After a full five hundred years, Mu Ran never expected to run into an old friend in this small town.
And after five hundred years, Yue Qingfeng surprisingly still remembered her.
Since it was a reunion after such a long time, it was only natural to sit down and have a good chat.
Playing the host, Mu Ran invited Yue Qingfeng to a teahouse. Recalling the events of many years ago, she said with deep emotion, "I originally promised to make a pager chicken for Daoist Yue. I thought it would take at most a month or two to finish it for you, but I never imagined that five hundred years would pass by in what felt like the blink of an eye."
Yue Qingfeng smiled. "It's impressive that you still remember such a distant promise."
Mu Ran replied, "Of course I have to keep my word when doing business. Even though so much time has passed, a promise is a promise. Don't worry, I will definitely make that pager chicken for you, free of charge."
Yue Qingfeng didn't decline. He offered a toast with his tea and said, "Then I must thank Miss Mu."
While conversing with Mu Ran, Yue Qingfeng actually harbored some doubts in his heart.
When they first met five hundred years ago, Mu Ran was clearly a mortal without any cultivation base. She lacked even the slightest bit of spiritual energy, didn't possess the most basic spiritual roots required for cultivation, and had no affinity with the Great Dao.
But looking at her now, she impressively possessed spiritual roots. Her spiritual energy flowed steadily, and her cultivation had actually already crossed into the Golden Core realm. Such an earth-shattering transformation was truly unfathomable.
What puzzled Yue Qingfeng even more was that Cangshu Bai was not by Mu Ran's side.
Had something happened to the couple over these past five hundred years?
But this was their private matter after all. It wasn't appropriate for Yue Qingfeng to pry, so he suppressed the questions in his heart.
He wasn't deeply acquainted with Mu Ran, but they could be considered old friends. Seeing her traveling alone, he asked out of concern, "Where does Miss Mu plan to settle down?"
At the mention of this, she sighed. "I haven't figured that out yet."
Biyun Mountain was already gone.
Even if Biyun Mountain were still there, she wouldn't choose to go back.
As for the little home she had shared with Cangshu Bai for two years, five hundred years ago...
It was merely two years. For cultivators with their long lifespans, it was nothing but a drop in the ocean. Who would even care?
Mu Ran had also thought about looking for Mu Shuqing, but she had made inquiries and learned that ever since the incident at Zhenyue Mountain City, Mu Shuqing had disappeared without a trace. No one knew where she went.
Thinking about it this way, Mu Ran truly was all alone now.
She shook her head and said blankly, "I don't think there's anywhere I can go either."
Yue Qingfeng considered for a moment before saying sympathetically, "If you have nowhere to go, why not come stay at Chongyang Mountain for now?"
Mu Ran was slightly surprised and looked up at him.
Meeting her gaze, Yue Qingfeng continued in a calm and earnest tone, "Although Chongyang Mountain isn't a top-tier immortal sect, it is peaceful and secure. Our sect rules are lenient, and we don't exclude outsiders. Since you now have a cultivation base, if you have no place to go, you can stay on the mountain to rest or practice your cultivation methods. It's much better than wandering all alone."
Mu Ran stroked her chin, seriously pondering the feasibility of this idea.
Yue Qingfeng added, "Moreover, there is an abundance of fine timber on the mountain. If you wish to forge magical treasures..."
"I'll go!"
Her eyes sparkled brightly. She was clearly thrilled because she had encountered something she was genuinely interested in.
Yue Qingfeng shook his head and chuckled.
On the way back to Chongyang Mountain with Yue Qingfeng, Mu Ran asked curiously, "Daoist Yue, have demonic beasts been hurting people around here again lately?"
Yue Qingfeng nodded. "Yes. However, I tried to investigate the source of the demonic beasts, but found nothing."
Remembering that demonic beasts had also appeared five hundred years ago, Mu Ran asked, "Could it be that there really are demonic cultivators using humans to breed demonic beasts?"
