Chapter 43: Returning to Lianyun (Part 2)

  Hailong's face revealed a hint of surprise, and he muttered: "Xiao Zhi, have you already broken through to the Great Perfection Realm? Why do I feel like you're as invincible as a Buddhist rosary bead?"

  Hong Zhi nodded and said, "I've already entered the later stages of my Buddhist cultivation. A hundred years ago, I attained enlightenment in front of the Monkey Forest and entered the state of Great Perfection. Big Brother, I can feel that your cultivation has also made great progress! What happened to you back then? Why did we search the entire Mount Xianzhao but couldn't find any trace of you or Tianqin? I really thought you two had eloped! But it was completely unnecessary! If you liked her, you could have just said so when you won the championship. No one would have stopped you! So, to this day, why did you disappear remains a mystery in my heart."

  Hearing Hong Zhi mention Tianqin, Hai Long's heart ached with a pang of pain. He muttered to himself: "Until now, you still haven't heard any news about Tianqin? She was supposed to have been born long ago! Could it be that she didn't return to Qianhui Valley?"

  Hong Zhi nodded and said, "There has been no news of Tianqin all along. The other day, several Daoist masters from your Lianyun Sect joined forces with the experts from Qianhui Valley to search for the whereabouts of Laojun's record, but they didn't mention Tianqin returning either. Big brother, what exactly happened back then? You'd better explain it clearly!"

  Hai Long nodded and said, "After I won the championship that day, I met Tianqin in the back mountain. Indeed, we had some good feelings for each other. In the back mountain, she played the piano and sang for me..." Although it has been over 300 years, everything at that time was still vivid in his mind. Hai Long's eyes showed a melancholic color as he recounted the situation sentence by sentence. When he recalled Tianqin's beautiful and ethereal singing voice, he couldn't help but reveal a look of longing on his face. When he recalled Xing Tian and his wife suddenly appearing to kill him, he couldn't help but reveal a deep-seated hatred. "...In this way, I gave all the spiritual power I temporarily obtained from the Shattered Gold Dan to Tianqin. I still remember that I told her, it's better for one person to die than two people. Moreover, the fire poison in my body had already taken effect, and only the shattered dan could save her! My last request was to ask her to sing that song again. She sang with a choked voice...I felt like my soul flew to a place of nothingness, and I lost all consciousness. Later, after an unknown amount of time, I woke up and found myself surprisingly still alive. The golden dan had reformed, the fire poison was gone, and my cultivation hadn't weakened at all. Everything seemed as if it had never happened. At that time, Tianqin had already left, and the cave entrance was sealed off. I was afraid that Tianqin would come back to see me, and I knew that my cultivation at that time was not enough to avenge myself, so I chose to close up and cultivate until recently when I came out of seclusion."

  A cold glint flashed in Hong Zhi's eyes, and Hai Long discovered it for the first time. A chill killing intent actually appeared on Hong Zhi's body. He couldn't help but exclaim in surprise: "Xiao Zhi, what's wrong with you? You haven't gone mad from cultivation, have you?"

  Hong Zhi said coldly, "Big brother, rest assured, the couple of Xing Tian will not harm you for nothing. Even if I don't want this great round and full boundary cultivation, I must make them pay the price for their actions."

  Hailong smiled calmly and patted Hongzhi's shoulder, saying: "Alright, I know you're good to me. However, as a Buddhist cultivator, it's best not to take lives lightly. As for me, I don't care. At worst, let the heavenly tribulation strike me dead. My own grudges must be avenged by myself. Sooner or later, I will make Xingtian and his wife's souls scatter at my hands." His body exuded strong confidence, causing Hongzhi to nod secretly in agreement - Hailong was indeed no longer the same novice cultivator he had accompanied to kill the corpse demon back then.

  It seems like he thought of something, and Hailong continued: "Oh, right, Hongzhi, I hope only you know about this matter. Now the evil path is rampant, and with the Heavenly Ancestor's ascension to the Immortal Realm approaching, I don't want this matter to affect Lianyun Sect or even the entire Orthodox Path. From now on, except within Lianyun Sect, I won't show my true face to anyone until I avenge myself. If the Ancestors ask, I'll say that I accidentally fell into the mountain stream back then and have been cultivating alone since. As for Tianqin, I've never seen her." When he said those last few words, Hailong's heart couldn't help but ache again. The name Tianqin always stirred his emotions. Deep down, Hailong still hoped to see her again.

