Immortal Travel of Longevity

Aqing had come at a bad time—at least, that was how Yu Hongjin saw it.

She knew Aqing was only passing through to take a look around. Once she had seen what she came for, she would leave. The person she truly wanted to find was Chen Changsheng.

Everyone else was just a passing traveler.

The patrons in the tavern were much the same. They hurried in and out; some would taste the wine, offer a brief word of praise, and gradually forget about it after leaving. Others genuinely loved the drink, but they, too, eventually moved on.

Yu Hongjin was used to it by now. Watching all sorts of people come and go, she found herself slowly forgetting their faces. Perhaps she had simply met too many. Just like everything else, whenever things piled up, she tended to lose track of the details.

Aqing stayed in Qingshan City for three days before leaving.

Yu Hongjin went to see her off and prepared some freshly brewed wine for the journey. Aqing gladly accepted it. Before departing, she patted the girl's head and promised to visit again next time.

Because of Yu Hongjin's appearance, people always treated her like a child.

Yet Yu Hongjin wanted nothing more than to be a child.

Those days of blissful ignorance had been wonderful, but sadly, they were long gone.

Since Chen Changsheng had left without a trace, Aqing had no choice but to ask around.

She first went to Nanbeilou, just as Hong Jin had mentioned.

Ping'an was startled to see her. The woman standing before him looked exactly as he remembered from his childhood. She hadn't aged a day.

After a moment of stunned silence, he realized what must have happened. Auntie Aqing must have become an Immortal Practitioner.

Aqing's purpose for visiting was simple: she wanted to ask about Mister Chen.

Ping'an didn't know much about Mister Chen's whereabouts, though he did recount the time he had lost his mind a few years back.

"My older sister might know more than I do," he said. "You could also ask my disciple, but she's currently wandering the world. She sent a letter back saying she had reached Jiangnan, but that was half a month ago."

"I see..."

Aqing thanked him for the information. Before she left, she helped tidy up the dilapidated Nanbeilou. With a few simple Arts and Techniques, the moss and weeds on the path vanished, and the mud and fallen leaves were swept to the side.

Once she finished, she took her leave and headed toward Shangjing.

Along the way, she took the time to admire the scenery of the Mortal World.

It was far better than the endless, blinding white of the Great Snow Mountain. She much preferred this vibrant greenery. The Great Snow Mountain was too cold, a desolate expanse of white devoid of any sound. The Mortal World was simply better.

Aqing marveled at the many rivers and great mountains she passed along her journey. She had seen them in her younger years, but over time, her memories of them had grown hazy.

But one day, as she was passing through a certain region, she was suddenly drawn by a strange surge of Spiritual Energy deep within a mountain ravine.

"Hmm?"

Aqing blinked in surprise. The surrounding Spiritual Energy was flowing directly into the mountain forest, though she couldn't tell what was hidden inside.

At first, she thought a rare treasure had appeared.

But upon closer inspection, she realized it was something resembling Formations.

She couldn't decipher their purpose. They were constructed using ancient runic characters, and the Great Snow Mountain had very little knowledge of such methods.

"What kind of Formations are these?"

Aqing widened her eyes and drew upon a trace of profound power, channeling it into her gaze.

She looked again.

And froze.

Thousands upon thousands of threads were converging on this very spot.

She intercepted one of the strands, letting it fall into her palm.

Only then did the realization hit her.

"It's actually the qi destiny of the Human Dao?!"

Her heart gave a slight tremor as she stared down at the Formations in disbelief.

Despite her Cultivation in the Immortal Realm, she had never heard of any Formations capable of stealing qi destiny.

"Who could have done this?"

Aqing had a sinking feeling that this matter was of massive consequence. She doubted an ordinary Daoist practitioner could accomplish such a feat.

"Could it be a demonic cultivator?"

She furrowed her brow. Seeing the situation, she decided against beating the grass to startle the snake. Instead, she raised her hand and conjured a snow bird, wrote a brief letter, and sent it to inform her master.

With the message sent, Aqing settled in to observe.

There were guards stationed nearby, though their identities remained a mystery for now.

Before long, a group emerged from the mountain pulling a cart full of goods. Seeing this, Aqing quietly trailed behind them.

Unexpectedly, the group didn't just linger in the vicinity.

They headed straight onto the official road, making their way north.

Aqing followed them the entire way. The group never stopped to rest, pushing relentlessly in the direction of Shangjing City.

"Boss, with a job this big, the payout's bound to be huge, right?"

"Of course. The lord pulling the strings is no ordinary figure. There's no way he'll short us."

Hearing their exchange, Aqing decided not to grab them for interrogation, opting to keep tailing them instead.

This continued until one night, just as they were nearing Shangjing City, when a series of wretched screams pierced the air.

Aqing immediately rushed over to investigate.

But when she arrived, she found that the entire group had been brutally murdered inside a temple.

The temple was drenched in blood. The killer was highly skilled; every strike of their Sword had found a vital spot, ending each man's life with a single thrust.

"Snow fireflies manifest, chase the wind and trace the scent."

Aqing cast one of her Arts and Techniques and chased after the killer.

She vaulted over the high walls of Shangjing City, tracking the culprit straight into the capital.

But ultimately, the snow bird flew directly into the Imperial Palace.

This left Aqing deeply shocked.

The moment the snow bird entered the palace, her connection to it was abruptly severed. Seeing this, Aqing quickly retreated, abandoning any thought of infiltrating the Imperial Palace.

Meanwhile, deep within the palace walls.

Wang Yingying stared at the snow bird as it melted into a puddle of water in her palm. She knew this meant someone had likely discovered what they were doing.

She attempted to divine the intruder's identity with her fingers, but the result was a blank.

"There are no records of such Arts and Techniques... Just who could this be?"

Unease washed over Wang Yingying. She was terrified of something going wrong, but she worried even more that someone might uncover she was the one pulling the strings from the shadows. She knew full well that what she was doing was far from righteous.

It was exactly as Yan Nantian had said back then—she was nothing but a practitioner of the demon path!

...

The Commandery Princess Manor was much livelier than it used to be.

With the addition of the new servants, Dong Chiyu found herself with a lot of free time.

But the idleness only brought boredom.

She and Ruyi often sat around exchanging idle, nonsensical banter.

But on such mundane days, there was only so much to talk about. The quiet moments eventually took over.

They were taking a rest.

A steward suddenly arrived with a report. He announced that a woman surnamed Long was waiting outside the manor, claiming to be Ruyi's friend.

Ruyi was completely bewildered. "I don't have any friends surnamed Long, do I?"

Dong Chiyu blinked. "You're the only one who can answer that."

"Let's go take a look."

When Ruyi reached the gates and saw the woman waiting outside, realization instantly dawned on her.

"Auntie Aqing!" Ruyi cried out.

Aqing looked at Ruyi, taking in the sight of her white hair. For a moment, she was stunned.

Her thoughts drifted back to the past.

Ruyi had been such a little girl back then. Yet, in the blink of an eye, she had grown so old.

Having not seen each other for so many years, the two naturally had much to catch up on.

Ruyi's reaction was remarkably similar to Ping'an's; she immediately asked where Auntie Aqing had been all these years.

Aqing answered her questions one by one. Then, she asked, "Speaking of which, how did you become a commandery princess?"

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