405: Chapter 415 Outside the Mountain Gate

Su Ming held the heavy jade Talisman, feeling his eyes grow hot.

He stood up abruptly and bowed deeply, very deeply, toward Immortal Master Master Xuan Heng.

This time, he didn't say a word.

A thousand words could not match the weight of this bow.

"Mhm."

Master Xuan Heng accepted his bow, his expression remaining cold and aloof.

"Go."

He waved his hand and closed his eyes again, as if everything that had just happened was a trivial matter.

"This Disciple takes his leave."

Su Ming bowed again and then retreated from Star Pivot Hall step by step, with great care.

The moment he stepped out of the hall doors and felt the warm sunlight on his body, he felt as if he had returned to the Mortal World from a sea of cold stars.

He tightly gripped the great teleportation talisman in his hand, his palm feeling warm.

After bidding farewell to Revered Master Master Xuan Heng, Su Ming did not return to Star Gazing Cliff immediately.

He went to the Library of Formation Peak and, using his True Disciple token, entered the second floor without hindrance.

The collections here were all core classics of the Dao of Formations and the notes of previous generations of Elders.

Su Ming was not greedy; he only took the first ten books from the reading list Revered Master Master Xuan Heng had given him, planning to study them on the road.

On the sixth day, Su Ming did not go out again.

Inside the Star Gazing Cliff Immortal Cave, it was silent.

He sat cross-legged on the stone bed, the dark-gold great teleportation talisman floating before him.

While circulating the fourth layer of the Ruoshui Art, the "Abyss" technique, he consolidated his newly entered Foundation Establishment Stage Realm; his liquid spiritual energy, like the water of a deep pool, flowed steadily and powerfully through his expanded Meridians. Simultaneously, he separated a wisp of Divine Sense to cautiously probe into the great teleportation talisman, constantly nurturing and familiarizing himself with the vast and complex spatial power within it.

This Talisman was the final trump card bestowed by his Revered Master; he had to be able to perfectly activate it in a single thought.

On the other side of the Immortal Cave, the "Lesser Heavenly Cycle Star Power Gathering Formation," specifically set up for the Mysterious Shadow Egg, was operating silently.

The starlight falling through the skylight was condensed by the Formation into a soft silver beam of light, precisely enveloping the eggshell. The dark-gold patterns on the shell's surface pulsed rhythmically with a steady heartbeat, greedily absorbing the pure Star Power.

Everything was in order.

"Tomorrow is the seventh day," Lin Yu's voice lazily echoed in his Sea of Consciousness. "Including today, you have four days left before you set off. Is there anything else left to do?"

Su Ming calculated silently in his heart.

"Everyone I should see, I've seen. Everything I should take, I've taken. Over at the Repair Hall, Wang Defa and the others are keeping an eye on things, so there won't be any trouble. The herb garden in Qingxi Valley has been set with automatic irrigation and concealment Formations. The gifts from my two Senior Brothers and Senior Sister have also been packed..."

He thought about it and realized nothing seemed to be missing.

"Then have a good rest," Lin Yu's tone became unusually serious. "Once you descend the mountain and enter the rolling Mortal World, it won't be this peaceful. You will have to face human hearts, schemes, and bloody conflicts of interest. It will be a hundred times more complex than inside the Sect."

Su Ming nodded, retracted his Divine Sense, and completely immersed himself in cultivation.

The seventh day.

Su Ming finished a full day of quiet meditation, his spirit full and his state reaching an unprecedented Peak.

He began the final inventory and organization.

Ten thousand Mid-Grade Spirit Stones were divided into ten portions and stored in different corners of his Storage Ring.

He took out a bottle of meridian protecting pills and placed it in the most accessible spot for emergencies.

The ten High Grade Talismans given by Grand Elder Supreme Elder Hao Yuan and the great teleportation talisman from Revered Master Master Xuan Heng were sealed in a special jade box and kept close to his body. Such life-saving items could not afford the slightest mishap.

The strangely shaped Self-Destruct Puppets given by Senior Brother Luo Feng were wrapped in oilcloth and placed in the deepest part of his Storage Ring. Lin Yu commented that although these things looked ugly, they were top-tier for covering a retreat in critical moments.

The hundred flower spirit honey, Snow Velvet Fruit, and Thousand Beast Bone Powder given by second Senior Brother Second Senior Brother Qin Yi were each taken in small jars for the journey, while the rest were tightly sealed and left in the earth-vein secret chamber of the Immortal Cave.

The "Frost Heart Sword Seal" containing Sword Intent, gifted by Eldest Senior Sister Eldest Senior Sister Ling Shuang, was strung on a piece of tough Ice-Silkworm Silk and hung around his neck, resting against his heart. That faint, cold Sword Intent served as a constant reminder that he had a decisive and powerful Senior Sister behind him.

Everything was ready.

On the eighth and ninth days, Su Ming did not Cultivate again.

He simply sat quietly, drank tea, and watched the clouds.

He adjusted his state of mind to one of absolute clarity and calm.

Finally, the tenth day arrived.

The Hour of the Rabbit.

The horizon was just beginning to turn pale, the heavy night was quietly receding, and the distant mountains were merely blurry, dark-blue silhouettes.

The morning wind atop Star Gazing Cliff carried a bone-chilling cold.

Su Ming appeared outside the gate of the Cloud Hidden Sect on time.

He no longer wore the eye-catching purple true disciple daoist robe, but had changed into a low-key green inner sect common robe of simple style and ordinary texture, making him inconspicuous in a crowd.

His aura was perfectly concealed by the Breath Concealment Art, making him look like an ordinary Late Stage Qi Refining Disciple.

The Mysterious Shadow Egg was left in the Star Power Formation at Star Gazing Cliff, steadily absorbing starlight. There were Restrictions set by Revered Master Master Xuan Heng there, making it safer than carrying it with him.

The mountain gate was massive and majestic, standing silently like a giant beast in the dim morning light.

Su Ming did not approach, but stood far away under an ancient pine tree, his figure blending into the shadows.

He was waiting.

Waiting for that equally unconventional Named Master.

Time passed bit by bit.

When the first ray of true golden sunlight crossed the eastern ridge and shone upon this ancient mountain gate, a figure wearing a grey cloth robe walked unhurriedly out of the gate.

Elder Qingquan.

He walked out of the mountain gate without searching, looking around, or even pausing for a moment, and sauntered straight down the mountain path.

As if he didn't know at all that there was a Disciple waiting for him behind.

Su Ming stood under the tree, looking at the Elder's free and easy back, and couldn't help but smile bitterly.

This Elder's style of doing things was truly... unique.

The sun gradually rose, the golden sunlight filling the entire mountain gate, making the two characters for "Cloud Concealment" on the archway shine brightly.

Elder Qingquan's figure had already become a small black dot at the end of the mountain path, seemingly about to disappear into the morning mist.

Su Ming's figure followed at a steady pace, exceptionally firm, gradually disappearing into the morning mist at the end of the path.

The path to immortality, from this point on, enters the Mortal World once more.