The matter of the Great Liang frontier army crushing the demon race vanguard in the northern frontier, and incidentally killing that Great General Liu Xiang, quickly spread across the world. In fact, even before the official military report reached the Divine Capital, it was already known to all.

The first to learn of the news were naturally the various cultivation sects in Xinliu Prefecture, which was closest. At the Mountains and Rivers Sect, Daoist Zhanyuan looked at the report sent up the mountain, his emotions mixed.

At his side, Grotto Heaven Sage, who had been in seclusion and had now come out, said with a cheerful smile, “Well fought.”

Daoist Zhanyuan looked at his Martial Uncle Grotto Heaven, hesitated for a moment, then cautiously said, “Martial Uncle, can we reconsider this matter?”

Grotto Heaven Sage was still barefoot. Hearing this, he raised his foot, as if to kick his martial nephew, but halfway through, he still withdrew it.

Daoist Zhanyuan gave a dry laugh. “Martial Uncle, at your age, you should rein in your temper.”

Grotto Heaven Sage sneered, “If it weren’t for the fact that you’re the mountain lord and I’m giving you some face, you wouldn’t be able to dodge this kick no matter what.”

Daoist Zhanyuan did not dare speak, only muttering inwardly - back then, when that Lord Warden Commander came up the mountain, didn’t your elderly self say you would just kick him if you wanted to kick him? At that time, you didn’t say anything about giving me face.

Grotto Heaven Sage glanced at Daoist Zhanyuan, clearly knowing what he was thinking, and narrowed his eyes. “You brat didn’t even treat my disciple like a person. If Your Father kicks you, do you have any objections?”

Daoist Zhanyuan shook his head and waved his hand. “No, this disciple has absolutely no objections.”

Grotto Heaven Sage rolled his eyes and could not be bothered to argue further.

Daoist Zhanyuan thought for a moment and still braced himself to say, “Martial Uncle, you really need to think this through. Going to the Northern Frontier is your own idea, but you can’t just ignore the mountain. You are the strongest expert of our Mountains and Rivers Sect. Now that Xinyue has gone to the Divine Capital to become Crown Princess, you are the only Nepenthe realm cultivator left. If you leave, what will our Mountains and Rivers Sect do?”

Grotto Heaven Sage looked at Daoist Zhanyuan suspiciously and said, “What? You mean that after I leave, the Mountains and Rivers Sect will be destroyed? Then what the hell is Great Liang doing?”

“It’s not that serious, but with your elderly self on the mountain, we feel more at ease. Besides, those younger disciples need your guidance from time to time. And at your age, what are you going to the north for?”

Daoist Zhanyuan spoke cautiously, watching his Martial Uncle as he spoke, afraid that one wrong sentence would get him kicked flying.

Grotto Heaven Sage narrowed his eyes and said nothing.

The more his Martial Uncle stayed silent like this, the more uneasy Daoist Zhanyuan felt.

“Zhanyuan, let’s talk heart to heart, just the two of us?”

Grotto Heaven Sage suddenly spoke, and at that instant, Daoist Zhanyuan’s heart jumped.

Daoist Zhanyuan forced himself to nod. “Martial Uncle, please speak.”

Grotto Heaven Sage said with a smile, “As your Martial Uncle, watching you be mountain lord all these years hasn’t been easy. Back then, when Genglou Mountain was taken by Purple Leaf Grotto, the pressure on this mountain must have all been on you, and you must have felt wronged. But there was no helping it. As a daoist sage, in front of those great daoist sages, I truly wasn’t enough, so I couldn’t do anything. Watching you suffer grievances, watching the Mountains and Rivers Sect suffer grievances, you shouldn’t blame your Martial Uncle.”

At this point, Daoist Zhanyuan was somewhat moved and shook his head.

“Now the Lord Warden Commander has taken Genglou Mountain back for us. No matter what his purpose was, it is equivalent to returning the slap that was once struck across our faces. This is a tremendous favor, we cannot fail to repay it. If we remain unmoved, as in-laws of Great Liang, wouldn’t we become a laughingstock?”

Grotto Heaven Sage said softly, “It’s just that our Mountain and River Sect’s foundation isn’t that strong, so there are some things we can’t just do however we please. I’ll go to the Northern Frontier, if my luck is bad, I’ll just die over there. What trouble is there? If my luck is a bit better, I might even come back. It’s not a big deal.”

At these words, Daoist Zhanyuan’s eyes had already turned red. With reddened eyes, he said softly, “Martial Uncle, at your age, wouldn’t it be better to just stay on the mountain and enjoy your later years? If someone has to go, I, as the Mountain and River Sect’s mountain lord, can go. It makes no difference.”

“Are you joking with your Martial Uncle here? With your cultivation realm, if you go, do you think you’ll come back? And besides, your master entrusted you to me back then, you think I’d just watch you go die? If it really came to that, what face would I have left to see your master in the future?”

Grotto Heaven Sage sighed. “You don’t know how close I was with your master back then. You’re his only disciple. Watching you suffer grievances while being unable to help has already made me feel deeply ashamed before your master.”

Daoist Zhanyuan looked at the Grotto Heaven Sage before him and said sincerely, “Martial Uncle, after my master passed, I’ve treated you as my master. Now to just stand by and watch you walk into danger, is that something a person can even do? Martial Uncle, listen to me this once. I’ll go to the Northern Frontier. You stay on the mountain, cultivate and live out your years like this, isn’t that enough?”

