Chapter 435

After laughing heartily, the old man flicked his sleeves and actually intended to leave proudly.

"Senior, please save my life!" At the critical moment, I knelt toward the old man's direction.

Although I didn't know the name of this terrifyingly powerful old man, a thought kept repeating in my mind amidst his speech and bearing.

This old man... must be related to Martial Void Mountain.

From his appearance to now, what he chanted was the Wudang Sect's founding ancestor Zhang Sanfeng's "Rootless Tree"; although his appearance was not striking, he gave the feeling of being integrated into nature, every movement like a gentle breeze, utterly natural.

This old man must be a Taiji master. Since Taiji originates from Martial Void Mountain, combined with the factor of the Rootless Tree, I guess this old man certainly has deep ties to Martial Void Mountain, or he is from there.

Seeing me kneel, the old man smiled slightly, nodded, and asked: "Do you want to ask me for three Eight Treasure Blossoms?"

The blunt question left me stunned for a moment,

Soon, my heart was filled with joy; since the old man dared to ask me that, he must have Purple Gold Blossoms in his hand. Moreover, this old man is formidable, being an outsider yet perceiving all cause and effect; even without asking, he knows what I want to ask and say.

Thinking this, my heart tightened, I nodded and replied: "Indeed... I have two friends in imminent danger, and another needs Purple Gold Blossom to cleanse marrow and sustain life; I beseech you, senior..."

Before I finished speaking, the old man, stroking his beard, laughed heartily; this laughter interrupted me, and I was naturally doubtful. But not long after, the old man laughed and said to me: "What you seek is already in your embrace; why then need to beg it from me?"

In my embrace, what does this mean? Doubtful, I instinctively slipped my hand into my clothing. Just then, I felt a rectangular hard object at my chest, I startled, and immediately put my hand into the inner pocket of my coat.

Next, I actually pulled out a rectangular hard box from the inner pocket of my outer coat; the box was made of zitan wood, its surface pattern ancient and simple; inside the jar were three square small boxes; upon opening these three small boxes, I couldn't help but be stunned.

Each small box held a purplish-red pill; the pill emitted a familiar fresh fragrance, which I recognized as similar to the scent on Xiao Changsheng's body.

In an instant, I finally understood what these three pills were called; they were undoubtedly the legendary Daoist Sect's spirit pill, Eight Treasure Purple Gold Blossom.

At that moment, my heart overflowed with joy; after regaining my composure, I immediately prepared to kowtow and thank the old man, but the instant I lifted my head, I noticed the old man had already gradually walked away,

Clearly, in the blink of an eye, he had walked to a point three meters ahead of me.

"One calamity yields Buddha or demon, determined by the heart, born of thought, alas..." the old man's voice came faintly from afar, and he began to mutter to himself again.

After a moment of dazedness, I, having regained my senses, quickly raised my head and called out to the departing figure: "May I ask your dharma name, where is your immortal abode? After I save my friends, I wish to go and express my gratitude."

The old man, as a senior, waved his hand without turning back and said: "On Screen Ridge Mountain stands a green pine; whistling pepper, an old man sings."

This poem left me bewildered, I didn't understand it.

Then, at that moment, the old man actually turned around, stood not far away, paused for a moment, then pointed at himself and asked me: "Do you really want to know who I am?"

My head bobbed like pounding garlic, nodding repeatedly,

"I also don't know," the old man spread his hands, speaking very honestly about the Great Dao.

"Uh..."

I was instantly stunned; if I hadn't previously experienced this scene, I would surely have thought, like an ordinary person, that this old man was a lunatic—otherwise how could it be so strange as to forget who he himself is?

While I was dazed, the old man slowly extended three fingers, counting them on his hand and sighing: "Actually, there are three questions that have constantly lingered in my mind, and I have been asking myself them."

"Oh," I said, curiosity piqued, I craned my neck, "such a mighty being could be stumped by this problem—how difficult must this problem be!"

The old man pondered for a moment, then slowly said: "These three questions are: who am I, where do I come from, and where am I headed?"

I "..."

After finishing his self-talk, the old man completely ignored me, fingers counting as he walked away lost in thought, shaking his head and swaying, exactly like a philosopher pondering life.

……

Long after the old man departed, I sat alone dazed on the empty hilltop, unable to recover, my thoughts scattered in the wind……

A master is a master; his manner of speech is nothing like that of an ordinary person.

…………………………………………

Standing on the empty hilltop, I stared blankly at Xiao Changsheng for a long time and let out a soft sigh.

Perhaps, just as that old man said, this fleeting affinity is merely a segment of karma on Xiao Changsheng's cultivation path.

But no matter what, I hope Xiao Changsheng can have a good ending.

"You have already regained a good start; you must cultivate well, become a fine spirit! Keep going, Xiao Changsheng," I silently murmured in my heart toward Xiao Changsheng's direction.

