Many years ago, a young Taoist with a baby face opened the door of Qingcheng Villa, calling her “School Sister Lin”.

He was not her younger school brother. However, at that time, there was a popular BBS website called ““Tribe for Cultivators” in the World of Cultivation of Huaxia. A group of young training Qi cultivators from Huaxia all called her “School Sister Lin”.

Later on, she laid Foundation in Jinling. When she reappeared, she was “Lin Luoran” rather than “School Sister Lin”. She became a senior master, and few young cultivators dared to hang out with her.

As the master of Qingcheng Taoist Temple, Hui Zhu was nice to Lin Luoran in the beginning. Without Xin Yuanping, their relationship would not be so embarrassing.

Hui Zhu chose to take Qingcheng Taoist Temple apprentices to live a sequestered life for a hundred years as an answer to the world of personal ability enhancement in Huaxia. In this way, he could protect Xin Yuanping. Since then, Lin Luoran had never seen this rigorous old Taoist. Young Taoist An with a baby face was driven out of Qingcheng Taoist Temple by Hui Zhu. To be honest. Lin Luoran didn’t understand why the old Taoist Hui Zhu did it.

Hundreds of years have passed quickly. She still vaguely remembers that before she fell out with Qingcheng Taoists, An and Lin’s family were quite close. He was a very simple young man who enjoyed cooking.

Qingcheng Taoist Temple had collapsed. The crazy Taoist once used the Spirit Nadis under Qingcheng Taoist Temple to set up “Yin-Yang-Mote Circle” for saving Baojia. Mount Qingcheng was wiped out when she returned to modern civilization from Spirit Mountain overseas. In its original place, only a pile of broken bricks and rubble remained. Chaotic Mount Qingcheng became a nest of mutant monsters.

At this moment, bricks and tiles of the temple in front of her make her feel inexplicably familiar. Lin Luoran figures out the reason when the Taoist in cyan appears—it is so similar to the old Qingcheng Taoist Temple!

In front of the arch gate, the Taoist in cyan asked, “Sister Lin, how are you?” Hundreds of years have passed. No matter what kind of history they had, Lin Luoran only feels moved when she sees the old friend.

“An… You are now a master cultivator of Gathering Vitality… you don’t have to call me Senior Sister.”

His baby face is no longer childish, and his thin cheeks reveal the unique and angular profile of a young man. An’s temperament has changed dramatically. In the past, he was an earthly person. Now wearing a cyan Taoist robe, he looks unworldly.

The only flaw is the scar like a crescent at the tail of his left eyebrow. It makes his appearance imperfect.

The simple little Taoist who grew up in mountains has become a noble young man. He has changed so much that Lin Luoran feels less excited to meet an old friend.

Lin Luoran notices that An keeps smiling, so she asks, “Are you the big brother they have been talking about?”

On the territory of prophet god school, there must be no room for the “big school brother” of Qingcheng Taoist Temple. An was so loyal to Qingcheng Taoist Temple. What happened to him and made him choose another school?

“The island is remote. School Sister Lin must be tired after a long journey. Please follow me to the side hall and sit down for a detailed discussion.”

Hundreds of years is very long. Whether for reminiscing about the past or getting some information from An, it’s not a good way to talk standing in the yard.

Mu Tiannan pats her shoulder to encourage her. An leaves. Lin Luoran calms down and follows him.

There are bamboos in the backyard. A laurel tree higher than the roof is dotted with buds about to bloom. Under the tree, there is a table with vegetarian dishes on it. There is also a pot of sweet-scented osmanthus wine, three sets of tableware, and a few seasonal vegetables which are fresh and tender. It seems that An made the fried tofu with two golden sides himself.

Sitting down as the host and the guest, An looks very calm, and Lin Luoran doesn’t have to seize the meal time. The three people are well-mannered, drinking some wine and having almost all the dishes.

When they put down their chopsticks, a young Taoist boy who was sweeping the floor before the temple cleans up the bowls, chopsticks, and leftovers swiftly. Lin Luoran looks at him thoughtfully.

They have a quiet meal, but it is too quiet. This is a big Taoist temple, but only An and the Taoist boy who swept the floor live here. The man who clears up their dishes is still the same Taoist boy. It’s so strange that there are only a few people.

