Aftermath (3)

In front of the mountain gate of Longhu Mountain, a young girl dressed in a Taoist robe turned her head to look back. Ultimately, she did not see the white-haired, youthful-faced Old Heavenly Master; she saw only green mountains, white clouds, and drifting mist.

“Uncle! Senior Sister Daowei!”

A chubby, round-bodied Taoist boy took two quick steps forward, his small face covered in tears:

“Isn't it good to stay on the mountain? Why do you have to go down? If you stay, Senior Sister, I promise I won't steal your offering fruit anymore! I'll even give you all the snacks my senior brothers bring me!

Or... or do you think I don't train hard enough and always slack off during my lessons? I... I can change!

Senior Sister, please don't leave, okay?”

The girl remained silent for a long moment before shaking her head:

“It has been eighteen years since I was brought to Longhu Mountain, and I have always been searching for my origins.

The emergence of the Demon Suppression Division this time might be my chance.”

The chubby Taoist boy sobbed a few times. Looking at his exceptionally talented senior sister, he couldn't help but cry again.

Everyone on the mountain knew that Senior Sister Daowei was an orphan whom the Old Heavenly Master of Longhu Mountain had picked up in the mountains.

Because she had no parents, she took the Heavenly Master's surname and was named Daowei.

Zhang Daowei possessed exceptional aptitude and was a natural talent for cultivation. She began practicing martial arts at the age of four, could condense a sense of qi by eleven, and had already reached Qi Refinement level 3 by eighteen, far surpassing her peers.

The Old Heavenly Master had once predicted that with the spiritual energy of heaven and earth severed, Foundation Establishment was hopeless, and among the young disciples of the Longhu Mountain lineage, perhaps only Zhang Daowei would have a chance to touch that barrier.

What exactly was cultivation?

No one could explain it clearly.

But everyone knew that true cultivation only began after Foundation Establishment. Even the ninety-something-year-old Old Heavenly Master, who had cultivated his entire life, ultimately could not break through the barrier from Qi Refinement to Foundation Establishment.

The young Taoist boy was born and raised on Longhu Mountain. He had thought that he and his senior sister would be like many of their uncles, cultivating all day and eventually dying of old age on Longhu Mountain.

But why did she have to go down the mountain?

He choked back tears and sobbed, “Senior Sister, is the news about the great demon of the southwest and the True Immortal of the Demon Suppression Division really true?”

Zhang Daowei pondered for a moment and shook her head:

“I do not know, but that is precisely why I am going down the mountain this time.”

She had no parents and knew nothing of her background. When she was found, there was only a scorched iron plate beside her, its inscriptions completely unreadable.

—She could only barely make out the two characters for “Demon” and “Suppression.”

Therefore, when the Demon Suppression Division emerged this time, Zhang Daowei felt a sudden intuition.

Perhaps her origins were indeed related to the Demon Suppression Division.

“Then once you find the True Immortal, will you come back?”

A flicker of hope rose within the young Taoist boy.

However, the only response he received was an exceptionally carefree view of her retreating back.

...

Nan Zhi did not think much of the Yellow River anomaly she had caused on a whim to make Great Xia pay attention to the secret realms of the Four Provinces.

—Just that show of “Spring's Return” alone had cost her a full three Large Spiritual Energy Clusters, all to give Great Xia's practitioners a sufficient sense of urgency.

With the Spiritual Resurgence, the barriers between the secret realms of the Four Provinces and the real world would only grow thinner. If they did not hurry up and cultivate, were they waiting for the great demons inside to come out and slaughter them like easy prey?

She had intentionally left some rather powerful demon beasts in the Yellow River Secret Realm.

No doubt once the authorities and other practitioners witnessed the dangers of the secret realm, they would take the great horrors they would face in the future more seriously.

She would continue to spur them on in the future.

Nan Zhi sat in a fast-food restaurant, feasting on insanely spicy chicken wings with Zhang Qiuyu, whom she had not seen in a long time.

“Sssss, so spicy, so spicy!”

