Having cultivated myself into an immortal, all I want to do is raise female disciples.

Without Yunping, they're expected to venture out on their own...

too difficult.

In a moment of silence—

The black-haired girl, carrying a gourd of wine, broke the silence.

"I need to go back to Jinglin Village."

Everyone was startled and turned their gazes in that direction.

Zhang Ruoxue took a deep breath and said, "Five years have passed... I wonder what Jinglin Village has become... I have to go and see..."

"Regarding my background... I also need to go to Jinglin Village..."

Qu Wenxue? Zhang Ruoxue?

Everything must return to that small village to find oneself again.

……

Upon hearing this, Fan Luokui closed her eyes and continued.

“I also need to leave for a while. Five years have passed and I haven’t sent them any letters. I’m afraid the Northern Ice Palace is starting to get anxious.”

Jiang Shaoguang spread his hands and smiled: "Since I have nothing else to do, I'll go with you and take a look at the scenery of the Northern Ice Palace."

Fan Luokui turned around and glared at him, then gripped the scabbard.

"You said it yourself. If I, your senior brother, dare to stand you up—I know the consequences."

"Cough cough..." Jiang Shaoguang coughed twice and quickly turned his head away.

……

Duan Xingchen lowered his head and pondered for a while, "In that case... the cultivation of the Pure Demon Desolate Dust Record requires a trip to the Azure Secret Realm... It is said to be in the Extreme Heaven Domain... I think I should think of a way."

"The Azure Secret Realm?" Upon hearing this, King Gu looked enlightened. "Since Xingchen wants to go there, then I, your senior brother, will lead the way."

"Huh? Senior Brother knows where the Azure Secret Realm is?"

"I know." Gu Wangjun recalled the past and said calmly, "My teacher took me there once before. I'm not bad with directions, so I still remember the way."

—When Fan Luokui mentioned being directionally challenged, she stumbled and almost fell.

……

Jiang Yuetian and Lin Yuan's choices were quite straightforward.

“Yuan’er and I will go back to the courtyard house first. Someone has to look after the house, right?”

Indeed... going back to check on the condition of the courtyard house is a good option.

So--

In the very end, only one person was left.

Ye Yuchan.

"I'll stay here."

The silver-haired girl's answer surprised everyone.

Knowing the girl's feelings, Jiang Yuetian took a deep breath, remained silent for a few seconds, and then spoke to persuade her.

“Junior Sister Yu Chan…you know…even if we stay here…it’s pointless.”

Yes, it makes no sense.

They didn't even know if Yunping would come back, and even if he did, when would he return...

Everything is unknown, and the message Yunping gave to all of them was to take care of themselves.

A message from someone who doesn't know when or where they will be able to return.

Before that, they need to do their own things, just as Yunping said—

Take good care of yourself.

This was the only thing they could do for Yunping.

Ye Yuchan shook her head.

"I want to stay here, no matter if it's meaningless or not, I want to stay here."

"Junior Sister Yu Chan..."

“That idiot old scoundrel pushed us aside and ran into that godforsaken place... This made me so angry that when he came back, I wanted to punch him and give him a good scolding.”

"Yes!" Ye Yuchan clenched her fists, her shoulders trembling. "When he comes back, I'm going to be the first one to go up and punch him..."

"Wait for him to come back..."

The girl's voice grew weaker and weaker as the story progressed.

Until finally, they fell into endless silence.

Watching the silver-haired girl's retreating figure, Jiang Yuetian sighed, stepped forward, patted Ye Yuchan's shoulder, said nothing, and turned to leave.

This was Ye Yuchan's choice.

Jiang Yuetian respects her choice.

Fan Luokui and Jiang Shaoguang, with complicated expressions, stepped forward and patted Ye Yuchan on the shoulder.

They have never had the right to interfere with a person's decision-making.

Moreover, they all knew about Ye Yuchan's feelings for Yunping.