“Mingyue, fetch the maple tea in my room and make three cups of tea.”

Taoist boy Mingyue is about to leave when he hears the instruction. Lin Luoran smiles, “If you don’t mind, I have some tea. Would fellow cultivator An want to have a try?”

An calls her “School Sister Lin” while Lin Luoran calls him “Fellow Cultivator An”. Because of troublesome Xin Yuanping, Lin Luoran takes the initiative to distance herself from An. Otherwise, she will have to care about An’s feelings when she deals with Xin Yuanping in the future.

An is not annoyed when he hears how Lin Luoran calls him. To be frank, as the chief apprentice who is placed high hopes by prophet god school, now An barely feels troubled or annoyed.

Earlier, the sacred pearl space changed drastically. Lin Luoran moved out most of her belongings, including spirit herbs, spirit medicines, and spirit tea. She takes out a bamboo tube and hands it to Mingyue. After a while, the young Taoist boy serves three cups of tea for them. The fragrance of the tea diffuses. An takes two sips and he is a little surprised.

“Jasmine Tea… it is the taste of the earth.”

It is the taste of the earth and it is the taste of the center of Chuan province.

Compared with Dahongpao Tea and Biluochun Tea, Jasmine Tea is not worth mentioning. However, before the New Era, this tea did occupy a large civilian market in the center of Chuan province. As far as Lin Luoran knows, Jasmine Tea trees were grown in several villages and towns near Li’s Village where she grew up. An who grew up in Qingcheng Taoist Temple must have tasted this tea.

An is now an apprentice of prophet god school, but he still lives in a temple looking the same as Qingcheng Taoist Temple. From his attitudes after drinking tea, Lin Luoran knows that he must miss the old days very much.

An is now less unfamiliar for Lin Luoran after their reunion. Lin Luoran has no intention of making friendships, but she also doesn’t like the feeling that things are completely out of control.

It’s the same tea, but the three of them tasted different flavors. Mu Tiannan has been very low-key since he entered the temple. There is a “Qingcheng Taoist Temple” hidden on the isolated island in the prophet god school territory, western sea area of Lanhu Star. A Taoist is acting as if he has been waiting for their arrival. Mu Tiannan doesn’t like how prophet god school acts.

At this moment, An seems to just remember something. He puts down the tea cup and talks to Mu Tiannan.

“I almost forget to congratulate School Brother Mu on your amazing personal ability. If Master Mu knows it, he must be very pleased.”

Mu Tiannan stares at An for a long while, as if his gaze is going to pierce his face. With a gloomy face, he asks, “You mean… you know the whereabouts of the Lin family and my old man?”

His tone is totally sarcastic. Brother Mu is never good at conspiracy and avoiding important topics. He has drunk enough jasmine tea and he has to ask the most important question. Mu Tiannan doesn’t like prophet god school’s style of “knowing everything but telling nothing”. Therefore, he points out the key problem directly.

The tacit understanding between Lin and Mu for a hundred years is that they have a good-cop, bad-cop routine. Mu Tiannan is serious, so Lin Luoran makes the atmosphere less intense.

“Fellow Cultivator An, this Taoist temple is so big, but where are other people?”

There were many people who left the earth from Qingcheng Taoist Temple. However, where is Hui Zhu? Xin Yuanping is also not here.

An keeps smiling even when Mu Tiannan’s attitude is not friendly. Lin Luoran’s original intention is to change the subject. However, An suddenly changes his complexion as soon as she finishes speaking.

Confusion, pain, self-blame, and nostalgia… many emotions fill An’s eyes. He is finally not the unworldly chief apprentice of prophet god school. He is now like an immortal falling into the earthly world.

“People of Qingcheng Taoist Temple? Well, School Sister Lin had a relationship with the Qingcheng Taoist Temple. The master used to think highly of you… please come with me.”

An touches his forehead with his hand. His fingers tremble slightly as he sweeps across the crescent scar at the tail of his eyebrow.

The Gathering Vitality Meta inside cultivators always nourish their meridians and cells. Even severed limbs can be regrown, not to mention a small scar on the face—unless the owner of the body wants to keep it.

…

The “second” Qingcheng Taoist Temple has a main hall to worship its venerable masters.

