Chapter 526 - 226: Reality
In a private room with a window on the top floor of the Gathering Immortals Tower in Celestial Treasure City.
Shen Xiuyong and Qiao Hongyun sat across from each other. The Spirit Tea before them had already grown cool, yet neither had touched it.
They would occasionally meet each other’s gaze, their expressions complex. There was the anticipation of reuniting with an old friend after many years, but also a hidden thread of tension and wistful sentiment.
Both had received a message from Ruan Lingxiu, asking to meet them here.
"It’s been seven or eight years, hasn’t it?" Shen Xiuyong broke the silence, his voice low as he rubbed his teacup.
"Mm."
Qiao Hongyun’s gaze drifted out the window. "After we parted ways at the Ten Thousand Poison Swamp, she returned to her family. We heard nothing from her after that. I never expected... that she would become a True Disciple of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect, ranked ninth."
His tone was filled with emotion, and even more so, a deeply buried sense of melancholy.
The gentle woman who had once traveled with them, full of smiles and laughter, was now an existence they could only look up to.
Ninth among the True Disciples. That was a position at the very pinnacle of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect’s younger generation, a height he, Qiao Hongyun, could likely never reach in his lifetime.
Joining the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect and becoming an Elder had once filled him with pride. But sitting here now, waiting, he was forced to a stark realization: an insurmountable chasm already lay between them and her.
That chasm was the foundation of a thousand-year-old Noble Family, and an even greater abyss of personal opportunity and fate.
’The fluttering feelings of my youth now seem more like a wisp of green smoke I can never grasp.’
And wasn’t it the same for Shen Xiuyong?
He appeared nonchalant as he raised his cup and took a sip, but in truth, his heart was a sea of turbulent waves.
In their youth, both he and Qiao Hongyun had harbored a vague affection for Ruan Lingxiu. Though she hailed from a thousand-year-old Noble Family, she had none of the arrogance that came with it. Her personality was gentle and considerate, and being with her was like a breath of fresh air.
Unfortunately, she later followed her family’s arrangements, and their unspoken feelings scattered to the wind.
Now, about to meet again, besides the joy of reuniting with an old friend, there was an unavoidable sense of wistfulness that things were no longer the same.
CREAK—
The door was gently pushed open, and a figure slowly walked in.
The newcomer was a woman who appeared to be around thirty years old. She wore an elegant, moon-white long dress, its hem embroidered with faint cloud patterns, and a light cyan gauze cloak over it—a combination that bespoke her status without sacrificing grace.
Her dark hair was swept up into a dignified and elegant coiling bun, secured by a simple jade hairpin. A few stray strands fell beside her ears, adding a touch of softness to her appearance.
Her face was as beautiful as ever, and her every glance carried a natural air of distinction.
She was the ninth of the Ten Great True Disciples of the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect—Ruan Lingxiu.
Seeing the two men in the room, Ruan Lingxiu’s face broke into a genuine smile, like the first thaw of winter ice.
"Xiuyong, Hongyun, it’s been a long time." Her voice was still gentle, carrying a hint of imperceptible apology.
Shen Xiuyong and Qiao Hongyun stood up almost simultaneously, their eyes involuntarily lighting up.
"Yes, it has been a long time, Lingxiu," Shen Xiuyong replied with a smile, his tone familiar.
Ruan Lingxiu walked to the table and sat down, explaining softly, "I went with my master to the Taiyi Upper Sect for a doctrinal exchange a few years ago and entered seclusion for several years. After returning to the Sect, I was swamped with various duties. It’s only recently that things have truly settled down, and I wanted to see you both as soon as I had a free moment."
"It’s fine. It’s good just to see you again," Qiao Hongyun said, suppressing the stirring in his heart and trying to keep his tone calm and natural.
’Some sights are fated only to be admired from a distance.’
Ruan Lingxiu smiled faintly and changed the subject. "The Sect’s upper echelons pushing the Xu Wang Mountain plan to recruit talents from the Hundred Sects... it’s a good thing, when you think about it."
Hearing this, Qiao Hongyun felt the sentiment in his heart deepen. He nodded and said, "Yes. Joining the Celestial Treasure Upper Sect has broadened my horizons. Only now do I truly understand how vast the world is."
These words came from the heart. His time since joining the Upper Sect had left him with much to reflect on.
Shen Xiuyong also chimed in with a few stories about the Sect, and the atmosphere gradually warmed.
After a few moments of idle chat, he seemed to remember something, and his tone grew slightly more formal. "Lingxiu, speaking of which, I brought a martial nephew with me to Celestial Treasure City this time. His name is Chen Qing. The boy has excellent potential and is currently cultivating on Xu Wang Mountain. If you have the chance in the future, I hope you, as his senior sister, might look out for him a little."
He knew Ruan Lingxiu’s personality well. If he weren’t an old friend she genuinely acknowledged, he would never have made such a request.
Upon hearing this, Ruan Lingxiu’s expression turned to one of interest. "Oh? For you, Shen Xiuyong, to say his ’potential is excellent,’ he must be quite the remarkable young man. What is his Cultivation level now?"
Shen Xiuyong then briefly described Chen Qing’s situation. He emphasized that Chen Qing had already advanced to the Mid-stage Astral Force at just over twenty years of age, had passed the twenty-ninth floor of the Celestial Treasure Tower in one go, and was ranked eighth among the new disciples on Xu Wang Mountain, possessing the acknowledged qualifications of a True Successor Candidate.
"Mid-stage Astral Force, and he passed the twenty-ninth floor?"
Ruan Lingxiu’s elegant brows arched slightly, and for the first time, a clear look of astonishment appeared on her face. "Truly extraordinary! I never imagined the Wutai Sect of Yunlin Prefecture could produce such a figure!"
As a True Disciple, she naturally understood what this meant.
The potential Chen Qing had displayed so far made him a standard True Successor Candidate. In the future, reaching Astral Force Perfection was practically guaranteed, and he even had a high chance of breaking through to the True Essence Realm.
As long as no accidents occurred, a person like that had a very high chance of competing for a True Disciple position in the future.
His only shortcoming was likely his origin in a small, minor sect. The foundation of his Cultivation from his Heart Method was probably only at the Upper Level, incomparable to those prodigies from Noble Families who built their foundation with a Supreme Heart Method.
"Which lineage did he join for his Cultivation?" Ruan Lingxiu asked with concern.