Watching the Mountain

He had been quite shocked when he heard that answer and asked them if even prodigies like Chen Chang’an and Zhang Zhentian had no hope.

Supreme Elder Zi Yun fell silent for a long time before shaking her head, her expression complicated. She replied:

"As seniors of the Sect, we naturally hope that everyone can walk farther along the path—to the Nascent Soul Stage, the Divinity Transformation Stage, and even beyond. However, expectations are ultimately just that. One cannot advance on the path of cultivation simply by relying on the hopes of others."

Xu Ran wasn’t entirely convinced. ’It’s just the judgment of the Sect Leader and Supreme Elder Zi Yun,’ he mused. ’They’re powerful, but they’re only at the Nascent Soul Stage. How can they determine whether someone has any hope of breaking through to the Divinity Transformation Stage?’

In his eyes, both Chen Chang’an and Zhang Zhentian had a great deal of potential to reach the Divinity Transformation Stage.

And yet, upon further reflection, he recalled that Zhao Wuyang, Liu Yunge, and even Chen Chang’an himself had all expressed a lack of absolute confidence when facing the Nascent Soul Stage, illustrating just how arduous the path of cultivation truly was.

So what hope was there for the Divinity Transformation Stage?

A sense of melancholy washed over Xu Ran. This was something he was powerless to change. After all, he hadn’t even reached the Purple Mansion Stage yet; things like the Nascent Soul and Divinity Transformation Stages were still far too distant for him.

However, he now felt somewhat fortunate that he had, on a whim, created the Flying Immortal Stream cultivation path.

’Perhaps, if Chen Chang’an and Zhang Zhentian truly cannot break through in the future, I can have them try the Flying Immortal Stream. If nothing else, it can at least increase their lifespan somewhat.’

It was just as True Monarch Flowing Clouds had said: the Flying Immortal Stream gave those trapped at their current realm, unable to break through, another option—a chance to continue living.

To live is to have hope.

Xu Ran sighed deeply, shaking his head to cast aside his distracting thoughts. He then made his way toward Spirit Stream Peak.

The matter with Ye Xingchen made him think of ordinary people, which in turn reminded him of Li Tianhe—the man he had enlightened at the Spirit Stream Peak’s Scripture Pavilion.

Li Tianhe’s path was one of accepting the mundane, embracing the mundane, and ultimately, protecting the mundane.

This also meant that he was an ordinary man, one who might not be able to walk very far on his path in the future.

Li Tianhe was his student, so he decided to go and see how he was faring.

It was not yet time for lectures at the Instructor Hall, so Li Tianhe wasn’t there. Xu Ran asked for his address.

When Li Tianhe came out to greet him, Xu Ran noticed a persistent gloom clouding his features.

"What happened?" he asked, a note of concern in his voice.

He could tell that Li Tianhe was deeply troubled, though the man was forcing himself to put on a brave face to host him.

Faced with Xu Ran’s concern, Li Tianhe was initially reluctant to answer. Only after being pressed several times did he finally explain why.

It turned out that his son, the child who had been his pride and joy, had been gravely wounded on the New Domain Battlefield. The injuries were exceptionally severe. Even after exhausting all of his Contribution Points on Healing Elixirs, he had only managed to stabilize the boy’s condition. Whether his life could be saved remained uncertain.

After hearing Li Tianhe’s explanation, Xu Ran fell silent for a moment. He then produced a Jade Bottle, poured out a single elixir, and handed it to him.

"What is this?" Li Tianhe couldn’t help but ask, staring at the elixir in his hand.

He could afford the Healing Elixirs available within the Sect with his own contributions. Besides, his son had been injured fighting for the Sect; in such cases, one could receive treatment first and repay the Contribution Points later, even if they didn’t have enough at the time.

He had already acquired nearly every Healing Elixir from the Sect Treasure Vault that was suitable for his son’s realm, yet he had never before seen the one Xu Ran was offering.

"A Life Creation Pill," Xu Ran replied slowly.

After learning of the Life Creation Pill’s effects, he had bought a bottle for every realm from Foundation Establishment to Golden Core from Liu Yunge.

