Chapter 558

On the ancient mossy path, the gentle breeze blew the mist, and among the blooming mountain flowers, the sound of birdsong came from nowhere.

The fox leaped among the flower branches, and the colored fox followed the people, stopping with every step. The three of them walked along the ancient path, chatting as they went.

"What did Lord Luo leave in the letter?"

"Nothing more than three warnings to his descendants," Lord Luo said. "First, to honor the Southern Heavenly Master and, after he passes away, to confer upon him the title of Emperor and worship him as an example; second, to warn them to be firm and unyielding, not to easily cede territory or marry off princesses, even to divine beings, and not to bow their heads easily; and third is..."

Lord Luo looked up slightly.

A fox's brain is different from a human's; it doesn't like to walk on the path, preferring to jump among the tree branches. It landed on a peach blossom branch nearby and looked down, meeting his gaze.

"I anticipated that when the Daoist came to collect me today, you would be with Fuyao. Given that the rumors about you and Fuyao have spread throughout the world, I designated the nine-tailed fox as another auspicious beast alongside the dragon and phoenix two years ago, so that future generations would continue to honor the nine-tailed fox and not label it a demon."

"Lord Luo is very thoughtful."

Lin Jue did not stop his pace, nor did his thoughts stop.

Over the years, although he hadn't explicitly stated it, Lord Luo was incredibly wise. Since he understood Lin Jue and Fuyao, and had been secretly contending with the Purple Emperor for many years, and after so many years had passed, how could he not know about the conflict between him and the Purple Emperor?

This could be considered a double-edged sword.

It might be helpful to the nine-tailed fox, but it could also further provoke the Purple Emperor.

However, the impact shouldn't be too great.

After all, even for the True Dragon and Divine Phoenix, which were honored by the human world as auspicious beasts with incomparably high status, the Nine Heavens didn't care much.

"The Daoist's place is truly secluded," Lord Luo looked around, feeling incredibly envious. "Spring flowers cover the ground, summer provides shade and relief from the heat, autumn is laden with fruit, and winter is wrapped in silver. The four seasons are surrounded by immortal energy, undisturbed by any outside turmoil or worries. It is truly the immortal paradise that people in the world yearn for."

"It remains to be seen if Lord Luo can get used to it," Lin Jue said. "It is quiet here, but there are not as many people to serve your food and clothing as in the palace. Although there are disciples who cook, it is all simple fare. I don't know if Lord Luo can get used to it."

"Am I such a delicate person?" Lord Luo laughed. "Just give me two mu of land and one mu of fields, and I will learn from those old generals who fought the world with me—lay down my armor, return to the fields, and enjoy myself in leisure."

"Under the heavens, isn't all the land Lord Luo's?"

"Hahaha..."

They gradually walked to the end of the small path, revealing a high mountain and a vertical, towering cliff. The clouds and mist were only at its waist, but on the cliff, there were many simple and elegant pavilions and halls, ancient pines reaching out from the branches, immortal trees emitting spiritual light, and long corridors connecting them. Together with the mountain flowers, clouds, mist, and immortal trees, they formed a scene that was both magically strange and visually striking.

This was not Lord Luo's first time here, but every time he saw it, and because so much time had passed, he still felt shocked.

"The magnificence of the Daoist's place is no less than the imperial palace."

"Lord Luo, you flatter me."

Just then, people flew out from the cliff one after another, including Lord Wan, Daoist Tao, and others, as well as the three disciples Xu Yi, Pu Mei, and Xian Zhu.

Another young man carrying a bundle of firewood walked out from the forest, seeing

that his newly apprenticed and still very unfamiliar master had brought a guest, and that the senior brothers, sisters, and protectors had all come to welcome them, he couldn't help but feel curious and at a loss.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

Wan Xinrong, Daoist Tao, and the Body-Man had fought side by side with Lord Luo and were the most familiar with him among the group. Now that everyone was older and their cultivation and skills were high, and they were old friends, there was no "Emperor" in their eyes, and they just came out to bow with smiles.

Wan Xinrong even said: "Your Majesty's state affairs are indeed trivial; over these years, you have aged so much."

They had all drunk the Red Spring water that Lin Jue brought out from the Yuanqiu Ji Xianren Realm, so they were currently in their youthful appearance, while Lord Luo, although he had eaten the Yuanqiu Fruit, had not drunk the Red Spring. At over a hundred years old, his appearance was inevitably aged.

Lord Luo was also laughing and waving his hand, replying: "I cannot compare to you who follow the immortal to cultivate."

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

The remaining two protectors, Jia Qiaozi and Cai Lingyu, were more respectful.

"Greetings, Your Majesty."

The three disciples were even more respectful.

With a clatter.

The firewood on the young man's back fell to the ground, scattering into a pile, while he stared blankly at the Emperor in plain clothes.

"Come, come, let me introduce you," Lin Jue first pointed to Lord Luo and the Xiao Xiao Shimei. "This is Lord Luo. Now that he has abdicated and resigned from his position below the mountain, he has come to the mountain to cultivate with us. He is my old friend. From now on, you must respect Lord Luo. This is my Xiao Xiao Shimei; you should call her Junior Aunt."

Wang Ran stood where he was, even more dazed.

He was from the great Wang clan of Heng Village in Huizhou; how could he not know that the world today belonged to the Luo family? He had loved listening to immortal stories since he was a child and admired Ji Xianren Lin; how could he not know that the Taizu of the current dynasty had once been Ji Xianren Lin's protector? He also knew that the current Emperor was wise and martial; leaving aside his civil governance, his martial achievements were among the best in history. He had repelled the Great Zu and recovered the Western Regions; the territory of the Central Plains dynasty had never been so vast.

It was just that he had never thought that on his very first day here, he would see this Emperor, the number one person under the heavens.

