Volume 5 Chapter 41

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Volume 5 Chapter 41: Return

With the depletion of Spirit Qi in Xu Qingfan’s body, his flying speed was rather slow. As he flew towards Jiuhua Mountain, he pondered how to plan the remaining twelve years before Jiuhua’s unsealing.

Just then, Xu Qingfan suddenly noticed a figure lying quietly on the ground not far away. Dressed in noble attire, with a large build and pale skin, the figure was very familiar to him. Although he couldn’t see the face clearly, Xu Qingfan was certain that this person lying on the ground was Gu Fulu, the chief steward of the "Treasure Pavilion."

Upon first seeing Gu Fulu lying on the ground, Xu Qingfan was slightly surprised. After all, he had just scavenged through the ruins of the "Treasure Pavilion." Even though it was a common practice in the cultivation world, seeing the owner made him feel a bit guilty.

Moments later, Xu Qingfan realized that Gu Fulu was still lying motionless on the ground. Through his Divine Sense, he discovered that there were no signs of life or Spirit Qi fluctuations in Gu Fulu.

"Is he dead?"

Thinking of this, Xu Qingfan was slightly shocked. He quickly sped up to reach Gu Fulu’s side, turned him over, and indeed found that Gu Fulu was dead. His face still held the expression from the moment before death, his eyes wide open with remnants of anger and surprise.

However, no matter how much Xu Qingfan examined, he couldn’t find the cause of Gu Fulu’s death. Cultivators could only die in three ways: from the exhaustion of their lifespan, from being plotted against by other cultivators and their techniques, or from Qi deviation during their own cultivation. But Gu Fulu showed no signs of aging, nor did his body have any Spirit Qi damage, clearly indicating it wasn’t death from lifespan depletion or Qi deviation.

Similarly, there were no signs of wounds or poisoning on Gu Fulu’s body, and he didn’t seem to have been attacked or plotted against by other cultivators. His mysterious death was puzzling.

Unexpectedly, Xu Qingfan thought of the three mysterious cultivators he had seen before, all wearing masks identical to his own. Especially the one in the center, whose gaze seemed calm and serene. But when Xu Qingfan looked at Gu Fulu’s body, that gaze came to mind again and inexplicably sent shivers down his spine.

Xu Qingfan clearly remembered seeing Gu Fulu escape with those three mysterious cultivators. Given their strength combined with Gu Fulu’s, unless more than three golden core cultivators appeared, they should have escaped easily. Even if they faced such opponents, the four of them could have put up a good fight. Yet, seeing the state of Gu Fulu’s body, Xu Qingfan realized he was killed shortly after escaping the ambush.

Furthermore, all the rare treasures Gu Fulu took from the "Treasure Pavilion" were missing.

This made the cause of Gu Fulu’s death glaringly obvious: after helping him escape, the three mysterious cultivators turned on him, killed him, and stole his treasures.

However, no matter how hard Xu Qingfan thought, he couldn’t figure out how those mysterious people managed to kill Gu Fulu.

Also, judging from Gu Fulu’s previous behavior, these mysterious cultivators should have been allies of the "Treasure Pavilion’s" master. Why then would they act so treacherously without fear of retribution? Or did they simply not care about offending the master of the "Treasure Pavilion"?

After pondering for a long time without answers, Xu Qingfan sighed helplessly, used his powers to dig a deep hole nearby, and buried Gu Fulu.

Although Gu Fulu had once plotted against Xu Qingfan and nearly got him killed, Xu Qingfan did not wish to see his body abandoned to the elements.

After laying Gu Fulu to rest, Xu Qingfan wasted no more time and flew swiftly towards Jiuhua Mountain.

…

Due to the significant depletion of Spirit Qi in his body, which hadn’t yet recovered, it took Xu Qingfan a full month to return to Jiuhua Mountain.

Xu Qingfan had considered finding a secluded spot to fully restore his Spirit Qi before returning to Jiuhua. However, the downfall of the "Treasure Pavilion" made him uneasy. Later, he learned that not only the "Treasure Pavilion" he frequently visited, but all "Treasure Pavilions" in the cultivation world had been destroyed or mysteriously disappeared at the same time, so he dared not delay and traveled day and night.

Gazing from afar at the majestic Jiuhua Mountain ahead, Xu Qingfan slowly exhaled a breath, feeling a sense of relief.

