madnovel Chapter 222 Reunion with Old Friends
Chapter 222 Reunion with Old Friends
The square in Wuyoutian was even more lively than Li Xiaoyao had imagined.
He walked through the crowd, his gaze sweeping over the familiar and unfamiliar faces, searching for Shuyu's figure.
Wu Ju said she was sitting at a tea stall, but he went to several tea stalls and didn't see her.
Until he walked to the east side of the square, to a long corridor by the water.
Several stone tables were set up in the corridor, and groups of fellow Daoists sat around them, some sipping tea, some discussing Daoist principles, and some simply watching the white cranes on the lake.
Four female cultivators sat at the innermost table.
Li Xiaoyao recognized Shuyu at a glance.
She did not change her appearance. Dressed in a blue robe, with her hair tied up in a high bun, her brows and eyes were as cold and aloof as she listened to the person beside her while holding a teacup.
Her aura was even more profound than when she was in the Heavenly Demon Realm. She had reached the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm and was only one step away from the middle stage.
Li Xiaoyao walked over, stopped at the table, and bowed respectfully, saying, "Greetings, fellow Daoist."
Shuyu raised her head and looked at his face. She looked for a moment but did not recognize him.
After all, his appearance at this moment was an illusion, his aura had been suppressed to the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm, and his power of law had been changed to "Sunset Glow," which was far removed from his Rainbow Cloud Dao lineage.
She rose politely to return the greeting and said gently, "May I ask which fellow Daoist I am acquainted with? Wuyoutian's form is illusory and cannot be identified. I hope you will forgive me."
Li Xiaoyao looked at her and smiled gently.
He raised his hand, and with a sweep of his right hand from top to bottom, the light faded away, revealing his original appearance: black hair, a green robe, handsome features, and an ancient token hanging at his waist.
Shuyu was stunned.
She stared at that face for a couple of moments, then suddenly stood up. Her movement was so quick that she knocked over the teacup in front of her, spilling tea across the stone table without her noticing.
"Fellow Daoist Shangyuan!"
His voice carried a mix of excitement, surprise, and something else he couldn't quite put his finger on.
"Long time no see," Li Xiaoyao said with a smile. "Fellow Daoist Shuyu, how have you been?"
Shuyu opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know where to begin.
The three female cultivators beside her all looked at Li Xiaoyao, their eyes filled with curiosity, scrutiny, and a hint of mischief.
The female cultivator sitting to Shuyu's left—whose Daoist name was Jingqing, was in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm, possessed the Shaoyin Dao lineage, and had a delicate face and lively eyes—spoke first.
She tilted her head, looked at Li Xiaoyao, then at Shuyu, and suddenly let out an "Oh~" that was drawn out:
"Shuyu, why are you so excited? Is this Shangyuan? The one you always talk about, the one who shared your life, the one who fought alongside you in the secret realm and the Heavenly Demon Realm... your beloved Daoist?"
Shuyu's face flushed red.
She reached out and covered Jingqing's mouth, her voice both urgent and embarrassed: "Jingqing! Don't talk nonsense!"
Jingqing laughed and dodged away, while the other two female cultivators also covered their mouths and laughed.
A man dressed in a pale yellow Taoist robe—whose Taoist name was Hengwu, was in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm and belonged to the Zhengmu lineage—smiled with his eyes curving into crescents.
The other one, dressed in a moon-white Taoist robe—whose Taoist name was Shuangxu, was in the early stage of the Purple Mansion realm and belonged to the Kan Water lineage—smiled more subtly, but his eyes and brows were full of laughter.
Shuyu blushed and stood there awkwardly for a moment before finally regaining her composure.
She took a deep breath, turned to Li Xiaoyao, and said apologetically, "I'm sorry, Fellow Daoist Shangyuan, my sisters just like to joke around. Please don't take their words to heart."
Li Xiaoyao smiled and shook his head, saying, "It's alright."
