Yellow Court Daoist

Holding a green bamboo staff in his hand.

Blinking at him.

"Where did this little fellow come from? There are many sharpened bamboo roots in the bamboo forest, it would be troublesome if you fell and got hurt!" Meng Huo thought he was seeing things and felt it was extraordinary. As he spoke, he ran towards the barefooted young child.

Meng Qiu found it odd that their secluded bamboo forest on the back mountain was rarely visited by others; only the lowly-cultivated descendants of the Meng Family would dig for spirit bamboo shoots to eat. How did this five or six-year-old child appear here?

"Could it be a ghost or a specter?"

When Meng Qiu took another look at the child, he saw that the child was full of vigor and not at all panicked, which was unlike ordinary children. Startled, he hurriedly called out to Meng Huo, "Little brother, come back!"

"Big brother?"

Meng Huo stopped and turned to look at his older brother.

But he saw his brother with widened eyes, and there seemed to be strands of starlight twining around him, while his body felt cool and refreshed. Meng Huo was puzzled and when he turned his head back, the young child had already vanished without a trace.

...

"An Innate Elixir Field shattered is indeed most suitable for cultivating the 'Star Constellation Great Method'."

"That 'Sky-reaching Thirty-Six Forms' was taught by Ding Yu, the Foundation Establishment chapter for the 'Star Constellation Great Method'. If it can be mastered, it would be quite fateful for him and my disciple."

Lu Qingfeng walked barefoot in the mountains, holding a green bamboo staff.

In the bamboo forest.

Transforming into his original form, the Quiet Bamboo, and cultivating, decades passed in the blink of an eye. When he awoke, the place was already filled with lush bamboos, coincidentally encountering the two Meng brothers - it must be fate. Seeing that Little Meng Huo was likable, Lu Qingfeng casually bestowed upon him an Immortal Fate.

However, whether he could grasp it depended on him.

To Lu Qingfeng, it was a casual act of kindness, and he would likely not pay any further attention in the future.

Walking through the forest.

Before long, Lu Qingfeng crossed the mountain ridges and merged into the earth, arriving at a mysterious place unknown to be above or below heaven. Here was a large cocoon radiating bright light.

It resembled an oversized silkworm cocoon.

Yet, within it seeped strands of starlight, and it seemed to have the essence of the sun and moon circulating, revealing an aura of Celestial Cycle Perfection.

Bang!

Bang!

Bang!

The cocoon continually expanded and contracted, beating like a heart.

Next to the cocoon.

There sat a simply-dressed, fair-faced woman, her face serene and calm. Upon seeing Lu Qingfeng approaching, the woman quickly stood up and bowed deeply to him, saying, "I pay my respects to the elder."

Her voice was ethereal, like that of an immortal.

It was indeed Fairy Yan Lan.

Lu Qingfeng stood a little farther away; after all, being so short, he simply had to look up slightly to see Fairy Yan Lan's face.

He gazed at Fairy Yan Lan, his small forehead slightly furrowed, then let out a sigh and shook his head, "You suffered from Gui Mingzi's 'Ten Thousand Ghosts Digging' strike in your early years, with Netherworld Energy seeping into your heart and lungs. You didn't resolve it in time and engaged in battle repeatedly, sustaining continuous injuries; the Netherworld Energy deeply penetrated your bones and infiltrated your Divine Soul. Moreover, you bear the cold poison from the City of Endless Night, the Fire Poison from the Holy Fire Purgatory, the Thunder force clinging like foot-following worms, and the piercing Sword Qi injures your Primordial Spirit.

Entangled and festering, they have already left you burnt out. Why not reincarnate early and retain some foundation for the next life?

To forcibly extend life using the essence of plants and meditating in silence to extend longevity, this is ultimately not a sustainable solution."

Years ago.

While searching for the Immortal Elixir, Lu Qingfeng needed to perform a spell to protect Ding Yu and could not be absent. He could only rely on Fairy Yan Lan. The Fairy was strong-willed and deeply concerned for her mentor's safety, disregarding her own well-being.

Now Ding Yu has become an immortal.

But in turn, she was left with a body full of injuries.

Every time he saw Fairy Yan Lan, Lu Qingfeng couldn't help but think of his wife, Ao Le, who was far away and whose location was unknown.

He had promised to return after sixteen years.

