Chapter 971: Meeting Fellow Cultivators

In the cultivation world, there's a saying: "Clouds hide the Immortal Haze Isle, unparalleled in sharpness is Longsword Mountain." This refers to the two major immortal sects, Immortal Haze Isle and Longsword Mountain. While other prominent immortal sects wouldn't truly recognize them as the undisputed leaders of the immortal path, these two are undoubtedly the most widely known in terms of reputation.

Immortal Haze Isle is renowned for its mystery. This mystery extends not only to other cultivation paths but also to those within the immortal path itself. Few immortals know the Isle's location for long because its position is constantly changing. Even the outer sects affiliated with Immortal Haze Isle may not know its exact whereabouts, and these outer sects generally do not publicize any connection to it, appearing to outsiders as independent sects.

However, Ji Yuan had acquaintances on Immortal Haze Isle. Years ago, he had battled and defeated demons alongside cultivators like Chang Yi, and he had even refined the Immortal Binding Rope with Zhu Tingtao. All of them had extended invitations to Ji Yuan, so he knew how to find the Isle.

In the cultivation world and among some worldly individuals, it was widely believed that Immortal Haze Isle was located in the East Sea. However, Ji Yuan knew that while the Isle spent most of its time there, it could actually be found in any of the four seas, or even the desolate sea.

However, Ji Yuan did not immediately take out the guiding talisman gifted by Zhu Tingtao. Instead, he flew towards Cloud Mountain.

"Hey, Ji Yuan, the east is over there. Are you going to Cloud Mountain Temple first?" Xiezhi reminded him, but Ji Yuan shook his head.

"No," Ji Yuan replied, "I'm picking up a fellow daoist on the way."

"Picking up a daoist?" Xiezhi asked.

"Yes, one who has been waiting for many years."

Xiezhi was slightly taken aback. Were there other powerful figures Ji Yuan knew that he wasn't aware of? But Xiezhi wasn't in a hurry; he would find out soon enough.

'So mysterious,' he thought. 'I'll find out soon enough anyway.'

Not long after, Ji Yuan and Xiezhi arrived above Bing Province. Indeed, Ji Yuan did not head directly towards the Cloud Mountain range, but instead descended towards a town in Bing Province. When they were about a hundred zhang above the town, both Ji Yuan and Xiezhi looked towards Cloud Mountain in the distance. A faint white light appeared on the horizon, growing closer and closer.

After a dozen breaths, the white light was already close to Ji Yuan and Xiezhi, transforming into a spry old man with white beard and hair. It was Boundary Roaming Divine Lord Qin Zizhou.

"Mr. Ji, Mr. Xiezhi!"

"Duke Qin!" "Divine Lord Qin!"

The three exchanged greetings, and Xiezhi, curious, asked an additional question.

"Divine Lord Qin, are you also here to pick up that fellow daoist?"

Qin Zizhou stroked his beard and nodded. "Sensing that the time had come, I immediately rushed here. I had intended to notify Mr. Ji, but I see you've already arrived, which saves me the trouble."

"This matter has also been on my mind," Ji Yuan said, "and it's quite a coincidence. Let's go, we'll proceed together."

"Please!"

Xiezhi looked at Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou, who seemed to know everything, and couldn't help but grin. These two enjoyed speaking in riddles, so he deliberately wouldn't ask.

The three descended together towards the city below, which was Dongle County in Bing Province. This time, Ji Yuan did not bother with entering the city from outside. He, Xiezhi, and Qin Zizhou landed directly in the city center, and after walking a few steps north along the central avenue, they arrived in front of a stately mansion belonging to a prominent family.

Xiezhi looked up, and on the mansion's plaque, it read "Huang Residence." Below it was a small inscription: "House of a Hundred Virtues."

'Could it be that the fellow daoist Ji Yuan mentioned is a mortal?' he wondered.

Something was clearly happening at the prominent residence. Several carriages were already parked outside, and at that moment, another carriage and horses stopped. A servant from the Huang Residence immediately ran out, bowing and scraping in front of the carriage.

"Mr. Xu, you're here? Please come in quickly!"

The coachman got down and set up a stool. The Huang Residence servant reached out to help the person inside the carriage, but the curtain was pulled aside, and out stepped a rather old scholar wearing a square headscarf.

"Thank you," the scholar said, "but I can walk by myself, no need for assistance!"

"Yes, yes, please, sir! Our master will be very pleased that you've come all this way."

The Huang Residence servant stepped aside, and the scholar quickly descended from the carriage, his movements appearing quite agile. "Even if it were much farther, upon hearing of this matter, I would certainly rush here," the scholar said. "Please."

As the scholar spoke, his gaze swept over the carriages and horses in front of the Huang Residence, then over the street. Just then, he spotted Ji Yuan and the other two, and couldn't help but look at them twice.