After returning to Jiuhua Mountain through a secret path, Xu Qingfan first found Zhang Hualing and recounted everything he had seen and heard after descending the mountain. After discussing with Zhang Hualing, he quickly flew to his cave dwelling in the back mountain.

In Xu Qingfan’s view, although Zhang Hualing was the Master of Jiuhua, he was not Liu Huaxiang. Whenever Xu Qingfan had doubts, discussions with Liu Huaxiang, guided by Liu Huaxiang’s gradual insights, always allowed Xu Qingfan to see the essence of things through the dense fog of confusion.

Liu Huaxiang’s seemingly old and lackluster eyes contained an unimaginable wisdom and foresight.

Although Zhang Hualing was also an experienced old fox, his actions were seasoned but lacked the profound wisdom that enabled Liu Huaxiang to see the essence of all things. During several discussions with Zhang Hualing, Xu Qingfan found that Zhang Hualing’s insights weren’t much greater than his own.

However, Xu Qingfan did not realize that, although Zhang Hualing was indeed far inferior to Liu Huaxiang in some aspects, he had grown under Liu Huaxiang’s direct guidance and served as the Master of Jiuhua for so many years, striving to help Jiuhua with its diminished strength stand firm in the cultivation world. How could he be as useless as Xu Qingfan perceived him to be?

However, while Zhang Hualing was not as skilled as Liu Huaxiang, Xu Qingfan, after experiencing so much, was much more mature than he had been under Liu Huaxiang’s guidance. His perspective became much broader over time, making the difference between Zhang Hualing and Liu Huaxiang seem larger to Xu Qingfan.

After each conversation with Xu Qingfan, Zhang Hualing would quietly sigh, realizing that Xu Qingfan was indeed much more mature than before, and the innocence and naivety of his past were becoming less and less evident.

In fact, sometimes carrying a hint of innocence in one’s heart is not entirely a bad thing, as it makes one’s heart feel much lighter.

…

After leaving Zhang Hualing’s "Linghua Hall", Xu Qingfan swiftly flew towards the cave dwelling in the back mountain. Unlike before, he no longer handled the affairs meant for the Deacon Elder upon returning. Over the years, he was busy cultivating while Li Yuhan took care of Jiuhua’s Deacon Elder matters. Xu Qingfan felt that even if he handled them himself, he couldn’t do any better, so he devoted himself to cultivation.

Moreover, the chaos in the cultivation world over the years gave Xu Qingfan a sense of urgency, always making the improvement of his strength his top priority.

Arriving at his cave dwelling, he activated the formation outside, only to find Bai Yu engrossed in practicing the martial arts Xu Qingfan had taught him. His enthusiasm was much greater than when he meditated on the cultivation method. Each punch and kick was executed with a deep understanding, and his innate talents made the moves even more powerful. Xu Qingfan nodded slightly in approval, while Little Green, lying quietly by Ting’er’s room, occasionally grumbled disdainfully as it watched Bai Yu.

Bai Yu had previously pestered Xu Qingfan to let him go down the mountain with him, but was refused because Xu Qingfan said his skills were too weak, which hurt Bai Yu’s feelings. Ever since, Bai Yu had been diligently improving himself.

Upon seeing Xu Qingfan, a hint of joy lit up in Bai Yu’s eyes. He quickly stopped his practice, walked over to greet Xu Qingfan respectfully. Hearing Bai Yu’s greeting, Ting’er and Zhang Ningmei also emerged from their rooms to greet Xu Qingfan, clearly having been meditating and cultivating inside.

Xu Qingfan observed the three disciples in front of him and noticed that Bai Yu had already reached the initial late stage of the Qi Refining Stage. Zhang Ningmei had reached the middle stage, and Ting’er had stabilized her newly achieved Condensed Core Stage. He felt quite pleased in his heart.

Perhaps because he always encountered dangers when descending the mountain, Xu Qingfan felt as if he had been away for years whenever he returned to his cave dwelling. Seeing the three obedient disciples—Bai Yu, in certain ways, was also obedient—made him feel especially warm and settled.

Smiling, Xu Qingfan nodded to the three of them, praised them briefly, and then went directly towards his own room without saying much more.

"Ting’er, come to my room for a moment."

After entering his room, Xu Qingfan suddenly remembered something and sent a message to the outside.