I bear witness to immortality in the human world.

Chapter 249 Greetings from All Sides
In the courtyard.

An elderly man with white hair, dressed in an exquisite and elegant silk robe, sat back in a recliner, with several servants and maids standing respectfully beside him.

Despite being nearly eighty years old and showing signs of aging with clear wrinkles and blemishes on his face, Wu Qi was in good spirits. He was scattering some millet, and a flock of pigeons flew up to feed on it.

suddenly.

Wu Qi was startled and turned his head to look at the outer courtyard. He saw an extremely familiar figure stepping into the courtyard. The figure looked exactly the same as when he left more than 20 years ago, showing no signs of aging and still appearing as a young man.

His hand holding the pipe trembled, and he swayed as he tried to stand up from the recliner. Several servants and maids nearby rushed forward to help him.

At this time,

The servants in the courtyard also saw Wu Ming appear. Several young servants and maids were stunned, not recognizing Wu Ming. However, one of them, an old servant with half gray and half white hair who had served in the mansion for more than 20 years, recognized the person's identity immediately despite his astonishment.

He was excited and flustered as he respectfully bowed to Wu Ming.

"Master...Master, you're back?!"

He instinctively wanted to call out to Master Wu Ming, but seeing how incredibly young Wu Ming looked, just like he did more than twenty years ago, he hesitated for a moment before finally speaking in a trembling voice.

The rest of the servants, watching the old servant's actions and words, and seeing Wu Qi's reaction, even the most foolish among them realized something. However, their gazes toward Wu Ming were filled with shock.

master!

All the servants knew that there were only two old ancestors and a master who had gone far away and had not returned in the Wu family now. It was that master who gave the Wu family a supreme position in the entire Jingye City. Even the heads of the two departments, the leaders of various forces, and the heads of all powerful families would take the initiative to visit them every year.

The old man's name was Wu Ming.

They had all heard of Wu Ming's exploits in Jingye City, his legendary rise to power, but seeing him return now was quite unbelievable to them.

Because the person in front of you is too young.

Judging by the timeline, Wu Ming should be in his forties, almost fifty years old this year. Even if he is not an old man with a full head of white hair, he should at least look like a middle-aged man. However, you can't see many traces of time on Wu Ming's face.

"father."

Wu Ming walked up to Wu Qi in front of everyone, took the initiative to help him up, and called out softly.

"came back."

Wu Qi's body trembled slightly, but his tone was very calm. He simply nodded and slowly said, "My wife has been thinking about you, wondering when you will come back. Go to the backyard and see her."

"it is good."

Wu Ming responded softly, had the servant beside him help Wu Qi, and then turned and walked towards the inner courtyard.

No matter how much fame he made in the outside world, no matter what his current status is, whether he is a disciple of the Holy Land or a peerless grandmaster who has undergone seven blood and seven refinements, in front of this old man with white hair, he is only his father.

With just this slight support, Wu Ming was able to fully assess Wu Qi's physical condition. All he could sense was aging and weakness... Even though he was in Jingye City, with all sorts of resources to nourish his body, the passage of time was an insurmountable force. After all, Wu Qi was not a martial artist, but just an ordinary person. As an ordinary person, the amount of nourishing medicine he could digest was very limited, and he couldn't handle slightly stronger medicines.

At eighty years old, for ordinary people, life is basically nearing its end. Even Wu Ming has no ability to reverse or change it. At most, he can use his primordial spirit to help Wu Qi sort out the chaotic energy in his body.

Four years.

This is the clearest number in Wu Ming's mind: Wu Qi's remaining lifespan and time.

For him now, measuring the remaining lifespan of an ordinary person might not be accurate to the day, but it is no problem to be accurate to the month, which already includes the part he helped to regulate.

As for the Liu family...

Less than a year left.

Her health was much worse than Wu Qi's. Even though she had taken various tonics over the years and had the best pharmacists in Jingye City examine her pulse and treat her every month, she was now bedridden.

"mother."

Wu Ming walked into the inner room of the courtyard, came to the bedside, waved away the maids serving him, and then called out softly.

The old man was hunched over, with sunken eyes and emaciated bones. He was too old to be nourished properly. This was the result of the erosion of time, which no external force could shake.

Wu Ming gently stroked her faint, candle-like soul with his primordial spirit power, carefully protecting it and waking the old woman.

“Ming…you’re back, you’re back.”

