Chapter 452 - An Old Acquaintance Appears

Deep within the inner layer of the Central Continent, a solitary peak soared into the clouds. At its foot, sections of winding greenstone avenues stretched upward, with elegant and ancient-looking buildings on either side. Though not flashy in appearance, they exuded grandeur and magnificence, revealing the profound foundation behind this power.

This place was the Central Dao Palace. Even without mentioning the Gold List, the Life-Extending Fruit alone had drawn most of the outer domain people here.

Just earlier, the Dao Palace had announced that the top three on the Gold List would each receive a Life-Extending Fruit, but the outer domain people remained unsatisfied. After all, no matter how good the fruit was, the most precious thing to them was always that divine root. With it, there would be an endless supply of Life-Extending Fruits.

A single fruit could only extend one's lifespan by a hundred years. But what if one consumed ten, a hundred, or even the entire divine root?

Thus, nearly every outer domain cultivator had the same thought: Once this matter is settled, I'll return with reinforcements and seize this divine root!

***

Inside a quiet chamber at the peak summit, the two Venerables understood the thoughts of the outer domain people all too well. The guardians at the Feather Transformation realm were still manageable, but if a cultivator above the Ascension realm came, they could singlehandedly annihilate the Central Dao Palace.

One person sighed. “This Gold List can only buy us some time. We ultimately can’t protect the divine root...”

The other person took it lightly. “It’s not a big deal. We have plenty of lifespan left and have stockpiled quite a few Life-Extending Fruits. Holding on to the divine root would bring far more harm than good anyway. Better to give it to them. Not only will we gain a favor, but we can also avoid a huge disaster.”

The first person hesitated. “But with so many powers, if we give it to someone, I’m afraid others will hold a grudge.”

“The candidate has already been chosen.”

“Who?”

The latter person smiled. “Ancient Cang Realm’s Gu Chen. I’ve already inquired about him. He is the strongest in the Ancient Cang Realm. If we give the divine root to him, others definitely won’t complain too much. Moreover, I hear he is an upright person who hates evil and certainly won’t treat us unfairly. Most importantly, his youngest disciple has also come here now!”

***

A young man sat cross-legged inside an inconspicuous pavilion halfway up the mountain. Despite his unremarkable demeanor, anyone who glanced at him would find his appearance unforgettable. A deep scar extended from his left eye to his right lip, adding a touch of ferocity to his unexceptional looks.

Not far away, Xiao Yang and Hua Xing stood facing each other, sighing with emotion. “Look at him! He’s truly one of the Taihao Seven Sons!”

Hua Xing remarked, “He’s no joke. He’s daring enough to come here alone without bringing a single guardian. He really is the Ancient Sect Master’s disciple. Unlike us—”

Xiao Yang shook his head. “Enough. Don’t sell yourself short. After all, he is at the Saint realm. Besides, we only brought one guardian each. Look at those people... the less capable they are, the more people they bring. Why don’t they just move their entire sect here?”

Hua Xing deeply agreed, “How strange. Why hasn’t Brother Gu arrived yet? Given his speed, he should have been here by now.”

Xiao Yang sighed softly, feeling somewhat uneasy. When will I see that red-robed maiden again?

Just as he was feeling melancholy, a melodious zither sound came from afar. Like a clear spring in the mountains, the music was gentle and mellifluous, tinkling melodiously. It faintly carried some special rhythm and removed all distracting thoughts from their minds.

In just a short while, the two became completely immersed in it. They felt that the ever-elusive law qi had become much clearer. Their soul power dispersed on its own as they condensed law fragments three or four times faster than before.

Inside the pavilion, the scar-faced young man slowly turned around, a flicker of surprise in his eyes. “Hmm? Zither dao? That’s rare.”

***

Inside a simple and clean small courtyard near the peak summit, Xue Yu sat with her eyes slightly closed. Her fingers danced across the zither strings, weaving one note after another into a majestically ethereal melody.

More than then people had gathered outside the small courtyard, with Fu Dahai and his two companions at the front.

Fu Dahai praised, “Amazing zither skills! Amazing beauty!”

The Luoheng Holy Master stroked his beard. “Good zither and good looks!”

Yan Qianjue nodded repeatedly. The three each spoke a useless sentence, then glanced at each other and smiled. Even though ten years had passed, the telepathy between the iron triangle remained. Behind them, Wang Yong, Zhou Ye, and the others looked at each other.

Upon seeing Fu Dahai, who looked even older than ten years ago, Yan Qianjue sighed. “Fellow Daoist Fu, don’t worry. That kid said he would definitely come. Given his ability, even with these extra outer domain people, he can surely snatch a Life-Extending Fruit for you!”

The Luoheng Holy Master nodded. “Exactly! With Zuo Yang and the others added to the mix, our chances of victory are high!”

Fu Dahai smiled. “It’s okay. Now that Changhe has entered the Feather Transformation realm, the fruit no longer means much to me. Best case, I live another hundred years. If not, I’ll let things roll naturally!”

Half a year ago, Fu Changhe lived up to expectations and finally broke into the Feather Transformation realm. With him guarding the Fu family, Fu Dahai had no more worries.

Just then, the few of them seemed to see something and frowned. “Hmm?”

As Xue Yu became more and more immersed, that special dao essence within the zither music became increasingly clear.

Mo Li stared at Zuo Yang beside him seriously. “Not bad. Brother Zuo, Miss Xue’s accomplishment in the art of zither is no less than your accomplishment in the art of cooking.”

Zuo Yang deeply agreed, then looked at Yu Miao beside him. “She’s really good! Junior Sister, are you hungry?”

Yu Miao thought for a moment. “Not, but I want to eat meat.”

Zuo Yang took out his large black pot. “Alright.”

Mo Li’s eyes lit up. “This is great! I get to benefit from Miss Yu’s presence! With such immortal music accompanying it, the delicacies Brother Zuo makes will surely be even better than before!”

On the other side, Yun Fan stared at that large black pot and wiped his drool. “Right! We can never have enough of Sister Xue’s zither music and Brother Zuo’s roasted meat!”

In the past ten years, his appearance had changed quite a bit, but the same couldn’t be said about his temperament.

Beside him, Zhao Mengyou rolled her eyes as usual and secretly swallowed her saliva. Good for nothing!

The music delighted the ears, while the aroma of the meat tantalized the nose.

Months earlier, the three had traveled all the way and arrived at the inner layer of the Central Continent. That was when they came across Zuo Yang’s trio, who were out searching for ingredients, and followed him to the Central Dao Palace. With a Dao Child accompanying them, no one dared stand in their way or make things difficult for them.

Yu Miao said with some regret, “What a pity. If only Brother Gu Han, Sister Feng Xi, and Ah Sha were here...”

Zuo Yang stopped moving. “Then we’d have a family reunion.”

Yun Fan felt lost. “Brother Gu...”

Zhao Mengyou bit her lip. “He’s so heartless!”

However, her heart secretly missed him.

Even Xue Yu stopped playing the zither and sighed softly. “Young Master...”

Mo Li was speechless.

Just then, the small courtyard’s gate was forcefully pushed open, and a young man entered.

“Good zither—hmm?” He suddenly caught sight of Zhao Mengyou, and his eyes lit up again. “I see your beauty outshines even your music!”

The zither music then came to an abrupt halt.