In the vast cave, there was nothing but a small lake and a tiny stone platform above it. The spiritual energy inside was so dense it felt like viscous water. Though not comparable to immortal sects like Wu Yueting, it was still quite rare.
This was the Realm of Ganhua. After six years, nothing here had changed.
Li Fei gently placed the withered corpse she had been carrying on the stone platform. Along with it, she had brought a jade-like arm bone of the previous Jianmu Fruit from the Yimin Tomb.
She gazed silently at the old man’s desiccated corpse, whose features were no longer discernible, for a very long time. Suddenly, she reached out and slowly, lovingly traced his formless contours.
Master.
She and Lei Xiuyuan had infiltrated the Yimin Tomb in the White Border Cliff, finding the Qingcheng Immortal sealed in a crystal coffin in the deepest part of the main hall. He wore the plainest blue robe, his bones protruding one by one, looking both terrifying and pitiful. Beside him, like all the crystal coffins, was a bronze plaque engraved with two characters: Qingcheng.
He had been stored so insultingly, like a preserved Yimin corpse on display.
She couldn’t remember how she had shattered the crystal coffin and embraced him. Had she cried? Had she called out? Crying and shouting were meaningless in the face of this desolate, lonely corpse. Only she would find release in it. In the end, she burned down the entire Yimin Tomb, but it was still a futile act of venting.
Li Fei looked at him, and the image of the white-bearded old man in tattered clothes, hidden in the depths of her heart, became clearer and clearer. Despite his advanced age and great power, he had always been like a child – playful, unable to stay in one place for long, and incapable of saving the money he worked so hard to earn. He didn’t understand how to care for a girl at all. From childhood to adulthood, he had never bought her any snacks or little trinkets that girls liked. It was all his fault that she had been raised to be as rough as a man. If it wasn’t for Shao Min Shijie’s scolding and guidance these past few years, who knows how rough she would still be?
But in her seventeen years of life, almost all of her life principles and values had been subtly taught to her by him. The fact that Xiao Bang Chui was standing here now was enough to prove how vibrant and important his existence had once been.
“Master, we’re home now.”
Li Fei carefully and joyfully embraced the terrifying dried corpse, burying her face in his withered bosom. After seven years, she had finally returned to this familiar embrace.
Master had returned, and Lei Xiuyuan had come too. They had returned to Qingqiu, but this long-awaited reunion was silent and desolate.
This was the beginning of everything for her, and let it also be the end of her journey in the Middle Earth.
Qingqiu, which she had yearned for day and night – the tender green mountains in spring, the fierce wind in summer, the golden expanse in autumn, the biting snow in winter. A life of poverty and hardship, yet the happiest and most carefree times. She had dreamed so many beautiful dreams of introducing her beloved spouse and friends to her master, of the family living together in Qingqiu from then on. It didn’t matter if they didn’t cultivate or couldn’t live for hundreds of years; as long as they were together, it was enough.
She was just such a person without grand ambitions, not wanting to be invincible under heaven or achieve any earth-shattering feats. She would rather be a background detail in an ordinary, warm picture. As long as those she liked and those who liked her could be safe and happy, it would be enough for this life.
But now, these dreams could never be realized in this lifetime.
The bodies of cultivators do not return to dust. Li Fei gazed longingly at her master’s withered face. The light of fire-attribute spiritual energy flickered in her palm, just as she was about to release the Li Feire to burn her master’s body, Ri Yan’s old voice suddenly rang out in her mind: “Little girl! Sit down and focus your spirit! I’m coming out!”
He had already broken through the seal? What perfect timing! He could see Master one last time!
Li Fei immediately sat down cross-legged as instructed, focusing her spirit and holding her breath, with only spiritual energy continuously circulating within her body. Gradually, she felt a massive, whirlwind-like energy current spontaneously arise, as if it was trying to burst through the top of her head. This energy current was very unfamiliar, a sensation she had never experienced before. As it spun faster and faster, the spiritual energy within her body also involuntarily spun faster and faster. Her scalp felt like it was about to explode, the pain unbearable.
Suddenly, there was a tremendous “boom” in her mind, and that sharp, continuously spiraling energy current finally burst through the top of her head, rushing out unrestrained. It stirred up a violent spiritual energy disturbance throughout the entire Realm of Ganhua. Li Fei was struck so hard that she could no longer remain seated. Like a small boat in turbulent waves, she was instantly overturned, rolling several times on the ground. If it weren’t for Lei Xiuyuan beside her grabbing her forcefully, she might have rolled straight out of the Realm of Ganhua.
The spiritual energy was shaken by a wild current of energy. Li Fei covered her head and face with her sleeve, squinting through the gap to look ahead. She saw countless streams of blood-red energy converging in the spacious cave of the Realm of Ganhua. An extremely unfamiliar, bone-chilling coldness like knives and spears instantly enveloped her, causing her to shiver involuntarily.
Gradually, those streams of blood-like energy converged into a huge mass and then became so dazzling that Li Fei could no longer keep her eyes open and had to close them quickly.
After an unknown amount of time, the tumultuous scene suddenly became calm, and a long-missed familiar voice suddenly rang out from across: “You little devil, you’ve even grown horns! Get away from her!”
Li Fei quickly opened her eyes to see a huge, snow-white nine-tailed fox standing in the spacious cave. Its nine long tails waved in the air like a dream, the blood-red seal that was once on its back now completely gone. Its eerie green eyes, like ghost fire, glared fiercely at Lei Xiuyuan, filled with murderous intent.
