Chapter 1026: Revisiting Familiar Grounds
Above the void.
Zhu Dahua stood quietly suspended, overlooking the four juniors in the Blessed Land below who were safe and sound.
Seeing the four standing side by side, supporting each other, his gaze unconsciously softened, and a boundless sigh rose in his heart.
“So much alike…”
He whispered softly, as the torrent of time flashed across his eyes.
Recalling the past, when they, the Meishan Four Monsters, also traveled together in such camaraderie, supporting each other from the humble path.
But in the end, time is relentless, and the Great Dao is fraught with peril.
Purple Mansion Divine Techniques are hard to achieve, even with the guidance of a master personally pointing the way.
Among the four, only he and Hu Butu successfully reached the Purple Mansion Realm.
The other two sworn brothers had already perished, turning to dust, vanishing in the river of time.
Thinking of the scenes of fighting side by side in the past, Zhu Dahua felt a sense of melancholy and softly lamented:
“Things change, people change.”
He quickly suppressed the melancholy in his heart; the past cannot be pursued, and cultivators should look forward.
He raised a hand and grasped the air.
Buzz~~
With a slight tremor, the unborn Magical Treasure of this Small Realm was all collected by him from afar, returning to its source.
Then he waved his hand, and the original Spirit Light rained down, pouring into the four juniors below.
“You all escape this catastrophe of death.”
“The fortune of this place is given to you four, hone your Dao Foundation well, and cultivate earnestly.”
Zhu Lie and the others only felt a vast, pure, and exceedingly gentle original power washing over their bodies, nourishing and purifying their limbs, bones, meridians, and Dao Foundation.
Their cultivation faintly loosened, and the Dao Foundation became more solid and stable!!
Having done all this, Zhu Dahua’s virtual image slowly faded, dissolving into countless fragments of dark light, gradually dissipating into the void, disappearing without a trace.
The world returned to clarity.
The ominous Celestial Mountain Rain entirely dissipated.
The three of them almost simultaneously turned their heads, quickly stepped forward, and surrounded Zhu Lie in the center:
“Brother Zhu!”
“You really hid us well!”
“Who exactly was that Great Power manifesting in the void just now?!”
Zhu Lie explained, his tone carrying a bit of helplessness:
“Three virtuous brothers, it was not my intention to conceal.”
“The one just now was my ancestor, who usually cultivates at Meishan overseas.”
“The elder has always been indifferent to fame and fortune and does not allow me to reveal it freely outside, so I have kept silent, and I hope you can understand.”
The three of them nodded understandingly; most hidden Great Powers are solitary by nature, so it’s normal to restrain the younger generation.
But in the next instant, one of the cultivators suddenly trembled, his pupils contracted as if remembering something, and he exclaimed in shock:
“Meishan?! Surname Zhu!!”
“Could it be Master Zhu from the current Sect Master Purple Sun’s Meishan lineage?!”
As soon as this was said, the other two stiffened, their breath stopped suddenly, and they fixed their gaze on Zhu Lie, waiting for confirmation.
Zhu Lie nodded slightly, with a calm demeanor: “Precisely.”
The two simple words resounded like thunder in the hearts of the three, exploding!
In the current Cultivation Realm, no one does not know the illustrious reputation of Sect Master Purple Sun, Chen Hua!
Rising from the overseas humble Loose Cultivator, stunningly talented, eventually entering the Evergreen Immortal Sect, ascending to the position of Sect Leader!
During the previous Immortal Demon Tribulation and various confrontations, he displayed an unrivaled stance, suppressing all the Great True Masters of the Purple Mansion, regarded as the number one Purple Mansion in the Divine Land!
With an invincible master, the disciples naturally rise with the tide, renowned throughout the world.
The three disciples, Yuan Hong, Hu Butu, and Zhu Guang, also became famous across the Four Seas, recognized as the most untouchable figures in the Cultivation Realm.
“No wonder that Purple Mansion True Master retreated so embarrassingly!”
“I never expected Brother Zhu to have such a formidable background, hidden so deeply!”
Everyone marveled and praised, their words full of awe.
Zhu Lie quietly watched the crowd, sighing quietly in his heart.
He knew clearly that from this moment on, the purely adventurous, like-minded camaraderie they had would have changed in essence.
The gap of identity and status had already invisibly erected a thick barrier between them, never to return to the pure and frank state of the past.
…
Overseas Meishan, shrouded in clouds and mist, the immortal wind is tranquil.
This place is far from the inland strife, quiet and serene, where Zhu Dahua has long cultivated in seclusion.
Inside the stone pavilion in the mountains, fine wine is warmed, and the fragrance of fruit wafts around.
Zhu Dahua was pouring his own drink, delightfully at ease.
Suddenly, he saw a cyan rainbow streak across the sky, Yuan Hong stepping into the pavilion, his stance upright and demeanor composed.
