Watching the Mountain

"All the fun things, all the delicious things, and any Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, Cultivation Techniques, or opportunities we run into from now on—they’re all for this Fairy! That way, when I become the world’s number one powerhouse in the future, I’ll be able to take care of you all."

The moment she finished, Li Daoyi and Chu Lingxiao also realized it. Relocating a sect wasn’t something that could be accomplished overnight. For at least the next few decades, Luo Qianxue would still be in Changqing County.

Li Daoyi pointed at Luo Qianxue with a resigned smile. "Fellow Daoist Qianxue, you’re still as greedy as ever."

Chu Lingxiao, on the other hand, just gave a cold snort, then turned his back and left without a second glance.

Seeing this, Luo Qianxue reached out from a distance and shouted, "Chu Ice Cube, what’s that supposed to mean? Do you not want this Fairy to take care of you? With that attitude, aren’t you afraid that in the future I’ll..."

As she spoke, she turned back, gave Xu Ran a slight bow, and then ran out after Chu Lingxiao. Li Daoyi, at their side, also greeted Xu Ran before silently following them.

Xu Ran watched as, in the span of just a few sentences, the three of them swept away the lingering sadness of their impending separation, turning the scene into one of playful banter. A smile couldn’t help but appear on his face.

’He could understand their thinking. They were young, after all. Even if they were aware of the parting, they couldn’t truly imagine what life would be like after they separated. In their minds, parting just meant they wouldn’t be able to see each other as often as they did now, but their bond would surely never change. In the future, they would just be apart; everything else would stay the same. This was the feeling almost everyone had when they experienced their first major separation.’

Xu Ran understood that separation wasn’t so simple. Many things would change completely once they were apart.

However, he didn’t say this to Li Daoyi and the others. Even if he had, they wouldn’t have been able to understand. Some things could only be truly felt after one had experienced them.

Besides, it wasn’t as if friendships couldn’t remain unchanged after a separation.

’Perhaps the three of them could manage it, too. Who was to say? If that were the case, it would be wrong of him to say anything now.’

*

*

*

Just as Luo Qianxue had said, a few days later, news that the previous Sect Leader of the Jade Radiance Immortal Sect had advanced to become a Divinity Transformation Daoist Monarch began to spread throughout the Cultivation Realm.

Since Luo Qianxue had revealed the news in advance, the Profound Pure Sect was already prepared and showed no signs of panic.

The Sect’s upper echelons quickly devised a response, deciding that in one year’s time, Sect Leader Yue Qingyu would personally lead a delegation to the Jade Radiance Immortal Sect to attend the ceremony.

The Sect’s congratulatory gift was a medium-sized mine.

The Jade Radiance Immortal Sect had already made a gesture of goodwill, indicating they would not remain in Changqing County forever and that the Profound Pure Sect’s status would remain unchanged. Naturally, the Sect needed to reciprocate the favor and show its sincerity.

Before relocating, any power that had just advanced would certainly want to reap a satisfactory harvest from their original territory before they would be willing to leave.

Otherwise, once they left, there would be no way to come back. If they didn’t eat their fill before leaving, how could they depart willingly?

All the powers in Changqing County understood this logic. Therefore, it wasn’t just the Profound Pure Sect; every surrounding sect would have to make a huge contribution, showing their sincerity as they respectfully sent off the Jade Radiance Immortal Sect.

A year later, after leading the delegation to the Jade Radiance Immortal Sect and returning, Yue Qingyu shared her impression with Xu Ran: "I felt that Daoist Monarch Jade Radiance’s condition was a bit strange."

Xu Ran’s curiosity was piqued. "How so?" he asked.

Yue Qingyu frowned slightly, shook her head, and said, "Perhaps it was just my imagination."

Then, she changed the subject, looked at Xu Ran, and asked, "How is that boy, Jiang Nian?"

Hearing this, Xu Ran smiled slightly and replied, "Quite well. He’s very talented. Recently, using the theories I left for him, he’s been trying to cultivate Star Spirit Grass that can grow in ordinary fields."

"Oh?" Hearing this, a glint appeared in Yue Qingyu’s eyes. Star Spirit Grass was the main ingredient for refining Qi Gathering Pills, and Qi Gathering Pills were the most common and widely used elixirs in the Cultivation Realm.

If Jiang Nian really managed to cultivate Star Spirit Grass that could grow in ordinary fields, it would bring immense benefits to the Profound Pure Sect.

She looked directly at Xu Ran and asked, "Junior Brother, do you think he can succeed?"

Xu Ran replied without the slightest hesitation, "He absolutely will."

He believed in Jiang Nian, and he also had absolute confidence in his own theoretical work.

Back then, he had developed Spirit Rice that could grow in ordinary fields from nothing. In all the years since, the Sect’s Spirit Plant Masters had failed to build upon his original theories to produce any new breakthroughs.

’Perhaps this was because Spirit Rice was so different from other Spirit Medicines and Spiritual Plants.’

However, he believed that with Jiang Nian’s talent combined with his own new insights, success was certain.

Hearing this, Yue Qingyu looked at him with a beaming smile and said softly:

"It’s rare to see you look so confident, Junior Brother."

Xu Ran smiled faintly at her words and replied calmly, "When it comes to being a Spirit Plant Master, I believe I have the right to be absolutely confident."

’After all, I’m the one known to countless people across the land as Shennong. There are statues and monuments to my great deeds everywhere. The title of Shennong... it was his greatest accomplishment since coming to this world. He could absolutely be proud of it. He wasn’t being falsely modest; he reveled in the sense of accomplishment. Otherwise, how could he justify the decades of painstaking research he’d once undertaken?’