Senior sister, stop working and go home for dinner.

Chapter 348 3 years

Following the updates has never been so enjoyable.

Lu Kong finally turned his gaze away from the mountaintop and back to Chen Anran's face. In those deep eyes, some kind of unfathomable emotion surged.

"Master is on the mountain," Lu Kong paused, "at the location of the 'array eye'."

"The array's core?" Wei Qingyi suddenly exclaimed, "What array core? When did Cloud Hidden Mountain set up such a... such a fierce array?"

"It wasn't planted," Lu Kong shook his head slightly. "It's always been there."

"Has it always been there?" Chen Anran's heart sank.

Feng Xiaolu's face appeared even paler in the mist. She wasn't the quickest to react, but even she understood now—Senior Sister Su Wan, the ever-gentle senior sister who always quietly managed the sect and took care of everyone, seemed to have an inseparable connection with this bizarre and terrifying scene before her and with this person who claimed to be her disciple.

Her lips trembled, her voice filled with disbelief, fear, and confusion: "You...you...why did you do this?" She pointed down the mountain, as if she could see through the thick fog the nearly one hundred cultivators who had vanished from the plaza in an instant, "Those people...those blood droplets...Senior Sister...how could she..."

Lu Kong's gaze shifted to Feng Xiaolu, the complex emotions in his deep eyes settling into an almost compassionate calm. He remained silent for a moment before slowly speaking, his voice carrying softly through the damp, cold mist, like an ancient prophecy:

"So that there are no immortals in the world, so that the path to immortality will be severed."

The mountain path was deathly silent. But these words lingered in their minds.

Wei Qingyi was utterly shocked. Huiming was almost the same, and Feng Xiaolu's eyes widened in disbelief.

Chen Anran's heart sank suddenly, as if it were being gripped tightly by an invisible hand.

"This is... what Master and we have been doing all along," Lu Kong said softly, "to prevent anyone else in this world from embarking on that path... that devours everything and ultimately devours itself."

"Severing...severing the path to immortality?" Feng Xiaolu murmured repeatedly, her eyes filled with more confusion than understanding. "What does this mean? Cultivating immortality...isn't that a good thing? Cultivating for longevity, pursuing the Great Dao..."

"Good news?" Lu Kong suddenly interrupted her, a mocking smile appearing on his lips. "My master once asked me a question: If the end of the path of cultivation is endless plunder, slaughter, and betrayal of humanity, using billions of lives as fuel, just to achieve the so-called 'transcendence' of a handful of people, then is there any need for this path to exist?"

The fog grew thicker and thicker, pressing heavily on everyone's hearts.

Is there no immortal in the world, thus severing the path to immortality?

Chen Anran took a deep breath of the cold air, trying to suppress the turmoil in her heart.

He recalled his senior sister's always serene profile, her slightly bent back as she tended the herb garden, her whispered instructions to him, Xiao Lu, and Qingyi to eat well, and the fleeting, elusive loneliness in her eyes when she occasionally looked towards the distant mountains.

He never knew that beneath that calm exterior lay such a shocking and unconventional thought, one that could be considered an enemy of the entire cultivation world.

Chen Anran's face was gloomy, but he no longer cared about Lu Kong. He just wanted to get up the mountain as soon as possible and confront Su Wan face to face.

He couldn't believe that his senior sister would do such a thing for such a vague and unfounded reason.

Looking at Chen Anran's gloomy yet resolute face, Lu Kong did not stop him further, nor did he explain any more. He simply stepped aside to make way and gestured for him to proceed.

"Master was certain you would go up there," he said softly. "The mountain path has been covered by the 'Spirit-Severing Mist,' and all spiritual energy has been lost. Please follow me, fellow disciples."

Having said that, he turned and walked into the depths of the thick fog. His steps remained unhurried, as if he were walking in his own backyard, rather than in this eerie sea of ​​fog that could isolate the spiritual energy of heaven and earth and devour the lives of cultivators.

Chen Anran didn't hesitate and followed. Wei Qingyi, Feng Xiaolu, and Huiming followed closely behind.

The higher they went, the thicker and stickier the fog became, to the point where they could barely see their own hands. All around was deathly silent; even the chirping of insects and birds that should have filled the mountains had vanished, leaving only the sound of their footsteps on the slippery stone steps.

Upon arriving at the mountain gate, Lu Kong led them straight towards Su Wan's bedroom.

Su Wan's bedroom was as usual.

Pushing open the heavy wooden door, the room was furnished in a simple yet elegant style. A small incense burner on the window table emitted a faint, calming fragrance, its smoke curling upwards. The canopy bed's curtains were half-drawn, and the bedding was neatly folded. On the desk lay a book, half-read, with a paperweight holding down its pages.

Everything was the same as usual.

Lu Kong didn't linger in the bedroom. He went straight to the rosewood bookshelf against the wall, his fingertips precisely touching the inconspicuous wood grain. His movements were exactly the same as Su Wan's.

Silently, the bookshelf slid open, revealing a stone staircase that Chen Anran and the others had never seen before.

The stone steps descended, seemingly into an unfathomable depth.

The ever-burning lamps on the walls lit up one after another with their footsteps, their dim yellow light barely dispelling the thick fog and illuminating the rough stone slabs beneath their feet.

Chen Anran walked at the front, his steps steady, but Wei Qingyi could see the tense lines of his profile. Feng Xiaolu followed closely beside her, her fingers unconsciously gripping Wei Qingyi's sleeve. Huiming walked at the back, chanting scriptures softly, the prayer beads slowly twirling between his fingers.

Lu Kong walked half a step to Chen Anran's side, his voice echoing in the narrow passage.

"This place wasn't Master's bedroom before; it was just an ordinary ancestral hall. A thousand years ago, when the Yunyin Sect was at its peak, the ancestral tablets of all generations were enshrined here, and the incense burned continuously. Later, the sect declined, the disciples scattered, and this ancestral hall gradually fell into disrepair."

Chen Anran frowned and asked, "From what you're saying, it's as if you witnessed it firsthand?"

Lu Kong smiled slightly, his eyes filled with reminiscence, "Yes, I have witnessed it all. Three thousand years have passed in the blink of an eye."

Chen Anran, who was walking ahead, suddenly stopped, as if nailed to the spot by an invisible force. He didn't turn around immediately, but Wei Qingyi clearly saw that the veins on the back of his hand, which was hanging at his side, were slightly bulging.

Following closely behind, Feng Xiaolu's breathing suddenly became rapid after a moment of holding her breath. She abruptly covered her mouth, her eyes wide open, reflecting the flickering lights on the corridor walls. "Three...three thousand...years? You...what exactly are you?!"

Wei Qingyi reacted the fastest and most directly.

"Three thousand years? The lifespan of a mortal is no more than a hundred years, and even a Foundation Establishment cultivator's lifespan is no more than three hundred years."

Huiming, who was walking at the back, stopped fiddling with his prayer beads. He slowly raised his head, and for the first time, his pure peace faded, replaced by a deep sense of astonishment and doubt in his gaze as he looked at Lu Kong's retreating figure. "Amitabha... Benefactor Lu's words are truly shocking. Three thousand years is enough to witness the rise and fall of dynasties and the vicissitudes of life. If this is not false, then what you and Sect Leader Su are plotting is probably far beyond our imagination."