406: Chapter 416 Mr.

Su Ming was stunned for a moment, then quickly caught up.

The morning mist had not yet fully dissipated, and the mountain path paved with bluestone slabs carried a refreshing chill. The two of them walked one after the other in silence for half an incense stick's time.

Su Ming trailed three steps behind Elder Qingquan, consistently maintaining this distance that was neither too far nor too close. His footsteps were extremely light; the liquid Spiritual Qi of the Foundation Establishment Stage circulated within his Meridians, allowing him to walk with almost no sound at all.

But he was muttering to himself in his heart.

They were heading down the mountain for an emergency mission. Logically, with a Golden Core Elder's cultivation, whether by sword-kinesis or controlling a flying boat, he could fly out of the Cloud Hidden Sect's territory in an instant. Yet this titular Master chose the most time-consuming and laborious method: walking.

Does the Elder intend to walk all the way down the mountain?

Su Ming didn't ask. Lin Yu had taught him that before figuring out a big shot's temperament, keeping his mouth shut was the best way to stay alive. He simply circulated the Breath Concealment Art silently, suppressing his aura to the lowest point, like a withered leaf falling with the wind, perfectly blending into the early morning mountain forest.

Three miles past the Sect gate, the concentration of Spiritual Qi began to drop noticeably. The dense mist that was almost tangible gradually turned into the common white fog of the mortal realm, carrying a slight scent of earth.

Elder Qingquan suddenly stopped.

Without turning around, he simply tilted his head back, untied the ordinary-looking red clay wine gourd from his waist, uncorked it, and took a swig of wine.

The pungent smell of low-quality wine diffused through the air.

"Once we've left the Sect gate, don't call me Elder anymore."

Elder Qingquan wiped the wine stain from the corner of his mouth and spoke without looking back, his voice sounding somewhat casual on the empty mountain path.

Su Ming was startled and quickly bowed slightly, cupping his fists. "Then... how should this Disciple address you?"

"Just call me 'Mister'." Elder Qingquan tied the wine gourd back to his waist, his tone as flat as if he were mentioning a trivial matter. "The mortal realm doesn't have so many rules. Constant talk of 'Elder this' and 'Elder that' only draws unnecessary attention. We're here to get things done, not to show off."

"Yes, Mister." Su Ming readily changed his address.

He keenly noticed that the high-and-mighty Sect pressure on this Elder seemed to have been stripped away by his own hands the moment they crossed the three-mile mark from the gate. The current Qingquan looked like a down-and-out old mortal teacher; aside from his eyes that occasionally flashed with sharp light, there was no longer any hint of transcendent air.

"Alright, walking this stretch of road was to shake off the refined air of the Sect. We still have ground to cover."

As Elder Qingquan spoke, he took something out of his wide gray cloth sleeves.

It was a palm-sized wooden boat, deep purple-brown all over, its surface covered with traces of time's erosion, without the slightest flicker of spiritual light.

The Elder tossed it casually.

The wooden boat expanded in the wind without any earth-shattering noise. At the moment it landed, it silently grew dozens of times larger, transforming into a black-awning boat capable of holding seven or eight people.

"Get on." Elder Qingquan stepped into the boat first. "It's faster to travel with this. Once we reach the mortal territories where Spiritual Qi is depleted, this thing won't work as well. We'll switch to a carriage then."

Su Ming leaped onto the wooden boat as instructed. The moment his feet touched the deck, an imperceptible glimmer flashed in his eyes.

Though the wooden boat looked dilapidated on the outside, its interior hid a world of its own. Su Ming's Divine Sense, which far exceeded those of his rank, instantly captured the dense Array Patterns interwoven like a Spider Web beneath the deck.

It didn't use any Spirit Stones as a power source. Instead, through hundreds of variations of the character 'Gather' carved on the keel, it frantically absorbed the free Spiritual Qi in the air on an extremely minute level. This Spiritual Qi was then ingeniously channeled into the 'Wind-Controlling Patterns' on both sides of the hull.

This was the true travel style of a Golden Core Elder. Not flaunting wealth, keeping one's edge hidden, yet practical to the extreme.

The wooden boat rose silently. No defensive shield lit up, yet an invisible, streamlined wall of air perfectly sliced through the oncoming gale. The boat broke through the thick clouds and sped toward the eastern horizon.

Su Ming found a corner and sat cross-legged.

The wooden boat shuttled through the sea of clouds, with endless mountains and rivers below. Looking at the lusterless xuantian ring on his right hand, a strong sense of emptiness suddenly welled up in his heart.

Just the night before, a "feast" that could be described as crazy had taken place within this ring.

When Lin Yu received the top-grade soul nurturing wood marrow bestowed by the Grand Elder, his voice trembled with excitement.

"Disciple, your Master is going to start absorbing this thing." Lin Yu's tone at the time was exceptionally solemn, even carrying a hint of unprecedented seriousness. "The potency of this soul nurturing wood marrow is too great, and the vitality contained within is terrifying. Your Master's broken soul body is like a beggar who hasn't eaten for eight hundred years suddenly being served a Manchu Han Imperial Feast. I must go all out to digest it; I might be asleep for a long time."

Su Ming's heart tightened suddenly: "Master, how long will you be asleep?"

"I don't know." Lin Yu sighed within the Sea of Consciousness. "Maybe a month, maybe two. It's hard to say. In the coming days, you'll have to hold your own."

He paused, his tone carrying a deep sense of worry, like an old father giving instructions to a son about to travel far from home.

"Remember, after going down the mountain, use your head more and don't be reckless. Although you've reached Foundation Establishment, in the eyes of those truly black-hearted and ruthless old monsters, you're still just a slightly fatter grasshopper."

"In this world, a bad life is better than a good death. If you encounter a situation you can't see through, run. If you see through it but aren't sure, run too. Your Face isn't worth anything; only your life is."

"With that old man Qingquan around, you won't die. But don't expect him to settle everything for you. A man like him values your Comprehension Ability, not your combat power. If you're really unsure, just play dead and wait until your Master wakes up!"

Su Ming remembered nodding heavily at the time: "This Disciple understands."

After saying that, Lin Yu's voice went completely silent.

The last trace of Divine Soul fluctuations on the xuantian ring also vanished, as if it had turned into a real, lifeless ordinary stone.

It has been five years.

Starting from that dilapidated Mountain God Temple in Qingshi Town, for these five years, no matter what danger he encountered or what desperate situation he faced, Lin Yu's lazy complaining had always been the most solid foundation of his confidence.

But now, for the first time, Master was truly "gone."

Su Ming stared at the silent ring, with only the faint sound of the wooden boat cutting through the sea of clouds in his ears.

Without that voice yapping in his head, without the mentor who could always provide the best escape route at the first sign of danger, he felt like someone accustomed to walking with a cane who had suddenly had it snatched away.

An emotion called loneliness grew quietly in his heart like a vine.

He took a deep breath of the cold air.

The liquid Spiritual Qi ran a complete cycle through his Meridians. The icy Spiritual Qi washed over his Sea of Consciousness, forcibly suppressing that trace of panic and loneliness.

"The Way of Cautious Survival Law: Never let emotions affect your judgment."