A few rows of wooden shelves were nailed on the altar facing the door of the temple. A stick of incense is inserted in the purple gold incense burner on the altar table and half of it is burnt out. In addition, there is a hollow copper furnace for incense in the center of the main hall. The whole room is filled with the smell of incense.

The room is full of sunlight because of doors and windows so that they can see everything clearly. Lin Luoran sees so many memorial tablets in rows on the wooden shelves as soon as she raises her head.

In the center, there is a memorial tablet with red text on a black background. It reads, “Honorable Master Taoist Hui Zhu”.

The old Taoist Hui Zhu passed away!

Lin Luoran can’t hide her surprise. The Taoist root of Huizhu was not bad. Otherwise, he would not have become the first person in the world of cultivation in Huaxia under the extremely bad personal ability enhancement environment. After Lin Luoran arrived in the second-rate spiritual world, she has met three men she knew. Zhixiu is a Buddhist cultivator so he is not a typical example. However, Xin Yuanping and An both succeeded in the advancement of Gathering Vitality period. Therefore, Lin Luoran totally believes that this world is a perfect place for cultivators. However, she has ignored something. Besides abundant Reiki, cultivation also requires one’s personal ability to match his state of mind. Only in this way can cultivators advance.

If cultivators can’t advance, they will die eventually.

Gathering Vitality cultivators have a lifespan of 800 years. At most, Old Taoist Hui Zhu had practiced for 600 years. Maybe he didn’t break through the Gathering Vitality period?

Lin Luoran feels horrible about so many memorial tablets on the altar, and she suddenly thinks of something. No, she is wrong! Huizhu was dedicated to pursuing Tao. With his persistence, he would never stop at the Bearing Essence Period in the second-rate spiritual world. As proved by so many memorial tablets of the Qingcheng Taoists on the altar, someone had killed Hui Zhu… This temple is a perfect replica of Qingcheng Taoist Temple, but it is empty. Did someone kill all people except Xin Yuanping and An?

The atmosphere in the hall is very depressing. Lin Luoran and Mu Tiannan offer two sticks of incense in silence.

They don’t say anything but An looks gloomy. He suddenly takes the initiative to tell the story.

“School Sister Lin, it turns out that cultivators with single Taoist root are unique and rare in the vast and boundless world of cultivation. The earth is small, but it’s so lucky to gather all five elements. Four hundred years ago, the earth cultivators joined forces to open the Tower of Babel, not only to shelter the earth under the gunfire, but also to find the last way out for personal ability enhancement.

At that time, everyone felt worried but yearning for the world at the other end of the Tower of Babel. Things went smoothly. The Shelter of Gods was opened, and we came to the real world of cultivation as we wished… There might be only one mistake. When transmitting, all schools and nations were on guard against each other. Therefore, we didn’t hold hands with each other.”

The cultivators teleported away from the earth after opening “the Shelter of Gods” did not have a star atlas with them. People came from different places. After the major problem was solved, their relationship was not so good that they could hold hands and be teleported together. Therefore, after reaching the second-rate spiritual world at the other end of the Tower of Babel, the cultivators transmitted from the earth were scattered on various stars in the world of cultivation.

Some of them were really lucky. They found the school which had migrated here in the past.

Some weak and unfortunate cultivators underestimated the cruelty of the real world of cultivation. They acted a little inappropriately, and they were killed by high-level cultivators.

But among these cultivators, the most eye-catching thing was that geniuses with single Taoist root of five elements were gathered.

This message was divulged by a weak cultivator who came with them. Huaxia personal ability enhancement world was peaceful. However, during the period when Lin Luoran was trapped in Jinling Underground Palace, many people wanted to take Luodong who had the sing Taoist root of the Earth.

In the huge world of cultivation, a genius with single Taoist root was born every one hundred years. However, it’s almost impossible to gather cultivators with single Taoist root of five elements at the same time.

Just as the prophetic legend on the earth—if cultivators with single Taoist root of Five Elements were gathered, they could lead the earth cultivators to find a perfect world for personal ability enhancement. They represented the hope of the cultivation world—there was a similar legend in the second-rate spiritual world.

It was a story among various ancient schools—the pure and flawless power of the Five Elements could eliminate ancient barriers and it was the “power to break the boundaries of worlds.”

