Watching the Mountain

Xu Ran didn’t understand why Ye Xingchen had gone so long without restoring his arm. Nor did he know why, after a simple boast from him, the man had suddenly become willing to take the Life Creation Pill and heal it.

In truth, he hadn’t had much contact with Ye Xingchen or Wang Xingye. Even before they had offered to find the Awakening Liquid for him, their interactions had been few and far between.

Afterward, when Ye Xingchen brought back the Awakening Liquid alone, their contact had remained minimal.

Xu Ran had sought him out a few times, but Ye Xingchen had always told him not to worry about it. He gave off the impression that he didn’t want to be disturbed, so Xu Ran felt it was best not to intrude.

This time was no different. After taking the Elixir, Ye Xingchen told Xu Ran he needed to focus on healing, clearly unwilling to chat any further.

Seeing this, Xu Ran had no choice but to leave.

Regardless, seeing Ye Xingchen restore his arm finally put Xu Ran’s mind at ease.

The image of that one-armed, iron-willed figure had been seared into his memory, impossible to forget.

After returning from Ye Xingchen’s place, Xu Ran glanced around and saw that Ye Shu was not in the Cave Mansion. He figured he was probably still at the Scripture Pavilion.

He glanced at the sky. By all rights, the Scripture Pavilion should have closed by now, yet Ye Shu hadn’t come back. Xu Ran could only shake his head in resignation.

Ye Shu was a slow person. He was slow in everything he did: he spoke slowly, walked slowly, cultivated slowly, and worked slowly.

Xu Ran had arranged a cleaning job for him at the Scripture Pavilion. Normally, such a task could be done in half an hour. Even for someone who worked a bit slower, it would take an hour at most.

But Ye Shu was different. The Scripture Pavilion was open for three hours a day, and he would insist on taking more than four hours to do the cleaning.

When Xu Ran had first seen him working so methodically, he had even tried to persuade him, saying, "There’s no need to meticulously sweep every single corner. You can speed things up a bit."

But Ye Shu had replied that if the Sect arranged for the work to be done manually, there must be a good reason for it. Though he didn’t understand why, he felt that since he had accepted the job, he had to do it conscientiously and responsibly, not just go through the motions.

Curious about Ye Shu’s unyielding nature, Xu Ran had once asked him if the Little Witch ever criticized him for it.

Ye Shu shook his head. "Mother said that being conscientious is my greatest strength, and she told me to maintain it."

Hearing this, Xu Ran couldn’t help but praise her in his heart: ’What a great mother. What a great Little Witch.’

He clearly remembered how the Little Witch, Ye Qingxue, had been utterly exhausted by Ye Shu’s sluggishness. From the frantic way she acted, it looked like she was about to be driven mad.

And yet, not only had she not criticized Ye Shu, but she had patiently found the virtue in his ways and praised him for it. That was something few parents could do.

One could only say that Ye Shu’s respect for her was well-deserved.

Since Ye Shu wasn’t around, Xu Ran didn’t worry about it any further. He wouldn’t run into any danger within the Sect, anyway.

He then walked into his private chamber and glanced at the Phoenix Egg that housed Little Xiyue, infusing his newly comprehended Spring Warmth Realm into the shell.

The Phoenix Egg instantly trembled faintly, emitting a halo of light as a wave of joyous emotion flowed into his heart.

Feeling this emotion, Xu Ran’s own spirits lifted in response.

When his disciple was happy, he was happy. His life was just that simple.

After a short while, he sat cross-legged on his meditation cushion, slowly closed his eyes, and turned his focus inward.

A cluster of light, like a miniature galaxy, was currently spinning within his Dantian in the pattern of a Tai Chi Diagram.

Xu Ran watched this scene, his expression as placid as an undisturbed well.

Back when he was trying to form his Dao Seed, he had been wracked with anxiety, desperately studying and trying to comprehend the Heaven and Earth Law Dao Rhyme. It was only after Teacher Qing Xuan’s guidance that he was able to relax his mind and stop trying to force it, instead simply living and cultivating as usual.

His earlier conversation with Zhao Wuyang and Liu Yunge had helped him understand that the path to immortality wasn’t necessarily a lonely one. It could be filled with warmth, just like that final, gentle smile from the Little Witch.

He remembered Yue Qingyu once telling him that she would remember every person she met on her path of cultivation. It was those very encounters, she’d said, that made the lonely, monotonous journey as vibrant and colorful as the world around them.

He felt the same way. On his own path to immortality, he too could remember every encounter, every scene, and attain his Dao through the warmth of living beings.

The moment he reached this understanding, a wondrous feeling welled up within him, as if his entire being had been elevated. The Dao Seed that he had struggled for so long to form had finally, slowly, begun to coalesce.

He estimated that at this rate, it would only take a few more decades for the cluster of light to fully transform into a Dao Seed.

His current Cultivation had only recently broken through to the late-stage of Foundation Establishment, so he had not yet reached the point where he could attempt to break into the Purple Mansion Stage. By the time his Dao Seed was fully formed, he would be just about ready.

Indeed, one could be anxious about the progress of their cultivation, but enlightenment could not be rushed. When you truly lived your life, insights would simply come to you on their own.

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Xu Ran felt that he really couldn’t understand Ye Shu sometimes. The man was nearly ninety years old, yet his Cultivation was only at the Qi Cultivation Ninth Layer. Even Xu Ran, a mere bystander, felt anxious on his behalf.

But Ye Shu?

When it was time to cultivate, he remained completely unhurried. Xu Ran had never seen even the slightest trace of anxiety on his face.