Gongyang Ye didn't bother with subtleties, and once he started speaking, it was straight to the point.
Daoist Qin Wei turned his head upon hearing the voice, scanned Gongyang Ye from top to bottom, and couldn't help but laugh. "Five Fire Sect has finally found a pillar of strength, not bad, not bad."
As these words were spoken,
Gongyang Ye was confused.
Yet he heard Daoist Qin Wei continue to address him and the other five, "Please trouble you all to bring along Bai Luo, Qing Baizi and the rest, and follow me to Si Ming Peak."
He looked towards Zheng Chi.
Zheng Chi maintained a poker face but caught the unspoken message. Together with Daoist Qin Wei, they took the lead and flew towards Si Ming Peak in the south. The dozens of Divine Dragons created by the Plague Emperor's Great Seal converged into a seal, trapping Yu Fengzi within.
The seal soared high and landed in Zheng Chi's hands.
Gongyang Ye, Zhang Jingshan, and the others exchanged puzzled glances, but undeterred, each grabbed a True Immortal and headed straight for Si Ming Peak.
Chuanshan True Immortal stood still, eyes flickering uncertainly.
Just as he was hesitating, a voice came from the heavens—
"Chuanshan, don't fall behind."
It was Daoist Qin Wei's voice. Hearing this and thinking of Bai Luo and the others sealed away, Chuanshan clenched his teeth, dared not flee, and could only follow toward Si Ming Peak.
Inside and outside of Sacred Mountain, counting Daoist Qin Wei and Longevity Alliance Leader, a total of fourteen True Immortals had departed, leaving only Meng Qiu, Meng Huo, and a group of Primordial Spirit Practitioners, as well as the disciples of Immortal Farming Sect, all staring at each other, stranded in place.
In the South Sea, there is a mountain called Azure Dragon Mountain.
This mountain resembles a Divine Dragon, filled with an abundance of Immortal Energy.
On its southern side stands a peak, known as 'Si Ming Peak.'
This peak is mysterious, made entirely of stone, as sharp as iron spikes, as tall as stone columns, resembling green lotus flowers, like jade hibiscus, like heavenly swords piercing the skies, or like giant arms supporting heaven.
Old records state: "Cranes fly to and fro above it, where the ancient He Xu clan is buried."
A dwelling place for Immortals.
On Si Ming Peak, a Daoist Child sat in meditation, basking in the slanting sun, emitting waves of profound atmosphere, enveloping all directions. Centered around him, with Si Ming Peak as the core, the entire Azure Dragon Mountain seemed to come to life, as if it were a True Dragon ready to soar into the heavens, traversing the Four Seas.
Yet, given the Daoist Child's seated meditation, his ambition was undiminished, but he willingly bowed his head.
Next to the Daoist Child,
A graceful and spirited woman in a moon-white Daoist robe sat in meditation beside him. Her fluctuating aura indicated she had also ascended to True Immortality not long ago.
The woman's eyes brightened, and as she gazed beyond the heavens, she turned to the Daoist Child and said, "Teacher, my senior brother has returned."
Lu Qingfeng opened his eyes.
At a glance, he saw streaks of Immortal Light fluttering from the outside world, descending in front of Azure Dragon Mountain, taking strides toward them.
He raised his hand and dispatched a stream of Xuan Light.
The Xuan Light paved a magnificent path that ran from the base of Azure Dragon Mountain straight up to the top of Si Ming Peak.
Everyone arrived on this grand avenue of Xuan Light.
"Greetings, Teacher!"
Zhang Jingshan, Gongyang Ye, and the others, upon their first sight of Lu Qingfeng, hastily bowed deeply.
Chuanshan True Immortal, feeling uneasy in his heart, maintained a composed exterior and bowed to the Daoist Child ahead, "Greetings, Alliance Leader."
Thousands of years flashed by in an instant.
Lu Qingfeng's appearance had not changed much; he still had the aspect of a young child, around six or seven years old. Half of his hair was tied up, with a few strands hanging loose, dressed in a green outfit. His waist was bound with a tied grass cord, straw sandals on his feet. His bright eyes and white teeth untouched by dust; his face like white jade, pure and untainted.
Anyone would exclaim in admiration at such a divine little Daoist Child.
However, at this moment,
With all the True Immortals bowing before this young Daoist Child, everyone was contained, reverent, daring not to make any presumptions.
After Zhang Jingshan and others finished their bows, they were filled with confusion.
The person Daoist Qin Wei wanted to see was not his teacher, Qing Yuan Daoist, so why come to Si Ming Peak, to their own teacher, the Qingjing Saint?
Their gaze shifted, landing on the distinguished female cultivator sitting beside their teacher.
But as this thought was forming,
They saw Daoist Qin Wei, holding the Quiet Bamboo Stick with respect, bowing towards Lu Qingfeng, and said loudly: "Disciple has not failed in his duty and has brought back my junior brother."
His voice resonated with gravity.
Zhang Jingshan, Gongyang Ye, and the others were shocked by this scene, "This—"
"How could this person—not be a disciple of Qing Yuan Daoist, and yet—"
Everyone was perplexed.
Even Zheng Chi, witnessing this scene, couldn't help but frown. Closely observing the bright-eyed young Daoist Child before him, it seemed as if he glimpsed through space and time to see a figure with a face from tens of thousands of years ago that he has never forgotten.
A deep part of his heart stirred suddenly,
And a wave of emotion washed over Zheng Chi.
He stood rooted to the spot, where was the prestige that he once used to seal away Yu Fengzi and shake the cultivators of all directions.
Daoist Qin Wei, who stood by, turned his head towards Zheng Chi and softly said, "Junior brother, should you not pay your respects to our teacher quickly?"
Zheng Chi then snapped back to reality.
His eyes complex, filled with excitement, gratitude, joy, along with doubt, and for a moment, Zheng Chi himself could not grasp all that he felt, only sensing his throat dry, and with a hoarse voice, he uttered, "Tea... Teacher."
The sound emerged, and even Zheng Chi was startled by the hoarseness of his own voice.
Lu Qingfeng gazed at Zheng Chi.
As if he too was transported back more than eighty thousand years ago.
Back then, he traversed the Five Directions Realm, first encountering Ding Yu. Ding Yu had poor Root Bone, but was honest and hardworking, persevering against the odds, and was taken as his first disciple in this realm by altering his destiny.
Like Ding Yu, Zheng Chi had exceedingly poor Root Bone, lacking the opportunity for cultivation. Yet his life was much more tragic than Ding Yu's, with an early deceased father and a gravely ill mother. To treat his mother, he joined the 'Medicine King Gang' in the county town, becoming an attendant who ventured into the mountains to collect herbs. The mountains were perilous and full of wild beasts, and within the ranks of the Medicine King Gang, few attendants survived more than two years.