Chapter 1223
The Coordinates Are Lost, Farewell to Luan Chun
The library fell silent.
Lin Fan was at a loss. Looking at the resentful eyes of his two comrades, he was filled with regret. Who knew that the Divine Firmament Sect was so arrogant?
Does a mere elder of the External Affairs Hall have the authority to open back doors for ascendants from the lower realms?
This was the first time he had ever heard of something so easy; it turned out that the difference between having a background and not having one was so huge!
"Or, you two could wait for me, and I'll take you both with me when I ascend to immortality."
Chicken Bro hung his head dejectedly.
"Didn't you hear what the elder said? It's a special case that you're the only one who can ascend. The back door is open just for you. How can we outsiders join in?"
Lin Shan sighed, patted Chicken Brother, and gave it an idea.
"It's alright. You can sign a spirit pet contract with Lin Fan and have him take you up there. There shouldn't be any major problems."
"A spirit pet? I think that's a good idea."
"Ooh ooh ooh ooh~~~"
Lin Fan's eyes lit up and he was about to agree when Chicken Brother suddenly pecked him, making him wince in pain.
Brothers are of one heart with you, but you treat your brothers like pets and even want to ride on your bro's head and shit on him? No way!
Chicken Bro said he would never become a human spirit pet, so this method had to be abandoned.
"Then what will you do? There are no coordinates on the path to ascension, and that's no joke. Why don't you come with me and try to break through the back door of the Divine Firmament Sect? Maybe they'll make an exception for you then?"
Lin Fan was afraid the two brothers would get lost, so he disregarded the rules and tried to give them a ride.
"Forget it, I still need to find a way to break through to the Void Realm in the lower realm. There are other ways to deal with the coordinate issue."
Lin Shan pondered for a moment and decided to visit other sacred sites.
After staying at the Zixiao Sect for a few days, the three brothers said goodbye again, and Lin Shan embarked on his journey alone.
He traveled south, visiting Qinghe County and Zangke County in the southern borderlands, revisiting the Lin family, the Lin Escort Agency, and the place where Master Pu died.
Knowing that he might never have the chance to return in his lifetime, he couldn't help but feel melancholy.
They then traveled eastward to Yinchuan City, the place where they met Zhang Yunxi. However, their old friend had long since disappeared, and they didn't know if she had returned to her previous universe with the extraterrestrial civilization.
After leaving the East China Sea, we passed Diao Bie Island, Ezo Island, and Kusu Island in succession. Recalling the legacy of Turtle Immortal, the past of the Black Lotus Envoy, and the secluded place of Pure Lotus Hermit, we couldn't help but sigh.
Further underwater, they found the Merfolk, a race that lived in seclusion in the deep sea.
The original merman elder has long since passed away, and now the one supporting this race is a female cultivator at the Golden Core stage, a merman girl who once had dealings with him.
This woman is now a young woman, shouldering the responsibility of her tribe alone. She has become visibly more mature, especially in recent years with the great changes in the East China Sea and the large-scale invasion of the North China Sea aquatic tribes, which have redefined their spheres of influence, forcing them to hide and flee.
When I saw Lin Shan, I almost thought I was hallucinating!
After all, this kid had disappeared for so long, everyone thought he had long forgotten about this place, so the reunion felt strangely familiar yet strangely distant.
In fact, the two sides did not have much interaction, but they had helped each other during the Foundation Establishment period. The predecessor of Xun Gu Sect, Lin Clan Chamber of Commerce, also relied on reselling seafood to make its fortune. However, after it grew bigger and stronger, Lü Xiuming stopped contacting them.
After catching up briefly, Lin Shan left some cultivation resources and departed.
He cannot help all his deceased friends. Everyone has their own path forward. To arbitrarily change too many things is to disrupt one's own karma!
The past is gone with the wind, and the path to immortality has come to an end.
This then began a journey to visit sacred sites across the entire continent.
