Chapter 61
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It was evident that Duan Jisu really wanted to keep Ling Buyan, but after resolving the previous matter, Ling Buyan did not have the intention of staying here anymore. So, under the regretful gaze of the former demon lord and the protest of Duan Qianli, Ling Buyan finally left the demon realm with Li Fenglan.
Not long after the two flew on their swords to the human realm, passing through towns and cities.
Unlike the desolate demon realm, as soon as they arrived in the human realm, the sky immediately cleared up and they saw many towns and cities.
To avoid disturbing ordinary people, Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan flew higher while passing through the human realm. However, when they passed by a town, the sleeping Cheng Huang suddenly woke up.
In just a few breaths, Cheng Huang slowly opened its eyes.
As an ancient ferocious beast, Cheng Huang’s nose was naturally very sensitive. But Li Fenglan did not expect that even though they were so far away, Cheng Huang could smell the fragrance coming from the town below.
After hearing Cheng Huang’s words, Li Fenglan did not say anything. Ling Buyan looked down at it and then thought for a moment before saying, “It’s a bit rushed to go straight back to Tianmian Palace today. Let’s rest here for a while and leave tomorrow morning.”
Of course, Ling Buyan did not stay here just because Cheng Huang wanted to eat something. Moreover, Cheng Huang could not eat human food.
Ling Buyan had always known that Li Fenglan had the habit of resting at night, just like an ordinary person. Although according to their cultivation, they could have gone back to Tianmian Palace tonight, seeing the deepening night, Ling Buyan made this proposal.
Before Li Fenglan could answer, Cheng Huang, who was being held in his arms, became excited and said, “Okay, let’s go rest, Li Fenglan. Woo~”
Li Fenglan had not noticed this in the previous life, but now he gradually realized that Cheng Huang seemed to like to join in the fun…
If it were usual, Li Fenglan might not have paid attention to this, but thinking of what he had heard from Ling Buyan yesterday about Cheng Huang’s past deeds, Li Fenglan felt that Cheng Huang’s current behavior was really not like its previous self, which was so powerful that it was unparalleled.
Unconsciously, Li Fenglan’s inquisitive gaze fell on his spirit beast.
And being looked at by its master like this, Cheng Huang became a little nervous. It silently retracted the claw that it had just placed on Li Fenglan’s shoulder, and after thinking for a moment, it actually began to “confess”.
“In fact… I’m not really hungry, I just ate a little spiritual grass from Fenglan’s Qiankun bag earlier.”
Li Fenglan was thinking about the matter of the Endless Purgatory, but Cheng Huang’s sudden words made him pause for a moment.
What does it mean to eat some spiritual grass?
Without waiting for Li Fenglan to ask, Cheng Huang continued, “The demon clan has no spiritual energy, and I was a little hungry.”
Li Fenglan finally realized that his strange look just now might have made this little guy think that he had done something wrong and was caught by his owner.
“Well, well, well, confession without torture,” he thought.
He couldn’t help but compare the current mischievous Cheng Huang with the ferocious ancient beasts in the Endless Purgatory that they had both encountered in the past. He wondered how Ling Buyan, who had seen both, was feeling at the moment. If the hot-tempered Cheng Huang from the previous life found out that he would end up like this after millions of years, he might have refused to come out of Endless Purgatory in a fit of anger.
But Li Fenglan himself… of course, he preferred the mischievous little guy in front of him.
At this moment, Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan had already landed outside the city. Under the nervous gaze of Cheng Huang, Li Fenglan first pretended to be displeased, then couldn’t help but reach out and rub Cheng Huang’s belly.
“Sure enough, I can tell you’ve eaten a lot,” Li Fenglan said in a serious tone.
Cheng Huang: !!!
Although it was embarrassing to be caught by his master stealing spiritual herbs, Cheng Huang couldn’t help but admit that it felt really good to have his belly rubbed by him!
Ling Buyan, who was standing not far away, couldn’t help but laugh when he saw Li Fenglan’s actions.
Ling Buyan didn’t tell Li Fenglan that, in fact, he, like Li Fenglan, hadn’t been so happy and relaxed for many, many years.
“Really… can you really tell?” Although it felt good to have his belly rubbed by Li Fenglan, when Li Fenglan’s hand was taken off Cheng Huang’s belly and he walked towards the city with Ling Buyan, Cheng Huang, who was being held in his arms, was still entangled by what Li Fenglan had just said.
What Li Fenglan didn’t know was that although Cheng Huang was a ferocious beast, it still cared about its appearance.
So from the moment they landed in the city, Cheng Huang was tangled up in whether he had become too fat or not.
Its voice sounded just like a child’s, and when Cheng Huang was like this, it sounded particularly cute and funny to others.