“Ri Yan!” she cried out, quickly pouncing towards him. This time, she didn’t miss. Her face and body slammed hard into his lush, fragrant fur as she hugged him tightly, her voice almost choked with emotion: “You’re finally out! You’ve finally recovered! That’s wonderful!”
One of Ri Yan’s long tails slapped heavily on her body, nearly breaking her bones. She heard his hoarse voice close to her ear: “Who wants to hug and embrace you? Let go quickly! You’re about to die and you’re still being foolish here? Don’t you know what this little devil is? You see he’s grown horns and you still don’t run?”
Li Fei was about to speak when she heard Lei Xiuyuan say calmly from behind: “Old Master Ri Yan, congratulations on regaining your freedom.”
“Pah! Who needs your congratulations?!” Ri Yan’s nine long tails suddenly raised together as he angrily said: “I’ll count to ten, if you don’t get out of here, I won’t be polite anymore!”
Lei Xiuyuan remained unmoved and instead smiled, saying gently: “I didn’t expect that box of books with Qingcheng Immortal’s handwriting would be safely placed here. Thank you, Old Master Ri Yan, for your help.”
Ri Yan said grimly: “Stop changing the subject! Save your sweet talk for fooling this idiot, it won’t work on me! Get out! One, two…”
He started counting. Li Fei suddenly sighed and said softly: “Ri Yan, even if he goes out, it won’t take much effort for him to come back in.”
Any barrier or seal was useless against a Yaksha. From the White Border Cliff to the Realm of Ganhua, she had already witnessed this.
Ri Yan glared at her in exasperation: “You know everything, yet you still mix with him! How am I supposed to talk to you?!”
Li Fei smiled slightly: “Don’t be angry. I made the decision. You’ve said it yourself, I’ve grown up. My life is my own, so don’t treat me like an ignorant child anymore.”
Ri Yan was still furious: “You speak so righteously! What if he suddenly goes berserk one day, imprisons you, or even kills you? What can you do then? Will you regret it?”
Li Fei shrugged: “It won’t be so easy for him to kill me! Have you forgotten that I can absorb spiritual energy? I even killed Zhen Yunzi by myself!”
“Pah! You fool! With you around, his power increases more than a thousandfold! You want to kill him? Dream on!”
“Eh? Didn’t you say I could be invincible under heaven? Were you lying to me?”
“You idiot! I was talking about the Middle Earth! Didn’t you say you wanted to stay in the Middle Earth?! You…”
Li Fei looked quietly at his enraged appearance. She knew that although this fox always spoke harshly, he truly wanted to protect her. She solemnly interrupted him: “Ri Yan, I trust Xiuyuan, just like I trust you and Master. I won’t always need your protection. Even if I don’t want to be invincible under heaven, I can protect myself. Thank you for always worrying about me.”
Ri Yan roared: “Who’s worrying about you? You…”
“I’ve brought Master back. Don’t you want to see him?”
The roaring voice suddenly broke off. Ri Yan was stunned. After a long while, he suddenly sighed deeply: “What’s the use of looking? The person is dead, what’s left is just a pile of rotten flesh. It’s better to burn it clean quickly. Don’t you cultivators talk about the body not returning to dust?”
Although he said this, he still turned his head. His huge body gradually became delicate, finally shrinking to about the size of an ordinary fox. He jumped onto the stone platform, sat opposite the corpse of Qingcheng Immortal, and lowered his head to gaze at him silently.
A black stone pagoda made of spirit-preserving rock was placed beside him, its seal glowing brightly. Ri Yan stared at it in surprise. Li Fei smiled and said: “This is your demonic energy that was sealed in the forbidden area of the academy. I’ve fulfilled my promise to Jun, fortunately not disappointing the mission.”
The fox’s eerie green eyes stared fixedly at the stone pagoda, then suddenly turned to stare at her. After a while, he began to stammer, which was rare for him: “You… how did you get it… you fool! The shell hasn’t been shed! What if those immortals discovered it?!”
Li Fei still smiled: “If I had been discovered, I wouldn’t be standing here in front of you. Do you remember that golden Suanni? It’s grown even bigger now. It seems to have eaten all the dozen or so demon pearls I dropped that year. It looked especially grateful when it saw me. If it wasn’t afraid of being discovered, it almost came out with me.”
“Hmph! That stupid creature got lucky!” Ri Yan bit the stone pagoda with his mouth. Without any visible use of demonic arts, there was a “crack” sound, and the stone pagoda, which had been reinforced with extremely powerful sealing techniques, was forcibly bitten open by him. The light of the sealing technique instantly disappeared, and the pagoda crumbled into powder, which he blew away with a breath, falling into the lake.
“Painful! Those bastards, they stole so much of my demonic energy back then!” He seemed either angry or happy; previously, he had referred to the academy’s founders as “powerful immortals,” but now they were “bastards” in his mouth.
Li Fei burst into laughter. She turned and walked towards Lei Xiuyuan, holding his hand, while saying: “If you have anything you want to say to Master, we’ll step aside for a while. You can speak freely.”
“Speak my ass!” Ri Yan jumped down from the stone platform irritably. “The person is dead, I don’t have those flowery thoughts like you! You stand still, have you made up your mind not to leave this stinking brat?”