Chapter 298: Yan Yan Chunyang

"Unbelievable, unbelievable."

On the stone table inside the small temple courtyard, Li Li Yuanzhong sat on pins and needles; the old man across from him had terrifyingly sharp eyes, and the gaze made his scalp tingle.

"Xi Xiang, you've taken on a fine disciple—look at that spiritual light, so abundant it's practically bursting from the crown of his head. A prodigy unseen in a hundred years!"

"..."

This old man was far too exaggerated.

Daoist Li, who had weathered great storms, was somewhat thrown off for a moment; these old monsters each had sharper eyes than the last, always giving him the feeling he had nowhere to hide.

"Brother Jin's gaze is like a torch."

Long Xi Xiang was in a fine mood, and hearing this, a hint of pride appeared on his face: "How does he compare to Yu Shu?"

He suddenly recalled how, years ago, this wretched old man had come to him every time to brag about his disciple.

"You bald donkey, you really are petty."

Jin Jin Shengwu glared at him, his face full of suspicion:

"If I say you're forgetful, how could you still remember such a trivial little thing after all these years?"

"I'm only slightly forgetful, not unable to remember anything at all."

Long Xi Xiang wasn't annoyed either; this old fellow's reaction put him in an even better mood, and he asked again:

"How does he compare to Yu Shu?"

"Truly, one's nature is hard to change—even at the point of being this forgetful, you're still this competitive."

Jin Jin Shengwu was somewhat helpless, but to have him belittle his own disciple was naturally impossible, so he could only be evasive.

"Junior Brother Li is a young hero; Yu Shu is a bit older, hard to compare, hard to compare."

"Why is it hard to compare?"

The two old fellows glared at each other, whiskers bristling.

The two juniors, meanwhile, sat on pins and needles; Li Li Yuanzhong glanced at Shi Shi Yu Shu, and this young master of Yellow Dragon Mountain Manor was also thoroughly embarrassed, drinking nonstop to cover it up.

"Enough."

After quite a while, the two old fellows finally calmed down; Jin Jin Shengwu waved his hand, sending the two juniors away.

"Still lacking a bit of polish; I reckon there's no chance left in this lifetime—qi and blood declining, old eyes, gone dim."

Jin Jin Shengwu sighed:

"In these years, I've only gradually come to understand the feelings of those traitors who left their sects to join the Xieshen Sect."

He turned the wine cup in his hand, his heart full of emotion:

"When young, one's essence and qi are full, but once you reach this age, watching helplessly as you grow older day by day, yet being powerless to stop it—this feeling is not pleasant."

"Between life and death, there lies great terror."

Long Xi Xiang fell silent; how could his own understanding be any less profound than Jin Jin Shengwu's?

Jin Jin Shengwu's decline had been a gradual accumulation over these past decades, but he himself had plummeted in an instant from a realm that held promise of reaching Land Immortal to this dire state where life and death hung in the balance.

"By rights, at our age, we ought to have seen through it all, but the closer I get to that line, the more I feel an indescribable terror, and unwillingness, in my heart."

Jin Jin Shengwu pinched his wine cup, somewhat self-mockingly: "You may not believe it when I say it, but sometimes in my dreams I even feel as though someone has stolen my lifespan, so that no matter what, I can't get past this hurdle of two hundred years."

"You're wrong, it's not just us."

Long Xi Xiang spoke, cutting him off: "I'm a full sixty years younger than you."

Jin Jin Shengwu nearly choked, coughing several times in a row, jabbing a finger at him, and it took him quite a while to recover.

"If I hadn't suffered Dao wounds, I would now be in the prime of my years."

Long Xi Xiang fished a slip of paper from his sleeve, on which his age was recorded; he noted it down every day, for he felt he was still young.

"Calculating by a two-hundred-year lifespan, I ought to still have sixty good years left."

Jin Jin Shengwu decisively skipped past this topic, his heart feeling blocked:

"Speaking of which, I've only got these last two years to live. Originally, the manor had already begun preparing the funeral feast, but I felt that sitting around waiting to die was meaningless—better to wander out before I die, see old friends from years past, and come see you, you little bald donkey."

Looking at Long Xi Xiang before him, whose appearance remained as ageless as in those days, Jin Jin Shengwu's heart was truly stirred.

When they first met, he himself was not yet a hundred and twenty, in the prime of his years, and Long Xi Xiang had just become a Grandmaster; the two had met in the jianghu, discussed the Dao, exchanged blows, and arm in arm roamed Shanhe.

In the blink of an eye, over eighty years had passed; he was now on the verge of death, and this little bald donkey had also reached the time of his passing.

Long Xi Xiang was silent; his memories stopped forty years ago, and looking now at Jin Jin Shengwu, who was shrouded in the twilight of his years, the feelings in his heart were even deeper than the other's. A sentence turned over in his mouth several times before he finally spoke softly through transmitted voice:

"It's not too late to switch to cultivating the Bai Shen Fa now."

"I won't hide it from you—I've truly thought about it."