Zhang Ruoxue stood behind Ye Yuchan, paused, hesitated for a moment, and then gave her a hug.

"Take care of yourself."

She didn't say anything sentimental; she simply left with that one sentence before departing.

She also had things she needed to do and couldn't stay here with Ye Yuchan.

Gu Wangjun then handed Gu Xingzhuo, who was on his back, to Jiang Yuetian, asking him to send his fourth junior brother back to Yuntian Academy for recuperation. He then stepped forward and patted Ye Yuchan's head.

"Don't worry, the teacher will come back."

Ye Yuchan, with her head bowed, gave an extremely faint "hmm," and one could even faintly hear the girl's sobs, which she was trying her best to hide.

King Gu shook his head, then left with Duan Xingchen.

In the vast bamboo forest, only the silver-haired girl remained.

She reached out and wiped away her tears, then pouted and muttered a dissatisfied remark.

"You old scoundrel...you bastard..."

"If you keep me waiting, I'll really beat you up..."

With weak steps, she walked towards the incomparably prosperous Cangyue City.

From this moment on—

The disciples of Yuntian Academy, who had only recently gathered, were once again... divided up by an important matter.

51. Ruoxue Chapter - The First Appearance of the Demon Dynasty

Eight years have passed.

Whether it's Jinglin City or Jinglin Village, they must have completely changed by now, right?

Time is always cruel, taking many people away... Some people who didn't want to leave will be mercilessly swept away by the flow of time.

At least that's how Zhang Ruoxue felt.

She vaguely remembered the scene when Grandma Lin at the village entrance smiled and said goodbye to her the last time she left Jinglin Village.

Time has etched countless wrinkles on that old man's face... Cultivators are different from mortals; there is a distinction between immortals and mortals. The lifespan of cultivators often far exceeds that of mortals.

As one's loved ones grow old one by one, while one's appearance remains almost unchanged... for a cultivator, this is surely a form of torment.

Therefore, everyone says that on the path to immortality, one must sever the six emotions, then one's senses will be clear, one's mind will be stable, and one can then access the path to immortality.

Eight years have passed... In Jinglin Village... The old lives have passed away, and new lives will surely come.

I wonder how old Uncle Hu's daughter is now. The village elder's third grandson should be all grown up by now... And the young couple next door, their child should be old enough to chase and play with them by now.

I feel... there's still a little bit of anticipation.

In the dense forest known as the Thousand Ghost Forest, the black-haired girl stood by the clear spring stream, half-squatting down, filling her gourd with half a gourd of water, and drinking it all in one gulp.

"call--"

Zhang Ruoxue let out a long sigh, licked her lips, and savored the sweet taste lingering from the spring water on her lips—truly a delicacy beyond compare. She turned to the side and couldn't help but say:

"Yu Chan, come over and have a drink..."

The conversation suddenly stopped there.

The black-haired girl looked to the side and saw only a dense, lush forest, fallen leaves fluttering in the wind, and pebbles scattered along the stream.

Ye Yuchan is not here.

Or rather... the rest of the Yuntian Academy are no longer here.

Zhang Ruoxue scratched her head, sighed, and couldn't help but lament, "It suddenly feels so strange... that flat-chested girl isn't around anymore..."

If Ye Yuchan were standing nearby at this moment, she would definitely say something like, "As expected, you idiot can't live without me, hehehe~"

However, even though it's only temporary, it can be considered as one person acting alone.

We must accept the facts.

Feeling quite irritated, Zhang Ruoxue scratched her hair, took a deep breath, and tried to calm herself down. She then tidied the bandage wrapped around her right arm and gazed into the distance in that all-too-familiar direction.

The direction of Jinglin Village.

Suddenly, endless shadows surged in her clear eyes—memories involuntarily drifted back to the scene in that dark storm not long ago.

Liu Xun Kong's afterimage hovered in the air, reaching out his thin hand towards him with a smile on his lips.

"Xue'er~"