42: Going home

"Listen up, elders and fellow villagers of Li Family Village! I am Wang Tiezhu, a Disciple of the Military Dao Peak of the Azure Profound Upper Sect! By the decree of the Sect, I am escorting Immortal Master Li Qingfeng back to his hometown in glory! Everyone, gather at the village Threshing floor immediately! Do not delay!"

The voice was like a clap of thunder, rolling and echoing, instantly spreading throughout the entire Li Family Village and even reaching the neighboring fields!

The entire village seemed to have been thrown into boiling water, erupting into a frenzy instantly!

"Immortal Master? Qingfeng? Is the third son of the Li Family back?!"

"My goodness! It's truly an immortal treasure flying in the sky!"

"Quick! Go take a look! The boy Qingfeng has returned as an Immortal Master!"

Filled with doubt, excitement, and awe, the villagers dropped their work and rushed toward the Threshing floor in the center of the village, bringing their families with them.

In the Li Family compound, Li Dashan was basking in the sun with his young grandson, Lady Zhang and Li Qingshan were packing up farming tools, Sun Yuee was coaxing her daughter, and Li Qinglin and his wife were looking over account books.

When this thunderous announcement arrived, the entire Family froze!

"Father! Mother! It's... it's Qingfeng! The third son is back! He said... he's an Immortal Master! An Inner Sect Immortal Master!"

Li Qingshan was the first to react, his voice cracking with excitement.

The tobacco pipe in Li Dashan's hand fell to the ground with a "clack," and the winnowing basket in Lady Zhang's hands also slipped, spilling golden grains all over the floor.

The two of them jerked their heads up, looking at the green Flying Shuttle in the sky that emitted a powerful Spiritual Pressure, the massive Qingxuan emblem catching their eyes!

"Fenger... my Fenger..."

Lady Zhang's tears instantly broke through the floodgates as she murmured to herself.

Li Dashan's lips trembled, his cloudy old eyes fixed intently on the Flying Shuttle, his chest heaving violently.

"Father! Mother! It's Third Brother! Third Brother is back!" Li Qinglin shouted excitedly.

The Family didn't care about anything else and stumbled out of the yard, following the crowd toward the Threshing floor.

The green bamboo flying shuttle hovered steadily thirty meters above the Threshing floor. The powerful Spiritual Pressure caused the dense crowd below to fall silent like cicadas in winter, looking up in awe.

Just then, the shuttle's cabin opened.

A figure as straight as a green pine, dressed in the standard green robe of a Qingxuan Sect Inner Sect Disciple, stepped out!

Without the aid of any external objects, he stood steadily in the Void Realm!

A Qi Refining Immortal Master! Walking through the air!

The sunlight fell on him, as if coating him in a faint golden glow.

His face was more chiseled than when he left home, his eyes deep and sharp, and his entire body radiated an invisible, heart-pounding pressure.

It was indeed Li Qingfeng!

His gaze swept across the dense crowd below, instantly locking onto the few faces he had dreamt of, now covered in tears.

"Father! Mother! Big Brother! Second Brother! Fourth Brother!"

Li Qingfeng's voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling as his figure flickered, landing as light as a feather before Li Dashan and Lady Zhang like a falling star.

"Fenger! My son!"

Lady Zhang could no longer hold back and rushed forward, weeping.

Li Dashan held his wife back firmly, but he too was shedding old tears, his lips trembling, unable to speak.

"Third Brother!"

Li Qingshan and Li Qinglin's voices were choked with emotion. Li Qinghe looked at his third brother, a sincere smile spreading across his face as he nodded vigorously.

Li Qingfeng stepped forward quickly, lifted his hem, and knelt before his parents, kowtowing three times heavily.

"Your unfilial son, Qingfeng, has returned!" His voice carried a hint of imperceptible trembling.

"It's good that you're back! It's good that you're back!"

Li Dashan and Lady Zhang hurried to help him up, and the Family embraced tightly, weeping uncontrollably.

The worries of a four-year separation and the different paths of immortals and mortals were all transformed into the ecstasy of reunion at this moment.