Jin Jin Shengwu flicked his brow; facing Long Xi Xiang, he truly had nothing to conceal: "But it won't do!"

"It won't do!" He stood up and paced the courtyard: "Over a hundred years, how many fiends of the Xieshen Sect I've killed, how many times I've narrowly escaped death to earn the prestige I have today—how could I bear to kneel down in my old age?"

The courtyard fell silent.

The two old fellows held their wine, glanced at each other, and both felt they could drink no more.

"Those four words, 'seeing through life and death'—I've sat with them for decades and still can't manage it."

Long Xi Xiang drained the wine in his cup and set it down heavily:

"I'm going to give it a try."

"Of course we must give it a try!"

Jin Jin Shengwu's wild hair flew up, like a raging lion, his gaze sharp as lightning:

"Since entering the Dao, I've weathered the Earth Fiend and Heavenly Gang transformations, and to this day I've walked the Grandmaster's path to its very end. I've come to see whether Wan Wan Zhuliu has walked further along the Grandmaster's path than I have!"

"Truly going to try?"

Long Xi Xiang naturally wouldn't exchange pleasantries with him, but he was somewhat hesitant.

Admittedly, Jin Jin Shengwu was the oldest Grandmaster of the age, long having reached the threshold of Land Immortal; he had walked this road very steadily, very high.

But at most, it was no more than ninety percent of his own peak state…

"Give it a try, it won't kill anyone. If it works, then even if this old man dies, I'll die content!"

Jin Jin Shengwu rose to his full height and stretched his sinews, then sat cross-legged beneath the old tree, lifting his spirit and will to their present peak:

"Open the Divine Realm. This old man's qi and blood are in decline, but my 'spirit' is several times stronger than it was over forty years ago — enough to try!"

"This…"

Long Xi Xiang hesitated somewhat; he did not wish his old friend, at his age, to be bullied by others.

"What, you think this old man is less steady than your disciple? By the time he amounts to anything, you'll already be dead!"

Jin Jin Shengwu glared:

"Open the Divine Realm!"

Seeing him so insistent, Long Xi Xiang no longer tried to dissuade him.

Over these past forty or fifty years, he had seen too many similar things — from senior brother Long Long Yingchan to martial nephew Long Long Xinglie, and then to the top experts of the Qitadao Sect — everyone was brimming with confidence.

But in the end…

Sighing inwardly, Long Xi Xiang likewise sat cross-legged in stillness, closed his eyes, and opened the Divine Realm. Wisps of pale white light flowed out from his brow, spreading slowly and enveloping Jin Jin Shengwu within.

Coming out of the small temple, Li Mou finally breathed a sigh of relief in his heart.

He guessed that Old Man Jin must have cultivated some extraordinary eye-force Wu Gong — the oppressive pressure of that gaze was far more intense than even a Dao Lord's.

"Shi-Li Shixiong, have you been to Longhu Temple before?"

Li Mou looked at Shi Shi Yu Shu, this young master of Yellow Dragon Manor — true to his name, truly handsome and dashing, upright as a tree.

"Forty years ago, I came with my master, but back then we came and went in a hurry. I'll have to trouble Li Shidi to show me around."

Shi Shi Yu Shu gave a faint smile.

As for Li Mou's reputation, he had heard no small amount of it along the way.

"Shi-Li Shixiong is too polite."

Li Mou felt that this surname combined with "Li Shixiong" was a bit of a tongue-twister.

After exchanging a few pleasantries, Li Mou played tour guide for a while. As for Longhu Temple, he was quite familiar with it — he had scouted out most of the places.

"This place is Dragon Gate Main Peak. To the east is Hunchen Peak, to the west is Hundred Beasts Mountain, to the north is Dragon Roar Peak…"

Hushan sits facing south, so to the south is naturally Mount Hengshan city.

Hushan had no shortage of scenic spots. The two walked together, and Li Mou, who hadn't left Hunchen Peak in many days, found on this outing that Longhu Temple was even more bustling than he had imagined.

The inner sect's several peaks all had disciples from other sects and factions; he even spotted people from Fire Dragon Temple.

The liveliest spots, apart from the various plazas and training grounds, were the dragon steles scattered along the mountain paths — all manner of discussion could be heard from a great distance.

Shi Shi Yu Shu paused, looking toward a nearby dragon stele, his eyes flickering:

"Less than a year since entering the sect, yet already ranked thirty-first on the Dragon List. Li-Li Shidi, your talent and Wu Gong truly make your elder brother envious."

"A trivial accomplishment, not worth mentioning."

Carrying the spiritual pills in his bosom, Li Mou only wanted to finish the tour quickly and return to his room for closed-door cultivation. Hearing the eager-to-try note in Shi Shi Yu Shu's words, he was instantly put on guard.

Sparring was the sort of thing with no benefits and a heap of drawbacks — he always avoided it if he could.

"Li-Li Shidi is too modest. You've been living in the mountains so long you don't know — your reputation now on the Mount Hengshan circuit is enormous. Many already regard you as the second Long-Li Shixiong."

