Chapter 1068: All Fellow Daoists Have Grown Old

Jiang Ding was thinking about many matters, handling political affairs in the Northern Plains that had been delayed for over three hundred years.

Before he knew it, he had fallen into cultivation, beginning to draw in the surrounding world's spiritual energy and the light of magnetism to cultivate; a massive surge of heaven and earth spiritual energy equivalent to a fourth-grade top-quality spirit vein came roaring in, pouring into his meridians and dantian, being refined bit by bit.

He did not know how long had passed.

Drip.

A drop of azure-blue magic power dripped into his dantian, sending up rings of fine ripples.

The magic power in his dantian had almost accumulated to its peak, with only a very small amount left before it would overflow.

"In another thirty-five years, I will reach the peak of Nascent Soul, and there will be no further advancement in cultivation."

Jiang Ding silently estimated for a moment.

This was due to the long delay caused by lurking in Jiao Jiao Mingyu; otherwise, he would have long since advanced to the peak of Nascent Soul and could have begun his hibernation plan.

But it was about the same now, just a few decades, which would pass quickly.

"The time has come."

Jiang Ding opened his eyes, the space around him flickered, and he teleported to another palace that was less solemn and austere, more relaxed and at ease.

……

Inside a spacious, simple palace.

Many Nascent Soul cultivators sat upright and proper, using their peripheral vision to watch the empty seat at the host's position, their eyes showing a dazed look, reminiscing about the high-spiritedness of their youth, their hearts complex and hard to describe.

Each of them had a square table before them, arranged in rows one after another; on the tables were all manner of melons, fruits, and vegetables, dragon liver and phoenix marrow, vermilion fruits and spiritual ginseng — everything imaginable, at the very least fourth-grade top-quality items, with fourth-grade supreme-grade items commonplace — all extremely precious things, the consumption of which could increase the cultivation of a Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun.

These Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun shared two common characteristics.

Powerful.

Aged.

Powerful — the weakest of these Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun were mid-Nascent Soul cultivators; any one of them was a renowned overlord in the outside world, capable of stirring up storms anywhere with a wave of the hand.

New Nascent Soul cultivators, prodigious talents emerging one after another, were still far behind them in cultivation and could not yet be mentioned in the same breath.

These old Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun were the true powerhouses who controlled the Master Tushan Cultivation World.

Aged was the reason for their power.

The youngest of these Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun was already nine hundred years old, and Master Dinghai Zhenjun of eleven hundred years were commonplace; all… all were already approaching the limits of their lifespans.

Hum—

At the host's position, a faint spatial teleportation light flickered.

A youth in green robes appeared at the host's position, a long sword at his waist, sixteen years of age in appearance, his youthful and unchanging face, looking at them with a gaze tinged with a sigh.

Many Master Dinghai Zhenjun's eyes reddened.

The softness in their hearts was struck; they were no longer the seasoned, life-and-death-weary accomplished cultivators in the eyes of many juniors,

but more like a child seeing an elder, a senior on the immortal path.

"Greetings, Sovereign!"

"Greetings, Sword Son!"

"Greetings, Canghai Tianjun!"

Gong Gong Caiyu, Chun Chun Jian, Shang Gong, Six Paths Master Dinghai Zhenjun Yin Dao, Blazing Sun Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Great Love Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Li Qingyun Master Dinghai Zhenjun Han Lin, Blood Cloud Master Dinghai Zhenjun Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, Hei Hei Louxi, Hei Hei Loucheng, Mu Mu Tianxue, Nine Yuan Spiritual Ginseng Chun Chun Sanwa… one by one, the aged Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun paid loud greetings with different titles and different feelings.

Jiang Ding looked at each of them in turn, looking at the Master Dinghai Zhenjun who had had many entanglements with him.

Among these Master Dinghai Zhenjun were two old acquaintances from Yue Kingdom who had followed his growth all along: Gong Gong Caiyu and Han Lin.

After so many years, of the hundreds of millions of people in Yue Kingdom back then — how many prodigies, Wu Lin heroes, emperors and ministers, beauties of peerless looks — whether wise or foolish, noble or vile, only the three of them had lived to this day.

Those times in Yue Kingdom, the people and stories of those years, could no longer be found anywhere in the world except in their memories.

