One person: Senior brother Zhang Zhiwei, the Celestial Master begged me to descend the mountain.

click-

A crisp sound rang out, as if some exquisite piece of porcelain had shattered above everyone's heads.

The sky, which had been gradually brightening with the first rays of dawn, suddenly cracked open with a huge fissure without warning.

Within that crevice, there was no gale, no thunder, only a sky full of golden light, cascading down like a golden waterfall.

The light was not dazzling, but it carried an indescribable antiquity and vastness, as if it were another dimension of the world opening a door to this mortal realm.

Zhang Taichu's white robe fluttered and rustled even without wind.

His previously translucent body, bathed in this golden light, began to solidify again. However, this solidification was no longer the texture of flesh and blood, but rather like a crystal-clear golden body formed from pure photons.

He moved.

Take a step forward.

They weren't standing on solid ground, but rather firmly in the void.

hum!

As he landed, a huge golden lotus flower bloomed out of thin air, supporting his figure.

Every step is like a lotus blooming.

This scene, which only existed in ancient books and myths, was now vividly displayed before everyone's eyes.

A sense of dread emanating from the depths of their souls made all the extraordinary individuals present, including Feng Zhenghao and Lu Jin from the Ten Elders, want to bow down in worship.

That is absolute suppression at the level of life.

Zhang Taichu did not turn around. With his hands behind his back, he stepped on the golden lotus and walked step by step toward the cracked Heavenly Gate.

This world truly cannot hold him any longer.

"Master!!!"

Just then, a scream, tinged with sobs, abruptly shattered the silence of the scene.

That's Chen Duo.

This girl, who was as quiet as a shadow from the moment she appeared, this Gu-body Saint Child who remained expressionless even when facing a thousand armies.

At this moment, he was like a child about to be abandoned in the wilderness, completely panicked.

She rushed out of the crowd without hesitation.

Stumbling and falling, he even tripped and fell hard on the rocky mountain path because he was running too fast.

But she didn't even glance at the blood seeping from her knees. She scrambled to her feet and rushed frantically toward the edge of the cliff.

Just as Zhang Taichu's second foot was about to step into the air...

Chen Duo pounced on her.

Those small hands, covered in mud and blood, gripped Zhang Taichu's spotless clothes tightly.

His knuckles were white from excessive force, and his whole body was trembling violently.

"Take me away..."

Chen Duo tilted her head back, her usually calm emerald green eyes now brimming with tears, which streamed down her face like a broken string of pearls.

"Master...take me away..."

"I'll be a maid... a pageboy... a dog, anything..."

"Don't leave me...don't leave Chen Duo..."

Her voice trembled, filled with endless panic.

To her, this world was strange and cold. Only the man before her was her only light, her only connection in this world.

If the light goes out, she doesn't know how she will survive.

The surrounding crowd stirred. Zhang Chulan instinctively tried to step forward and pull Chen Duo back, afraid of bumping into Zhang Taichu who was ascending, but was stopped by Feng Baobao next to him.

Feng Baobao shook her head, her clear black and white eyes quietly watching the two people in mid-air.

Zhang Taichu stopped in his tracks.

He looked down at Chen Duo, who was clutching his clothes tightly and crying like a baby.

He was not angry that his ascension was interrupted.

in contrast.

On his face appeared the gentlest and purest smile he had shown since he came up the mountain.

"Foolish child."

Zhang Taichu sighed softly and slowly squatted down.

The hand, now pure gold, gently pressed against Chen Duo's disheveled hair.

The warm touch calmed Chen Duo's trembling slightly, but she still clung tightly to his clothes.

"If I were to take you away, wouldn't all my efforts over the past few months have been wasted?"

Zhang Taichu's voice was soft, yet it clearly reached Chen Duo's ears:

"I have healed your body and expelled those worms from your body."

"But it seems..."

"Your life isn't fully recovered yet."

Before he could finish speaking...

hum-

A gentle golden light flowed continuously into Chen Duo's body through Zhang Taichu's palm.

The light was not aggressive in the slightest.

It was like a warm current that instantly flowed through Chen Duo's limbs and bones, finally gathering deep in her mind.

There, there was a gray shadow.

That was the mark that the Medicine Immortal Society had left on her soul over the past ten years; it was the servility of the Gu-body Holy Child; it was her inferiority complex that made her feel unworthy of being human.

Under this vast expanse of golden light.

The shadow made a hissing sound, like snow melting in the sunlight, quickly disintegrating and dissipating.

Chen Duo's eyes widened suddenly.

She felt as if something heavy had been completely removed from her body.

The world before my eyes seems to have changed.

The colors are more vibrant, the sound of the wind is clearer, and even the smell of earth in the air feels exceptionally real.

Listen.

Zhang Taichu withdrew his hand, his tone suddenly becoming serious, carrying an undeniable air of authority:

"This is the last command I give you."

Chen Duo subconsciously straightened her back, tears still flowing, but her eyes were already focused.

"From today onward, forget what it means to be an extraordinary person, forget what Gu poison is, and forget what cultivation is."

