After the path was cut off

Chapter 37 Farewell

Tianxuan Sect, Huixian Mountain.

Since returning from Tianxuan City, Li Wangxiang has hardly stopped for a moment.

At the General Affairs Hall, he collected the initial supplies that Li Zongjianmen was entitled to; in the Beast Garden, he also ordered several silver-backed rays for use when returning to their hometown and relocating their clan; later, he also went to the Scripture Pavilion and copied all the Taoist books and miscellaneous scrolls that he was currently authorized to copy into jade slips.

These kinds of things are numerous, fragmented, and urgent.

By the time everything was settled, it was completely dark.

Li Wangxiang did not return to Tianzhu Peak, but instead turned to Huixian Mountain alone, walking step by step along the familiar stone steps toward the Zhanggong Hall.

The night sky was clear and the stars were like a wash.

A mountain breeze blew down from above, carrying a chill that brushed against the hem of my clothes. The temples and palaces in Huixian Mountain stood solemnly, and the jade stones in front of the steps gleamed with a faint, cold white light, looking from afar like a frosty path broken in the night.

He came here for only one thing.

Retrieve the Soul Lamp.

According to the sect's old custom, anyone who leaves the sect to establish their own branch must be removed from the register and will no longer be listed in the sect's disciple roster. The soul lamp in the Hall of Merit, which is connected to their true spirit, will also be extinguished.

When Li Wangxiang arrived, Qing Shu was already standing in the hall holding the soul lamp.

The flame was tiny, yet it burned steadily.

Li Wangxiang stopped in the hall and raised his hand in a salute.

Thank you for your trouble.

Qing Shu didn't say much, but gently pushed the soul lamp forward.

The lamp shattered silently in the next instant.

Before the fragments even hit the ground, they scattered into countless starlight points. The true spirit that resided within the lamp then returned entirely to Li Wangxiang's body.

In an instant, Li Wangxiang felt a slight tremor in his soul.

It felt like something that had been hanging outside, never truly returned to its place, had finally fallen back onto me. The feeling was light and complete, but what followed was a strange emptiness.

It felt like something had been lost.

Li Wangxiang stood still for a moment before raising his hand again.

"This disciple... thanks the Hall of Martial Arts for its care over the years."

Qing Shu remained expressionless.

Li Wangxiang turned to leave, but after taking only a few steps, a very soft voice suddenly came from behind him.

Take care on your journey.

The voice was not loud.

It can't even be described as having much emotion.

But this one sentence made Li Wangxiang stumble slightly as he descended the steps.

Only now did he truly feel the reality.

From this night onward, his relationship with the Tianxuan Sect will be nothing more than a thing of the past, and he will no longer be associated with them.

On the way back to Tianzhu Peak from Huixian Mountain, Li Wangxiang's mind was completely blank.

He spent fifty years cultivating Taoism, and for most of that time he lived a very simple life.

Cultivation, seclusion, breaking through realms, leaving the mountain, returning to the peak.

Aside from his hometown in Zhongzhou, his elder brother and relatives, and the Tianzhu Peak lineage, which truly stirred his emotions, he rarely got distracted by other matters.

But now, as he walked step by step on the road back to the peak, he suddenly couldn't quite put his finger on when he had developed a subtle, almost imperceptible attachment to this sect.

Is it because of the Hall of Merit's indulgence over the years?

Was it because Lord Huanyou, knowing full well that he had a problem, still gave Zhu Risuo a way down the mountain?

Or is it because... over the years, Zhen Chuan has come to regard this place as his home?

Li Wangxiang couldn't understand it.

All he knew was that he had indeed lived a very comfortable life all these years.

He felt so comfortable that it wasn't until the moment his soul lamp shattered that he suddenly realized that this comfort had long since become a part of his daily routine.

Lost in thought, we arrived at the foot of Tianzhu Peak.

An Ting paced anxiously under the bamboo shadows. When she saw Li Wangxiang, she quickly came to greet him, but hesitated to speak.

"Senior brother, Master has emerged from seclusion! He's waiting for you at the summit."

Li Wangxiang snapped out of his daze, and the feeling of emptiness intensified. He looked at An Ting with deep longing.

"It's getting late, go to sleep, I'm going to see my master."

The wind at the summit was like a knife, whipping at people's clothes and making them flutter loudly. An old pine tree leaned out from a crevice in the rock, its shade pressing down on the moonlight, creating a small, rare quiet place.

