Chapter 39: The Long-Awaited Return of Gong Naitou

  Startled by the wind, she stared at him in astonishment, never expecting Murong Qingfeng to leave so soon.

  Murong Qingfeng smiled slightly and said to Suifeng, "Suifeng brother, I'll take my leave now. Come visit me in Qiantang when you have time." After finishing speaking, he turned around and quickly walked away without looking back. Suifeng stood there stupidly, staring at his receding figure, with the surrounding crowd's surprised whispers filling his ears. "Wasn't that young man who just passed by one of the Murong family's four heavenly kings, Qingfeng?" "Yes, I heard that the Murong family has produced three child prodigies in this generation, all of whom are already top-notch experts before they even reached adulthood." "So this person is really Su Daji's only son? Being able to accompany Qingfeng, he must also be a top expert of his generation." "Who would have thought that the world today has produced so many young heroes, it's truly awe-inspiring!"

  Turning around calmly with the wind, the low voices of the people around her were unheard, and she followed Wú Chén along the bluestone steps, thinking about even higher mountain peaks.

  As they walked, Wudang suddenly let out a long sigh and said, "I recall when I first joined the Penglai Sect, your father was only just past his 20th birthday. Who would have thought that so many years have passed in such a hurry, and now his son has grown to be this big."

  As the wind listened to him, he was moved by his sincerity and thought to himself: "He is indeed a disciple of a great sect, and it's true that he is a straightforward person." He then replied: "I also only came to know about this later when my uncle Changming mentioned it. It turns out that my late father and Elder Hua were old friends who forgot their ages. As a junior, I naturally wanted to come and pay my respects. Not only can I fulfill my last bit of filial piety, but I can also comfort the spirit of my late father in heaven."

  Wu Chen nodded and said, "You've come at just the right time. Master Hua won't have to worry about finding an apprentice anymore. The mantle of the Return to Heaven Technique has finally found a home."

  As the wind listened, he was startled and thought to himself: "What does he mean by this? Isn't it also very likely that he himself is?" He didn't want to go against his good intentions, so he smiled and said: "The Wind isn't here for the sake of the Return to Heaven Technique. This time I've come just to pay respects to my seniors, and to honor the Middle Plains Alliance Master's prestige. As for the matter of the robe, Brother Wúdì is the first disciple of the Penglai Sect's leader, and Elder Huā is your master's senior sister - you should be the most likely one."

  Wu Chen sighed and said, "The rumors in Jianghu are also to let some people with ulterior motives retreat. On the other hand, it's a helpless move. If Hua Shibo really can't find a good apprentice, it's better to have an excuse. However, if I really pass on the Huitian Gong to Wu Chen, alas! Wu Chen is not talented, and now he is already over 40 years old, but the Penglai Xianfa has not been achieved yet. If he practices the Huitian Shen Gong again, it would be a true waste of his talent."

  With a sudden movement in his heart, he had a question and asked: "If you're worried that the divine art will be lost, why not pass it on to several more disciples?"

  Wu Chen shook his head and said, "I also asked Master Shibo about this matter, but Master Shibo seemed to be unaware of it too. It's just been a rule since ancient times. As a junior, I naturally dare not violate it."

  As the two of them chatted, they unknowingly walked along the bluestone steps to the top of the mountain. The mountaintop was no longer a flat piece of land, with ups and downs, forests and Taoist temples intersecting each other. It was as if several Taoist temples were embedded in the mountain top, and occasionally, one could see a few disciples wearing Taoist robes shuttling among them.

  "This is the center of Penglai - Penglai Palace, where Master and Master are at this moment. Follow me, I'll take you in."

  Following the wind, Suifeng walked slowly to the front of Penglai Palace. The wind couldn't help but look up and measure this famous Taoist temple. Although the entire building was built on a mountain body, it was still several feet high, with a large red plaque in the center that read "Penglai Xian Gong". Next to the crimson gate stood two Dao children of similar size to Suifeng, holding a feather duster. When they saw Wucheng leading Liang Ze'er over, they closed their eyes and continued to meditate, as if they hadn't seen them at all. Although the entire main hall did not reveal any majestic or solemn atmosphere, it had an inexplicable charm that made people spontaneously reverence from the bottom of their hearts.

