Chapter 555: Clues of the Time Immortal

A thousand clouds drifted past as the Great Elder watched the Approaching Dao Sect draw ever closer, letting out a long sigh of relief.

"Safely back at the Approaching Dao Sect at last."

Though the journey from being captured by the Hanging Temple to safely returning to the Approaching Dao Sect had been somewhat convoluted, being able to return was a blessing regardless.

"I think, Junior Brother Shi Zhan, that you might not need any travel expenses."

"Ah? Why is that?" Shi Zhan thought to himself that Senior Brother Dai seemed like such a gentle person; could he really have the heart to make him walk all the way back?

"Your sect has arrived." Dai Bufan spoke without expression, his gaze passing over Shi Zhan to look at a group of monks walking toward them from the distance.

Shi Zhan turned his head to look, and indeed, there were his own master, martial uncle, and martial brothers. The Buddhist light radiating from them was blindingly brilliant, and the monastery overseer, Martial Uncle Jie Chen, was carrying a person in his hand.

The people of the Hanging Temple possessed profound cultivation, covering a hundred meters in a single bound, and in the blink of an eye, they arrived at the mountain gate of the Approaching Dao Sect.

"Martial Uncle Jie Chen, why have you come?" Shi Zhan was bewildered; he had received no word that his sect was coming to pick him up.

His own master, Jie Sha, was present, but considering that his master had been unable to speak for a very long time, asking him would be in vain, so it was better to ask his martial uncle.

"Performing a daily good deed, we have come to release a captive." Master Jie Chen nudged the person in his hand, returning him obediently back to the Approaching Dao Sect.

"Master, are you alright?" Dai Bufan looked with a peculiar expression at the Great Elder, who had just been released by the Hanging Temple.

The Great Elder waved his hand, signaling Dai Bufan not to worry about him: "It was merely an exchange between the high-level members of our sects, what could possibly happen?"

Dai Bufan: "..."

Master Jie Chen beckoned with his hand, calling Shi Zhan over.

"Many thanks to Martial Nephew Dai for taking care of him this past month." Master Jie Chen nodded in gratitude.

"Martial Uncle is too polite." Dai Bufan returned the salute.

The people from the Hanging Temple escorted Shi Zhan back. Along the way, Shi Zhan kept his head lowered, looking deeply disappointed.

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

"Shi Zhan, what did you gain during your time at the Approaching Dao Sect?" Master Jie Chen asked kindly. Jie Chen meant "refraining from anger," and he always maintained a smiling countenance.

"My harvest was bountiful indeed! The Approaching Dao Sect is full of experts everywhere, and I met many people who share the exact same philosophy as me!"

"But most importantly, I confirmed that what Master said was absolutely true; the Eldest Disciple of the Silent Daoist is indeed difficult to deal with."

"Naturally, how could your master deceive you? The Eldest Disciple of the Silent Daoist is indeed difficult to deal with... Wait, what did you say?" Master Jie Chen suddenly realized something was amiss, how did this boy know that Yun Zhi was difficult to deal with?

"Didn't Master say that the Eldest Disciple of the Silent Daoist is incredibly powerful and not to be provoked? I felt that what is learned from books remains superficial, and to truly understand it, one must practice it firsthand. So, I went to Heavenly Gate Peak and proposed a challenge to Senior Yun Zhi. Mind you, I really was no match for her." As Shi Zhan recalled the scene from that time, his body throbbed with a faint ache, and a wave of lingering fear washed over him. Senior Yun Zhi was truly terrifyingly strong.

Hearing that his prized disciple had done such a thing, Master Jie Sha's flying form wavered, and he nearly plunged headfirst to the ground.

He wanted to curse out loud, but considering that he was still practicing the silent meditation vow, he could only think it in his heart.

"We're back." Lu Yang and the other four returned to the Approaching Dao Sect. After all, one's own people were the warmest; look at how Senior Brother Dai and the Great Elder were personally greeting them at the mountain gate.

"Hard work, Great Elder. Hard work, Senior Brother Dai. I still have matters to discuss with Eldest Senior Sister, so I will take my leave first."

Leaving those words behind, Lu Yang quickly vanished from everyone's sight, leaving them utterly bewildered.

"What is that boy in such a hurry for?"

"No idea."

Lu Yang was naturally in a hurry. Putting aside how much he had learned on this trip to the Five Elements Sect, just how to handle those ancient matters he had uncovered required the Eldest Senior Sister to make the final decision.

