“Big Brother, you have already attained the Connate stage?”
The news that Zhou Donghuang had attained the Connate stage was spreading through the Chu royal city. Meanwhile, Yun Lu, who was in the third apartment of Chuxiu Inn, heard the servant girls whispering among themselves and ran to the second apartment immediately in search of Zhou Donghuang.
When Yun Lu arrived, the youth was seated at the stone table sipping tea and enjoying the sunshine, and the shimmering green aura that enveloped him had been drawn back into his body and could no longer be seen.
“Wow! Big Brother is fantastic. An eighteen-year-old Connate stage adept! In the history of the Sixteen Countries of the East Valley, it is said that there has never been such a powerful person.”
Yun Lu leapt into the youth’s arms, looking at him with a worshipful smile as she continued muttering, “But I wonder when I will be able to attain the Connate stage just like my big brother.”
“Silly girl, aside from Big Gold and Little Gold, you will definitely be the first among the others to attain the Connate stage with your talent.”
Zhou Donghuang stroked the girl’s head with an indulgent smile.
“Really?”
Yun Lu’s eyes shone, moist and bright, as she gave him a doe-eyed look, as though seeking further confirmation of what the youth had just said.
“Of course.”
Zhou Donghuang nodded confidently.
He was impressed by Yun Lu’s improvement during this period of time.
Yun Lu’s current level of practice was almost catching up with Lu Qinghu and Freezing Wind, the two members of his entourage who had the highest current level of practice.
With Yun Lu’s martial talent, she would definitely be the first among his entourage to attain the Connate stage and become a Connate-stage adept if all went well.
“When I attain the Connate stage, I will no longer be a burden to you. When that happens, I will be able to go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to look for you.”
There was a look of longing in Yun Lu’s sparkling eyes.
“Burden?” Zhou Donghuang frowned. “Xiao Lu, who said you were a burden to me?”
“Hehe… Big Brother, that was a slip of the tongue. Mother said that, and she told me not to tell you.” Yun Lu giggled. “Big Brother, don’t you tell on me.”
“Mother said that?” Zhou Donghuang’s frown deepened. “Xiao Lu, what’s the meaning of this?”
“Big Brother, Mother said that if we go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters with you, we would definitely burden you. Moreover, she said that she prefers Qingshan town and plans to return to Qingshan town in Yunfeng prefecture after you go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters,” Yun Lu said as she blinked her doe-like eyes.
After hearing what Yun Lu had said, Zhou Donghuang shook his head. “Why would Mother think that? You all would never be a burden to me.”
After finding out from Yun Lu that Lin Lan wanted to return to Qingshan town, Zhou Donghuang paid a special visit to Lin Lan to persuade her to go with him to the Valley of the Medicine Masters. “Mother, you all will not be a burden to me. Moreover, I will be able to take even better care of you in the Valley of the Medicine Masters.”
“Donghuang, I have made up my mind. You don’t need to try and persuade me.” Lin Lan said with a smile, “Go and focus on what you have to do. In the future, just come back to Qingshan town and visit me as often as you can, whenever you are free.”
“I will also practice diligently, and will strive to live long enough to see you get married and start a family and have many children.”
At this, there was a look of longing in Lin Lan’s eyes.
Zhou Donghuang spent some time trying to persuade her, but Lin Lan was adamant and Zhou Donghuang had no choice but to give up. “Mother, since you really have made up your mind, I won’t try to persuade you anymore. Tomorrow, I will send you back to Qingshan town personally and spend some time with you there before going to the Valley of the Medicine Masters.”
…..
It was just as well that the golden-crowned eagle Little Gold had attained Great Consummation of the Qi-Gathering and had grown physically larger. Otherwise, the two golden-crowned eagles would not have been able to ferry Zhou Donghuang and the other ten people.
“Sister Zixi, Aunty Mei, don’t be afraid. Even if you do fall off, Little Gold will save you,” Yun Lu said to Yang Zixi and Aunty Mei who had their eyes squeezed tightly shut as they sped through the air on Little Gold’s back with Yun Lu seated next to Lin Lan.
It was the first time that Yang Zixi and Aunty Mei were sitting on a golden-crowned eagle. High in the air, they did not dare open their eyes for a long time.
After a long while, Yang Zixi finally mustered enough courage to open her eyes and take in the surrounding view.
“You all…really don’t intend to go with me to the Valley of the Medicine Masters?”
Zhou Donghuang stood beside Lin Lan and addressed Fu, Freezing Wind, Lu Qinghu, Zhou Han and Zhou Feng in a calm, even voice.
“Young Master, since Mistress has already decided to return to Qingshan town, I will also prepare to return to the Lu family. If Mistress would like to continue running the Magnolia Guild, the Lu family will be her biggest backer!” Lu Qinghu began with a smile, but as he finished, his expression became more earnest and serious.
“Young Master, my ability is too weak, and I will only burden you if I follow you. Moreover, I was born and raised in Qingshan town, and I have deep feelings for Qingshan town. If Mistress wants to return, I would like to return with her,” Fu said.
“Young Master, I, Zhou Han, and Zhou Feng—the three of us—will protect Mistress and Young Mistress. As for you, after you go to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, you will no longer need to have any worries at the back of your mind,” Freezing Wind added in.
“Mm.” Zhou Donghuang nodded.