The old woman slowly opened her eyes. Thanks to Wu Ming's calming and soothing influence on her soul, she saw that Wu Ming was not so excited that he could not control himself, but his voice was still choked with emotion.

Elderly people at this age are bedridden and nearing the end of their lives. They no longer care much about anything in the world, except for the bloodline they leave behind.

"Well, I'm back."

Wu Ming held the old man's hand and spoke softly.

Observing the old man's condition, he made up his mind that he would stay in Jingye City for a few months.

Even though he was a peerless master who had refined seven times and possessed seven blood, he could not resist the erosion of time. All he could do was stay in Jingye City and accompany the old man through his final days.

"It's good that you're back, it's good that you're back, are you leaving again..."

The old man said, his voice choked with emotion.

"Don't go."

Wu Ming answered.

……

Wu Ming has returned to Jingye City.

This news quickly spread from the Wu residence, causing a great uproar in Jingye City, and then continued to spread outwards, reaching the entire Yong Kingdom.

The day after Wu Ming returned to his residence, the current heads of the Demon Suppression Division and the Punishment Division, as well as the current sect leaders of the Black Fiend Sect and the Profound Jade Sect, and the leader of the Seven Martial Alliance, almost simultaneously sent their visiting cards. Only the Blood Blade Tower did not send a visiting card; after all, they were involved in shady dealings and ran a clandestine business, and not sending a visiting card was the greatest act of goodwill. When the visiting cards arrived at Wu's residence, Wu Ming glanced at them briefly but did not refuse to see them.

With his current level of cultivation and status, the power of Jingye City was nothing in his eyes. However, after returning to his residence, he learned that these forces had been protecting the peace of the Wu family during the years he had been away from Jingye City, and had provided some resources every year. They had all contributed their efforts, so there was nothing wrong with meeting them.

then.

Day three.

Inside the Wu Mansion, the secluded courtyard is clean and tidy, with a clear pond on one side of the pavilion and elegant flowers and plants planted on both banks.

Dai Yuan, the head of the Cautious Punishment Division, Gou Ping, the newly appointed head of the Demon Suppression Division, the two sect leaders of the Black Fiend Sect and the Profound Jade Sect, and the old leader of the Seven Martial Alliance, quietly entered the courtyard under the leadership of the old steward of the Wu Mansion.

inside the hospital,

A young figure in a long robe stood by the pond, his back to the crowd, seemingly watching the fish in the pond.

Beside him, a woman who looked to be in her early twenties stood quietly by his side. She was Xiao Mei, Wu Ming's former personal maid. More than twenty years later, she had become a Daoist cultivator at the fourth level of Yuan Shen cultivation, and her martial arts had also reached the level of three blood condensation stages.

Her cultivation level wasn't particularly high, but in this corner of Jingye City, it was already quite high. She was considered the strongest person in the Wu family besides Wu Ming, and she usually guarded the courtyard.

Because of her cultivation level, although she was nearly forty years old, she still looked like she was in her twenties and was quite young. However, Dai Yuan and the others knew that she was a master of Taoist magic in the Wu family and had all dealt with her before.

but now,
Compared to Xiaomei, what was more eye-catching was the figure standing at the edge of the pond. He was thin and looked even younger than Xiaomei. Even though he had his back to everyone, the invisible pressure emanating from him still made everyone feel a sense of suffocation.

His identity was self-evident; he was none other than Wu Ming, the master of the Wu family.

What was most shocking was that Wu Ming's undisguised martial arts aura rose like a blazing sun, far more vigorous than that of Dai Yuan and the others, even as different as a firefly compared to the bright moon!
Although Dai Yuan and the others were only experts at the fifth level of blood coagulation, they still had vision and knowledge. They could sense that Wu Ming's blood energy was far superior to that of a sixth-level blood coagulation expert.

That's a level that can only be reached after seven blood coagulations!
Seven times he clotting blood, a martial arts master!
Although everyone had heard rumors about Wu Ming and knew that this peerless genius from Jingye City was destined to become a grandmaster, when Wu Ming appeared before everyone with the martial arts realm of a seven-blood grandmaster, he still brought a shock to everyone's hearts!

In particular, Dai Yuan, more than 20 years ago, came to Jingye City to take over as the head of the Shenxing Division. He had contact with Wu Ming and sent Wu Ming away from Jingye City to the capital.

