These past few days back at the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Wu Tao had been truly busy.
He hadn't stayed within the Taiyi Immortal Sect for several years, and his original connections and relationships had grown distant. Whether they were good friends or casual acquaintances, he had to socialize more to rebuild these bonds.
Not only had Wu Tao changed greatly over these years, but everyone else had also undergone significant transformations.
...
Now, Chang Pingqian's artifact refining techniques were renowned among the outer and inner disciples of the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
The low-grade, mid-grade, and high-grade magical artifacts he refined were of excellent quality and universally acclaimed. He had truly become a master artifact refiner.
His fame within the Taiyi Immortal Sect grew day by day. In recent times, even many Foundation Establishment cultivators from the inner sect had heard of him and sought him out to refine top-tier magical artifacts.
When Wu Tao found Chang Pingqian, Chang Pingqian had just finished refining a high-grade defensive magical artifact, the Spirit Turtle Defensive Shield.
Upon seeing Wu Tao enter, Chang Pingqian directly tossed the Spirit Turtle Defensive Shield to him and said, "Junior Brother, take a look first. How do you think this defensive magical artifact turned out?"
Having gained rich experience through years of trials, Wu Tao, upon receiving it, immediately recognized that the refining process of the Spirit Turtle Defensive Shield was indeed well-executed.
So, Wu Tao gave a thumbs-up and praised, "Truly excellent. Senior Brother's artifact refining skills have become even more refined."
After chatting with Chang Pingqian for a while, Wu Tao began to bring up others. As they talked, Wu Tao suggested that their other good friends should get together while they had the time.
"Alright, Junior Brother, I'll go invite Long Ao Potian and Hua Chen. Quickly bring out the spirit wine you've been treasuring for years. Today, we'll have a good drink, until we're thoroughly intoxicated!"
With that, Chang Pingqian hurried away.
With a light chuckle, Wu Tao nodded in agreement. Simultaneously, he patted his storage bag, and five jars of excellent spirit wine appeared on the ground.
...
In the mortal world, within the City Lord's mansion of Hancheng in the Great Zhou Dynasty, Hua Chen, after a night of debauchery with twin sisters who possessed exotic beauty and waists like swaying snakes, finally woke up.
Rubbing his bleary eyes, he stood up naked and pulled back the curtains, allowing the slightly scorching sunlight to stream into the room.
The two curvaceous, fair-skinned bodies on the bed stretched out their arms, seemingly trying to shield themselves from the bright light, emitting dissatisfied murmurs.
"Wake up, you two little lazybones. It's time to serve this master and get me dressed."
Hua Chen jested, stretching lazily towards the sun, "Time to get moving..."
Recalling the recent period, he had truly become somewhat decadent.
In terms of extravagance, he wasn't much different from a fallen emperor.
Hua Chen's chamber spanned several hundred meters, with its four walls inlaid with blocks of warm jade.
Inlaid within were rubies, sapphires, emeralds, and agates, forming decorative patterns of city maps.
The floor was paved with expensive pine resin slabs, the walls were adorned with warm jade, and the steps were made of silver, displaying an unrestrained and magnificent luxury.
Hua Chen's bed was a large platform bed, about ten feet wide and thirty feet long, carved with various patterns from huangli wood.
The quilt was made of velvet, as soft and downy as clouds.
Around the bed hung a canopy of pure gold gauze, giving it an incredibly imposing appearance.
The air was filled with a lingering, delicate fragrance that wafted endlessly, reaching the nostrils—it was ambergris, extremely precious in the mortal world.
Before Hua Chen could finish his musings, two young, beautiful, unclothed concubines had already begun skillfully and gently dressing him.
"Power and strength are truly wonderful things!"
Hua Chen murmured inwardly, "A true man cannot be without power, and a young man cannot be without wealth. Now that I possess both power and wealth, what regrets do I have in this life?"
Enjoying the sensation of slender hands caressing his body, Hua Chen's mind remained exceptionally clear.
"If I didn't have wealth and power, when would such young and beautiful women ever be within my reach?"
"What nonsense is this pursuit of immortality? Even if successful, what then?"
"At most, I'd just live a few more years. I wouldn't truly achieve eternal life. Unlike me, who came to the mortal world to become a City Lord and live a life of leisure every day; even an emperor can't compare to me."
Dressed with the assistance of his two maids, Hua Chen, standing at the doorway and lost in thought, was suddenly grabbed by the ear and dragged to the center of the living room by his dao companion, Lu Miao'er, a cultivator at the tenth level of Qi Condensation.
Hua Chen, who had been looking impatient, couldn't help but rub his eyes fiercely upon seeing the figures in the hall, almost disbelieving what he saw.
After confirming that his vision was accurate, Hua Chen quickly strode forward, hugged Chang Pingqian, and said with a grin, "Senior Brother, it's been over a year. What breeze has blown you here?"
As he spoke, Hua Chen waved his hand at the attendant maids. Soon, several mortals dressed as dancers, adorned in vibrant attire, came forward to perform.
As these dancers moved, their sheer robes swayed, subtly revealing their thighs and fair waists.
Observing the spectacle, Chang Pingqian couldn't help but chuckle. He lowered his voice and spoke a few words to Hua Chen.
Upon hearing this, Hua Chen's face lit up with surprise. He waved his hand, signaling the dancers to withdraw.
After the dancers left, Chang Pingqian said with a smile, "You scoundrel, you haven't made much progress in your cultivation in just over a year, but your romantic fortune has certainly increased!"
"These mortal dancers, though they have no cultivation, possess excellent looks and figures. It seems you're living quite a good life!"
"How can it compare to Senior Brother, who is now an artifact refiner with important status and position?"
"Junior Brother is merely bored. I've simply selected a few attractive young women from the daughters of ordinary mortal families under my jurisdiction."
