[For immortal cultivators, the concept of time is always slightly different from that of ordinary people. In the blink of an eye, hundreds of years pass by]
The blurred scenery in front of him became clear again. Cheng Lin looked at the changing seasons of the mountains and was slightly startled. Soon, he became calm.
Only this time, what surprised him was that as time passed, he seemed to have undergone some changes.
He clearly felt that his body had become thinner and drier, and the skin of his hands hanging on both sides of his body had shriveled a lot and became a little loose.
Raising his hand and touching his face, he noticed obvious roughness.
He had a vague guess. He walked to a water tank in the small courtyard and looked down. The clear water in the tank reflected a slightly older face. Cheng Lin turned his head and could vaguely see the white hair on his temples.
"Is this... old?"
If Cheng Lin had enlightenment, he closed his eyes and looked inside, but he saw that under the old body, the meridians of the body were extremely strong, and the spiritual energy in it was like a tide, rolling by like a big river, which was unprecedentedly spectacular.
[In the past hundred years, you have never stepped out of the barren mountains. At first, you would go to the sect's dining hall. Later, you no longer went there. You just opened a few vegetable fields in the barren mountains and cultivated them for fun. As you go,
After you left, the rumors about you gradually disappeared, and people seemed to have forgotten your existence. Later, as time went by, people occasionally thought of you, but it was no longer jealousy and ridicule, but some good things.
, as a source of conversation about reminiscing about the past]
[Although Barren Mountain is also located within the gate of Daodao Zongshan, it seems to be two worlds. Sometimes, you may not see a disciple of the sect for a whole year. Occasionally, those you see from a distance fly away in a hurry. Later,
, even those who had just glimpsed have become unfamiliar faces]
[Over the past hundred years, you have mastered all the Qi training techniques of the Dao Dao Sect, so you have become bored. Apart from being in a daze every day, you just continue to practice Qi. However, this realm seems to have no end, and there is no shadow of foundation building.
, so you can only practice Qi]
[The lifespan of practitioners is always longer than that of ordinary people. Generally speaking, the higher the realm, the longer the lifespan. However, as a Qi Refining Realm monk, you will inevitably grow older]
…
The narration in his mind faded, and Cheng Lin looked around the small courtyard. It seemed that there was no change from a hundred years ago. The dilapidated house had obviously been repaired many times and was low and ugly.
In the small courtyard surrounded by a wooden fence, there is a water tank and an old tree next to it. At this moment, the leaves have fallen and withered, floating in the clear water in the tank, making tiny ripples.
Cheng Lin looked away, dusted off his white robe, and glanced across the neat and beautiful vegetable field in the garden. He crossed the wooden fence gate and saw three figures slowly climbing up.
He remained silent, just waiting quietly. After half an hour, the three finally arrived outside the hospital.
In the middle is an old man with white hair and beard, and a stooped body. He looks like he is about to collapse in the wind. There is a man and a woman on his left and right, who seem to be carefully supported by a middle-aged couple.
The old man climbed up as if he had lost a lot of strength. He waved his hand to make the middle-aged couple step back. He then hobbled into the courtyard holding a wooden stick. Facing Cheng Lin, his rickety body became even more rickety.
"Master."
Cheng Lin's face softened: "He Miao?"
From the old man's face, you can vaguely see the handsome young scholar with short hair.
"Do you still remember me?" He Miao seemed extremely excited, her old body trembling, and her cloudy eyes filled with tears.
Cheng Lin walked into the house and dragged a wooden chair for him to sit down. After that, he looked at He Miao and said in a vague tone: "You are old."
He Miao held on to his cane, with a smile on his face that looked like a shriveled fruit peel: "Young Master is still young."
Cheng Lin thought of the white hair on his temples, then looked at the book boy with half his foot in the tomb, and remained silent.
After a long while, he asked: "How is your family?"
He Miao sighed when he heard the words, as if he was lost in reminiscing, and began to pick out important things to describe in a slow tone. Overall, he was fine. Although his family's fortune was not as prosperous as before, he was still considered a wealthy family. He couldn't be hungry or cold.
:
"It's just that the day my wife passed away, she was still chanting your name, young master."
Cheng Lin hummed and said nothing.
He Miao sighed again, and then talked about himself with a smile. The couple were indeed his son and daughter-in-law, and they were quite filial. Their grandchildren had also entered the county school: "If it weren't for the fact that you gave me so many pills, young master,
Even if I take the medicine, old servant, I won’t be able to survive today.”
Cheng Lin thought that it was probably the details that were skipped in the plot that could afford the elixir...probably when he was admitted to the sect in his first year.
"It's just that now I know that I won't live much longer, so I keep thinking about seeing you again. Seeing that you are fine, I am satisfied, old servant." He Miao said.
"...Very good." Cheng Lin said these two words calmly.
Immediately, the small courtyard fell into silence. He Miao stood up tremblingly, and finally bowed without saying anything. He turned around and slowly went down the mountain with the support of the middle-aged couple. He Miao shed tears all along the mountain road.
Cheng Lin stood at the entrance of the courtyard, only to see that the three of them had disappeared, and then looked at Ji Xuan, who had appeared beside him at some unknown time.