Lu Yang returned to Heavenly Gate Peak. The Eldest Senior Sister sat with one foot touching the ground and the other resting upon the root of her opposite thigh in a partial lotus posture. Her hands formed the mudra of plucking a flower, holding two golden cores. Her breathing was long and deep, seemingly blending into one with nature, her presence incredibly faint.

Before Lu Yang could speak, the Eldest Senior Sister slowly opened her eyes and asked, "Little Junior Brother, what business brings you to me in such a rush?"

As she spoke, she finished her meditation and stood up, flicking the golden cores held at her fingertips toward the sky. The two golden cores transformed into shooting stars, hanging high up in the heavens.

Lu Yang watched, dumbfounded.

Seeing Lu Yang's astonishment, the Eldest Senior Sister explained casually, "A month ago, someone came to challenge me, wishing for me to suppress my realm to the late Golden Core stage. I agreed to his terms, plucked two golden cores from the sky to temporarily suppress my realm, and then I thought that since such a rare opportunity had arisen, I might as well refine them a bit. Only just now have I finished refining them, allowing the two golden cores to return to their original positions."

Lu Yang's eyes twitched slightly, thinking to himself that she might as well have not explained at all.

"Where did you get this wooden plaque?" The Eldest Senior Sister hooked her index finger, and the fragment of the Building Wood hanging around Lu Yang's neck flew up, bringing Lu Yang along with it to stand right before her.

The Eldest Senior Sister held the fragment of the Building Wood, examining it closely. Lu Yang had never been so close to his Eldest Senior Sister before, and a strange nervousness fluttered in his chest; he could even feel her breath.

"A part of an immortal tree?" The Eldest Senior Sister raised an eyebrow and let go of Lu Yang. This item was exceptionally precious; where on earth had Lu Yang obtained it?

"That is exactly what I wanted to tell you. This is a part of the Building Wood, given to me by Sister Shangguan!"

"A part of the Building Wood? The Immortal of Time?"

The Eldest Senior Sister was slightly surprised. So Senior Shangguan held clues regarding the Immortal of Time?

Or perhaps Senior Shangguan did not know this was the Building Wood, only knowing it was very precious, and wanted to form a good relationship with Lu Yang in advance to forge a karmic bond?

"Better let this Immortal explain." The Immortal of Eternity popped her head out; she knew the most.

"When this Immortal went to the Wood Vein of the Five Elements Sect with Lu Yang, I found the Wood Vein bursting with vitality, its life force astonishingly robust. This Immortal then saw the protective talisman that girl Shangguan gave to Lu Yang, so I scanned the entire Wood Vein with my immortal consciousness, and subsequently discovered this."

With a shift of the Immortal of Eternity's immortal consciousness, she reconstructed the corpse of the Immortal of Time that was buried beneath the Wood Vein.

"This is..."

"The corpse of the Immortal of Time."

Yun Zhi's eyes widened slightly, not having expected this news. She had visited the Five Elements Sect before, but out of politeness, she had never scanned what lay beneath the Wood Vein with her divine sense.

Never in her wildest dreams would she have imagined that an immortal corpse was buried beneath the Five Elements Sect!

"The Immortal of Time has fallen? No, a single immortal corpse alone is not enough to make a definitive judgment."

"Senior, there is one matter I wish to confirm with you. I read in ancient texts that the Nian Beast is a subordinate of the Immortal of Time, is this true?"

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

"Then there is no mistake. Every time the New Year arrives, the Nian Beast becomes active, and then the Nian Beast vanishes without a trace. I struck out once, wanting to know where the Nian Beast went, but that time my strike carried too much force and startled the Nian Beast. Ever since then, the Nian Beast runs away the moment it sees me."

A mortal's lifespan is a mere hundred years, so they cherish time, celebrating the New Year once a year. For cultivators who possess vast lifespans, a year is but a snap of the fingers.

The custom in the cultivation world was to celebrate the New Year once every ten years, and the Nian Beast also appeared once every ten years. Since the Immortal of Eternity's resurrection, she had not yet encountered the cultivation world's New Year.

"What I can confirm is that every New Year, the Nian Beast comes from the east and returns to the west. Thus, I suspected that the clues to the Immortal of Time lay either in the Eastern Sea or the Buddhist Kingdom, which is why I had Second Junior Brother travel frequently to the west."