As he conversed with Xu Cang, Chen Yang had already covered nearly half the journey and arrived within Meishan's territory.
Looking into the distance, he saw a vast azure lake ahead, round as a jade disc.
At that same moment, Sword Ancestor Wuduan, seated cross-legged above the jade lake in silent meditation, sensed something and cast his gaze toward Chen Yang.
Though layers upon layers of space lay between them, their transmitted thoughts met without the slightest obstruction.
Having learned the secret behind Soul-Returning, Chen Yang now felt an added measure of pity for the dead cultivators, such as this old cultivator, who had been summoned back into the present world by the Myriad Corpses Demon Lord's Soul-Returning Dao art.
Because of that Old Devil's actions, they had utterly lost any chance of reincarnation or resurrection in the future.
No matter how this matter ultimately ended, they could only head toward the path of soul dispersal and complete annihilation.
Thus, with a somewhat heavy heart, Chen Yang sent a thought from afar to this old cultivator whose identity he did not know.
"Greetings, Senior."
"Greetings, Senior."
By sheer coincidence, at the very instant his thought stirred, Sword Ancestor Wuduan's greeting also entered his soul.
Both addressed the other as Senior. Chen Yang did so because of the other's seniority and experience, while Sword Ancestor Wuduan did so because of the other's peak cultivation.
Sword Ancestor Wuduan's regret in life, aside from falling just short of ascending to the heavens, was that he had never reached the true pinnacle, nor had he made Meishan the true leader of the righteous path.
Now that he had encountered Chen Yang, a peak expert of a later generation, his heart naturally held not only emotion and loss, but also a measure of reverence.
After