Volume 1 Volume 7 Chapter 7

Volume 7 Chapter 7: Thirty Years (Part 1)

The person who let Wang Zegang lead everyone away without a care was Hua Xian, a master from the Qingxu lineage.

When the ‘Disaster Cloud’ disappeared at the edge of the sky, Hua Xian suddenly snorted coldly, turned around, and flew back towards Yongzhou State, slowly heading for the location of ‘Ronghua Mountain’.

Arriving at the courtyard of Immortal Zizhen, Hua Xian respectfully reported, "Zizhen Ancestor Master, your disciple has returned."

"Come in," a faint voice from Immortal Zizhen came from the courtyard.

After pushing the door open, Hua Xian immediately saw Immortal Zizhen. Compared to Mr. Liu and Zhang Xusheng, in these thirty years, Immortal Zizhen had indeed aged rapidly. His hair was completely white, his face was lined with wrinkles, and his body was bent. Many worries and troubles were consuming this elderly man’s strength, causing him to age twice as fast. If it weren’t for his bright and deep eyes, Hua Xian would have thought Immortal Zizhen was just an ordinary dying old man.

Immortal Zizhen was sitting in the courtyard, seemingly having just finished a divination. In front of him was a turtle shell that looked like jade, with burn marks on it. At that moment, Immortal Zizhen was staring blankly at the cracks on the shell, his gaze sometimes focused and sometimes a bit lost.

Seeing Hua Xian enter, Immortal Zizhen looked up and asked, "How is it? Has that person returned?"

Hua Xian replied respectfully, "Yes, he has already returned."

After pondering for a moment, Immortal Zizhen asked, "During this time, who exactly has that person met, and what has he done? Please tell me in detail."

"Yes."

Hua Xian answered in a solemn voice and then recounted everything he had observed about the people Wang Zegang met and the things he did during this time.

After finishing his words, Hua Xian couldn’t help but say, "Ancestral Master, what did you mean when you said that Xu Qingfan sent his people here? Was it really just to take a few people away?"

Immortal Zizhen replied lightly, "What else could it be? It’s just that he feels lonely, bored, and wants to step into the world. That’s all."

Hua Xian grew even more confused and asked, "But why does Ancestral Master allow that person to leave? And what about Mr. Liu and Zhang Xusheng secretly meeting with him? Don’t you care about that, Ancestral Master?"

Immortal Zizhen turned his gaze away and continued to look down at the cracks on the turtle shell in front of him, as if he wanted to see through it to understand the fate brought by humans. He then said slowly, "It is precisely because that person has already met Mr. Liu and Zhang Xusheng that I cannot keep him here. Otherwise, it wouldn’t be fair to anyone. As for Mr. Liu and Zhang Xusheng meeting that person in secret, they have already told me about it."

"Zhang Xusheng and Mr. Liu told you about the person they secretly met, Xu Qingfan?" Hua Xian asked in disbelief.

Immortal Zizhen sighed and said, "Didn’t they tell me this through you? Do you really think, with your skills, that you could have tracked that person without Zhang Xusheng and Mr. Liu noticing? They are just pretending to be confused, just like me. Some things cannot be said openly; mutual understanding under compromise is enough."

Hua Xian bowed and said, "I have learned my lesson."

"You go and do what you need to do," Immortal Zizhen waved his hand, seeming indifferent to what Hua Xian had reported.

"Yes."

Hua Xian bowed to Immortal Zizhen and was about to leave.

However, at that moment, Immortal Zizhen suddenly looked up again and said, "Wait."

"What else is there, sect leader?" Hua Xian asked, confused.

Immortal Zizhen first studied Hua Xian closely and then asked, "Hua Xian, twenty years ago, when your master Qinglingzi was hurt during an outing, everyone thought I would make you the sect leader, but I let Xuan Ling’s son be the sect leader and let you continue as Deacon Elder. Do you know why?"

A faint, strange light flickered in Hua Xian’s eyes, and he softly said, "I do not know, master."