He visited every ancient holy site in this world with a name and a name, searching for clues related to ascension, mainly the coordinates of the ascension platform in this world.
After asking around, I got absolutely nothing!
Among them, no more than five holy land-level forces can contact the upper realm, and this is after the destruction of Penglai Holy Land and Shangxiao Sword Sect.
However, each of them had used it around the time of the Wanhui Festival. Because they had communicated with the upper realm, there was a cooldown period, which was basically once every few hundred to a thousand years. After communicating with the holy masters of each holy land, they ascended to heaven, such as the Haoran Holy Land and the Spring and Autumn Sword Sect. Now, no one in the lower realm can contact the upper realm!
Lin Shan had no choice but to sigh.
"Ugh"
Suddenly, a voice came from within the spirit beast ring:
"Why are you sighing, young man?"
It turns out to be Xing Yiyuan, the Star Sword Immortal. This ancestor has been mostly silent, but now she may have sensed his low spirits, so she came out to tease him.
Lin Shan truthfully explained his current predicament, but the other party didn't seem to care at all.
"It's just the coordinates of the ascension platform. There's always a way out. Otherwise, how did those predecessors who didn't have coordinates succeed? Think positively and just take it one step at a time."
This Star Sword Immortal was quite magnanimous; after comforting Lin Shan, he felt much better.
That's true. Most people ascend without a coordinate. Who says you need a coordinate to ascend?
Next, he returned to the Nine Luminaries Peak of the Chu Kingdom.
I spent several months with Master Huang, Yan Yuanchun, and Luan Chun at the Kun Sect. It was one of the few places in the world where I could feel family affection and there was no scheming or infighting.
The two elders are advanced in years, and the Nascent Soul stage is basically the upper limit for them.
No matter how much Lin Shan helps those around him, he cannot easily elevate them to the Nascent Soul stage!
Luan Chun is the same. After cultivating for so long, she is only at the mid-stage of the Nascent Soul realm. Now she has entered middle age and become a middle-aged woman. Of course, she still has her charm, but she can hardly bear the marks left by the years.
Having spent so much time with his parents, he possessed a resemblance to Yan Yuanchun in his youth, as if he were an old friend.
The two elders, who had originally intended to bring them together, no longer mention it.
As the gap in cultivation levels widened, I vaguely guessed that he was about to ascend to heaven, and from then on, we would be separated by heaven and earth. It would be better to have one less entanglement.
Now, as I get older and there's no hope for the future, life is just ordinary and peaceful, but I'm quite content with it.
Standing atop Jin Yao Peak, the figures of a man and a woman are silhouetted against the setting sun.
Luan Chun's face was flushed in the corner of her eye, but her eyes were bright. She raised her head and looked into the distance, reminiscing about her early years, but the two seemed to have run out of things to talk about.
"Getting ready to leave?"
"Ah."
This was their last conversation before parting ways. They had never really faced each other seriously, and now there were many things they would never have the chance to say again.
Have you gone back to Yichuan Market in the Great Song Dynasty?
“I’ve seen it all, including the East Sea, the place where I stayed when I was the Black Lotus Envoy. I’ve been there all the way.”
"That's good. I haven't been back for a long time."
"Take your parents back sometime, it's not too far."
Out of the corner of Lin Shan's eye, he saw Master Huang and Yan Yuanchun in the courtyard halfway up the mountain. They were holding jade slips, sipping tea, reading books, playing the guzheng and flute, enjoying themselves immensely. They were truly a pair of celestial beings.
Luan Chun shook her head slightly.
"The two elders are getting old, and they've finally settled down, so they don't want to move around anymore. Besides, they've had enough of living a precarious life in the Song Dynasty, always having to run away or hide. They don't want to go back."
"I see. And what about you?"
"After I've fulfilled my filial duties to my parents and am all alone, I might go back for a visit, but there's nothing much to see there."
Indeed, when revisiting a familiar place, what we miss is not necessarily the scenery, but the people from our past memories.
