Jie what had happened, but he was even more shocked.
"Junior Brother Yao... you... you..."
Yao Jie was somewhat confused until he realized something. He raised his hand and conjured a water mirror, and when he saw his own reflection—a handsome middle-aged man with black hair—he was stunned.
After a few breaths, Shi Zhang seemed to realize something and said, "I'm afraid it's Dao Child..."
He didn't say anything more.
Even though Chen Shuangbai hadn't done anything, Yao Jie definitely looked much younger.
As if realizing something, tears streamed down his face. He bowed deeply in the direction Chen Shuangbai had left, a grown man sobbing uncontrollably, as if he wanted to cry out all the grievances he had suffered over the years.