Chapter 1425 – Earth Realm (1): The Beauty Hasn’t Aged, But Where Is the King?

In a certain part of the Qilian mountain range in Qinghai Province, an old lady in a linen coat and a headscarf was lying on a bamboo chair in the thatched cottage.

Her hands danced in the air as if she was conducting an orchestra, and streams of energy fluctuated around her. In the end, the streams of energy combined to form a handkerchief with brilliant lights and vibrant colors.

Suddenly, a loud sound rang from the door’s direction. The old lady immediately stopped her hand movements and stood up.

“Daoist Tang, did you not already ascend to the Immortal World? How did you come back?” After seeing who it was, the linen-robbed old lady put down the handkerchief. “Don’t tell me that you failed to pass the Tribulation and a fragment of your soul came back again.”

“Cough…” Tang Xiu originally planned to have a big smile when greeting the old lady, but after hearing what the old lady said, his handsome face began to blush a bright red.

After seeing the old lady’s mischievous facial expression, he then realized that she did that purpose.

“Good to make you laugh. I came to visit you to show my gratitude for fostering the Nine Maids back then.” Tang Xiu cupped his fists towards the old lady, which represented a greeting.

Tang Xiu held a great deal of respect for the old lady.

Compared to the other rulers throughout China’s different eras, this old lady was someone who truly protected China. She was already nearly a thousand years old, and yet, she had never abandoned China. She chose to remain and protect this land all this time in secrecy and had rescued China from many genocidal threats. At the same time, her power managed to keep the other countries at bay as well.

“Daoist Tang is too polite. It was fate that brought Zhong Ling and those other brats to me. They also helped me solve many problems in my cultivation as well. If we really are to talk about gratitude, I should be the one grateful towards Daoist Tang.” The old lady was not excited and calmly replied.

Tang Xiu couldn’t help but pause. When he ascended back then, did the old lady not ask him to take her with him to the Immortal World? Why was it that after a few decades, the old lady seemed to be uninterested at the notion of ascending to the Immortal World?

Tang Xiu understood very quickly. He didn’t know what the old lady had been through, but he knew that her life was coming to an end soon.

“Daoist Li, when I ascended, did some dangerous figures appear again?” Upon recognizing the heavy wounds on the old lady’s body, Tang Xiu couldn’t hold back his curiosity and asked.

“Daoist Tang, my old body is already spent. Don’t tease me anymore. A couple of decades ago, when Miao Wentang and Shao Mingzhen successfully passed the Tribulation and ascended, I thought that the Tribulation had become easier. In the end, when I tried to cross the Tribulation two years ago, I nearly lost my life,” the old lady said this and stared daggers at Tang Xiu.

Upon hearing her words, an expression of awkwardness crept onto Tang Xiu’s face.

“I’m truly sorry. When I ascended back then, I was only focused on revenge. I was afraid that by bringing you with me, it would karmically affect your Heavenly Dao, so I had to refuse. Please accept this gift from me as my apology.” When Tang Xiu said this, he pointed a finger at the old lady.

The old lady, looking at Tang Xiu’s finger, was suddenly immobilized.

She saw lines of green light appear out of Tang Xiu’s finger, then they rapidly surged into her body.

After the green light entered her body, her inner injuries and wounds were instantly healed. Her life force rapidly increased as well and finally, her appearance also turned younger by the second.

After a while, Tang Xiu retracted his finger with beads of sweat visible on his forehead.

This was because he had just injected his own vitality into the old lady to use. He felt that this was worth it.

“This… This… I’m unbelievably grateful to Daoist Tang. I have nothing that I can give in return. If Daoist Tang does not dislike it, then I’m willing to be your servant and do whatever it is that you wish.” After feeling a complete change within her body, the old lady was completely in awe of Tang Xiu’s divine abilities and was also filled with gratitude.

“Daoist Li, you have already cultivated on Earth for a thousand years. Have you felt that there’s something abnormal on Earth? For example, many things that belonged to the Immortal World and the God Realm suddenly appeared on Earth.” Tang Xiu looked at the old lady and laughed. He only asked this after the old lady had calmed down.

“Now that Daoist Tang has mentioned it, that’s true. I have realized that many abnormal things happened. Although my power on Earth can be considered as top tier, there are still many places that I’m completely unable to see and do not dare to get near to either.” The old lady didn’t know what Tang Xiu was hinting at, so she just went along with it.

“What if I told you that Earth was not always like this, but it was once the God Realm. However, because of a great war, Earth has become what it is today. Would you believe me?”

“What? How’s that possible?” The old lady heard this and was completely shocked. She started to refute that claim, but she slowly fell into deep thought. After a while, she mumbled. “If Earth was really once the God Realm, then the things that happened to me in Shennong Ridge, Ghost King Valley back then can be explained.”