Cheng Huang gently patted its belly with its paws. It didn’t notice that at this moment, Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan both couldn’t help but laugh.
The scene in front of them was really too interesting.
And while Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan could hold back their laughter, it didn’t mean that the third person here could.
Yes, there was a third person here.
Just as Cheng Huang was patting its belly, Li Fenglan suddenly heard a sound in his ear.
“Gugu gugu~”
“Gugu gugu?”
Li Fenglan: “…” This voice sounded somewhat familiar?
He couldn’t help but stop in his tracks and turned around to look at Ling Buyan. “Master…” Li Fenglan called out softly.
At his words, Ling Buyan also stopped and lightly furrowed his brows.
Seeing Ling Buyan’s reaction, Li Fenglan understood that not only himself, but Ling Buyan must have also heard that voice just now.
“Master, did you also hear it?” Li Fenglan asked tentatively.
“I heard it.” Sure enough, Ling Buyan nodded in response.
After the words fell, Ling Buyan turned and walked towards Li Fenglan, and suddenly raised his hand.
“What–” Before Li Fenglan could finish his sentence, he saw a bright golden figure suddenly appear on his shoulder.
The brightness that almost blinded people’s eyes, and the sound of “gugu gugu,” who else could it be besides Duan Wannian?
Knowing that Li Fenglan wouldn’t let him follow, Duan Wannian had long thought of a way.
— As a descendant of the demon god, Duan Wannian could hide her own aura. Coupled with being the princess most loved by the former demon lord, when Duan Wannian asked her father for it, Duan Jisu gave her a treasure similar to Qingzhu in the demon clan.
With this thing, Duan Wannian could completely hide her figure.
At this moment, Li Fenglan, Ling Buyan, and even Cheng Huang all looked at Duan Wannian. But while busy teasing Cheng Huang, Duan Wannian seemed not to have noticed that everyone was looking at her.
Only this little golden bird first laughed incessantly on Li Fenglan’s shoulder, then finally sat directly on Li Fenglan’s shoulder, saying to Cheng Huang, “Hahaha, little fatty.”
Cheng Huang: “Awoo!”
Just now, Cheng Huang was still acting cute with Li Fenglan, but after hearing those words, he finally couldn’t help but reveal his ferocious beast nature. He leaped up high and knocked Duan Wannian off Li Fenglan’s shoulder.
“Huh?” Only at this moment did Duan Wannian react. It turned out that she had already been discovered.
…
Li Fenglan felt that it was necessary to hand Duan Wannian over to the demon clan, but although Duan Wannian’s appearance was deceptive, she was actually one of the top twenty experts in the world.
If Li Fenglan really sent her back to the Demon Clan, Duan Wannian had plenty of ways to catch up with them. After some hesitation, Li Fenglan decided to temporarily ignore Duan Wannian and formally bid farewell to her when he and Ling Buyan planned to leave here and return to Tianmian Palace.
After some hesitation, the group finally arrived in the city.
It is said that cultivators generally do not care about the years and months in the mortal world. Therefore, it was not until they arrived in this city that Li Fenglan realized that today seems to be some kind of festival.
“No wonder I felt that the city below was shining when I was flying just now,” Li Fenglan whispered as he walked in the city.
Ling Buyan also nodded, and at the same time looked around with great interest.
Seeing Ling Buyan like this, Li Fenglan suddenly became curious and asked, “By the way, Master, I have lived in the mortal world for seventeen years before going to Tianmian Palace but I still don’t know what you did before you practiced cultivation.”
Yes, how could he have only thought of this question today?
“Me before that?” Ling Buyan was really asked by Li Fenglan this time. He thought for a moment and said, “At that time, the influential sects in the later generations did not exist in the cultivation world. Except for the major cultivation families, it was difficult for ordinary people to come into contact with the Dao. So naturally, I, like most cultivators at that time, started practicing cultivation from a young age.”
“Is that so…” Li Fenglan showed a thoughtful expression. After a while, he suddenly said, “Looking at Master’s age, you seem to be older than Tianmian Palace.”
Ling Buyan: “…”
In the cultivation world, age or seniority is a very important thing.
But for some reason, Ling Buyan did not want Li Fenglan to know his age.
And seeing Ling Buyan not speaking, Li Fenglan finally couldn’t help but laugh. Even Cheng Huang, who was smelling fragrances everywhere just now, turned around curiously to look at his master and Ling Buyan.
“Cough, cough…” Seeing this scene, Ling Buyan couldn’t help but change the subject and said, “I don’t know what festival it is today in the mortal world. The streets are so lively.”
Just as he said that, the narrow alley they were walking in suddenly turned a corner, and the front became bright.
