The Pastoral Life of a Cultivation Master

Chapter 3097 Hunyuan Panlong
The shadowy figure appeared to be humanoid and tall, about two meters in height, but it seemed quite small compared to the strange beasts. After all, compared to its two-meter height, the strange beasts crawling on the ground around the bridgehead, even when lying down, were nearly ten meters tall.

However, despite the enormous size and terrifying appearance of the beast, which was clearly not to be trifled with, it appeared small, pitiful, and helpless in front of the shadowy figure less than two meters tall, trembling and not daring to raise its head.

One can imagine just how powerful this dark figure was, which also shows that a mountain is not famous because of its height, but because of the immortals dwelling there; water is not sacred because of its depth, but because of the dragons living within.

For some unknown reason, the entire shadowy figure was completely obscured; its clothing and face were also unclear. It appeared as if its entire body was pitch black, making it look like a dark shadow.

There was no sound coming from the valley, the now-dry lake, or the numerous strange beasts at the bridgehead. Only the sound of the lone beast running away carried far through the waterless canyon.

With a series of clattering sounds, the unicorn didn't dare to delay and quickly ran towards the bridgehead. However, when it passed the circular black hole at the bottom of the lake, it paused for a few seconds, then carefully circled around the black hole, as if there was something inside that terrified the beast.

In fact, the thing that terrified this unicorn was already standing on the bridgehead building, so there was nothing in the circular black hole that terrified it anymore. However, the memory formed over a long period of time had created muscle memory for this beast, so that it would avoid the circular black hole whenever it passed by.

The unicorn was incredibly fast. Even though it took a slightly longer route while running, it didn't take long to climb up the cliff face and quickly reach the bridgehead. It then lay down on the ground, still trembling. However, its long horn seemed to be in the way as it lowered its head, preventing it from properly lowering it.

However, the unicorn beast forcefully touched its head to the ground, causing its several-meter-long horn to pierce directly into the sand of the Gobi Desert.

Seeing the unicorn's respectful attitude, the shadowy figure nodded and then conveyed a message to it. The unicorn immediately nodded, and the scales covering its thick horn began to wriggle, releasing the horn from its grip. The horn detached from the beast's forehead and fell to the ground.

The shadowy figure stretched out a hand, and the horn instantly left the ground, being absorbed into the shadowy figure's hand.

The sight of the enormous unicorn clung to the palm of a single hand seemed somewhat incongruous. But the moment the unicorn touched the shadowy hand, it began to slowly transform, gradually becoming a white stick over two meters long that could be held in one hand.

The stick is very smooth, like white marble, and a dragon is carved on the entire stick, lifelike.

The shadowy figure gripped the stick with one hand, spun it around, and the stick produced a sonic boom. He then held it horizontally, paused for a few seconds, and then instantly pulled it back, leaving it standing upright beside him.

He rubbed the stick between his hands, then swung it again, moving back and forth in the area at the bridgehead, unleashing a variety of attack moves.

A smooth, rounded stick, over two meters long, that can be held in one hand, seems to have a fatal attraction for any man. And for the shadowy figure, it was no different, especially this stick he was familiar with; every swing of it exuded a sense of excitement.

The stick in his hand spun around and pointed to the sky and the earth, as if he wanted to challenge gods and demons, strike down the netherworld, and sweep away all sorts of imaginary enemies.

The stick was spinning so fast that its base was no longer visible; only its spinning shadow and sonic booms remained. An ordinary stick would definitely break under such speed and sonic booms. But the stick in the shadowy figure's hand, despite the frequent sonic booms during its swing, showed no signs of breaking.

Finally, after using both hands, he stopped all the moves and instantly withdrew the stick.

With a loud "clang!", the stick slammed into the ground. Fortunately, the bridge structure was protected by an array; a flash of light neutralized the force of the impact. Without the array's protection, the bridge structure might have been destroyed.

The shadowy figure seemed very familiar with the staff that the unicorn had transformed into. It gently stroked the staff, as if recalling something, and remained motionless for a long time.

Finally, the dark figure let out a long breath and muttered, "It's been a long time since I've wielded a stick; I'm a bit rusty."

Next, he held the stick horizontally in front of his chest, supporting it with one hand and stroking it with the other. He recalled how this stick had been his companion for many years, facing numerous enemies alongside him, yet ultimately causing their deaths.

The characters in the middle of the stick shone brightly in the darkness as the hand traced them. If anyone could see them clearly, they would be able to decipher the small seal script: "Hun Yuan Pan Long Stick!"

It turns out this staff is called the Hunyuan Panlong Staff. However, it's unknown what other functions this staff has; for now, it's just a white staff in the shadowy figure's hand.

He stroked the small seal script on the stick in his hand, his eyes fixed on the valley in the darkness, but without any focus: "It's been so long since I've seen this place. Everything is still the same, but it lacks the vitality it used to have. In the past, this place was bustling with people, never stopping for a moment. There were even fellow disciples from my sect setting up stalls at the bridgehead to trade items with other members of the sect."

Now, it's become such a desolate scene; everything has changed. I wonder how Master, Senior Sister, and Junior Brother are? Did they think of me after leaving? Will they ever come back?

"Master, are you alright?" Recalling the past, the master's earnest teachings, his personal demonstrations, and the smiling expression on his face when he stroked his beard after I had mastered the skills, it all seemed like just yesterday.

A series of muttered words, like questions or self-reflection, were heard. Although the voice was low, it sounded quite abrupt in the quiet valley.

Unfortunately, he asked several times but received no response, since he was the only one there, along with the strange beasts lying around him.

The strange beasts dared not make a sound and cautiously lay on the ground.

People experience sorrow and joy, separation and reunion; the moon waxes and wanes, and nothing in this world is ever perfect. May we all live long and share the beauty of the moon, even from afar.

Unfortunately, when the shadowy figure looked up, all it saw was a pitch-black night sky. For a moment, it felt as if a stone was stuck in its chest, and it didn't know what to say.