Among these Master Dinghai Zhenjun were also the Master Tushan maidservants he had personally discovered and trained — Chun Chun Jian, Shang Gong, Yu Bai — who back then were still infants in swaddling clothes, and now were also aged old Nascent Soul cultivators.

Among these Master Dinghai Zhenjun were also past enemies: Mu Mu Tianxue, Six Paths Saint Son Yin Dao Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Dong Xue Dong Xue Liuyun, Hei Hei Louxi, Hei Hei Loucheng…

And so on; each Master Dinghai Zhenjun represented a period of past time.

"Everyone, please rise."

"You and I are old acquaintances of hundreds and thousands of years; these formalities are unnecessary — who doesn't know whom?"

Jiang Ding raised his cup, the fruit juice swaying, and laughed heartily: "Take Han Lin, for example — back then he was a little shop boy at a grocery store, running a grocery shop with me, making a living together, earning a few copper coins each day to get by."

"Little Martial Uncle jests."

Han Lin looked somewhat abashed.

He was already over a thousand years old, and having this matter brought up again gave him a very warm, familiar feeling.

— By the way, he was currently at mid-Nascent Soul, and his aura was exactly that; the surrounding Master Dinghai Zhenjun also believed so, without any doubt.

Many Master Dinghai Zhenjun's foundations and aptitude were insufficient to advance further; not everyone had the qualification to cultivate to the peak of Nascent Soul.

"And then there's Ice Blood Master Dinghai Zhenjun, who once chased me down back then…"

Jiang Ding looked at Mu Mu Tianxue and said with a smile.

"Many thanks to Canghai Tianjun for showing mercy."

Mu Mu Tianxue gave a wry smile.

She was currently at the peak of Nascent Soul; the Blood Spirit Sacred Body was truly excellent aptitude, and even after scrapping her cultivation and starting over, she could still catch up quickly; her current strength should rank among the top three of the many Master Tushan Master Tushan Zhongting Nascent Soul cultivators.

"And many other old friends — Yin Dao Master Dinghai Zhenjun, Hei Hei Louxi, Gong Gong Caiyu, Chun Chun Jian, Hei Hei Loucheng…"

"I have shared life and death with all of you Master Dinghai Zhenjun."

Jiang Ding drained his cup.

"What Canghai Tianjun says is quite right."

Many Master Dinghai Zhenjun showed smiles, also draining the spiritual wine in their cups, reminiscing about past years, and the restraint in their hearts dissipated considerably.

"Today, let's not talk about anything empty."

"I have been friends with all of you for many years; you should know I am not a man skilled with words."

Jiang Ding poured another cup of fruit juice and smiled: "You are all concerned about the matter of Soul Transformation, worried about the matter of Soul Transformation — am I right?"

He did not dodge this core question like many of those in high positions would, but asked it directly and plainly.

"Yes!"

"Indeed it is so…"

"We beg the Lord to dispel our doubts…"

The moment the words fell, almost every Master Dinghai Zhenjun could not wait another moment and spoke in unison, their eyes filled with incomparable excitement and fervor, looking as though they were about to lose their reason.

For Nascent Soul Master Dinghai Zhenjun, once they arrive here, their lifespans are about to end; there is nothing in this world that can distract them any longer.

If it were an ordinary Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun, they would not dare to be like this.

Because a Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun almost instinctively rejects anyone advancing to the Soul Transformation Realm, suppressing a generation of heaven-proud prodigies and refusing to allow anyone to be mentioned in the same breath as themselves.

This is the norm, and it is human nature.

If it were themselves, they would do the same — standing alone above all others, possessing the world; who would not like that?

But Tushan Tian Jun is not like this.

He is extremely proud, not believing that later Soul Transformation Canghai Tianjun could challenge his own position, willing to let all those with the ability advance to Canghai Tianjun, setting up no obstacles whatsoever.

"The Great Dao is heartless; it is not something human effort can reverse."

"Within the vast immortal Dao, I am nothing more than a speck of an ant — how could I point out any shortcuts or guide you through the maze?"

Jiang Ding shook his head slightly, not taking everything upon himself or thinking himself omnipotent: "I will provide some conveniences for all of you, subsidizing you with my own spirit stones, so that you may obtain the various Soul Transformation opportunities, Soul Transformation secret arts, and Tribulation Crossing talismans of Master Tushan Master Tushan Zhongting at half price."

"Consider this a borrowing from me; after achieving Soul Transformation, repay it tenfold."