Zhang Qiuyu took a satisfied sip of her pearl milk tea and looked her up and down. “How did you go on a trip and change your entire aura? If you hadn't called out to me just now, I wouldn't have even dared to recognize you.”

Unlike the slightly slick little corporate slave of the past who carried the scent of a weary salaryman all over her, the current Nan Zhi was much more composed, with a serene peace between her brows.

At a single glance, her entire body seemed to be glowing.

She was still the same person, but when she stood in a crowd, she would always make others look at her unconsciously.

“Maybe my state of mind has changed. In the past, I had to rush about for a living and worry about mundane matters, which left me physically and mentally exhausted. Now, I only have to do what I like, so my mindset is naturally different.”

Nan Zhi took a bite of her fried chicken, eating very seriously.

—Since reaching Foundation Establishment, her five senses had improved several times over, making her much more capable of discerning the quality of ingredients.

When ordinary people's food entered her mouth, she could at most taste the flavor; the energy she could absorb from fast food was practically negligible.

But she still liked milk tea, fried chicken, burgers, and cola.

If cultivating immortality meant only drinking dew and eating pills, wouldn't that long life be missing too much fun?

“Oho, you've certainly gained a lot of insights over the past six months, huh? You're speaking so strangely, almost like an ancient person.”

Zhang Qiuyu nudged her, a slightly worried expression on her face:

“It's so chaotic abroad right now with gods and ghosts everywhere. You should be careful on your own. If things don't work out, you should just come back to work. Everyone really misses you.

By the way, wasn't there a rumor a few days ago about an immortal manifesting in the northwest? My mother-in-law watched a bunch of marketing videos and insists that the era of cultivation has arrived and spiritual energy is reviving. She brews medicated food and tonic soups for the kids every day, saying it'll strengthen their bones and muscles.”

As she spoke, she joked, “We were even laughing yesterday, saying that if we really enter an era of universal cultivation, the college entrance exams will have to add another subject.”

“Eating medicated food does have some effect, but most of the medicinal herbs on the market today aren't genuine, so eating them won't do much.”

Nan Zhi dipped her finger in her cola and drew a phone number on the table:

“This is Shi Hongjiang's WeChat. If you want to buy herbs in the future, buy them from him. Just tell him I sent you.

Although they say the earlier you start cultivating, the better, eating medicated food stewed with spiritual herbs will still have some effect. If you want to cultivate, you can...”

“Why are you being so serious?

You're making it sound like it's real. Besides, if everyone really could cultivate, the country would definitely introduce relevant policies.”

Seeing Nan Zhi's serious face, Zhang Qiuyu couldn't help but laugh and interrupt her:

“Besides, what's so good about cultivation anyway? Right now, I just want to get rich overnight and enjoy life. I've already suffered through the college entrance exams, so why on earth would I want to put myself through the suffering of cultivation?”

Nan Zhi fell into thought.

The two talked for a while longer. It was mostly Zhang Qiuyu speaking while Nan Zhi listened quietly, making for an exceptionally harmonious atmosphere.

When it was time to part ways, Zhang Qiuyu watched Nan Zhi's retreating back disappear into the crowd, feeling a bit of melancholy in her heart.

Heaven knew how hard it was for a salaryman to find a decent lunch and gossip buddy!

Being able to work with Nan Zhi in the past had given her quite a bit of motivation.

Now...

She could only sigh.

Withdrawing her gaze, Zhang Qiuyu's eyes fell upon the table, and she was suddenly filled with immense astonishment:

On the table, the liquid that should have dried up was floating gracefully just above the surface, with each Arabic numeral dancing as if alive.

Beside the numbers lay an exquisite porcelain bottle and a lovely, delicate amber stone pendant.

—If a practitioner were present, they would have naturally recognized that a defense formation was secretly embedded inside the amber stone.

“!”

Zhang Qiuyu's eyes widened. She grabbed the items and rushed out the door, but she could no longer find any sign of her friend.

Feeling as though she had lost something, she stood there in a daze.