Chapter 400: Chapter 113: Revisiting Old Haunts, Climbing the Thirty Thousand Steps Again

"I am old, with my life nearing its end, and no longer have the desire to roam."

"Why not end my days here in the picturesque Changchun Mountain..."

The Foundation Establishment Elder’s expression was calm, as if he had long decided his future.

Lin Chen nodded, "Your integrity and noble spirit are truly admirable."

After purchasing some pills at the pill shop, Lin Chen left and headed for another shop within the marketplace.

This shop was in a remote location, seldom visited by cultivators.

A locust tree was planted at the shop’s entrance, casting its shade over the shop, shrouding it in darkness and adding a sense of eeriness.

Inside the shop, the lighting was also very dim.

Lin Chen didn’t linger on the first floor and went straight up to the second floor.

Soon, he saw a woman cultivating in a dark corner of the second floor.

The woman suddenly opened her eyes and was initially startled upon seeing Lin Chen.

"Master? You have finally come!"

Indeed, this woman was Jade Ghost, whom Lin Chen had previously stationed at Changchun Mountain Marketplace for resource exchange transactions.

Now that all his transactions in the Yanlai Realm had been canceled, it was time for Jade Ghost to go elsewhere.

Years had passed, and Jade Ghost’s cultivation had advanced further.

Jade Ghost was a natural ghost cultivator with exceptional aptitude, never lacking resources for cultivation.

In the previous battle, she devoured many lingering souls, and now Jade Ghost was comparable to a Golden Core Ninth Turn Cultivator.

Her cultivation speed was incredibly fast.

Lin Chen nodded and said to Jade Ghost:

"Yes, it’s time to return..."

Upon hearing this, a look of joy appeared on Jade Ghost’s face.

In recent years, she had been living in fear as the forces of the Nether Realm grew stronger, and the Yanlai Realm was on the verge of falling.

In this situation, Jade Ghost only wished to quickly escape this place of trouble.

If it weren’t for Lin Chen’s prolonged absence, Jade Ghost might have already left long ago.

Lin Chen had planned an escape route for Jade Ghost, allowing her to go to Wenda City with him.

After all, as a ghost cultivator comparable to a Ninth Turn Golden Core, if she could advance further to achieve the Primordial Nether Realm, it would be a great help.

After taking Jade Ghost away, Lin Chen did not hurry to ascend Changchun Mountain.

Instead, he went to Lin’s Small Pavilion first.

The arrangement of Lin’s Small Pavilion hadn’t changed much since Lin Chen left several years ago.

The pills and ornaments in the shop were still present, only covered with a layer of dust.

It seemed no one had attended to it for a long time.

"Huang Xin..."

Lin Chen was silent for a moment, could it be that something unexpected had happened to Huang Xin over these years?

When leaving the Changchun Sect, time was short, besides a journey of over two hundred thousand miles, Huang Xin’s cultivation level was low, and Lin Chen couldn’t take him along.

"Alas, I hope nothing has gone wrong."

Lin Chen still felt some affection for Huang Xin; they could be considered friends.

After searching around Lin’s Small Pavilion, Lin Chen suddenly found a letter in a corner.

With a slight feeling, Lin Chen picked up the letter.

On the envelope, there was a line of writing.

To Senior Brother Lin Chen, personally.

Lin Chen opened the envelope and read the contents.

Huang Xin’s writing was precise and meticulous, just like himself.

"It has been over three years since Senior Brother went to Wenda City, and I miss you greatly."

"Junior Brother regrets being unable to complete the tasks entrusted by Senior Brother. The Nether Realm is powerful, and countless demon cultivators continuously invade, causing the number of cultivators in the marketplace to dwindle."

"The Grandmaster recently dismissed a batch of disciples, and Junior Brother was among them."

"Although I wish to stay in the marketplace and continue growing spiritual medicines for Senior Brother, but..."

"Recently, Junior Brother successfully advanced to the Sixth Layer of Foundation Establishment, just a step away from the late period of Foundation Establishment."

