The Rongshan Sect had already been destroyed countless years ago, and the cultivation powerhouses in the sect had likely perished many years ago. Now, this man appeared in front of him as if he were a celestial being. If he was indeed still alive, how many years had he lived?
The man looked at Chen Chao and smiled, "Do you see any aura of death on me?"
As the man spoke, he exuded boundless vitality; full of life. There was no aura of death on him at all.
This terrifying vitality could only indicate that the man in front of him had reached an incredible level of cultivation and was still relatively young. In the long years, he remained in an extremely youthful state.
The Rongshan Sect had been annihilated countless years ago, yet this cultivator before him was actually still so young and powerful. Just how terrifying was his cultivation realm?
Chen Chao did not dare to imagine.
However, he dared not doubt the fact that the man before him was truly alive. It was because the overwhelming vitality emanating from him was truly too terrifying, it was impossible to fake.
"How long have you lived, Senior?"
Chen Chao suppressed his amazement and cast a cautious glance around at the same time, ready to make the right choice at any time.
The man replied indifferently, "I don't know how many years it has been. I've been cultivating diligently all this time. There's a saying, something about not feeling the passing of the years when secluded in the mountains. That's probably what it means. Sitting in boredom through the endless years is really quite lonely."
Chen Chao discreetly took a step back and asked, "Since Senior is still alive, do you know how the Rongshan Sect was destroyed?"
Upon hearing this, a touch of sorrow appeared in the man's eyes as he said softly, "I was in closed-seclusion at that time and unaware of what was happening outside. When I woke up, the entire sect and all my fellow sect members were dead."
He let out a sigh and continued in a soft voice, "I have no idea who was behind the destruction of my Rongshan Sect either. But my Rongshan Sect had numerous supreme powerhouses and it was still annihilated. Who was the one responsible for it?!"
There was some confusion in the man's eyes. Even if it was him, he could not comprehend this either. Such a massive sect was actually exterminated by someone so quietly.
The doubt in Chen Chao's eyes grew thicker as he asked, "Senior, didn't you think about leaving this place after you left seclusion?"
The man glanced at Chen Chao and replied indifferently, "Anywhere is a place for cultivation. Moreover, since that person annihilated my Rongshan Sect before, he might come again someday. I'm waiting for him here. When he returns, I will kill him."
For the first time, his voice turned somewhat cold, like the first snow of winter. Although it was chilly, it was not piercing, with a sense of purity.
However, at the same time he said this sentence, an endless surge of life force emanated from within his body, akin to a gust of wind that made everything around sway and tremble.
Chen Chao murmured, "I see."
The man before him was cultivating back when the Rongshan Sect was destroyed, so he escaped the calamity. But after escaping the calamity, he did not succumb to fear but stayed here after emerging from seclusion, awaiting the return of the powerhouse who had destroyed the sect to have a battle with him.
Such a temperament was truly extraordinary.
Indeed well-deserving of being a peerless powerhouse!
The man said calmly, "Unfortunately, I waited for so many years, but he never came."
The phrase "so many years" contained within it countless eons that could not be adequately conveyed by these few words.
Chen Chao fell silent, looking at the man before him, unsure of what else to say.
However, the man looked at him and said with a faint smile, "In the past, my Rongshan Sect boasted numerous powerhouses and countless scriptures. If those cultivation methods were to be passed on now, each sect would likely become an extraordinary existence. I see that you are fated. If you're willing to play a game with me, I'll tell you the location of the library. Consider it passing on the legacy for the Rongshan Sect."
As he spoke, a chessboard appeared in front of the man, with black and white pieces set upon it.
In his words, there was something that the vast majority of cultivators could not refuse. Those daoist techniques were indeed as he described—each one was an unparalleled existence. Moreover, for the contemporary cultivators, these were all ancient techniques; far from ordinary.
But, Chen Chao still shook his head, "Those daoist techniques are in ancient script, this junior doesn't understand it."
The man chuckled, with a hint of realization in his voice, "Why would you need to understand the words to learn my Rongshan Sect's daoist techniques? It's not that complicated."
Chen Chao continued, "I am a martial artist and cannot cultivate daoist techniques. Moreover, I don't know how to play chess either."
This time, the man was stunned, looking at Chen Chao in disbelief as he said, "Who told you that martial artists cannot cultivate daoist techniques?"
When he finished saying this, Chen Chao looked at the man before him in disbelief.
