Chapter 248: That Would Take at Least 500 Years
"Hehehe!"
Ge Ye smiled faintly. "Shen Daoxing, there’s no need to be modest. Perhaps this jade seal was fated to be yours. Once you leave, you must cultivate diligently. Do not forget your true self, and do not fail the expectations the Huangliang Immortal has for you."
Ge Ye paused for a moment before continuing, "Also, this jade seal contains a great secret concerning the Great Dao of cultivation. You must never show it to others lightly, especially not to those old-timers. A gentleman is innocent, but his treasure makes him a criminal!"
"Thank you for the reminder, Mr. Ge!"
Shen Daoxing clasped his hands and bowed.
Yi, who was listening off to the side, suddenly grew sad. "Master, Master, does Shen have to go? Can’t he stay?"
Ge Ye shook his head. "Yi, he is not one of us."
At this, Yi lowered his head, a wave of disappointment washing over him.
Shen Daoxing turned to look at Yi. Seeing his crestfallen expression, his heart stirred. Although they hadn’t spent much time together, he had unknowingly come to see Yi as family. Now that it was time to part, he truly felt reluctant to leave.
Just then, Yi suddenly raised his head and looked at Shen Daoxing with expectation. "Shen, will you come back to see me?"
Shen Daoxing froze. He had stumbled into this place by a stroke of luck; getting back after leaving would be quite difficult.
But after a moment of silence, Shen Daoxing smiled faintly and nodded. "I will!"
"That’s great!"
Yi’s face instantly bloomed into a smile. "That’s great! My big sister still has a chance!"
"..." Shen Daoxing was speechless.
While they were talking, a middle-aged man in a black robe emerged silently from the darkness. He took just a single, soft step, yet in an instant, he was already beneath the Huangliang Tomb.
It was impossible to tell how he did it. His figure blurred and floated up gently, his entire body sinking into the Huangliang Tomb.
When he reappeared, he was already on the 7th Floor.
Gazing out at the surrounding world of ice and snow, he walked slowly until he reached a wide cave.
Looking up, he saw a young man lying on the ground, his eyes wide open.
"You shouldn’t have moved against that person."
A hoarse voice came from the middle-aged man in the black robe.
The black-robed man extended a finger and drew it gently through the empty air.
A black light flashed. Specks of black light floated up from all around, slowly gathering, bit by bit, in his hand.
After a moment, a small black flame appeared on the middle-aged, black-robed man’s finger.
"His body was just too tempting."
A young man’s voice came from within the small black flame.
The middle-aged man’s expression suddenly turned serious. "But you have more important things to do."
"Yes!"
The young man in the black flame replied. Abruptly, the flame flew up from the middle-aged man’s fingertip, rising slowly until it reached the floating stone and the withered old man upon it.
With a flash of black light, the small black flame burrowed into the old man’s body.
Suddenly, the withered old man’s eyes shot open. A black glint flashed within them, and he came back to life.
Then, his withered, ancient face began to writhe rapidly. In the blink of an eye, it transformed into the face of a young man.
Outside the Huangliang Tomb, Ge Ye’s brow suddenly furrowed as he realized something. "Not good!"
His figure flickered and vanished, reappearing the next instant on the 7th Floor of the Huangliang Tomb.
He hurried to the cave and looked toward the floating stone. The withered old man who had been sitting there was gone.
The cave was completely empty; not a soul was in sight.
"Damn it!"
Ge Ye stared blankly for a moment, his eyebrows instantly knitting together like a rope.
Then, his hands formed a series of rapid signs, as if he were divining something.
Ge Ye’s figure suddenly vanished again, reappearing outside the Huangliang Tomb.
Shen Daoxing immediately stepped forward and asked, "Mr. Ge, what happened?"
Ge Ye let out a heavy sigh. "The Huangliang Immortal’s mortal remains have been stolen."
Shen Daoxing was shocked. "Who did it?"
Ge Ye paused. "It was the two black-robed men from Cangzhou."
The ones with the blood-colored bats.
Shen Daoxing stood stunned. ’It’s them again!’
"Sigh... What’s done is done..."
Ge Ye shook his head. "The Immortal’s remains... although it’s just an empty shell, it is still the body of an Immortal. After you leave, you must be extremely careful of those people!"
Shen Daoxing was taken aback. For him, "after he leaves" would be five hundred years in the future. But apparently, these people with the blood-colored bats were still active everywhere.
Shen Daoxing nodded.
Ge Ye waved his elegant sleeve. "I’ll see you off."
Shen Daoxing saw the world before him blur. Everything in his surroundings became indistinct. When his vision cleared, he found himself in a valley.
The entire valley was lush and green, teeming with overgrown plants. Only in the center stood a stretch of dilapidated stone ruins.
In the center of the ruins, Shen Daoxing saw an ancient, stone-laid Array. It was carved with twisting, tadpole-like characters that he didn’t recognize.
"This is one of the exits of the Huangliang Secret Realm. It can take you back to the outside world."
Ge Ye led them to the front of the ancient Array.
"Shen! You have to come visit me often in the future."
Yi clutched Shen Daoxing’s hand, unwilling to let go.
Shen Daoxing sighed inwardly. He reached out, patted Yi’s head, and smiled faintly. "I will."
Then, Shen Daoxing and the young woman in red slowly walked into the Array.
Ge Ye pointed a finger at the Array. A light ignited beneath their feet, growing brighter and brighter until it enveloped them completely.
Gradually, their figures began to turn ethereal.
Just as they were about to disappear, the young woman in red suddenly reached into her clothes, pulled out a small Jade Pendant, and tossed it to Shen Daoxing.
"This is my Inherited Jade Pendant. It can sense my location. After you get out, if you’ve decided on those three matters, you can use this Jade Pendant to find me."
the young woman in red said coolly.
Shen Daoxing quickly reached out and caught it. The next moment, he vanished.
After Shen Daoxing and Dugu Sheng disappeared, Yi spoke.
"Master, will I ever get a chance to see Shen again?"
Yi suddenly grew somber. "I know... Shen is different from everyone else. He’ll never be able to enter our Huangliang Secret Realm again."
Ge Ye turned to look at Yi and said unexpectedly, "If he can’t come in, why don’t you go out and find him?"
Yi’s eyes lit up. "Master, can I go outside?"
"Of course!"
Ge Ye nodded. "But the outside world is very dangerous. The prerequisite is that you must first become strong enough!"
"No problem! I’ll work hard at my cultivation!"
Yi’s eyes were sparkling, and he was suddenly filled with immense fighting spirit.
"However, with your talent, you’ll need to endure a great deal of hardship and spend a very, very long time," Ge Ye added discouragingly.
"Master, I’m not afraid of hardship!"
Yi’s fighting spirit didn’t wane in the slightest. "How long do you think it will take before I can go out?"
"Well... at least five hundred years, I’d say!"
...
In a daze, Shen Daoxing saw scenes flash rapidly before his eyes. Storm clouds gathered, and the clouds in the sky swirled together only to disperse in the blink of an eye. The surrounding flowers and trees grew rapidly, only to wither and vanish in an instant. In a flash, the four seasons had turned, oceans had become mulberry fields, the sun and moon had shifted, and mountains had risen and fallen.
Everything around him changed faster and faster, until all Shen Daoxing could see was a blur.
Suddenly, his vision went completely white, and he couldn’t see a thing.
An unknown amount of time passed.
When the surrounding scenery reappeared, he was already back at the place where he had first fallen into the abyss.