Chapter 608: Are there immortals in this world?

The sky was brilliant, filled with stars hanging horizontally; through the temple roof, one could faintly see the floating sky lanterns.

The temple was dim, the withered trees silent. Aside from the Daoist sitting cross-legged under the tree and the clever fox crouching beside him, there seemed to be another blurred figure.

"Does my fellow Daoist know how many years you have spent here?"

Lin Jue straightened his robes, placed them neatly over his knees, and spoke as if to himself:

"More than two hundred years.

"How many years have passed since you died? Even I cannot remember clearly. Lord Luo traveled from north to south, unified the world, became Emperor, and founded a dynasty called the Yu Dynasty. That Heavenly Lord who was once in the Nine Heavens has also been replaced by the Northern Zi Xu Emperor, known as the Zi Emperor.

"Thinking about it this way, truly too many things have happened.

"Even I have attained the Dao and taken in four disciples. Now that I am a Great Power, three of my four disciples have become immortals."

That figure was flickering and unstable, yet it quieted down.

Here, he was protected by Lord Fuchi, and with the continuous incense offerings from Ziyun County, Mount Modu, the three surrounding counties, and even travelers who came from all over by reputation, even if he did not take the incense as a deity, it still had a certain sustaining effect on his soul, so he had not been worn away by the passage of time.

"The Yu Dynasty lasted for more than two hundred years, and by now, it has already been replaced by another dynasty. This dynasty also has countless heroes, no less than Lord Luo back then.

"The Zi Emperor has also abdicated.

"However, the Nine Heavens have not chosen a new Heavenly Lord. Instead, the Jian Tian Fu Mo Emperor and the Southern Yu Jian Emperor each occupy half of the mortal incense and half of the authority of the Nine Heavens. As for who will ultimately prevail, perhaps we must wait for time and the mortal emperors and people to make a choice together.

"By the way, does my fellow Daoist know who that Jian Tian Fu Mo Emperor is?

"He is also an old friend of yours.

"It is none other than the Southern Heavenly Master, Lord Nan.

"If you were to be resurrected at this moment, hehe, even if you could not cultivate, relying on this friendship, you could still be a true Heavenly Master."

As Lin Jue spoke, he could not help but pause:

"I have realized the method of 'Life and Death Creation,' which is a supreme miraculous power, and with it, I became a Great Power. Later, I realized the Dao of 'Changing Aptitude and Fate,' which is also a great miraculous power. Now, it is time for me to fulfill my original promise. However, I have calculated the celestial phenomena of the four seasons and the variables of the mortal world; this is a new dynasty and a new year. Tomorrow at sunrise will be a good time. If you want better aptitude, you must wait here for one more night."

The black shadow in the darkness showed signs of change upon hearing this.

"Hm? You want to hear about the worldly affairs of these two hundred years?

"The changes have been immense!

"Fortunately, there is a long night ahead."

Lin Jue now had no trace of impatience, so he simply sat in the darkness under the tree and began to speak slowly.

Consider it telling an old friend about the past.

The sky lanterns overhead drifted higher and higher, gradually becoming blurred and small, almost indistinguishable from the shimmering stars across the mountains.

The stars slowly rotated, stretching into lines.

The eastern sky also began to glow.

Dew had soaked the Daoist's robes, and a bit of frost had fallen between his strands of hair.

"Besides 'Life and Death Creation' and 'Heaven and Earth Creation,' I have successively realized the methods of 'Moving Stars and Changing Dippers' and 'Reversing Yin and Yang.' My miraculous powers have grown greater and greater. But looking back, since I left Shu Village, this journey of nights and days, stars and moons, the mountains are high and the roads are long. Daoist methods are hard to seek, and the immortal path is endless and longevity is not easy. Yet, what I miss most is still that time back in..."

Suddenly, a rooster crowed, and the dawn in the east pierced the night sky.

Lin Jue smiled slightly and stood up.

Purple energy came from the east, and the mysteries of heaven and earth gathered here. Death and rebirth, changing aptitude and fate—all were happening in this new dynasty and new spring.

Even the statue behind him opened its eyes for a fleeting moment.

Old friends, after many years, met again.