Above the world of cultivation, there was the spiritual world and the immortal world… Cultivators who pursued Tao were greedy to some extent. If they wanted to get something, they could do anything. So their destructive power was much stronger than any earthly king with a large number of troops.

Moreover, the five cultivators with single Taoist root from the earth have similar personal ability levels. How perfect the balance of the power of five elements were!

Some famous schools wanted to gather all five people, which aroused public outrage. In the end, situations of the five people, including An were completely different after constant battles and compromise.

Of course, weak Qingcheng Taoist Temple couldn’t protect An. He could only choose to hide when he noticed danger. However, Qingcheng Taoist Temple was at a disadvantage when Xin Yuanping appeared.

At that time, Xin Yuanping had already hooked up with Yinshan School. After she plotted Zhixiu, the thing of single Taoist root of Five Elements became well-known. Hui Zhu realized the situation was troublesome so that he led the Qingcheng Taoists to hide for safety. Xin Yuanping found them, using the unique contact method of Qingcheng Taoist Temple.

Yinshan School came to them in a few days. Except for An and Xin Yuanping, all the people of Qingcheng Taoist Temple were murdered.

“In fact, before the master passed away, he had known that Senior School Sister Xin was the traitor. Otherwise, he would not have forced me to make an Oath of Devil Inside. He asked me to promise that I would never hurt Senior School Sister Xin in my life.”

The guilt for Xin Yuanping had tortured the old Taoist Hui Zhu for most of his life. Before his death, such guilt must have been gone. Knowing that he had owed to so many Qingcheng Taoists, he still forced An to make an Oath of Devil Inside. An would never violate it since he was such a loyal man.

Hui Zhu was a stubborn person.

An would not kill Xin Yuanping, but Xin Yuanping did kill Hui Zhu and An’s friends in Qingcheng Taoist Temple. Even though he was a loyal man, she had pushed him too far. He cared about nothing so he might do something crazy for revenge.

Superficially, he agreed to join Yinshan School. Actually, he had been sabotaging the relationship between Xin Yuanping and Yinshan School.

When their relationship could not be fixed, An left Yinshan School and joined prophet god school which was the most mysterious in the world of cultivation. He became an apprentice of the school master. It turned out that a cultivator with single Taoist root of the Wood was not merely talented in magic figures. When An got serious, his proficiency even shocked prophet god school.

Xin Yuanping was plotted by An. Even though she had advanced to the Gathering Vitality period, Yinshan School recognized her only as a “senior guest” because of their history.

An was actually talented in the deduction of numerology, astrology and divination which no one had cultivated in the world of cultivation on the earth!

Of course, the prophet god school was not the same as Feng Shui masters of the earth. Taking numerology as an example, average masters could know the fate of ordinary people and even help to make some changes. However, the numerology of prophet god school could see through the fate of cultivators who enhanced their ability against the laws of heaven, the future of different schools, and even the fortune of the world of cultivation—it was said that its deduction ability had reached the extreme. Prophet god school totally had the ability to change everyone’s fate.

An was talented in deduction so he soon became the favorite chief apprentice of the school master.

Prophet god school thought highly of him. It didn’t care the ethereal thought of “power to break the boundaries of worlds”. Instead, it cultivated him as the core of the school.

“The school master is really generous to me. I promised grandmaster that I wouldn’t do anything to Senior School Sister Xin, but she will come to a violent death. As long as the result is the same, I don’t care about the process.”

An’s laugh is like a spring breeze, but Lin Luoran feels chilly.

The person in front of her is not the shy boy with a baby face. The fried tofu he made is still delicious. However, once a simple person has hatred in his heart, he will never be who he was.

“You said Xin Yuanping will come to a violent death. What did you do?”

An turns his head to look at the altar in the hall. His face is unclear in the cyan smoke.

“I only told the truth. I told some people that School Sister Lin would appear on Tiankui Star from the Earth… School Sister Lin, didn’t you meet School Brother Wen Guanjing on Tiankui Star?”

An suddenly changes the topic and he mentions Wen Guanjing.

Mu Tiannan frowns so much that his eyebrows can pinch flies—An changes the topic very fast as if he is mentally abnormal.

Why does he suddenly mention Wen Guanjing? Lin Luoran signals him to continue.

