Watching the Mountain

Chapter 366: Chapter 202: Parting and Return

Qing Xuan True Monarch looked at Xu Ran’s expression and said calmly,

”Qing Li has found her own path now. As her parents, there’s not much more we can do for her.”

”As much as it pains us to let her go, sending her off with our blessing is the best choice.”

Just as Teacher Qing Xuan finished speaking, his gentle and serene wife, who was leaning against him, smiled softly at Xu Ran and began to explain Qing Li’s true thoughts.

It turned out that Qing Li felt that the Mortal Medical Compendium—a medical text that was the culmination of the painstaking efforts of Hao Miaomiao, Chen Minghe, and herself—had already become world-famous thanks to the Creation Sect’s previous promotion.

And because of this publicity, the three of them had gained a great deal of renown in the Cultivation Realm, and especially in the Mortal Realm.

Apparently, in some towns in the Mortal World, people had already begun writing their biographies, erecting Eternal Life Tokens, and carving statues in their honor.

In the Mortal World, Chen Minghe had seen the faceless statue of Shennong that the mortals erected for Xu Ran. A great yearning had blossomed in his heart, leading to a profound change of heart. He altered the course of his life, hoping that one day, he too would be remembered in such a way.

Now, the vision he had yearned for and pursued had become a reality.

As for Qing Li, one of the three authors of the Mortal Medical Compendium, when she heard of this great renown, she was filled with both surprise and immense pride. At the same time, however, a faint unease stirred within her, making her feel she was unworthy of it all.

After all, the book’s originator, Hao Miaomiao, had poured her entire life’s effort into it. She had dedicated her whole existence to creating it.

Hao Miaomiao laid the book’s foundation. And though Chen Minghe joined halfway through, he crippled his own Cultivation and tested diseases on his own body. After personally experiencing hundreds of illnesses, he wrote down his insights and developed pioneering new medical theories.

One could say that the vast majority of the contributions to the medical text came from Hao Miaomiao and Chen Minghe. Besides them, there was also Xu Ran, who had added a great deal of content and medical knowledge without ever leaving his name.

Qing Li was the only one who, despite leaving her own mark on the book, had contributed the least—far less, even, than Xu Ran, who hadn’t even signed his name.

More importantly, the first time she had gone to the Mortal World to practice medicine, she had given up halfway and returned to the Sect full of resentment. It was only after meeting Chen Minghe that she took up the medical text once more, deciding to travel through the Mortal World with him again.

Now the medical text was complete. It had earned the recognition of the world and spread to its every corner, yet the book’s most important contributors, Hao Miaomiao and Chen Minghe, were gone.

Instead, it was she—someone who felt she had merely been there to make up the numbers—who remained in the world to enjoy all the accolades.

Of course, it wasn’t that she wanted to reject such an honor.

Quite the opposite, in fact. She thoroughly enjoyed the honor. When she heard that people in the towns of the Mortal World were writing their biographies, erecting Eternal Life Tokens, and carving statues for them, a sense of satisfaction and happiness welled up inside her.

She had never been able to find her own path before, and had even felt that her life had no meaning. Her heart was utterly empty. That was why, before the Foundation Establishment Stage, she was unable to achieve a state of Bright Heart Illuminating Self. Even with Qing Xuan True Monarch, a Nascent Soul, for a father, she remained trapped in the Qi Cultivation Stage. In the end, she had no choice but to rely on the Flying Immortal Stream’s method to reach Foundation Establishment.

Now, hearing of the renown and praise she was receiving from the Mortal World, she felt she had finally found her purpose for being in this world.

She enjoyed it all, and so she wanted to make herself worthy of it all.

She believed that after the Heaven and Earth Dao Concealment, Spiritual Qi would dwindle and diseases in the Mortal World would likely become more prevalent. Therefore, for the foreseeable future, she planned to return to the Mortal World and continue their previous work: practicing medicine, collecting medical knowledge, and refining their text.

But more importantly, she wanted to take on apprentices to pass on the knowledge within the Mortal Medical Compendium, allowing more people to learn it.

Although the medical text was now widely circulated, simply owning a copy wasn’t enough to master its contents. It still required a teacher.

She felt she was the most suitable person for the job.

After all, the book taught not just medical techniques and theories, but a philosophy.

She would pass on the philosophy of the Mortal Medical Compendium—the philosophy she, Hao Miaomiao, and Chen Minghe had created together.

This was what she wanted to do with her future.

Hao Miaomiao and Chen Minghe had dedicated their lives to this medical text. Now, it was her turn.

Hearing the words of Teacher Qing Xuan and his wife, Xu Ran nodded, a sense of loss washing over him. He couldn’t quite describe the feeling in his heart.

As their student, he naturally hoped his teacher’s family could be happily reunited when the promised golden age arrived.

But as Teacher Qing Xuan had said, Qing Li had found her own path. She was going to walk the road she had chosen for herself, so the best choice was to wish her well and hope she would go far—not to bind her to their side.

At that moment, once Qing Li’s mother had finished speaking, she gently stepped forward and embraced her daughter. She smiled, her voice full of love and tenderness as she said,

”Qing Li, congratulations on finding what you want to do. Now that you’ve found it, pursue it with all your heart. You don’t need to worry about us.”

”Mother...” Qing Li’s body trembled and went stiff. She called out her mother’s name in a daze.

Xu Ran watched from the side, saying nothing.

Today was the day his teacher’s wife was to enter the Dust-covered state.

As a Peak Master, Teacher Qing Xuan had many matters to attend to. But he wanted his wife to enter the Dust-covered state first, which was why he had asked Xu Ran to come.