Chapter 66: Hometown of Return to Ruins, A Century of Passing Guests

Two years had passed since their journey to the East Sea.

During these two years, Jiang Xiuyuan had taken the two children and traversed almost every inch of the Eastern Territory. They had witnessed the boundless drifting snow of the Northern Realm and enjoyed the eternal spring of the Southern Frontier; they had ascended to the gale layer above the nine heavens and explored the sea of molten lava deep beneath the earth.

Amidst repeated travels and enlightenment, Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai's cultivation realms had grown steadily, and their states of mind had become increasingly serene and lucid.

Jiang Xiuyuan himself, meanwhile, began to sense an unusual stirring within.

The bottleneck of his cultivation, which had stagnated for nearly a millennium, seemed to be loosening.

The threshold of the Integration Stage was finally in sight.

"It is time to return," Jiang Xiuyuan said softly, gazing at the sea of clouds from the summit of an unnamed peak.

Breaking through to the Integration Stage was no trivial matter; it required an absolute safe and tranquil environment. And beneath the vast heavens, there was no place more suitable for him than the Return-to-Void Cottage.

Moreover, having been away from home for nearly a thousand years, he somewhat missed that bluestone town and the old tea tree standing before the cottage door.

"We're going home!" Jiang Xiaobai cheered.

In Jiang Yiyi's eyes, a trace of anticipation and nostalgia also emerged. The Return-to-Void Cottage had been their first stop in the world of cultivation, and it was her only true home here.

Jiang Xiuyuan smiled faintly, took a single step forward, and his figure vanished on the spot.

***

The Return-to-Void Cottage remained as sparsely populated as ever, shrouded in rich spiritual energy and natural illusion arrays.

However, the Bluestone Town at the foot of the mountains had long since changed its appearance.

The small town that once consisted of only a few hundred households with simple folk customs had now expanded into a sizable trading market. The streets bustled with coming and going figures, among whom were quite a few Qi-condensation and Foundation-establishment cultivators carrying sabers and swords, exuding extraordinary auras.

On the archway at the town entrance, three gilded characters were inscribed: "The Chen Family Market."

Jiang Xiuyuan, accompanied by Jiang Yiyi, walked slowly down the bluestone-paved street. Their appearances were no different from when they had left a thousand years ago. Yet everything around them had long since changed, and the people of the past were gone.

"Father," Jiang Yiyi murmured softly.

Jiang Xiuyuan's divine sense had already covered the entire market. He "saw" that in the most luxurious mansion at the center of the market, a portrait was enshrined. The old man in the painting was none other than Elder Chen, the guardian of Bluestone Town from years gone by.

"Old Man Chen passed away more than three hundred years ago," Jiang Xiuyuan's voice was very calm. "His descendants have done quite well, producing a few cultivators with spiritual roots. The Chen family of today can be considered a prosperous and influential clan."

Jiang Yiyi fell silent.

The cruelty of time was, at this moment, displayed before her in the most direct manner.

They did not linger long in the market, but walked straight toward the Beast-Taming Lin Family at the back of the town.

The Lin family of the past had merely been a minor clan in Bluestone Town. Now, however, the scale of the Lin family estate had expanded tenfold, boasting pavilions and terraces of extraordinary grandeur. The guards stationed at the gate were all Foundation-establishment cultivators with haughty expressions.

"Halt! Who goes there, trespassing in the forbidden grounds of the Lin family!" Seeing that Jiang Xiuyuan and his companion possessed extraordinary bearings yet emitted not the slightest fluctuation of spiritual power, appearing like mere mortals, the guards immediately stepped forward to bark a command.

Jiang Xiuyuan ignored them and merely spoke in a calm, clear voice that penetrated directly into the depths of the Lin family estate: "An old friend has come to visit. Is Lin Zixuan present?"

Lin Zixuan was precisely that high-spirited young master of the Lin family from back then.

A moment later, an ancient and powerful aura surged into the sky from deep within the Lin family, followed instantly by a voice carrying a hint of agitation and disbelief: "Could it... could it be Senior Jiang?!"

Before the words faded, a streak of light soared out and landed before Jiang Xiuyuan, transforming into an old man with white hair and a face full of wrinkles.

Draped in luxurious robes, the old man had already reached the early stage of the Nascent Soul realm and was currently the patriarch of the Lin family. Yet when he saw that Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai's appearances remained completely unchanged, his cloudy eyes instantly filled with shock, awe, and boundless emotion.

The passage of years had carved the traces of nearly a millennium onto his own body, yet seemed to have bypassed these three father and daughters entirely.

"Lin Zixuan, a descendant of the younger generations of the Lin family, pays respects to Senior Jiang! Greetings, Fairy Yiyi, Fairy Xiaobai!"

Without the slightest hesitation, Lin Jinghong bowed deeply and respectfully in a grand disciple's salute to Jiang Xiuyuan and the others.

The surrounding guards were all dumbfounded. When had they ever seen their exceptionally dignified Nascent Soul patriarch bow so profoundly to two "mortals" who looked even younger than him?

"Rise," Jiang Xiuyuan said, supporting him with an invisible force. "Nearly a millennium has passed, and you have grown old."

"Before Senior, Zixuan will always be a junior," Lin Jinghong said with deep emotion. He led Jiang Xiuyuan and his daughters into an elegant quiet room, personally brewing the finest spiritual tea for them.

"For Senior to return this time..."

"I plan to enter secluded cultivation for a period," Jiang Xiuyuan said. "I returned to check on old friends."

"Old friends..." Lin Zixuan gave a bitter smile, his eyes filled with reminiscence. "Indeed, old friends... Among our peers back then, the only one still living is this old bones of mine. Even my grandson passed away from old age a century ago."

His tone was laden with the vicissitudes of life and the impermanence of the mortal world.

Jiang Yiyi and Jiang Xiaobai sat quietly to the side, listening to their conversation. She looked at the white-haired old man before her, while in her mind emerged the image of that somewhat shy yet proud young boy who used to follow behind her.

Yet now, he had reached the twilight of his life, while she remained frozen in her maiden youth, with a long and endless road ahead of her.

It was an indescribable estrangement and loneliness that transcended the dimensions of time.

"Fairy Xiaobai, your grace remains unchanged." Lin Zixuan looked at Jiang Xiaobai with a complex gaze.

"You have already tried your very best," Jiang Xiaobai's voice carried a trace of warmth that was difficult to detect. "The Nascent Soul realm—here, you are already a patriarch of a domain."

Having obtained a word of affirmation from her, Lin Zixuan seemed to have fulfilled a lifelong wish, and a relieved smile bloomed on his face.

The two sides conversed for a while longer, recalling some interesting anecdotes of the past. After Jiang Xiuyuan offered guidance on some difficult bottlenecks in Lin Zixuan's cultivation, he rose to take his leave.

Lin Zixuan escorted them to the entrance and bowed deeply once more.

This bow was a tribute to a senior, as well as a farewell to that carefree youth of long ago that had already vanished into the past.