Chapter 545: Years Immortal's Clue

A thousand clouds drifted by. The Grand Elder, seeing Dao Seeking Sect growing closer, breathed a sigh of relief. "Finally, we've safely returned to Dao Seeking Sect."

Although the journey from being captured by Hanging Temple to safely returning to Dao Seeking Sect was somewhat convoluted, getting back is a good thing regardless.

"I don't think you'll need travel expenses, Junior Brother Shizhan."

"Huh? Why?" Shizhan thought, *Senior Brother Dai looks like a kind person; how could he bear to make me walk back?*

"Your sect has arrived." Dai Bufan's expression was blank as his gaze swept past Shizhan, spotting a group of monks approaching from a distance.

Shizhan turned his head and saw his master, martial uncles, and senior brothers. The Buddha's light was blindingly bright. Martial Uncle Jiechen, the temple supervisor, was carrying a person.

The Hanging Temple monks, with their profound cultivation, covered a hundred meters in a single stride, arriving at Dao Seeking Sect's mountain gate in the blink of an eye.

"Martial Uncle Jiechen, why are you here?" Shizhan was surprised; he hadn't heard any news about his sect coming to pick him up.

His own master, Jiesha, was there, but considering his master hadn't been able to speak for a long time, asking him would be pointless. It was better to ask his martial uncle.

"Performing a good deed daily, we came to release him." Grandmaster Jiechen nudged the person in his hand, letting him dutifully return to Dao Seeking Sect.

"Master, are you alright?" Dai Bufan looked strangely at the Grand Elder, who had been released by Hanging Temple.

The Grand Elder waved his hand, signaling Dai Bufan not to worry about him. "It was just a discussion between high-ranking sect members. What could possibly happen?"

Dai Bufan was speechless.

Grandmaster Jiechen beckoned for Shizhan to come over.

"Thank you, Junior Nephew Dai, for taking care of him this past month." Grandmaster Jiechen nodded in gratitude.

"You're too kind, Martial Uncle," Dai Bufan replied with a bow.

The Hanging Temple monks took Shizhan back. Along the way, Shizhan kept his head down, looking quite dejected.

It seemed he wouldn't be able to continue working at the slaughterhouse.

"Shizhan, what have you gained from your time at Dao Seeking Sect?" Grandmaster Jiechen asked kindly. Jiechen, whose name implied "refraining from anger," always wore a smiling expression.

"My gains were quite significant! Dao Seeking Sect is full of masters, and I met many people who share my ideals!"

"But most importantly, I confirmed that Master was right: Daoist Buyu's eldest disciple is indeed not easy to deal with."

"Of course. How could your master deceive you? Daoist Buyu's eldest disciple is indeed not easy to deal with... Wait, what did you say?" Grandmaster Jiechen suddenly realized something was amiss. *How did this kid know Yunzhi is difficult to deal with?*

"Didn't Master say that Daoist Buyu's eldest disciple is very powerful and shouldn't be provoked? I felt that learning on paper is always superficial, and to truly understand, one must experience it firsthand. So, I went to Heavenly Gate Peak and proposed to challenge Senior Yunzhi. And indeed, I couldn't defeat her." Shizhan recalled the scene, his body subtly aching and a wave of trepidation washing over him. Senior Yunzhi was truly powerful.

Grandmaster Jiesha, hearing what his good disciple had done, swayed mid-flight and nearly plunged headfirst.

He wanted to curse aloud but, remembering he was still practicing Silent Zen, could only think it to himself.

"We're back!" Lu Yang and the five others returned to Dao Seeking Sect. Their own people were still the most welcoming; Senior Brother Dai and the Grand Elder were personally at the mountain gate to greet them.

"Grand Elder, Senior Brother Dai, you've worked hard. I have something to discuss with Senior Sister, so I'll be leaving first."

Lu Yang dropped a sentence and quickly vanished from everyone's sight, leaving them bewildered.

"What's that kid in such a hurry for?"

"I don't know."

Lu Yang was, of course, in a hurry. Regardless of how much he learned from his trip to the Five Elements Sect, just deciding how to handle the ancient matters he now knew about required Senior Sister's judgment.

