Chapter 257: Chapter 254: Eternally Evergreen

After the New Year, Li Ping emerged from his secluded cultivation. The moment he stepped out of his training room, he saw the Desolate Fire Sparrow chasing the Earth Spirit Rat all over the place.

He quickly called out for the two beasts to stop.

After a bit of questioning, he learned that the Earth Spirit Rat held quite a grudge. It remembered vividly how the Desolate Fire Sparrow had chased and beaten it before.

After breaking through to Tier Two Middle Grade, its confidence had soared, and it had started to actively provoke the Desolate Fire Sparrow. The result, unsurprisingly, was another sound thrashing.

Li Ping was left a little speechless upon hearing the full story.

...

「Three more years passed in the blink of an eye.」

One day, an excited Ji Shu Xuan rushed to Changping Square to share some good news with Li Ping:

His third son, Ji Nianyun, had reached the peak of the Qi Refining Ninth Level before the end of the last year. As an Inner Sect Disciple of the Flying Snow Sect, he had received a Foundation Establishment Pill. The moment he got his hands on the pill, he immediately entered seclusion to attempt his breakthrough to the Foundation Establishment stage.

Today, Ji Shu Xuan had seen the spiritual phenomenon from the breakthrough dissipate, a clear sign that his son had successfully reached the Foundation Establishment stage.

It was only through his connection to Li Ping that Ji Nianyun had been able to become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Flying Snow Sect, receive a Foundation Establishment Pill from the Sect, and successfully achieve his breakthrough!

From that perspective, Li Ping was the great benefactor of both Ji Nianyun and the entire Ji family!

Without him, Ji Nianyun could forget about Foundation Establishment; even joining the Flying Snow Sect would have been an impossible dream!

That was why, upon learning of his son’s success, the very first thing Ji Shu Xuan did was rush to Changping Square to share the news with Li Ping.

His primary goal was to express his family’s immense gratitude!

"He succeeded in his Foundation Establishment?" Li Ping was somewhat surprised. He thought for a moment, recalling what he knew about Ji Nianyun.

’Ji Nianyun only has a Three Spirit Roots aptitude,’ he thought. ’To succeed in Foundation Establishment at his age, he must have been incredibly diligent in his cultivation.’

Of course, a person’s success certainly depends on their own efforts, but one must also consider the greater course of events.

If Li Ping hadn’t happened to arrive in Flying Snow City, he never would have become an Inner Sect Disciple of the Flying Snow Sect.

If the Flying Snow Sect hadn’t suffered such devastating losses during the great turmoil and desperately needed new blood, he wouldn’t have received the Sect’s full support.

If...

...

In short, it was the combination of these external factors and his own diligent cultivation that allowed Ji Nianyun to successfully achieve Foundation Establishment, despite having only a Three Spirit Roots aptitude!

"Not bad at all," Li Ping said with a smile and a nod.

Ji Nianyun was the second descendant of Daoist Ji to become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator that he was aware of.

A Cultivation Clan founded by an elder cultivator who had lost all hope on his own path had now produced two Foundation Establishment Cultivators in a row from among his descendants.

And all of this was inextricably linked to that single act of kindness the elder cultivator had shown when he first guided Li Ping onto the path of cultivation.

Fate truly worked in mysterious ways.

Not long after, once Ji Nianyun had stabilized his new cultivation level, he emerged from seclusion. The very first thing he did was come to pay his respects to Li Ping.

During their conversation, he made no attempt to treat Li Ping as a peer. He continued to address him respectfully as "Grandpa Li," his words overflowing with gratitude.

Li Ping smiled and nodded. He then took a shield from his Storage Bag—a Tier Two Lower Grade defensive Dharma Artifact he had acquired after killing the Seven Immortals of the North Pole.

As Ji Nianyun’s eyes widened in disbelief, Li Ping bestowed the precious Dharma Artifact upon him as a gift for successfully reaching the Foundation Establishment stage.

After his attempts to refuse proved futile, Ji Nianyun accepted the Dharma Artifact with surprised delight.

And the respect in his voice when he spoke to Li Ping grew even deeper.