A hundred years later, Ji Xuan is no longer the young Taoist priest he was. He is dressed in a green Taoist robe, with his shiny black hair tied on top of his head, fixed by a jade hairpin.
He looked about thirty years old, high-spirited, full of glory, elegant and majestic in his manners. Just standing there, with the breeze blowing by, he looked like a real immortal, his breath was ethereal and thick, and his realm was obviously very deep.
"Did you let them in?" Cheng Lin asked calmly.
He knew that the Daodao Sect's mountain gate was so majestic that ordinary people could not enter it.
Ji Xuan nodded without denying it. Then he looked at Cheng Lin, who was already showing his age. The expression on Ji Xuan's young face changed, but in the end he just asked: "You haven't established the foundation yet?"
"The foundation has not been established yet."
Hearing Cheng Lin's answer, Ji Xuan sighed softly. Although practitioners have a slightly longer life span, even those in the Mahayana realm can hardly live beyond 500 years.
"I have been designated as the next leader. Perhaps, I will officially take over soon." Ji Xuan looked towards the peaks and said in a calm voice.
Cheng Lin raised his white eyebrows slightly: "Congratulations."
Ji Xuan raised his right hand and handed over a jade wine jar: "My wedding wine."
Cheng Lin thought that this word sounded a bit strange, but he still took it with his right arm with dry skin: "Thank you, but it's a pity that I don't have any decent gifts here to give you."
Ji Xuan smiled, shook his head slightly, and then chatted a few more words, mentioning a few names. Deacon Zeng Ji was finally promoted to elder, and so-and-so and so-and-so became peak masters.
Cheng Lin thought about it carefully and then remembered that the two names referred to the girl in purple and the young man in gorgeous clothes.
"You're all fine," he said.
Ji Xuan looked at Cheng Lin and sighed, but didn't know what to say. He just said, "Senior brother, I'll leave first."
"I won't send it."
…
…
[Ji Xuan left, and the barren mountains became peaceful again]
[He Miao died on the third day after leaving, and Ji Xuan took over as the leader three months later. The Dao Sect is still prosperous. A hundred years have passed, and a new generation has replaced the old ones. The days have returned to the peace of the past. Planting vegetables,
Time always passes quickly when you are in a daze, practicing Qi, and practicing. You have adapted to such a dull life and silently wait for the arrival of death. Only occasionally when the sun is bright, you look at the strange mountains that shuttle between the peaks.
Boys and girls, you will recall the past]
[However, death has never come, but you are getting older and older. Your skin gradually loses moisture and becomes shriveled, like the bark of an old tree. Your hair is completely gray, with no trace of black left. Your eyes are beginning to look a bit dull.
Turbidity, ears no longer sound so good, no longer like to move so much, occasionally feel cold at night, start to like to listen to the sound of burning fire]
[In this kind of perception, you have lost the concept of time. In the blink of an eye, another four hundred years have passed. The disciples who were in the same class as you have also withered and died. There are not many left. The Dao Sect is still the leader in the mainland cultivation world.
Leader, almost no one remembers you anymore. Your name can only be found when looking through the sect records in Dianzang Peak. Most people have forgotten that you are still alive, but those who remember you have died first.]
…
The peaks became clear again from blur, but Cheng Lin could no longer see the scenery clearly. He knew that this was because his eyes were almost broken. He had no choice but to turn on "wide-field vision" and use his powers to observe.
All around.
The time... seems to be night, the season, seems to be winter.
There is lingering snow in the courtyard, the trees have lost all their leaves, a little bit of water in the water tank has frozen, and a broom that is almost bare is leaning against the door.
Cheng Lin suddenly felt very cold and wanted to light a fire. With steps that were no longer brisk, he opened the door and came to the low thatched house. He picked up a few pieces of firewood and hay from the dark corner.
He held these, stuffed them into the stove pit with difficulty, and then lit them. He reached out and picked up a dark fire fork from the stove, covered with soot and rust. It was the fire fork he took when he entered the sect.
, the "Grain Sword" summoned from the abyss has been used as a fire fork these years.
Picking up the He Jian, he stabbed it hard into the stove and blew air. The flame gradually became stronger. Cheng Lin felt the warmth, and the serious expression on his face softened slightly.
Suddenly, he felt something, put down the fire fork, opened the door, and saw two figures walking outside the courtyard.
Four hundred years have passed, and Ji Xuan has grown old. His hair is silver, and although his face is still red, he cannot hide his fatigue. It is not easy to be in charge of a sect. After four hundred years of intrigue, how can you not be tired?
His body has gained weight and he looks a little fat. He is still wearing a green robe, but his sleeves have been changed to be wider. He is no longer as handsome and translucent as before, and he has no choice but to become a little greasy.
Next to him, followed a boy of seventeen or eighteen years old, wearing green clothes, with bright eyes and white teeth, and a tall head, carrying some cooked food and side dishes in his hand.
"Ji Xuan?"
Cheng Lin looked at the door with pale eyes and said in an old tone.
Ji Xuan pointed to the door of the low thatched house. The old man, wearing a dusty old robe, was an inconspicuous man. He said to the young man beside him: "Call me uncle."
The young man was stunned for a moment, glanced at Cheng Lin strangely, then lowered his head and said seriously: "I've met my uncle."
——
ps: The prepared chapter names are still not used...