Looking at the mess within the temple, the young ones were very curious. The commotion from Curse Mountain had been exceedingly loud; when the prominent figures released their aura, not only within the temple but all beings in the Southern Borderlands were pressed to the ground, unable to move due to the overwhelming pressure.
Now seeing their grand-uncle master safe and sound, their joy was beyond words.
Yang Wen, as the eldest senior disciple, was always calm. Even though he was very excited to see Lu Yu and Yan Dan, he still maintained proper etiquette and respectfully saluted, "Greetings to Grand-Uncle Master, Mr. Lu."
"Grand-Uncle Master, are you alright? What happened here?" The rest of the juniors, less composed than Yang Wen, bombarded him with questions, eager to know the details.
"Go on, get out of here, a bunch of little rascals. Your Grand-Uncle Master hasn’t even recovered from the battle. Let me catch my breath and then I’ll tell you about my heroic deeds." Yan Dan spoke dismissively, but Lu Yu could tell from his grin, which resembled a big chrysanthemum, that he was actually very pleased.
"I knew it had to be Grand-Uncle Master who took action, truly formidable!" A younger male disciple said with an admiring face.
"Yeah right, who would believe that—Grand-Uncle Master has lied before, the boastful Grand-Uncle Master." Mo Chou retorted, rolling her eyes. Ever since she had been fooled by Yan Dan previously, she had already pegged him as a swindler in her heart.
"Ouch!" A cry of pain sounded.
"How can you speak to Grand-Uncle Master like that." Yang Wen scolded, knocking Mo Chou on the forehead, his face stern as he lectured his junior sister.
"Yang Wen, you little rascal, always putting on airs as the senior brother, look how you’ve hurt little Mo Chou," Yan Dan turned and scolded Yang Wen.
Lu Yu couldn’t help but smile and said, "Yan Dan, you really do act quite like a Grand-Uncle Master." Looking at his old friend with a big beard, he knew Yan Dan’s mindset had grown somewhat old, which was not good for a Cultivator, but seeing that Yan Dan seemed to enjoy it, he didn’t say much.
This content is taken from fгee𝑤ebɳoveɭ.cøm.
"Greetings, Mr. Lu." Only then did Mo Chou realize Lu Yu was present, and she saluted him very obediently.
Because of the mysterious and impressive stories she often heard from her senior brother and grand-uncle master about him, Mo Chou had a deep impression of Mr. Lu. Once she met him, the image of the highly skilled person from the stories formed vividly in her mind.
Thus, this usually unruly girl from Mount Shu was quite obedient this time, showing none of the attitude she had in front of Yan Dan previously.
"Wow, this is truly rare, to see Mount Shu’s little troublemaker behaving so well," Yan Dan teased Mo Chou, causing the young girl to roll her eyes non-stop.
Lu Yu felt that this type of atmosphere was very good, akin to one big family. His opinion of Mount Shu improved a notch, realizing that the sect’s higher echelons must be quite remarkable to cultivate such disciples and foster such a positive atmosphere.
"Lu Yu, why not visit my Mount Shu sometime? I’ve still got a few bottles of fine wine, and we won’t stop until we’re thoroughly merry," Yan Dan invited Lu Yu with a smile.
"Some other time, my visit to the Southern Borderlands wasn’t for leisure, and the incident at Curse Mountain delayed me. I better start off soon, I’ll drop by Mount Shu after I finish what I came for," Lu Yu declined with a smile.
His trip to the Southern Borderlands was initially to harness the dispersed Spiritual Charm from the Enlightenment Tea. Little did he know he would get delayed by the Curse Mountain incident. If he took a detour to Mount Shu now, he would likely miss the prime moment to extract the Spiritual Charm, potentially harming the tea tree’s roots. As a tea lover, Lu Yu did not wish to do that.
"Then it’s settled, I’ll take you to Mount Shu to see our famous Sword Tomb and the legendary Demon-suppressing Tower," he said.
"Don’t worry, you also promised me a pot of fine wine, how could I forget that?"
Lu Yu and Yan Dan, along with a few others, took leave and departed from Curse Mountain. Looking back at what had once been a sacred place of practice for Curse Masters, Lu Yu sighed softly. The future of Curse Mountain would probably see it gradually decline and eventually disappear into the river of history, slowly forgotten by the world.
Time, like a carving knife, would slowly scrape away the marks left behind. Perhaps thousands of years later, when people unearth this relic, it will be difficult for them to understand its symbols and culture.
Collecting his thoughts, Lu Yu dared not linger any longer and set off toward his destination.
In the depths of the Southern Borderlands, within a dense forest, stood a huge ancient tea tree, lush and blooming with red flowers that swayed in the gentle breeze.
Whenever the sun rose, the tea tree would shake its branches, doing its best to embrace the sunlight. A faint tea fragrance would then spread throughout the forest, attracting many animals to gather beneath the tree.
Bathing in sunlight, the animals lay contentedly under the tree, gently sniffing the air permeated with tea fragrance, a scent that intoxicated them.
One day, a human arrived under the tree, dressed in a green robe, his black hair pinned up casually with an ordinary ebony hairpin. He walked leisurely, slowly making his way to the foot of the tea tree.
The man in the green robe touched the tree trunk softly, gave it a gentle pat, and looked up, revealing a young and rather handsome face.
He carefully examined the tea tree, plucked a leaf, placed it in his mouth, and chewed slowly, his face brimming with a joyful smile.
"Not bad, the fragrance is very subtle, almost elusive, hardly enough to savor; but the flavor is pure and sweet, rich and abundant, truly a superior quality among teas," the man in the green robe murmured while he had already started to scribble furiously on a piece of paper.
For several days, the man in the green robe stayed under the tea tree, observing and recording, coexisting harmoniously with the animals around him.
One day, as usual, the old tea tree greeted the morning glow. The man in the green robe suddenly said with a smile, "If not now, then when?"
He lightly pointed at the tea tree. Suddenly, a mysterious force descended upon it. A faint aura appeared on the old tea tree as the sun rose higher, casting a radiant glow over it, as if it were clothed in a layer of colorful garments.
"Thank you, sir, for your enlightening grace," an elderly voice suddenly came from the old tea tree. At some point, an elderly human face had formed on the trunk, speaking with lips moving.
"It was merely a fortunate coincidence, you have long been capable of spirit communication, only lacking this final step," the man in the green robe said with a smile.
"It may have been a mere effortless gesture for you, sir, but for me, it represents divine grace, otherwise who knows how many more years I would have had to wait for such an opportunity," the old tea tree gratefully replied.