This "Long-Li Shixiong" naturally referred to Long Long Xinglie.

"Long-Li Shixiong is a heaven-bestowed talent. Li is of the most modest caliber — how could I compare?"

Li Mou shifted the topic without a flicker of expression. He utterly detested such things — this kind of rumor could very well damage the bond between them as martial brothers.

"Shi-Li Shixiong, I heard Yellow Dragon Manor has two Wrathful Dawn Chicken Kings?"

"What, does Li-Li Shidi want Wrathful Dawn eggs?"

Shi Shi Yu Shu caught his meaning and gave a faint smile: "Master's coming this time has brought along the 'Wrathful Dawn eggs' accumulated by the manor over these past fifteen years — all meant as gifts for Long-shishu."

"If Li-Li Shidi wants some, I'll set some aside for you."

"Many thanks, Shi-Li Shixiong."

Li Mou cupped his hands in gratitude. The eggs of the Wrathful Dawn Chicken Kings also had some of the efficacy of spiritual pills, and paired with spiritual rice, the flavor was absolutely exquisite.

He was, in fact, somewhat longing for them himself.

"Since we're free now, why doesn't Li-Li Shidi come with me to fetch them?"

Shi Shi Yu Shu smiled and invited him.

He had come bearing a sect mission to begin with — half of this batch of Wrathful Dawn eggs were gifts for Long Xi Xiang, and the other half he intended to use to build connections.

"Well then, it would be rude to refuse such kindness."

Li Mou thought it over, but still did not refuse this quite obvious show of goodwill.

The arrival of various factions had made even Longhu Temple lively — let alone Mount Hengshan city?

The factions qualified to enter Longhu Temple were the minority; those who couldn't enter were the majority. Every district of Mount Hengshan city was filled with great numbers of martial world figures from all corners of the land.

Li Mou, accompanying Shi Shi Yu Shu down the mountain, noticed it the moment he entered the city.

Wherever his eyes reached, the gleam of weapons he could see,

compared to before, had risen in quality by a whole tier.

Besides that, in the streets and alleys there were also many more soldiers in heavy armor, gripping weapons — these were elite disciples of the Dragon and Tiger armies, moving in groups of three or five, maintaining order.

"The Various Dao Martial Tournament truly lives up to being the martial world's foremost grand occasion — still two years away, yet already so many fellow travelers of the jianghu have come."

Shi Shi Yu Shu, too, was seeing so many martial world figures for the first time, and was somewhat astonished.

"Before the Various Dao Martial Tournament, the temple will step forward to hold several Spiritual Pill Gatherings — many sects have come for that reason as well."

Li Mou happened to know a thing or two about this.

The Various Dao Martial Tournament was naturally a grand occasion, but what could truly attract so many martial world factions here was, naturally, Longhu Temple's spiritual pills.

As the foremost Alchemy Sect under heaven, the spirit pills of Dragon Tiger Temple are worth ten thousand gold and hard to obtain in other cities.

Bringing disciples to broaden their horizons was mostly just along for the ride.

"True enough."

Shi Shi Yu Shu's heart stirred as well; over these past few years, he too had been preparing the various spirit pills needed to break through to Grandmaster.

"When does this Spirit Pill Gathering begin?"

"The second of the second month, the sixth of the sixth month, the eighth of the eighth month, the twentieth of the tenth month — before the Various Dao Martial Exhibition, there should be eight sessions."

Li Yuan had made specific inquiries, but he had no desire to take part.

According to the information he had gathered, the spirit pills at these pill gatherings were often several times more expensive than the internal price,

even ten-plus times — truly not a good deal.

"Eight sessions? No wonder."

Shi Shi Yu Shu frowned slightly. The sect forces now gathered in Mount Hengshan City numbered at least several dozen, and would only grow more numerous with time.

Eight sessions were not merely not many, but rather few.

"Junior Brother Li, shall we go sit for a while at the wine house first?"

Having ordered his accompanying disciples to fetch the Nuqing Eggs, Shi Shi Yu Shu extended the invitation.

Li Yuan naturally did not refuse; he had already descended the mountain, and a single meal's time was not urgent.

At the wine house, Shi Shi Yu Shu asked for a window-side private room. From here, one could look down over several nearby streets. Shi Shi Yu Shu leaned on the railing and gazed out, suddenly letting out a startled exclamation:

"That is…"

Hearing the astonishment in his voice, Li Yuan's heart stirred, and he followed his gaze.

It was a youth of sturdy build, draped in a wide white robe, with quite a few Retainers and old servants before and behind him — very eye-catching.

Li Yuan narrowed his eyes slightly. The youth rode a dragon horse, appearing gentle and refined like a gentleman, yet there was a trace of coldness between his brows.

In his perception, beneath this youth's gentle and dignified exterior lurked surging undercurrents, like a maw-opening Heaven-Devouring Fierce Beast, wanting to swallow everything and occupy everything.

Shi Shi Yu Shu drew a deep breath, his eyelids twitching ceaselessly:

"Yan Yan Chunyang!"