Who Remembers the Tilling and Toiling of Those Years

Spring has passed and autumn has come; the pear blossoms in the Pear Garden have bloomed again.

Early that morning, the long-silent stone gate of the cave abode on the back mountain slowly opened.

Su Yao, dressed in a dark blue robe, slowly emerged from the cave. The morning light fell on his shoulders, making his handsome features stand out even more.

He took a deep breath of the crisp mountain air, gazing at the sky he hadn't seen for four years, and a touch of emotion welled up on his face.

During these ten years, Nanzhao, no, the entire world, was at peace.

In the first year, Xuan Yan, Ying Qi, and Mo Li each opened a villa nearby, and the Yuanfu also set up a Daoist temple on the shore of Erhai Lake. The local officials changed twice, and there were no other major events.

He, Zilin, and Yang Xiu originally planned to take turns every three months. After three years of this, seeing that there was still no progress on the Proclaiming Earth matter, they simply changed the rules, with each person taking turns for two years.

After completing his first two years of duty, Su Yao went into seclusion, and has now been in this cave abode for four whole Spring and Autumn.

Just as they were lost in thought, a ray of light swept down from the mountainside and landed not far away, revealing the figure of a young man dressed in Qingyi.

The young man looked up and saw Su Yao, his face lighting up with joy. He immediately bowed in greeting.

"Disciple Lu Yuan greets the Abbot."

Seeing that Su Yao looked radiant and his aura was even more profound than before his seclusion, he couldn't help but smile:

"Has the academy mastered the Secret Method?"

Su Yao nodded slightly and said with a smile:

"Just one more step."

He secretly sighed to himself: these past ten years have been a period of rapid progress for him. He has now cultivated the Secret Method to the eighth level. If it weren't for the fact that he had to take turns every three months for the first three years and was often interrupted by mundane affairs, he probably would have already reached the ninth level.

With just another year or two to master the ninth Secret Method and refine his physical body, he can then consider breaking through to the Purple Mansion.

He suppressed these thoughts and instead glanced at Lu Yuan:

"You've reached the third level of Qi Refinement?"

Lu Yuan nodded, his tone tinged with gratitude:

"Two years ago, Senior Zilin emerged from seclusion and gifted me a purple qi Pill, which enabled me to advance to the third level of Qi Refinement."

Su Yao hummed in agreement and casually asked again:

"How are Zichuan, Ren Han, and the others' cultivation levels now?"

As soon as he finished speaking, Lu Yuan lowered his head, his face full of shame.

"This disciple... this disciple has failed the academy's high expectations."

Seeing this, Su Yao understood the situation. Six years ago, he bestowed upon Lu Cultivation Method, and among his seven disciples, only Lu Yuan received the inheritance of the Rainbow Clouds Path.

He had heard about the commotion this matter had caused among his disciples. Although Zichuan was pure of heart, who didn't yearn for the Rainbow Clouds that transcended all things and remained untouched by anything?

The others, except for Ren Han, openly and secretly felt indignant for Zichuan, feeling that Lu Yuan had clearly ranked after Zichuan and Ren Han in all the assessments, so why was he the only one to receive this divine favor?

Su Yao waved his hand, his tone indifferent:

"Everyone has their own destiny. The fact that the Rainbow Clouds Path has been passed on to you means your destiny has arrived; the fact that it hasn't been passed on to Zichuan and the others means their destiny hasn't arrived yet. If a cultivator can't even see through this, then they are truly unworthy of cultivating the Tao. Why should you carry the thoughts of others on your own shoulders?"

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan's eyes reddened slightly. He dared not say anything more and only respectfully replied:

"Now, Zichuan is at the fifth level of Qi Refinement, as is Ren Han Qi Refinement. Yang Zhao and Li Xu are at the second level of Qi Refinement, and junior sisters Lin Shuang and Xu Qingluo have also successfully broken through to the Qi Refinement."

Su Yao nodded; everything was as expected. He then asked:

"Yunhe and the others, who is on the mountain right now?"

"Reporting to the academy, currently Instructor Liu is on the mountain, Instructor Zhang is on White Sand Mountain, and Instructors Li, Han, and Zhu are still in seclusion. Senior Zilin is currently in charge of mountain affairs, and Senior Yang Xiu has not yet emerged from seclusion."

