Chapter 1079: Chapter 456: Returning to Yue Country (Part 2)
Back then, he treaded with the utmost caution, every step fraught with peril; even a single Second-stage Demon Beast could have plunged him into a bitter struggle.
But now, time had slipped by, the years passing like a shuttle.
He was already a Great Cultivator at Nascent Soul Perfection, his combat strength enough to rival Divinity Transformation.
Returning once more to the place where this dream had begun, it was hard not to feel a strange sense of time and space interlacing, of the world’s vicissitudes.
"The Yellow Dragon Mountain Range?"
Duan Shuang at his side was a bit surprised when she heard this.
Although she was also a Yue Country Cultivator, she wasn’t particularly familiar with the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range, having only come here a few times in her early years.
But she knew clearly that Xu Ping had once cultivated and lived for a very long time in the nearby Qiu Xuan Immortal City, almost counting as half a Master Qiu Xuan.
Later, when Qiu Xuan Immortal City was annihilated amidst the upheavals of the Demonic Calamity, Xu Ping had wandered his way to her Purple Bamboo Mountain.
Revisiting old places, finding things unchanged but people different, an indescribable feeling welled up in both their hearts.
Smoothing down that faint moment of daze in his heart, Xu Ping turned his gaze toward the Nine Nether Elder, whose aura had already calmed, and directly cut to the point:
"Senior Nine Nether, now that we have arrived in Nanchuan, can you tell me the concrete plan for killing Cloud Thunder Celestial Venerable?"
Cloud Thunder Celestial Venerable, the Divinity Transformation Patriarch of the Heaven-Suppressing Sect, was also the greatest target they had to eliminate on this return.
However, a profound and unfathomable smile appeared on the Nine Nether Elder’s withered face as he waved his hand and said, "Young Friend Xu, don’t be so impatient.
"To thoroughly slay a Divinity Transformation Cultivator, especially an existence as deeply rooted as that old Cloud Thunder, is by no means an easy task."
"Not only must the timing be just right, we also need to make certain special preparations in order to ensure absolute certainty, preventing his Nascent Soul from fleeing or launching a final counterattack at the moment of death."
"As for the specific plan, when the time is ripe, this old man will naturally inform you, Young Friend."
"For the moment, some arrangements still require time."
His words sounded reasonable enough, yet carried an undeniable sense of delay.
Hearing this, Xu Ping’s gaze narrowed slightly as he gave the Nine Nether Elder a deep look.
Those eyes, as though able to pierce the void itself, seemed intent on seeing through every scheme buried deep in this old ghost’s heart.
He sneered inwardly; this old ghost indeed had his own designs, far from simply cooperating for revenge.
Yet nothing showed on his face. Instead, he went along with the other’s words, laughing easily as he said, "So that’s how it is; it was this junior who was too hasty."
"Just as well. I’ve been away from Nanchuan for many years, and there are some personal matters I need to attend to."
"Since Senior still needs time to prepare, why don’t we part ways for now? Once everything is ready, we can contact each other again and plot the grand affair together."
"So be it, excellent!"
A faint, hard-to-detect expression flashed through the Nine Nether Elder’s eyes, as though very satisfied with Xu Ping’s "good sense."
He said no more, merely gave Xu Ping a slight nod. His figure then turned into a streak of darkness that almost blended into the shadows, his Escape Light vanishing in an instant at the edge of the sky, his speed astonishing.
"Xu Lang..."
Duan Shuang naturally sensed the subtle atmosphere between Xu Ping and the Nine Nether Elder, and couldn’t help softly calling out, a trace of worry in her eyes.
The Nine Nether Elder was a Divinity Transformation Ghost Cultivator; not only was his combat strength fierce, he was also unfathomably mysterious.
"It’s fine."
Xu Ping withdrew his gaze and gave Duan Shuang a reassuring look. "This old ghost’s thoughts run deep; he is far from being of one heart with us. I’d long expected that."
"Since he’s holding something back, how could I not be doing the same?"
"Each making our own preparations suits me perfectly."
Xu Ping paused, looked off in a certain direction, and his tone softened a little. "Since we’ve returned to Yue Country, why don’t we... go back to Purple Bamboo Mountain first and have a look?"
"All right!"
As expected, upon hearing this suggestion, Duan Shuang’s beautiful eyes immediately lit up.
Purple Bamboo Mountain was the Dao field she had managed for over a hundred years.
In terms of affection, in her heart it was perhaps even deeper than Blood Bone Island, where she had stayed longer.
"Xu Lang, you’re the nominal landlord of Purple Bamboo Mountain. This time going back, you’re not allowed to charge me any lodging fees." Duan Shuang said with a radiant smile, teasing him.
Hearing this, Xu Ping couldn’t help but laugh heartily. Reaching out, he wrapped an arm around Duan Shuang’s slender yet powerful waist, drawing her into his arms. Lowering his head, he chuckled softly by her ear:
"Well now... that will depend on your ’performance’ from here on, Shuang’Er."
Duan Shuang’s pretty face flushed slightly; she gave him a mock punch in reproach, yet her eyes were full of laughter and warmth.
With a thought, Xu Ping summoned the Water Lake Rat out of the Ten Thousand Souls Banner.
Its massive purple-blue Demon Beast body reappeared, and it nuzzled Xu Ping affectionately.
The two of them leaped up and landed atop the rat’s back.
"Let’s go, to Purple Bamboo Mountain."
"You got it."
The Water Lake Rat put on a fawning expression. Purple-blue Escape Light shone beneath its four claws as it bore the two of them, turning into a streak of flowing light that shot off toward Purple Bamboo Mountain, disappearing amidst the towering peaks of the Yellow Dragon Mountain Range.
Along the way, Xu Ping’s Divine Sense swept across the lands of Yue Country.
Now, after the Demonic Cultivators’ great war back then and the subsequent domain invasion, Yue Country’s rivers and mountains had changed color, its Spirit Veins had changed hands; it had long since transformed from the Orthodoxy’s territory into a nation entirely under the control of Demonic forces.
Many familiar Immortal Cities and sect ruins were now suffused with dense Demonic Qi, and Cultivators practicing demonic arts could be seen everywhere.
Xu Ping felt little emotional fluctuation about this.
After several hundred years of cultivation and brushes with life and death, he had long since understood that Orthodoxy and Demonic paths were merely different routes in pursuit of power.
So long as they did not deliberately provoke him or touch his bottom line, whether Orthodoxy or Demonic, to him there was no difference.
...
Several days later.
The massive figure of the Water Lake Rat, having traversed thousands of mountains and rivers, finally arrived at that familiar mountain range once covered with countless purple spirit bamboo—Purple Bamboo Mountain.
However, before they even drew near, Xu Ping’s brows had already furrowed tightly.
He had mentally prepared himself for the possibility that Purple Bamboo Mountain might already have been occupied by Demonic Cultivators, since Yue Country had changed hands for hundreds of years.