"To add some variety to my monotonous life," Hua Chen said, touching his head somewhat sheepishly.
On the other side.
Wu Tao also made a separate trip to invite Long Ao Potian over.
Long Ao Potian hadn't been idle these past few years. It was said that during his external trials, he had obtained an ancient inheritance, and his strength had skyrocketed. He was now at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
With his Phoenix Blood Divine Spear, he had defeated many renowned cultivators at the late Foundation Establishment stage. Long Ao Potian's current combat power was unfathomable.
When Long Ao Potian reappeared before Wu Tao, he was different from a few years ago.
The moment he stood before Long Ao Potian, Wu Tao felt an overwhelming aura of killing intent wash over him.
Long Ao Potian himself seemed like a blood-stained immortal spear, its sharp energy radiating outwards!
Even Wu Tao's heart couldn't help but tremble.
...
In just a few years of not seeing each other, Long Ao Potian had undergone a complete transformation, from head to toe.
Silvery-white light flowed continuously from Long Ao Potian's entire body, and his eyes contained an unparalleled divine radiance.
Especially the Phoenix Blood Divine Spear in his hand, it gave people a sense of soul-shaking impact.
...
Standing still, Wu Tao seemed to see golden and silver sword and spear intents, as if a sword and a spear were confronting each other in the void, roaring and bellowing.
Suddenly, Wu Tao felt as if he had transformed into an immortal sword, tens of feet long, glowing with all seven colors, breaking free from his physical body and soaring into the nine heavens.
Beside him, a ten-foot-long spear of pure silver light was locked in confrontation with him.
After an unknown amount of time, the eyes of both Wu Tao and Long Ao Potian flashed with golden and silver brilliance respectively, but it quickly vanished without a trace.
...
However, the sword spirit energy within Wu Tao suddenly began to move spontaneously, making him appear like an unsheathed immortal sword, sharp and imposing!
A brilliant golden sword light erupted from Wu Tao's body.
The same was true for Long Ao Potian; a powerful silver spear light suddenly appeared.
...
When Long Ao Potian saw the sword light surrounding Wu Tao, he felt an indescribable sensation in his heart.
He looked at Wu Tao with a complex expression, then shrugged helplessly.
He then continued, "I originally thought that after not seeing you for years, I could surprise you by suddenly appearing. Unexpectedly, you're the one who startled me."
Recalling his sword light, Wu Tao frowned and shook his head, saying, "Your personality hasn't changed at all; you're still so mischievous."
"Bang!"
Long Ao Potian nearly spat blood and fell to the ground. He cursed, "Damn it! What are you talking about, you hypocritical, secretly proud guy? Don't think I don't know what you're thinking in your heart?"
Wu Tao shrugged helplessly. Since Long Ao Potian didn't believe him, he decided not to explain.
...
Seeing Wu Tao's silence, Long Ao Potian, on the other hand, had no reservations.
He recounted the major and minor events of the past few years as if pouring out a sieve, in one breath.
From trivial matters to major encounters and dangers, he dared to say, and did say, everything.
Watching the verbose Long Ao Potian, an unprecedented warmth quickly spread throughout Wu Tao's entire body.
This feeling evoked an inexplicable sense of heartache; this was true friendship.
Just as Long Ao Potian was about to continue speaking, he saw Wu Tao's figure vanish from his spot at lightning speed.
Looking at Wu Tao's receding back, Long Ao Potian suddenly felt that this eccentric fellow had become increasingly lonely and isolated over the years.
Among the four, Wu Tao and Long Ao Potian, due to their dedication to cultivation, were now at the late Foundation Establishment stage.
Chang Pingqian, engrossed in artifact refining, was at the middle Foundation Establishment stage.
And Hua Chen, having indulged in food, drink, and leisure without restraint, remained at the early Foundation Establishment stage, just like over a decade ago.
Inside the cave dwelling.
Wu Tao invited Chang Pingqian, Hua Chen, and Long Ao Potian to sit, then poured wine for them one by one.
Here, reunited after a long time, the brothers were deeply moved and proceeded to drink heartily. The cave dwelling was filled with laughter and joy.
At this moment, there were no schemes or calculations between them, only the friendship of twenty years.
Although some had fallen behind in their cultivation, in this place, within the cave dwelling, the four forgot everything, as if returning to their past.
Returning to the pure, carefree days when they first joined the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
Soon, the sun cast its last rays, and night fell.
The four men, tipsy from drinking, shared a conversation. Chang Pingqian inquired about Wu Tao's three years of training.
Wu Tao recounted it generally, naturally omitting many details.
This wasn't because Wu Tao distrusted Chang Pingqian, Hua Chen, and Long Ao Potian, but rather because some secrets were better kept to oneself for their own benefit.
Time flew by in the blink of an eye. Amidst the four's merriment, a night passed in an instant. Soon, the sun rose from the east.
At this point, all four were drunk. However, cherishing the lingering camaraderie of the past, they were reluctant to part and continued to drink and chat.
Glancing at Hua Chen, whose cultivation remained at the early Foundation Establishment stage, the same as over a decade ago, Wu Tao's eyes showed a hint of emotion.
The path of cultivation was thus: fair in its way, as effort yielded reward.
Unfair in its way, because external resources often played a more significant role than effort.
How could Hua Chen, who neither worked hard nor received substantial external resources, go further on the path of cultivation?
However, each person had their own aspirations, and no one could persuade them otherwise!
Moreover, a peaceful and happy life, a lifetime of prosperity, was also a form of happiness.
There are no eternal banquets, nor brothers who stay together forever.
The four, all in their thirties, now had their own lives.
Wu Tao, Chang Pingqian, Hua Chen, and Long Ao Potian, after drinking for a day and a night, finally parted ways.
...
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