Su Yao asked again:

"Where are Zichuan and the others right now?"

"Ren Han, Li Xu, and Lin Shuang are with Instructor Zhang at White Sand Mountain; Xu Qingluo and Yang Zhao are assisting Senior Zilin in alchemy; I was on duty at the Embracing Rosy Clouds Hall today and came over after seeing some movement on the back mountain. As for Zichuan..." Lu Yuan hesitated for a moment, "... he went into seclusion again some time ago."

Su Yao nodded slightly and muttered to himself:

"They're quite diligent."

He waved his hand, signaling Lu Yuan to go back to his post. Lu Yuan responded, turned around and took two steps, but then stopped and looked back, his expression hesitant, as if there was something stuck in his throat, wanting to say it but holding back.

Su Yao frowned almost imperceptibly, and his voice deepened:

What happened?

Lu Yuan was silent for a moment before whispering:

"Zichuan... He has tried to leave the mountain many times, but was stopped by the two seniors, Zilin and Yang Xiu, and several instructors. Now he probably harbors some resentment."

He paused, seemingly considering his words, before adding another sentence after a while:

"I've been thinking, ever since Zichuan came up the mountain, he's only gone home once before starting his Qi Refinement. He hasn't come down since, while my fellow disciples and I have at least been to Baisha... but Zichuan hasn't left the mountain gate even once. I've noticed he's getting more and more restless each day. It really bothers me to see him like this... If the academy has the time, perhaps you could try to comfort him. I'm not good with words, and my advice won't be of any use."

He paused for a moment and then said:

"Or would it be better to allow Zichuan to go down the mountain?"

Su Yao did not respond.

He shifted his gaze from Lu Yuan and looked towards the mountainside retreat.

"I know what's going on with him," Su Yao said calmly. "You should go back now."

Upon hearing this, Lu Yuan bowed respectfully, said nothing more this time, and turned into a ray of light, descending downwards.

After Lu Yuan had walked away, Su Yao sighed softly. "Zichuan... you absolutely cannot leave the mountain before you have cultivated your Immortal Foundation and reached the Foundation Establishment Realm."

This was a plan that Su Yao, Zilin, and Yang Xiu discussed after he Qi Refinement Refining stage. After all, during the Qi Refinement stage, even with some sacrifices, it was still possible to change Dao Path. Only by cultivating the Immortal Foundation would everything be fixed. Even if the person behind Zichuan had extraordinary abilities, they could only allow Zichuan to cultivate to the Purple Mansion Peak before reincarnating. But in that case, Great True Person of the Sun Great Yang at the Purple Mansion Perfection stage would definitely damage the aura of the High Witch Golden Nature within him.

It wasn't that Su Yao was heartless, but although Zichuan was innocent, this was a matter of life and death.

Then Su Yao suddenly sensed movement below, thinking that Yang Xiu had probably emerged from seclusion, so he immediately transformed into a ray of light and descended downwards.

Upon arriving at the cave abode below, sure enough, just as they stepped cave abode, Su Yao Su Yao was about to greet them when Yang Xiu expressions suddenly changed.

The two quickly took out a wooden box from their Storage Bag.

Above it, a bright white light shone, dazzling and blinding.

Seeing this, Su Yao whispered:

"Ten years have passed, and this is the first time I've seen such a dazzling white light..."

As soon as the words were spoken, a white light instantly unfolded, and a poem appeared on it:

"The Purple T Star Star dims, the Light of the Supreme Palace Fades, and the Emperor's Throne Shakes and Falls."

The winds of the Six Zhao turned, the fog of the Southern Sea rose, and a lone rider stirred up dust as he passed by.

The old policy of equal land distribution has been replaced by a new decree; who remembers the farming and labor of yesteryear?

The moon hangs cold over the Cang Mountain, casting a chilling light on people through countless moments of solitude.

Stars gather over Luchuan, clouds converge over Longchuan, and sword energy Sword Qi gleam intertwine.

The jade box is reopened, immortals and mortals alike embark on the journey, let no one ask of the promise of return.

With mountains and rivers as our bond, and the world awaiting its sweeping transformation, is it only heroes who strategize within their tents?

"And behold, the myriad immortals and celestial beings, as they soar to the heavens in a single battle."