Chapter 137 - Similar Temperament
There were only nine of them.
He Qingrou and Chen Ying were naturally there.
In addition, there was the Sect Master, Perfected Zhu Qing, the Deputy Sect Master, Liu Yiyun, the two Sword Masters, Autumn Cloud and Setting Sun, Perfected Zhu Qing’s two grand-disciples, and the personal disciple of Ancestral Master Perfected Hengxia, Zheng Nanxun.
Initially, Perfected Zhu Qing planned to lead all the disciples to visit Cui Heng. She felt that this was the only way to express the Immortal Dawn Sect’s respect for the Ancestral Master’s master.
However, this plan was dissuaded by Zheng Nanxun.
If all the disciples of the sect left the sect, what if external enemies took advantage of the situation?
The Cangcheng Mountain Immortal Dawn Sect was the foundation of the Ancestral Master and had stood for nearly a hundred years. It was also an inheritance handed to them. They could not be careless.
Hence, most of the disciples were left to guard the sect.
Of course, the nine people who came to visit Cui Heng were still the absolute core of the Immortal Dawn Sect.
After all, the person they were meeting this time was their true Ancestral Master.
At this moment, the Immortal Dawn Sect had already arrived at the small town outside Changfeng Prefecture.
They did not enter the city to visit Cui Heng.
That would be too rude.
Perfected Zhu Qing and He Qingrou would go to pay their respects together. After obtaining Cui Heng’s permission, the others would enter the city.
Before that, everyone settled down in an inn.
Zheng Nanxun leaned against the window and looked at the pedestrians below in a daze.
She was a beautiful woman who looked to be in her thirties. Her face was a little pale, and her temperament was weak. Her figure was thin, and she was not wearing a Daoist robe. Instead, she was wearing a simple light green dress, elegant and natural.
This was the first time she had gone down the mountain in nearly a hundred years.
A hundred years ago, she was still the world-renowned Perfected Nanxun.
As Perfected Hengxia’s first disciple, she inherited her master’s ideals. She traveled the martial world, punished evil, and supported the righteous path to help those who needed
help.
That was the happiest time of her life.
Zheng Nanxun originally thought that she could continue like that.
She would follow her master always, and practice the legacy of her master, eventually passing it down to her own disciples.
Until the day she passed away.
But after the battle a hundred years ago, everything changed. All the disciples she had carefully taught died in battle. She was also seriously injured and her origin was damaged, causing her lifespan to decrease greatly.
Even her master, whom she regarded as her lifelong goal, disappeared after that battle.
Immediately after, the Immortal Dawn Sect sealed the mountain.
Everything had changed.
Ever since then, Zheng Nanxun had never come down from Cangcheng Mountain again.
She locked herself in the cave abode at the back of the mountain.
And refused to see anyone.
She just sat there in dead seclusion.
Asleep.
It was only more than ten years ago that a little girl called Chen Ying accidentally entered the forbidden area at the back of the mountain and woke her up.
This little girl looked very similar to one of her dead disciples.
Chen Ying was lively and cheerful, and her words were sweet.
Finally, Zheng Nanxun’s dead heart lit up with some vitality.
However, she still did not move out of the cave abode at the back of the mountain.
She only occasionally met Perfected Zhu Qing, the current Sect Master, to ask about the current situation of the Immortal Dawn Sect.
Just a few days ago, Perfected Zhu Qing suddenly told her some news.
Chen Ying had found the true Ancestral Master of the Immortal Dawn Sect.
Perfected Hengxia’s master was a hidden Immortal Venerable called “Cui Heng”.
This triggered Zheng Nanxun’s memories that had been sealed for a long time.
That was when she had just acknowledged Jiang Qiqi as her master.
At that time, Perfected Hengxia was not famous yet.
This was only a young girl named Jiang Qiqi from Hedong County in Fengzhou.
She was only ten years old at the time.
Jiang Qiqi was also only 19 years old.
Zheng Nanxun had once curiously asked, “Where did Master learn such a powerful sword technique?”
The answer was that she had learned it from a Big Brother Immortal.
Occasionally, Jiang Qiqi would tell her something about Big Brother Immortal.
It was a tone filled with admiration and longing
However, after Jiang Qiqi stepped into the Pugilistic World as Perfected Hengxia, she had never told her any more stories about that Big Brother Immortal.
As time passed, she forgot about it. Gradually, she only remembered that her master should have a very, very powerful master.
His name was Cui Heng.
That was her Ancestral Master, the true Ancestral Master of the Immortal Dawn Sect.
He was a reclusive Immortal Venerable.
Although in her impression, her master had never said that he was her master…
Later, Zheng Nanxun accidentally discovered
Although her master had not mentioned “Big Brother Immortal” to anyone for a long time, she had actually been secretly searching for clues.
But she did not gain anything.
Even until the arrival of that battle, they could not find him.
Now that so many years have passed…
Had they really found the “Big Brother Immortal” that Master mentioned?
“What kind of person is he?” Zheng Nanxun looked through the window of the prefecture city and muttered, “He made Master hide him in her heart and never forget him for a hundred years…”
Thud! Thud!
At this moment, there was a soft knock on the door.
“Martial Grandaunt, we’re going into the city.” Chen Ying’s voice came from outside. She said with a smile, “We’re going to pay our respects to Ancestral Grandfather.”
Perfected Zhu Qing had organized another discussion about how to address Cui Heng before coming to Changfeng Prefecture.
In the end, after some discussion, they decided to only address Cui Heng as Ancestral Grandfather.
