Return

Not far outside Yongzhou City, in the Great Void.

Su Yao stood with his hands behind his back, followed by Liu Yunhe, Li Siyi, Han Ziyi, Zhu Xuejie, Zhang Ziyan in order, with Yang Nan standing at the very end.

All seven were at the Purple Mansion level of cultivation, their auras deep and profound.

Su Yao's gaze pierced the boundary between the Great Void and the mortal world, landing on a hilly area below.

There, a young figure was locked in combat with a Foundation Establishment serpent demon. The youth was about twenty years old, with handsome features. His body was surrounded by Li Fire energy, and amidst the blazing flames, a fire serpent could be vaguely seen swimming in his palm. He wielded a silver spear with lightning speed, the tip of which flickered with a crimson light, forcing the serpent demon to retreat step by step.

This person was none other than Su Mingcheng.

Su Yao's eyes flickered slightly.

He secretly connected with the Prism in his dantian, then his gaze fell on Su Mingcheng. The connection between their bloodlines was like an extremely fine thread, passing through decades of time, subtly linking their auras.

He then used the Spirit Omens Mystery-Inquiring Tube to deduce that, within a few breaths, this person was his nephew whom he had met once in Yongzhou decades ago.

However, he did not pass on the method of cultivation at that time.

Upon seeing this, Su Yao frowned almost imperceptibly. The many Purple Mansion species of the Purple Qixia Mountain would not bestow Method Formula without his permission.

Su Mingcheng's mastery of the Li Fire Technique clearly indicates that he has inherited it from another lineage.

The Way of Li Fire, which governs the Fire Virtue and is the abode of the Red Emperor, is widely known among Rogue Cultivator throughout the world, but most of them are not very advanced. However, Su Mingcheng's cultivation level at this moment shows that his cultivation is extraordinary.

Just as he was pondering this, a flash of Silver Light appeared from afar.

That Silver Light, like starlight falling upon the mortal world.

As the Silver Light faded, a figure in red appeared out of thin air.

It was a woman, her face covered by a red veil, only her eyes were visible.

She looked at Su Yao, her brows furrowing slightly.

Su Yao was also puzzled upon seeing this.

The Way of the Heavenly Governance, passed down by the Supreme Deity Haotian, has always been renowned for its divination of celestial phenomena and the prediction of heavenly secrets, and has very few successors.

Where does this Heavenly Governance originate on the shores of the South Sea?

He was about to ask a question when he saw the woman's figure flicker, a flash of Silver Light, and she had vanished.

"Master, shall we pursue them?" Han Ziyi forward and asked in a deep voice.

Su Yao stared in the direction where the woman had disappeared, remained silent for a moment, and then slowly shook his head.

"No need. These are turbulent times; let's hold back for now."

He withdrew his gaze and turned to the six people behind him:

Liu Yunhe.

"Your subordinate is here."

"You five have followed me to Nanzhao and have stayed for decades. Now that there's not much to do on the mountain, you can all go home and pay your respects to your clan elders."

Upon hearing this, Liu Yunhe immediately cupped his hands and said, "Abbot, this subordinate should serve by your side..."

Su Yao raised his hand to stop him. "You should go back and wait for a month or so, then come find me at Qixia Mountain."

Seeing this, Liu Yunhe and the other five stopped refusing, bowed respectfully, and then dispersed. The five streaks of light shot off in different directions, disappearing into the depths of the Great Void in an instant.

After the five people left, Su Yao looked at Yang Nan again.

Yang Nan.

Yang Nan stepped forward, cupped his hands, and said, "Abbot."

Su Yao said, "When you went to the East Sea to borrow treasure for me, you passed through the Qixia Mountain area and saw that sacred mountain, do you remember it?"

Yang Nan was shocked upon hearing this.

He naturally remembered. Back then, when he went to the East Sea to borrow the golden hoop and scriptures for Su Yao, he had seen a sacred mountain in the distance when he passed through the Qixia Mountain area.

The mountain's shape resembled a dragon coiled and a tiger crouching, its spiritual energy so dense it was almost tangible, making it more than ten times better than his current residence in Nanzhao.

He felt envious at the time, but dared not ask any questions, only hoping to find a peaceful place in the future.

"I remember." Yang Nan's voice carried a hint of barely suppressed excitement.

Su Yao tossed out a token and said, "The Qixia Temple has already set up a great formation at that sacred mountain. You should return to Nanzhao and relocate your people there."

Yang Nan caught the token. Although she already knew, she still couldn't help but feel excited.

