Cultivation of immortality begins with an eighty-year-old eunuch.

Jidaozi hasn't been here for decades.

The last time I came here was back in the sealed land. Back then, this place had fields and land, but it wasn't nearly as beautiful as it is now…

Jidaozi's eyes widened.

As far as the eye can see, there is a vast expanse of fertile fields.

Sweet potato vines covered half the hillside, radish leaves were lush and green, and the ears of spirit rice drooped heavily. The air was filled with a fresh fragrance that blended earth and spiritual energy.

At the end of the field ridge, there were piles of harvest that looked like small mountains.

The sweet potatoes were piled up to two zhang high, the radishes were stacked neatly like a city wall, and dozens of sacks of spirit rice were piled up in burlap sacks.

"This... how many of these are there..." Jidaozi swallowed hard.

"A harvest spanning hundreds of years."

Chen Fan's voice came from behind.

He also entered the bowl, standing behind Jidaozi, his gaze sweeping over this world he hadn't set foot in for a long time.

The world inside the bowl was much larger than when he last entered. The mist in the distance had dissipated somewhat, revealing more open space and hills. The blazing sun hung high in the sky, casting a warm glow.

Since receiving Rosa's inheritance, he has devoted himself to cultivation and external affairs, and has indeed not come in to visit for a very long time.

Standing here now, I feel as if I've stepped into another world.

"Old eunuch! You've finally arrived!"

A sharp sound came from the other side of the field.

Eunuch Wei strode over, carrying a hoe, his steps heavy on the muddy ground. He was still the same as before, wearing a dark red python robe and a black gauze hat, his fingers delicately curled, only the wrinkles on his face were deeper than before, and his back was more hunched.

Approaching the pile, he slammed his hoe on the ground, pointing to the mountain of radishes and sweet potatoes, his face full of resentment. "How many years have you been gone? Over seven hundred years! All this stuff was planted by us! Do you know how badly my back is about to break?! If you hadn't come back, we would have thought you were dead!"

Chen Fan didn't speak, he just looked at him.

Wei Gonggong felt a little uncomfortable under his gaze, muttered "Never mind, never mind," and turned his head away.

But there was something clearly gleaming in those old eyes.

"Eunuch Wei!"

As soon as Ji Daozi saw Eunuch Wei, he rushed over, grabbed his shoulder, and said in a boisterous manner, "Old Wei! You're still alive! Hahaha! I've missed you so much!"

"Get out!" Eunuch Wei shoved him aside, her delicate fingers poking his forehead. "You heartless wretch! You ran off and enjoyed decades of leisure, leaving our family here to farm! How dare you come back!"

"I wasn't... I wasn't fighting for my master's world..." Jidaozi said with an embarrassed smile.

"Conquer the world? Go ahead and have women on your left and right!" Eunuch Wei sneered.

Jidaozi blushed and fell silent.

Just as the two were arguing, footsteps came from the courtyard gate.

Xiaodie was the first to run out.

She still had the same delicate features, but there were a few more fine lines around her eyes, and her hair was styled in a married woman's bun. The moment she saw Chen Fan, she paused, and her eyes reddened.

"Father-in-law..."

She walked quickly to Chen Fan, wanting to say something, but her lips moved and she could only manage to utter two words before lowering her head and wiping her eyes with her sleeve.

Chen Fan patted her on the shoulder without saying anything more.

Shi San followed behind, still with that honest, unassuming look, carrying a hoe, his feet covered in mud. He walked up to Chen Fan and respectfully bowed: "Master."

Chen Fan nodded: "Thank you for your hard work."

Shi San grinned, said nothing, simply shifted the hoe to his shoulder, and stood aside.

Ji Daozi looked at this and that, and then suddenly fell silent.

He stood on the edge of the field, looking at the people in front of him, at the mountains of harvest, at this land where he had spent so many years, and suddenly felt a lump in his throat.

decades.

He emerged from the sealed land, returned to the desolate continent, established a sect, took in disciples, became the patriarch, and was served by others every day and had wine and meat every night.

But standing here, he realized that none of those things combined felt as grounded as this patch of earth.

"Master..." Jidaozi turned around, his voice hoarse, "We...we won't leave anymore."

Chen Fan glanced at him.

"It's not up to you."

"Then...then let me say it again!" Jidaozi said anxiously.

Chen Fan ignored him and walked towards the courtyard with his hands behind his back.

He took a few steps, then stopped without looking back.

"Let's stew a chicken tonight and open those jars of wine."

Eunuch Wei was taken aback for a moment, then laughed and scolded, "All you ever think about is eating! You've practically devoured all our chickens!"

He was cursing, but his feet were already heading towards the kitchen.

Ji Daozi stood there, watching Chen Fan's back, then looking in the direction where Eunuch Wei had gone, and suddenly threw his head back and laughed.

Laughter echoed in the bowl, startling several unidentified birds in the field.

Xiaodie was baffled by his laughter, while Shi San shook his head, picked up his hoe, and continued working.

Chen Fan walked into the courtyard and sat down in the old rattan chair.

The chair was old; the paint on the armrests was worn away. He leaned back, squinting at the ever-burning sun overhead, and suddenly felt a little tired.

It's not physical fatigue.

It's the kind of weariness you feel when you've traveled a very, very long way and finally returned to a place where you can rest.

He closed his eyes, listening to the distant arguments between Ji Daozi and Eunuch Wei, the clanging noises from Xiao Die in the kitchen, and the dull thud of Shi San's hoe hitting the ground.

The sounds blended together, like an old song he had listened to for many years.

The melody is still the same, only the person playing it has grown old.

……

Chen Fan sat quietly in the world within the bowl for a month or so.

The passage of time in the outside world was nothing more than a long period of meditation for him.

He did not exude any astonishing aura; his cultivation at the peak of the Tribulation Transcending stage had long since returned to its original simplicity.

He wore only a simple gray-blue cloth robe, his face as calm as an ancient well, except for a pair of eyes that occasionally flashed with an indescribable depth.

Chen Fan slowly stood up, a seemingly ordinary movement that caused a barely perceptible ripple in the space within the bowl.

The surrounding area is filled with lush spiritual rice and radishes, brimming with spiritual energy. This world, which he created with his own hands, is now as stable as a real realm.

But his gaze did not linger there; his thoughts had already drifted beyond the bowl, towards the old debt that had stretched back decades.

The pursuit back then took place from the desolate land of Yu the Great to the boundless sea, from the capital of Zhao to the vast desert grasslands, leaving a trail of blood with every step.

The Wang family's bounty, the encirclement by the eight great families, the assassination attempt by the Nascent Soul Ancestor... these memories did not fade with his extraordinary cultivation; on the contrary, they became clearer with the clarity of his Dao heart.

Entangled by karma, like a malignant tumor clinging to the bone, having cultivated to this level, it is time to settle these worldly ties and old grudges.

Chen Fan was not a bloodthirsty person, but on the path of cultivation, kindness must be repaid and vengeance must be avenged.

This is a link in the path to enlightenment; it cannot be avoided, nor is it necessary to avoid it further.

With a slight thought, Chen Fan's figure vanished from the bowl.