"Xu Fu?" Xu Ying felt the name sounded vaguely familiar, though he could not recall where he had heard it before. He accepted the invitation card from the young man's hand.
The calligraphy on the invitation was elegant and archaic, bearing the refined spirit of the Qin and Han dynasties. It read:
*Four thousand years have passed since this servant parted from you, my lord, and never in all my remaining days have I been able to meet you again—a sorrow that has weighed deeply on my heart. Now that this servant has returned from the immortal isle, I long to see Lord Xu once more. Bowing in respect, Xu Fu.*
Yuan Qi glanced at the contents of the invitation, filled with shock and doubt. "Xu Fu? Could it be *that* Xu Fu—the one who led three thousand boys and girls across the sea in search of the immortal isle to seek the elixir of immortality for Emperor Zulong?"
Xu Ying asked, "Xiao Qi, is this Xu Fu very famous?"
"More than famous!" Yuan Qi exclaimed. "He was a Qi Refiner from over four thousand years ago! He told Emperor Zulong that there were immortal isles across the sea, inhabited by immortals who had not yet ascended. Emperor Zulong gave him three thousand boys and girls and commanded him to seek the elixir of immortality. In the end, he left and never returned. Some say he found the immortal isle, but because there was only one elixir of life, he swallowed it himself. Others say he never found the isle and went into hiding out of fear that Zulong would execute him. Still others say he was nothing more than a charlatan. I've read similar accounts in many books!"
The young courier smiled faintly. "Had my master been a charlatan, it would have been impossible for him to live to this day. Emperor Zulong is long gone, yet my master still endures in this world. Does that not prove he truly found the elixir of immortality?"
Xu Ying set down the invitation. "Your master didn't state when or where we are to meet, sending you with only an invitation. That shows a lack of sincerity. You may leave."
The young man replied, "My master said that if the Ancestor wishes to know his origins, it would be best for you to make the journey."
Xu Ying felt a jolt in his heart. His gaze fixed upon the young man's face. "What else did your master say?"
The young man smiled. "My master said nothing more, only that the Ancestor would surely go."
This was the first time Xu Ying had ever been addressed as "Ancestor." Hearing this, he burst out laughing. "Very well. Since Xu Fu has extended such a gracious invitation, how could I refuse?"
The young man bowed low. "This junior shall lead the way for the Ancestor."
Xu Ying asked, "What is your name?"
"This junior is named Du Fei."
Xu Ying waved a hand, gesturing for Niu Zhen to take him down to rest first. "I need to make some preparations. Wait for a moment."
Xu Ying opened the invitation and turned it over several times, examining it curiously. "Seventh Master, this fellow named Xu Fu claims he knew me four thousand years ago. Just how old am I?"
Yuan Qi glanced toward the bronze bell. The bell chimed with a resonant *clang* and said, "That is hard to say. In the past, you kept talking about Xujiaping, so we originally thought something was wrong with your head. Later, we realized the problem was with your memory. Then we discovered you were already three thousand years old, and after that, we realized you were probably even older than three thousand."
It sighed. "And now, you've turned out to be four thousand years old."
Zhu Chanchan opened her mouth to speak, but after a second thought, she held her tongue, musing inwardly, *It might be more than four thousand. Back in my era, there was also a legend of an ageless immortal. But could that ageless immortal really be him?*
Back then, her duty had been crafting treasures for the Son of Heaven of Zhou, and she rarely ventured outside. She had only heard whispers of the legend of the ageless immortal, never seeing his true face.
The bronze bell advised, "Ah Ying, your memories have not fully returned yet, and you haven't even figured out this current lifetime. In my view, it's better not to meet this Xu Fu."
It paused before adding, "A sudden visit after four thousand years apart—if he isn't coming to borrow money, he's up to no good!"
Xu Ying shook his head. "He met me four thousand years ago and knows my origins. I must see him. This might be my only chance to unravel the mystery of my past."
Seeing his mind was made up, the bronze bell turned to Zhu Chanchan. "Ancestor Chanchan, didn't you hide some treasures in Shenzhou? I fear this journey may be fraught with peril. Go retrieve your treasures first."
