351: Chapter 220 Year After Year, The Frog in the Well_3 351: Chapter 220 Year After Year, The Frog in the Well_3 —————–
The forty-fifth year of Daxia.
Gu Wen was sixty years old and twenty years away from the deadline of his Fate Diagram.
The house had become increasingly dilapidated, the courtyard was full of weeds, and a Taoist squatted at the door, seemingly having been waiting for DAYS.
His cyan Daoist robe was ragged, a blade of grass dangling from his mouth, a black and white cat cradled in his arms.
Yu Hua descended from the sky, saw the ruined house, and said with a hint of complaint, “Didn’t I ask you to repair the house before I left?
I didn’t ask for luxury but at least make it livable.”
“Fearing neither heat nor cold, carefree—that is the true cultivator.”
Gu Wen lay on the ground, looking up at Yu Hua, unable to make out even her chin clearly.
“Besides, I have the family heirloom Grotto Heaven, where it’s spring all year round.
Just lying down anywhere there is enough.
Practicing meditation doesn’t require a specific place, and it’s not like I’ve lived in the Imperial Palace.”
“Why not try being an Emperor?
Many great cultivators who cannot become Venerables often choose to rule mundane power as the next best thing.”
Yu Hua could see Gu Wen’s lazy boredom beneath the surface, his increasing lack of desire, to the point of letting everything go to ruin.
She understood him; she, too, had stepped into the realm of immortals, an expansive ocean with no foothold or barriers, the very essence of transcendence, absolute freedom.
But it also made it easy to lose sight of one’s goals, especially for someone like Gu Wen, not yet a hundred years old and with every mortal in sight being beneath his notice.
He couldn’t find any goals or anyone to connect with, like a giant standing amid an anthill.
Thinking this, Yu Hua could only feel helpless; she didn’t even have the qualification to grow old and die with Gu Wen.
“In the early years of Daxia, I was the Retired Emperor for a few years.
Restrained by rules, the life was not satisfying.
Out of sight, out of mind.
Corrupt officials can’t be killed off, evil people can’t be completely eliminated.
Blind killing would only bring disaster to the nation and the people.”
Gu Wen did a kip-up, laughed liberally, “But I’ve become an immortal.
If I can’t squash a bug, what kind of immortal would I be?
So it’s better out of sight, out of mind.”
Perhaps it was the mighty power within him that made Gu Wen instantly realize that he wasn’t cut out for the throne the moment he sat upon it.
After experiencing so much, he no longer needed to compromise.
Yu Hua asked, “Do you have any hobbies or interests?”
Gu Wen looked up at the sky, his answer needing no words.
“That will have to wait for many years.
Let me shave your beard first, or next time we meet you’ll look like an old immortal.”
Yu Hua reached out to touch Gu Wen’s stubble, pulling him to sit down.
Her delicate fingers glowed with spirit light as she carefully shaved his beard.
Gu Wen resisted at first, but after she gave him a knock on the forehead, he behaved.
“I know you think these trifles are insignificant, but aside from cultivating and qi cultivation, you are still a human.
And not all immortals outside live an ascetic life.
On the contrary, many cultivators are even more utilitarian than mortals.
How would people view the top scholar of the three lists if you showed up disheveled?”
“Why should I care about others’ opinions?”
Gu Wen was still indifferent; he could be a beggar, or top of the world.
“But I want to see you return like an exiled immortal.”
Yu Hua brushed away the last of the stubble and tidied up his disordered hair a bit.
A handsome face came into view, and she smiled, “With just a little grooming, you already have the appearance of a true immortal.”
Then, as always, Yu Hua brought news and letters from the cultivation world to Gu Wen.
Baidi Xun, who had once been defeated by him, had risen and stepped into the Divine Separation Stage before anyone else.
Lan Yongning had also emerged from seclusion, confronting adversaries as a Divine Separation Realm cultivator, standing on the pinnacle among the younger generation with superior cultivation.
This made Gu Wen aware of the terror of the Immortal Land; even the mighty Ao Heng could not cross a great realm to defeat the less gifted Lan Yongning.
A great war between humans and devils stretched thousands of miles, with heroes emerging from both sides.
The Human Race had peerless geniuses, and the Devil Clan had Saint Beasts spanning the ages.
Gu Wen listened with surging emotions, regretting he could not join the fray himself.
“Brother Lan truly is a remarkable person.”
—————–
Daxia, Year Fifty.
This time, Xiao Yunyi, Hee Huan, and Chi Yu Zi had sent no letters.
Yu Hua said, “The war is pressing, and they have all gone into seclusion for breakthroughs.
It might be a very long time before they come out.”
In reality, for Cultivators, it wasn’t considered long, but Gu Wen feared he might not live past a hundred years; to him, the letters that came every five years were exceedingly precious.
Gu Wen shook his head and replied, “It’s all right, I can’t be of help, nor do I want to cause them trouble.
What did you bring me this time?
No letters, no food either?”
“After I recovered, it took me a bit longer to get this for you, so if you want something to eat, all I have are sugar pills.”
Yu Hua took out a token the size of a palm, its pale blue luster streaked with ribbons of color that unfolded like a long rainbow, morphing into wings to either side.
“What is this?”
Gu Wen took it, feeling the trace of Spiritual Energy within, and sent his Divine Thought inside as lines of text floated past his vision.
[Wen Kui, Xuan Huang, Huajian, Hundred Miles, Qingyu, Three Pure Mountain, Broken Sword Mountain…]
Hundreds of locations replayed, turned into points of light beneath his feet, and shot out beams of rainbow light, connecting these placenames, weaving a web.
Yu Hua answered, “The Flying Rainbow Token, it’s a pass that can take you to various places in the Cultivation World.”
“The Cultivation World is vast, and Cultivators flying for a hundred years might not reach its end, hence the advent of flying shuttles, followed by sects that specialize in long-distance translocation.
Different sects manage different routes, and this Flying Rainbow Token can be used to ride any Flying Boat of the Human Race.”
Hearing this, Gu Wen’s eyes sparkled with excitement as he thumbed the Flying Rainbow Token, saying, “It’s not needed for now.”
Yu Hua firmly stated, “You will need it later, you definitely will.”
“I look forward to that day.”
Gu Wen played with the Flying Rainbow Token, studying each point on the map over and over.
According to the ‘Cultivation World Guidebook’ compiled from the words of the prodigies of old times, he could speak a phrase or two about each place, leading Yu Hua to teasingly chide him for ‘knowing the affairs of the world without stepping outside.’
—————–
Daxia, Year Fifty-Five.
Gu Wen was seventy, with only ten years left until his Fate Diagram’s deadline.
The sun dipped slightly, and the family heirloom crept out of his clothing, looking up at Gu Wen.
“Venerable Immortal, isn’t the immortal coming anymore?”
“Soon.”
Seasons passed, and once more the family heirloom asked, “Venerable Immortal, why hasn’t the immortal arrived yet?”
Gu Wen, sitting cross-legged with closed eyes, opened them and smiled, “Maybe delayed by some matters.”
Three years went by like this, torrential rain collapsed the house, the family heirloom had asked countless times, and Gu Wen had come up with many excuses.
Though the cat didn’t comprehend, it felt the Venerable Immortal must be correct.
“Isn’t the immortal coming anymore?”
“Probably can’t make it.”
Gu Wen no longer searched for excuses, he couldn’t think of any others, this was the last possibility.
“Immortal Sword elder, could you help me look for them beyond the heavens?”
Zing!
A strand of sword light covered the thunder in the sky.
The Immortal Sword rose into the air, the clouds immediately pierced through, and a hundred miles of storm clouds dispersed.