“Oh, if you meet him again, you’d better call him School Master Wen.” An looks envious, “For people with single Taoist root of the Five Elements… some were unlucky like me whose entire school was exterminated. Some had Taoism luck like School Brother Wen…”

People who can be recognized as “having Taoism luck” by An are very enviable in the world of cultivation.

After Wen Guanjing left the earth, his Taoism luck was really astonishing.

There wasn’t a school called “Zu Mountain” in the world of cultivation, but there was a famous school with history called “Sword School”. Sword School was not like some ordinary cultivation schools which recruited apprentices to expand their territories. It only recruited swordsmen because the quality of apprentices rather than the quantity was valued. With flying swords, their apprentices were the best human-shaped weapons.

Especially more than a thousand years ago, more than 800 swordsmen suddenly appeared in the world of cultivation. Their strength was not the strongest, but 800 people worked together.

The school master took the initiative to recruit these cultivators. At that time, few people knew that these swordsmen who suddenly appeared actually came from a school called “Zu Mountain” on the earth.

Ye Zhao was known as “Mr. Wuye” for his amazing performance. He was talented in the Tao of swords. Under his leadership for many years, his team of more than 800 people became an unprecedentedly unified and fierce power in the world of cultivation.

800 swordsmen worked together. After only a hundred years, these swordsmen became stronger. They totally became men who controlled Sword School.

Sword School looked more and more like Zu Mountain. Some swordsmen of Zu Mountain became immortals while some passed away. Actually, more than a thousand years later, this school was still called Sword School but it actually became Zu Mountain School.

When Wen Guanjing appeared as the heir of Zu Mountain with single Taoist root of the Fire, no one dared to make a mistake. Wen Guanjing took Zu Mountain cultivators to join Sword School. 30 years ago, he officially became the school master of Sword School.

Suddenly, An said that he did not retaliate against Xin Yuanping.

He deduced that Lin Luoran would appear in Tiankui Star and he told others this message.

It was more tempting for the moral mind of cultivators than it was more than 400 years ago—Lin Luoran is a person who has the most balanced and perfect Taoist root of five elements.

Xin Yuanping knew, Yinshan School knew, and many famous schools including Sword School knew.

But no one knew the current strength of Lin Luoran. An took advantage of this. He not only led Xin Yuanping to Tiankui Star to be exposed to Lin Luoran initially. Besides, when Yinshan School wanted to take advantage of favourable geographical position to catch Lin Luoran, Wen Guanjing led Sword School to save her.

In the end, Yinshan School which had slaughtered Qingcheng Taoists was defeated. This school was almost broken! Xin Yuanping, a ruthless traitor of Qingcheng Taoist Temple, provoked Lin Luoran once again!

“See… School Sister Lin, I promised the master, and I do remember my promise clearly.”

When An calls her School Sister Lin, he looks a little nostalgic. Compared with the master’s biological daughter, the so-called “Senior School Sister Xin”, he really hopes that his school sister is the person in front of him—she is a female cultivator who can make any school proud in terms of both aptitude and character. Why does she not belong to Qingcheng Taoist Temple…

“School Sister Lin, do you still want to know the whereabouts of your family?”

Lin Luoran says nothing. The situations of An and Wen Guanjing are totally different, and she is totally frightened. The Lin family has two cultivators with single Taoist root… when the nest is overturned, no egg stays unbroken.

In the weird silence, Taoist boy Mingyue opens the door and comes in.

“Master, School Uncle is here.”

An nods, “I see. Go back to your room. Don’t come out no matter what you hear, okay?”

Mingyue scratches his head and leaves obediently. Lin Luoran feels that Mingyue is very similar to An in the past. They are both quiet and innocent young Taoists.

Mu Tiannan looks at the door and sneers. Qingcheng Taoists are all dead, and Mingyue will never call a member of prophet god school “School Uncle”.

Surrounded by a few beautiful nuns, Xin Yuanping passes through the arch gate. When she sees the people standing in the yard, the smile on her face freezes. After a while, she smiles charmingly.

“School Brother An!”

No wonder School Brother An asked her to come to Lanhu Star. He had known that Hasa Star could not trap Lin Luoran.

An also smiles, which is different from Xin Yuanping’s arrogant smile. He smiles because he has known everything.