Now that people are right beside me, this is home.
If a person is no longer alive, it doesn't really matter whether you go back to that old place or not.
"By then, I'll probably travel the world, exploring every corner of the continent. But you know what? My happiest times were the days I spent traveling with you."
As Luan Chun spoke, she smiled, revealing her true feelings for the first time in so long.
"Given the chance, who would want to stay in one place at a young age and live a mediocre life?"
"I envy your ability to travel around, outwit and outmaneuver others, challenge the world, and stand at the forefront of the times, ultimately becoming a legend. That would be a worthwhile life." "But not everyone has that talent, and not everyone has that kind of luck. Speaking of which, being able to live peacefully through the chaotic times of the Wan Hui era is a stroke of luck beyond the average person. Perhaps I am unaware of my own good fortune."
She was talking to herself, and there was a lot she wanted to say. It sounded contradictory, but Lin Shan understood what she was trying to express.
"Sometimes people's feelings are just about wanting to follow someone, seeing the life they yearn for in that person, and hoping to get a share of that life too."
"But after experiencing some things, seeing through some things, and feeling powerless, I realized that I simply couldn't keep up with that person's pace, nor could I achieve the life I longed for. Perhaps this kind of life was never meant for me. The warmth of family reunion is what I deserve now."
"Since I understood this, I stopped pursuing those things. Don't you think I'm very self-aware?"
Lin Shan didn't know how to answer, so he could only remain silent and let the wind blow across the mountaintop.
The sun had set halfway down the mountain, and a rare blues moment appeared on the horizon. A whooshing sound filled the air, and the wind was getting a bit chilly.
In the courtyard below, Master Huang and Yan Yuanchun lit lamps, and accompanied by the chirping of crickets, the two old men leisurely played chess, seemingly locked in a fierce and evenly matched battle.
Luan Chun gazed down quietly for a long time before suddenly asking a question.
"Do you think that if someone doesn't have talent, they really can't catch up? Are there any other ways?"
After a long while, no reply was received.
She slowly turned her head. The sun had completely set, night had fallen, and the figure had disappeared. Her gaze inevitably dimmed.
"Luan Chun, come down and play chess with us!"
Yan Yuanchun called out to her from afar and waved. Hearing that familiar voice seemed to stir the softest part of her heart.
After composing herself, she smiled and jumped off the cliff.
"coming!"
Kaiyuan Realm, Wanxiang City.
This place, once a prosperous center of the continent, has maintained its status as an intelligence hub even after being gradually replaced by the State of Lu.
After all, it's a long-established special economic zone, and many sects and families in the cultivation world are used to doing business here, so they are reluctant to move.
Lin Shan was walking down the street when he unknowingly arrived in front of a shop.
Huitongbao (汇通宝号)
"Senior, please come in!"
There was a perceptive monk at the entrance who warmly invited him in for tea and asked what kind of service he wanted.
"Find out the most capable person here."
"Uh"
The man hesitated for a moment, looked him up and down again, then said "Wait a moment" and hurriedly ran upstairs.
A short while later, an old man came down the stairs.
"My name is Xuan Yaozi. May I ask your honorable title, esteemed guest?"
"What? You're supposed to be the world's top intelligence chiefs, and you can't even guess my identity?"
Faced with this question, Xuan Yaozi couldn't help but give a wry smile.
We have excellent intelligence, but you suddenly appeared and hid yourself away. How am I supposed to guess your identity?
"You flatter us, esteemed guest. Our humble shop can only sell information that we know. The world is full of wonders, how could we possibly know everything?"
"Then you can calculate it. I've heard that as a member of the divination lineage, you are knowledgeable in astronomy and geography, and can see through past and present lives by casting a divination. Let's see if you can figure out who I am!"
Faced with such a bizarre request from the guest, the people around were a little indignant, but Xuan Yaozi was an old and shrewd man who could tell that the other party was deliberately picking a fight and seemed to have some kind of backing. It was not advisable to offend him before finding out his identity.