Yet now two ten-thousands of years have passed.

"Ao Le must also be waiting bitterly like this on Fu Long Mountain."

Lu Qingfeng's eyes were clear, as if piercing through layers of time and space, he could see atop the expansive and vast Fu Long Mountain, Ao Le sitting like the stone awaiting her husband's return, enduring the pain of separation.

Her figure emaciated, her silhouette poignant.

Endless sorrow, the twists of solitude,

only to render a beautiful lady all the more desolate.

"Sigh!"

Lu Qingfeng felt endless pity, much regret. Yet the path of cultivation could not be rushed. Sometimes human effort is helpless against fate.

Like Fairy Yan Lan before him.

When she was well, Ding Yu was gravely injured and near death.

By the time Ding Yu became an Earth Immortal, she was already spent and at her wick's end.

It was both time and fate.

Lu Qingfeng could only heave a sigh, powerless to change anything.

"Fairy Yan Lan only wishes to wait for Master's awakening, to see him one last time, not asking for the next life."

Fairy Yan Lan looked towards the cocoon of light next to her exhibiting a bright smile which then turned into a deep bow towards Lu Qingfeng, pleading respectfully, "The grand calamity of Wind and Fire is imminent for this junior. I beg the senior to take pity and set up the great Heaven Covering Array to Conceal Heaven's Secrets, to help this junior live a little longer."

Fairy Yan Lan was in the midst of facing her tribulation.

The grand Wind and Fire calamity that comes once every three thousand years was just sixteen years away. With her current state, even if Lu Qingfeng lent her an Immortal Artifact, the mere oppressive force of the calamity was enough to annihilate her, body and soul.

Hiding was the only option.

She couldn't face it!

"You need to think this through clearly."

"For me to set up the Heaven Covering Array to conceal your tribulations is not difficult, but there are laws to heaven. Once you leave the array in the future or even upon death and entering reincarnation, the concealed tribulations will descend all at once, pulverizing you into dust."

"Then, not only will you die, even reincarnation would be difficult."

Lu Qingfeng, with his childlike voice, spoke solemnly, his small face turning stern.

"I'm not seeking the next life."

Fairy Yan Lan's eyes were full of determination, as she knelt down before Lu Qingfeng and kowtowed, her head hitting the ground, "Senior's mercy, please!"

Lu Qingfeng shook his head.

"This is inadvisable."

Upon hearing this, Fairy Yan Lan lifted her head, only to see the green-robed child holding the green bamboo staff, gently tapping the healing cocoon where her Master lay in slumber.

That look of shock turned her face pale as she urgently asked, "Senior, what are you planning to do?"

Lu Qingfeng paid no heed.

He tapped the cocoon lightly three times with the staff, thundering loudly into it, "Disciple, awaken!"

"Disciple, awaken!"

"Disciple, awaken!"

"Disciple, awaken!"

His voice echoed resoundingly in this unnamed place.

Fairy Yan Lan, fixated on Lu Qingfeng's actions, didn't even notice the word 'disciple'. Her eyes turned blood-red, and the once withered mana in her surged in an instant.

She was ready to fight Lu Qingfeng to the death.

"Desist from your disrespect!"

From all around, a voice laden with authority rang out.

Fairy Yan Lan, hearing the extremely familiar voice, halted in her momentum, turning her head to look. The cocoon burst open, and from within came an old man with white hair and beard. Upon seeing him, Fairy Yan Lan's eyes instantly reddened, her imposing aura dissipating entirely, leaving only the repeated mumbling from her mouth, "Master—"

Her knees bent, and she knelt down once again.

"Silly child!"

Ding Yu glanced at Fairy Yan Lan, his gaze penetrating heaven and earth, and saw the Netherworld Poison within her, the cold poison, the Fire Poison, and various injuries enmeshed, having long exhausted her vitality, akin to his own deeply wounded state on the verge of disintegration back then.

His heart was both relieved and couldn't help but let out a long sigh.

Yet he didn't help Fairy Yan Lan up, instead turning to the green-robed child before him. The child radiated Spiritual Energy, obviously a celestial child, different from mortals.

Ding Yu faced him.

Despite his age, for a moment he too felt a sourness at the tip of his nose, his eyes reddening. After composing his robe and demeanor, he knelt before the child and said with a trembling voice, "Disciple Ding Yu, greets Master!"