It was a good thing Liu Yunge was the Sect’s leading disciple of her generation. Otherwise, the market supply of an elixir like the Life Creation Pill was limited each year. They were usually snatched up the moment they became available, making them nearly impossible for most factions to acquire.

Upon hearing the name, Li Tianhe gasped. He had, of course, heard of the Creation Sect’s famous Life Creation Pill.

His first instinct was to refuse such a precious elixir, but at the thought of his son, he swallowed his words of refusal.

He gave Xu Ran a solemn nod, said nothing more, and rushed inside with the elixir. He reemerged well over an hour later and gave Xu Ran a deep, formal bow.

He didn’t offer a ’thank you,’ but simply updated Xu Ran on his son’s condition. "His life is saved, for now. As for the future... that will be up to fate."

He let out a long sigh and shook his head. Then he looked at Xu Ran again, his expression earnest.

"Teacher, I now believe that being ordinary is actually a very good thing."

"When I first saw that my son possessed far greater talent than I, I was ecstatic. It stirred the dreams I had buried deep inside, and I thought he could go in my place to see the wonders I had always yearned for but never had the chance to witness."

"But after he returned so gravely wounded, I was struck by a sudden realization. The world of prodigies, fame, reputation... being alive is all that truly matters."

"I am an ordinary man. My Dao is to protect the ordinary, yet I wanted my son to take my place and venture into an extraordinary world."

"That was, in essence, reaching for something that didn’t belong to me. Ultimately, such actions will only bring disaster."

Xu Ran quietly observed Li Tianhe. The young man who had once been so arrogant, with ambitions as high as the heavens, had now, after weathering so many storms, thoroughly accepted his mundane fate and finally returned to an ordinary life.

"What are your plans from now on?" he asked Li Tianhe.

"I’ll just focus on teaching my classes at the Instructor Hall," Li Tianhe replied. Then he looked at Xu Ran and added,

"Oh, and Teacher, I now prepare diligently before every single lecture."

He raised his hands, forming a Dao Seal as he faced Xu Ran. "I will diligently pass on what you taught us to those who come after."

The last time Xu Ran had visited Spirit Stream Peak, Li Tianhe had been unprepared and had asked Xu Ran to demonstrate a Daoist Technique. Xu Ran had told him then that he himself always prepared meticulously before giving a lecture.

Hearing this, Xu Ran paused for a moment before offering a faint smile. "In that case, I will look forward to your results."

Li Tianhe nodded solemnly, saying nothing.

*

*

*

Time, it seemed, was the greatest agent of change. First Xiaoque’Er, and now Li Tianhe. Every time he saw them, Xu Ran couldn’t help but feel that time was passing too quickly—so quickly that before he even had a chance to adjust, people had already transformed.

On his way back from Spirit Stream Peak, Xu Ran overheard a large group of disciples gathered together, discussing something animatedly.

Curious, he paused to listen. When he pieced together the information from their discussion, he was stunned.

Apparently, a piece of news had just sent shockwaves through the entire Cultivation Realm.

According to reports from spies embedded within the Evil Demon Race and Phoenix Race, several Secret Realms had suddenly materialized in their territories over the past few days.

Setting aside whatever fortuitous encounters the Secret Realms might contain, what the explorers found upon entering was a multitude of corpses. There were no survivors in any of the realms, and the dead appeared to have been slain several decades ago.

That in itself was not particularly strange. What truly shocked the Evil Demon Race and Phoenix Race was how those people had died.

They had all been killed by the sword, and every single one of them had died at the exact same instant.

Most critically, the lingering Sword Dao aura on the bodies was unmistakable. It proved that the sword style used to kill everyone within the Secret Realms belonged to none other than Sword Dao Ye Shan—the very same sword that had once sent all of their clansmen from the Evil Demon and Phoenix Races to their graves with a single strike.

This news was so astounding that it caused a massive uproar among the Evil Demon and Phoenix Race. Naturally, every spy the Immortal Ancient World had in their territories received the report.

From there, the news spread, instantly igniting public opinion across the Cultivation Realm.