Among the contemporary cultivators, there had always been a general consensus that martial artists being able to cultivate was already charity from the heavens. Therefore, it was only natural that the process of cultivation for martial artists was extremely difficult. Similarly, the inability to cultivate magic spells was also considered normal.
But according to the implication of this man, the notion that martial artists could not cultivate daoist techniques was not logical.
If it were indeed the case...
The man sneered, "After so many years, is there no longer anyone who knows why martial artists are called martial artists?"
……
……
The middle-aged daoist looked up and said, "There are two immortal medicines. One has already left this place, and its traces cannot be found. The other one should still be here."
The black ox looked at the middle-aged daoist and said, "Daoist Master is truly amazing."
The middle-aged daoist furrowed his brows slightly, his gaze piercing through the weeds. Shaking his head, he said with an emotional sigh, "We might not necessarily find it. The term 'immortal medicine' is closely associated with the word 'immortal.' Even for Nepenthe cultivators, it's not guaranteed that it could be found."
The black ox frowned, "Even with Daoist Master's ability, there's no way?"
The middle-aged daoist shook his head and did not speak. He just turned around and walked outside of the medicine garden.
During their growth, the two immortal medicines had already drained the vitality of the surrounding ordinary herbs. Now, the entire medicinal garden was overgrown with weeds, with no sign of any medicinal herbs. Therefore, there was no longer any point in searching here.
The black ox felt somewhat disappointed. He had initially thought that when he came to the medicinal garden, apart from the so-called immortal medicines that could not be touched, there would be other medicinal herbs that could be freely consumed. However, after walking around, he found that there was not even a single medicinal plant, which naturally left him disappointed.
The middle-aged daoist walked towards the outskirts of the flower sea and casually asked, "What's there in the main hall on the mountaintop? Cultivation scriptures? Or is it the development history of your Rongshan Sect?"
The black ox said, "Those cultivation scriptures should be stored in a dedicated library. I haven't been inside that main hall, so I don't know what's there."
"But, Daoist Master can go and take a look for yourself."
The black ox looked toward the distant peak, a hint of nostalgia in his eyes.
The middle-aged daoist said calmly, "Where can we find written records?"
The black ox thought about it and said, "Daoist Master, under that main hall, there's an iron chain bridge. Behind the bridge, there's a stone stele and a stone platform called the Dao Enlightenment Platform. It used to be the place where sect cultivators cultivated and gained enlightenment on Dao. The stone tablet has some inscriptions, but I don't know the contents. I've never been there, I only heard about it from others."
The middle-aged daoist looked at the black ox and said, "Let's go and take a look."
After saying this, the two of them headed towards the mountain and soon arrived at the front of the square.
The middle-aged daoist looked at the group of cultivators on the square in silence for a moment. The black ox, however, dashed excitedly toward the square. He searched the square for a long time and finally found a monk in the crowd.
The monk had his eyes closed, appearing exactly the same as when he was alive. It was just that at this moment, he was completely devoid of life force.
Tears filled the black ox's eyes when it saw this scene. Memories from many years ago welled up in his mind once more. There were not many familiar faces in this sect back then, and the monk was the one who accompanied him the most. On ordinary days, the monk would pick some herbs and bring them here. When he watched the black ox eat the medicinal herbs, he would recount his experiences over the past few days with the ox.
They would watch the sunset and the sunrise together, gaze at the stars, and watch the rain.
They might not have been friends, but they certainly shared a bond.
The black ox wanted to nuzzle the monk with his nose, but as that ox head got closer, the voice of the middle-aged daoist suddenly sounded out, "You must think carefully. If you really touch him, he will immediately dissipate into thin air and cease to exist."
Although the middle-aged daoist could not use his magic spells in this place, since he was a Nepenthe cultivator, his insight was beyond that of an ordinary person. With a single glance, he could tell that these cultivators had died many years ago and yet remained the same as they were back then. However, if touched by an outsider, everything would change, and they would cease to exist, as if they had never been there.
Vanish into thin air, as if they had never existed.
The black ox halted, refraining from nudging the monk with his large ox head. Instead, it slowly retracted its head.
Then he spat out that half of the demon-subduing staff from his mouth and dropped it in front of the monk, looking at him with a sense of melancholy.
The middle-aged daoist paid no attention and walked to the entrance of the main hall, looking at the murals on it. Soon, his gaze settled on the final damaged mural.
Then, he turned to glance at the black ox and walked into the main hall.
……
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