Taoist Cangyang trembled slightly.
This voice shook him deeply and frightened him greatly.
Suddenly turning around, he saw that a figure of a young man with white hair had appeared in the shadows, resembling someone from his memories.
The clay statue in the wild temple, holding a giant stone, had a face that was unclear, but its shape resembled him somewhat.
"There is no injustice, nothing happened," Taoist Cangyang quickly replied.
Taoist Cangyang’s heart sank to the bottom of the valley.
He had already realized the other person’s identity.
Fifty years after the Qiao family member vanished, his thoughts had gradually become more lively, but he just couldn’t find the opportunity…
But now, when a member of the Qiao family appears again, he, knowing he has only a few years left to live, realizes he has no way out.
As a cultivator from the cultivation world, especially being the last cultivator of the Xuantian Sect, his heart has long been filled with fear of the Qiao family member, leaving no thought of becoming an enemy."I am just… just… lamenting," Taoist Cangyang thought quickly, trying his best to come up with a reasonable explanation at that moment.
"Before, as an elder of the Xuantian Sect, I was too high above."
"Now, living the life of a Spiritual Farmer beneath the former Xuantian Sect, I indeed have found my way back to nature after being trapped for so long."
"It’s just unfortunate that after my realm fell, I have only a few years left to live, and I have no chance to continue nurturing my spiritual field…"
Taoist Cangyang forced a smile.
"Don’t rush. Everyone has choices; there are always choices," Qiao Mu said softly.
He dragged his foot on the ground, casually writing the character for "immortal" with the left side forming a person and the right side a mountain, and then stepped down to erase the mountain on the right side.
"You can choose to be free too," Qiao Mu said.
"I am willing to work for the prosperity of the people in Jiu Province and continue farming! Compared to cultivating immortality, I am better suited for farming…" Taoist Cangyang began to speak in a confusing way.
Are you joking?
Farming is better than death.
After all, even though he has fallen to the mortal world, he is still much better off than an ordinary farmer.
At least as a former Nascent Soul cultivator, he knows many spells and can make and control Taoist soldiers to help him, so he doesn’t have to work the fields like a regular farmer.
As Taoist Cangyang spoke these words, he had already accepted his fate, no longer hoping to restore his powers or escape.
With just a few years left in his life, he knew he could only spend his remaining days farming, with no other desires…
"Let the farming immortal be a farming immortal; it is better than dying like the sect leader…" he sighed softly to himself.
When he looked up again, there was no trace of Qiao Mu around, only a naïve young master and his little follower remaining.
The young master was now holding a fire stick in his hand, shining it on the person’s head like the "Human Path Sutra", reading it with great fascination.
"What’s so interesting? Isn’t this ‘Human Path Sutra’ already well-known in Jiu Province, everywhere you look?" The old man said grumpily.
"I know about it, but I haven’t practiced much before," the young master said confidently, his voice reflecting a hint of excitement.
"I heard from a storyteller that the secret skills carved on this stone mostly contain the insights of masters. Practicing here should bring me incredible opportunities, and I should achieve great success in my skills…"
Taoist Cangyang initially found it amusing, but after a while, he couldn’t laugh anymore.
It wasn’t that he truly believed the young master’s words… After all, he was someone who knew about the "Human Path Sutra" but had never thought about practicing it.
"So that Qiao family member meant I have a choice?" Taoist Cangyang’s heart shook.
No matter how much he indulged in the past glory of the Xuantian Sect’s Nascent Soul Elder, he could never go back to those days.
He only has a few years left to live, and members of the Qiao family have already returned, so he naturally has no hope.
All along, he has been conflicted because deep down, he feels that he is an immortal. Now, he is like a tiger who has fallen into a low place and is bullied by dogs; he, a respected Nascent Soul Elder, should not be merely a Spiritual Farmer tending to fields all day.
So, what if we remove the mountain from the word "immortal" and turn immortals into ordinary people?
The secret to longevity in martial arts is written right above his head; it’s just that he has never thought to learn it.
Should he choose to consider himself an immortal and continue to wallow in self-pity while farming until his life runs out in a few years?
Or should he discard the past that he cannot return to and see himself as a Spiritual Farmer who has mastered magical skills?
The latter cannot change his life’s path; from the moment he saw Qiao Mu, Taoist Cangyang knew he could never escape.
No matter what he chooses, the rest of his life will be about farming.
"Should I be the Elder Cangyang who has already regressed, or the farming immortal…" Taoist Cangyang began to seriously think about this question.
