Watching the Mountain

Chapter 352: Chapter 197: Dust-covered

As he watched her figure recede into the distance, his heart stirred. The young couple, Liu Yunge and Zhao Wuyang, were the first friends he had made out of pure friendship since arriving in this world.

The thought that they wouldn’t see each other for a long time made him reluctant to part.

Then, he smiled and shook his head. ’It’s alright, though. When they return from being sealed away, I can still attend their wedding. That’ll be nice.’

After a moment of reflection, Xu Ran pushed these thoughts aside and went to find Senior Sister Yue.

He understood the gravity of the situation. The golden age following the Dao Concealment was an event that no ambitious Cultivator who yearned to reach a higher Realm would want to miss.

Yet, there were only enough Dust-Sealed Stones for ten percent of all Cultivators, so a mad scramble was inevitable.

Everyone would want their loved ones to be sealed away with them, to reunite in the distant future. No one wanted to emerge from their stasis only to find their friends had long since turned to dust.

Because of this, Xu Ran could foresee that on the eve of the Dao Concealment, the Cultivation Realm would be plunged into unprecedented turmoil.

It would be a frenzy that swept across the world. To be sealed away for the future, one first had to survive this trial; otherwise, they would be reduced to dust long before the sealing even began.

After Xu Ran explained the situation to Senior Sister Yue, Yue Qingyu stared at the Dust-Sealed Stone in her hand, remaining silent for a long while. Her gaze then fell upon Xu Ran as she spoke softly.

”Junior Brother, do you wish for me to be sealed away?”

Xu Ran answered without the slightest hesitation. ”Of course.”

Cloud Sea Guest had once told Xu Ran that Dao Concealment didn’t mean the Great Dao wouldn’t be apparent, but that the true Great Dao would cease to manifest. All that was miraculous would return to heaven and earth, and the Heaven and Earth Spirit Qi would fall to an extremely low level.

Once the world fully entered Dao Concealment, it would be like the era of the End of Dharma. Reaching the Golden Core Realm might even become an extravagant hope.

If that weren’t the case, those top-tier experts would never have considered being sealed away. After all, a Divinity Transformation cultivator has a lifespan of ten thousand years, and a Daoist Venerable has one of thirty-six thousand. If they were fortunate enough to obtain some life-extending Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures, they could live even longer—to say nothing of the beings who existed above the Daoist Venerable Realm.

With their lifespans, they could easily live long enough to see the end of Dao Concealment and the arrival of the golden age. Why, then, would they even think of sealing themselves away?

Once the Dao Concealment began and the era of the End of Dharma dawned, they might be unable to maintain their current cultivation if they weren’t sealed away, causing their Realm to regress.

This made it easy to imagine just how harsh the era following the Dao Concealment would be.

In an era so close to the End of Dharma, Xu Ran felt that even Senior Sister Yue would find it difficult to break through to the next Realm. He couldn’t bear the thought of someone like her perishing over such a thing.

Upon hearing Xu Ran’s reply, the faintest of smiles touched Yue Qingyu’s lips as she spoke softly.

”If I had never met you, Junior Brother, then as the Sect Leader, I would have been unwilling to seal myself away. But now...”

She slowly rose to her feet and came to stand before Xu Ran.

A pleasant and familiar fragrance wafted into his senses, and Senior Sister Yue’s voice followed, reaching his ears.

”Junior Brother, may I entrust you with the care of our Sect?”

Senior Sister Yue’s words on the day Wuya Daoist Monarch had appeared led Xu Ran to believe that she must know about his longevity.

Now, hearing her say this, his suspicion was undoubtedly confirmed.

His greatest secret had been discovered. He should have been unsettled, yet for some reason, as he looked at Senior Sister Yue, he felt no trace of apprehension or anxiety. On the contrary, he felt remarkably at ease.

There was even a sense of comfort that came with the release of tension.

It was like being a person who had kept their guard up constantly to hide a secret, only to finally be able to let it down.

Because now, there was someone to share this secret with, and it wouldn’t lead to negative consequences. He could share it with her in peace.

Xu Ran let out a soft breath, then said to Yue Qingyu with a serious expression on his face.

”Senior Sister, I am a Longevity Seeker.”

Yue Qingyu nodded gently. ”Yes, I know.”

Xu Ran continued, ”I know that you know, Senior Sister, but I still wanted to tell you myself.”

Yue Qingyu’s face broke into a smile. Her voice was like flowing water, carrying a gentleness that could soothe the soul, and she nodded again.

”I’m listening, Junior Brother.”

She understood that it was exhausting to always hide a secret, so she was willing to be the one to listen.

*

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*

Senior Sister Yue told Xu Ran that Ye Shan had not truly fathomed his secret. She explained that there was a shroud of mist around Xu Ran. Ye Shan’s statement—that the Sect would stand as long as Xu Ran was there—was merely an intuition born from that very mist.

The fact that even he, a man who could achieve Heart Melt Heaven and Earth, was unable to see through Xu Ran meant that he was anything but simple. This was Ye Shan’s conclusion.

As for the idea that Xu Ran was a Longevity Seeker, that was a conclusion she had reached on her own, based on her understanding of him. She wasn’t certain, but she had a strong feeling he could go very far and live long into the distant future.

*

*

*

On his way back, Xu Ran ran into Qing Li, who was just leaving the Scripture Pavilion on Qing Xuan Peak.

Xu Ran went up to her and they spoke for a moment. He mainly asked about the Creation Sect’s recent announcement, which had specifically mentioned that she was the daughter of the Qing Xuan Peak Master, and wanted to know her thoughts on the matter.

At Xu Ran’s question, Qing Li, who always seemed so gentle and quiet, actually rolled her eyes for once. Her tone was one of utter exasperation.

”As my father’s daughter, I’ve never done anything to make him proud. Now, with this, I’m actually quite happy.”

”Besides, my contribution to the *Mortal Medical Compendium* was minimal. It was mostly the work of Miaomiao and Uncle Chen. Now that I get to have my name on it, what’s there to be unhappy about?”