In this world, there are people like Immortal Cuixuan, and there are also people like Immortal Qingcheng. Immortals Chongyi and Guangwei, having personally encountered people from overseas, must have gone through intense inner struggles before ultimately, like Qingcheng, choosing to look past various grievances and focus their attention on exploring the overseas world.
Everyone makes different choices, and they can’t be simply judged as right or wrong. But for Li Fei, seeing that there were people in the world who made the same choice as her master, especially her second respected and beloved master, she couldn’t help but feel happy.
She approached Immortal Chongyi and asked, “Master, how is Senior Sister Zhaomin? And Elder Dongyang, Elder Qingle, and the others?”
Immortal Chongyi spread his hands: “I haven’t been back for a long time either. More than a hundred years ago, I still occasionally exchanged letters with Zhaomin. Recently, my whereabouts have been uncertain, and she couldn’t find me. It’s been over a hundred years since I’ve seen her. But don’t worry, your senior sister is a capable person. She’s now an elder of Zuiyu Peak. Unlike me, she loves to take in disciples, so Zuiyu Peak is probably much livelier than before. When you have the chance to see her in the future, she will miss you very much. As for Dongyang…”
Immortal Dongyang had suffered an undeserved disaster, being injured by Immortal Xuanhua for no reason. In Zhaomin’s last letter a hundred years ago, she mentioned that Elder Qingle wanted to ask the elusive Lord Zhongnan to heal Elder Dongyang, but unfortunately, the news they gathered was that Lord Zhongnan had already passed away. Dongyang’s situation was likely not optimistic.
Immortal Chongyi sighed: “They’re all old fellows who have lived for nearly a thousand years. If they can’t achieve the great Dao, at least they won’t leave behind other regrets. Qingle stayed with him in the end, I think they should be happy together. Zixi Peak also has that little girl surnamed Le from back then to inherit it. Qingle adhered to the cultivation method all her life for the sake of her cultivation. I just hope that in their twilight years, they no longer care about these things.”
Li Fei lowered her head and thought for a while, finally understanding something, and couldn’t help but exclaim in surprise: “Ah? Master, are you saying that Elder Dongyang and Elder Qingle…?”
Immortal Chongyi smiled: “You only just realized? Child, sometimes you’re clever, and sometimes you’re quite slow. Qingle cultivates the Immortal Method of Music, which is even stricter than the Cutting Off Emotions and Desires of Xingzheng Hall’s Mysterious Gate. For many years, she couldn’t even speak to men. She and Dongyang have always been romantic in feeling but proper in conduct. After so many years, even we old folks can’t help but admire them.”
Li Fei recalled many details from the past. She had never noticed that Elder Qingle often acted together with Elder Dongyang, and she had never thought much about it.
“Li Fei,” Immortal Chongyi suddenly smiled at her, “Would you like to tell us about your experiences overseas these past 400 years?”
Across from them, Immortal Guangwei also turned to look, and even the Black Veil Woman sitting with Hu Jiaping pricked up her ears. Li Fei decided to start from the beginning, telling them about how she was severely injured by the Heavenly Thunder and Sea of Fire. By the time she got to the part about emerging from her shell again, Immortals Guangwei and Chongyi were already stunned. When she mentioned the uncivilized villagers on Juying Island who were skilled in controlling demons, Immortal Chongyi exclaimed in surprise: “So it’s true that everyone overseas is skilled in controlling demons! Even ordinary people are like this, it’s truly frightening!”
Ri Yan, who had been yawning on Li Fei’s shoulder, suddenly sneered: “These are all fools accustomed to the Central Plains’ cultivation style, imagining overseas to be some paradise, thinking everyone is a Yaksha. Let me tell you, if you go with the mentality that treasures are everywhere overseas, you might as well not go! Save yourself the disappointment! On the contrary, for many people overseas, the Central Plains is where treasures are everywhere. The mountains and valleys full of spiritual energy alone are enough to make them drool!”
Immortal Chongyi knew that he was Immortal Qingcheng’s good friend and the nine-tailed fox that had been hidden with Li Fei for many years. Although a demon, he was more insightful than many immortals. He immediately lowered his posture and respectfully bowed: “Please enlighten us, Senior Ri Yan.”
Seeing them so respectful, Ri Yan immediately became happy: “Little girl, open up your Small Thousand World for them to see!”
This fox was certainly planning to show off the so-called “collection” in the Small Thousand World. When they were overseas, Lei Xiuyuan would only argue with him, and Li Fei had no interest in that pile of corpses. Now he had finally found someone to show off to, and he was so happy that his several furball-like tails couldn’t stop shaking.
Li Fei took out the small copper mirror from her bosom and held it in her palm. In just a moment, a rift appeared between her two palms, filled with abundant and pure spiritual energy, incomparable to Immortal Cuixuan’s Small Thousand World.
The others were all shocked. Hu Jiaping opened his mouth in surprise: “Wow! You even have a Small Thousand World?!”
