Chapter 506: How is Chen Shu so much more awesome than me?

Yujing, North City District, Xinsheng Square.

There used to be an academy here; when the New Saint was young, he came to Yujing by reputation and studied at this academy.

Although the New Saint traveled the world to study when he was young and had teachers everywhere, it did not stop the people of Yujing from later preserving this academy as a tourist attraction and erecting a statue in the square in front of it to commemorate the new era the New Saint brought to the world.

This square is thus called Xinsheng Square.

At this moment, people are coming and going in the square.

There are middle-aged men and women doing square dancing, an old man performing acrobatics under the guise of exercising, children chasing and playing, tourists from out of town who have just finished checking in at the academy and are taking photos with the statue, and vendors setting up stalls—it is truly lively.

Some children are mischievous, climbing onto the base of the statue and stepping all over the feet of the bronze statue.

There is even a young lady dancing a suggestive dance here.

The New Saint, wearing a hat, walks slowly to the front of the statue, raises his head to meet the gaze of the massive bronze figure, and time seems to freeze here. But after only a few seconds, he walks around it and heads straight for the bamboo academy inside the square, which has been kept as close to its original state as possible.

Back then, he was here not to learn cultivation or Spells, but to study the history and culture of the Central Kingdom.

Actually, the academy is not quite the same as in his memory either.

After all, when he first left the academy, he had not yet accomplished the great deeds he would later achieve; time flows on, and by the time later generations protected the academy, it had already been renovated and rebuilt time and time again.

But there are always similarities.

For example, that ginkgo tree.

It has grown so large...

The New Saint feels a moment of emotion.

Revisiting old places and walking through them is a process of picking up memories.

Things from his youth brush aside the duckweed of memory and emerge one by one; they can no longer be connected, having become intermittent fragments. Yet, interestingly, there are not many glorious deeds from his youth among them; instead, there are more foolish things and silly things he did with his close friends, as well as mistakes he made and losses he suffered in the past.

The New Saint gradually reveals a smile.

Gradually, tourists discover a highlight—

This old man looks almost exactly like the statue in the square.

The statue is truly too realistic.

It is said to have been cast by predecessors of the Daoist sect.

These tourists cannot help but crowd around, exclaiming at how much he looks like the New Saint, and smilingly invite him to take a photo together. The New Saint agrees to them one by one, accompanying these young people to take photos with great patience, never expecting that by the end, he would even receive a drink from a young woman and a piece of candy from a child.

An unexpected Joy.

The next instant, he arrives at Tianren Square, where the Monument in the center is covered in names.

The New Saint stands before the Monument, looking up at them one by one, takes off his hat, and pays his respects to these Heavenly Humans who are still very young compared to him.

The next instant—

The New Saint is already standing at the entrance of Courtyard No. 12 in Zhilan Garden, raising his hand to lightly knock on the door knocker.

Clang, clang, clang...

Chen Shu turns his head toward the door, feeling a burst of confusion.

Spirit Cultivators do not cultivate Spiritual Sense, but after reaching the peak of the Eighth Stage, they have some similar perception; plus, the "Absolute Spiritual Perception" Spell in his Thousand Machine Art, which mimics Spiritual Sense, is in a state of operation at all times, yet he felt absolutely no one coming.

And this door knocker...

It seems it has not rung for a long time.

People who usually come here either knock on the door or the door panel directly, or use Spirit Power to open the door, and there is even one who climbs over the wall, showing no etiquette at all.

"Emmm..."

Chen Shu probably already knows who the visitor is.

As soon as he pulls the door open, sure enough—

An old man in traditional clothing stands at the door, looking at him with a smile, nodding in greeting:

"Forgive me for the unannounced visit."

"Not at all, not at all..."

Chen Shu hurriedly pulls the door open and steps aside.

"Please, come in, please come in..."

The New Saint lowers his head and steps inside.

To this world, he is a figure from nearly a thousand years ago; when he was born, even Dayi had not yet established its dynasty. But Chen Shu knows that if the gods do not go to that "Battlefield," their lifespans are far more than a thousand years, at least ten thousand years. And the New Saint used the method of fusing the Plane Origin to fuse Space-Time Energy; it is unknown how long his lifespan is, and when he became a god, the confrontation between the two sides was already nearing its end. Afterward, the Withered Plane headed toward destruction, so he did not step onto the "Battlefield," but instead, out of vigilance, headed into the endless universe to find a way to resist the withered power.

By the time he returned, his lifespan was nearly exhausted.

No one knows how long he traveled in the endless universe, in places with different time flows.

Perhaps ten thousand years, perhaps even longer.

For such a person to still maintain humility toward everyone and everything, with a firm heart but a gentle and polite exterior, is an extremely rare thing.

When the New Saint walks into the courtyard, Qingqing comes out of the house carrying a freshly brewed cup of tea.

The New Saint stops and looks around the courtyard.

It is late spring in the third month, and all things have recovered; the flowers in the courtyard have bloomed again—ever since they were brought over from Yuanzhou and moved from pots to the ground, the crown size of these flowers has expanded linearly. Many shrubs have grown into very large clusters, and the vines have turned into flower walls and flower waterfalls. When they bloom, the whole courtyard is filled with floral fragrance, and it is estimated that the bees and butterflies of the entire residential complex have been attracted here, dancing about.

The New Saint says with a smile: "You love planting flowers?"

"Ning Qing planted them."

"Very good."

"Drink some tea."

Ning Qing places the teacup on the stone table.

"Drink tea, drink tea," Chen Shu also hurriedly greets him, "Yuanzhou black tea, it has only existed in the last few decades; that variety of tea did not exist in your time."