  Hong Zhi nodded and smiled: "Boss, it's been 300 years since we last met, but I suddenly feel like you've grown taller."

  Hai Long didn't get angry at Hong Zhi's teasing, and calmly said: "Maybe it's just that I've experienced too much during that period of time. I've come to understand many things, and the current Hai Long has indeed changed a bit. Maybe, I'll become even more selfish. From now on, everything will be for my own benefit, and in front of others, I'll just be a complete scoundrel." He patted Hong Zhi's shoulder with force, and said seriously: "Of course, you and Xiao Jing Ling are exceptions. Only in front of you two will the real Hai Long be revealed."

  At this moment, a long whistle suddenly came from the back mountain of Moyunping. Hailong was startled and involuntarily looked in the direction of the sound. Hongzhi smiled and said: "You just mentioned him, he's here. You don't know, now Xiao Jiling is very arrogant!"

  A mass of gray shadow suddenly appeared, and a somewhat hoarse voice said: "You bald fake monk, dare to arrange me or not, I was kind enough to bring you monkey wine."

  Hailong's entire body trembled, his eyes uncontrollably revealing deep emotions. A flash of grey fur, and Xiao Jingling floated down beside Hongzhi, his golden monkey eyes completely stunned when he saw Hailong. Hailong's current attire was just like when they first met and played together, although he looked much more mature and robust now, but that familiar aura and appearance still made Xiao Jingling's heart and soul tremble violently.

  "Ha Long said with a bit of awkwardness: 'Little clever one, it's me, I'm back.'"

  Xiao Jiling didn't pounce like Hailong imagined, but instead let out a long whistle and suddenly threw a punch at Hailong's chest. A yellow glow suddenly brightened, and the surging spiritual power actually sealed off all the dodging space around Hailong's body. Although Hailong was shocked in his heart, he naturally wouldn't wait for death with folded arms. He let out a low growl, placed his left hand horizontally in front of his chest, with his palm facing outward towards Xiao Jiling's fist. At the same time, his right hand manipulated a spell seal, and a circle of pale golden prohibition enveloped both him and Xiao Jiling together.

  With a loud crash, Jinzhi violently shook and Xiaojingling's small body was thrown flying by Hailong's lightly casual palm. A heavy impact hit Jinzhi. From this one punch of Xiaojingling, Hailong judged that the current Xiaojingling had already reached the early stage of Daolong.

  The sea dragon acted with precision, and the little spirit did not suffer any harm. It did not let up, and with a loud whistle, its body suddenly transformed into dozens of shadows that rushed towards the sea dragon from all sides.

  His heart skipped a beat, this clone technique was not used with precision, but it took advantage of its innate advantages to create so many illusions that even Hailong did not expect. He chuckled and said, "How about it, do you still want to fight me? I'm afraid you're no match for me now. Tianmu, open." A powerful aura suddenly emanated from Hailong's body, a green light flashed on his forehead, and a pale green eye appeared on his forehead. The light burst forth, and under the illumination of the green light, all the clones created by Xiaojiling disappeared, leaving only the original body that had charged forward.

  Hailong burst out laughing, his body flashing like a phantom as he rushed to Xiao Jiling's side at an even faster speed. He clapped his hands together, tightly embracing Xiao Jiling in his arms. "Three hundred years without seeing you, you've made quite some progress! However, this lifetime you can only be my brother. Good brother, I really miss you. Only you and Hongzhi are the people closest to my heart!"

  At the moment when he was just held in Hai Long's arms, Xiao Jing Ling still struggled twice, but when he heard Hai Long's words, his whole body involuntarily softened. Suddenly, he grabbed Hai Long's shoulder and burst into loud sobs, as if to release three hundred years of longing in an instant.

  Feeling the excitement emanating from his heart, Hailong softly comforted him, "Alright, don't cry, I'm back now, aren't I? Good brother, I won't abandon you again." By the last few words, even he couldn't help but choke up.

  The little guy quickly lifted his head and smiled: "This is what you said, from now on, wherever we go to play, I must bring me along, Bald-headed fake monk, you have to bear witness."

  Hailong tapped on Xiaojilings head and scolded with a smile: "You little rascal, how dare you deceive me!"

  "Hong Zhi stepped forward and said, 'It's not deceiving you, is it? For over 300 years, it has been muttering to itself almost every day, "That bastard Hai Long, why hasn't he come back yet?" Just from its thoughts of you, you should let it punch a few times. Of course, my punches are also...'"

