"Loneliness is not scary, boredom is scary."
Elder Wang carried Li Hao and continued weeding, only his voice reached Li Hao’s ears: "Before anyone ca, this is how I’ve always lived."
At this, he suddenly paused, looked up, gazing at the distant, unreachable sky, perhaps beyond the sky to even more unreachable places, and softly spoke:
"Those old friends died in the True Realm; I don’t know if anyone collected their bones, that is true loneliness..."
A gentle breeze stirred among the fertile fields, lightly brushing over the surrounding Immortal Elixir.
Wisps of glowing mist floated and gathered, like gentle hands, soothing the old man’s wounded emotions.
Li Hao remained silent, recalling what he saw on that ancient road, the countless scattered bones on the ground, the endless land of buried bones.
At first, he just saw them as remains, but now he wonders if Elder Wang’s old friends, or even family, lie within.
"Is it the rules that restrict you, or are you unwilling to leave, Elder Wang?"
Li Hao asked softly.
Elder Wang lowered his head with a chuckle, his shoulders shook slightly, and said: "This place is the Incense Fire of the Immortal Emperor, relying on a registered disciple alone is not enough. In the dangerous True Realm, even registered disciples will fall, unless an official disciple appears. Only then can I, as a Guardian, accompany them out."
At this, he turned to Li Hao, his gaze becoming kind and gentle: "You have so hope of becoming an official disciple, but it’s just so hope. You’ve experienced the trial on the second level of the True Venerate Tower, are you confident in passing it?"
Li Hao paused for a mont, but his eyes lit up.
Three years of playing chess, three years of idle conversation. Although he never discussed cultivation with the old man, they talked about everything else.
They already felt sowhat like friends separated by years.
If he could help the other leave, Li Hao would do whatever it takes!
"All I need is to beco an official disciple, right?"
Li Hao asked earnestly, his eyes bright with passion.
Seeing Li Hao’s gaze, Elder Wang’s smile grew gentler; he shook his head lightly and said, "Don’t pressure yourself too much, the Shuntian Ancestor Scripture has also been taught to you, and you know the Nine-Flower Immortal Seal. You should know how difficult it is to beco an official disciple!"
Li Hao took a deep breath, his resolve growing stronger, and said, "I will definitely make sure you can leave!"
"Don’t overthink it, the more you think, the slower your cultivation."
Elder Wang smiled and turned to continue weeding the Immortal Elixir; he didn’t discuss this matter with Li Hao further, hoping not to burden him.
He also hoped not to entangle himself in Li Hao’s cultivation.
Li Hao remained silent; so matters can only be addressed through action.
After Wang Lai had tended to the Immortal Elixir, the two returned to the bank of the fields, where Elder Wang chatted with Li Hao about past cultivation tis.
Here, he often converses with others about the past.
After all, he has a long lifespan with many distant mories, speaking for tens of thousands of years would not exhaust them.
He likes to talk, fearing that if he doesn’t speak and reminisce often, he might forget.
Even with an almost eternal lifespan, it’s hard to resist the erosion of forgetting by the passage of ti.
Li Hao also put away his solemn expression and kept him company chatting and listening as usual.
As the sun set in the west, Elder Wang shouldered a hoe and returned, with Li Hao following him back to the front of the hut, inviting him to play another round today.
Hearing Li Hao’s words, Elder Wang chuckled silently. He thought that after imparting the Immortal Law to Li Hao, he’d eagerly dive into cultivating the Shuntian Ancestor Scripture.
After all, it’s a quasi-Emperor-Level True Immortal Realm Cultivation Technique; in the True Realm, only top forces can access it.
However, he’s already familiar with Li Hao’s nature, and it wasn’t surprising. Rembering what this youth had said in the Immortal Field, he couldn’t help feeling a bit disappointed. From Li Hao’s deanor, he seed still passionate about the pleasures of Chess Tao, not truly intent on rigorous cultivation.
Yet, he didn’t bla Li Hao; becoming an official disciple is incredibly difficult. Without special roots from a young age, it is simply impossible to cultivate to that level.
He shook his head, dispelling the faintly aningless disappointnt in his mind, and smilingly set down the hoe, and took out the chessboard, accompanying Li Hao to play under the starlight and Yue Ying.
In the distance, the nurous Saints on ditation cushions were cultivating, like sleeping sculptures.
And in front of the hut, the elder and the young occasionally placed pieces, sotis joyful.
Ti’s passage quietly flowed in this forbidden subterranean world.
In the blink of an eye, two years passed.
Since Li Hao arrived in the depths of the Double-Slit Demon Valley, five years had elapsed.
Here, a brief five years passed like the snap of fingers, without any changes.
The people on the ditation cushions remained as silent statues, no sound in daily life.
The Immortal Elixir in a few acres of fertile fields hadn’t grown taller; their years were too short, their changes were negligible.
Yet the ga between the elder and the young in front of the hut had undergone monuntal changes since the first arrival.
Elder Wang looked solemnly at the chessboard.
The youth placed his pieces, the ga winding like curves and turns in mountainous paths, extrely difficult to discern.
It had sowhat the appearance of shadows of immortals.
In their first match, he still had the mood to enjoy tea and gaze at the Immortal Elixir in the field; now a cup of tea cooled beside him, unnoticed.
Conversely, the youth was equally solemn, focused, daring not to relax.
The current situation was due to Elder Wang’s careless oversight, allowing Li Hao to seize a weakness, and thus advance step by step, creating the present scenario.
As the clouds dispersed, the mist swirled around the Immortal Elixir in the fertile fields; with a gentle breeze, Elder Wang’s sound of placing a piece resounded, with a light snap.
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