As dusk approached, many merchants and residents along the streets lit their oil lamps and lanterns. Some families had already prepared their meals, and the aroma of cooking wafted through the surroundings.
The sounds of children playing and the barking of dogs could be heard. It seemed the mortals living here enjoyed a peaceful and stable life.
Zhang Ling walked along the street of Qingtian Village, unknowingly arriving at the location of his former home.
The dilapidated courtyard of his memories had long disappeared, replaced by several brick houses where a family of six mortals were gathering dried medicinal herbs.
Zhang Ling paused in front of the courtyard for a moment, then smiled and glanced at a well not far away. The well was in the same location but looked completely different.
After a moment of silence, he walked away along the street.
A short while later, he appeared on a nearby earthen slope. The area was dim, overgrown with weeds and withered trees, and extremely desolate. There were many mounds of earth among the grass, all of them graves, marking a mass burial ground.
After walking a few steps, Zhang Ling stood in front of a thick tree, silently gazing at it.
This was where he had buried his grandfather and some villagers after returning from the mountains. Although his memory was hazy, the location of the tree seemed to coincide with his grandfather's grave. So many years had passed that the grave had disappeared, and a large tree had grown in its place.
Dust to dust, earth to earth, a century of change, things were different. He seemed to have nothing to linger for in this place.
Zhang Ling smiled wryly, a yellow light flashed beneath his feet, and a low platform rose up. He sat on it, closed his eyes, and began to meditate. A gentle breeze blew by, and he heard the sounds of insects chirping. His mind calmed down, and a peaceful night passed.
At dawn, sunlight fell on his body. Zhang Ling reopened his eyes, glanced at the small village not far from the earthen slope, and then transformed into a yellow light and disappeared.
Two hours later, Zhang Ling flew through the clouds, seeing a range of mountains in the distance.
This mountain range had not changed much and was the same as he remembered. This was the Haoyang Mountain Range where the Haoyuan Sect was located. As he approached, he could sense the presence of many cultivators. It seemed that the Haoyuan Sect was indeed much more prosperous than it had been two hundred years ago.
Zhang Ling produced a black jade token, which was his identity token from his time in the Haoyuan Sect. He wondered if it still worked.
With a thought, he cast a spell on it, and the black jade token flashed with light, revealing some words that spelled out his name. But after testing it, the token's original communication function had failed.
It seemed that his identity token had expired in the Haoyuan Sect.
Zhang Ling smiled wryly and increased his speed, flying towards the mountain gate of the Haoyuan Sect. Since he planned to return to the Haoyuan Sect, these were minor matters. If his identity had expired, he would first pay a visit as a rogue cultivator to probe the conduct of the Haoyuan Sect's Heavenly Wind Ancestor.
If this ancestor differed greatly from what he had learned, then whether he should return to the Haoyuan Sect would be a matter for consideration. If he couldn't find a suitable place to cultivate, joining one of the Twelve Immortal Cities would also be a good decision.
Zhang Ling's speed was extremely fast, turning into a yellow flash as he sped through the sky. After thinking for a while, he had an idea.
He took out a shapeshifting mud and covered himself with it, transforming his figure into a dark-faced man, and suppressing his cultivation to the late Golden Core stage. After a simple disguise, Zhang Ling swaggered towards the mountain gate of the Haoyuan Sect.
A moment later, he arrived at a place, landing on a thousand-foot-high cliff. Before him was a gray-white mist that blocked his vision. This was the mountain gate of the Haoyuan Sect.
Several huge stone pillars stood on the edge of the cliff, with many iron-black chains hanging in the air, extending into the mist beyond sight.
Next to it was a huge stone tablet with three large characters carved on it: Haoyuan Sect.
Zhang Ling raised his hand, and a ray of light fell on the stone tablet. He stood quietly beside it, waiting with his head bowed. After a dozen breaths of time, the mist in front of him swayed, and two cultivators, a man and a woman, flew out.
"Who dares to be presumptuous on the territory of my Haoyuan Sect!" The male cultivator snorted coldly without even looking after flying out. The female cultivator cautiously glanced at Zhang Ling and quickly reminded him via voice transmission, "Senior Brother Wang, this is a senior cultivator."
The male cultivator, hearing his companion's reminder, finally took a proper look at Zhang Ling, and his face immediately turned pale. He immediately landed from the air and bowed respectfully. "Junior was unintentional in his offense, please forgive me, Senior."
"Fellow Daoist's tone was quite something just now, haha." Zhang Ling naturally didn't have a good look on his face and laughed. The cultivation of these two was only in the mid-Foundation Establishment stage, obviously just gatekeepers. But the male cultivator's tone did indeed displease him.
