Longevity: Starting as a Sect Servant
Chapter 532 - 285: Old Friends After Three Centuries, Worlds Apart (Long - ) (Part 2)
"By the way, there’s also Evergreen Peak’s Peak Master, Song Qingsong."
...
Not long after.
Li An walked out of the teleportation array, returning to the Dao Sect after three hundred years, and everything still felt familiar.
The Dao Sect was a scene of prosperity.
"Uncle Li, the Sect Leader invites you--"
Just as he emerged, a young man was already waiting there. Li An felt a bit puzzled and asked, "Who are you?"
"Junior Chi Han from Celestial Dao Peak, first disciple of the Sect Leader."
Li An was a bit dazed, "The current Sect Leader..."
"My master, Su Yebai, succeeded as the Dao Sect Leader a hundred years ago."
Li An’s mind was somewhat complex; Su Yebai... a genius of the Great Dao from his generation.
Although the geniuses of the Great Dao back then, Su Yebai, Helian Tuxian, Yun Qian, and others, were already far beyond many ordinary true disciples, they were ultimately of the same generation, once training together in mysterious secret realms of the Dao Sect. Now, three hundred years later, Su Yebai had become the Dao Sect Leader...
The former Sect Leader, Taiqingzi, naturally should have become the Supreme Elder.
Missing the golden era, the feeling now was even more profound!
However, the ripples in Li An’s heart quickly calmed, "Alright, I’ll go right away."
Immediately, he followed Chi Han to the main hall of Celestial Dao Peak.
Entering the main hall, Li An saw many familiar figures...
Tan Qingxue, Li Yunxiao, Lei Yuan, Fen Sihai...
And sitting at the head was Su Yebai.
Li An felt no waves in his heart, but everyone present had a different look in their eyes upon seeing Li An.
A complex look flashed across Tan Qingxue’s eyes and was then buried deep. At that moment, she recalled the past when they were brought to the Dao Sect from the Emperor Origin Realm by Zhan Qingxuan. It was also in this great hall that they paid respects to the various Peak Masters of the Dao Sect. She was chosen by Ancestor Master Wang Ji for using a human soul to control a demon body and was taken away, while Li An was detained on Profound Turtle Peak...
Later, due to the Purple Fairy, Li An officially joined the Dao Sect and went to Evergreen Peak.
And now.
The same great hall, but their destinies had diverged completely, like night and day.
She had already become the Ancestor Master of Demon Ancestor Peak, and Ancestor Master Wang Ji had become the Supreme Elder, while Li An? Disappearing for hundreds of years and returning with only the cultivation level of Refining Void...
Li Yunxiao’s eyes were calm, but he couldn’t help but smile inside, feeling a slight sense of relief.
Back then, Li An had quite a few interactions with him, causing him headaches for a period. But now, Li An seemed to be just a trivial weakling. Meeting again, he looked down on Li An with nothing else.
Lei Yuan and the others were indifferent.
After three hundred years of chaos, they had all become figures of Peak Master level. Their past interactions with Li An were really faint, and they had no strong feelings toward Li An.
The only one slightly surprised was Song Qingsong.
With Gui Changshou missing and Li An’s soul lantern extinguished, he naturally took over Evergreen Peak. Seeing Li An again now, he felt a bit smug and somewhat vindicated.
Back then, he was indeed troubled by Li An, almost becoming a laughingstock in the sect because of being beaten by Xiang Yuntian due to Li An...
Now, seeing Li An so haggard and stagnant in cultivation... how could he not feel satisfied?
...
Li An scanned the room, noting that these old acquaintances had undergone some changes in appearance. For instance, Su Yebai, sitting at the head, donned a white robe and no longer appeared youthful, but rather like a middle-aged man, very elegant and refined.
Tan Qingxue had already taken on the demeanor of a charming lady, with endless allure cultivated through the Celestial Fox Skill, quite similar to Ancestor Master Wang Ji in her younger days.
Li Yunxiao’s temperament was very similar to Tianchenzi’s in the past, upright and imposing, exuding an unapproachable presence.
...
--In fact, at this level of cultivation, one could change their appearance with a mere thought. However, be it as Sect Leaders or Peak Masters, managing such enormous entities as the Dao Sect, it was natural to appear mature and steady, which is why they adopted middle-aged appearances.
Before coming to the Dao Sect, Li An had also made adjustments, making his appearance seem quite weathered, but the two were not the same. Su Yebai and others had an elegant, middle-class demeanor, while Li An carried an air of being weathered by life’s storms.
"Li An pays respects to the Sect Leader! And to the Peak Masters!"
Li An bowed with courtesy. 𝑓𝘳𝘦𝑒𝑤𝑒𝘣𝘯ℴ𝘷𝘦𝓁.𝑐𝑜𝑚
Su Yebai smiled slightly, "No need for such formalities! Junior Brother Li, it’s been many years. To think you’re still in the mortal realm, truly delightful, please sit, please sit!"
"Thank you, Sect Leader Senior Brother!"
Li An sat down immediately, though his heart was rather vigilant.
In a sense, Su Yebai might be more ruthless than the previous Sect Leader, Taiqingzi!
He had witnessed with his own eyes how Su Yebai schemed against Shangguan Xiaoxiao.
"Junior Brother Li, in the seventh year of the great change, your soul lantern extinguished... I wonder what exactly happened over these years?"
Li An understood Su Yebai’s implication.
Interrogation.
Li An had been missing for three hundred years, naturally, he had to provide a clear explanation.
"Back then, while exploring Cangxuan Ridge in search of Immortal Dao opportunities, I was trapped in a cave by anomalous qi. In the seventh year, a storm struck, and I fell into a deathly state... In a haze, three hundred years passed, and when I awoke, the world had already changed greatly."
Li An sighed softly, his face full of regret.
Li Yunxiao said, "Junior Brother Li means you encountered something strange but eventually withstood it and awakened again?"
Li An nodded.
"Yet the power of the strange is something we’re all familiar with. Once it invades the body, death is the only path. I’m really curious how you managed..."
He smiled.
Song Qingsong said, "Regarding the strangeness, I suggest we observe Junior Brother Li’s memory, what do the senior brothers and sisters think?"