Have You Thought of a Future Where You Erect Her Gravestone with Your Own Hands?

"In three months, we leave Dahe Market!" The sudden decision caught everyone completely off guard. Some who had only just arrived even thought they had misheard, confusion written across their faces. Qin Liangchen asked, bewildered, "Leave Dahe Market? Do you mean just you, Luo... President, or all of us together?" The words on the tip of his tongue had nearly been "Luo Chen." Yet, subconsciously, they had turned into "President." No one paid any mind to this awkward slip. Luo Chen looked at him and said calmly, "It can be just me, or it can be all of us together. It all depends on your choice." The implication was clear. Luo Chen was definitely leaving. If the cultivators of the Luotian Association were willing to follow him, they would depart together. If they were unwilling, he would not force them. Hearing these words, everyone exchanged glances in disbelief. "Why?" The one speaking was Duan Feng, whom Luo Chen had not seen in a long time. Three years had passed, stripping away his former youthful impulsiveness and leaving him increasingly steady and mature. A short beard had even grown on his chin. His question was the very one everyone present wanted to ask. The Luotian Association had gone through immense hardship to reach where it was today. It possessed two major spiritual grounds: Mount Xiaohuan and Crescent Moon Valley. The cultivators under its banner numbered over three hundred. Its businesses, connections, and territory in every aspect were finally hitting their stride. Now, they were expected to up and leave just like that. Who would be willing? Who could bear to let it all go? Facing everyone's confusion, Luo Chen remained calm. Yet the words that left his mouth were gravity itself. "Within the Ghost City, an entity at the ghost king level has emerged. Though it is currently suppressed by measures left behind by a Golden Core Master, its breaking free is only a matter of time." "By my estimation, it will break out in as little as half a year, or at most a year!" "Dahe Market is no longer a safe haven!" The moment these words fell, everyone was shaken to their core. Shock gave way to sheer terror on every face. A ghost king level entity! That was a terrifying existence rivaling the Golden Core stage of the immortal path. Moreover, unlike ghost cultivators who voluntarily turned to the ghostly path, the ghost king within Dahe Market was bound to be a vicious specter formed from resentful souls gorging on immense amounts of yin malevolent qi after death. It was hard to say how much sentience such an existence possessed. However, toward any living creature, it harbored an innate, feral malice. If that was truly the case, Dahe Market could no longer be called merely dangerous. In the future, it would inevitably become a land of the dead. Sima Huiniang gasped in horror. "Could it be connected to yesterday's disturbance in the Ghost City?" At once, everyone recalled the earth-shattering commotion from the Ghost City the previous day. At the time, every cultivator around Dahe Market had sensed it. Afterward, however, the disturbance had gradually faded. Low-level rogue cultivators had no way of entering the Ghost City to investigate, so they could only bury their questions deep inside. Looking back now, it was almost certainly an omen that the ghost king was on the verge of emergence. When Luo Chen nodded gravely, despair gripped everyone. If that was the case, they truly had to abandon their old home in Dahe Market. Luo Chen said nothing more, giving everyone enough time to absorb this reality. His gaze swept over the gathered crowd. Suddenly, his eyes paused. At the back of the hall, a somewhat familiar young man was tightly gripping Mi Li's hand. Frowning slightly, Luo Chen withdrew his gaze. He spoke directly: "Although by my estimation it will take at least half a year for that ghost king to break free, we cannot cut it so close. Otherwise, when the time comes, we will be caught flat-footed. If it breaks out early, that would spell utter annihilation." "Three months!" "Three months to wrap up all loose ends, leave Dahe Market, and seek another place to cultivate." Luo Chen's words echoed continuously through the great hall. After accepting the reality of the ghost king, everyone's initial shock began to subside. They started seriously contemplating where they should go from here. Returning to the isolated, helpless life of a solitary rogue cultivator was out of the question. Now that Luo Chen was willing to bring them along, it was undoubtedly the best possible outcome. Listening to Luo Chen's words, everyone gradually regained their composure. With a leader at the helm, the path ahead was no longer so bewildering. Only one question still troubled everyone. "Cough, cough..." Granny Yuan asked tremulously, "President, where should we go?" *** "So, you want to become Dao companions with Mi Li?" The great hall was empty and quiet. There was only Luo Chen seated high above, and Qu Lingjun kneeling on the floor. The mild, quiet words fell upon his ears, yet they felt as heavy as a mountain. Qu Lingjun's body trembled. Clenching his teeth, he said firmly, "That is this disciple's wish!" Luo Chen looked at him impassively. "How old are you this year? What is your cultivation level?" "This disciple is eighteen this year, at the fifth layer of Qi Refinement." The corner of Luo Chen's mouth twitched. "You began cultivating at twelve. After six full years, backed by the full support of the Luotian Association, you have barely scraped into the fifth layer of Qi Refinement." "This disciple's aptitude is dull..." "Since you know your aptitude is lacking, why are you wasting your mind on romantic entanglements?" The latter sentence carried an unmistakable edge of severity. Qu Lingjun shivered, not daring