……………………………………………………………….
Qingming Medicine Valley is a crucial place for growing Seven-colored Spiritual Rice, and it is also one of the few places in Nan Province rich in spiritual energy, which was used by the Xuantian Sect to cultivate magical herbs long ago.
Such an important place is desired by even the other Eight Immortal Gates from back in the day.
During the fifty years without a leader, many Immortal Gates were eyeing this Medicinal Valley, and some even tried to destroy this place that grew spiritual rice, which would harm the foundation of martial arts in Jiu Province.
If Peach Blossom Villa in Nan Province is considered a holy place for martial arts, gathering countless first-rate martial artists from Jiu Province and constantly exploring the path of martial arts under great pressure,
Then Qingming Medicine Valley, which is much less noticeable, can actually be seen as the foundation of martial arts in the world.
A skilled cook cannot make a meal without rice; cultivators need the energy of heaven and earth or the power of wishes to practice their skills.
And martial artists are certainly not detached from the human world.
There has been a saying since ancient times about being rich in martial arts and poor in literature; without proper food and nourishment, it is incredibly difficult to warm and strengthen one’s energy and blood.
Just like during the years when the white-headed soldiers were trapped in the Hundred-mile Desert, facing a lack of supplies, they had fought for forty years and had earned the right to step over the threshold of spiritual refining, but because they were physically weak, they could not cross it in the end.
But today, this Qingming Medicine Valley still looks very much like it did in Qiao Mu’s memory, with little change.
This is certainly not because the Immortal Gate is blind and overlooks such an important place.
It is because there is someone powerful watching over this Medicinal Valley.
"Is it because Lingling Taoist Priest is in charge? No, her cultivation level is only at Nascent Soul Stage, and after the cultivators of the two great Immortal Gates recover their power, she is not strong enough to guard this place for long…"
"Then, it must be because there are other strong beings in this valley…"
Qiao Mu looked towards the cave in the valley in front of him.
A flash of light appeared, and Immortal Diyuan appeared from the side.
"Friend Qiao Huo, I have been waiting for a long time."
Both sides split into two groups and headed straight for Immortal Diyuan in Nan Province, who had clearly already been in contact with Qiao Canxue and should have gained something.
"How is the situation? Have you finally met the Empress Reincarnation you have been searching for?" Qiao Mu asked.
Immortal Diyuan hesitated to speak.
"The Heavenly Emperor’s daughter is extraordinary; she knows the past and sees the future. This Qiao Canxue is most likely the Empress Reincarnation, but even though this world is on the brink of destruction, she has yet to awaken her past wisdom."
Immortal Diyuan was not looking for Qiao Canxue but was seeking the Heavenly Emperor’s daughter.
How could an Empress Reincarnation who has not yet awakened her past wisdom guide her, a former True Immortal, to find a way to survive the Great Collapse?
That is why she was very anxious.
Soon, the entrance of the cave opened, and several familiar people walked out.
Lingling Taoist Priest still looked the same as before, a chubby Taoist priestess with a charmingly silly appearance.
Qiao Canxue looked just like she did in his memories; she and Qiao Feixian were like identical twins, with hardly any difference except for their personalities.
For these successful cultivators, they had long surpassed ordinary martial artists and had entered the realm of eternal youth.
The physical body of a cultivator is a reflection of their spirit; if the heart ages, the body ages. With the help of beauty-enhancing elixirs, any cultivator can remain young forever.
"The Grandmaster has arrived." The chubby Taoist nun Lingling Taoist Priest quickly smiled and bowed, also pulling Qiao Canxue beside her.
"Canyue, come and greet the Grandmaster with me."
Immortal Diyuan was initially calm and collected; the Earth Origin Temple was her legacy, and it was natural for her disciples to bow to her.
But when Lingling Taoist Priest tried to pull Qiao Canxue down to bow as well, Diyuan’s eyelids twitched, and she quietly stepped aside.
"Do cultivators really need to follow such formalities?" Immortal Diyuan shook her head and then turned her gaze to Qiao Mu and Qiao Canxue.
"The Heavenly Emperor’s daughter has not yet awakened her past life’s wisdom; perhaps the time is not right, or maybe her reincarnation is incomplete, only half of her."
"Knowing the past is not enough."
Immortal Diyuan said this with a hint of sadness.
"Knowing only the past can at most reveal the roots and details of things and beings."
"But to avoid the Great Collapse, looking into the future with a different vision should be much more useful."