Other times, such as when the fellow disciples talked to each other, they could just call him Ancestral Master.
This did not violate the decision of the Ancestral Master, Perfected Hengxia, and it could also facilitate communication between the fellow disciples.
It was the best of both worlds.
“Alright, I’m coming.”
Zheng Nanxun stopped her complicated thoughts and nodded in response. She closed the window that was looking outside.
….
They walked on the bustling streets of Changfeng Prefecture City.
Zheng Nanxun gradually felt like she had found her past self.
A hundred years ago, when she was with her master, she would often shop in such prosperous cities.
Unfortunately, she probably wouldn’t be able to experience such a feeling for long.
She had been severely injured in that battle back then and her lifespan had greatly decreased. To this day, she does not have much lifespan left.
Although she looked healthy on the surface, she was already on the verge of death.
“However, being able to take a look at her Big Brother Immortal on behalf of Master before I die can be considered as helping Master.”
Zheng Nanxun thought to herself.
….
In the State Overseer’s Office.
Cui Heng saw three familiar figures.
Chen Ying, He Qingrou, and Perfected Zhu Qing.
He did not know the others.
However, one of the figures instantly attracted his attention.
Zheng Nanxun.
“This is?” Cui Heng asked Perfected Zhu Qing.
He felt that this person’s temperament was quite similar to Jiang Qiqi’s. She was the one who looked the most like Jiang Qiqi among the nine people from the Immortal Dawn Sect.
Perfected Zhu Qing hurriedly invited Zheng Nanxun, “Martial Aunt Zheng…”
“Greetings, Ancestral Grandmaster.” Zheng Nanxun bowed respectfully to Cui Heng.
“You’re Qiqi’s first disciple?” Cui Heng was a little surprised and enlightened when he heard this. He smiled and praised, “The aura is restrained, and the sword light is hidden without leaking. Looks like you’ve already understood the true meaning of the Immortal Dawn Sword Art…”
But as he spoke, he could not continue. His brows furrowed.
Cui Heng noticed the abnormality in Zheng Nanxun’s body and said in a low voice, “What’s going on? Your source energy has been severely exhausted. Your cultivation is actually at the end of its lifespan.”
SOUL
Zheng Nanxun’s Immortal Dawn Sword Art had already been cultivated to the Eighth level of Qi Refinement. Even if her lifespan was not as long as a true Immortal cultivator, she should be able to live for more than 300 years.
But it had not even been 200 years.
She was actually close to the end of her life.
This was definitely not normal.
The surrounding people from the Immortal Dawn Sect clearly did not know about Zheng Nanxun’s situation. When they heard this, they were shocked.
“Martial Aunt Zheng, what’s wrong with
you?”
“Martial Aunt…”
“Martial Grandaunt…”
Although they knew that Zheng Nanxun’s physical condition was very bad, they did not expect it to be so serious.
Her origin had been damaged and her lifespan was about to end. This was like a bolt from the blue.
“I’m fine.” Zheng Nanxun shook her head indifferently and said to Cui Heng, “Grandmaster, don’t worry. It’s just an old injury left behind from a hundred years ago. It’s an old problem.”
“Come over.” Cui Heng waved at Zheng Nanxun. “I’ll help you treat it.”
“T-treat?” Zheng Nanxun looked confused when she heard this. She asked curiously, “Grandmaster, actually, my injuries have long been healed. It’s just that my origin has been damaged…”
The damage to the origin energy meant that the foundation of the body had been injured. There was no possibility of recovery.
No matter how powerful a tonic was or how brilliant a martial technique was, it was impossible to make up for the deficit and consumption of the origin energy.
This was already the consensus of every martial artist.
Could this be treated?
“Martial Grandaunt, don’t worry. Ancestral Grandfather is very powerful!” Chen Ying moved to Zheng Nanxun’s side and said, “He will definitely be able to treat your injuries.”
Perfected Zhu Qing, Liu Yiyun, and the others did not say anything.
They all knew very well what it meant to have their origin damaged.
Moreover, Zheng Nanxun had already cultivated the Immortal Dawn Sword Art to an extremely high realm, comparable to a Human Immortal. It was almost impossible to repair the origin energy of a Human Immortal.
“En. If the origin is damaged, we can just patch it up and you’ll be fine.” Cui Heng nodded lightly.
“Thank you, Grandmaster.” Zheng Nanxun came to Cui Heng’s side.
“Close your eyes and wait for a moment,” Cui Heng said gently.
At the same time, he raised his right hand and flicked his finger, allowing a wisp of Dharmic powers to enter Zheng Nanxun’s body.
This wisp of Dharmic powers instantly spread to her limbs and bones, turning into endless vitality that quickly filled her extremely empty body.
Zheng Nanxun’s originally pale face gradually regained its color.
The white hair at her temples also turned black again, and her appearance became even younger, as if she had directly changed from her thirties to her twenties.
In a short while, Zheng Nanxun’s entire body turned from an exhausted lamp to a raging fire.
She slowly opened her eyes and felt her body in shock. She muttered, “I’ve recovered. I’ve completely recovered!”
Perfected Zhu Qing, Liu Yiyun, and the others also felt an unprecedented shock.
Ancestral Grandfather was too powerful!
Even the origin energy of a Human Immortal could be recovered so easily.
“Thank you, Grandmaster!” Zheng Nanxun bowed to Cui Heng. “There’s no need to be so polite.” Cui Heng raised his hand to stop her from bowing. “Tell me about what happened before Qiqi disappeared.”