...

「Several months later.」

The Flying Snow Sect held a Foundation Establishment ceremony for Ji Nianyun.

At the ceremony, Li Ping saw Xu Guikai once again.

He had yet to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, but his aura had grown more tranquil. He was like a Treasure Sword resting in its sheath, its divine radiance contained within.

This didn’t mean his Sword Dao had weakened; on the contrary, his mastery had only grown more profound.

The true essence of the sword lies in being concealed!

The longer it remains hidden, the more world-shatteringly powerful it will be the moment it is drawn!

Xu Guikai didn’t hide his plans from Li Ping.

He stated frankly that he planned to break through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment within the next few years. Afterward, he would leave Flying Snow City for the rebuilt Silver Moon City to continue his cultivation and prepare to attempt his breakthrough to the Core Formation stage.

Li Ping offered his blessings, wishing him an early success in forming his Golden Core.

...

After the Foundation Establishment ceremony, Ji Nianyun, following arrangements made by Ji Shu Xuan, quickly married a daughter of the Mei family, one of the Flying Snow Sect’s long-established Cultivation Clans. Through this, he effectively became an ally of Mei Hao.

Furthermore, thanks to Li Ping’s influence, Shi Yutong also looked out for him.

He soon established a firm foothold within the Flying Snow Sect, and the Ji family was accepted by the other Foundation Establishment Immortal Races within the Sect.

With this, as long as they managed their affairs prudently, the Ji family would be tied to the Flying Snow Sect for generations, becoming a Cultivation Clan that could endure for a thousand years without fail.

Spurred on by such a bright future, even the aged and frail Ji Shu Xuan’s eyes shone with a sharp light, and a faint blush appeared on his withered cheeks.

However, this appearance was merely a final, fleeting burst of vitality before the end.

「Two years later.」

Shortly after the birth of Ji Nianyun’s eldest son, Ji Shu Xuan’s lifespan came to an end. He passed away peacefully, his age forever fixed at ninety-two.

...

"Grandpa Li, my father... he passed away."

Ji Nianyun wept bitterly before Li Ping.

Many Cultivators, after giving up on the path of cultivation, take multiple wives and have many children.

After all, the more children one has, the greater the chance of producing an heir with good cultivation aptitude.

In such cases, with too many children to care for individually, the bond between father and child is often weak.

Even when a family member dies, there isn’t much grief.

But Ji Shu Xuan had been different. He and his wife had only three children, all of whom they had cared for with unwavering devotion. Their family atmosphere had been warm, and the bond between father and children was profound.

Therefore, when Ji Shu Xuan passed away—at an age considered relatively young for those connected to cultivation—the entire Ji family wept inconsolably.

Li Ping could only offer his condolences, and he went to the Ji family home to pay his last respects to Ji Shu Xuan, whose body had been prepared for viewing.

Ji Shu Xuan’s face was peaceful, his features relaxed, and his eyes were gently closed. Clearly, he had passed on with few regrets.

In the days that followed, Ji Nianyun held a funeral for his late father.

Out of respect for Ji Nianyun, many of the Flying Snow Sect’s high-ranking Cultivators either came to pay their respects in person or sent junior family members to do so in their stead.

Xu Guikai also appeared, accompanied by Lin Yue.

Seeing him again after two years, Li Ping noted that he had successfully broken through to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment realm.

His sword was even better concealed now. If he didn’t reveal it himself, no one would ever guess from his appearance that he was a Sword Cultivator.

Xu Guikai gently hugged Ji Shu Xuan’s wife, Ah Yun, patting her back comfortingly. "Ah Yun," he said softly, "don’t be too sad. Shu Xuan was lucky to have lived as long as he did."

In truth, he wasn’t wrong.

Years ago, while fleeing the Western Wilderness, Xu Guikai had stumbled upon Ji Shu Xuan, who had been captured and enslaved by the Tuluo People. If he hadn’t intervened and rescued him then, Ji Shu Xuan would have died long ago.

He never would have lived to this day, married and had children, let alone raised a descendant who would become a Foundation Establishment Cultivator.