Yue Qingfeng's expression grew solemn. "That is indeed a possibility."
However, there were so many cultivators in the world, and the slightest misstep could cause someone's Dao heart to shatter and make them fall into demonic cultivation. Finding the demonic cultivator causing chaos behind the scenes was no simple task.
Of course, when it came to demonic cultivators causing trouble, only the few people with a strong sense of justice like Yue Qingfeng would think about slaying demons and eradicating evil.
Chongyang Mountain was hidden among rolling peaks, lightly wreathed in clouds and mist, covered with green pines, and filled with gentle, lingering spiritual energy.
The bluestone mountain gate was simple and unadorned. The grand halls were built into the mountain, secluded and quiet. Though they held an air of majestic dignity, they were also peaceful and serene—a perfect place to escape the world and cultivate.
The mountain breeze was fresh and the air was pure. There weren't many disciples, and they all possessed peaceful temperaments, presenting a picture of tranquility and indifference to worldly desires.
Yue Qingfeng brought a guest back, making the passing disciples quite curious. However, they didn't show it too obviously, only wondering who the young woman their senior martial brother had brought back could be.
Passing by the martial arts arena, they saw a group of disciples frowning at a malfunctioning wooden dummy mechanism.
The wooden dummy's torso was slanted, and its right arm was completely stuck. No matter how much spiritual energy the disciples injected into it, or how much they hammered and adjusted it, it wouldn't budge. Its glowing lines had dimmed, rendering it completely paralyzed.
"What should we do? It was perfectly fine just a moment ago, but suddenly it can't move."
"Pouring spiritual energy into it is like dropping a stone into the ocean; it just won't connect."
"The pivot must be rusted shut, but we don't know how to fix it."
The group stood around the wooden dummy, completely at a loss and pacing anxiously.
Mu Ran glanced at it from a distance and slowly walked over. "Let me take a look."
Hearing her voice, the disciples turned around. Seeing that it was the unfamiliar young woman brought back by Yue Qingfeng, they unconsciously stepped aside despite their doubts.
Mu Ran crouched down, her fingertips gently brushing over the wooden dummy's stiff joints. Pressing and twisting along the lines, she quickly found the root of the problem.
"The internal mortise and tenon joints are misaligned, and the spiritual pathways are broken. It's not destroyed."
Before she even finished speaking, her fingertips exerted a deft force. With a few light clicks, she quickly snapped the stuck mechanisms back into place. Then, she casually guided a wisp of spiritual energy into the wooden dummy's chest.
The next moment, a faint spiritual light glowed around the wooden dummy. It slowly raised its arm, bent its knees, turned around, and threw a punch. Its movements were smooth and natural, fully restored to normal.
The onlookers were dumbfounded.
"I-it's fixed?!"
"We struggled with it for ages and couldn't do a thing!"
"Her technique is so clean! She didn't even use any tools?"
Mu Ran withdrew her hand, her eyes curving into a smile. "Mechanisms rely on clever finesse, not brute force."
Standing off to the side, Yue Qingfeng suddenly found himself no longer so hung up on the question of why Cangshu Bai wasn't with Mu Ran.
After all, even if Mu Ran was alone, and despite her delicate appearance, she was perfectly capable of living a good life.
In stark contrast, however, the young man who was supposed to be so powerful that he struck fear into the Three Realms, the one who seemed omnipotent, looked as if his very soul had been extracted ever since losing track of his wife.
Cangshu Bai walked down a bustling street, appearing incredibly calm.
Even when mischievous children ran around and bumped into him, he would kindly help them steady themselves.
But when one young boy looked up and saw the young man with frost-white hair before him, he instantly shrank back timidly, not daring to get any closer, and hurriedly ran away.
Even though this man was standing in the warm sunlight, his entire being was cloaked in an unmelting, gloomy chill, like a freezing pool that had never seen the light of day.