Zhu Dahua glanced up and smiled, raising his hand to invite him:
“Brother, how do you have the leisure to come to my Meishan retreat today? You arrived just in time, I’ve just brewed some new spirit wine, let’s drink together!”
Yuan Hong also was not polite, sat down, grabbed the cup, and drank it all. Looking at the leisurely and elegant scenery of Meishan, he laughed:
“You really know how to avoid the bustle, but it’s hard on Second Brother left alone to guard the Immortal Sect, handling the sect’s various affairs.”
Zhu Dahua scratched his head, laughed, and waved his hand:
“Second Brother is meticulous and exceptionally intelligent, he is like a strategist. Sect affairs, interpersonal interactions, sect dispatches, he excels at managing them thoroughly.”
“My nature is rough and impatient with details, I can’t handle such things.”
“You, you are inherently lazy, indulging in comfort.”
Yuan Hong chuckled helplessly, then collected his expression, speaking solemnly:
“However, your carefree days seem to be coming to an end. You won’t be able to hide anymore.”
Zhu Dahua was slightly taken aback: “Oh? What do you mean by that?”
Yuan Hong’s eyes were distant, and he gradually revealed the heavy news:
“Master has decided, on April 6th of next year, to formally seek gold and prove the Dao!”
“Seek gold?!”
Zhu Dahua’s body trembled, abruptly stood up, excitement surged in his eyes!
“Does Master have confidence?”
He first asked, then immediately convinced himself.
“I’m overthinking it, Master is the foremost Purple Mansion of our time.”
“Even the Evergreen Celestial King’s Purple Mansion does not have Master’s divine techniques, this endeavor to seek gold and prove the Dao will surely be successful and perfect.”
Yuan Hong nodded slightly, fully confident in his own master, he put down his wine cup, and stood up:
“Let’s not talk idle, pack up a bit, and return with me to the Immortal Sect.”
“Great events are approaching, we disciples should not remain uninvolved.”
Zhu Dahua no longer hesitated, immediately stood up, the two walked out of the stone pavilion side by side, transformed into two streaks of light, soared into the vast Great Void, and in an instant crossed over ten thousand miles of void, heading straight for the Evergreen Immortal Sect.
Upon returning to the Immortal Sect, Zhu Dahua immediately wanted to go to the main hall to meet his master, but only ran into Hu Butu standing guard outside the hall.
“Where is Master?”
Hu Butu shook his head upon hearing this: “Master just went out alone, and didn’t say where to, I don’t know his whereabouts either.”
Saying this, he casually took out a stack of gold-embossed invitation cards and handed them to Zhu Dahua, arranging smoothly:
“You came at just the right time, caught the occasion.”
“These are viewing invitation cards for various invited sects and noble families, please take the trouble to deliver them one by one.”
Zhu Dahua looked at the thick stack of invitations in his hand, smiled wryly, and could only agree: “Alright, I’ll go.”
…
At the same time, southwest of the Divine Land, deep in a mountain of thousands of peaks.
Beside a secluded ancient path, a simple mountain tea stall stood quietly, smoke rising faintly, with a rustic atmosphere.
Under the tea stall, an old Daoist in a blue robe sat quietly sipping tea, his demeanor tranquil, his temperament ethereal.
The young boy selling tea was very young, his features simple, his hands and feet deft. Seeing the Daoist’s extraordinary temperament, he couldn’t help but initiate a conversation with a smile:
“Old gentleman, judging by your impressive demeanor, where might you have traveled from afar?”
Chen Hua looked at the familiar yet strange mountains and rivers before him, a trace of distant warmth and weariness of the vicissitudes flitted through his eyes, he softly chuckled:
“I am a person from this place.”
“It’s just that I’ve been away from home for too long, haven’t returned for many years.”
The mountain stronghold before him was no longer the Celestial Ridge Immortal Stronghold in his memory.
Through the cycles of years, generation after generation of expansion and development, this mountain stronghold has turned into a mountain city built by the mountains, prosperity thriving.
The boy was a bit surprised, scratched his head and chuckled:
“Then you really have been away from home for too long, listening to your accent, there’s not a trace of our local tone, completely can’t tell that we are from the same place.”
Chen Hua, hearing this, smiled gently, sighed softly:
“Yes, it’s been too long.”
It’s not that his accent changed, but that the years have passed like flowing water, transforming the land, and the local dialect has altered its sound.
The boy still wanted to ask a few more questions:
“Hmm, where’s the person?”
He raised his hand to rub his eyes, for the old Daoist who was quietly sipping tea just moments ago had vanished without a trace.
Only on the wooden table were two ancient copper coins quietly placed, silently indicating that the encounter just now was not an illusion.
“Could it be, I’ve encountered an Immortal?”