He Qingling had now spent twenty-nine years on Du Cang Mountain.

In fact, the time she had spent on Du Cang Mountain had already exceeded the years she had lived in the Western Region of Chenping Continent, during her time at Xuan Sheng Sect.

As a current Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator, He Qingling now held a rather esteemed position on Du Cang Mountain.

After all, as one of the first batch of chosen Guardians of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain, both her seniority and cultivation base commanded the respect of those who came later.

Although He Qingling, hailing from Xuan Sheng Sect, still lacked some of the foundational depth compared to those disciples from the Five Great Sects.

But that was hardly something these Martial Spring Realm brats, who were only just over ten years old, would dare to show disrespect toward.

"Since you suspect that Elder Li killed Elder Bai and the cultivators who went to the lakebed cavern together, why not report the matter to the True Person?"

"Senior He..."

Those several Martial Spring Realm cultivators hesitated, uncertain of what to do.

He Qingling's icy gaze swept across the Martial Spring Realm cultivators standing before her, finally coming to rest on the disciple among them who wore the pure white daoist robe of Kongshan Sect.

Not only was he a Kongshan Sect cultivator, but judging from the water ripple patterns on his robe, he was actually a disciple from Yuanhua Mountain.

"What is your name?"

He Qingling asked in the direction of that Yuanhua Mountain disciple.

"Zhang Tianyu."

The Yuanhua Mountain disciple answered.

"Zhang Tianyu."

He Qingling slowly repeated the name:

"So you are the personal disciple of Qin Dong, the current Dignity Elder of Yuanhua Mountain in Kongshan Sect, and the previous chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain, Zhang Tianyu."

"..."

The Yuanhua Mountain disciple named Zhang Tianyu remained silent, saying nothing, only bowing respectfully once more in He Qingling's direction.

"Come to think of it, Elder Li Haowen also once held the position of chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain in the past."

He Qingling said:

"Chief Disciple Zhang, are you aware of this?"

"This junior is naturally aware."

The Yuanhua Mountain disciple named Zhang Tianyu replied:

"Approximately sixty-some years ago, when Du Cang Mountain was still called Heavenly Summit Mountain, Elder Li once served as the chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain, until the outbreak of the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm."

Li Haowen was from Yuanhua Mountain. After the Coiling Dragon Sect campaign concluded, he had entered Kong Yang's field of vision and earned considerable appreciation from Kong Yang, before being transferred to Qingchan Peak.

The Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm was already something of a legendary piece of history for many cultivators nowadays.

Never mind the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm, many of the young cultivators on Du Cang Mountain now only had a vague concept of the name Heavenly Summit Mountain in their minds.

Take Zhang Tianyu, who was currently standing before He Qingling, for example. His actual age was only eighteen years old.

This meant that eleven years ago, when the reincarnated body of Kongshan Sect's Ascended Steward, True Person Caiyun, Kong Yang, had fallen for the second time, this current chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain had probably just barely joined Kongshan Sect.

Time really did fly.

He Qingling could not help but sigh inwardly at this thought.

And who could disagree?

In just a few short decades, she too had transformed from a young girl who knew nothing into a true Myriad Transformations Realm cultivator.

For the relatively peaceful and harmonious cultivation world of Chenping Continent back then, the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm had undoubtedly brought tremendous shock to what had once been a tranquil cultivation world.

But who could have known that this was only the beginning?

Following the Heavenly Summit Mountain Cataclysm came the Outer Court Cataclysm of Kongshan Sect, the Great Demon's Egg in the Fallen Sword Mountain Range, and then the revival of the immortal path, followed by the Great Chaos of the Immortals...

Now, the cultivation world of Chenping Continent was once again facing the challenge of that pitch-black rift in the sky, gradually expanding.

"If that's the case, then what is Chief Disciple Zhang's personal view of Elder Li Haowen?"

He Qingling asked.

The former chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain named Zhang Tianyu hesitated for a brief moment, then spoke:

"To answer Senior He's question, given how much time has passed, this junior believes that his previous understanding of Li Haowen, Elder Li, was quite shallow, and it is highly likely that he was overly influenced by others' opinions, which may have led to a biased view of Elder Li Haowen."

Zhang Tianyu's words were watertight.

Although he was only a Martial Spring Realm cultivator, he was still an eighteen-year-old Martial Spring Realm cultivator.

And judging from the fluctuations of his true qi, Zhang Tianyu's current cultivation level was most likely somewhere between the late stage of Martial Spring Realm and the peak of Martial Spring Realm.

The phrase "heaven-chosen young prodigy" could be used to perfectly describe this former chief disciple of Yuanhua Mountain.

After all, who among those who became Guardians of the Dao on Du Cang Mountain was not a heaven-chosen talent?

"What I asked was your view of Elder Li Haowen, not whether your evaluation of Elder Li Haowen might be biased or not."

He Qingling said.

"..."

Zhang Tianyu fell silent for another brief moment, then continued:

"This junior believes that Elder Li is a vile, cold-blooded, and ruthless man... or rather, this is the consensus view of the vast majority of cultivators on Yuanhua Mountain in Kongshan Sect."

......

Atop a mountain of corpses formed from tens of thousands of remains, a young man in a cool white daoist robe sat at the summit, as if seated upon his own throne.

In this cavern that plunged over thirty-seven thousand zhang deep, like an abyss itself, the residual karmic obsession that this Sage had left behind in the mortal world simply sat quietly, gazing into the darkness before him.

Until a figure in a plain white daoist robe slowly appeared within the shadows.

"Long time no see, boy."

Seeing Chen Yan's figure appear before him, Bai Chen, seated atop the mountain of corpses, broke into a smile:

"It really has been a long, long time. If I calculate it roughly, it's probably been about seven million years."

Standing at the base of the mountain of corpses, Chen Yan did not speak immediately. He looked up at the residual karmic obsession of that Sage seated above the mountain of corpses, and after another moment of silence, finally spoke:

"Does the seven million years the Sage speaks of refer to the time that has passed since we parted ways at Qingxuan Mountain on the former Tianji Continent, all the way until now?"

"Smart."

Bai Chen simply smiled and nodded:

"Seven million years... even for someone like me, a cultivator of the Uncarved Simplicity Realm, that is an excessively long stretch of time. But speaking of which, you really are quite cautious. You came to see me not with your true body, but with a clone, didn't you?"

As he spoke, Bai Chen narrowed his eyes slightly, curiously appraising Chen Yan before him:

"Interesting. Truly interesting. Whether it's the Martial Spring, the qi sea, or the meridian pathways within the body, everything is completely identical to the original. Even I almost failed to notice. Truly an intriguing technique."

If you find any errors ( broken links, non-standard content, etc.. ), Please let us know < report chapter > so we can fix it as soon as possible.