Li Fenglan and Ling Buyan couldn’t help but look ahead together and saw a huge lake not far away. The lake was full of lotus lamps floating on the surface, and several people were boating in the lake.
Seeing the familiar shape of the lake in front of him, Li Fenglan was momentarily stunned and stopped in his tracks. As a cultivator, his memory was naturally very good. However, no matter how good one’s cultivation and memory were, it would be difficult to remember a place they had accidentally passed through a thousand years ago.
Li Fenglan remembered this place because he had met someone here a thousand years ago – Ning Qingmo. He didn’t expect to come back here again by chance after a thousand years.
Remembering where this was, Li Fenglan couldn’t help but take a look around and whispered to Ling Buyan, “Today is the Moon Worship Festival in the mortal realm.”
It was coincidental that he had met Ning Qingmo at the Moon Worship Festival in this city back then, and now he had come back here again. Ling Buyan nodded lightly when he heard the words “Moon Worship Festival” and asked, “Have you been here before, Fenglan?”
As they spoke, the two had already walked to the edge of the lake. In fact, the story between Li Fenglan and Ning Qingmo was really bad in his own view. Therefore, Li Fenglan had never thought of telling anyone about it before Ling Buyan asked him about it.
But now, he hesitated for a moment and then nodded, telling Ling Buyan the story of his first meeting with Ning Qingmo.
Now it was the liveliest time of the Moon Worship Festival, and there were many young people boating on the lake. The river lamps on the lake surface made the place even brighter than daylight. Seeing the shiny objects on the river surface, Duan Wannian, who had just stood on Li Fenglan’s shoulder unwilling to leave, couldn’t help but fly over by herself.
Accompanied by the evening breeze and the sound of the lake water slowly hitting the shore, Li Fenglan told the story until the end. “Actually, before I spoke, I thought I would be angry when I mentioned Ning Qingmo. But after saying it out loud, I felt like it wasn’t that big of a deal.” Li Fenglan absentmindedly picked up small stones on the shore and said softly.
“Getting angry at someone like Ning Qingmo isn’t worth it,” Ling Buyan said.
“Fortunately, it seems that I didn’t meet many reliable people in my previous life,” Li Fenglan heard this and lightly threw the stones in his hand into the lake. Then he half-jokingly said, “If I really got angry because of this, I would probably have been killed by anger as soon as I was reborn. It wouldn’t be worth it.”
Ling Buyan also smiled a bit.
At this point, Li Fenglan suddenly lightly placed his hand on his chest and said, “Master, do you know that I have an immortal bone here?”
Although Li Fenglan’s tone was calm, only he knew how much courage it took to share this secret.
In the cultivation world, not everyone has an immortal bone. Only cultivators with Heavenly Spirit Roots above the Ascension Stage have the possibility of possessing one. For example, Li Fuyue from before had an immortal bone.
The importance of this thing is almost the same as the Dao heart. And to give away an immortal bone is equivalent to giving away one-third of one’s cultivation.
“But I don’t know whose immortal bone it is,” Li Fenglan’s tone was a bit desolate, “I owe the owner of this immortal bone a karmic debt.”
Li Fenglan had been reborn for some time, but he still didn’t know who revived him.
Li Fenglan had also suspected Ling Buyan, but the existence of this immortal bone repeatedly offset his suspicions.
— If Li Fuyue lost an immortal bone before, his cultivation would greatly decline and his foundation would be damaged, and it would be difficult to recover in the short term. If this immortal bone really belonged to Ling Buyan, he should not look so normal on the surface.
Realizing that his tone was a bit heavy, Li Fenglan joked after he finished speaking, “At least I have to repay this karmic debt before I can be angry to death.”
Ling Buyan, who had been serious, laughed along.
He still didn’t speak.
At this moment, most of the boats on the lake slowly sailed towards the shore. Li Fenglan looked at the scenery in front of him and said to Ling Buyan, “The remaining boats and barges that won’t leave the lake today won’t come ashore.”
After thousands of years, this city had little resemblance to when Li Fenglan came last time, but the lake in front of him had not changed with time.
Li Fenglan saw that the scene in front of him was becoming more and more similar to when he came here in his previous life.
At this time, Mirror Moon Lake slowly quieted down, and Duan Wannian, who had only dared to hide under the river lanterns before, finally flew up during the few moments when there were fewer people.
Although Duan Wannian could hide the demon qi on her body, her shining golden appearance was still eye-catching at night.
Although there were river lanterns reflecting on the lake, people on the shore and boats could still occasionally see Duan Wannian and exclaim in the direction where she was.
Seeing this scene, Li Fenglan frowned slightly.
Before he could call back the happy playing Duan Wannian, he suddenly saw an unexpected incident happen ahead.
A sword light came from nowhere and split the Mirror Moon Lake in half. The sand and stones at the bottom of the lake were exposed where the sword light passed.