"Uh, Mr. Xu, did you see...?"

The scholar shook his head. "Don't worry, the emissaries from the Underworld have not arrived yet; there should still be some time."

"That's good, that's good! Young Master Jiu isn't back yet... Oh, please, sir!"

The scholar nodded, and then followed the Huang Residence servant into the mansion.

"Oh? He noticed us. It seems he's a scholar with some cultivation." Xiezhi's remark was consistent with certain views in the current cultivation world, which considered Confucian scholars who had achieved something in the literary path as a type of cultivator.

"Right," Xiezhi asked, "aren't we going in?"

"We'll go in together later," Ji Yuan replied.

Hearing Ji Yuan's words, Xiezhi paused. Who else was coming?

However, Xiezhi's confusion didn't last long. Soon he knew who Ji Yuan was referring to. At the end of the street, beyond the sight of ordinary people, a shroud of yin energy was spreading. Led by this yin energy, a procession of figures was advancing. Some carried umbrellas, others wore swords, some bore chains, and others held books and pens. Each of them was dressed in neat official attire, with the two leading figures wearing tall hats, and the rest sporting official headwear.

"Underworld emissaries!" Xiezhi exclaimed. "Is someone inside about to die?"

Xiezhi was greatly surprised because he hadn't detected any death aura from the Huang Residence until now. Any cultivator with a bit of cultivation could subtly sense such things, and even a perceptive mortal might feel something. Yet he, Xiezhi, a dignified divine beast who had recovered some of his power, had sensed nothing at all.

"Hahahaha, Fellow Daoist Xiezhi," Ji Yuan said, "it's not that your spiritual senses are mistaken, but rather that there is indeed no death aura here."

As Xiezhi and Qin Zizhou spoke, the Underworld emissaries had already arrived at the entrance of the Huang Residence. But instead of entering directly as usual to collect a soul, they waited at the main gate.

"The Underworld emissaries wait outside, respectfully awaiting the end of a virtuous person's remaining lifespan," Qin Zizhou remarked. "It seems this House of a Hundred Virtues lives up to its name. But it looks like they won't be able to retrieve the person, will they?"

Xiezhi now understood. It was likely that the fellow daoist Ji Yuan and Qin Zizhou spoke of was the same person the Underworld emissaries were waiting for.

"Though not entirely correct, it's not far off," Ji Yuan said. "Let's go."

Ji Yuan didn't usually speak in riddles, but he had to admit, this feeling was quite good.

The three stopped talking and walked directly towards the Huang Residence. The Underworld emissaries there seemed to have just noticed their approach, but the two leading Day Patrol Deities recognized Ji Yuan at a glance. He was the immortal who had once, along with the Dragon Lord, driven away a true demon in Dongle County.

The Day Patrol Deities whispered a few words to those beside them, and then the entire group of Underworld emissaries turned around, bowing in unison as Ji Yuan and the others approached.

"We pay our respects to Mr. Ji and to the two immortal elders!"

Ji Yuan nodded. "This is Mr. Xiezhi, and this is Divine Lord Qin," Ji Yuan said. "Huang Xingye's peaceful passing will be different from that of ordinary people, and it might interfere with your soul retrieval. We hope the Underworld emissaries will understand."

"Mr. Ji, please don't mention it," the emissaries replied. "If you need our assistance, simply give the command."

"Alright," Ji Yuan said, "we'll wait for Huang Xingye's family and friends to bid him farewell, then we'll go in together. You collect your soul, and we'll invite our fellow daoist."

Xiezhi was confused again. Can Underworld emissaries also invite souls? So Ji Yuan wasn't picking up Huang Xingye?

"I say, Ji Yuan," Xiezhi pressed, "isn't it about time you told me?"

Even in this tense situation, Ji Yuan still found joy. Seeing that Xiezhi could no longer hold back, he smiled and answered him with a whispered message.

"A human-bodied god? Is there really such a thing? Uh, no, are there really such deities?"

Xiezhi had always thought that human-bodied gods were a fabrication of the current cultivation world, as he had never seen or heard of them before.

"Yes," Qin Zizhou affirmed, "there's one inside right now." Qin Zizhou answered very affirmingly. For years, he had been carefully monitoring this place and secretly protecting Huang Xingye, all to safeguard this fragile deity.

Ji Yuan had previously spoken of expelling the true demon, but he hadn't mentioned Huang Xingye's human-bodied god. This time, he took the opportunity to tell Xiezhi about the slightly hidden past.

About two and a half days later, half a quarter-hour after Huang Xingye's ninth son's carriage arrived, Ji Yuan and the others prepared to move.

