Du Yiran let out a sigh of relief, showing a smile, and said, "Your grandfather was a bad man, carrying out nefarious deeds with Sha Qiutong, Qing Yang, Hu Xiaoliang, and Azhuo, and they were called the Five Great Evil People. They even wanted to pull me into their gang, but I sternly refused. Fortunately, I often helped them out; otherwise, they would have sunk deeper into sin."
He opened the door, saying, "Without me, they would have fallen long ago; it was all me who corrected them."
Outside was a world of ice and snow, but it was not the quarry, rather another place.
Du Yiran said, "Chen Shi, I will go into seclusion from now on, and you mustn’t tell others. When Qing Yang and the others ask, just say I have already died. You return to Immortal City; I will not see you off."
Chen Shi hurriedly said, "Grandpa Du, wait a minute!"
He quietly gathered his heart spirit, picked a few longevity-increasing ginseng fruits from the small temple, and placed them in Du Yiran’s palm, saying, "This is my tribute to you."
Du Yiran glanced at them and said, "Ginseng fruits? I’ve had them before. They add a few months to lifespan, not much use for me. You keep them, they can make good gifts."
Chen Shi smiled and said, "These ginseng fruits are different; these have more potency. Grandpa Du, please accept them, as they are my heartfelt intention."
Du Yiran placed the ginseng fruits on the table.
Chen Shi instructed him to definitely eat them before leaving the stone house.
Outside, in the freezing cold, Chen Shi looked back, the wooden door of the stone house closed, and at that instant, the house vanished along with the door.
"Grandpa Du’s divine skills are unfathomable," Chen Shi couldn’t help but praise.
"Black Pot, we’re heading to the underworld, to find those three Judges!"
A gust of yin wind swept over, and Chen Shi and Black Pot disappeared from the snowy plains.
Inside the stone house, Du Yiran opened the door, and outside, the mountains and rivers were beautiful, birds singing and flowers fragrant, a waterfall flying like jade over the cliff in front, the spray falling into the deep pool below the cliff.
Du Yiran made himself a cup of tea, sitting quietly in the rocking chair, gently swaying, occasionally letting out a violent cough.
He indeed was old, those years following Chen Yindou to the underworld, battling with the ghost gods and demon gods, had long added injury to injury.
He was the oldest among the Five Lakes and the Six Great Evil People, even Chen Yindou had to call him big brother, so he took care of others a lot, putting in the most effort.
Later, he went alone to the underworld to search for the Ten Halls of Yama’s clues, and was ambushed repeatedly, yin energy had corroded his internal organs.
"If only I were a few years younger, with some energy left, I would accompany you to save your mother, to fight against King Yan, to clash with the Thirteen Families. But I am old."
He looked at the rainbow beneath the waterfall and softly said, "Facing the Yan Family, I only dared to carve the stele early, to ambush them. I could only feign profundity, not daring to face them directly. I am truly old, my friend Qing Yang has died, Chen Yindou has also left early, originally beautiful Sha Qiutong has become an old lady, and as for the Heavenly Fox, relying only on the Ghost God Domain to sustain life."
He sighed, dying quietly here, perhaps is a beautiful thing.
The tea on the table was already cold.
Du Yiran looked at the teacup, not daring to drink, the tea was cold and harmful to the stomach.
He looked at those ginseng fruits Chen Shi had given him, hesitated for a moment, pinched one, and put it into his mouth.
"Aren’t these the fruits borne by the ginseng grass dolls of Qianyang Mountain? When I visited Qianyang Mountain back then, I had plucked them bald... Huh!"
Du Yiran’s body shook violently, a tremendous sound rose from within as his Qi-Blood surged like raging seas crashing against the coastal rocks!
"This ginseng grass fruit, really powerful!"
A massive force of Qi-Blood erupted from the stone house!
The peak Mahayana Qi-Blood shot up into the sky, blowing off the roof of the stone house, and in the next moment, the waterfall reversed its flow, soaring into the sky!
In the sky, the Qi-Blood condensed into a blood cloud spanning dozens of miles, lightning flashing and thunder rumbling from within the cloud.
A young and strong figure stood beneath the blood cloud.
Du Yiran was stunned, as if with the cultivation at the peak of his abilities, he had returned to his twentieth year.