Chapter 658: Chapter 260: The Might of the True Dragon, Subjugating All Living Beings
The Great Prosperity Festival is far more grandiose than the Luo God Festival. It is a spectacle open to the world, a unique gesture for the peasant family to merge in, or rather to intervene in the global order.
Usually, the Great Prosperity Festival is presided over by Ancestor Feng.
But in the past millennium, Ancestor Feng has never appeared for any of the twenty Great Prosperity Festivals. They are generally presided over by four rotating Great Prosperity Immortals.
At this point in the conversation,
it became clear who would preside over the Great Prosperity Festival in five years.
Gu Lan’s heartbeat raced, as if facing a raging storm,
"I...I am a bit tired."
She felt as though a colossal mountain was slowly pressing down on her. The immense pressure made it difficult for her to breathe.
Daiyue Great Prosperity Immortal stepped in just in time to smooth things over. She chuckled and said,
"You exerted quite a bit of effort on the Luo God Festival, it’s time to go back and have a good rest. Let’s leave it at this, child."
"Alright."
After giving thanks, Gu Lan took a deep breath and ran far away quickly.
In the room,
the four fell silent for a moment. Then, Hui Chen Great Prosperity Immortal asked,
"Is it really necessary to rush this much? She is still a child. Think about it, at her age, you and I were still clueless. Most of her two decades in He Yue Village have been spent in the fields. Suddenly confronting her with all this...sigh."
Star-Clad Great Prosperity Immortal, now aged, could not control his trembling hands. He smoothed his beard,
"If she had immediately accepted, that would be when we should consider if we’re being too hasty. I still hold my belief that Gu Lan is a mature and steady person."
"But aren’t we merely adding pressure to her?"
"Fate doesn’t wait for anyone to be ready before arriving." Star-Clad Great Prosperity Immortal said sternly, "We’re not forcing her. If she is unwilling, none of us can compel her. But we must let her know the severe challenges the peasant family faces."
"Do you have to speak so bluntly?" Daiyue Great Prosperity Immortal retorted, "Is there ever an immediate solution for gradual processes?"
"There’s still five years."
"Blink and those five years will be gone."
Taozhu Da Feng Immortal raised his hand, "Alright, enough. Let’s just give the child some time. Anyone hearing about this will need time to digest it. Before the Great Prosperity Festival arrives, she has time to think, and so do we. Just because we have a promising young person ahead, we shouldn’t shirk our own responsibilities."
No more words were exchanged, and they each went their separate ways.
...
Gu Lan barely lingered, leaving Feng City, and returned to her fields.
The winter night sky was a bit sparse.
She sat under a bare parasol tree, calmly gazing at the winter crops growing robustly in the fields, and the spirit beasts huddled together asleep. There wasn’t another soul in sight.
Three months ago, her master with whom she spent every day had secluded himself.
Song Weiyu’s talent couldn’t match that of his disciple, nor was he a true immortal farmer, needing more time to focus on cultivation.
Gu Lan recalled a phrase her master said when he broke through the Integration Realm,
"My dear disciple, my talent ends here. Being able to reach the Integration Realm is thanks to the light from you and Fan Wubing. Going further, every step is as hard as climbing to the heavens. Look at you, in the blink of an eye, you’ve grown into a great lady, and in another, you’re powerful beyond measure. You have an infinitely promising future..."
At that time, she didn’t pay too much attention to those words.
Because her master always murmured by her ear.
She rarely considered the vast leaps over centuries, years, even tens of thousands of years. Nor did she ponder about the peasant family, the East Continent, the world...
But today, she couldn’t help but think about them.
The more she thought, the more chaotic her heart became, like the weeds in the fields that could never be fully eradicated.
"What are you thinking about?"
A gentle voice sounded beside her.
As soon as she came back to her senses and looked to the side in surprise, Fan Wubing had already sat down beside her without any pretense, lying down next to her.
"When did you get here?"
"Just now."
"Earlier...was it really you that I saw at the altar?"
"How could it not be?"
Gu Lan asked with a smile on her face, "What made you suddenly think of coming to the East Continent?"
"To come play with you," Fan Wubing replied lightly.
Gu Lan tidied her clothes demurely,
"I don’t believe that. You must have had something to do, just on the way."
Fan Wubing paused.
Seeing this, Gu Lan felt a bit disappointed, "It’s true, isn’t it."
Fan Wubing chose not to explain himself. He raised his right hand, looking at the night sky through his fingers,
"I also want to visit you often, but there’s always endless work to do. Man’Er and Qingyao are on the Sword Continent, not far from Li Xian Continent, yet I’ve never even gone to find them."
Gu Lan shook her head,
"You don’t have to tell me all this. I don’t care who you value more. If you’re sincere and honest, no matter what, I can accept it."
"Are you worried about what happened just now?"
"Just now?" Gu Lan glanced at him, "Did you eavesdrop?"
Fan Wubing said, "I wouldn’t say eavesdrop; they weren’t exactly blocking me out."
"..." Gu Lan didn’t know how to respond. She reckoned that even if the Great Prosperity Immortals had deliberately blocked, they couldn’t possibly stop him. She exhaled, "I don’t know if it’s worry. I just feel like my life is about to change."
"Are you confused, anxious?"
"A little."
"So am I."
"You too?" Gu Lan asked with concern. "Did something happen?"
Fan Wubing said, "I’m telling you, you always put others ahead of yourself."
"You’re not ’others’."
"That really touched me," Fan Wubing said, pretending to cry.