to meet Luo Chen's eyes. He feared seeing that look of disappointment, of wishing iron could turn to steel. He merely kept his head lowered and said, "Sister Mi Li has always treated me kindly since I was young. During the time when you were breaking through to Foundation Establishment, Master, she was the one who tirelessly taught me the art of alchemy." "Over these three years, my grandfather's health deteriorated day by day. I couldn't let down your expectations, so I had to strive in my cultivation and work hard on my alchemy. Many times, she was the one looking after my gravely ill grandfather for me." "Two years ago, Grandfather passed away. That was the time I felt most lost and helpless, and it was also she who..." Old Qu Hancheng had passed away after all. He had not actually been very old. However, he had suffered hidden injuries from battles in his early years, which was why he had always appeared decrepit. During that cauldron explosion in the Pill Hall, he had been gravely injured while trying to save a middle-grade Jade Marrow Pill. Throughout the three years Luo Chen had spent in seclusion, the old man had ultimately failed to hold on. He had departed this world. Luo Chen had not even been able to see him off. Qu Lingjun had been raised by his grandfather since childhood. One could easily imagine the crushing grief he must have felt back then. Listening to these words, Luo Chen showed a hint of helplessness. He did not interrupt the youth's recounting. In truth, his own performance as a master had indeed been lacking. He had never personally guided the boy's cultivation. As for alchemy, aside from an early examination, he had simply tossed him an alchemy notebook and left him to his own devices. By comparison, Mi Li had been Qu Lingjun's true guide along the path of alchemy. Even though Qu Lingjun had now surpassed her through his own achievements, the reality of a master-disciple bond had long existed between them. After years spent together, even if Mi Li was not a beauty, it was only natural for a young boy to harbor affection and fall in love. What made Luo Chen feel helpless was precisely this. At this age, making such a decision—it was hard to say whether it was rebellion or stubborn independence. "Master, please give us your blessing!" At some point, the youth had lifted his head, looking up at the man above with unwavering resolve. Luo Chen's brow furrowed, his cheeks hollowing slightly. After a long silence, he let out a soft sigh. "I will ask you three questions. Answer them before you make your decision." "Please ask, Master!" "Do you wish to grow old with Mi Li, living and dying together?" "If we become Dao companions, we should naturally hold hands and grow old together." "Then let me ask you: do you wish to achieve Foundation Establishment?" "Ever since I stepped onto the path of cultivation, I pledged myself to the Dao. When I took you as my master, encouraged by your words, my determination to reach Foundation Establishment became unshakable." "Good. Then I will ask you one last question: in your judgment, does Mi Li's aptitude allow her to reach Foundation Establishment?" "She... she likely has no hope." Listening to his voice fade into a dejected murmur, Luo Chen shook his head. "She is over ten years older than you, her aptitude is abysmal, and she has no resources to support her." "Even if you achieve Foundation Establishment within sixty years and gain two hundred years of lifespan, she will pass away long before you." "How will you share gray hairs? How will you grow old together?" "Have you thought of a future where you erect her gravestone with your own hands?" *** Inside the hall, the youth felt as if struck by lightning. His body turned rigid, frozen on the floor. His eyes went blank. In a daze, he seemed to see a vision a century into the future, where he personally erected a tombstone for his beloved wife and planted a green sapling beside it. His master's sigh lingered in his ears. "You are wavering." "No, I just..." His lips trembled as he tried to speak. Yet, under Luo Chen's penetrating gaze that seemed to see straight through his soul, the determination in his eyes was no longer so firm. "I can understand a youth's awakening desires," Luo Chen said. "Yet the Great Dao is vast and distant. If your Dao companion cannot keep pace with your footsteps, what use is talking about holding hands and growing old together?" "You are merely bringing sorrow upon yourself!" With a wave of Luo Chen's sleeve, the heavy doors slowly swung open. Dusk had already fallen outside. The sky was filled with fiery clouds, setting the evening glow ablaze with brilliant splendor. A solitary, helpless figure knelt outside the doors, alone in the fading light. Looking at that silhouette, Luo Chen felt a slight pang in his heart. She, too, was a pitiful soul. "I will not play the villain who forces lovers apart." "Once you reach the ninth layer of Qi Refinement, come back and give me your answer!" Qu Lingjun opened his mouth, but in the end, only a quiet "Yes" came out. He kowtowed to Luo Chen and stepped out of Huanyu Hall. The hall fell empty once more. Luo Chen sat alone on the wide seat, his expression immensely complicated. The words he had spoken to Qu Lingjun—were they not an examination of his own heart? Along the way, his accomplishments had grown ever more outstanding; he was no longer that weak rogue cultivator ignored by everyone. He possessed strength, status, and renown. Countless female cultivators had cast favorable eyes upon him. Even his sister-in-law, Murong Qinglian, had once considered introducing female cultivators to him. Looking closer to home, there was also a beauty like Gu Caiyi, who shared a deep bond with him. To say that his heart had never stirred would be an outright lie. He was no emotionless saint. Before transmigrating, he