Ah Yun sobbed quietly, and as Xu Guikai spoke, her grief only intensified.

Evidently, his blunt honesty hadn’t comforted Ah Yun at all; it had only made things worse.

Slightly embarrassed, Xu Guikai quickly gestured with his eyes for his wife to take over comforting his distraught sister.

He, meanwhile, made his way over to Li Ping.

"Congratulations on your breakthrough to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, Fellow Daoist Xu," Li Ping said as Xu Guikai approached.

Xu Guikai nodded, a hint of joy in his eyes. "Yes. After all this time, I’ve finally broken through!"

"So, Fellow Daoist Xu, you plan to head to New City next?" Li Ping inquired.

Xu Guikai had already told him his plans, so Li Ping was merely making conversation.

"I plan to leave in a few days," Xu Guikai confirmed. "Oh, and Ah Yun doesn’t want to come to New City. When I’m gone, I hope Fellow Daoist Li can look after her."

Ah Yun and Xu Guikai were not related by blood, but the bond they shared was deeper than that of most biological siblings.

As he prepared to leave Flying Snow City, his only real worry was for his sister.

He had wanted to take her with him so he could look after her, but Ah Yun’s children and grandchildren were all in Flying Snow City. She was getting on in years and wanted nothing more than to spend her remaining days doting on her grandkids; leaving with Xu Guikai was out of the question.

That was why Xu Guikai had specifically asked Li Ping to help look after her.

But Li Ping felt he was worrying needlessly.

Ah Yun had two sons, a daughter, and even more grandchildren. Moreover, her son Ji Nianyun was a Foundation Establishment Cultivator with a secure position in the Flying Snow Sect.

She and the Ji family could live perfectly well in Flying Snow City without anyone else’s protection.

Still, since Xu Guikai had asked, Li Ping gave a slight nod. "You can rest assured, Fellow Daoist Xu."

Having received Li Ping’s promise, Xu Guikai said no more on the matter.

After the funeral, in accordance with Ji Shu Xuan’s final wishes,

his body was cremated. The ashes were placed temporarily in the ancestral hall, with the intention of returning them to the Ji family’s ancestral homeland in the Western Wilderness for burial when the opportunity arose.

Having drifted far from home his entire life, Ji Shu Xuan’s dying wish was for his "fallen leaves to return to their roots."

His only regret before he closed his eyes for the last time was perhaps never being able to see his homeland again.

But that nostalgia for a distant home would likely end with him.

Ji Nianyun and the others had been born and raised in Flying Snow City. Their home was here, and so were their roots.

To them, places like the Jiang Kingdom and Little Plum Mountain were merely vague symbols.

...

Soon after, as promised, Xu Guikai left Flying Snow City with Lin Yue.

Before his departure, he paid a special visit to Li Ping. The two of them talked through the night, and it wasn’t until dawn that Xu Guikai finally took his leave with a relaxed and open-hearted farewell.

Li Ping watched him go.

He thought of how Xu Guikai, after achieving his Golden Core, would inevitably return to the Western Wilderness and stir up a storm of blood.

A sigh escaped his lips.

As he sighed, his thoughts drifted to his old friends and family far away in the Western Wilderness. ’I’ve been away from the Western Wilderness for decades now. I wonder how they’re all doing.’

By the time he one day returned to the Western Wilderness,

any of his old friends and relatives who hadn’t succeeded in Foundation Establishment would likely have already passed away from old age, just like Ji Shu Xuan.

Standing there in the courtyard,

at that moment, Li Ping felt the true heartlessness of time.

’And this,’ he thought, ’is only the beginning.’

’After I reach Core Formation and another century or two pass, even those who successfully reached Foundation Establishment, like Zhang Tie, Gumu Sheng, and Cheng Yao... they will all pass away, eventually returning to dust.’

’The more talented ones, like Xiao Yunzhi and Xu Guikai, might reach Core Formation or even Nascent Soul Formation and live for a thousand years.’

’But after those thousand years, they too will pass away in sorrow.’

’By then, all the people I once knew will have withered away.’

’Leaving only me... alone, eternally enduring.’

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