Chapter 521: Revisiting Old Grounds, Seeing the Original Intent of the Self

Half a month later, after everyone had completely stabilized their cultivation…

Zhou Chen and his Dao Companions began to discuss everything from poetry and songs to the philosophy of life, and they were so happy they almost forgot to leave.

Fortunately, Zhou Chen's Dao Heart was stable; after finishing all this, he bid them farewell and departed.

Southern Region, Wenxian Sect.

What once stood here as a blessed immortal mountain and a powerful Sect of the Southern Region was now nothing more than a stretch of broken walls and ruins.

The collapsed mountain gate, the desolate spiritual fields, and the main peak that had been sliced in half silently told of the tragic catastrophe a hundred years ago.

A figure in green robes appeared silently above the ruins.

It was Zhou Chen.

He walked slowly up the stone steps overgrown with weeds, his feet stepping on broken tiles with a "crunching" sound.

The wind blew past his ears, carrying a hint of bleak chill.

Looking at the familiar ruins before him, his thoughts couldn't help but drift back to over a hundred years ago.

At that time, he had just transmigrated to this world and was still an ignorant youth. Here, he started his path of immortal cultivation, and it was also here that he first felt the cruelty and reality of this world.

Liu Qingtian, Liu Qianru, Ye Chen, and those once-vibrant faces flashed through his mind one by one, eventually returning to nothingness.

The scenery remains, but the people have changed.

No, both the scenery and the people have changed.

Zhou Chen continued walking until he reached the front of what was once the Main Sect Hall.

The hall had long since collapsed, leaving only a few broken stone pillars stubbornly supporting the remains.

In a corner of those ruins, a hunched figure was holding an old broom, stroke by stroke, earnestly sweeping away the fallen leaves and dust on the ground.

It was an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.

He wore a set of faded grey cloth clothes and moved sluggishly, as if he might be blown over by the wind at any moment.

Zhou Chen's footsteps came to a halt.

He recognized this old man.

He was a gatekeeping Disciple of the Wenxian Sect. Having entered the Sect hundreds of years ago with mediocre Aptitude, he had remained at the Foundation Establishment Stage his entire life, responsible for guarding the mountain gate and cleaning the courtyards.

In the Sect, he was a person with almost no presence.

Zhou Chen hadn't expected that a hundred years later, when everyone had left and the entire Sect had turned to ruins, this most inconspicuous old gatekeeper would still be holding his post here.

Seeming to sense someone's arrival, the old man slowly raised his head, a hint of vigilance in his cloudy eyes.

When he saw Zhou Chen, he was first stunned, then frowned, seemingly trying hard to recall something.

"Are you… Senior Brother Zhou Chen?"

The old man's voice was hoarse and hesitant.

Zhou Chen was slightly surprised; he didn't expect the other party to still recognize him.

He nodded: "It's me."

Having received a positive answer, a complex expression appeared on the old man's face. He put down the broom in his hand and walked over tremblingly, circling Zhou Chen to observe him for a long time.

"You… you've returned. Junior Brother greets Senior Brother."

"Senior Brother's talent is indeed extraordinary; after so many years, you still possess your former elegance, while I am old and decrepit."

As he spoke, he bowed his head to Zhou Chen, performing the etiquette of their Sect.

"Yes, I'm back."

The simple exchange of words seemed to bridge a hundred years of time.

"Senior Brother… the Sect… is gone."

A glimmer of moisture appeared in the old man's cloudy eyes.

"I know."

Zhou Chen's voice was very soft.

"The Sect Master… and the Elders, they all died in battle."

The old man lowered his head, his voice choking, "To protect the Sect Disciples' evacuation, they… they were all personally killed by that wretch… by Liu Qianru."

By the end, the old man's body trembled violently, filled with endless grief, indignation, and pain.

Zhou Chen fell silent.

Although he had known the outcome for a long time, hearing it with his own ears from the old man's mouth still caused a ripple in his heart.

Liu Qingtian, that cheap Master who once held expectations for him and gave to him without reservation, had ultimately used his life to defend the final dignity of the Wenxian Sect.

"The Sect is gone, so… why do you still remain here?"

Zhou Chen looked at the old man and asked the doubt in his heart.

The old man wiped the corners of his eyes with his calloused hands.

"I am a person of the Wenxian Sect in life, and I will be a ghost of the Wenxian Sect in death."

"Before the Sect Master and Elders died, they handed the sparks of the Sect's Legacy to a Senior Brother. Before that Senior Brother died, he passed the Sect Leader Token down one by one, and finally, it was passed to me."

"I originally wanted to live and die with the Sect."

"But the Elders and Senior Brothers said that the Sect's lineage cannot be cut off. As long as there is still one person in the Wenxian Sect, my Wenxian Sect… has not yet perished."

"I must guard this place. Waiting… waiting for the day when there is the ability to rebuild the Wenxian Sect."

The old man spoke very calmly, but that persistence and steadfastness spanning a hundred years touched Zhou Chen's soul as never before.

What is the Dao?

Seeking power is the Dao; guarding an obsession is also the Dao.

The Dao that can be told is not the eternal Dao.

The Dao is not outside, but within the heart.

The Dao is in reason, the Dao is in clarity, the Dao is in the original heart, and the Dao… is beneath one's feet.

At this moment, the last trace of instability in Zhou Chen's heart caused by the sudden surge in power, and the last trace of confusion regarding the Mortal World, completely vanished.

His Dao Heart was more transparent and attained Perfection like never before.

Boom!

An invisible wave of air, centered on Zhou Chen, boomed and spread outwards!

His entire aura underwent a world-shaking change at this moment.

If he was previously like a peerless divine sword hidden in its scabbard with its sharpness restrained,

Then at this moment, he had completely merged with all things in heaven and earth, and with this Mortal World.

No distinction between self and other.

Mortal World Heart Refining has reached Perfection!

The old man was pushed back a few steps by this air wave, looking at Zhou Chen in horror. He didn't know what had happened, only feeling that the Zhou Chen before him had become more lofty and even more inscrutable.

Zhou Chen gave the old man a deep bow.

"I have learned from Junior Brother's strength of character."

With this bow, he honored that indomitable steadfastness.

He straightened up and waved his right hand.

A Storage Ring and a green Jade Slip flickering with the aura of life slowly floated before the old man.

"Inside the ring are some resources I left behind, enough to rebuild the Wenxian Sect. Inside the Jade Slip is the complete Legacy Cultivation Technique of the Wenxian Sect, as well as some cultivation insights I left behind."

"Junior Brother, the heavy responsibility of rebuilding the Sect and bringing glory to its name is entrusted to you."

The old man stared blankly at the two items before him, for a moment not knowing how to react.

Zhou Chen pointed a finger, and a streak of light entered the old man's body; the old man's cultivation instantly expanded.

Foundation Establishment… Golden Core… Nascent Soul… Venerable Realm… Quasi-Immortal… First Layer of True Immortal Realm!

In a short time, the old man's cultivation underwent a world-shaking change.

And the old man's appearance also turned into that of a middle-aged man.

However, the vicissitudes in his eyes were not erased.

"Junior Brother Fang Yan follows Senior Brother's instructions and kowtows in gratitude for Senior Brother's grace in promoting me. I will surely make the Wenxian Sect flourish and pass down its Legacy for tens of thousands of years!"

Hearing this, Zhou Chen nodded.

He took one last look at these ruins and at this respectable 'Junior Brother'.