He thought of the current situation in Nanzhao.

After the reincarnation of Proclaiming Earth True Lord perished more than a year ago, Great Qing settled accounts in the autumn.

A large number of Nanzhao from the Purple Mansion were captured and killed under the pretext of "exploiting the people's wealth."

Even the priests of the Nanzhao Royal Family have all entered the grotto heaven, and the City God of the Nanzhao Royal City has been reincarnated. It is said that apart from the mountain god who is still in seclusion in Cang Mountain, almost all the royal family members have been withdrawn into the grotto heaven and no longer enjoy any privileges.

Great Qing demoted the title of king to duke, and the royal family didn't even want that. Then, the Buddhist School moved a temple to a location not far from the former Nanzhao Kingdom.

Yang Nan benefited greatly from this, making him one of the best among the local Purple Mansion of Nanzhao.

With the Lineage safe and sound, and now having moved to this land of Nanyue on the coast of the South Sea, and having also secured the support of Qixia Temple, they have truly risen to the top in one fell swoop.

"Thank you, Abbot!" Yang Nan bowed deeply, his voice filled with barely suppressed gratitude and excitement.

Su Yao waved his hand. "Go."

Yang Nan said no more, his figure blurred, and he transformed into a stream of Subterranean Water, fleeing swiftly towards Nanzhao.

As he fled into the light, his gratitude deepened, and he quickened his pace, eager to relocate his people to this place as soon as possible.

After Yang Nan left, Su Yao moved and stepped from the Great Void into the mortal world.

He appeared a few feet in front of Su Mingcheng and simply waved his hand slightly.

A streak of rainbow light flew out from his sleeve.

Then, a flash of rainbow light disappeared into the snake demon's brow.

Before the Foundation Establishment serpent demon could even let out a scream, its body crumbled from the inside out like paper scorched by flames, turning into countless crimson fragments that vanished into the world.

Upon seeing this, Su Mingcheng was about to bow and express his gratitude, but when he looked up and his gaze fell on Su Yao's face, he froze on the spot.

His face remained as aloof as ever, and between his brows and eyes, one could vaguely discern the shadow of the "cheap uncle" from the old house in Yongzhou decades ago.

It just had an added touch of ethereal, otherworldly beauty.

"But... Uncle?" Su Mingcheng asked hesitantly.

Su Yao nodded.

Then he spoke, his voice not loud:

"Take me to see your grandparents' graves."

Upon hearing this, Su Mingcheng was startled.

My eldest Su Yao, visited Yongzhou several decades ago, but never returned. When my grandparents passed away, my eldest uncle did not attend in person; only my aunt came and later sent some things back through someone.

It's unlikely that the Purple Mansion would deceive him; it must be his eldest uncle.

He suppressed the surging emotions within him, nodded, and bowed, saying:

"Uncle, please come with me."

Su Yao said, "Lead the way."

Su Mingcheng said no more, turned around, transformed into a streak of Li Fire light, and flew towards a distant sacred mountain.

Su Yao followed, a burst of rosy light appearing beneath his feet, trailing behind Su Mingcheng at a leisurely pace.

A moment later, the two entered a sacred mountain.

Lingshan Mountain is serene and secluded, shaded by pines and cypresses, with babbling springs.

Su Mingcheng led Su Yao through the front mountain, around a bamboo forest, and finally to the back mountain.

On the hill behind, three burial mounds lie quietly among the pines and cypresses.

The two burial mounds at the top stand side by side, each with a blue stone tablet in front of it.

The inscription on the left reads "Tomb of Madam Gu Lanyin, Mother of Su," while the inscription on the right reads "Tomb of Su Shouzhuo."

Su Yao stopped in front of the grave.

He didn't speak, but simply watched quietly for a moment.

Then he bowed slightly.

The bow was not deep, but it was extremely solemn.

The mountain breeze rustled through the pine forest, causing his robes to flutter gently.

After a moment, he straightened up, his gaze lingering on the monument for a long time before he slowly turned around.

"What is the name of this mountain?" he asked.

Upon hearing this, Su Mingcheng lowered his head slightly, remained silent for a moment, and then answered softly:

"Uncle, this mountain is called ' Shouwei '."

Su Yao paused upon hearing this.

Shouwei.

He turned around, his gaze falling on Su Mingcheng's face. After looking at him for a long while, he slowly spoke:

Who gave this name?

