Chapter 3863: Old Man Wen
Although Duan Ling Tian was grateful that Xue Hai Chuan was concerned about his well-being, he still declined Xue Hai Chuan’s invitation. He said, “Brother Hai Chuan, I won’t go to the Imperial War Realm with you.”
Xue Hai Chuan sighed upon hearing Duan Ling Tian’s reply. He tried his best to persuade Duan Ling Tian and said, “Little Tian, I know the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy in the Imperial War Realm is thin, making it almost impossible to cultivate, but you’ll be in danger if you stay in the Flying Dragon Sect. I don’t know the others, but Kuang Tian Zheng will likely disregard everything and kill you after I leave. There’s no need for you to rush to improve your cultivation now. Your life is more important. If something happens to you, the improvement in your cultivation will be useless anyway. It’s safe now, but what are you going to do when Kuang Tian Zheng makes a move? It’ll be too late to regret your decision at that time. There are many things in life that are irreversible, and you can’t turn back time. There’s no medicine for regret in this world.”
Duan Ling Tian knew Xue Hai Chuan had misunderstood him. He said, “Don’t worry, Brother Hai Chuan. I have no intention of risking my life. I only declined your invitation because I already have a plan. Brother Hai Chuan, I’m sure you know my friend, Ding Yan. His guardian is Revered Elder Sikong. Previously, before I came to you, he told me that I can stay with Revered Elder Sikong when you enter the Imperial War Realm. Some time ago, he told me that Revered Elder Sikong had agreed to his request. In fact, I could’ve gone there earlier, but there was no need for it. Brother Hai Chuan, now that you’re leaving to the Imperial War Realm, I’ll move in with Revered Elder Sikong.”
After Ding Yan returned to the Flying Dragon Sect’s estate two years ago, he had gone looking for his uncle immediately, but his uncle was in closed-door cultivation. When his uncle finally emerged from closed-door cultivation a few months ago, he finally managed to speak to his uncle. When his uncle agreed to his request, he wasted no time in informing Duan Ling Tian about it.
However, since Duan Ling Tian was rather safe staying with Xue Hai Chuan, he was not in a rush to leave. In his opinion, it would be best to trouble Ding Yan less.
Xue Hai Chuan nodded. “Very well. I feel relieved now that I know you’ll be staying with Revered Elder Sikong. His strength is a mystery to everyone in the sect. Not only was he personally invited to the sect by the sect leader, but the sect leader even bestowed him the t.i.tle of a Black Dragon Elder. At the very least, his strength isn’t inferior to the Black Dragon Elders. His place is definitely safer than mine.”
Xue Hai Chuan paused briefly before he continued to say, “The most important thing is Revered Elder Sikong has remained neutral in the sect. Everyone doesn’t dare to offend him like they would any other Black Dragon Elders.”
…
Half a month later.
Before Xue Hai Chuan entered the Imperial War Realm, he, along with Xue Hai Shan, went to look for Duan Ling Tian. When he arrived, he saw Ding Yan.
“Little Tian, I’ll escort you to Revered Elder Sikong’s cultivation ground.”
Since Duan Ling Tian had learned about Xue Hai Shan’s breakthrough and emergence from his closed-door cultivation, he was not surprised to see Xue Hai Shan. He said, “Brother Hai Shan, I just spoke to Ding Yan. If you’re willing, you can also follow me to Revered Sikong’s cultivation ground. Revered Elder Sikong has agreed to it. After all, the Heaven and Earth Spirit Energy in the Imperial War Realm is very thin, making it difficult to cultivate.”
Upon hearing this, Xue Hai Shan shook his head and said, “Little Tian, I appreciate your kindness, but I plan to enter the Imperial War Realm. I don’t plan to cultivate for the time being. Instead, I plan to explore Flying Dragon City and Peace City. Since I’ve been cultivating since the day I came to the Flying Dragon Sect, I want to take this time to relax a little.”
Seeing that Duan Ling Tian was about to persuade him, Xue Hai Shan immediately said, “Little Tian, I’m not being polite. I really don’t plan to continue cultivating for the time being. I’ll let you know if I change my mind in the future.”
