thefictionvixens Page 46
Page 46
One of the older disciples looked at Zhang Yunyuan's face and felt a strange sense of familiarity, as if he had seen him somewhere before.
he asked tentatively.
"Fellow Daoist, what brings you to my Longhu Mountain?"
Zhang Yunyuan gave him a gentle smile.
"What, you don't even recognize me?"
These three words caused the disciple's mind to go blank for a moment.
He stared intently at Zhang Yunyuan's face, and from the depths of his memory, a blurry figure of a child slowly overlapped with the handsome face before him.
"You...you are..."
His voice stammered with extreme shock.
"Yun... Junior Uncle Yun Yuan?!"
"what?!"
The other disciple next to him almost popped his eyes out.
He joined the sect late and had never met this legendary junior uncle, but he had heard countless rumors about him.
Nearly twenty years ago, the old Celestial Master personally led his last disciple to the mountain gate. This disciple was exceptionally talented and could condense golden light at the age of five.
But didn't this junior uncle go down the mountain to travel eight years ago and have been missing ever since?
How...how did you get back?
Moreover, how could his appearance not have changed at all after eight years?!
This is even more bizarre than a storyteller's tale!
The news spread like wildfire throughout Longhu Mountain at an alarming speed.
"Have you heard? Junior Uncle is back!"
"Really? I heard that when he came back, he looked exactly the same as when he left eight years ago, without changing at all!"
"Let's go, let's go see! This isn't just Junior Uncle, this is clearly a living immortal!"
The entire younger generation of Longhu Mountain was in an uproar.
Countless figures emerged from various Taoist temples and training grounds, converging towards the Celestial Master's Mansion, all eager to see for themselves what this legendary junior uncle, known for his "ageless beauty," truly looked like.
The Celestial Master's Mansion, a quiet room.
Zhang Jingqing sat upright on the futon. When he saw that familiar yet unfamiliar figure push open the door and enter, his usually calm eyes instantly welled up with uncontrollable excitement and relief.
"Master, the disciple is back!"
Zhang Yunyuan knelt down and respectfully kowtowed.
"It'll be good to come back, it'll be good to come back..."
The old master quickly stepped forward to help him up and carefully examined him.
He looked at Zhang Yunyuan's youthful face with satisfaction in his eyes, but when his divine sense swept over Zhang Yunyuan's body, the satisfaction on his face instantly turned into extreme shock.
He noticed it.
He sensed within his little apprentice a vast, unobstructed, and unfathomable aura, seemingly integrated with heaven and earth.
This breath...
He is in no way inferior to the elders of the major sects!
Moreover, its foundation is as solid as a rock, without the slightest sense of flimsiness!
How can this be? !
Zhang Yunyuan had already prepared his story, and he recounted his extraordinary encounter in Zhongnan Mountain in a way that was half true and half false.
It is said that a year after descending the mountain, he accidentally entered a cave left by his predecessors. The flow of time in the cave is different from that in the outside world. He felt that he had only been in seclusion for seven days, but seven years had passed in the outside world.
It is also said that he ate a strange fruit in the cave, which allowed him to retain his youthful appearance and greatly improve his cultivation.
This explanation, when placed in the already bizarre and fantastical world of the supernatural, is quite reasonable.
Zhang Jingqing had no doubts.
He simply attributed it to his disciple's great fortune and the extraordinary opportunity he had received.
He examined Zhang Yunyuan's foundation again, and the more he examined, the more delighted he became.
"Okay! Okay! Okay!"
The old master said "good" three times in a row, his hand stroking his beard trembling slightly with excitement.
"With a solid foundation, pure Qi, and perfect harmony... Yun Yuan, your opportunity this time surpasses a hundred years of arduous cultivation for ordinary people!"
Just then, the door to the quiet room was pushed open again.
Three figures strode in.
"Little junior brother!"
Tian Jinzhong was the first to rush over. Looking at Zhang Yunyuan's familiar face, eight years of worry and longing finally erupted at this moment.