“Daoist Li, I have something quite unfair to ask of you. If you don’t mind, would you be able to stay on Earth and not ascend, while helping me to investigate all the abnormal places on Earth? If Daoist Li can provide me with valuable information, then I will naturally reward you abundantly for them.” After he heard that the old lady also knew of the things in Ghost King Valley, Tang Xiu’s eyes lit up.

After he received the old lady’s promise, Tang Xiu breathed a sigh of relief.

Star City, Old River Street district, Shanty Area, Su Family Restaurant.

Even though it was still quite early in the morning, there was already a line of customers waiting for the restaurant to open.

After a few decades of city growth, Star City was already changed completely. The Old River Street district was already renovated and rebuilt. Only the Shanty Area and the Su Family Restaurant remained. At most, they just renovated the outer walls, which made this area a special venue in Star City.

“Do you guys reckon that Cheng Yannan would come and join Teacher Xia’s sixtieth birthday? She was once her favorite student, after all.”

“I heard that Su Xiangfei did invite Cheng Yannan. As for whether or not she would show up, that’s another story. After all, Magnificent Tang Corporation is such a big responsibility. Anything can happen at any moment.”

“I saw Cheng Yannan on the news yesterday and she looks just like a twenty-year-old lady. There were no marks of age on her face and she did not look like a forty-year-old at all! She looked just like a fairy.”

…

Cheng Yannan was a hot topic at that time.

Although Cheng Yannan did awaken special abilities, her cultivation aptitude was average, so she couldn’t keep up with the cultivation speed of the Tang Sect’s members. Even then, Tang Xiu was willing to take her with him when he ascended to the Immortal World, but she refused him tactfully.

The reason for her refusal was simple. The Magnificent Tang Corporation was too big. Long Zhengyu might not have been able to handle it if she left. Furthermore, even if she did ascend to the Immortal World, she wouldn’t be of much help anyway. Therefore, it was better for her to stay on Earth and take care of the Magnificent Tang Corporation in Tang Xiu’s stead.

Since Tang Xiu and Cheng Xuemei failed to persuade her, they could only allow Cheng Yannan to have her way and stay on Earth. At the same time, they gave all the responsibilities of the Magnificent Tang Corporation to Cheng Yannan. As for Long Zhengyu, he was left in charge of Nine Dragons Island and the other businesses. However, he was now able to put more time and effort into cultivating.

South Gate Town, Villa Number 9.

Before leaving Earth, Tang Xiu had given his house to Cheng Yannan to take care of. Cheng Yannan did not make any changes and moved in right away.

“President Cheng, Mr. Xia Mingjie’s birthday party begins at 12:10 pm officially. Would you like to go there before it begins? Or would you like to wait until the party has already officially begun to go?” Her beautiful secretary, Dai Mi, asked her gently as she brushed and styled Cheng Yannan’s hair.

“Let me have a look at the list of attendees.” Cheng Yannan did not answer Dai Mi’s question, but instead, asked her to do something.

Dai Mi paused for a second, then proceeded to walk into the lounge room. Then, she took a Magnificent Tang Corporation’s iPad into the room with her. After a few quick swipes, a list that was updated three minutes ago was now in front of Cheng Yannan.

As expected, the first name on the list was Xia Mingjie. Then, it was Principal Wei Zhentai, as well as other teachers of the school in Star City. At the very end of the list, those names included the past students of Xia Mingjie from the past few decades. There were nearly three hundred people on the list. Cheng Yannan was only familiar with her classmates in class 10, the principal, and some of the teachers.

After seeing that the list named Wei Zhentai, Hu Qiusheng, and Yang Jian as some of the attendees, Cheng Yannan immediately frowned.

Tang Xiu was once nearly kicked out of Star City by these people. If it wasn’t for Han Qingwu, the teacher in charge of class 10 defending him and his results improving suddenly, Cheng Yannan did not think that she would get to know Tang Xiu back then and got into an unforgettable relationship with him.

Cheng Yannan wanted to call Su Xiangfei to erase Wei Zhentai, Hu Qiusheng, and Yang Jian from the attendee’s list. However, after mulling over it, she dismissed that notion.

It had already been so many decades since then, so she didn’t feel it was necessary to bring up little things that happened in the past again.

“Xiu, it has already been a few decades. Are you doing well in the Immortal World?” Cheng Yannan refreshed the attendee’s list two times and still couldn’t find the name that she wanted to find, and a poignant smile appeared on her face.

“Xiu, if you were to give me another chance, I would have definitely chosen to follow you to the Immortal World and fight alongside you.

“Xiu, it wasn’t that I didn’t want to ascend with you, but because there are too many transcendental beauties by your side, so I never found a sense of belonging beside you…”

Two lines of tears flowed from her eyes silently, and the faint sorrow hidden inside them was enough to evoke pity.