And he was going to cultivate here.

"Luo... Your Majesty..."

"Junior Aunt..."

The young man called out stammeringly.

"No need to be constrained. I have abdicated and am no longer Emperor. Now I am just a lonely old man with no old friends or ties left in the world, coming here to cultivate in peace with the Daoist and wait for death!" Lord Luo said to him with a laugh, his gaze dropping. "Why don't I go chop firewood with you tomorrow!"

The Xiao Xiao Shimei nodded indifferently.

Wang Ran didn't know her, but she had known him first.

"This is my newly accepted disciple, Wang Ran. He is a descendant of the old Mr. Wang of Heng Village in Huizhou, who was kind to me back then. He found his way here alone, and since we have fate, I accepted him."

"Mm..."

Both of them nodded.

Lin Jue reached out and pointed to a position on the cliff that was neither high nor low, where there was a palace pavilion.

Beside that palace pavilion was a winding corridor leading directly to the tallest and largest pavilion in the middle.

"Many years ago, when I first took Xian Zhu as a disciple, I had her build this palace, and I have been waiting for Lord Luo ever since," Lin Jue said. "Considering that Lord Luo doesn't know magic and might not have the legs for it in his old age, I specifically didn't build it in a higher position."

"Lord Luo looks a bit old, and my martial arts are not what they used to be, but climbing a flight of stairs is still no problem."

"Haha!" Lin Jue laughed and said, "If Lord Luo has something to do and wants to go down the mountain, you can ride my paper donkey, ride the stone horse of the Red Leaf Temple, or ride my Lei Yun. I will give you a token. If you hold the token and shout 'Divine Lei Yun', a cloud will descend to your side."

"And my five-colored auspicious clouds," the Xiao Xiao Shimei said, also taking out a token. "This is the token."

The two tokens were handed to Lord Luo.

One was made of spiritual gold, small and exquisite but also heavy and cold, with the character "Lin" written on one side and the words "Divine Lei Yun" on the other.

The other was made of stone essence, a stone gathered from the spiritual energy of the mountain. It looked like jade and felt as warm and moist as jade, but with more spiritual energy than jade. Its size and style were similar to the other one, but it was made much more exquisitely; after all, she was an expert in stone carving. On one side was the character "Liu" and on the other were the two characters "Auspicious Cloud".

"If there is nothing to do, Lord Luo is afraid he won't easily go down the mountain."

"You don't have to go down the mountain. If Lord Luo wants to contact your descendants and doesn't want to go out, you can entrust them in a dream," Lin Jue said. "Don't look at me. Although I can entrust dreams, I am not a divine being and cannot draw talisman paper or lend divine power to others. I can recommend a divine being to Lord Luo. She is good at entrusting dreams, and Lord Luo can borrow her divine power to entrust dreams to the palace."

"I think I know which divine being this is."

"The Moon Mirror Cave Illuminating Yuanjun."

"Haha..."

The two looked at each other again and smiled.

Lord Luo settled down here.

Perhaps farming was truly something integrated into his blood. He really found a few flat pieces of land by the stream at the foot of the mountain, and bit by bit, patiently reclaimed them into fields, diverted water into paddies, and began spring plowing while the season was right.

He also entrusted dreams, asking the newly enthroned Emperor to prepare a few sets of clothes for him, specifically naming simple and durable plain cloth garments. He also brought the long spear he had used back then, and in his spare time, he would actually dance the spear, looking for the feeling of riding a horse, wielding a spear, slaying demons, and conquering the world back then.

As for his precious sword, because it was a family heirloom, he left it to his descendants. Even knowing that since his descendants had become emperors, it was highly likely that it would be difficult to produce another warrior and general worthy of this precious sword, he still hoped that his descendants could retain some martial arts and blood-aura, and remember the path this world had taken.

Wang Ran also followed him to learn spear techniques.

He often enjoyed flowers and played chess with Lin Jue, drank tea and brewed wine together, discussed the human world and the Purple Emperor, got drunk when he wanted to, and was happy when he wanted to be. He sang when he was in high spirits and slept when he was tired.

No one in the world dared to collect taxes here, and there was no worry about food, clothing, cold, or warmth—only freedom, leisure, and tranquility.

To have such days in one's later years, to have old friends by one's side, and to have experienced a house full of children and grandchildren, and to have dominated the human world—a fulfilling life was nothing more than this.

But who was the only one comforted by this?

Lin Jue also benefited from his fortune and gained quite a bit of leisure!

News from the outside world also kept coming—

It was said that the Emperor was collected by an immortal in his later years and went to the immortal mountain to enjoy freedom. This matter had spread throughout the world.

It was said that the new Emperor had ascended the throne and granted amnesty to the world.

It was also said that the new Emperor was not as strong as the previous Emperor, and since the new Emperor was truly advanced in years, the drought in Wuzhou was not well-relieved, and floods broke out in Zhongzhou. When the court officials were asked, no one could come up with any silver.

Natural disasters were already enough to make people feel overwhelmed, and the generals on the Western Regions border, relying on being too far from the capital, began to act like local emperors.

Natural disasters often gave birth to man-made disasters, and also gave birth to demons.

Originally peaceful for decades, in many places in the human world, in the hearts of young people, demons and ghosts had become legends, but now they were emerging again in the disaster areas.

Fortunately, the Heavenly Lord today was not the one from before, and the various gods of the Nine Heavens were also very diligent.

The Purple Emperor could not tolerate demons causing trouble and sent troops to descend to the mortal realm to encircle and suppress them.

And taking advantage of this time, he ordered the various Emperors to send True Lords, Spirit Officials, Celestial Soldiers, and Divine Generals to begin a sweeping elimination of demons throughout the human world.