Immortal Zizhen sighed and said, "Your cultivation, character, and ability have already surpassed your Martial Uncle Xuan Ling by a lot, even your master Qinglingzi is not as good as you. But just like earlier, you have had a smooth path so far. You have not learned to compromise and cannot see when others compromise. You do not know when to be clear and when to be confused. In the end, you still do not have the ability to judge the situation. As a sect leader, cultivation, character, and ability are secondary; only those who can judge the situation well can lead their sect forward. Do you understand what I mean?"

Hearing Immortal Zizhen’s words, Hua Xian quickly bowed deeply, hiding the complicated look in his eyes, and said, "I will follow the teachings of my ancestral master."

※※※※

While Wang Zegang and Liu Ziqing quickly headed towards the East Sea, Immortal Zizhen was teaching Hua Xian, deep within the East Sea, thirty thousand miles away, inside the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands.

After Xu Qingfan practiced the spiritual jade into a treasure and placed it above the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands for nearly thirty years, time had quietly passed by.

During these thirty years, his Taoist friends and disciples who lived in seclusion with him had become more accustomed to life on the Rainbow Spirit Seven Islands. They spent their days playing, enjoying beautiful scenery, planting flowers, playing chess, reading books, and listening to teachings, which was indeed very leisurely.

In contrast, Xu Qingfan was the busiest one. Due to his physical condition, he often closed himself off to practice. However, no one knew the details of the situation.

At this moment, Xu Qingfan stood quietly outside Ting’er’s room, silently watching the scene inside through the crack of the door.

The sea breeze blew, lifting Xu Qingfan’s long hair. After thirty years, Xu Qingfan’s appearance had returned to normal; the black patterns on his face had vanished, and his eyes were back to black and white. However, his expression was somewhat different from years ago, though it was hard to say exactly how; it just seemed to carry a hint of gloom and an inscrutable depth.

"The heavens and earth are profound, the universe is vast…"

In Yuheng Island, inside Ting’er’s room, Dongfang Qingling was pointing at the words in the book, looking at Ting’er with compassion, and gently speaking.

Unfortunately, Ting’er only looked at Dongfang Qingling with a confused expression, showing no intention of reading along.

Back then, Ting’er had helped Xu Qingfan absorb demonic energy, which allowed her to break through the limits of her understanding of the Heavenly Way. With the vast amount of demonic energy inside her, she forcefully raised her cultivation level from the Real Golden Core Stage to the Golden Core Stage. However, because Ting’er’s power surpassed her understanding of the Heavenly Way, she became lost, as if she were a newborn baby, and understood nothing at all.

In the end, Xu Qingfan thought of a way: to help Ting’er understand the Heavenly Way to the Golden Core Stage. With the ability to control her inner power, Ting’er would naturally recover her memories and mind.

However, for the past thirty years, even though Ting’er attended countless lessons, her understanding of the Heavenly Way did not deepen at all. Because she had lost her memory, Ting’er could only understand some very simple words, while Xu Qingfan’s teachings felt like a mystery to her.

Left with no choice, Xu Qingfan had to start teaching from the very beginning, providing Ting’er with basic knowledge in every area. However, soon after, his health began to worsen rapidly. After years of closed-door training, the most suitable person besides Xu Qingfan, Zhang Ningmei, was also at a crucial moment in her own practice. With a small mistake, she could suffer from Qi deviation. Reluctantly, he had to pass this task to Dongfang Qingling.

When Dongfang Qingling learned that it was a request from Xu Qingfan, she agreed without hesitation. At that time, she did not realize what the following days would mean for her.

After Ting’er lost her intelligence, she only recognized Xu Qingfan. At first, whenever Dongfang Qingling got close to Ting’er, she would face a strong backlash. If she wasn’t careful, she could get hurt from the reaction. During their first encounter, Ting’er grabbed Dongfang Qingling by the arm, leaving four deep blood marks.

This situation didn’t happen just once. Living with Ting’er, who acted like a small beast, Dongfang Qingling found herself at a disadvantage and couldn’t fight back. It’s easy to imagine how difficult the early days were for her. Xu Qingfan still remembers the time when he came out of closed training and saw Ting’er biting Dongfang Qingling, who was covered in wounds but dared not fight back. She just endured the pain while trying to gently soothe Ting’er.

Xu Qingfan had often told Dongfang Qingling that she didn’t need to worry about Ting’er; he would handle it because it was his own matter.

