The night always gives way to dawn.
By this time, Bai Yichen and Real Person Yun Shou had been traveling for several hours without rest. Thankfully, with their exceptional skills, they managed to return to Xuanzhen Temple.
After Daoist Mo Mei from Yukun Mountain arrived and they had finished explaining everything to her, they immediately set off without delay, as Yun Shou had little time left.
Upon returning to Xuanzhen Temple, Yun Shou immediately summoned the overseer, Guanhe, and five head masters to give them instructions for his final arrangements.
Since ancient times, farewells have always been tinged with melancholy. How much more so during the desolate autumn season?
In the temple courtyard, the autumn wind howled, and fallen leaves danced in the air. Real Person Yun Shou had given so much to Xuanzhen Temple, and everyone felt deep gratitude and sorrow, reluctant to part with him.
Yet Yun Shou remained serene and open-minded, dismissing the others, leaving only Bai Yichen by his side.
As the first rays of sunlight began to peek over the horizon, casting a soft glow over the earth, they illuminated Yun Shou's face, which seemed to grow more radiant with each passing moment.
"Shaochong, brew me a pot of tea, will you?"
"Of course!"
One cup to the rising sun, one cup to death.
After drinking the tea, Yun Shou picked up his qin and began to play a melody, reciting:
"Dreams of immortals, who knows if they are real or not? Seventy years have passed like eighty. Half of my life as a Daoist was lived between life and death, brushing away the dust as I drink clear tea. The melody lingers as my fingers move across the seven strings, one song echoes through the ages, bringing peace to the heart..."
In the 279th year of the Xia Dynasty, Real Person Yun Shou, the former abbot of Xuanzhen Temple, passed away. According to his will, Dao Child Shaochong, having completed his training and proven his noble character, was recommended to the Daoist Ancestors and revered by all the previous abbots, and was thus appointed as the 12th abbot of Xuanzhen Temple!
The sun is always both a sunset and a sunrise. When it sets and retreats into the desolation of dusk, it is at the same time burning brightly on the other side, climbing toward the summit and scattering its radiant dawn.
Five years passed in the blink of an eye. The martial world remained much as it always had, calm on the surface, yet with deep currents below.
"All meridians have opened, and the energy flows in full cycles!"
Bai Yichen could feel the circulation of his inner breath as it smoothly flowed and transformed at will, endlessly circulating throughout his body. The hundred meridians served as bridges, nourishing his internal organs and the entirety of his being.
As time passed, his body became purer, almost like glass. This purification allowed him to prolong his life.
Since returning that day, apart from exploring the Ming Sect treasure site with Yan Bei and Daoist Mo Mei during these five years, Bai Yichen had secluded himself in the courtyard, focusing on cultivation—much like Real Person Yun Shou had in the past.
Today, at last, he had broken through the final barrier and perfected the Yellow Court Yin Talisman Scripture, successfully connecting the last Du meridian and achieving Innate Perfection!
According to records by Tianyuan Shangren, those with firm resolve and the right opportunities could break through to the Grandmaster realm.
At the same time, Bai Yichen took out the Nine Yin Nine Yang Universe Tome obtained from the Ming Sect's treasure. It was the only valuable item from the treasure that he could still use.
The rest were merely gold and silver treasures, which he had also taken, but they were simply stored in the temple. After all, with his current status in Xuanzhen Temple, there was no distinction between personal and temple property anymore.
According to the annotations left by both masters, this opportunity refers to the spiritual treasures of heaven and earth. However, both have stated that the Essence Qi of this region is thin, making it difficult to nurture spiritual treasures; thus, it ultimately depends on one's luck.
If that's the case, does it mean that the Yungzhou Yunhuan Mountain left by Real Person Feng Tian is a place for the growth of spiritual treasures?
But that doesn't seem right. If that were the case, the previous ninth abbot wouldn't have spent half a year searching for it with a token and returned empty-handed.
Thinking of this, Bai Yichen took out the jade gourd that served as the token and examined it, but then quickly put it away again.
He had already tried various methods, such as using inner breath and blood to establish his ownership, but unfortunately, there was no response. If it were that simple, it would have been deciphered by previous abbots long ago.