  Hailong was startled and hastily handed the small machine spirit to Hongzhi, floating aside and saying: "My bones can't withstand your two destructions. I already know my mistake, from now on I'll tie you to my waistband, wherever I go, I'll bring you along. With our three brothers' current cultivation, we can go anywhere in the divine state."

  The little monkey waved its hand, and a wine gourd appeared out of nowhere, just like the one the six-eared macaque had given to Dao Ming. It opened the gourd cap, took a sip first, and then threw it to Hailong. Without needing to drink, Hailong knew what it was from the pungent aroma alone. He took it over without saying a word and started gulping it down loudly. Hongzhi's face showed a hint of heartache as he rushed over to Hailong's side, snatched the gourd away, and scolded, "Giving you guys this precious Monkey Wine is like throwing pearls before swine." As he spoke, he also took a small sip in a state of intoxication.

  Hailong burst out laughing and said: "Among us three, it's actually you, this bald monk, who loves wine the most."

  Xiao Jiling said, "This small gourd is really not enough to get drunk, let's go to the Monkey Forest, my monkey nephews have plenty of monkey wine. Today we'll drink to our heart's content. We can even celebrate that scoundrel Hailong coming back alive."

  The two words "mixed egg" in Xiaojilong's mouth sounded particularly affectionate to Hailong, who let out a clear whistle and grabbed Xiaojiling with one hand, flying towards the Monkey Forest with ease.

  With the cultivation of Hailong, Hongzhi, and Xiaojiling, these three men and a monkey, alcohol had no effect on them. However, to experience that feeling of being on cloud nine, they didn't use their powers to dispel the effects of the wine. When they sobered up, it was already the next morning. In this night's reunion, Hailong learned many things. The righteous and evil paths are currently in a brief period of balance. Two of the original nine Daoist masters of Lianyun Sect were killed in the battle against the evil path: Zhuanji Daoist Master and Mieyan Daoist Master. They died under the sneak attack of Jin Shisan, the master of Youzong Sect, without any defense. The two Daoist Masters' souls dispersed, and for this, Lianyun Sect launched a large-scale siege against Youzong Sect. With many powerful experts, led by Jietian Daoist Master, they eliminated many high-ranking members of Youzong Sect, including Jin Shisan who suffered heavy injuries. However, the thousand-year-old demon was indeed formidable and managed to escape with his remaining followers. Now, all seven Daoist Masters are in Lianyun Mountains, and Jietian Daoist Master has already sensed that his heavenly tribulation is approaching and has begun making final preparations. This is also the reason for the temporary truce between the righteous and evil paths.

  Although the Taoist masters were all present, the powerful cultivators above the Dingfeng boundary of the Lianyun Sect had all been sent out to search for the whereabouts of the Old Lord's Record. This strange book had already caused a great stir in both the Orthodox and Evil paths. If there was no concrete news yet, it was likely that another war between the two paths would begin soon.

  Under the dazzling sunlight, Hailong slowly woke up, with dizziness and headache invading his nerves. He pulled down Xiao Jiling's sturdy monkey arm from his chest, and after circulating the divine power around his body, he felt a bit refreshed. Looking at Hongzhi and Xiao Jiling who were still fast asleep beside him, he couldn't help but smile wryly - these two guys had certainly not spared him from drinking last night!

  With a determined mind, the dragon king thought back to the news he received last night and carefully pondered it. He decided to temporarily stay in the Lianyun Mountains. It wasn't that he wanted to help Jie Tian Dao Zun pass the tribulation, but rather, he wanted to see for himself what kind of power this heavenly tribulation possessed. After all, perhaps a thousand years later, he would also encounter a similar situation. He would wait until after Jie Tian Dao Zun passed the tribulation before going out to search for the Old Lord's Record.

  Thinking of this, Hailong took a look at Hongzhi and Xiaojiling who were sleeping soundly, without waking them up. He urged the divine power in his body to drive out all the discomfort caused by excessive drinking. Standing up, Hailong walked to the Wannian Hansheng stone where he had closed his eyes earlier. The Hansheng stone had long lost its luster and spiritual energy, just like an ordinary rock.

  Trouble everyone to vote more, welcome subscription, at the same time, I opened a blog on Sina, there is the cover of Kuang Shen's first published book in Simplified Chinese, you can go and have a look. u/1213328234