"Good."

The new Shengzu sat down and took a small sip from his cup.

Immediately after, he said to Chen Shu and Ning Qing, "I have prepared some experience regarding the use of Space-Time Items, some small tips that might be useful to you, as well as my compiled research on the Plane Origin and methods for merging with the Plane Origin. I hope you will bring this to the manager of that Jiedian Kongjian."

"Many thanks, Senior."

Chen Shu expressed his thanks sincerely.

Both of these things were of help to him.

The former went without saying; the latter, while sounding like he was acting as a courier for the new Shengzu, would actually allow him to immediately build a rapport with that existence upon bringing it over. This was, in fact, the same as when an elder in ancient times would ask a junior to go rely on or seek help from a close friend, having the junior bring a gift along.

"The Wooden Bead is yours," Chen Shu thought for a moment and said, "but we would like to borrow it, just in case. As soon as we return, we will return it to you immediately."

"No need." The new Shengzu lowered his head to smell the tea, finding the floral and fruity fragrance rich, then looked up at Chen Shu and said, "I have spent too much time traveling outside, and now I do not have much lifespan left, nor will I leave here again. It is of no use to me anymore."

He paused slightly:

"Moreover, since 'I' have already given it to you, it is yours. A Space-Time Item can only have one owner at a time; even I cannot take it back from her hands."

"Then many thanks, Senior."

"No need to be reserved, nor too polite; I am but an old man of decaying wood."

Just then, the three of them turned their heads in unison to look next door.

Above the courtyard wall, a head poked out.

Realizing her tracks were exposed, Zhang Suannai did not hide this time and jumped over quite naturally.

"You have guests at home?"

The new Shengzu's gaze dropped slightly, stopping at her left waist, as if he could see the Sword God Mark on her waist through her clothes, and he smiled as he said:

"A successor of the Sword God..."

"Who is this..." Zhang Suannai stared curiously at the new Shengzu, then looked at Chen Shu, "Your grandfather?"

"Don't you find him a bit familiar?"

"Familiar?"

Zhang Suannai thought for only a moment before her eyes widened: "That... that, that... the one in the book?"

"Use your brain a little, Lao Zhangtou."

"Holy crap! The new Shengzu?"

"Yes."

"Emmm... you aren't pranking me again, are you?" Zhang Suannai looked at Chen Shu with sudden suspicion, then looked left and right, strengthening her Spiritual Sense, "Did you hide a camera somewhere, preparing to film my moment of negligence?"

"Moment of negligence..."

Chen Shu couldn't help but be amused.

So, it wasn't that she was being stupid before, it was just a moment of negligence, right?

Zhang Suannai withdrew her gaze and scratched her head, already realizing that this was likely true.

So she immediately bowed respectfully to the new Shengzu:

"Zhang Suannai of the Sword Sect, greets the big shot."

"Hello."

"Her personality is a bit flighty," Chen Shu said to the new Shengzu, "but she is still a very interesting person."

"People of the Sword Sect have always been like this; it is actually quite interesting."

"Indeed..."

Zhang Suannai had become well-behaved by now, sitting obediently to the side, with only her eyeballs still darting around—a rare occurrence. It wasn't that she feared the new Shengzu's divine power, but rather she was in awe of the new Shengzu's deeds. This was a man who had benefited the entire world. In such a feudal era of cultivation in ancient times, as a top-tier Cultivator, he should have been a vested interest holder of the ancient cultivation civilization, yet he was willing and dared to abandon these interests to choose to fight for another group of people, to fight for those mortals who should have been kneeling before him, praying and begging. This was a truly remarkable thing.

Of the ten billion people in the world, at least nine billion stood up because of him, and it was also because of him that they could live as "humans."

Such a person, even Zhang Suannai, dared not act presumptuously before him.

This was no longer the awe of an old farmer toward an intellectual, but had upgraded to the awe of a mortal toward a great man. His noble character and legendary experiences left a piece of trash like her—who lacked intelligence, culture, morality, and vision—unable to catch her breath.

Then Chen Shu and the new Shengzu continued to taste tea and chat.

Zhang Suannai, who lacked intelligence, culture, morality, and vision, watched from the side, unable to figure out how Chen Shu, who was on par with her, could suddenly chat and laugh with such an awesome and high-class figure.

But she dared not interrupt, nor could she break into the conversation.

Things like Space-Time Items, Space-Time Energy, Wooden Beads, and Crystals—she had no idea what they were...

"Did I cultivate a fake path?"

This was the thought in Zhang Suannai's mind.

Time passed bit by bit.

As Ning Qing pointed her finger, all those vague and intermittent memory fragments about the new Shengzu left in her mind by the other Ning Qing surged out, allowing the new Shengzu to roughly understand what they in the Zhu Ti Wei Mian would do for many years in the future, which left him sighing with emotion.

Looking again at the two young people in front of him, whom he was meeting for only the second time, he couldn't help but feel much closer to them.

"Senior, let's have dinner. My cooking is not bad; I can show you a trick or two." Chen Shu paused, "Tonight we will go to the Shengzu Secret Realm and slowly ask you for advice on how to use Space-Time Items."

"After seeing those memories, I inexplicably feel like we have known each other for a long time, so I will not stand on ceremony."

"Good!"

Chen Shu agreed with a smile.

Zhang Suannai was even more confused on the side—

What memories? Why did they feel like they had known each other for a long time after seeing them? Hadn't she known Chen Shu and Qingqing for almost six years? How did it feel like they had so many big secrets she knew nothing about?

Zhang Suannai couldn't help but scratch her head.

Oh no! Her head was a bit dizzy!