"Senior Brother Xu, I can do this. You need to take care of yourself; there’s no time to look after Ting’er. I will make sure Ting’er returns to normal because… I don’t want you to feel sad because of her anymore."

Xu Qingfan remembered when he saved Dongfang Qingling from Ting’er and healed her wounds. She spoke softly while sweating, trying to stay calm.

Emotions? Gratitude? Guilt? Looking at Dongfang Qingling at that moment, Xu Qingfan’s feelings were too complicated to express in words.

As the saying goes, sincere efforts can break through stone, and ten years ago, after Ting’er hurt Dongfang Qingling for the two hundredth time, with Dongfang Qingling’s gentle words of comfort, it seemed he finally confirmed Dongfang Qingling’s safety and allowed him to be by his side like Xu Qingfan. Five years ago, Dongfang Qingling was already able to get close to Ting’er, and three years ago, he could hold Ting’er in his arms.

The only regret is that even though Dongfang Qingling taught Ting’er for ten years, Ting’er still hasn’t regained his senses, and he remains completely unaffected by Xu Qingfan’s teachings.

Thinking about all that has happened in the past ten years and seeing Ting’er and Dongfang Qingling before him, Xu Qingfan couldn’t help but sigh softly.

Hearing Xu Qingfan’s voice, Dongfang Qingling turned to look outside the room. When she saw Xu Qingfan, a look of joy flashed in her eyes, and she said, "Senior Brother Xu, you are out now?"

Xu Qingfan smiled slightly and said, "I just came out."

Dongfang Qingling closed the book in her hands, gently told Ting’er, "Ting’er, you stay here quietly; your uncle and I need to talk, okay?"

Ting’er seemed to understand Dongfang Qingling’s words and nodded blankly.

Dongfang Qingling smiled tenderly at Ting’er, then left the room and walked towards Xu Qingfan.

"Is there something wrong?"

Xu Qingfan asked.

"Um, let’s talk as we walk."

Dongfang Qingling nodded.

"Okay."

Xu Qingfan smiled softly and led Dongfang Qingling towards the beach.

However, neither of them noticed that, after they left side by side, Ting’er, who was still in the room, suddenly regained her clarity from a moment of confusion, looking at their fading figures with a complex and conflicted gaze.

※※※※

"Senior Brother Xu, are we going to enter the world?"

By the seaside, Xu Qingfan and Dongfang Qingling were walking on the beach, with the sea breeze blowing gently, bringing a sense of coolness. Just then, Dongfang Qingling suddenly asked.

Xu Qingfan was slightly surprised, then smiled and turned to ask, "Why do you ask that?"

Dongfang Qingling sighed, "Senior Brother Xu, I know that for the past ten years, every time you emerge from seclusion, you always look at the position of Shenzhou Continent for a long time, showing that you still can’t let go of those things. I can feel that you have been planning something all these years. Although I don’t know exactly what it is, I understand that it has to do with the situation of Shenzhou Continent. You have been preparing for your return all these years, haven’t you?"

Xu Qingfan glanced at Dongfang Qingling, realizing that Dongfang Qingling understood him far better than he imagined, and sighed, saying, "I really can’t let go…"

"But, aren’t those days exhausting and boring for you? Why would you want to put yourself back in it now? Our lives are carefree. Isn’t that good?"

Dongfang Qingling suddenly turned around, asking with a hint of excitement in her expression.

"It is good," Xu Qingfan sighed, "but can you just stand by and watch humanity walk towards destruction?"

"But…"

Dongfang Qingling was about to say something, but Xu Qingfan smiled and reassured her, "I know what you’re worried about, but this time you really don’t need to worry."

"Why?"

Dongfang Qingling asked in confusion.

"Because, in the past, I was just a pawn in someone else’s game, but now, after thirty years of preparation, I have the right to play this game," Xu Qingfan said with a self-deprecating smile. He added, "Pawns can be captured, but players cannot. Do you understand?"

Dongfang Qingling was silent, and after a long time, she asked, "So, sending Taoist Friend Wang to Shenzhou Continent is your first move?"

Xu Qingfan shook his head, looking at the rising waves before him, and said slowly, "No, Wang Zegang’s trip to Shenzhou Continent is just to prepare for my first move. Playing this game well is not so simple."