The surrounding villagers watched this scene, all sighs and emotions, filled with envy.

Once the Family's emotions had calmed slightly, Li Qingfeng gently comforted his mother and turned to face all the villagers, his gaze finally resting on several Clan Elders who were equally excited but clearly ill at ease.

The warmth on his face receded, replaced by the majesty of a superior.

With a flip of his hand, the lush green jade seal with a coiled dragon handle, inscribed with "under the governance of qingxuan," appeared in his palm, held high!

"Weng!"

The jade seal erupted with green light, and the coiled dragon handle seemed to come alive. A majestic and vast aura spread out, making everyone's hearts tighten as they involuntarily held their breath.

"Villagers of Li Family Village, hear my command!" Li Qingfeng's voice, infused with spiritual power, reached everyone's ears clearly and majestically.

"By the decree of the Azure Profound Upper Sect: The Heaven And Earth Spiritual Essence is reviving, and demons are gradually rising. To protect the land and the people, Li Family Village, Willow Tree Village, and Wang Family Village are hereby ordered to merge. A site with faint spiritual essence will be selected to jointly establish the 'under the governance of qingxuan' New Town!"

"I, Li Qingfeng, am appointed by the Sect to oversee the New Town and protect this region! Within the New Town, mundane affairs will be temporarily managed by my Family, and the Sect's laws shall be supreme! This is an immortal decree; violators will be dealt with according to Sect regulations!"

His gaze was like lightning as he scanned the crowd.

"You must prepare early. Once I have selected the site for the New Town and established the regulations, the relocation will proceed! All people under my governance who work diligently and obey the law will naturally receive immortal blessings! Those who defy the decree or cause trouble will be severely punished without mercy!"

The green light on the jade seal flowed, and the coiled dragon seemed to come alive. The faint pressure it emitted made the villagers' hearts tighten, and they all knelt on the ground, calling out:

"We respectfully obey the Immortal Master's decree!"

Even those few Clan Elders, under the immense pressure of the immortal Sect and the gap in status, tremblingly followed suit and knelt down.

After Li Qingfeng finished reading the decree, he was about to call Wang Tiezhu to go to Willow Tree Village together, but Wang Tiezhu grinned and jumped onto the green bamboo flying shuttle first.

"Brother Feng! Leave Willow Tree Village to me! You've just returned, so spend some time with your parents and talk to your brothers! Pillar will handle this small matter for you!"

After saying that, without waiting for Li Qingfeng's response, he injected spiritual power into the shuttle, and a green light shot into the sky, speeding toward Willow Tree Village.

Li Qingfeng shook his head helplessly, but his eyes were filled with warmth.

He knew that Pillar was leaving the precious reunion time to him.

That night, the blue-brick compound was brightly lit, filled with laughter and joy.

After a sumptuous welcome banquet, the Family sat together in the main hall.

Li Qingfeng omitted the cruel details of life-and-death struggles at Military Dao Peak, choosing instead to share some cultivation insights, interesting Sect stories, and news about Wang Tiezhu and Zhang Shitou.

Li Dashan and his wife listened with great interest, sometimes marveling and sometimes laughing.

Li Qingshan held his sleeping son, while Li Qinglin and his new bride, Liu Yunniang, snuggled together.

Li Qinghe sat quietly to the side, listening to his third brother describe that distant and grand world of the immortal Sect. Seeing the happiness on his Family's faces and feeling the Spiritual Qi in the house, which was several times denser than four years ago, his heart was filled with peace.

"Third Brother is back; the Family's backbone is even stronger now."

The Azure Profound Upper Sect Immortal Master has returned home! Three villages merging to build a town! The Li Family will become the Family in control of the New Town!

This explosive news seemed to grow wings, spreading across hundreds of miles overnight!

Countless people discussed it; some were envious, some were in awe, and those with quick wits began to ponder how to establish a connection with the New Town and the Li Family.

The next morning.

Li Qingfeng was in the yard discussing the specific details of selecting a site and building the town with his father and eldest brother when a respectful and somewhat apprehensive announcement came from outside the gate.

"Immortal Master... Qingfeng, the Clan Elders request an audience."