Chapter 406: Master |
Su Ming was stunned for a moment, then quickly followed.
The morning mist hadn't fully dissipated yet, and a refreshing chill permeated the bluestone-paved mountain path. The two walked one after the other in silence for the time it takes half an incense stick to burn.
Su Ming remained three steps behind Elder Qingquan, maintaining this neither-too-close-nor-too-far distance. His steps were incredibly light. The liquid spiritual energy at Foundation Establishment circulated through his meridians, allowing him to walk with almost no sound at all.
But in his heart, he was puzzling over something.
This was an emergency mission down the mountain. By all logic, with the cultivation level of a Golden Core elder, whether flying on a sword or piloting an airship, they could leave the Cloud Hidden Sect's territory in the blink of an eye. Yet this nominal master of his had chosen the most time-consuming and laborious method—walking.
Was the elder planning to walk all the way down the mountain?
Su Ming didn't ask. Lin Yu had taught him that when you can't figure out a big shot's temper, keeping your mouth shut was the best survival technique. He simply silently activated the Aura Concealment Art, suppressing his own aura to its lowest point, like a withered leaf drifting with the wind, perfectly blending into the morning forest.
Three li out from the mountain gate, the concentration of spiritual energy in the area had already begun to drop noticeably. The thick mist that had almost seemed to condense into substance gradually turned into the common white fog of the mortal world, carrying a faint smell of earth.
Elder Qingquan suddenly stopped.
The sharp, pungent smell of cheap wine spread through the air.
"Once we're out of the mountain gate, don't call me elder anymore."
Elder Qingquan wiped the wine stains from the corner of his mouth, speaking without turning his head. His voice sounded a bit casual in the empty mountain path.
Su Ming was taken aback, then quickly bowed slightly, cupping his fists: "Then... how should this disciple address you?"
"Just call me 'Master'." Elder Qingquan tied the gourd back to his waist, his tone as flat as if he were talking about some trivial matter. "The mortal world doesn't have so many rules. Going on and on about 'elder this' and 'elder that' would just attract unnecessary attention. We're going to handle business, not put on airs."
"Yes, Master." Su Ming changed his address readily.
He keenly sensed that the lofty sect authority this elder carried had been peeled away by his own hands the moment they stepped three li beyond the mountain gate. Now, Qingquan looked like nothing more than a down-and-out old teacher from the mortal world. Aside from the occasional glint of sharpness in his eyes, there was not a trace of an immortal's transcendent aura left.
"Alright, this little walk was just to shake off the perfumed air of the sect. We still have a journey ahead."
As he spoke, Elder Qingquan took something out from his wide gray cloth sleeve.
It was a palm-sized wooden boat. Its body was a deep, dark purple-brown, covered with marks of age and erosion, without a single spark of spiritual light.
The elder casually tossed it.
The wooden boat expanded with the wind, making no earth-shattering sound. It simply landed silently, enlarging dozens of times into a small covered boat large enough for seven or eight people.
"Get on." Elder Qingquan stepped into the boat first. "This will get us there faster. Once we reach the mortal realm, where spiritual energy runs dry, this thing won't work very well. We'll switch to a horse carriage then."
Su Ming followed suit and leaped onto the boat. The moment his feet touched the deck, a faint, almost imperceptible gleam flickered in his eyes.
The boat, which appeared dilapidated on the outside, held hidden wonders within. Su Ming's divine sense, far surpassing others of his cultivation stage, instantly caught the dense, web-like network of formation lines intricately woven beneath the deck.
No spirit stones were used as a power source. Instead, hundreds of variations of the "Gathering" character were inscribed into the keel, frantically absorbing the free-floating spiritual energy in the air at a minuscule level. This energy was then ingeniously channeled into the "Wind Control" lines on both sides of the boat's hull.
This was the way a Golden Core elder traveled. No display of wealth, a concealed edge, yet practical to the extreme.
The wooden boat rose silently. No defensive barrier lit up, but an invisible, streamlined wall of air perfectly sliced through the oncoming Fierce Wind. The boat broke through the thick clouds and sped toward the eastern horizon.
Su Ming found a corner and sat down cross-legged.
The boat weaved through the sea of clouds, with endless mountains and rivers stretching out below. He looked at the completely lusterless Xuantian ring on his right hand, and a powerful sense of emptiness suddenly surged in his heart.
Just the night before, a truly insane "feast" had taken place inside this ring.
When Lin Yu had gotten his hands on that top-grade Soul-Nurturing Wood Pith bestowed by the Grand Elder, his excited voice had trembled.
"Disciple, your teacher is about to start absorbing this stuff." Lin Yu's tone at the time was especially solemn, even carrying a level of seriousness Su Ming had never seen before. "The power of this Soul-Nurturing Wood Pith is too intense. The vitality it contains is terrifying. This broken soul body of mine is like a beggar who's been starving for eight hundred years suddenly sitting down to a grand feast. I have to focus all my energy on digesting it. I might have to sleep for a long time."
Su Ming's heart had tightened at that moment. "Master, how long will you sleep?"
"I don't know." Lin Yu had sighed in the Consciousness Sea. "Maybe a month, maybe two. I can't say for sure. For the next while, you'll have to stand on your own."
He paused, his tone carrying a deep, lingering worry, like an old father giving final instructions to a son about to travel far.
"Remember, after you go down the mountain, use your head when things come up. Don't be reckless. Sure, you're at Foundation Establishment now, but in the eyes of those truly ruthless old monsters, you're still just a slightly plump grasshopper."
"In this world, a bad life is better than a good death. If you run into a situation you can't figure out, run. If you can figure it out but aren't sure you can handle it, also run. Your pride isn't worth anything. Your life is."
"With that old man Qingquan around, you won't die. But don't expect him to solve everything for you. The kind of person he is values your comprehension, not your combat strength. If you're really unsure about something, just play dead and wait until your teacher wakes up!"
Su Ming remembered nodding firmly at the time. "This disciple understands."
After he said that, Lin Yu's voice had fallen completely silent.
The last trace of spiritual fluctuation on the Xuantian ring had vanished as well, as if it had truly turned into a lifeless, ordinary stone.
Five years.
From that broken-down mountain temple in Qingshi Town, for the past five years, no matter what danger he encountered, no matter what desperate situation he faced, Lin Yu's lazy, teasing outbursts had always been the firmest foundation in the depths of his heart.
But now, for the first time, his teacher was truly "gone."
Su Ming stared at the dead ring. The only sound in his ears was the faint wind as the boat cut through the sea of clouds.
Without that voice chattering away in his head, without that mentor who could always provide the best escape route at the first sign of danger, he felt like someone who had grown used to walking with a cane, only to have it suddenly yanked away.
An emotion called loneliness crept into his heart like a creeping vine.
He took a deep breath of the cold air.
His liquid spiritual energy completed a full cycle through his meridians. The icy energy washed through his Consciousness Sea, forcefully suppressing that flicker of panic and loneliness.
"The law of the Way of Survival: Never let emotions influence your judgment."