Watching the Mountain

Chapter 369: Chapter 203: Gazing at the Moon

Xu Ran watched their reactions and chuckled. ”Without those omens, how would the common people of the world ever know that the world’s malady has been resolved? Even if you told everyone it was over, no one would likely believe you.”

”So, artificially creating these omens was a necessary measure to put everyone at ease.”

Lu Mingchen thought about this seriously for a moment before nodding. He could understand the logic. Even he himself would have been skeptical if someone had told him the world’s malady was resolved without him having seen those omens.

He then looked at Xu Ran and asked, ”Based on what you just said, Grandmaster, the resolution of the world’s malady was a consensus reached by all parties. Does this mean there will be no more conflicts during the Dao Concealment?”

”Of course,” Xu Ran replied with a nod. Both Liu Yunge and Qin Yufeng had told him as much.

During the Dao Concealment, all parties just need to live out their own lives in peace. There won’t be any conflict. Of course, this is just the outcome decided by the powerhouses of today. The Dao Concealment will last a long time, so there’s no telling if accidents will happen, but there certainly won’t be any problems in the short term.

Even if some rebellious younger generation appears who doesn’t abide by their predecessors’ agreement, no true powerhouses can emerge during the Dao Concealment. Any disputes among Low Tier Cultivators won’t cause much destruction.

Therefore, not many people are worried about this issue.

Lu Mingchen let out a long sigh. Logically, a world at peace with no conflict should be a good thing, but he felt a sense of loss.

This way, there was no longer a reason for the four of them to reunite and return to how things were before.

’Fellow Daoist Chu may have returned, but Fellow Daoist Qianxue is still out there somewhere.’

But he then shook his head sharply, casting these stray thoughts aside. He admonished himself internally, ’A world at peace is what’s most important. War is too terrible; so many people lose their lives. It’s better not to have war at all.’

’As for Fellow Daoist Qianxue... I’ll just have to think of some other way.’

’I wonder how Fellow Daoist Qianxue is doing now. Did she manage to get the Dust-Sealed Stones? The Jade Radiance Immortal Sect was destroyed, and Fellow Daoist Qianxue re-established the Sect with the surviving disciples. Her strength isn’t what it used to be, so it’s uncertain if she can obtain enough Dust-Sealed Stones.’

’If Fellow Daoist Qianxue doesn’t choose to be dust-sealed, then I’ll never see her in the future.’

Sorrow welled up inside him. He desperately wanted to do something, but he didn’t have the strength. He couldn’t do anything at all but worry about Fellow Daoist Qianxue from here.

Just as Lu Mingchen was sighing in distress, the one they were waiting for, Chu Lingxiao, finally appeared.

Compared to before, Chu Lingxiao’s appearance hadn’t changed much.

He wore an exceedingly plain gray robe, his figure tall and straight. He had long, flowing hair, sharp brows, and bright eyes, with a chiseled, well-defined face.

He still looked as cold and unsmiling as ever.

The only difference was a hint of world-weariness in his eyes that wasn’t there before.

He had lived through his Sect’s great upheaval; the Sect he had always considered his home had betrayed the Human Race. Then his master died protecting him, and he had personally asked his former friend to destroy his old Sect.

An ordinary person would have likely collapsed under the weight of such experiences, their mind breaking long ago.

But Chu Lingxiao had endured. The aura around him had grown even sharper than before, and his disposition had become more mature.

People who lose their homes either fall and never get back up, or they grow and mature rapidly.

Chu Lingxiao was undoubtedly the latter.

After he appeared, he faced the three who had come to greet him. He first clasped his hands and bowed to Xu Ran. ”Greetings, Hidden Mountain Elder.”

Next, he bowed to Li Daoyi. ”Greetings, Senior Brother.”

Finally, he gave a slight bow to Lu Mingchen. ”Greetings, Senior Brother Lu.”

Xu Ran and Li Daoyi were fine, simply responding with a smile.

Lu Mingchen, however, was startled. His expression froze when he heard how Chu Lingxiao addressed him, and he frantically waved his hands, saying:

”Fellow Daoist Chu, I—you don’t need to do that for me. Someone like me...”

But before he could finish, Chu Lingxiao interrupted him. ”Senior Brother Lu, there is no need to say more. I have just joined the Sect. It is only right and proper that I address you as Senior Brother.”

”This...” Hearing this, Lu Mingchen realized it was true. Logically, since Fellow Daoist Chu had just joined the Sect, it was perfectly normal for him to call him Senior Brother and bow to him.

But he still felt awkward about it. ’This is Fellow Daoist Chu we’re talking about! Just like First Senior Brother, he’s someone I’ve always looked up to. And now he’s my Junior Brother and even has to bow to me... It feels like a dream.’

He thought for a moment and said, ”How about this, Fellow Daoist Chu? We can just stick to our old ways of addressing each other.”

Chu Lingxiao looked at him, his icy face twitching slightly. With a strange look in his eyes, he asked, ”Fellow disciples addressing each other however they please? Or is it that Senior Brother Lu does not welcome me?”

”No, no.” Hearing this, Lu Mingchen frantically waved his hands, his face a picture of helplessness. He hurriedly explained, ”I just feel that someone like me isn’t qualified to be your senior brother.”

Chu Lingxiao’s gaze grew even stranger. ”Since when does one need qualifications to be addressed by their proper title among fellow disciples?”

”This...” Lu Mingchen was at a loss for words.

Seeing this, Li Daoyi sighed to himself with a helpless expression. ’Junior Brother Lu still lacks so much confidence.’

He then stepped forward to placate Lu Mingchen, saying:

”Alright, Junior Brother, I know you treasure your friendship with Junior Brother Chu. But before, we only addressed Junior Brother Chu as a fellow Daoist. Now, we’ve become fellow disciples—we’re all one family. Isn’t this an even closer bond than before? You should accept it naturally.”