Su Mingcheng said:

"It was chosen by my father. He said that the Su Household's current status is entirely due to the support of my eldest uncle. The children of the family must not be arrogant, but should remind themselves of the two words ' Shouwei,' guarding their humble positions, and never forgetting their duty. My father said that the worst thing in life is not being incompetent, but forgetting who you are after you have become capable."

Su Yao nodded but did not reply.

Shouwei.

He had little recollection of his deceased younger brother. He had met him once decades ago in Yongzhou, and only remembered him as a Kuiwu young man with a composed demeanor.

Looking back now, decades have passed in the blink of an eye, and that boy is now just a skeleton in a grave. I never even got to see him one last time.

He suppressed his thoughts and asked again:

Did your grandparents say anything before they passed away?

Su Mingcheng answered truthfully:

"Grandfather left first, only giving some instructions and saying nothing more, but later he said..."

What did you say?

He said, "I'm going to take my grandmother to Qixia Mountain..."

Su Yao remained silent upon hearing this.

Seeing this, Su Mingcheng paused for a moment, then continued:

Before my grandfather passed away, he and my grandmother rarely spoke. On the night he left, my grandparents called my father, me, and my aunt to their bedside, gave us some instructions about family matters, and that was all. Three days after my grandfather's passing, my grandmother also went with him.

Su Yao's eyes flickered slightly:

"Auntie?"

Su Mingcheng nodded. "Yes, not long after my uncle left Yongzhou, and shortly after I completed my Qi Refinement, my aunt came to the Su Household. She said her surname was Gu, and that she was... my uncle's wife."

Su Yao remained expressionless, only slightly tightening the fingers that were behind his back.

She settled down in their home and stayed there for decades. Her grandparents treated her very well, and she was extremely filial to them. In the days before her grandmother passed away, her aunt stayed by her bedside without leaving for a moment.

Su Yao paused for a moment before asking, "Did your grandmother say anything before she passed away?"

Su Mingcheng shook his head. "Before she passed away, Grandmother murmured: 'She was just a mother.'"

Upon hearing this, Su Yao closed his eyes and remained silent for a long time.

"Where is your aunt?" he asked.

"My aunt kept vigil before my grandmother's coffin for seven days. After seven days, she told my father that she was leaving. My father asked her where she was going, and she said, 'To do something I should have done long ago.' My father asked her when she would return, but she did not answer, only leaving behind one sentence."

What did you say?

Su Mingcheng said:

She said, "This mountain Shouwei, and my heart returns to its true nature."

Upon hearing this, Su Yao closed his eyes. When did he get a wife?

Zilin is not yet married... This matter cannot be taken lightly; it must be investigated carefully.

The mountain wind rustled through the pine forest.

He stood there for a long time before opening his eyes again, his gaze returning to its usual calm.

"Did your aunt teach you to cultivate yourself?" he asked.

Su Mingcheng shook his head. "No. Not long after my uncle left Yongzhou, a Purple Mansion True Person came to our door claiming to be from Qixia Mountain and said he wanted to teach me the methods of cultivation. My grandparents agreed at the time. That person taught me for several years, from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment, all by his own instruction."

What did that person look like?

"I couldn't see him clearly. I only remember him wearing a gray robe, with a hoarse voice, and the name Chen Weizi," Su Mingcheng recalled. "After my grandparents passed away, that person disappeared without a trace. I even went to the Qixia Mountain to look for him, but there was no response from Qixia Mountain."

Su Yao nodded and didn't ask any further questions.

If the extraordinary beings of the Purple Mansion Qixia Mountain wish to transmit their teachings, they must obtain his approval.

If he were truly from Qixia Mountain, he couldn't possibly be unaware of this.

unless...

Unless that person is not from Qixia Mountain, but is merely using Qixia Mountain's name.

He suppressed his thoughts and asked again:

Where is your aunt now?

Su Mingcheng said:

"Ten years ago, my aunt broke through to the Purple Mansion and cultivated the Divine Ability of the Heavenly Governance Dao called ' Awakened Imperial Hearing.' After that breakthrough, she came back to see us for a moment, sat at home for half a day, and then she often disappeared, sometimes only returning once every three to five years."

"Does she cultivate the Dao of Heavenly Governance?"

"Yes. My aunt once said that the Heavenly Governance, who are in charge of astronomical divination and the deduction of celestial secrets, are detached from worldly strife and are the most serene."

Su Yao nodded slightly.

The Way of the Heavenly Governance is indeed an extremely rare lineage.

He was about to ask again when he suddenly remembered something—

What kind of clothes does your aunt usually wear?