"Although my cultivation is still shallow, I still wish to follow in the footsteps of Senior Brother."

"I have heard that Senior Brother Lin is now in Wenda City, and Junior Brother intends to seek you out."

"So, I have dismissed the cultivators in the medicine garden and mining area, paid their wages, and buried the remaining spiritual medicines and ores in the backyard of Senior Brother’s shop..."

"In the storage bag, there are more than seventy thousand plants of spiritual medicine, and eighty thousand catties of ore..."

"I hope there will be a day when we can meet again with Senior Brother."

After reading the letter, Lin Chen sighed in relief.

Huang Xin did not experience an accident but left the Changchun Mountain Marketplace.

However, Lin Chen also felt a bit worried.

Judging from the contents of the letter, Huang Xin left the marketplace over two years ago.

As a mere Foundation Establishment Cultivator, his journey to Wenda City is incredibly difficult, fraught with endless hardships and likely danger...

"Ah, Junior Brother Huang..."

Lin Chen sighed and went to the place where Huang Xin said the storage bags were hidden.

Sure enough, he found several storage bags, buried there for some years.

Lin Chen counted the spiritual medicine and ore in the storage bags, matching Huang Xin’s words precisely. 𝙛𝓻𝒆𝒆𝒘𝙚𝓫𝙣𝙤𝒗𝙚𝓵.𝙘𝙤𝙢

"These resources are probably everything Huang Xin obtained over the years... This foolish Junior Brother didn’t even keep anything for himself."

Lin Chen sighed, feeling somewhat touched.

Although Huang Xin’s aptitude was mediocre, his character among all cultivators Lin Chen had met was peerless.

Diligent, straightforward, trustworthy, and possessing a heart that seeks the Way.

One could say, apart from his poor aptitude, Huang Xin nearly embodied all the traits of a Great Cultivator.

But the cultivation realm can be cruel at times.

Aptitude may not mean everything, but lacking it means that progress is nearly impossible.

"In the blink of an eye, it has been over twenty-five years since I met Junior Brother Huang. If he’s still alive, maybe he has reached the late period of Foundation Establishment?"

Lin Chen pondered quietly.

He put away the storage bags and took all the items from Lin’s Small Pavilion.

He didn’t stay long.

The old place isn’t worth revisiting; only old acquaintances are worth remembering.

After leaving Lin’s Small Pavilion, Lin Chen walked towards the deepest part of the marketplace.

Arriving at the foot of Changchun Mountain.

More than twenty years ago, this plaza was much more lively; now, it was rather dilapidated.

Perhaps he felt that this might be the last time he ascended the gate of Changchun Mountain.

Lin Chen chose not to fly to the top but to travel again along the path he hadn’t taken in twenty years.

The Thirty Thousand Steps of Ascension.

Since Lin Chen reached the late period of Qi Refining and could fly with magical artifacts, he had never walked it again.

The narrow, steep steps wound upward, disappearing into the clouds, unclear.

Step by step, Lin Chen walked forward without the slightest fatigue, feeling more and more reflective.

The weeds along the steps had grown dense, almost covering half of the steps.

Like no one had swept it for years, moss grew on the steps, making them slippery.

Lin Chen didn’t use any techniques; he simply walked up the mountain.

Even so, he didn’t move slowly.

Thirty thousand steps, over eight thousand meters, Lin Chen completed in less than a two-hour period.

Looking back at the steps behind.

It was as if Lin Chen saw something.

He saw himself ascending the mountain more than twenty years ago.

At that time, he was just a young martial disciple, yet to begin cultivation.

The Thirty Thousand Steps of Ascension had been a significant challenge for him to climb.

But in the blink of an eye, more than twenty years had passed... and everything had changed.

"Alas..."

Lin Chen sighed as he stepped onto the summit of Changchun Mountain.

At the same time, a slightly weary voice reached Lin Chen’s ears.

"You shouldn’t have come back..."