had only been a struggling wage slave. Even the romance he had pursued had ended in vain because of the exorbitant housing prices in the big city. By contrast, the female cultivators of the cultivation world truly possessed unique charms, with hardly any being unattractive. Under such circumstances, what had allowed him to restrain himself was nothing other than a heart devoted to the Dao! Before reaching Foundation Establishment, he needed to preserve his body of primordial yang. After achieving Foundation Establishment, he felt his horizons broaden all at once, no longer obsessing over fleeting moments. In this state, if he were to hastily settle his lifelong union merely out of lust for beauty or a momentary craving for domestic warmth, then what awaited him in the future might very well be: *"In the courtyard stands a loquat tree, planted by my wife's own hands in the year of her death; today, it has grown so tall that its canopy spreads like a parasol."* He did not wish to see that scene come to pass. Watching the one he loved transition from the prime of youth to gray-haired frailty, only to die of old age in his arms... Even without having experienced it, he knew that kind of pain would be utterly unbearable. Therefore, ever since reaching Foundation Establishment, Luo Chen had quietly resolved: *Unless it is love at first sight, something that stirs my soul to its very depths, I shall never lightly indulge in desire and romance.* This was his resolve. Yet it also left him an escape route. After all, love possessed a peculiar magic; who could know whether he would have any resistance when it truly arrived? Luo Chen smiled freely. "In this life of mine, even if I don't seek a demonic enchantress or a fairy from a great sect, at the very least, my Dao companion should be someone who can keep pace with my footsteps!" *** The rogue cultivators of Dahe Market suddenly noticed something strange. Was the Luotian Association preparing to leave? Medicinal herbs of all kinds were being liquidated in a frantic rush. Low-grade dharma artifacts were dumped indiscriminately without regard for current market prices. Hunting grounds in the Guyuan Mountain Range that they had held for years were being sold off to local small rogue factions at reasonable prices. Not only that, but even Crescent Moon Valley, which they had developed for so long, had its defensive array dismantled, appearing as though it might be abandoned at any moment. Such movements threw the rogue cultivators into growing panic. Some discerning individuals even connected this to the abrupt upheaval that had occurred in Dahe Ghost City. They, too, sensed that something was deeply amiss. Meanwhile, within Mount Xiaohuan, an alchemy assembly was in full swing. Though called an assembly, the only ones actively participating were Luo Chen, Qu Lingjun, and Mi Li. "Watch closely. The most crucial part of refining the Jade Marrow Pill lies in the processing of the main ingredient." "To process Huanyu jade, one must employ the alchemy technique known as the Folding Jade Hand." "Pay attention to my movements!" Inside the massive alchemy chamber, earth fire blazed furiously. Standing before the cauldron, Luo Chen's hands fluttered continuously like butterflies darting through blossoms. Under his guidance, wisps of spiritual power slowly permeated the crevices on the surface of the Huanyu jade. Beside him, Qu Lingjun and Mi Li stared with wide eyes, completely entranced by the display. If any other alchemist were present, they would surely be baffled. It was only proper for Luo Chen to instruct Qu Lingjun and demonstrate techniques for him—after all, that was a master passing down his craft to a disciple! Yet what right did Mi Li, an outsider, have to receive such an honor? This was Luo Chen's way of returning a kindness. Mi Li had taken his place in teaching Qu Lingjun for years; she had both merit and hard labor to her credit. Yet she herself, limited by her talent in alchemy, could only refine simple Fasting Powder. As a result, her compensation and status had barely risen over all these years. If she could absorb anything from Luo Chen's demonstration—even a tiny fraction—it would benefit her immensely. When the time came, if she could independently refine tier-one pills, that would naturally be best. Even if she could not, she could still assist Qu Lingjun as a helper. That way, he would also have a valid reason to improve her treatment. Watching the two from the corner of his eye, Luo Chen sighed internally. *After all, she is someone Lingjun treasures. Furthermore, Mi Shuhua provided me with considerable support back then. Making Mi Li's life a bit more comfortable brings peace to my own mind as well.* After completing the demonstration, Luo Chen withdrew his hands. He left Qu Lingjun to handle the final collection of the pills. "Master!" "Forty pills formed, all of them superior grade!" Qu Lingjun was overjoyed. Holding the wooden tray, his eyes were brimming with reverence. This was his master! With a casual turn of his hand, he could effortlessly produce superior-grade pills. Even a grandmaster of alchemy might not be able to achieve such a feat! Compared to him, Qu Lingjun was still far, far behind. Beside him, Mi Li looked at Luo Chen, her eyes equally filled with awe. This was Luo Chen! This was Danchenzi! Every time he took action, he never failed to leave people astounded. It had been so when refining Fasting Pills in the past, and it had been the same when he produced superior-grade Myriad Wonders Pills. Now, even superior-grade Jade Marrow Pills were within his easy grasp! Luo Chen waved his hand dismissively, paying it no mind. Instead, he looked solemnly at Qu Lingjun. At this moment, the boy had shed his earlier solemn maturity, entirely consumed once more by passion for the Dao of alchemy. "How much did you learn?"