Chapter 931: The Last Living Relative in the World Is About to Depart Far Away

While the Master Tushan avatar was busy in the Northern Plains, Jiang Ding had already left the Great Sun Heavenly Pool, broken through the atmosphere downward, entered the planet's interior, and arrived at his home in Rongcheng.

Jiang Ding walked through the middle of the residential district, and as always, many curious gazes came from around him.

He paused slightly.

It was like this again, once more like this.

The last time seemed to be several decades ago, or perhaps over a hundred years, when he returned home once; back then, he had also met a neighbor, a young couple.

But this time, the people were gone; he hadn't even seen them when they were old.

In this entire district, the place where he grew up from an infant, looking out, there was not a single familiar person left.

Even if he knew them now, he wouldn't see them next time.

Jiang Ding lost the desire to greet and get to know new neighbors.

He walked straight to his home, took out a key, and opened the front door.

In this home, it had only been several decades, yet a thick layer of dust had covered it again; he unfolded the Great Sun Annihilation Sword Domain and took some time to clean it thoroughly.

Jiang Ding carefully infused Indestructible Sword Intent into the surroundings, maintaining the existence of the television, tables, chairs, quilts, pots, pans, and other items, keeping them in the state they were over four hundred years ago.

"That's about enough..."

Jiang Ding swept his divine sense over the surroundings, confirmed that Indestructible Sword Intent was attached to every spot, and nodded in satisfaction.

As long as he did not die, and the home did not suffer external Soul Transformation-level attacks or prolonged Nascent Soul-level attacks, these furnishings would not be damaged; they would maintain their current appearance until his mother and sister woke up after a long slumber through the ages.

By that time, many familiar people between heaven and earth would be gone, their lifespans ended, but at least the home would remain exactly the same.

Jiang Ding stayed in the house for several days.

After waking up in the morning, he locked the front door again, went to the Rongcheng Cemetery to worship his maternal grandfather and grandmother, Zhang Dingjun, Teacher Guo Kui, and others, swept their graves, and told them interesting stories about recent events in the Immortal Sect.

Finally, he arrived in Qianyang City and stopped before a cave dwelling shrouded in clouds and mist in the city center, waiting silently.

In a short while, accompanied by a sound of hurried footsteps, a middle-aged Taoist with an immortal air and Daoist bearing walked over quickly, smiling as he walked: "Jiang Ding, what wind blew you here today? You actually came to see me in this dog's den."

This person was Lin Lin Yuanwang.

Hundreds of years had passed; he had changed a lot, his temperament more mature, looking like a true cultivator who had attained the Dao, at the late stage of the Jin Dan realm.

"This third-grade supreme cave dwelling in the city center is hardly a dog's den."

Jiang Ding pouted, looking at the six young people nervously following behind Lin Lin Yuanwang.

They looked to be in their twenties or thirties; the men were handsome and dashing, the women youthful and beautiful, inheriting the excellent looks of his maternal grandparents and Lin Lin Wanqiu.

Just like himself.

"An... Ancestor Laozu Sect!"

The six young people stammered.

Ancestor Laozu Sect?

Jiang Ding's face fell.

But he couldn't say anything or lose his temper with the little ones.

"Hahaha!"

Lin Lin Yuanwang laughed heartily.

Jiang Ding glared at him, then showed a kind smile and praised them: "Hello. You are young, yet already at the late stage of Qi Refining; you are truly outstanding, much stronger than we were back then."

"If your maternal grandfather and grandmother knew, they would surely be laughing with their mouths wide open."

"You flatter us; we are far inferior to Ancestor Laozu Sect."

A young man with a square face said shamefacedly.

They knew that their maternal grandfather and grandmother were this Ancestor Laozu Sect's maternal grandparents, their great-great ancestors; it sounded like something from a few days ago, but in reality, it was all four or five hundred years ago.

Back then, their father's father's... father had not even been born yet.

"I am speaking the truth."

Jiang Ding smiled.

This was indeed the truth; he and Lin Lin Yuanwang's initial cultivation speeds were not very fast, and their family backgrounds were poor, incomparable to the young people of now.

"Jiang Ding, you should give a meeting gift."

Seeing that Jiang Ding made no move, Lin Lin Yuanwang urged: "This is the first time an elder meets a junior; it must be given. This is general etiquette."

"Don't make it too precious; just give something casual is fine."

He knew that his cousin was not stingy, but simply had never experienced such a situation.

"Ah?"

Jiang Ding was stunned, feeling somewhat novel.

Since he began cultivating, he had always been the junior; before Master Master Dinghai, before Lu Ling Master Dinghai Zhenjun, before Zhang Zhang Junsheng, and also before Master Canghai Canghai Tianjun, Zhenjun Shenji Canghai Tianjun, and others.

Or else he was a ruler in the Northern Plains, or an enemy; he had never given a meeting gift to others in the capacity of an elder.