"Hehe, you're joking. My meager skills are not enough to calculate information about those with great supernatural powers or above, unless my senior brother is here."
"Oh? Your senior brother, Bu Suanzi, is still alive?"
Hearing this, Lin Shan was finally moved.
It was rumored long ago that Bu Suanzi had little time left to live, and later there were repeated rumors that her time was coming to an end, but after so long, she is still alive and well.
I didn't waste any more words with him.
"Go and find your senior brother."
"No, you can tell me whatever it is. My senior brother's time is running out; he doesn't have much life left. I'm afraid..."
Before Xuan Yaozi could finish speaking, the person in front of him suddenly surged with power, like a giant wave crashing in from the deep sea, or a dormant volcano erupting!
Rumble~~~
The entire Huitongbao ship was destroyed by this powerful force. The seven-story pavilion was shattered, and all the guests and cultivators inside were covered in dust. Even the array and restrictions were completely broken and did not serve any purpose!
"what"
In a short time, a large number of people fled, trying to leave this dangerous place. Fortunately, there were no casualties.
But Xuan Yaozi was already stunned.
Because over the years, no one has ever dared to cause trouble in Wanxiang City. It is a universally recognized neutral place in this world and the most open and inclusive immortal city in the entire continent!
"Who dares to act so recklessly in the city?"
Sure enough, three figures immediately took to the air together, sensing something was wrong, and came to maintain order.
These are three avatars of Yuan Nian!
The fact that a celestial city could invite three Nascent Soul stage cultivators to oversee it is enough to demonstrate its extraordinary abilities!
"Your Excellency, Wanxiang City is the intelligence center of the entire continent. Almost all holy land-level forces have interests here. If you take action here, it is equivalent to offending all the holy lands in this world. I advise you not to act impulsively and to think twice before acting."
Seeing that someone was backing him up, Xuan Yaozi stopped speaking in a subservient tone and instead began to coldly advise the newcomer.
In the blink of an eye, five more figures appeared in the sky, all of them possessing great supernatural powers, attracting the attention of the entire city and eliciting a constant stream of exclamations.
Clearly, in the past, powerful beings and great supernatural beings at the Nascent Soul stage were extremely rare, and most people would never see one in their lifetime. But now, so many have suddenly appeared!
If it weren't for the rare occurrence of skilled individuals causing trouble, which led to the dismantling of the Huitongbao account, we wouldn't have seen such a lineup.
"No matter who you are, if you dare to cause trouble in Myriad Manifestations City, even a Nascent Soul stage cultivator must pay the price. Come with us!"
The Nascent Soul stage cultivator in the sky spoke coldly, with an unquestionable confidence. Speaking of rules in broad daylight was perfectly legitimate. He had never seen anyone dare to cause trouble here since he could remember. Today, he had encountered a real oddball.
But to everyone's surprise, only a single, cold word came from below.
"roll!"
wow——
These words caused an uproar throughout the city.
In this day and age, someone actually dares to confront Wanxiang City head-on. So many top-level experts are stationed in this immortal city, and so many holy lands represent powerful forces. Who do you think you are to break the rules?
Everyone eagerly watched the spectacle, craning their necks as if afraid of missing a good show, but some quick-witted ones had already begun to jog away, sensing something was wrong before the crisis arrived.
The Nascent Soul stage cultivators and powerful beings in the sky also sensed something was wrong. However, with so many of them on their side and the other side having started the sabotage, there was no reason for them to back down.
"Sir, you've broken the rules. If you know what's good for you, come back with me and explain yourself, or don't blame us for being impolite!"
"roll!"
The next word completely ignited the wrath of the celestial beings. They had been living in luxury and had never seen such an arrogant person before.
Just as the leader was about to make a move, someone next to him immediately stopped him.
"Wait, that voice... it sounds familiar." (End of Chapter)