A person sat cross-legged under the shade of a tree.

Wearing an old, pale blue robe, with a square, slightly dark face and graying temples, he sat there like a stubborn rock.

He is none other than Qin Tianzhu, the peak master of Tianzhu Peak.

Li Wangxiang paused slightly, then stepped forward and bowed deeply.

"Disciple Li Wangxiang greets Master."

Qin Tianzhu raised his eyes and uttered only one word.

"sit."

Li Wangxiang sat down under the pine tree as instructed.

A gust of wind swept between the two, rustling the fine pine needles on the ground. Qin Tianzhu stared at him for a long time, his voice deep and resonant, yet filled with a profound and heavy sorrow.

"Don't put on a brave face in front of your teacher."

Li Wangxiang's body stiffened slightly.

A moment later, he finally removed the concealment spell he had been forcing himself to maintain.

In an instant, a decaying, deathly aura spread out, and his entire body visibly withered away: his beard and hair turned white, his face slumped, his figure became emaciated, and his once well-fitting Taoist robe became loose and baggy.

Only those deep-set eyes still gleamed with an undying light.

Qin Tianzhu's eyes widened, his fists clenched, and his chest heaved violently before he managed to squeeze out a voice through clenched teeth:

"Heaven does not grant favors..."

"Heaven doesn't deny fate."

He closed his eyes, and his voice became somewhat hoarse.

"It's because Master is incompetent."

Upon hearing this, Li Wangxiang smirked.

But his face was so withered that the smile he wore didn't make him look relaxed; instead, it made him look even more heartbroken.

"Master, look."

"The title 'Heavenly Pillar' will finally not be given to me."

"Are you asking for a beating?" Qin Tianzhu's thick eyebrows furrowed, and he raised his large, fan-like hand as if to strike, but then awkwardly withdrew it.

"Are you asking for a beating? If you dare to spout nonsense again, I'll carve the name 'Li Tianzhu' onto your forehead right now, so you can go down the mountain with that name on your head."

"No, no, no, Master, I know I was wrong, I really know I was wrong!" Li Wangxiang shrank back and begged for forgiveness, but his dependence made his old face look even more ridiculous.

Qin Tianzhu couldn't bear to watch any longer and closed his eyes. After a long while, he spoke softly.

"Longing for Home".

"I was the one who sent you back to your clan."

This news should have been shocking, but Li Wangxiang was largely unmoved. He had already guessed it when his master revealed that his foundation for cultivation had been shattered.

"That's not important anymore, Master."

It doesn't matter who brought me back.

Qin Tianzhu dared not open his eyes to look at him:

"You should blame me."

"Back then, your senior sister perished as she was tasked with a mission, and I was powerless to help. Now that your path to enlightenment has ended, I am still powerless to help."

"As a master, I can't even understand the cultivation of my own path, and I can't protect people either."

Li Wangxiang shook his head:

"Master, Beichen is already a dead end. I am fortunate to have returned alive. What is there to be resentful about?"

"Besides, Master, I can't escape."

"I can't escape this calamity."

"The Mirror Master came for him, the Golden Crow broke through the boundary because of the Mirror Master, and he lost his path to immortality because of the Golden Crow. Therefore, I cannot escape." But he could not tell his master these words.

"Master, you should understand Senior Sister. She must have her own unspeakable difficulties, just like me. I don't blame anyone, and neither will Senior Sister."

Qin Tianzhu was well aware of this as well. He had lived longer than Li Wangxiang and knew more about the secrets of the world. He simply lamented his own incompetence.

"Why!"

He let out a heavy, long sigh, forcing out the pent-up grief, helplessness, and overwhelming reluctance within him. When he spoke again, his tone was heavier than ever before:

"Within the sect, who else knows that your foundation has been shattered?"

"Lord Huanyou knows that other True Immortals... may have also secretly investigated."

"There's no need to doubt it." Qin Tianzhu's gaze was sharp as lightning, and his tone was resolute. "You were able to survive such a desperate situation, so the masters in the sect must all be concerned about you."

"This is not a bad thing! The fact that the sect is still covering up the truth about your broken foundation shows that the sect has not completely abandoned you."

"Remember this kindness."

He paused, his gaze sharpening further:

"Wangxiang, remember this: beyond Foundation Establishment, seek that wisp of undying golden essence. After condensing the Golden Core, you will enter another realm!"

"Never underestimate any Golden Core cultivator. In some ways, they are no longer ordinary cultivators, but rather deities walking among mortals."