In all honesty, if these people all stayed with him, he really would be somewhat restricted. Now that they were all staying of their own accord, he did not try to persuade them otherwise.
Of course, this did not mean that Zhou Donghuang intended to abandon them.
Conversely, Zhou Donghuang had decided to nurture each and every one of them. This way, after he ascended to the divine realm, he would be able to leave a trusted and powerful source of strength behind in the physical universe that was completely loyal to him to protect his mother Lin Lan, his little sister Yun Lu, as well as everyone else he cared about.
His experience in his previous life had driven home the importance of this.
In the history of this physical universe, there was no shortage of powerful adepts who, after ascending to the divine realm, neglected to provide for their friends and relatives in the physical universe, leaving them unprotected against vengeful attacks by old enemies.
After ascending to the divine realm, not only did the friends and relatives of those powerful adepts suffer disaster, but even the sects and family clans that they had previously been a part of had been wiped out and extinguished!
In the physical universe, any attachment was a potential worry and a point of weakness, unless he lived like he did in his previous life without any attachments.
At the same time, in the course of exploring and wandering the universe, one could be certain that feuds would be started with other people or powers. This was something that was unavoidable and could not be solved at the root every single time.
Therefore, cultivating a source of strength that was loyal and belonged completely to himself was extremely important.
“It is also good that they stay in the country of Yunyang. In the future, as long as I obtain some resources for practicing, I can send it back to them anytime. That way, their progress will definitely not be slow!”
With this thought, Zhou Donghuang made a decision in his heart.
Even without using their qi, the two Great Consummation golden-crowned eagles demons managed to reach Qingshan town in Yunfeng prefecture in a short period of several days using their own natural flying speed.
It was on the last day of the year 1229 of the Ziyun Era, December 31, that they returned to Qingshan town.
At Yunxuan Restaurant, business was still booming. After Zhou Donghuang and his entourage finished their meal in the heavenly dining booth of Yunxuan Restaurant, they retreated to the compound behind Yunxuan Restaurant.
Although no one had stayed there for a very long time, the chief steward of Yunxuan Restaurant, a side relative of the Lu family named Lu Qing, had arranged for someone to keep it in order. Being a lady, she was very meticulous. Therefore, everything there was still as clean and neat as ever, and once Zhou Donghuang and the others had arrived, they were able to move straight in.
“This Lu Qing of your Lu family really is pretty good.”
Zhou Donghuang was generous in his praise of Lu Qing’s work in the presence of Lu Qinghu.
“I will make sure I reward her and her family handsomely once I return to the Lu family,” Lu Qinghu replied with a nod.
“When do you intend to return to the Lu family?” Zhou Donghuang asked.
“I intend to stay with you till you leave so that I can listen to your teachings,” Lu Qinghu replied diligently.
“Listening to my teachings is a pretense. Hoping that I can help with your practice is the truth, isn’t it?”
Zhou Donghuang looked deeply at Lu Qinghu, laying bare his innermost thoughts with a word and making Lu Qinghu smile awkwardly. “The most important thing is that practicing with you, Young Master, will help increase my rate of practice more than ten times.”
Although Lu Qinghu had been enjoying the Buddhist light given out by the Buddhist essence all along that aided in his practice, he did not know it was Buddhist light given out by the Buddhist essence.
He only knew that under the glow of that golden light, his rate of practice increased more than ten times!
This was also the main reason he could not bear to leave Zhou Donghuang before he left for the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
Over the next few days, Zhou Donghuang constantly maintained the output of Buddhist essence from his body and transformed it into Buddhist light, aiding Lu Qinghu and the others in their practice.
As for him, he remained at Lin Lan’s side, chatting idly with her, talking about events from his childhood up till recent times.
However, whenever he mentioned Chen Dandan, Lin Lan would abruptly fall silent.
Chen Dandan. A cold gleam flashed across Zhou Donghuang’s eyes. He knew that Chen Dandan was most probably in the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and if only he went to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, he would see Chen Dandan again.
“Chen Dandan, are you still congratulating yourself now because you found out that your biological father was the second elder of the Valley of the Medicine Masters?
Don’t worry. Very soon, I will be going to the Valley of the Medicine Masters, and turn your heaven into hell!”
With this thought, it seemed that a layer of frost had formed on Zhou Donghuang’s face.
Later, as Lin Lan had constantly mentioned Granny Lian, Zhou Donghuang specially made a trip to the capital of Yunfeng prefecture on Big Gold to personally bring Granny Lian back to Qingshan town.
At the same time, he wrote down many formulas and gave them to Lin Lan. “Mother, among these formulas is the formula for the qi-gathering elixir that you are all currently using, as well as formulas for some other elixirs and potions…”
“As for the more valuable herbs among those that cannot be found in Yunfeng prefecture, I will make a trip to the Chu royal city before I move on to the Valley of the Medicine Masters to get them to procure those herbs, and send it over to you.”
Seeing that Zhou Donghuang had given the formulas to her, Lin Lan knew that her son was about to leave soon.
“Donghuang, when are you preparing to leave?” Lin Lan asked with some reluctance.
“In two days’ time.”
Zhou Donghuang continued with a slight smile, “Mother, I will come back to visit you when I am free. Big Gold will be able to attain the Connate stage very soon, and when he becomes a Connate-stage demon, it will only take a few days to return to Qingshan town from the Valley of the Medicine Masters.
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