Immortal Travel of Longevity

That day, Quanshan closed its gates.

Before the closure, many disciples had been driven down the mountain. Without exception, all the expelled disciples had their spiritual roots crippled; they would never practice Cultivation again.

Though hatred burned in their hearts, they were ultimately no match for the three elders and left in bitter resentment.

Daoist Sanyuan had to draw up a new plan for Quanshan's future.

Sect Master True Man had left behind far too many problems. He had no choice but to start over and rebuild Quanshan's rules from the ground up.

As for his two junior brothers—the other two elders of Quanshan—one was dispatched down the mountain to hunt down the disciples who had escaped. Allowing those of poor character to roam the world would invite disaster; they had to be dealt with cleanly.

The remaining elder and a group of disciples established the Assembly of Laws Hall within Quanshan to lay the foundation for what was to come.

Quanshan entered a new era from then on.

.

Gu Jiangshi spent the entire day wandering through the district.

The Mortal World had changed immensely, vastly improving upon the past. Everyone had clothes on their backs and shoes on their feet. People out on the streets no longer walked in fear. With laws widely implemented, the common folk no longer had to constantly look over their shoulders.

As someone who had been a general in life, seeing such a sight brought him profound satisfaction. Crossing the ages to witness this future—was it not a blessing?

It was just that the years had been far too long.

A cat sat perched upon Gu Jiangshi's shoulder.

Mao'er had stubbornly insisted on coming along.

In Mao'er's own words, "Chen the Good Man caught you, so I can't let you run away."

Who knew where Mao'er found the courage.

But it simply wasn't afraid.

Gu Jiangshi had no intention of fleeing anyway, so he paid it no mind. At first, Mao'er had trailed behind him, but when it seemingly grew tired, it hopped up onto his shoulder, and Gu Jiangshi didn't mind that either.

Even so, his gaze drifted to Mao'er from time to time, as if he were trying to confirm something.

After catching his stare several times, Mao'er grew puzzled and asked, "Big guy, why do you keep looking at me?"

"I once saw a cat that looked exactly like you," Gu Jiangshi said.

Lihua paused, tilting its head. "Really?"

"Really," Gu Jiangshi said.

In past years, that cat had always stayed by the Demon Sovereign's side.

The more Gu Jiangshi looked, the more alike they seemed—as if they were the exact same cat. Yet, the differences between them were also vast.

He didn't dwell on it for long, dismissing it as just a fleeting memory of the past.

"Did it have Lihua's stripes?" Lihua asked.

"It did."

"Did it have Lihua's eyes?"

"Those too."

"What about the nose?"

"Yes..."

Lihua asked question after question.

Gu Jiangshi seemed to genuinely enjoy talking with it. He didn't find Mao'er overly chatty; on the contrary, he found it highly amusing. It had been a very long time since he had spoken with anyone else.

The years had been pure torment, the darkness lasting far too long.

Now that he was out, he welcomed having more voices by his side.

Lihua's habit of rambling had found another willing listener. More importantly, this person didn't think it was stupid, which was rather nice.

"Then it definitely wasn't as smart as Lihua," Lihua huffed.

Gu Jiangshi thought about it for a moment, then shook his head. "It was actually quite a bit smarter than you."

He remembered that the cat beside the Demon Sovereign had been incredibly clever. It had even advised the Demon Sovereign on various decisions and had governed quite a few demonic cultivators. Furthermore, many of those demonic cultivators obeyed the cat's every word—not out of submission to the Demon Sovereign, but out of direct, genuine admiration for the cat itself.

Lihua was not pleased to hear that. "No, no, it can't be smarter than Lihua!"

"Why not?"

"Chen the Good Man said there can't be overly perfect people in the world."

Gu Jiangshi stared blankly for a long time after hearing that.

It seemed Mao'er had a slight misunderstanding of its own self-image.

In what way was it perfect?

...

They were originally supposed to depart in the afternoon.

But in the end, they stayed for one more night.

For no other reason.

Chen Changsheng had a premonition that his time of death was approaching.

He had been awake for a very long time during this cycle—longer than ever before—but he had reached his limit.

He wouldn't be able to accompany Miss Yun to Shangjing.

He told Miss Yun about the matter that very night.

Yunxiang froze for a moment when she heard this, but quickly composed her expression. "Go on, Mister," she said. "Yunxiang will wait for Mister to return in Shangjing."

Yet after Mister left, a soft sigh still echoed from the room.

Yunxiang quietly lamented that the years are ever impermanent. More than anything, she simply couldn't bear to part.

She thought of how brief this time had been, gone in the blink of an eye.

No matter how she looked at it, her heart felt heavy and impossible to soothe.

Chen Changsheng went to find Gu Jiangshi.

"I must trouble you to escort Miss Yun to Shangjing."

Gu Jiangshi agreed. As far as he was concerned, it was only right.

He paused for a moment before asking, "You told me to follow you for now, and it's true I have nowhere else to go. This trip to Shangjing won't take me very long, but how am I supposed to find you afterward?"

Chen Changsheng paused and said, "You don't need to find me. Once Miss Yun reaches Shangjing, you may go wherever you please. Take some time to see how the world has changed. In two or three years, This Chen will come find you."

Gu Jiangshi was taken aback. "Two or three years?"

Chen Changsheng nodded.

Gu Jiangshi exhaled deeply. "Very well. Then I shall take a look at this world. From what I saw in the district today, the times are much better now. The common folk have food to eat and clothes to wear. The district is peaceful, with little unrest. It's all quite nice."

Chen Changsheng replied, "Actually, the state of the world is much worse than it was in past years. We are currently in an era of chaos. Before this, the world was even more peaceful."

Gu Jiangshi froze. "An era of chaos..."

He could scarcely believe it.

Could an era of chaos really look like this?

He suddenly realized that he had grossly misunderstood the current age.

What he considered a time of peace was actually an era of chaos today.

Gu Jiangshi smiled helplessly, yet he still felt happy for the people living in this era.

"If only the Southern Dynasty had been like this."

But the Southern Dynasty had long since been buried by history.

Even now, records of the Southern Dynasty were exceedingly sparse. It was hard to say just how many years ago it had truly been.

That night.

Mao'er was fast asleep in the room, curled up right beside Chen Changsheng's pillow.

It was warm.

But as it slept, Lihua suddenly felt an emptiness on the bed.

When it opened its eyes, Chen Changsheng was nowhere to be seen.

"Chen the Good Man?"

Lihua called out, but no one answered.

It searched for a good long while but couldn't find a trace of Chen the Good Man. Assuming he just had some business to attend to, it thought nothing more of it.

But the next day, when it was time to leave, Chen the Good Man still hadn't returned. Lihua began to grow worried.

"Sister Yun, are we not waiting for Chen the Good Man?" Lihua asked.

Yunxiang explained, "Mister has left. It will be quite some time before he returns."

Lihua froze and asked, "Chen the Good Man didn't tell Lihua?"

Yunxiang paused. She let out a soft sigh and gently stroked Mao'er's forehead.

Lihua couldn't understand. It cast its gaze forward.

The driver of the carriage had changed; it was now that big guy.

It still preferred Chen the Good Man.

"Then when will Chen the Good Man come back?"

"In a few years."

"That long..."

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