Su Mingcheng was taken aback.

Just as he was momentarily stunned, a ray of light suddenly appeared between Su Yao's brows.

The rosy light, like the softest ray of dawn, silently seeped into Su Mingcheng's brow.

The "Rosy Cloud Feather Wanderer" Divine Ability, including the Divine Ability Rainbow Clouds aura that grants both physical and life abilities.

Su Mingcheng's body trembled slightly, and his expression changed abruptly. It was as if something had ripped his soul out of him in an instant and replaced it with another person.

When he spoke again, his tone, intonation, and even the rhythm of his speech were completely different from before:

"My aunt came to the Su Household about sixty years ago. She said her surname was Gu, her given name was Wanniang, and she came from the coast of the South Sea."

A cold glint flashed in Su Yao's eyes. "The shores of the South Sea?"

"Yes, my aunt once said that she was originally a scholar's daughter from a family on the coast of the South Sea. One day, she went out to sea with her parents, but they encountered a storm and fell into the water. She entered a secret realm, where she met my uncle. Later, she obtained the methods of the Heavenly Governance and cultivated to the Foundation Establishment before leaving the secret realm... By then, my uncle had already gone to Nanzhao..."

Su Yao was about to ask again--

Before he could finish speaking, a burst of silvery starlight fell from the sky.

The starlight, like the radiance of Heavenly Governance stars, descended and enveloped Su Mingcheng.

Su Yao's "Rosy Cloud Feather Wanderer" technique, once struck by the starlight, vanished like thin ice meeting the sun, dissipating inch by inch.

Su Mingcheng swayed, regained his senses, and stared at Su Yao with a shocked expression.

But Su Yao was nowhere to be found.

Within the Great Void, Su Yao transformed into a radiant glow, swiftly pursuing the source of the Heavenly Governance Silver Light.

The Silver Light was extremely fast, like a shooting star streaking across the sky, rushing southward.

Golden light flashed beneath Su Yao's feet as he unleashed the full power of the Golden Light Across the Land, relentlessly pursuing the Silver Light.

Two beams of light, one after the other, left two extremely faint trails in the Great Void.

After chasing for a while, the Silver Light suddenly stopped.

Su Yao's gaze sharpened, and the Autumn Steed Sword was already in his hand.

But when he got closer, he saw that within the Silver Light was a tiny talisman, trembling slightly.

The talisman was entirely silver-white, with extremely fine star patterns engraved on its surface, and its light was rapidly dimming.

Seeing this, Su Yao slashed down with his sword.

The sword light was as clear as water, annihilating the talisman in a single strike. The moment the talisman shattered, it transformed into specks of silvery-white light, dissipating into the Great Void.

Clone.

A Spirit Treasure, which separated into a wisp of energy, has drawn him to chase it for so long.

Su Yao sheathed his sword and stood there, his expression slightly somber.

He intended to go back to find Su Mingcheng, but when he looked up and around, he realized that he had unknowingly arrived at a very familiar place.

Qixia Mountain.

Looking out from the Great Void, he saw countless rays of light and rainbows intertwined and entwined, completely enveloping the Great Void within a radius of thousands of miles around Qixia Mountain.

The layers of rosy light spread out like the morning glow, with rainbows flowing endlessly, completely isolating the entire area from the outside world.

It is the protective immortal formation of Qixia Mountain, the "Hanguang Inner Landscape Crimson Book Illuminating Heaven Formation".

Su Yao stood in the Great Void, gazing at the immortal mountain shrouded in rosy light, at the faint outline of the mountain gate visible through layers of mist, and at the pear orchard, palaces, and streams beyond that gate that he knew all too well...

He suddenly froze.

It's been decades.

He never returned after he went down the mountain.

He stood in the Great Void, separated by the protective mountain array and decades of time, gazing in the direction of Qixia Mountain, his eyes suddenly welling up with tears.

A few rays of sunlight slid down his cheeks.

A moment later, he raised his hand to wipe away the few specks of sunset light, a slight smile appearing on his lips, and said softly:

"I'm back."

There is a word cloud:

The old house by the Yong River is now gone, only a lonely grave remains amidst the pines and cypresses.

Recognizing one's past life at the Shouwei Mountain.

The Li Fire illuminates youth, its Silver Light guides the way through confusion.

For decades, who has left their mark? The stars that Heavenly Governance have fallen without a trace.

Ask about past lives on the Stone of Three Incarnations.

A thousand miles away from Qixia, the sunset's tears fall in profusion.