Watching the Mountain

Chapter 418: Chapter 218: Qianxue

Although he wanted to protect the Sect, he also understood he couldn’t possibly look after it for thousands of years to come.

Seeing him agree, Xu Ran breathed a sigh of relief, a smile spreading across his face.

”I’m glad you understand.”

He then looked at Li Daoyi and added, ”You’re at the Nascent Soul Stage now. Perhaps you should consider taking on disciples. The things you cannot accomplish can be passed on to your disciples and their descendants, allowing them to carry on your will.”

Li Daoyi frowned in thought. ”I will seriously consider your advice, Senior Uncle.”

Then, as if he’d thought of something, he looked at Xu Ran and asked, ”Senior Uncle, when do you plan to become Dust-covered?”

’Now that the world has completely entered the era of Dao Concealment, it would be a true waste of time for Senior Uncle to remain active.’

Xu Ran gave him a slight smile and said nonchalantly,

”Of course, I’ll only become Dust-covered after I’ve seen you do so.”

”But—” Li Daoyi opened his mouth to protest, but Xu Ran cut him off with a wave of his hand.

”There’s no need to discuss this further. The matter was decided long ago. Now that you’re the Sect Leader, you must have read my file. If so, you should know that I still have plenty of years left. Even if I wait until the Hidden Dao Era Millennium to become Dust-covered, it won’t be too late.”

Li Daoyi was taken aback. It was just as Xu Ran had said; after becoming Sect Leader, he had indeed specifically sought out and read Xu Ran’s file.

He had long been curious about his Senior Uncle’s identity.

His Senior Uncle had told him back then that if he wanted to learn more about him, he should first focus on becoming the Sect Leader.

That attitude had stuck with Li Daoyi for a long time.

However, after reading his Senior Uncle’s file, his shock quickly gave way to understanding.

Contemporary Shennong and Founder of the Flying Immortal Stream—these two titles left him stunned for a long time.

’He’d always found his Senior Uncle a bit strange. His Cultivation wasn’t high, yet he was on excellent terms with his own master, Uncle Wuchen, and Sect Leader Yue.’

’More importantly, his Senior Uncle’s life was far too leisurely. He spent his days carefree, only needing to focus on his own cultivation. He could even choose whether or not to show up for his duties at the Scripture Pavilion as he pleased.’

’And yet, he never lacked for any kind of cultivation resource; his personal wealth seemed to be immense.’

’He felt that, within the entire Sect, his Senior Uncle was probably living the most comfortable life of all. Not even the Supreme Elders lived as freely and unrestrained as he did.’

’He had even once wondered if his uncle’s ability to live such a life was a sign of corruption within the Sect.’

’But once he learned his Senior Uncle’s true identity, everything suddenly made sense.’

’It was no wonder his Senior Uncle could live such a life—it was all well-deserved.’

’Besides, his Senior Uncle wasn’t just the contemporary Shennong and founder of the Flying Immortal Stream. He was also Master Vermilion Bird’s adoptive father and master, Uncle Wuchen was his student, Nun Qingyue was his disciple, and he had another personal disciple who was also at the Nascent Soul Stage.’

’Though his own power was only average, the disciples and students he taught were each more powerful than the last.’

Li Daoyi was filled with awe. His Senior Uncle was a living legend; his life story was simply astounding.

’He was only at the Qi Cultivation Fourth Layer when he joined the Sect at the age of one hundred, yet he had managed to accomplish so much.’

’His luck along the way had also been astonishing. Whenever his life was about to reach its end, he would invariably have a fortuitous encounter or receive help from others, extending his lifespan once again.’

The Sun-Devouring Demon Essence Fruit his disciple had given him was a Sacred Object of the Dog Race, something even Divinity Transformation Daoist Monarchs of the Demon Race would covet. As for how many years of life a member of the Human Race could gain by refining it, that varied from person to person. A Purple Mansion Stage Cultivator could generally expect an extension of five to eight hundred years, and it wasn’t impossible to gain even more.

Li Daoyi felt that, given his Senior Uncle’s pattern of gaining life-extending opportunities right when his time was about to run out, he wouldn’t be the least bit surprised if his uncle claimed to have gained a thousand, or even twelve hundred, years of life from refining the Sun-Devouring Demon Essence Fruit.

’For anyone else, such an event would be a blessing of cosmic proportions. But for his Senior Uncle, it just seemed... normal. It was hardly worth making a fuss about.’

At this thought, Li Daoyi’s gaze fell on Xu Ran. After a moment of contemplation, he nodded and said, ”Since you insist, Senior Uncle, I won’t press the issue any further.”

His Senior Uncle had a special status, and he was his elder. It wasn’t his place to make decisions for him.

After parting ways with Li Daoyi, Xu Ran went to find Chu Lingxiao.

Chu Lingxiao was a prodigy on the same level as his martial nephew. He, too, was now at the Nascent Soul Stage and had not yet become Dust-covered.

”I’m waiting for him.”

Chu Lingxiao’s reply to Xu Ran’s question was terse.

Xu Ran studied him for a moment in silence. ”Do you also think the Overseas Archipelago will make a move?”

Chu Lingxiao shook his head. ”It’s irrelevant.”

Xu Ran nodded slightly. He understood what Chu Lingxiao meant. He didn’t care about the Overseas Archipelago or anything else; he was simply waiting to become Dust-covered along with Li Daoyi.

’That made sense,’ Xu Ran thought. ’After all, Chu Lingxiao joined the Profound Pure Sect later in his life. The only reasons he’d stayed in the Profound Pure Sect from the very beginning were his promise and Li Daoyi.’

’The Illusion Spirit Sect was gone, and he was no longer its Chief Disciple. Now that Li Daoyi was the Sect Leader, he didn’t need to worry about such things. He just needed to support Li Daoyi’s decisions—to be the weapon pointed wherever Li Daoyi aimed.’

Xu Ran studied Chu Lingxiao’s expression, pondered for a moment, but ultimately said nothing more. Since he had already made up his mind, it was best to let him be.

As Xu Ran left Chu Lingxiao, the mischievous and quirky face of Luo Qianxue couldn’t help but surface in his mind.