At this moment, Qiao Mu was silently "gazing" at Qiao Canxue, who, of course, had her eyes closed. They were face to face in quiet silence.
The two seemed like old friends reunited, yet there was a vast chasm of tens of thousands of years between them.
"So, her vision is truly remarkable… Is she really the reincarnation of the Daughter of the Heavenly Emperor?"
Memories from long ago resurfaced; when Qiao Mu and Qiao Canxue were still young, Qiao Canxue had once boasted in front of him that although she seemed blind, she actually possessed an incredible vision.
Qiao Mu suddenly remembered that once, the Sun Xuan Envoy Zhang Yinguo from the Wuji Association had said that there are two types of people in this world for whom mastering skills is as easy as eating and drinking.
Wu Mingkong and Qiao Feixian are representatives of these two types of people.
The former is Wu Mingkong, a genius in the worldly view like the Earth Sword Immortal.
The latter is different; they certainly break through at an incredibly fast speed.
Even the term "genius" is not enough to describe their training speed; it is simply extraordinary.
However, their emergence is often influenced by human intervention.
Wang Songhe, the Medicine Man, quickly broke through to the Golden Core Stage.
The Xue family members Xue Changhe, created by the Long Life Gate, and Qiao Feixian can also be included in this group.
At that time, according to Sun Xuan Envoy Zhang Yinguo’s judgment, Qiao Feixian was the Martial Saintess created by the Long Life Gate.
Looking at it now… how could Empress Reincarnation be something that the Long Life Gate could produce?
Thinking of this, Qiao Mu couldn’t help but chuckle silently.
Qiao Canxue, an orphan from the Qiao Family of Heyang City, and Qiao Feixian, a Saintess of the Long Life Gate, are both closely connected to the Long Life Gate.
Qiao Mu, who began with the Long Life Fist, killed the young ancestor of Long Life Gate in Return Ruins, while Xue Changhe, from the Xue family, led people to flatten the Long Life Gate…
The Long Life Gate has certainly been glorious and had remarkable ancestors, but all its efforts and schemes ultimately benefit others.
"What’s the point of calling it Long Life Gate? It would be better to rename it to Wedding Dress Gate."
Qiao Mu shook his head.
"Immortal Diyuan, you just mentioned that the reincarnated body isn’t complete; I might have guessed where the other half is…"
Immortal Diyuan was taken aback.
But at that moment, Qiao Canxue suddenly spoke up:
"Senior Qiao Huo must be talking about the person who looks like the younger generation, ‘the flying immortal’ Qiao Feixian, right?"
"Over the years, I have naturally seen her more than once."
"The similarity in appearance is indeed a great coincidence, but there have been no other unusual events."
Qiao Canxue has not been sitting here in Medicinal Valley for fifty years to practice alone.
The so-called One Sage, One Ancestor, and Five Peerless Ones are indeed great warriors of this world.
But besides them, there are still strong individuals in this world who walk different paths, only their names are not well-known.
Like Qiao Yuan, who guards the Western Province, like Nian Chao Sheng, the earthly demon king who is beyond worldly concerns, and like Qiao Canxue, who resides in this Qingming Medicine Valley.
"Since we have already met, why is it still… Could it be that the chance has not yet come?"
Immortal Diyuan was puzzled:
"Could it be that, just like when we roamed the thousand realms but could never return to the great world of Jiu Province, it is the plan of the Heavenly Emperor? Until the right moment comes, we cannot go back?"
Immortal Diyuan suddenly faced a setback and, losing focus, could only speak:
"Even so, it would be best to find Qiao Feixian as soon as possible."
"Qiao Feixian is on her way to the battlefield in Southeast Province, so it will be easy to see her again." Qiao Mu glanced at Qiao Canxue and said earnestly;
"Rather than that, I have another request."
Qiao Mu’s current identity is Qiao Huo, who is sixty-nine thousand years old, so he speaks politely and distantly.
"Qiao Canxue, since your heavenly eye has the power to see the past, I would like to ask you to open your eyes and look at me closely."
As the words were spoken, Qiao Canxue and Lingling Taoist Priest were both taken aback.
Immortal Diyuan felt curious in his heart.
"The Heavenly Emperor’s daughter has an unusual heavenly eye that can see into the past of living things."
"Usually, when others encounter such a heavenly eye, they would surely avoid it. Why does my friend choose to go against this?"
"I want to see my past and find out where it all began. Is that a problem?" Qiao Mu said earnestly.
He became serious in his tone.