Chapter 197 - 167: Revisiting an Old Place, The Basis for Foundation Establishment
Chapter 197: Chapter 167: Revisiting an Old Place, The Basis for Foundation Establishment
A trip from Cyan Spirit District to Purple Extreme Mountain on a Cyan Flood Dragon Horse would take nearly a month. From Purple Extreme Mountain to Floating Immortal City, it would take about half a year.
These were all distances Lin Changheng had measured himself, stride by stride, on horseback.
But now, piloting an Upper Grade Dharma Ship, Lin Changheng had traveled for just a little over two months before the familiar Purple River District came into view.
Lin Changheng couldn’t help but marvel at the Dharma Ship’s incredible speed.
Standing at the bow with his hands clasped behind him as he piloted the Dharma Ship, Lin Changheng showed no signs of fatigue. This was because its propulsion came from small arrays carved into the vessel, fueled by Spirit Stones.
This allowed him to conserve a great deal of Magical Power.
All he needed to do was use his Divine Sense to control its direction.
Speaking of the Cyan Flood Dragon Horse, it was worth noting that Lin Changheng had not broken his promise to set it free.
When he first arrived at the Immortal City, Lin Changheng had reined in his horse, gazed out at the city, and then unfastened the Cyan Flood Dragon Horse’s reins, setting it free.
There was no one else around at the time, and the Cyan Flood Dragon Horse could have simply left. But, perhaps because it had been domesticated for so long that it feared the Outer World, it didn’t move a muscle. It simply snorted at Lin Changheng.
Helpless, Lin Changheng had no choice but to board the horse at Che Ma Village just outside the city—a stable specially established by the Immortal City for horses and carriages.
Lin Changheng paid over ten Spirit Stones, enough to care for the horse for several years.
Later, while visiting the Cheng father and son, he gave them a token and asked them to look after the horse.
Though his connection to them was still shallow at the time, the horse was valuable and could be used for hauling goods, so they didn’t refuse.
Two years ago, Lin Changheng’s status was a world apart from what it had been, and he went to see the horse in the Cheng Family’s backyard.
The horse was old by then, but it was in good shape. The Cheng Family was treating it well. Its feed was the leftover scraps and roots from medicinal materials, so it was living a comfortable and carefree retirement.
...
Now, seeing the somewhat dilapidated Purple River District, Lin Changheng descended in his Dharma Ship and swept the area with his Divine Sense.
He found that it wasn’t completely deserted. There were still cultivators coming and going, mortals sweeping the streets, and some shops were open for business.
It was just that the Grand Array was gone, so its security could no longer be guaranteed.
After all, he had spent twelve years of his life here. It was the place of his life’s most desperate days, and also the starting point of his greatest hope.
With a thought, Lin Changheng steered the Dharma Ship to land in a dense forest nearby.
With his speed, he quickly reached the Marketplace entrance. No one was standing guard, nor was anyone collecting an entrance fee. He walked right in.
Lin Changheng stepped onto the familiar street and first went to the Xu Family’s Alchemy Shop. It hadn’t been abandoned; it had now been replaced by a Magic Robe Shop.
The interior was simply decorated, but he could still vaguely make out its former appearance.
"Fellow Daoist, what can I get for you?" A middle-aged woman at the Second Layer of Qi Cultivation came forward to greet him with a warm smile.
Then, she froze. "Huh?"
’Could it be that I stayed up too late making robes last night? Am I so tired that my eyes are playing tricks on me?’
She rubbed her eyes in disbelief. The space before her was still empty. There was no sign that anyone had ever been there.
How strange...
...
Leaving the Alchemy Shop, Lin Changheng’s figure flickered, and he was already standing before the small courtyard he once rented.
This short distance used to take him a long time to walk, but now it was merely a matter of a few flickers.
The courtyard walls before him were mottled and bare. The main gate was ajar, giving it the appearance of a long-neglected, uninhabited home.
With a single step, he was inside.
The courtyard was overgrown with weeds. The fishpond was filled with rainwater and piled high with dead leaves. It had clearly been untended for years.
He walked slowly toward the main house and pushed open the half-rotten wooden door.
"CREEEAK—"
The hinges let out a piercing screech as dust rained down. The light inside the house was dim. The furnishings were simple: a wooden table, two chairs, and the familiar low couch in the corner.
Years ago, after a failed alchemy attempt, dazed and soaked to the bone, it was on this very table that he had collapsed and "seen" the fate-changing Primordial Cauldron in his sea of consciousness.
He didn’t linger. With another step, Lin Changheng was already in the courtyard next door.
This courtyard, too, had long been abandoned.
This place had once belonged to that female cultivator who always wore plain clothes.
His Divine Sense swept out like a tide in an instant and was just as quickly retracted. Nothing had been left behind here, either.
And so, he had no way of knowing what became of her.
Shaking his head, Lin Changheng stood in the middle of the old street, gazing at the sparse crowd. He was suddenly struck by a feeling that a lifetime had passed.
Returning to this old place, he found that while the scenery remained, the people were gone.
He closed his eyes, suppressing the emotions stirring within him.
’This marketplace... this will be the last time I see it.’
’In the future, my path won’t lead me this way again...’
Before the thought had even faded, his figure suddenly blurred. A few children were chasing each other and roughhousing by the side of the street when one of them suddenly stopped, pointed at the sky, and shouted, "Look!"
Everyone looked up to see a streak of cyan light shoot into the sky, piercing the heavens like a sharp sword. The clouds above the Marketplace were forcefully torn open, and sunlight poured down like a waterfall, illuminating a large section of the district.
An old butcher narrowed his world-weary eyes. The meat cleaver he had held for decades CLANGED to the ground as he found the sight familiar. "Th-that’s... Lin..."
The cyan light vanished in an instant, leaving only a trail in the clouds that lingered for a long time. Some cultivators recognized it as the Escape Light unique to Foundation Establishment Cultivators, and their faces turned deathly pale with fright.
Others watched with expressions of yearning and envy.
Meanwhile, Lin Changheng was already high above the clouds. The astral winds howled, making his robes flutter like a banner. Below him, the mountains and rivers resembled a chessboard; the Marketplace and old memories that once trapped him were now nothing more than black dots the size of a fingertip.
He gave one last look at the land that had held him during the lowest point of his life, and the corners of his mouth lifted in a smile of release.