  He followed the wind naturally, didn't dare to be presumptuous, shook his sleeves, pinched a lotus flower seal with his right hand, and walked into the hall with a bow. In front of him was a three-zhang-high colorful image of Daode Tianzun, with an ethereal expression as if he were an immortal, wearing a apricot-yellow Taoist robe, standing on a green lotus pedestal, exuding a sense of clarity and detachment from worldly dust.

  Under the statue, two old men with white hair and ruddy faces were sitting. One of them wore a black Taoist robe, with a peach wood sword at his waist, and his right hand was pinching a lotus flower seal, his eyes slightly closed, as if he was meditating. Next to him was another person who looked younger, wearing a brown long shirt, but without any weapons. Both of them had a warm expression on their faces, without any aura. But who would have thought that these two old men, who seemed to have no martial arts skills at all, were actually among the top masters in the world today?

  Apart from this, several people of Penglai were standing on the edge of the entire hall, standing extremely upright, with their eyes closed as if they were meditating and comprehending the Tao.

  Wu Chen didn't think it was strange at all, glanced around the hall, bowed to the center and said with his head down: "Wu Chen from Yangzhou has seen Master and Mistress."

  It's not that there's no dust to speak of, but the two people who have already guessed correctly with the wind are none other than today's Jianghu celebrities: Hua Jiugong and Liri Shangren. Liri simply hummed a response, turned his head, smiled at Hua Jiugong, and said in a low voice, "Brother's yuan method has indeed arrived."

  Hua Jiu Gong didn't respond, his eyes fixed on Su Feng. The current Su Feng wore a white robe that fluttered in the wind, with an extraordinary air and martial arts skills despite his young age. With a similar elegance and natural talent, what's even more precious is that his appearance and voice are 70% similar to Su Tian's. Seeing him was like seeing the talented youth from over ten years ago walking towards him again after crossing the vicissitudes of life. Unfortunately, he himself had grown old, with no worthy successor for his extraordinary divine skills, while his friend from back then had left forever.

  Seeing Hua and Gong staring at him, Xun felt a bit nervous and bowed to the two people in front of him, saying: "Xun Tian's son Xun Feng, greetings to both seniors. I just learned recently that Senior Hua was my late father's sworn brother, so I came to pay my respects."

  Hua's face revealed a hint of a smile, and he stood up to walk in front of Sui Feng, helping him up saying: "Good kid, get up quickly, this martial art is quite good, it's really just like your father's from back then."

  Dazed for a moment, he looked as if he was pleasantly surprised. Unconsciously, he said: "Senior, this..."

  Hua Hou smiled slightly and said, "Still calling me senior? You're Tian Di's son, so just call me Uncle Hua from now on. All these years you've been alone, it's really pitied you. It's your Uncle Hua's incompetence that I went to Yangzhou several times but couldn't find you. Quickly tell me, how have you been all these years?"

  He called out "Uncle Hua" in a daze, and as soon as the three words came out, it was a different kind of taste. It seemed that from then on, he had another relative in this world.

  Hua Xiaolong smiled and said: "Good kid, I'll ask you, are you willing to become my apprentice?"

  Just as Su Feng opened his mouth to speak, a sudden commotion was heard from outside the main hall, as if something had happened. Li Riyue immediately stood up, originally he was watching the two of them with interest, waiting for Su Feng to join the Huajiu Gong sect, but everything was ready and just short of the final step, unexpectedly his own sect caused trouble and disrupted everything, he couldn't help but feel a few sparks of anger.

  He walked a few steps away from Rijin and stopped at the entrance of the grand hall, asking coldly: "What's going on? Why are you making such a big fuss here?"