The way down the mountain was much simpler than the ascent; the round-trip route was nearly more than an hour faster than the way up.

I dared not hesitate, with no stops along the way, I hurried back to the hospital clutching the Purple Gold Blossom.

Yet what struck me as odd was that, upon seeing me return, Pangzi's face, though somewhat gaunt, showed no joy at all; indeed, there was no change, he remained worried.

I immediately jumped in fright, thinking the lotus lamp's petals had burned out completely; who knew Pangzi would sigh and say: "The wick of the lotus lamp has already lost four petals, and as time drags on, my father's pressure grows greater; I fear it can only be delayed for at most three days."

"Three days—how could that be enough for us to refine such a spirit medicine as Eight Treasure Purple Gold Blossom!" Pangzi sighed helplessly, his face a deathly gray.

"Uh... Indeed, within just a few days it's impossible to refine Eight Treasure Purple Gold Blossom. But if I said I have ready-made Purple Gold Blossom in my hand, would you believe me?" I leaned close to Pangzi's ear, speaking mysteriously.

Pangzi shuddered all over, looked at me suspiciously and said: "Are you joking with me, or are you serious?"

"Hurry up and hand it over, don't keep QingSongShu waiting." I pulled out the zitan box from my embrace, handed it to Pangzi, urging him to quickly bring it into the ward.

Pangzi's face was full of bewilderment, he opened his mouth wide, still wanting to ask me something, but I simply shoved him into the ward.

Since the ward was set up with the Splendid Light Sect's formation, besides Pangzi, anyone else entering would encounter some trouble; therefore, I decisively handed the Purple Gold Blossom to Pangzi and pushed him in.

About ten minutes later, Pangzi came out holding the zitan box; watching him emerge with the box, I thought the medicine had failed, and I couldn't help but feel doubtful.

Could it be that the Purple Gold Blossom the old man gave me is fake?

Suddenly, Pangzi, holding the box, burst into hearty laughter; then he excitedly grabbed my arm and shouted joyfully: "Great, Zheng Ge is saved, the sister-in-law is saved……"

Only then did I relax my breath.

Before long, Pangzi's laughter abruptly stopped; he then eyed me up and down suspiciously, shaking the empty box, and asked doubtfully: "This Purple Gold Blossom? How did you obtain it? Even if you won the lottery, such a spirit medicine is priceless—money can't buy it."

I had intended to tease Pangzi's appetite, but this fellow has a bad habit: if you tantalize him, he immediately grabs your shoulders and shakes them hard, all the while coquettishly saying: "Come on, tell me."

First off, I can't bear this strength; even if my body could take it, my spirit couldn't stomach his disgusting tone. So, within a few minutes I gave in, and told the whole story from climbing the mountain to meeting this old man, in full detail.

After hearing that, Pangzi slapped his thigh, exclaimed "How wonderful!", then he stroked his chin, curiously asking me: "Do you know who the old man who gave you the purple gold burst is? Damn, so generous, able to take out three purple gold bursts at once—such a formidable person is a treasure trove. Not getting closer to mooch off his aura would really be letting down the ancestors of my old Wang family!"

Although Pangzi asked me with a serious face, his lecherous tone fully revealed his petty little thoughts…

Normally I might have laughed and scolded him a couple of times, but now I couldn't bring myself to. Because what he asked is also what I've been wondering.

I was also curious about this old man's identity.

He gave me a feeling too terrifying, his methods godlike; from the moment he appeared, he seemed to have perceived all causality, even slipping the Eight Treasures Purple Gold Blossom into my pocket beforehand.

Such a person would certainly not be an obscure nobody.

But after thinking for a long time, my memory holds no impression of someone like him.

Finally, I could only shake my head and tell Pangzi: "I don't know his name, nor where he comes from. But before he left, I once asked him a question. And he merely left me with half a poem that isn't really a poem."

"What poem did he leave?" Pangzi stared at me curiously.

"On Mount Pingling, a green pine stands; whistling pepper, an old man sings." I repeated the old man's final words.

After hearing it, Pangzi also muttered along with me several times: "Pingling... green pine!"

I faintly heard Pangzi repeating these words.

Moments later, Pangzi stood up, pacing back and forth, walking and muttering to himself: "Could it be him?"

Seeing his expression, he seemed to have an answer, so I pushed him and asked curiously: "Who are you talking about? Do you know this old man's identity?"

Pangzi didn't answer me; instead, lost in thought, he took the sandalwood box that originally held the purple gold blossom from my hand again.

After picking up the sandalwood box, Pangzi searched inside and out, as if looking for something on the box; suddenly he froze, then his eyes blazed as he stared at the box, his hands uncontrollably trembling slightly.

"It really is him!" his chest rose and fell like waves, proving Pangzi was very excited, extremely excited.