Lu Yang returned to Heavenly Gate Peak. Senior Sister sat in a half-lotus posture, one foot touching the ground, the other resting on her opposite thigh. Her hands formed a '拈花' gesture, holding two Golden Cores. Her breath was long and steady, as if she were one with nature, her presence barely perceptible.

Before Lu Yang could speak, Senior Sister slowly opened her eyes and asked, "Junior Brother, why are you in such a hurry to see me?"

As she spoke, she finished her work and stood up. She flicked the Golden Cores held between her fingertips into the sky, and they transformed into meteors, hanging high in the heavens.

Lu Yang watched, dumbfounded.

Seeing Lu Yang's surprise, Senior Sister casually explained, "A month ago, someone came to challenge me, hoping I would suppress my cultivation to the late Golden Core stage. I agreed to his terms, plucked two Golden Cores from the sky, and temporarily suppressed my realm. Then I thought, since it was a rare opportunity, I might as well refine them. I've only just finished refining them and allowed the two Golden Cores to return to their original positions."

Lu Yang's eye twitched slightly. He thought, *You might as well not have explained.*

"Where did this wooden tablet come from?" Senior Sister crooked her index finger. The Jianmu fragment hanging around Lu Yang's neck flew up, pulling Lu Yang with it, bringing him before Senior Sister.

Senior Sister held the Jianmu fragment, examining it closely. Lu Yang had never been this close to Senior Sister before, and he felt an inexplicable flutter in his heart. He could even feel her breath.

"Part of a celestial tree?" Senior Sister raised an eyebrow, then released Lu Yang. This item was incredibly precious; where had Lu Yang obtained it?

"That's exactly what I wanted to tell you! This is a piece of Jianmu, and Senior Sister Shangguan gave it to me!"

"A piece of Jianmu? The Immortal of Time?"

Senior Sister was slightly surprised. So, Senior Shangguan had a clue about the Immortal of Time?

Or perhaps Senior Shangguan didn't know it was Jianmu, only that it was precious, and simply befriended Lu Yang in advance to forge a good connection?

"Let me explain," Immortal Buxiu interjected, emerging. She knew the most.

"When Lu Yang and I went to the Wood Vein of the Five Elements Sect, I noticed the Wood Vein was vibrant, astonishingly full of life. I also saw the talisman that girl Shangguan gave Lu Yang, so I used my immortal consciousness to scan the entire Wood Vein and then discovered this."

Immortal Buxiu's immortal consciousness moved, revealing the corpse of the Immortal of Time buried beneath the Wood Vein.

"This is..."

"The corpse of the Immortal of Time."

Yunzhi's eyes widened slightly, unprepared for this news. She had visited the Five Elements Sect before, but out of politeness, she hadn't used her divine sense to scan what lay beneath the Wood Vein.

She never expected an immortal corpse to be buried beneath the Five Elements Sect!

"Did the Immortal of Time fall? No, a single immortal corpse isn't enough to make that judgment."

"Senior, there's something I'd like to confirm with you. I read in ancient texts that the Nian Beast is a familiar of the Immortal of Time. Is this true?"

"Yes, the Nian Beast is a demonic beast cultivated by the Immortal of Time using the Dao Fruit of Time."

"Then it's no mistake. Every New Year, the Nian Beast becomes active, then disappears. Once, I took action to find out where the Nian Beast went, but my attack was too strong and startled it. Since then, the Nian Beast runs whenever it sees me."

Mortals live no more than a hundred years, cherishing time and celebrating New Year once a year. For cultivators with long lifespans, a year passes in the blink of an eye. The cultivation world's custom is to celebrate New Year once every ten years, and the Nian Beast also appears once every ten years. Immortal Buxiu had not yet experienced a cultivation world New Year since her revival.

"What I can confirm is that every New Year, the Nian Beast comes from the East and returns to the West. This led me to suspect that clues about the Immortal of Time might be in the Eastern Sea or the Buddhist Kingdom, which is why I told Junior Brother Two to spend more time traveling West."

The second update will be at eleven o'clock.(End of chapter)