Zhu Chanchan's spirits lifted at once, and she grinned. "My treasure is formidable indeed! When the Son of Heaven of Zhou ordered me to forge treasures for him, I gathered all the scraps and leftover materials. Bit by bit, I finally amassed enough precious materials to forge a treasure of my own!"
She leapt into the air, laughing. "Before I went to steal the immortal elixir, I sealed that treasure away. But so much time has passed that tracking it down will take a few days. You go ahead first, and I will find you!"
The bronze bell asked Yuan Qi, "She said she'll find us, but how?"
Yuan Qi replied, "How else? Ah Ying's stone axe, of course. She left her brand on the stone axe; that's how we found Ah Ying back then. Could she have branded us instead?"
The bronze bell sounded worried. "That's precisely what I fear."
Yuan Qi laughed heartily. "Ancestor Chanchan would never do such a thing!"
Even so, he felt uneasy and hastily checked himself all over, terrified that Zhu Chanchan might have left some bizarre mark on him.
Xu Ying summoned the brothers Niu Zhen and Niu Gan, instructing them, "Your master and Martial Uncle Niu are going away for a few days. Guard the premises well, cultivate diligently, and when your master returns, I will inspect your progress." And so forth.
However, because Xu Ying's memories were still incomplete, Yuan Qi was whispering every sentence right by his ear; Yuan Qi spoke a line, and Xu Ying merely repeated it.
Once the instructions were delivered, Xu Ying summoned Du Fei. "Lead the way."
Du Fei bowed respectfully. "This disciple has prepared a carriage at the foot of the mountain."
Xu Ying descended the mountain with Yuan Qi and the bronze bell. Waiting at the base was a square carriage resembling a palanquin, crafted from thick dragonwood joined by mortise and tenon, with steps leading up the side.
At each of the carriage's four corners sat a sword attendant, leaning against a sword casket, half-crouched, half-kneeling, staring straight ahead in silence.
Xu Ying cast an eye over the sword attendants. Du Fei smiled and said, "Ancestor, they are Qi Refiners of the Cross-Refinement stage. Are their cultivations presentable to your eyes?"
Xu Ying's heart skipped a beat. *Cross-Refinement stage Qi Refiners? Their cultivation is higher than mine!*
Over the past several months of cultivation, he was approaching the fourth heavenly layer of the Pass-Breaching stage. Once he attained the fourth heavenly layer, the next realm would be the Cross-Refinement stage, where water and fire mutually refine to build the furnace and cauldron.
In the Cross-Refinement stage, one formed the golden core!
To think these four sword attendants were already great experts who had forged their golden cores!
Xu Ying followed Du Fei up the steps and into the carriage, asking, "Du Fei, what is your realm?"
Du Fei answered, "This disciple's cultivation is shallow. I am currently still in the Pass-Breaching stage, having only recently opened the Jiaji mystic pass."
Xu Ying raised an eyebrow. The Pass-Breaching stage Du Fei referred to differed from his own. Xu Ying was at the Pass-Breaching stage of the Weilu mystic pass, whereas Du Fei had already reached the second Pass-Breaching stage, the Jiaji mystic pass. His cultivation realm was considerably higher than Xu Ying's.
The carriage's interior was spacious and bright. Maidens holding incense burners stood attendant at the sides, while young boys and girls bustled about tending to chores.
Xu Ying pushed open the carriage window and looked out, only to see the four sword attendants open their sword caskets with a series of sharp clicks. Sword qi flew from the caskets, gradually enveloping the entire carriage!
The carriage slowly lifted off, floating into the air, and then tore through the sky amidst the swirling sword qi!
Xu Ying could tell that the Sword Control Formula practiced by the four attendants was incomplete. Yet by joining forces to form a sword formation, they managed to unleash its power, leaving Xu Ying clicking his tongue in admiration.
"This is the Sword Control Formula restored by my master," Du Fei said with a smile. "Does it find favor in the Ancestor's eyes?"
Xu Ying answered candidly, "It's ordinary, nothing more."
Du Fei's eyes flickered, and he chuckled. "My master holds the Ancestor in the highest esteem, so the Ancestor must surely possess a superior Sword Control Formula. This nephew has learned a mere smattering of it myself. Might I presume to ask the Ancestor for some guidance?"