At that time, Wu Ming's martial arts realm was still stuck at the fourth stage of blood coagulation.

now,

Wu Ming returned, but he was already a Seven Blood Grandmaster!

Furthermore, it is common knowledge that Wu Ming's talent in Taoist magic far surpasses that in martial arts. He has already reached the seventh level of martial arts, so what about his Taoist magic?
The mere thought of it was enough to make one feel suffocated and even tremble.

"Master Dai, it's been many years."

Just as the group was filled with shock and their expressions changed, Wu Ming finally turned around slowly, his gaze casually sweeping over everyone before landing on Dai Yuan, and he nodded slightly to him.

"During the years I was away from Jingye, the Wu family has been well taken care of, and I am very grateful to Chief Dai."

"No, this is all my duty. I cannot accept such thanks from Master Wu."

Looking into Wu Ming's eyes, Dai Yuan quickly returned the greeting with a bow.

His face hadn't changed much in the past twenty years, but his eyes had transformed from slightly immature to a pair of pupils that seemed to hold the depths of an abyss.

The slightest touch sent shivers down his spine, filling him with a profound sense of awe. He knew this was due to Wu Ming's incredibly high level of cultivation, the natural majesty emanating from his every move.

"Your humble servant Gou Ping greets Master Wu."

"I have met Master Wu."

……

The newly appointed head of the Demon Suppression Division and the sect leader of the Black Fiend Sect, having recovered from their shock, all bowed to Wu Ming.

The expressions of the crowd were varied. Gou Ping had only come to Jingye City a few years ago and taken over the Shenxing Division from Yan Yuntian. He had only heard rumors about Wu Ming and had no prior interaction with him.

The sect leader of Xuanyu Sect is also a newly appointed sect leader who took office three years ago. However, he was once an elder of Xuanyu Sect. Although he had never met Wu Ming, he was extremely familiar with him.

As for the Black Fiend Sect Master and the former leader of the Seven Martial Alliance...

These two were not replaced; they were still the same two from back then. Among them, the Black Fiend Sect had some disagreements with Wu Ming in the past. Therefore, when the Black Fiend Sect Master felt the magnificent blood energy of Wu Ming's seven blood condensations, he was shocked and his body trembled slightly.

As for the old leader of the Seven Martial Alliance, his expression was somewhat complicated, because after Wu Ming rose to prominence, his past experiences had already been thoroughly investigated by various forces.

He knew that Wu Ming almost entered the inner hall of the Seven Martial Alliance back in Jingye City. Thinking about it this way, if Wu Ming had entered the inner hall of the Seven Martial Alliance back then and made a name for himself there, he would very likely have been accepted as a disciple by him!
Although the Seven Martial Alliance's pond is too small and Wu Ming will eventually head to the capital, this experience is like a gust of wind that can propel the Seven Martial Alliance to the heavens!
If he could have a master-disciple relationship with Wu Ming, then it wouldn't be surprising if Jingye City had developed to the point where the Seven Martial Alliance was the only dominant force.

Even the imperial court had to make way for the Seven Martial Alliance.

He knew all too well the significance of Wu Ming's entry into the Great Jin Cultivation Holy Land through the Hundred Kingdoms Prodigies Tournament; it was something even the king would value and try to win over!
Unfortunately, all of this is just imagination.

Wu Ming should have risen to prominence within the Seven Martial Alliance's inner hall, but due to a momentary lapse in judgment by a steward managing the outer courtyard, he embarked on a different path.

Although he later sent the manager to the mines outside the city, it still couldn't ease his regret. After all, some opportunities, once missed, are gone forever.

"Over the years, the peace and tranquility of my mansion has been thanks to the efforts of all of you. Please rise."

Wu Ming glanced at Gou Ping and the others, and spoke calmly.

After hearing this, the group carefully got up.

aside.

Xiao Mei stood quietly, watching Wu Ming's figure. She watched as the Black Fiend Sect Master, the Profound Jade Sect Master, and others respectfully bowed before her, their eyes filled with endless admiration.

In the small city of Jingye, relying on the legacy left by Wu Ming and the resources obtained from the status of the Wu family, she was able to cultivate all the way to the fourth level of the Nascent Soul realm in the past twenty years. She could actually be called a genius. Now she also has a status. However, her respect for Wu Ming has never diminished in the slightest. In fact, it has only increased.

After all, for people from Jingye City, Wu Ming is a legend here, and his story may even be passed down for thousands of years.

(End of this chapter)