With this, Duan Ling Tian gave up on persuading Xue Hai Shan to stay.
Following that, Xue Hai Shan escorted Duan Ling Tian and Ding Yan to a towering mountain range in the Flying Dragon Sect’s estate. There were very few people in this place.
...
Seeing the confusion on Duan Ling Tian’s face, Ding Yan explained, “My Uncle Sikong prefers to be alone, and he cherishes silence. Hence, there aren’t many patrolling disciples in the area, let alone people on his cultivation ground.”
Ding Yan had been staying with his uncle previously so he was naturally familiar with his uncle’s habits.
Upon hearing this, Xue Hai Chuan nodded and said, “Revered Elder Sikong has lived in seclusion ever since he came to our sect. I only saw him once during his entire time here.”
Xue Hai Chuan recalled his confusion when he first met Revered Elder Siking. After all, the Sect Leader of the Flying Dragon Sect, who was accompanying Revered Elder Sikong, at that time was abnormally respectful toward Revered Elder Sikong. Even among the Golden Dragon Elders, there were only one or two whom the Sect Leader of the Flying Dragon Sect showed this degree of respect to. At that time, he wondered if Revered Elder was an elder of the sect leader. Although Revered Elder Sikong looked to be the same age as the sect leader, in the cultivation world, appearance was not reliable at all to determine a person’s age.
When they were approaching a quiet valley shrouded in mist, Ding Yan said, “It’s up ahead.”
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The wind began to blow at the entrance of the valley as soon as they drew close. Soon enough, an old man stepped out of the cloud of mist.
Ding Yan bowed and greeted the old man immediately. “Greetings, Old Man Wen.”
“Young Master Ding Yan, I’ve told you many times that there’s no need for you to be so formal. I’m just a servant here,” the old man said with a sigh as he looked at Ding Yan with a gentle gaze.
Ding Yan seemed to be used to the old man’s words and did not take them to heart at all. He said, “Old Man Wen, let me introduce you to my friend, Duan Ling Tian. I met him when we were in Skywind City’s Hidden Fog Academy. These two are Elder Xue Hai Chuan and his brother, Xue Hai Shan.”
“Greetings, Young Master Duan, Elder Xue,” the old man said. Then, he nodded at Xue Hai Shan with a smile as a sign of respect.
“Greetings, Old Man Wen.”
After that, Old Man Wen led the group into the valley. Whenever he moved, the mist would part on its own accord. They finally emerged from the mist after they stepped into the valley.
At this time, Ding Yan said through Voice Transmission, “Duan Ling Tian, Old Man Wen is like Uncle Sikong’s attendant. When Sikong Yue goes out, he’ll be tasked to protect her. That’s the only time that he’ll leave Uncle Sikong’s side. He’s been with Uncle Sikong for many years. Although Sikong Yue is usually arrogant, she’s also very respectful to Old Man Wen and addresses him as Grandpa Wen. Since Uncle Sikong cares about me, he’s also very polite and respectful to me. He didn’t look down on my low cultivation at all.”
Ding Yan’s words revealed that he thought highly of Old Man Wen.
Duan Ling Tian nodded as he looked at Old Man Wen’s back. He could not see through Old Man Wen’s thoughts at all. He found Old Man Wen harder to read than the other Black Dragon Elders he had previously met.
Naturally, Duan Ling Tian knew this was not an indication of Old Man Wen’s strength. After all, there were many who were mysterious and sage-like, but their cultivation was only ordinary.
In the valley that was carpeted with lush gra.s.s where flowers bloomed and birds chirped, six simple courtyards surrounded a courtyard in the middle.
When Old Man Wen led the others to the courtyard in the center, he bowed and said, “Master, the guests are here.”
“Come in.”
The gates to the courtyard swung open, and Old Man Wen led the others inside.
In just a blink of an eye, Duan Ling Tian saw a flash before the courtyard changed. The flowers and plants in the courtyard seemed even more vibrant than the ones outside, and a peaceful air permeated the entire place. He thought to himself, ‘As it turns out, what I saw earlier was an illusion. This is the true appearance of the courtyard.’