"It seems Huang Xingye held on, struggling, and finally waited for his youngest son to see him one last time," Qin Zizhou murmured.

"Mr. Ji, the time has come," one of the Day Patrol Deities asked. "May we enter now?"

"Good, let's go in together," Ji Yuan replied.

Ji Yuan, the other two, and the Underworld emissaries walked together into the Huang Residence. A gentle, chilling wind slowly blew inwards.

Whoosh... whoosh...

In the main hall of the Huang Residence's backyard, almost everyone from the Huang family, along with some friends, had gathered. After Huang Jiulang returned home, Huang Xingye's condition, already weakened by excitement, rapidly deteriorated. Everyone who could arrive had rushed over in a short amount of time.

By the bedside, an old physician, after taking a pulse, stood up, gently shaking his head. "I have done everything I can," the physician announced. "Even the ginseng soup can't sustain him any longer."

"Father!" "Duke Huang!"

"Master..."

The Huang family members all looked anxiously towards the bedside. Huang Jiulang knelt by the bed, holding Huang Xingye's hand.

"Father," Huang Jiulang asked, "do you have any final instructions for your children?"

Huang Xingye faintly shook his head. "My life... it is enough..."

Whoosh... whoosh...

A slightly chilling wind blew into the room. The scholar surnamed Xu was the first to notice it. He then looked towards the doorway. Down the corridor, a group of figures shrouded in yin energy was slowly approaching.

"Duke Huang, everyone," the scholar announced, "the Underworld emissaries are here to take the person."

Nowadays, some prominent families, if they had the means, would often invite truly virtuous and learned scholars when a family member was about to pass away. These scholars were, in a sense, extraordinary and could perceive the arrival of the Underworld emissaries.

When the scholar surnamed Xu spoke these words, some of the Huang family members were frightened, some were agitated, some were at a loss, while others went to the bedside and clutched Huang Xingye's hand.

The Underworld emissaries entered the room, bowing to the scholar surnamed Xu. The scholar respectfully returned the bow. All of Huang's family and friends looked in the direction the scholar was bowing. Although there was nothing visible there, they presumed the Underworld emissaries were present. Some also noticed that Huang Xingye on the bed turned his head to look in that direction, as if he truly saw something.

The leading Day Patrol Deity stepped forward, and after bowing to Huang Xingye, spoke. "Duke Huang, your time has come. The City God has sent us to invite you! Please, quickly rise!"

As the Day Patrol Deity spoke, Huang Xingye on the bed seemed to regain his spirit and strength, and slowly sat up. No, it was his soul that sat up, not the person, because a body still lay on the bed.

"Father—" "Master!"

Huang Xingye breathed his last. All of Huang's family and friends burst into tears. The scholar surnamed Xu, meanwhile, looked at Huang Xingye standing before the Underworld emissaries, and bowed again.

"Farewell, Duke Huang."

"Thank you, Mr. Xu, for seeing me off," Huang Xingye's soul replied.

What surprised the scholar surnamed Xu was that the Underworld emissaries did not immediately take Huang Xingye away. Instead, they waited by the side. Huang Xingye's own soul also seemed very curious.

Then, three people walked in from outside. The Huang family and friends again failed to notice them, but the scholar surnamed Xu clearly saw them. They were the same three people he had encountered outside the mansion two days earlier.

Ji Yuan led Xiezhi and Qin Zizhou inside. The Underworld emissaries all bowed to them, but Ji Yuan merely nodded back. He then walked to Huang Xingye's corpse. A golden-red shimmer enveloped the body, a combination of the spell he had left years ago and the body's own inherent light.

"Fellow Daoist Huang," Ji Yuan said, "you must still recognize me. Come with us!"

Qin Zizhou also smiled. "Please, Fellow Daoist Huang, reveal yourself!"

Not long after their words fell, the golden-red light on Huang Xingye's corpse intensified. It then continuously contracted and gathered at his forehead, before slowly moving downwards, finally emerging from Huang Xingye's nostrils as a tiny figure suffused with golden-red light. Its appearance was identical to Huang Xingye's.

"You are Mr. Ji, and you are Divine Lord Qin," the tiny figure said. "My thanks to both of you, fellow daoists!"

"Please!" Ji Yuan invited.

Ji Yuan extended his right hand, and the miniature Huang Xingye leaped, landing in his palm.

Xiezhi stared with wide eyes at the tiny divine being in Ji Yuan's palm, no bigger than half a melon seed. Though its divine body was small, its spiritual essence was boundless, as if it embodied the very essence of heaven and earth.

"There really is a human-bodied god," Xiezhi murmured, "Are humans truly the spirits of heaven and earth?"

Only at this moment did Xiezhi have to admit the saying that a human body is a microcosm of heaven and earth.