The Grotto Heaven Sage did not speak, only looked at Daoist Zhanyuan like this.

No matter what others thought of this nephew of his, as his Martial Uncle who had watched him grow up, he knew his character best.

In the end, he was still a good one.

“Zhanyuan, let Martial Uncle speak from the heart as well. After cultivating for so many years, I already know I have no way to go any further. I can’t even see that threshold, my path of cultivation has already come to an end. Since I’ve lived this whole life for myself, then at this point, shouldn’t I do something for the people of the world?”

The Grotto Heaven Sage narrowed his eyes and smiled. “After cultivating for over a full sixty-year cycle, I often felt that I had already become someone detached from the mortal world, a man of the mountains. But for some reason, in recent years, my heart has grown restless. I think back to when I left home, my mother and father were still there. Their eyes were filled with reluctance at their son leaving home, yet they knew that my leaving would lead to a better future, so they did not stop me no matter what. But after I left, I never went back.”

“Those scholars and writers always like to speak empty, impractical words. Most of the time, there’s nothing worth chewing on. But at this point, when I go back and read those books, I find that quite a few of those words are actually very well said.”

The Grotto Heaven Sage looked toward the foot of the mountain, his eyes filled with sorrow. That day, while flipping through a book, he had come across a line saying that every farewell should be taken to heart, because no one knows if it will be the last meeting.

Thinking back to when he left home, wasn’t it exactly like that? He had always thought that after leaving, once he had cultivated for a few years and achieved something, he would return home to visit his parents, and tell them about all he had seen and experienced.

But what was the result?

The Grotto Heaven Sage laughed at himself. “At the time, I only thought it was all ordinary.”

Daoist Zhanyuan said nothing more, only remained silent, knowing that his Martial Uncle had already made his decision. No matter what he said now, it would be meaningless.

The Grotto Heaven Sage turned to look at Daoist Zhanyuan and said with a smile, “Zhanyuan, Martial Uncle will teach you one last principle, you must understand why you cultivate. So-called eternal life, the pursuit of the highest realm, these are not worth pursuing. Sentient beings with emotions drift and sink in this world. After crossing the sea of suffering, can one truly reach the Great Beyond? Is it that one forgets sorrow because of Nepenthe, or is it only by having something to protect in one’s heart that one can forget sorrow?” “You must think it over carefully. I hope it’s not too late. As for your Martial Uncle, by the time I understood this principle, it was already too late. If it had been a few decades earlier, your Martial Uncle might well have become a true great daoist sage.”

......

......

Inviting Moon Mountain.

Li Tang reached out and handed the intelligence report in his hand to Aunt Gan beside her. Aunt Gan glanced at it and joked with a smile, “Gan Tang, Li Tang, only one character apart.”

Li Tang smiled. “Good thing Aunt Gan didn’t say worlds apart.”

“Well, that wouldn’t make sense. The old sword immortal Gan Tang has only cultivated longer. Give it another ten or eight years, perhaps the Mountain Lord will already step into the end of Nepenthe. When that happens, the Mountain Lord will steadily surpass him.”

There was not the slightest exaggeration in Aunt Gan’s words, they were entirely sincere. Li Tang’s future was boundless; that was no empty praise.

Li Tang only smiled it off, then changed the subject and asked, “I plan to send a group to the Northern Frontier. What do you think, Aunt Gan?”

Aunt Gan asked curiously, “There’s no news yet, right?”

Li Tang nodded. “There isn’t. But it’s one thing if others bring it up, and another if we take the initiative. We can’t just keep silent forever.”

Aunt Gan thought for a moment, but still did not give a particularly clear answer, only saying that since Li Tang was the mountain lord, then the decision should be his.

But soon after, Aunt Gan made her stance clear, smiling. “If we really are sending people, then I’ll definitely be one of them. Consider it repaying a favor. I can’t forget that brat’s kindness.”

Li Tang said, “He might not want to see Aunt Gan go die.”

Aunt Gan was unconcerned. “That kind of thing doesn’t depend on what he thinks. He’s not my man - he doesn’t get to control me.”

Li Tang smiled and said nothing more.

......

......

Morning Dew Sect, Feng Liu watched as the cultivators departed.

At the front were two Nepenthe cultivators.

One of them was Xu Bai, an itinerant cultivator from Yellow Dragon Prefecture, and his wife naturally went with him.

Watching them leave, Feng Liu smiled and waved.

“You all go ahead first. As for me... I’ll follow soon.”

......

......

The Great Liang's victory report spread throughout the world. Those who learned of it all had different thoughts, but from this moment on, countless cultivators from across the nine provinces of Great Liang began setting out, heading toward the Northern Frontier, toward that bitterly cold land.

Their purposes differed. Some went to see the frontier scenery, and along the way understand why the Great Liang frontier army had been able to hold that Great Wall for over two hundred years, preventing the demon race from moving south.

Others went to the Northern Frontier with the resolve to die, never intending to return.

Most things in this world have cause and effect.

And cause and effect are often a kind of debt.

But in the end, how one chooses to act depends entirely on one’s conscience.

The good thing was, in this world, there were truly many people who still had one.