  The wind and the flower, Hui Gou, were a bit strange, even Wucheng, who had already retreated to one side, came over and stood behind Rensheng. At this time, a disciple of Penglai Dao walked to the gate of the main hall and pointed at the green stone steps below: "Report to the head teacher, there is a young man from the foot of the mountain who has been kneeling up the mountain, shouting that he must see Master Hua. Seeing his appearance, the disciples did not dare to make a decision, and unexpectedly led to the excitement of the Jianghu people present, almost causing a quarrel with us."

  Originally, a gloomy expression hung over his face, but upon hearing the disciple's words, it immediately transformed into one of astonishment. He couldn't believe that there was such a resilient young man in this world. Hastily, he asked: "Where is that young man now?"

  The disciple replied: "The Back Palm Technique is right here at the entrance of Penglai Fairy Realm."

  Without bothering with anything else, Li Yu ordered: "Hurry up and bring him in." Su Feng heard this and was secretly shocked. That was nearly 500 steps of stone stairs! If you counted the stone steps on the mountain path inside Penglai Palace, it would be nearly 600 steps. Kneeling and crawling up so many steps, if one had martial arts skills it would be okay, but if one didn't have any martial arts skills at all, it was simply unimaginable.

  It was astonishing that he had such a strong will, almost defying the heavens, which was not something ordinary people could possess. After about another meal's worth of time, sure enough, a young man appeared, crawling on his knees and dragging his body to the front of Penglai Palace. The Flower Longevity Gong was right inside the hall, and as long as he crossed the threshold, he would have arrived. However, this Penglai Palace was the main hall of the entire Penglai Sect, and its threshold was extremely high. The young man tried several times, but could only barely lift his knees above the threshold, making it impossible for him to enter.

  Clearly visible to the naked eye, the young man's knee area was worn out, not only that, but also a large piece of flesh and blood on his knees had been ground away, almost exposing the white bones inside, with bloodstains everywhere, extremely terrifying. The young man had already exhausted his physical strength, coupled with losing too much blood, his face was pale as snow, including his lips.

  Wu Chen took a few steps forward, wanting to help the young man in. The young man shook his head fiercely, with a stubborn expression, refusing anyone's help. But he was just pretending to be strong, how could he still have the strength to step over the high threshold on his knees alone? Wu Chen didn't care about him, and with one move, used his inner power to lift him up and supported him into the main hall.

  Hua was also somewhat surprised by his determination and asked: "Who are you? Why must you see me?"

  The young man's face turned pale, as if he would faint at any moment. He said: "I am just a nobody, only a low-ranking official, and seniors must not have heard of me. But because my entire family of thirteen was killed by the treacherous Li Linfu, I vowed to learn the most powerful martial arts and avenge my family."

  With a subtle change in expression, I didn't expect that upon arriving at Penglai, I would once again become entangled with Li Linfu. Not saying a word, I quietly observe the development of events.

  He looked at Feng Wu with a hint of disappointment and sighed, "She's a good seedling, but unfortunately, her motivations are impure. With revenge as her goal, she'll never become a great talent."

  That unintentional sentence from Lí Rì Shàng Rén made Suī Fēng's heart tremble, and he let out a soft sigh. Previously, he had also been like this, wanting to learn martial arts just for the sake of revenge, but apart from revenge, what else was there to do? After avenging himself, how would he go on? These questions he had never thought about before. It wasn't until Liáng Tōu ér's words that night that woke him up, making him realize that everyone must know where their own path leads and how to walk it.

  The wind was blowing, and the rough road said: "I have spent all my family's savings to come here, and I have already made up my mind to be resolute. If I cannot enter the gate of Master Hua, even if I starve to death on the street, it is not regrettable."

  Hua looked at Sui Feng, then at Feng Wuji, and sighed: "I, Hua, have long passed the age of sixty and have already taken in a few disciples. Unfortunately, due to various reasons, I was unable to pass on my legacy, but my energy is limited, so I can only take one more. Originally, when Little Wind arrived, I thought of taking him as my final disciple. Unexpectedly, before it could happen, you arrived at this place..."

  "Then just take it back, Uncle Hua doesn't have to be troubled." As soon as the words came out, everyone in the entire scene was shocked, staring at him with a look of astonishment.