A man as strong as an iron tower was so moved that tears welled up in his eyes, and he couldn't utter a complete sentence.
"You little rascal... you're finally back..."
Looking at him, Zhang Yunyuan felt a warmth in his heart.
"Senior Brother Tian, I'm back."
"Hmph, at least you know how to come back."
A lazy voice rang out.
Zhang Zhiwei sauntered over, looking Zhang Yunyuan up and down. His usually sleepy eyes now gleamed with an unprecedented and terrifying light.
He couldn't see through his junior brother at all.
Eight years ago, he could still clearly sense the faint Qi within Zhang Yunyuan's body.
But now, Zhang Yunyuan was standing right in front of him, yet he felt that the other party was like a bottomless ancient well, or an abyss shrouded in thick fog. No matter how he explored, he could only perceive a chaotic and unfathomable expanse.
He had only ever experienced this feeling with his master.
"Okay, kid."
Zhang Zhiwei scratched his head, a strange smile appearing on his face.
"You've learned a lot from your trip out."
The last one to enter was Zhang Huaiyi.
He remained silent, simply standing there quietly, his gaze sharp as a knife, fixed intently on Zhang Yunyuan.
There was no joy of a long-awaited reunion in those eyes, only a hint of solemnity and a flame that was almost burning, a flame called "fighting spirit".
Zhang Yunyuan's gaze swept across the faces of his three senior brothers one by one.
Eight years have passed, and they have all changed.
Senior Brother Tian's foundation is becoming increasingly solid, and he is already halfway to becoming a hero.
Senior Brother Huaiyi's aura became increasingly restrained, sharp as a knife, indicating that he had already become a master among heroes.
And the eldest brother, Zhang Zhiwei...
Zhang Yunyuan's eyes narrowed slightly.
He has surpassed the peak of heroes and entered the level of half-step to the pinnacle!
We are now only one step away from that legendary pinnacle.
Their eyes met, and it felt as if invisible lightning was flashing in the air.
Time seems to have stopped at this moment.
Eight years of separation did not diminish the bond between the brothers; on the contrary, like a jar of aged wine buried for many years, it brewed a richer and more complex flavor at the moment of reunion.
Chapter 54 Japanese Pirates Attack the Gate, Taoist Sects Unite in Hatred
The quiet room was lit by only one oil lamp, its tiny flame flickering gently, casting long shadows of the master and his apprentice on the wall.
Zhang Jingqing and Zhang Yunyuan sat facing each other, their tea already cold.
"Tell your master what you've experienced down the mountain all these years?"
The old master's voice was gentle, breaking the long silence.
Zhang Yunyuan pondered for a moment, then slowly recounted his experiences after descending the mountain, omitting the beginning and end, the parts about the system and Wugensheng, and selecting the most important parts.
He didn't talk about those thrilling adventures, nor did he mention his leap in strength.
He only said that he had traveled to many places and seen many things.
I have witnessed the human tragedy of thousands of starving people and people exchanging their own children to eat.
I have witnessed the darkness of rampant bandits and soldiers, the collusion between officials and gentry, and the exploitation of the people to the bone.
I've also witnessed the ugly side of so-called prestigious disciples who, in their struggle for a cultivation technique, resort to underhanded tactics and despicable means.
Zhang Yunyuan raised his head, and for the first time, his usually clear eyes were filled with deep confusion.
"This disciple is somewhat confused."
How exactly do we distinguish between good and evil?
"The so-called evil sects I've encountered are indeed ruthless and unscrupulous. But many reputable sects I've met also seem to have some less-than-honorable deeds behind the scenes."
"Your disciple is confused."
Zhang Jingqing listened quietly without interrupting him.
Only after Zhang Yunyuan finished speaking did he pick up the now-cold tea and take a small sip.
A long sigh echoed in the quiet room.
The old master put down his teacup, but his cloudy eyes gleamed with a wise light that seemed to understand the ways of the world.