Chapter 203: The First Immortal of the Human Race

Xu Xing looked at his palm; though his face was now covered by a mask, it did not hinder his vision at all.

On his right arm was a sleek, silver armored bracer, etched with intricate patterns, appearing heavy yet utterly devoid of any sense of power.

And this enhancement…

As Xu Xing willed it, the armor he wore seemed to activate, its power surging from Foundation Establishment all the way to Nascent Soul peak.

But when it touched the Soul Transformation boundary, the silver metal plates forming the armor emitted a strained hum, as if on the verge of collapse.

The next instant, the armor dissolved again, flowing back along its original path and reforming into the thin silver metal sheet.

"Interesting." Xu Xing pinched the metal sheet between his fingers.

If he'd had this armor in the past, he'd probably have "transformed" dozens of times a day.

But now…

As Ning Ruo said, it's just a little toy.

"Why even think of making this?"

"Didn't you forget, Xu Dage? You mentioned it once, long ago."

Hm? Xu Xing paused, then suddenly remembered.

"I was just speaking offhand back then."

It was a very long time ago.

So long he had to strain to recall it—yet she had never forgotten.

"It doesn't matter. I remember now."

Xu Xing handed the metal sheet back to her, but Ning Ruo refused, instead taking several more from the workbench and pressing them into his hands.

"You always give small gifts to promising young talents, right? You kept the first one as a keepsake—these others should at least be useful."

"Then thank you."

"As long as they help Xu Dage, that's all that matters."

Ning Ruo smiled.

"Let's look at this next."

She always spoke plainly and knew exactly what needed to be done.

Like the Sword Sovereign and Xiang Yuanjun?

It was just too awkward.

Of course, she knew well that at this moment, none of these things would ever come to fruition.

Leading Xu Xing forward, Ning Ruo continued introducing her other achievements over the years.

Such as portable, fully automated miniature artifact assembly workshops, nanoscale spirit insects aiding body-refining elixirs, Foundation Establishment Spirit Source Crystals…

All manner of bizarre, wildly imaginative inventions left Xu Xing astonished.

For instance, the Foundation Establishment Spirit Source Crystal—once implanted anywhere in the body, it granted the user all abilities of a Foundation Establishment cultivator, save for lifespan.

"Did all these come from Elder Lingzu's research alone?"

"Mm. Just to pass the time in my spare moments." Ning Ruo nodded lightly.

She had little interest in group chats, so this was how she filled her idle hours.

She picked up a Foundation Establishment Spirit Source Crystal.

"Pity it only reaches Foundation Establishment—the cost of a Dao Foundation core is too high, not worth it."

Besides, she didn't want to burden the friend who guards humanity's Dao Foundations from foreign invasion.

"Why did Xu Dage choose that method for the True Path Alliance?"

With your abilities, you didn't need to rely on Yuan.

"It's simply more convenient—and there's always a chance Gu left behind hidden measures; an extra layer means one less chance of being manipulated."

Ning Ruo smiled faintly, removing her decorative glasses and hanging them on her collar: "When it comes to the Cang Clan, Xu Dage remains as cautious as ever."

Xu Xing gave a slight nod.

When it comes to the Cang Clan, no caution is ever too much.

"How has Yuan fared since arriving at Ling Yin Fang?"

"I don't know." Ning Ruo said directly.

After Ming Yu and Yuan arrived at Ling Yin Fang, she never summoned them nor interfered in their actions.

"Hm?"

"Youngsters have their own thoughts. Even though Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu is my disciple, I won't meddle excessively."

In ancient times, I did this—and now, I still do. "But I believe, whether it's Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu or that child Ming Yu, they all understand clearly—even Yuan himself does too."

"... Indeed."

No matter how you put it, the true Yuan has long left; this one is merely a fragment of his divine soul.

He might come to Ling Yin Fang to say "I'm sorry" to Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu, who accompanied him for so long.

But he will never stay.

…………

The outer gate of Ling Yin Fang.

Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu kept her promise and brought Chi Jiuyu to the outer marketplace.

This time, Ming Yu came along too.

Chi Jiuyu rushed ahead, spotting something and waving his hand to buy it outright.

"Pack this up, I want that too, and this one, and this one!"

His extravagance made every other tourist in the market look pale by comparison.

Ming Yu and Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu walked side by side, both silently gazing at Chi Jiuyu without speaking.

Yuan, by contrast, kept some distance.

He would gaze toward the distant snow-mulberry forest, then glance once at the two ahead of him.

This fragment of spiritual soul held few memories of Ling Yin Fang, yet still remembered the snow-mulberry forest covering the entire mountain.

"Where are those who came to view the moon with me? The scenery faintly resembles last year's." He murmured softly.

Yuan did not know if he had returned home.

After returning home, would he gaze at the moon and feel nostalgia for all he had experienced in the Tai Xuan Realm?

But he supposed… he probably would.

Just as he had missed his homeland when he first arrived in the Tai Xuan Realm, so too, upon returning home, he ought to miss the thousand-year span of the Tai Xuan Realm…

He had always been such a timid and greedy man.

But he was merely a mortal; how could he easily abandon a thousand years of time?

Ah~ He sighed softly within, unable to suppress a sense of melancholy, and thought of his fellow villager.

While still in the Zhengdaoda Alliance, his fellow villager had once told him of his past deeds, but only that account—of his own base intentions upon first arriving in the Tai Xuan Realm—left the deepest impression on him.

But… was that truly base?

If guarding Hun Tian Yi and refusing to return home to protect the human race of the Tai Xuan Realm counts as base, then what of himself?

He had remained in the Tai Xuan Realm for only a thousand years, and his understanding of the past had always been partial.

After learning of his fellow villager's deeds, though he had admired him, he had felt nothing more.

But after meeting the Zhengdaoda Alliance and hearing his fellow villager recount the events of ancient times, he came to understand more deeply the weight of the term "Immortal."

He also understood why the founders of the Zhengdaoda Sect, once familiar with him, had held such deep reverence and admiration for his fellow villager.

As his thoughts stirred, Yuan suddenly recalled the memory left by this fragment of spiritual soul—the time he drank with the Drunken Immortal Elder and listened to him speak of his ideal.

To brew a wine capable of intoxicating the first Immortal of the human race—the Master Jianzu.

The First Immortal…

Back then, he had merely thought his fellow villager was awesome.

Now he realized: the Four Ancestors of the Cang Clan had existed since primordial times; to stand against all four as a single Immortal—how could it possibly be easy?

"Pity, I cannot know."

Yuan sighed softly within.

After ascending to Dong Zhen, he had hurriedly departed, leaving too many things unexplored.

Fortunately, this time, in some sense, he had managed to help his fellow villager a little.

At that moment, Ning Sister Sister Sister Wan Zhu's voice sounded again beside him: "Yuan, when are you planning to leave this time?"

"Once the Master Jianzu and the Elder Lingzu have finished their business, and I've taken my leave of him, it will be about time," Yuan smiled.

He was merely a fragment of spiritual soul sent to deliver a message.

He would not—and could not—be him!

To stay longer would, as he had said before, only add needless sorrow.

Third chapter update! Please subscribe!

(End of chapter)