"Do not be presumptuous in their presence, do not harbor any illusions, and certainly do not test their patience with your secrets. Furthermore, do not make any mistakes that would incur their displeasure. If malice truly befalls you—"

"Then we can only seek the protection of another Golden Core cultivator."

"This is the ironclad rule of survival."

"Therefore, no matter what, you must uphold the sect's goodwill. This will be your only true foundation to rely on in the Yunmeng Great Swamp! Remember! Remember!"

The Xuanli in Li Wangxiang's sea of ​​consciousness moved almost imperceptibly.

The Golden Core of Ziwei Star is indeed mysterious, kept hidden from the public, and certainly gives off a dangerous feeling.

"Disciple understands, Master." Li Wangxiang's voice was low and solemn. "What I could tell Lord Huanyou, I have told you all. As for the rest... it's not that I'm unwilling to say it, it's just that... I can't bring myself to say it."

"The Heavenly Profound Sect is my second home. I would never do anything to harm the sect."

Qin Tianzhu waved his hand, his gaze deep.

"You don't need to tell me, and you don't need to explain."

"I just want you to remember—your sect is still your root."

As he said this, his expression finally softened slightly, but his worry remained undiminished.

"Once you leave the mountain gate, you'll have to rely on yourself for everything. Supporting an entire family and establishing a sect all by yourself is a burden heavier than a thousand pounds. There's not much more I can do."

He suppressed his turbulent emotions and turned to the facts.

"I've taken care of things at the Beast Garden for you. I had someone change the Silverback Ray you rented to a Tier 3 Goldback Ray."

He looked at Li Wangxiang's astonished eyes and said in a deep voice:

"The Central Plains are far away and chaotic. Tens of thousands of ordinary people, with their families and the elderly and children, are migrating along the way, making them too conspicuous. Even if they are under the banner of the Tianxuan Sect, it is hard to guarantee that there won't be any desperate evil cultivators taking the risk."

"A second-tier spirit beast might not be able to hold the line."

"The third-tier golden-backed manta ray is different. Its aura is enough to intimidate the vast majority of Foundation Establishment evil cultivators, which is a true guarantee."

"The only problem is that it flies slowly. It will take at least three days to get from the sect to Zhongzhou. You need to set off for home as soon as possible and make arrangements in advance to avoid any unexpected problems during the migration."

Having said that, he reached into his sleeve and took out three items:

First was a jade talisman with flowing Daoist patterns.

"【Please Obsessively Use Talisman】. Bestowed by a Golden Core Immortal, it can activate one's essence and blood, allowing one to borrow a wisp of his divine power and intent."

Use with caution.

"This is our trump card for survival."

It was another rough and ugly oval-shaped embryo.

"This is the prototype of the sacrificial artifact. I don't need to explain its purpose. It's just a pity that time was too short. I've given everything I have, and this is all I can do to lay the foundation for you. The rest of the journey is up to you and your sect to walk."

Finally, there were seven boxes of spirit stones, and some elixirs and talismans.

"Master..." Li Wangxiang's voice was completely hoarse, "When a disciple leaves the sect to establish a new one, according to the rules, a sum of resources will be allocated, which is more than enough—"

"Keep it!" Qin Tianzhu hissed, his gaze intense.

"The sect provides rules, and everyone has them. So what makes you better than others?"

"And what makes you think you can carve out a path to survival in the Yunmeng Marsh?"

"From today onwards, you are no longer Li Wangxiang, a true disciple of the Tianxuan Sect."

"You are the founder of Hidden Cloud Lake."

"What you should be thinking about is how to rack your brains and use any means necessary to amass resources!"

"What you need to think about is how to ensure the survival of your people."

"Being coy and affected will only get you killed."

"An extra bit of supplies, an extra pill, might just save another life. Understand?"

Li Wangxiang's withered hands trembled slightly as he carefully put away the three items, pressing them tightly against his chest.

He looked intently into his master's eyes;

Looking towards the Tianzhu Peak that had nurtured him for decades;

Then I looked down at the vast sea of ​​clouds surging endlessly below the peak.

In a daze, my gaze seemed to pierce through the clouds for thousands of miles, landing on some distant and blurry place.

There was familiar cooking smoke, murky yet welcoming lake water, and the elderly yet warm figure of my elder brother.

His voice was very soft, almost as if it could be blown away by the wind, yet it carried an almost childlike fragility and an unfathomable longing.

"Master... I miss home."