Zhang Taichu reached out his finger and gently wiped away a bloodstain on her cheek:

"Let's go down the mountain."

"Go shopping at the mall and buy those colorful clothes."

"Let's go eat some roadside barbecue and drink that stuff called... milk tea."

"Make some friends, fall in love, get angry over trivial things, laugh heartily when you're happy, and cry your heart out when you're sad."

With each sentence Zhang Taichu spoke, Chen Duo's body trembled.

These things, which are the most ordinary things for ordinary people, are miracles that she never dared to hope for in her world.

"Live like a human being."

Zhang Taichu stood up, looking down at her, his voice booming, echoing throughout Longhu Mountain:

"There will never be another Gu-body Saint Child in this world."

"Only Chen Duo."

"Did you remember?"

Chen Duo stared blankly at the tall figure, at his face that looked even more sacred in the golden light.

a long time.

She slowly released her grip on the hem of her clothes.

She took a step back, knelt down, and slammed her forehead heavily against the gravel-strewn ground.

Boom!

Boom!

Boom!

He kowtowed three times, until his head was covered in blood.

But this blood is warm.

"Disciple... Chen Duo, obeys the order."

Her voice was still choked with emotion, but it held an unprecedented firmness. It was a rebirth born from finally finding meaning in her existence.

Zhang Taichu nodded with satisfaction.

Then, he turned around and his gaze fell on Zhang Chulan and Feng Baobao, who were not far away.

"Zhang Chulan".

"Here! Martial Uncle!" Zhang Chulan shuddered and quickly stood at attention, his expression solemn.

Zhang Taichu flicked his finger.

call out!

A golden streak of light instantly pierced the air and entered Zhang Chulan's brow.

Zhang Chulan felt a bang in his mind, as countless streams of information exploded instantly. It was an insight into the Qi formation, a prediction of future trends, and even a few life-saving techniques.

"I've given you the stuff, and I've also blessed your mind."

Zhang Taichu glanced at him, his tone indifferent:

"If we don't clean up this mess in the world of supernatural beings, it won't be fair to say that people from Longhu Mountain will lose face."

Zhang Chulan covered his forehead, feeling the vast amount of information in his mind, and his eyes instantly reddened.

He bowed deeply, bending at a ninety-degree angle:

"Chu Lan...will heed his master's teachings!!"

Then, Zhang Taichu's gaze fell on the slovenly girl who had been quiet all along.

Feng Baobao was also looking at him.

Eyes facing each other.

A hint of doting flashed in Zhang Taichu's golden eyes.

He didn't give Feng Baobao any martial arts techniques, nor did he give her any profound principles.

He simply raised his head, facing the strange beings covering the mountain, and the common people of the world, and said calmly:

"This girl is under my protection."

"I'm watching from heaven."

"Anyone who dares to bully her..."

Rumble!!!

Suddenly, a purple bolt of lightning streaked across the once clear sky, making everyone's eardrums ache.

"Thunderbolts don't have eyes."

Everyone present, including big shots like Feng Zhenghao and Lu Jin, felt a chill run down their spines the moment they heard those words, and quickly lowered their heads, not daring to meet his gaze.

This is a protective amulet left behind by a true immortal.

From now on, anyone who dares to lay a finger on Feng Baobao will have to think twice before a lightning bolt strikes overhead.

Feng Baobao tilted her head, and a rare, clean smile appeared on her usually dull face, with the corners of her mouth slightly turned up.

She raised her hand and waved it towards the sky:

"Understood."

At last.

Zhang Taichu's gaze pierced through the crowd and through the years, landing on the old Taoist priest who had been standing in the corner with a broom in his hand.

That old Celestial Master, second only to one person and above tens of millions of others.

The senior who watched him grow up and wiped his bottom countless times.

The two looked at each other from a distance.

There was no sentimental farewell, no tearful reluctance to part.

At their level, language is a superfluous burden.

Zhang Taichu smiled slightly and nodded gently.

A smile as bright as a chrysanthemum bloomed on Zhang Zhiwei's wrinkled old face.

He flicked the whisk in his hand and placed it on his arm.

"Junior brother."

The old celestial master's voice wasn't loud, but it carried a sense of wisdom and blessing, as if he had seen through the vicissitudes of life:

"Take care."

"I'm gone."

Zhang Taichu burst into laughter.

The laughter was hearty and soared into the sky.

He turned around abruptly, without the slightest hesitation.

boom!!

The golden lotus beneath his feet suddenly bloomed, and his figure instantly rose a hundred feet tall, transforming into an extremely dazzling golden rainbow that shot straight toward the cracked heavenly gate.

A strong wind arose.

The sea of ​​clouds is churning.

That silhouette, at that moment, became an eternal mark in everyone's eyes.

"Respectfully seeing you off..."

I don't know who shouted it first.

Followed by.

The voices of tens of thousands of people converged, transforming into a visible wave of sound that resounded through the sky and shattered the clouds.

"Respectfully bidding farewell to...the True Immortal!!!"