He turned to the three female cultivators and said, "Shangyuan greets fellow Daoists Jingqing, Shuangxu, and Hengwu," bowing with his hands clasped in greeting.
The three of them quickly stood up to return the greeting, and Jingqing even winked at him.
"Please sit down."
Shuyu quickly stepped aside, and with a wave of her right hand, a teacup appeared out of thin air in front of Li Xiaoyao. The tea in the cup was emerald green, and the aroma of tea rose gently.
Li Xiaoyao picked it up, smelled it first, and then took a small sip.
The tea soup is slightly bitter at first, then sweet, and a refreshing sensation flows down the throat into the lower abdomen, bringing indescribable comfort.
He slowly exhaled and looked at Shuyu, sincerely praising, "Fellow Daoist Shuyu, this tea is excellent."
As soon as she finished speaking, Jingqing chimed in, "It seems Fellow Daoist Shangyuan has a lot of influence. We had to put in a lot of effort to coax our little Shuyu before she would even let us have a taste of her excellent spiritual tea."
Shuyu blushed again and reached out to push Jingqing away: "You're talking nonsense again!"
Hengwu chuckled from the side, "Jingqing is telling the truth. Last time I begged her for ages before she finally poured me a cup, and it was only half a cup."
Shuangxu smiled, didn't say anything, but nodded.
Shuyu was so overwhelmed by her sisters' constant chatter that she couldn't lift her head and could only mutter softly, "You...you guys stop talking..."
She looked up and glared at Jingqing, afraid that she might utter some more "outrageous" words.
Jingqing wisely stopped talking, but she couldn't suppress the smile on her face.
Shuyu cleared her throat, forcibly steer the conversation back on track: "Fellow Daoist Shangyuan, what items do you intend to trade in Wuyou Heaven this time, or are you going into seclusion to cultivate and gain enlightenment?"
Li Xiaoyao put down his teacup and said, "This is my first time here, so I'll take a look around. I just heard True Monarch Wuju say that one can also cultivate in seclusion here, and that the effects are similar to those of immortal artifacts in immortal sects?"
Before Shuyu could answer, Jingqing spoke up first: "Fellow Daoist Shangyuan, what you said is both right and wrong."
She put away her joking expression and said seriously, "The effects of the secluded cultivation of the Unfettered True Monarch's Worry-Free Heaven are indeed quite good."
"But it's still different from the immortal artifact of the Immortal Sect, the Heavenly Decree Mysterious Heart Mirror. The flow of time inside the immortal artifact is different from that outside; one year outside is ten years inside. But in the secluded cultivation area of Worry-Free Heaven, the timeline is the same as that outside—how long you stay inside is how long has passed outside."
Li Xiaoyao nodded thoughtfully.
Hengwu continued, "There's another limitation. True Monarch Wuju is currently only at the Golden Core stage; the limit of his power of laws is the Purple Mansion realm. He can't withstand the simulated combat and closed-door deductions required for a Golden Core cultivator. Moreover—"
She held up one finger. "Each fellow Daoist's Law Incarnation cannot accumulate more than ten years of secluded cultivation and deduction within the Worry-Free Heaven. Once the time is up, the Incarnation will dissipate. After that, you can only chat and trade with fellow Daoists. If you want to go into seclusion again, you'll have to wait for True Monarch Wujue's own realm to advance."
After listening, Li Xiaoyao understood. Ten years is neither a long nor a short time.
However, for cultivators in the Purple Mansion realm, ten years of seclusion is enough to hone a supernatural ability and lay the foundation for a path.
Moreover, it's free, requires no effort, and doesn't require queuing.
"Thank you for your guidance, fellow Daoists Jingqing and Hengwu." He cupped his hands in thanks.
Jingqing waved her hand and laughed, "Don't be so polite. You're Shuyu's friend, so you're our friend too."
Shuyu sat beside her, head bowed, drinking tea; the tips of her ears were still red.
Looking at this scene, Li Xiaoyao suddenly felt that this Worry-Free Heaven was indeed a nice place.