Li Fei said calmly: “It’s not difficult. You can create one when you have abundant spiritual energy.”
From the moment cultivators enter the path to becoming immortals, their internal furnace expands by more than ten million times. When the spiritual energy that the furnace can contain reaches a certain level, one can create a Small Thousand World. In the Central Plains, not many immortals could create one because it required too much spiritual energy. But as the fruit of Jianmu, Li Fei had more spiritual energy than others since childhood. Now that she was fully mature, creating a Small Thousand World was not a difficult task for her.
The difficult part was finding an object for the spiritual energy to attach to. She tried everything from combs to oil lamps, and finally, Ri Yan even found a pipe from somewhere, but none of them worked. She casually chose a copper mirror as a last attempt, and unexpectedly, it succeeded on the first try. Like Immortal Cuixuan’s, her Small Thousand World also took the form of a mirror image, with a lake in the sky and a lake under her feet, creating a very peculiar scene.
Immortal Chongyi felt somewhat emotional. He remembered how this little disciple used to practice immortal techniques on dolls every day at Zuiyu Peak. Her physique was special, and her spiritual root was strange. At first, it wasn’t very noticeable, but he had already formed an embryonic idea about her cultivation at that time. When her internal spiritual energy reached a certain level and her understanding of the five elements became more profound, she would infinitely approach what Central Plain’s immortals called the “ultimate” realm. At that time, mediocrity would become an unbreakable perfection.
At this moment, he could see this ultimate state with his own eyes. But the moment he saw it, he also understood that this was a realm that cultivators in the Central Plains could never reach in their lifetime. Her source of spiritual energy was countless times more concentrated than the spiritual energy they used. This kind of body and talent, this innate mastery of spiritual energy, could only be a creation of heaven and earth.
“This Small Thousand World is created very well,” Immortal Chongyi praised her instinctively. Four hundred years had passed, and Li Fei was no longer that inexperienced cultivation disciple, but he was still used to praising her as if she were a disciple who needed guidance.
Li Fei felt a warmth in her heart and smiled shyly: “Then… alright, Ri Yan, you want to take my masters in…”
Ri Yan couldn’t wait for her to finish these meaningless words. His tiny figure zipped through the rift, and his voice came from inside: “Come in, all of you! Let me broaden your horizons!”
Immortals Chongyi and Guangwei were the first to eagerly enter. The remaining Hu Jiaping was still busy asking Li Fei: “What’s in there? You didn’t catch a bunch of overseas people and keep them inside, did you? That’s too scary!”
No… Li Fei laughed dryly. It was even scarier than that. Most of what was inside were nearly rotting corpses, and a small part was… something unidentifiable that had been tragically killed by Ri Yan, with even the corpses incomplete.
“Senior Brother will know when he goes in to see,” Li Fei deliberately didn’t reveal the truth.
“Now you’re being mysterious!” Hu Jiaping flicked her forehead again. The Black Veil Woman who had been motionless behind him finally reached out to hold his sleeve, calling softly: “Young Master Ping.”
She was no longer a ten-year-old girl, and behaviors like patting heads and pinching cheeks should have been restrained long ago. The young lady was good-tempered and didn’t get angry, but didn’t he see Lei Xiuyuan’s expression behind him?
Hu Jiaping looked back and glanced at Lei Xiuyuan with ill intent, suddenly raising his hand to put his arm around Li Fei’s shoulders. She was about to dodge instinctively when he unexpectedly leaned close to her ear and said: “It might be troublesome to rush to go overseas now. So many immortals are looking for you, it’s impossible to bypass them. Why not stay here for a while and leave when the situation calms down? By the way, look at that kid Lei Xiuyuan’s face.”
He pinched her chin, turning her towards Lei Xiuyuan, while he chuckled and entered the Small Thousand World with the Black Veil Woman. Li Fei looked at Lei Xiuyuan, who appeared calm, showing no unusual expression, leaning against the window and looking at the sparkling East Sea in the distance.
What did Hu Jiaping want her to see? Li Fei walked over in confusion, calling out: “Xiuyuan, what are you thinking about?”
Lei Xiuyuan rested his chin on his hand and turned to stare at her: “…Thinking about you.”
“Huh?” Li Fei was stunned.
Lei Xiuyuan suddenly smiled again and said lightly: “No, actually I’m thinking about myself. I feel a bit guilty about that immortal just now. When I saw him, I felt relieved.”
Li Fei leaned against him and said softly: “It’s probably because you have feelings for him. You won’t forget people who have been good to you.”
Lei Xiuyuan glanced at her again: “So, does that mean you weren’t good to me before, which is why I forgot you?”
Li Fei was at a loss for words. He raised his hand and pressed it on her head, saying: “In the future, you should be better to me. It’s not too late to mend the fold after the sheep are lost.”
After saying this, he turned and also entered the Small Thousand World, leaving Li Fei alone in a daze for a long time.