He did not expect that today, he would experience it once.

These young people were the young talents of the family; unlike Jiang Ding, Lin Lin Yuanwang had more attachment to bloodlines and the family, and as he grew older, he became very enthusiastic about excavating and cultivating outstanding talents within the family.

Jiang Ding did not have such favoritism.

He liked all the talented people of the Immortal Sect and did not favor anyone due to bloodline factors.

To this day, Professor Jiang's avatar is still teaching in the Adult Sword Dao Department, just as Master Master Dinghai did back then.

This work has continued for hundreds of years and is estimated to continue indefinitely, for hundreds or thousands of years, until the Immortal Sect's sword cultivator system matures.

However, Jiang Ding naturally would not spoil the enthusiasm of the last living relative in the world.

"A meeting gift... wait a moment, let me look,"

Jiang Ding rummaged through his

storage jade pendant, his divine sense scanning back and forth.

No.

Indeed, there were none.

He had stopped stockpiling things for Qi Refining and Foundation Establishment many years ago, because they were almost never used.

But it didn't matter.

The blue-robed youth standing before these young prodigies was the ruler of Master Tushan Master Tushan Zhongting of the Northern Plains, the famed Tushan Tian Jun who shook the Northern Plains, the master of the Northern Plains' three great armies.

Even if he knew nothing of alchemy, he could pinch out saint-grade pills for Qi Refining cultivators with a casual flick of his fingers — as naturally as instinct.

A flash of Nascent Soul infant flame flickered and vanished between Jiang Ding's fingers.

Six golden, resplendent pills were refined, using some exceedingly rare first-tier spiritual herbs.

"This is our first meeting, and I didn't have anything prepared. Please accept these as a meeting gift."

Jiang Ding said with a gentle smile: "First-tier supreme-grade Spirit-Raising Pills. They can enhance spiritual root aptitude — they should be able to raise it to near the level of a Heavenly Spiritual Root. I don't have many of them on hand either, so consider yourselves lucky."

That was the truth.

Don't be fooled into thinking that refining Spirit-Raising Pills only requires first-tier spiritual herbs — the herbs needed inside are extremely precious and extremely rare. Only after Jiang Ding had ransacked his own storage jade pendant did he find a small amount.

One must remember, he was someone who regularly handled the output of heaven-gifted treasures from an entire realm.

One could well imagine how difficult it was to alter spiritual root aptitude after birth — even a child of destiny had to go through many hardships and dangers to obtain such a thing.

But for a Soul Transformation cultivator, this was merely a matter of paying slight attention — not all that difficult.

"Thank you!"

"Thank you, Laozu Sect!"

The six youths received the spiritual pills with both hands, overjoyed beyond measure, and said loudly.

Some of them felt as though they were in a dream, dazed and bewildered.

These were heaven-defying spiritual pills that could alter spiritual root aptitude after birth!

Just like that, they had obtained them so easily.

"It's nothing."

Jiang Ding waved his hand: "It only speeds up the absorption of heaven and earth spiritual energy a little, saves some time. You still have to rely on your own effort. Otherwise, if you slack off, the bottlenecks that should appear will still appear. Don't be careless."

"Thank you, Laozu Sect, for your guidance!"

The six youths said gratefully once more.

"You youngsters go off and play."

Lin Lin Yuanwang said with a smile.

After sending off the juniors, the two of them walked along the riverbank for a stroll, chatting for a while about their respective pasts. The slight awkwardness between them quickly vanished.

After all, the other was the last blood relative still living in this world.

"You… how are your preparations for the Nascent Soul coming along?"

Jiang Ding looked carefully at his cousin standing before him and asked softly.

Lin Lin Yuanwang's divine soul and his body had both grown very old; he probably had about a hundred years of lifespan left.

This stretch of

time was not long.

To this day, Jiang Ding only needed to go into closed-door cultivation once, or get caught up in various matters, and decades or even a century could easily slip by.

He was a little worried that whenever he happened to be free and thought of it, Lin Lin Yuanwang would already have passed on.

"Not too well."

Lin Lin Yuanwang said frankly: "My aptitude and comprehension aren't all that good. I got here entirely thanks to your support all along — every breakthrough was pushed through with an excess of resources."

"Now, facing the Nascent Soul, I probably can't make it."

"The Nascent Soul is a qualitative change — a sublimation of divine soul and experience. The effect of external force is shrinking."

"I think I may have reached the end of my road."

"Over these years, I've been constantly seeking out the young people in our family and cultivating them, hoping to leave some traces in this world, to let some blood relatives live better, to pave the way as best I can for the little ones."

"I'm attached to the family."

"Because it represents the bloodline of father and mother, of grandfather and grandmother — my descendants, the bloodline of my kin."

"Their existence is my last trace in this world, proof that I was once here, that there was once a person like me, such an ordinary, unremarkable person."

"Perhaps that has meaning."

(End of chapter)