Without waiting for Xu Ying's reply, he gave his shoulders a jolt, and crisscrossing streams of sword qi surged forth toward Xu Ying!
Xu Ying flicked his fingers repeatedly. Du Fei's vision blurred as streams of sword qi broke through his technique, prompting him to hastily raise a hand to shield his throat.
*Ding!*
His hand clutched empty air. The sword qi had already struck his throat, yet the moment it touched his skin, it shattered.
Du Fei looked down and saw that the fabric over his chest had also been pierced by a beam of sword qi, leaving a faint ache in his heart area. However, that sword qi had likewise shattered without puncturing his skin.
Cold sweat soaked Du Fei's forehead as he thought, *Fortunately, his cultivation is far inferior to mine and cannot pierce my true yuan defense, or those two strikes would have claimed my life!*
Xu Ying had merely executed two feints without any intent to kill, never imagining Du Fei would misunderstand and assume Xu Ying lacked the strength to breach his defense.
Xu Ying inquired, "Is your master a Qi Refiner like you, without cultivating Nuo techniques?"
Suppressing his earlier arrogance, Du Fei bowed and said, "Master said that Nuo techniques are nothing but heterodox sorcery and a path to ruin. Why bother learning such things?"
Xu Ying nodded slightly, thinking, *Xu Fu isn't wrong about that. Nuo techniques are indeed riddled with perilous traps. If one cannot break free of them, the harm is immense. But if one can break free, the prospects are limitless.*
The sword-qi carriage dashed through the heavens at extreme speed, the landscape flashing past like fleeting shadows. Xu Ying felt a genuine admiration for the four sword attendants outside.
*These four possess profound, enduring magic power to sustain sword qi for so long. Such cultivation is nearly on par with Seventh Master's.*
Just as this thought crossed his mind, several more attendants stepped out of the carriage to relieve the four outside. The relieved attendants looked as if a heavy burden had been lifted, soaked in sweat and completely drained.
Seeing this, Xu Ying thought, *It seems their yuan qi is not quite as dense as Seventh Master's after all. Though their cultivation realm is far higher than his, their reserves of yuan qi appear lacking.*
At an equivalent realm, Yuan Qi's reserves of yuan qi had been fully capable of rivaling Xu Ying's. Only now, with Xu Ying having unlocked the Jade Pool secret depository, had his own yuan qi become somewhat more abundant.
Along the way, the carriage rotated the sword attendants four more times before finally arriving among a range of towering mountains. The carriage glided between peaks and flew toward the summit of a grand mountain, descending smoothly.
Sword qi rang out with crisp chimes as it was drawn back into the sword caskets one after another.
Xu Ying stepped down from the carriage. The mountain scenery here was lush and pristine, looking out over the open sea. Flocks of birds nested in the cliffs, startled into taking flight across the sky, sweeping down from the crags to skim across the sea's surface.
Groups of young men and women in sets of four rode sword qi, gliding alongside the seabirds and darting back and forth above the waters.
The sight was truly refreshing and uplifting.
"Ancestor, this way please!" Du Fei said, gesturing ahead.
Xu Ying followed him up flight after flight of white jade steps. After a long climb, they reached the top and arrived before the grand main hall of the mountain.
Inside the hall, a perfectly square boulder hovered in midair, measuring one zhang in length, width, and height—exceedingly neat and orderly.
Standing atop the boulder was a man dressed in black robes with a red sash. He appeared no older than twenty or thirty, yet carried the ethereal air of a Daoist immortal, floating like a transcendent being.
However, a scar shaped like a blood-red centipede marked the corner of his eye, marring his immortal demeanor. Judging by the scar, the original wound must have been deep and terrifying.
Upon seeing Xu Ying, even this man's tranquil Dao heart, which had been still as an ancient well, rippled as though a pebble had been dropped into its depths.
The great stone carried the man forward, coming to a halt before Xu Ying. The man bowed in greeting and smiled. "Lord Xu, four thousand years have passed since we last met, yet you remain just as you were, entirely unchanged."