One was composed, the other dazed.

To describe it as 'a lifetime away' would be an understatement of the years.

The world was destined to have one more true Heavenly Master.

Before one knew it, several more decades had passed.

Deep in Mount Yishan, at the summit of Tiandoufeng, clouds and mist swirled—it truly lived up to its name as the gathering place of immortals.

Amidst the clouds, three immortals sat opposite each other, chatting idly.

On the table were two plates of immortal fruit, a wine pot, and several wine cups. The immortal fruit were original Dan fruit and Yuanqiu immortal fruit, the wine pot was a common green bamboo tube, and the wine cups were inverted bellflowers. Inside the cups was thousand-day immortal wine. The three immortals had completely forgotten the worldly sorrows below the mountain, raising their cups to drink and laughing amidst the clouds.

"Has the Langtou Mountain God been re-conferred as a deity?" the junior sister asked.

"Indeed. Back then, he was dismissed because of the Zi Emperor's obsession and attachment; in truth, he had no major faults. Now that the world has changed, my Emperor, considering his good character and the fact that he was diligent and had merit in subduing demons, proposed to re-confer him as the Mountain God of Langtou Mountain," said Yue Zhao Yuanjun. "The Jian Tian Fu Mo Emperor naturally would not object."

"The mortal world of this dynasty seems to have a good attitude toward the conferring of deities upon yaoguai and those natural spirits born of heaven and earth," the junior sister said. "The one in our third senior brother's household seems to have been granted a divine position as well."

"Haha, junior sister, you have been in quiet cultivation for too long," Lin Jue said, holding the bellflower cup filled with fine wine. "You actually don't know who the founding prime minister beside the founding emperor of this dynasty was."

"Who was it?" the junior sister asked.

"That founding hero became famous in his youth, possessed extraordinary wisdom, and helped the emperor of this dynasty conquer the world all the way. It is rumored that he was a divine spirit from heaven reincarnated into the mortal world," Daoist Jiang explained to her. "His father was skilled in chess, and there is a rumor in the south that he once played a game against Heaven, winning a hundred years of lifespan and eternal youth, which is why he has not died even now. It is also rumored that his mother was not human, but a spirit."

"It's him..."

The junior sister quickly understood, and she could not help but feel it was marvelous.

Just then, some sounds came from nearby.

The fox and the colored fox, who were also lowering their heads to drink from their bellflower cups, instantly turned their heads to look at the rolling clouds and mist below.

"S-someone is coming..."

The fox, drunk, said.

The three looked at each other, not caring.

They already knew without it reminding them.

They could even faintly hear the sounds below. Besides the sound of clothes brushing against small trees, shoes rubbing against stone walls, and pebbles falling, there was the conversation between two people.

"Third Shixiong brother, be careful!"

"It's fine! Just mind yourself!"

"Third Shixiong brother, do you think there are really immortals on this mountain?"

"I don't know, but I heard from Master and the senior brothers that someone once saw immortals on this Tiandoufeng! When the wind blew the clouds away just now, we also saw it—there were figures on this mountain!"

It was a boy and a girl, their voices green and fresh, as if they had not yet passed the voice-changing stage. They sounded like little Daoist acolytes from the mountain.

In the eyes of Lin Jue and the junior sister, they were instantly filled with reminiscence and sentiment.

They even could not help but be lost in thought for a moment.

"Third Shixiong brother..." the junior sister's eyes were full of the past, and she could not help but ask, "Do you still remember the two immortals, Qingsong and Huang Shi, on Tiandoufeng back then?"

"Of course I remember."

"Then do you remember what they said?"

"I vaguely remember."

Lin Jue's thoughts seemed to be pulled back to the past, and the echoes of those years resounded in his mind—

"Look, how wonderful it is to be young, full of fun every day, finding everything new and strange interesting. Spells, the mortal world—all are like this. Every inch of time is like gold. Yet at that time, one only wanted to become an immortal, only wanted to last a little longer, so one spent all those golden days in bitter cultivation, seeking longevity. Now, we can barely be considered long-lived, but Fellow Daoist Huang Shi, look at us now—a year feels like a single day."