Overthinking was pointless, and Bai Yichen cleared his mind, cutting off distracting thoughts with his wisdom.
When the day came, he would investigate it further; after all, he had already fulfilled the requirement of achieving Innate Perfection before the age of thirty.
However, before that, Bai Yichen still had some matters within the temple to attend to. After all, he remembered the promise he made to revitalize Xuanzhen Temple out of respect for Real Person Yun Shou.
Years ago, the battle against the Wheel King had involved the royal family. Additionally, since both Qingsong and Yun Shou had died in that battle, the three parties agreed on a unified narrative: both Real Persons sacrificed themselves to eliminate the Heishi and the Twelve Zodiac, two major dark organizations.
This also included the two Zodiac members from Yukun Mountain, as family disgrace should not be aired publicly, especially with two Innate figures betraying at once.
However, this naturally led to Bai Yichen's lack of notoriety. To outsiders, although he had achieved Innate Perfection, he was still quite young and had become the abbot of Xuanzhen Temple. In the past five years, he had been in seclusion for long periods, and the only time he went out was to retrieve treasures under inconvenient circumstances.
As a result, this had somewhat diminished the prestige of Xuanzhen Temple, even leading to the emergence of a few clowns. Therefore, now that Bai Yichen had achieved full cultivation, it was only natural for him to contemplate and further discuss his martial arts.
In the 284th year of the Xia Dynasty, in March, after the rain of the Qingming festival, Daoist Shaochong, the abbot of Xuanzhen Temple, emerged from his retreat and entered Huayu Cliff, cutting down the three major sects of Qingzhou.
The martial world of Qingzhou experienced a great resurgence, and many speculated that Bai Yichen had already reached the level of Innate Great Success, thus taking action to pacify the Qingzhou martial world and establish the status of Xuanzhen Temple.
In June of the same year, a stormy night with thunder.
Daoist Shaochong encountered the infamous bandit Helian Shiba on the Qingsha River in Jiangzhou. One man, one sword—he defeated the Innate Great Success figure King Li Datian and the two other Innate elders of gold and silver, not to mention countless other Acquired guardians.
That day, the waters of Qingsha were stained red, crossing three states. Since then, the southern martial world has been congratulating Daoist Shaochong, with luxurious horses and carriages endlessly flowing outside Xuanzhen Temple. Each region of the three states boasted of having Daoist priests from Xuanzhen Temple officiate their ceremonies.
In December of the same year, the proud wintersweet blossomed.
Daoist Shaochong encountered the rogue villain, an era's evil figure, Qiu Lingkong, a master of Innate Perfection. After battling for a day and night, Qiu Lingkong was heavily injured and fled. Daoist Shaochong pursued him for three days and nights, ultimately decapitating him under Pingcang Mountain in Jizhou, shaking the martial world of the nine states.
The old veterans of the martial world praised him as the reviver of Xuanzhen Temple. Though only in his early twenties, he had already become a leading figure of the new generation in the Daoist sect.
In September of the 285th year of the Xia Dynasty, the golden winds blew, and autumn leaves rustled. Yunhuan Mountain displayed a stunning scene of crisp autumn weather.
A Daoist in a green shirt, casually pinning his hair with a jade hairpin, seemed to have arrived through autumn itself.
Muttering to himself, "Where could it be?"
This person was, of course, Bai Yichen.
After revitalizing the prestige of Xuanzhen Temple, he had remained there for a year, arranging various matters. Only after helping Daoist Xu Xu break through to Innate with the elixirs obtained from killing enemies did he feel at ease to leave.
Holding the jade gourd, Bai Yichen began to wander and search within the mountain.
However, he only saw the vibrant red maples and the golden osmanthus yet to bloom.
He maintained a demeanor of humility and calmness; after all, he was still young and enjoyed his time in Yunhuan Mountain, delighting in its scenery.
Months passed, until one day, Bai Yichen found himself in a valley he had visited several times before. He noticed a thick white mist enveloping the area, resembling a fairyland.
At the same time, his jade gourd emitted a green glow, and suddenly a winding path appeared in the white mist, seemingly leading to a secluded place.