In front of the gates of Longhu Mountain, a young girl in Taoist robes looked back. The Old Heavenly Master, with his white hair and youthful face, was nowhere to be seen—only the green peaks and white clouds remained, shrouded in mist.
“Martial Uncle! Senior Sister Daowei!”
A chubby, round-faced Taoist boy hurried forward, his face covered in tears.
“Is it not good to stay on the mountain? Why must you leave? If you stay, I promise I won't steal your offering fruit anymore! I'll even give you all the snacks my senior brothers bring me!”
“Or... is it because I don't practice hard enough? Because I'm lazy with my lessons? I can change! I'll change everything!”
“Senior Sister, please don't go, okay?”
The girl remained silent for a long while before shaking her head.
“I have been on Longhu Mountain for eighteen years, and I have always been searching for the truth of my origins.”
“The appearance of the Demon Suppression Division might be my chance.”
The chubby boy sobbed, looking at his exceptionally talented senior sister, his tears falling again.
Everyone on the mountain knew that Senior Sister Daowei was an orphan found in the mountains by the Old Heavenly Master.
Having no parents, she took the Heavenly Master's surname and was named Daowei.
Zhang Daowei possessed incredible talent; she was a natural-born cultivator. She began martial arts at four, developed a sense of qi by eleven, and 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. Among the young disciples of the Longhu Mountain lineage, perhaps only Zhang Daowei had 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 Old Heavenly Master, who was over ninety and had practiced his entire life, could never break through the barrier between Qi Refinement and Foundation Establishment.
The young boy was born and raised on Longhu Mountain. He had thought he and his senior sister would spend their days practicing like many of their uncles, eventually growing old and passing away right there.
But why did she have to leave?
He choked back a sob. “Senior Sister, is the news about the great demon in the southwest and the immortal from the Demon Suppression Division really true?”
Zhang Daowei thought for a moment and shook her head.
“I do not know, but that is exactly why I am going.”
She had no parents and knew nothing of her past. When she was found, the only thing with her was a scorched iron plate with illegible characters.
Only two words could be barely made out: “Demon” and “Suppression.”
Thus, when the Demon Suppression Division appeared, Zhang Daowei felt a calling.
Perhaps her origins were indeed connected to it.
“Then... will you come back once you find the immortal?”
A flicker of hope rose in the boy's heart.
However, the only answer he received was the sight of her exceptionally graceful back as she walked away.
...
Nan Zhi didn't think much of the Yellow River phenomenon she had caused on a whim to make Great Xia take the secret realms of the four provinces seriously.
The “Spring's Return” act alone had cost her three whole spiritual energy clusters (small), all just to give Great Xia's cultivators a sufficient sense of urgency.
As the Spiritual Resurgence continued, the barrier between the secret realms of the four provinces and the real world would only grow thinner. If they didn't hurry up and cultivate, were they just going to wait for the great demons inside to come out and slaughter them like NPCs?
She had intentionally left some fairly powerful demon beasts in the Yellow River secret realm.
Surely, once the government and other cultivators witnessed the dangers of the secret realm, they would take the coming horrors 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 hadn't seen in a long time.
“Hiss, hiss, hiss! So hot, so hot!”
Zhang Qiuyu took a satisfying sip of her pearl milk tea and looked Nan Zhi up and down. “How did your aura change so much just from going on a trip? If you hadn't called out to me just now, I wouldn't have recognized you.”
Unlike the slightly slick office worker of the past who carried the heavy scent of a weary salaryman, the current Nan Zhi was more composed, with a tranquil peace in her eyes.
At a glance, she seemed to be glowing.
She was still the same person, yet when she stood in a crowd, people couldn't help but look her way.
“Maybe my state of mind has changed. Before, I was constantly running around for a living and worrying about mundane matters; I was exhausted. Now that I only do what I like, my mindset is naturally different.”
Nan Zhi took a bite of fried chicken, eating with focus.
Since reaching Foundation Establishment, her five senses had sharpened several times over, allowing her to better discern the quality of ingredients.
When she ate ordinary food, she could taste the flavor at most; the energy she could extract from fast food was negligible.
Yet, she still loved milk tea, fried chicken, burgers, and cola.
If cultivating meant she could only drink dew and eat pills, then her long life would lose far too much of its charm.
“Ooh, look at you! You've certainly had some deep realizations these past six months. You even talk all weird now, like someone from ancient times.”
Zhang Qiuyu nudged her, a worried expression on her face.
“Things are so chaotic abroad right now with ghosts and gods appearing everywhere. Be careful out there on your own. If things get too bad, just come back to work; everyone misses you.”
“By the way, weren't there rumors a few days ago about an immortal appearing in the Northwest? My mother-in-law watched a bunch of marketing videos and insists that the age of cultivation is here and spiritual energy is returning. She's been making medicinal meals and supplements for the kids every day, saying it'll strengthen their bones and muscles.”
She joked, “We were even laughing yesterday, saying that if everyone really starts cultivating, the college entrance exams will have to add a new subject.”
“Medicinal meals have some effect, but most herbs on the market these days aren't genuine, so eating them doesn'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, get them from him. Just tell him I sent you.”
“Although it's better to start cultivating as early as possible, eating medicinal meals made with herbs that contain spiritual energy will still have some effect. If you want to cultivate, you can...”
“Why are you being so serious?”
Zhang Qiuyu couldn't help but laugh and interrupt her. “You're making it sound so real. Besides, if everyone really could cultivate, the government would definitely release policies for it.”
She continued, “And what's so good about cultivating anyway? Right now, I just want to get rich overnight and enjoy life. I already suffered through the college entrance exams; why would I want to suffer through cultivation?”
Nan Zhi fell into thought.
The two talked for a while longer. It was mostly Zhang Qiuyu talking while Nan Zhi listened quietly, yet it was exceptionally harmonious.
When it was time to part, Zhang Qiuyu watched Nan Zhi's back as she vanished into the crowd, feeling a sense of melancholy.
God knew how hard it was for a worker to find a decent gossip and lunch buddy!
When she used to work with Nan Zhi, she had so much more motivation.
Now...
She could only sigh.
Withdrawing her gaze, Zhang Qiuyu's eyes fell on the table, and she was suddenly struck with shock.
On the table, the liquid that should have dried was floating just above the surface, the Arabic numerals leaping about vividly.
Beside the numbers sat an exquisite porcelain bottle and a beautiful amber stone pendant.
If a cultivator were present, they would have recognized that a defense formation was subtly embedded within the amber stone.
“!”
Zhang Qiuyu's eyes widened. She grabbed the items and chased after her friend, but Nan Zhi was nowhere to be found.
Feeling a sense of loss, she stood there in a daze.
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