"More than just a year feeling like a day; the rise and fall of the world over a hundred years, looking back, is but a dream."

"The wind of youth is still more agreeable."

"But when you and I were young, how could we have come to this place to blow this wind?"

Since parting that year, Lin Jue had never seen the two of them again, not knowing if they were still living in seclusion in Mount Yishan or if they were still alive.

Even when they first met the two, the senior brother and junior sister were both too young and their Daoist practice too shallow, so that even now, they could not distinguish whether those two were human immortals, yaoguai immortals in the mountains, or ancient spirits and monsters infinitely close to immortals.

In any case, when the Zi Emperor sent troops to sweep through Mount Yishan, their figures were not seen. After Lin Jue attained the Dao, he returned to Mount Yishan many times, but he never deliberately went to look for them.

One reason was that he knew many ancient reclusive existences in the mountains did not wish to be disturbed;

The second was that he did not want to get to the bottom of it, to know if they had passed away or if they were truly "immortals." In any case, from now until the future, in his heart, they would always be two immortals.

"Sigh, senior brother, although you and I have attained the Dao, our practice advances daily, and our abilities grow higher—you are almost a true immortal, and I am about to become a Great Power in the world—yet every time I look back, I still feel that the most beautiful and memorable period was those few years on Fuqiu Peak."

"Junior sister, you already said that in the old Heavenly Lord's illusion."

"I still want to say it."

"And how could I not feel the same?" Lin Jue shook his head. "But if you and I had stopped in the past, how could we have reached the present and come here to blow this wind on Tiandoufeng?"

Just then, the sounds from below came again, clearly lowered.

"Third Shixiong brother, I hear someone, someone talking."

"I heard it too..."

"Are they immortals?"

"Shh..."

On Tiandoufeng, deep in the clouds and mist, the three turned their heads.

Two figures climbed to the summit.

They were two enthusiastic little Daoist acolytes, about ten years old, slightly younger than they had been, climbing the mountain in search of immortals, panting and red-faced.

As soon as they climbed up, they looked around everywhere.

But their eyes were filled only with clouds and mist; there was no sign of immortals.

Seeing this scene, the junior sister could not help but feel a tightness in her chest, even finding it hard to breathe.

The thing that can make an immortal feel heavy is time. But the heaviness that time adds to you is not just because of what it takes away from you; it is also because of what it adds to you—the vicissitudes it brings, the changes it makes to you, and all of this can never be returned.

Fundamentally, what makes even an immortal feel chest tightness is one's own self before becoming an immortal.

She was silent for a moment, then suddenly asked:

"Third Shixiong brother, do you think these two who came today are here to find immortals, or to look at the scenery?"

The two heard this and were greatly startled, searching everywhere.

The summit of Tiandoufeng was not spacious; rather, it was narrow and steep. If there were no clouds and mist, one could see everything at a glance. Even with the clouds and mist, at most, one could walk a few more steps to tour the summit.

Yet they could not find the source of the voice.

The owner of the voice seemed to be on the same mountain peak as them, yet also seemed very far away; it seemed they were in the same space-time, yet also seemed to come from a moment several hundred years ago.

"Why care?" Lin Jue's voice rang out at the right time. "The scenery of the world, the wind and the moon, the clouds—they have no owner. Let us leave; do not block them from looking for immortals and viewing the scenery."

"It's a pity we only talked halfway today. These two plates of immortal fruit were grown by me; it's rare to have grown them so well, and we haven't finished them, and there's still a drop of wine left."

"Being spontaneous and at ease is best. Perhaps ending here is not bad," Lin Jue said, watching the two acolytes walk past them in confusion, as if seeing his former self. "As for these immortal fruits and fine wine, what is the use of us eating more? It is better to leave them for the fated young people; perhaps it can help them catch one more wisp of the wind of youth."

Having said this, he laughed twice and stood up.

The junior sister, her eyes full of memories, also stood up.

Daoist Jiang naturally stood up with them.

The fox and the colored fox turned their heads, both staring at them.

"Whoosh..."

A gust of wind blew by, dispersing the mist on Tiandoufeng and blowing the figures on the summit into nothingness.