Xu Ying returned the greeting. "Are you Xu Fu? Forgive my clumsy eyes, but I do not recognize you, sir."
The man laughed heartily. "Though the ageless immortal never grows old or dies, he always forgets his former memories. I do not blame you. Lord Xu, back then, you and I sailed out to sea together by the command of Zulong to search for the immortal mountains. Though you have forgotten, I shall remember forever. We endured untold perils and countless deaths before finally discovering Mount Fangzhang!"
Xu Fu glanced down at his feet with a smile. "Do you still have any memory of this Mount Fangzhang?"
Xu Ying was startled, his gaze falling upon the square boulder under Xu Fu's feet. "Could it be..."
Xu Fu nodded gently.
Yuan Qi quickly hopped down from Xu Ying's shoulder, and the bronze bell floated out from behind Xu Ying's head, chiming in disbelief. "This is Mount Fangzhang?"
Xu Fu smiled. "Indeed. This is Mount Fangzhang, one of the three legendary immortal mountains. Legend has it that these three mountains are fragments of the Immortal Realm that fell into the mortal world. Back then, someone offered the ageless immortal to Zulong as a tribute, and it was I who strenuously dissuaded Zulong from consuming Lord Xu. I combed through ancient classics and knew deep down that a momentous secret was buried within Lord Xu, one tied directly to these three immortal mountains. Thus, I persuaded Zulong to assemble the foremost experts of the era to pry open a sliver of the seal on Lord Xu's memories."
Xu Ying felt a surge of emotion, clenching his fists. "You opened the seal on my memories?"
Xu Fu gave a slight nod and smiled. "We opened it, but only a sliver. Yet a single sliver was enough! Zulong decreed that Lord Xu and I lead three thousand boys and girls across the distant seas to search for the immortal mountains. Along the way, we slew countless demons and monsters, crossed straits, traversed the Netherworld, and braved lightning tribulation zones, braving boundless trials before at last finding Mount Fangzhang!"
He smiled faintly. "Standing atop the immortal mountain is the same as standing within the Immortal Realm—attaining eternal youth, unaging and undying."
Xu Ying's heart churned. From Xu Fu's words, he indeed seemed to know Xu Ying's origins like the back of his hand!
Yuan Qi scrutinized the immortal mountain and suddenly chimed in, "Pity that this immortal mountain is too small. Only one person can stand on it."
"Indeed," Xu Fu said with a sigh.
Yuan Qi looked up. "So why did Ah Ying return to Shenzhou alone, while you vanished without a trace? And where are the other three thousand boys and girls?"
Xu Fu gazed at him with a somber expression.
Yuan Qi extended his tail, and with a soft *pop*, the green paper umbrella snapped open, shielding them from the sun.
The bronze bell quietly shifted to hover right above Xu Ying's head.
Xu Fu sighed. "They perished on the road searching for the immortal mountain. As for Lord Xu, perhaps because the seal had opened too far, it alerted those who placed it. Just as I sought to share my joy with Lord Xu, he vanished without a trace."
His expression turned grim. "I was trapped upon Mount Fangzhang, unable to find the way back to Yuanshou or return to Shenzhou, drifting upon the open sea. By the time I found the route back to Yuanshou, the Qin and Han had already passed, two thousand years had flown by, and the world had drastically changed. I withdrew into seclusion within the wilderness, probing into the mysteries, striving to solve the disappearance of the ancient Qi Refiners and hoping to meet Lord Xu once more. For three thousand years, my efforts yielded nothing."
He turned an ardent gaze upon Xu Ying, smiling warmly. "To think that with the world undergoing such dramatic shifts, I would finally hear news of Lord Xu once again!"
Yuan Qi interrupted him, asking in confusion, "You sailed out to search for the immortal mountains together with Ah Ying. Logically speaking, stories of both of you should have been passed down. Why do the books speak only of you, without a single legend about Ah Ying?"
Xu Fu's eyes gleamed as he replied, "Naturally, someone did not want Lord Xu to appear before the eyes of the world, and so they wiped all records of him from the official histories. And what has been erased from this world is far more than just Lord Xu's history—there is so much more! Please, follow me!"
Chapter 116