Accompanied by the horrified screams of the people on the boat, Li Fenglan saw that the endpoint of that sword light was none other than Duan Wannian, who had flown out from under the river lantern just now!
“Be careful!”
The sword light was fast, but Li Fenglan’s movements were even faster.
Just as the sword light was about to fall on Duan Wannian’s body, another silver long sword slashed through the air and stopped the sword light.
The people in the lake scattered, and Duan Wannian, who had just been almost hit, turned back into a human form. The personality of the Bi Fang clan, like their golden feathers, was cute in front of Li Fenglan, but when faced with someone who wanted to kill them, Duan Wannian would never show mercy.
Therefore, before Li Fenglan could stop her, he saw Duan Wannian, holding a long whip, quickly stepping on the lake water and heading towards the person who had just attacked her. Her movements were so fast that even Li Fenglan couldn’t see clearly.
At the same time, a light blue figure slowly landed on the top of the painted boat that had stopped on the lake surface. With the moonlight and the river lanterns on the ground, Li Fenglan saw who the person who wanted to kill Duan Wannian was.
It was Ning Qingmo!
He actually came to the city where they met on this day of the Moon Worship Festival.
Just like how Li Fenglan didn’t expect Ning Qingmo to come here, after seeing who had just blocked his long sword, Ning Qingmo was also stunned.
Ning Qingmo instinctively blocked Duan Wannian’s thirteen-section whip, his gaze fixed on Li Fenglan.
“Be careful!” Seeing Ning Qingmo staring blankly at Li Fenglan, Ling Buyan, who had been standing next to him, immediately stepped forward and stood behind him.
Ling Buyan’s actions seemed to finally remind Ning Qingmo. The man who had been standing on the painting boat had suddenly jumped down and walked to Li Fenglan’s side while fighting Duan Wannian.
Everything in front of them obviously reminded Li Fenglan not only of the Moon Worship Festival a thousand years ago, but also reminded Ning Qingmo of that day.
…
Li Fenglan’s soul was extremely strong, and under the influence of his soul, the current Li Fenglan was becoming more and more similar to the Li Fuyue of the previous life.
In Ning Qingmo’s eyes, except for the missing red mark on his forehead, Li Fenglan was almost no different from the person in his memory.
Duan Wannian was not Ning Qingmo’s opponent after all. Although Ning Qingmo didn’t hold his pipa this time and was clearly distracted, the difference in their cultivation level was still evident after a few moves.
Seeing that Duan Wannian seemed to be determined to fight Ning Qingmo to the death, Li Fenglan couldn’t help but once again block his sword and shout, “Duan Wannian!”
Li Fenglan’s voice was not small, and it not only woke up Duan Wannian who was in love with the battle, but also awakened Ning Qingmo who was staring blankly at Li Fenglan.
“Your cultivation…” Ning Qingmo slowly furrowed his brows and looked at Li Fenglan, saying softly, “You just blocked my sword, your cultivation, definitely not just nascent soul.”
Although Ning Qingmo was not a sword cultivator, swordsmanship was a required course for every cultivator.
Li Fenglan did not speak, he just gave Ning Qingmo a cold glance.
Although Duan Wannian didn’t know what had happened between them, seeing the obvious tension between the two, she obediently returned to Li Fenglan’s side.
“Master, let’s go.” Li Fenglan finally glanced at Ning Qingmo and turned to say to Ling Buyan.
“Okay.” Ling Buyan nodded lightly.
Ning Qingmo was always a calm person, but when he saw Li Fenglan making a move to leave, he suddenly took a quick step forward and instinctively grabbed Li Fenglan’s sleeve.
Li Fenglan really didn’t want to deal with Ning Qingmo. Even if the other party grabbed his clothes, he just said coldly, “Let go.”
And Cheng Huang, held in Li Fenglan’s arms, obviously disliked the man in front of it.
It turned around and snarled viciously at Ning Qingmo while lying on Li Fenglan’s shoulder.
But Ning Qingmo seemed to ignore the threat from Cheng Huang. He pulled Li Fenglan’s sleeve and whispered, “Every year on the Moon Worshiping Festival, I come here. Are you here today because… like me, you also remembered that time?”
Like me?!
Li Fenglan still didn’t understand whether Ning Qingmo had recognized him as Li Fuyue, or if he was just talking nonsense after seeing someone who looked like Li Fuyue.
But he was sure that Ning Qingmo was speaking to Li Fuyue with that sentence.
Haha, how could I be like you?
Li Fenglan had never seen someone so delusional in his life.
After hearing Ning Qingmo’s words, he finally slowly turned around.
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Thank You for the new chapter (⋈◍＞◡＜◍)。✧♡