Having such people guard the mountain gate might inadvertently offend many cultivators. But since they were just two Foundation Establishment cultivators, he didn't pay too much attention.
"May I ask what brings Senior to visit? If there is anything important, we two juniors can pass it on." The female cultivator was quite calm, first offering a salute and then asking respectfully.
"This seat has come to visit your sect's Heavenly Wind Senior." Zhang Ling snorted expressionlessly.
"Ah, Senior wishes to visit the Ancestor. This is beyond our ability to decide. If Senior doesn't mind, could you first come with us to the side hall and wait for a moment? We will inform the Sect Master." Hearing that he wanted to visit the sect's ancestor, the female cultivator cautiously glanced at Zhang Ling again. Seeing his determined expression, not seeming to be lying, she quickly suggested.
"Lead the way." Zhang Ling nodded.
"Then Senior, this way please." The man and woman exchanged glances and steered their magical instruments to lead the way. Zhang Ling followed them to the top of a nearby mountain and entered a redwood hall.
Afterward, the male cultivator left to inform the Sect Master. The female cultivator brewed a pot of fragrant tea and stood beside him, acting as a maidservant.
A moment later, the male cultivator brought a middle-aged man with graying hair and beard. This person wore a light yellow robe and looked somewhat thin, with the strength of the early Golden Core stage.
As soon as the middle-aged man entered, he noticed Zhang Ling's cultivation, which had already reached the peak of the late Golden Core stage. Naturally, he dared not be negligent and greeted him with a smile. "I am Wu Minghan, greetings Fellow Daoist. The two juniors in the sect have been offensive, please forgive them, Fellow Daoist."
"Haha, Fellow Daoist Wu is too polite." Zhang Ling casually cupped his hands. As soon as this person came in, he felt somewhat familiar, and then he remembered an old acquaintance.
Zhang Ling looked carefully at the face of this middle-aged man surnamed Wu, and confirmed that it was none other than Wu Minghan, Senior Brother Wu, whom he had dealt with several times.
This Senior Brother Wu had once exchanged a Foundation Establishment Pill from him for a talisman treasure. After establishing his foundation, he had also guarded the Red Rock Mountain small array eye in Yanh霞 City with him, and had even tried to recruit him to join the Wu family as a guest elder.
This Senior Brother Wu had also successfully formed his core after two hundred years. It seemed he also had some opportunities.
Wu Minghan dismissed the two Foundation Establishment cultivators and personally brewed a pot of spiritual tea, chatting with him. During the conversation,
Zhang Ling also learned that Senior Brother Wu was not the current Sect Master of the Haoyuan Sect, but an outer elder. He was in charge of guarding the mountain gate, which was why he was able to receive him first at this time.
Wu Minghan indirectly tried to find out about Zhang Ling's origins.
"Fellow Daoist Zhang, I wonder what brings you to seek out our sect's Heavenly Wind Ancestor. If there are no special circumstances, Wu cannot dare to disturb the Ancestor's secluded cultivation. The Ancestor generally does not meet any outsiders." After chatting for a while, the topic turned to the main point. Wu Minghan said with some difficulty.
"I naturally wouldn't make things difficult for Fellow Daoist Wu. I happen to have a treasure that Senior Heavenly Wind needs, which I obtained by chance, and that's why I want to meet Senior Heavenly Wind."
"Oh, you have a treasure that the Ancestor needs." Hearing this, Wu Minghan's eyes lit up, revealing a curious expression. "Recently, the Ancestor has indeed been collecting some spiritual objects. Wu also knows a thing or two. Fellow Daoist might as well take it out and let me see it. If it is really a treasure that the Ancestor needs, then meeting the Ancestor is not a problem."
During this time, he inquired about the situation of the Haoyuan Sect, naturally focusing on the Heavenly Wind Ancestor. Thus, he knew that the Heavenly Wind Ancestor was collecting some things.
This was an idea he had come up with on the way to test the Heavenly Wind Ancestor.
Zhang Ling hesitated for a moment and patted his storage bag, and a wooden box appeared in his hand. With a snap, the wooden box was opened, revealing a section of black wood as thick as an arm and three feet long.
But this piece of wood had many holes of different sizes, as if it had been eaten by insects.
Zhang Ling pointed with one hand, and the wooden stick flew into the air, swaying gently from side to side, emitting a melodious sound of wind.
"Wind Chime Wood, Fellow Daoist actually has this kind of spiritual wood, this is exactly what the Ancestor needs." Wu Minghan immediately widened his eyes, recognized the origin of the wood, and exclaimed in surprise.
"Wu will now take Fellow Daoist to meet the Ancestor."
A quarter of an hour later, Wu Minghan brought Zhang Ling to the outside of a misty valley, waiting.
