Legend of the Great Sage

a Chenglu said with a reluctance to see him go.

“Sir Hawk God won’t be so unreasonable, would he? I’ve spent many years away from the Green province.
Now that I’m finally back for once, I should be allowed to catch a break, right? I need to go and check on my master as well as deal with some important matters of life.”

“Yeah, yeah.
And as a disciple of the school of Novels, you can’t go for such a long time without writing anything!” Liu Chuanfeng added from the side.

“If you hadn’t mentioned it, I would have almost forgotten I was a disciple of the school of Novels.” Li Qingshan smiled.

“Qingshan, never forget your roots! Alive, you’re a member of the school of Novels, and dead, you’re a ghost of the school of Novels.” Liu Chuanfeng smiled as well.

“You can go be the damned ghost! Alright, I’ll work on something new once I have the time.” Li Qingshan agreed happily.

The banquet unfolded on the rooftop very quickly.
Li Qingshan took the main seat like it was common sense.
“I’ve returned in a hurry this time, so I haven’t specially brought back any gifts or anything, but I did end up accumulating some special produce of the Mist province over the years.
Please have a taste.”

These spiritual fruits and medicinal alcohol were all spoils he had obtained from his battles.
They had already become useless for him, such that all he could savour was their taste.
They were perfect for entertaining the guests.

However, these spiritual fruits and alcohol bore an entirely different significance to Foundation Establishment cultivators.
Just the glow they gave off exposed their value.
They only accepted it after declining many times out of modesty, thanking Li Qingshan.

“Big brother Li, I heard the south is a land of wilderness.
Is there anything special about it compared to the Green province?”

Hua Chenglu looked at Li Qingshan seriously.
She had not been able to look at him properly during the chaotic battle earlier, but now, she could see just how he had changed despite not changing.
He seemed even more confident and in high spirits as if everything in the world lay in his palm.
Suddenly, she recalled the kiss from all those years ago.

“If you want to talk about the special aspects, then there’s plenty…”

Li Qingshan took a sip of alcohol and began telling her about the various cultures and customs of the Mist province, ranging from the canniabilitistic Bone Eating tribe and Savage mountain occupied by demonic cultivators to the mysterious Merfolk sea fair and the banyan forest that spanned for thousands of kilometers.

Hua Chenglu entered a short daze as she listened to him.
Her eyes were filled with anticipation.
The distant land of the south was even more wondrous than its description in the books.

The rooftop fell quiet.
The others all listened attentively too.
They were cultivators, countless times more powerful than mortals, but just like how mortals could not leave a village or a city, they had their own shackles too.
Perhaps they would never be able to reach the distant South sea in their entire lives.

As he told his stories, Li Qingshan’s gaze drifted away.
The various scenes of the past appeared before his eyes, as well as the adventures that he could not mention.
When he returned to his senses, he gazed at the familiar faces and the familiar scene around him and came to a realisation.

“I really do want to go back.”

Li Qingshan looked up at the stars.
He did his best to chase after strength, not just for the sake of defeating something or possessing something, but to break free from his restraints, to see sights he had never seen before, to go to places he had never been before!

Beyond the Nine Heavens was still rather distant, but he had not abandoned his promise either.

After the banquet, everyone dispersed, and Li Qingshan became slightly tipsy as well.
Liu Chuanfeng invited him to return to Cloudwisp island to take a look, but he declined.
“Let me go back to my dwelling first and deal with this Soaring Locust King’s clone.
I’ll visit the academy in a few days’ time.”

With that, he left the prefectural city, but he did not return to the Chain mountains.
Instead, he flew towards the south-west according to his feelings, arriving before a lake surrounded by mountains.
Sensing the aura from the bottom of the lake, he smiled and leapt into the water.

“Your man is back!”