Not long after, the mist in the valley rippled, splitting open to reveal a narrow path, and a twelve or thirteen-year-old boy in white clothes walked out.
The boy seemed young, but his cultivation had reached the late stage of Qi Refining, and his identity was obviously not simple. "Elder Wu, the Ancestor has agreed to meet Senior Zhang." The white-clothed boy said to Wu Minghan, then led Zhang Ling along the path in the mist into the valley.
Wu Minghan did not follow, but waited outside the valley.
The path in the mist was very long, winding and winding, and it was unknown where it led. Zhang Ling's eyes flashed with spiritual light, and he could sense special spiritual fluctuations coming from the mist, with some killing intent hidden within. This place clearly had a powerful formation guarding it, and if one broke in rashly, they might fall into the formation.
After walking for half a quarter of an hour, the front suddenly opened up, revealing a large stone gate two zhang high.
As soon as he arrived at the stone gate, Zhang Ling sensed a not-weak divine sense enveloping the surroundings, sweeping over his body. It was extremely short, it could be said to be fleeting. If he only had the strength of the Golden Core stage, it would be difficult to detect this divine sense power.
Without thinking, he knew that this was the divine sense of the Heavenly Wind Ancestor.
The white-clothed boy who led the way pushed open the stone gate with his hand, and the stone gate opened with a click. "Senior Zhang, please come in, the Ancestor is inside." The boy smiled at him and walked in.
The environment inside was like a natural cave, and he could hear the sound of gurgling water. On one side of the cave was a semicircular pool, with more than a dozen strange red lotus flowers blooming, emitting a refreshing fragrance.
The spiritual vein environment of this cave was also excellent, with a spiritual energy concentration one or two times higher than that of a top-grade spiritual vein.
After walking for more than ten zhang, turning a corner, bypassing a few boulders, he saw a small courtyard. Everywhere, there were strange flowers and plants growing, and a simple redwood pavilion stood in it, appearing quite quiet.
At this moment, an old man with white hair wearing a long shirt was sitting in the pavilion, holding a book in his hand, checking something. He looked like a Confucian scholar, and his aura had reached the middle stage of the Nascent Soul stage, precisely the Heavenly Wind Ancestor.
"Greetings, Senior." Zhang Ling did not directly enter the courtyard, but first offered a salute. "Haha, is it Fellow Daoist Zhang? Come in quickly." The white-haired old man looked up, as if he had just noticed his arrival.
Zhang Ling responded and walked in.
"Fellow Daoist, please sit down. I heard that you have a Wind Chime Wood with a good appearance in your hand, is it true?" The white-haired old man glanced at him, then turned his gaze to the book in his hand, asking straight to the point.
"Senior Heavenly Wind, please see, the Wind Chime Wood is inside." Zhang Ling also directly took out the wooden box containing the Wind Chime Wood.
"Well, then this old man will take a look without being polite." The white-haired old man hummed, closed the book in his hand, and then looked at the wooden box.
"Senior, please feel free to appraise it." Zhang Ling carefully placed the wooden box on the table.
With a snap, the Heavenly Wind Ancestor flicked his finger and opened the wooden box, taking out the Wind Chime Wood inside. After glancing at it, he immediately grabbed it in his hand and carefully examined it.
After half a cup of tea time, the Heavenly Wind Ancestor finished looking at the Wind Chime Wood. He put the Wind Chime Wood back in the box, stroked his beard, and pondered.
Zhang Ling stood beside him, always observing the expression of the Heavenly Wind Ancestor.
Although this person did not show any expression, there was some greed in his eyes. Although it was extremely well concealed, he still noticed it. But in the end, the Heavenly Wind Ancestor still put the Wind Chime Wood in the box.
With the treasure in front of him, he could still restrain his greed. It seemed that the reputation of the Heavenly Wind Ancestor was not fake.
Wind Chime Wood is a rare fourth-grade spiritual wood, which is rarely seen in the world of immortals. This was still Zhang Ling who, in order to solve Ding Ruozhao's situation in the Heavenly Palace Secret Realm, obtained the spiritual wood from the side of the spiritual eye in Qionghua Mountain.
The Wind Chime Wood has been growing for more than three thousand years, and for Nascent Soul cultivators, it is also a rare and precious material. It is enough to refine top-grade magic treasures.
It is not without danger for Golden Core cultivators to take this kind of rare material to meet Nascent Soul cultivators. There is a high probability that they will be killed and robbed of their treasures.
Of course, he used this thing to test the Heavenly Wind Ancestor, not really to find a saint who would not be moved by beauty or take treasures in front of him. He just wanted to see if the Heavenly Wind Ancestor was like what the outside world said. To determine whether he was suitable to stay in the Haoyuan Sect.
