This old man was old and had dark skin. His skin was rough, but his bones were strong. He looked like he had experienced heavy physical labor all year round.
Slowly, he bowed to Zhu Yi and said respectfully, "Master."
Zhu Yi looked at this old man and said, "Yunsheng, a hundred years have passed. It's time for you to return."
The old man bowed to the ground and said softly, "Yes, Master."
Zhu Yi had long since stopped accepting disciples. The second generation core disciples of Qian Tian Palace had all grown up and become the pillars of Xuanmen Tianzong.
However, if they were to appear here at this moment, none of them would believe that this weathered old man who didn't seem to have any cultivation was actually one of the top figures among the second generation disciples of the Qian Tian Palace and even the entire sect, Xu Yunsheng!
Not long ago, before the Kunlun Mountain Dharma Assembly, Xu Yunsheng and Ying Luoza were known as the two prides of the second generation core disciples. At that time, apart from Dao Yuting's special circumstances, their only opponents were each other.
In the competition between the two of them, Xu Yunsheng had a slight upper hand.
This was a battle of strength between the two of them, and in terms of popularity within the sect, Xu Yunsheng was far superior to Ying Roza. Back then, Xu Yunsheng could be said to be the leading figure of the younger generation in the sect, and his future was bright. Almost all the true disciples of the Heaven Palace Sect followed his lead.
However, twenty-five years ago, Xu Yunsheng, who had just reached Core Formation, suddenly disappeared from the sect and was never heard from again.
As for his whereabouts, Lin Feng and Zhu Yi kept it a secret and didn't reveal it. They only said that Xu Yunsheng went out to train and was safe and sound. However, it was as if he had disappeared from the world and didn't communicate with anyone, including his younger sister, Xu Miaoying.
The old man who appeared in front of Zhu Yi was the second generation successor disciple from back then. He was also Zhu Yi's proud disciple, Xu Yunsheng.
The flow of time in the Heaven Mystic Realm was four times faster than that of the outside world. Twenty-five years in the outside world was equivalent to a hundred years in the Heaven Mystic Realm.
What no one knew was that Xu Yunsheng's cultivation had been sealed for the past hundred years. He had hidden his identity and worked in the Heavenly Profound Realm's mine.
During the first fifty years of his life, under Zhu Yi's arrangements, he even experienced his first "death of old age". Then, he moved to a different place, regained his youth, and started the second fifty years all over again.
In these two lives, he experienced hard work, birth, old age, sickness, and death that every mortal had to go through. Just like that, he lived through a long hundred years.
Today, a hundred years had passed. Not a day earlier, not a day later, his master, Zhu Yi, had personally brought him back to Jade Capital Mountain from the Mystic Heaven Realm.
Zhu Yi looked at Xu Yunsheng, and with a thought, Xu Yunsheng felt his body suddenly lighten.
The dusty Golden Elixir once again glowed with vitality, and streams of magic power and spiritual qi once again poured into his old and shriveled body.
Xu Yunsheng knelt on the ground without moving, but his wrinkled, dry, and rough skin began to become rosy and plump again. His pale hair became black and lustrous again.
His hunched back gradually straightened, and his turbid eyes became clear again. Although he was still wearing a tattered linen robe, Xu Yunsheng's entire appearance and temperament had become completely different.
He had once again become the cultivator of the Golden Elixir Period, the handsome young man. It was as if a hundred years had not left any traces on his body.
Only his pair of eyes were even more calm and tranquil.
Although the Xu Yunsheng of the past was modest and courteous to the outside world, and friendly and kind to the inside world, there was pride and inferiority hidden under his peaceful appearance.
He was like an eagle with broken wings, stubbornly trying to fly higher, but also worried that he might fall at any time.
In contrast to Ying Roza's undisguised arrogance, the seemingly modest Xu Yunsheng was also arrogant.
But now, his eyes were as calm as water, and the pride gradually turned into confidence and indifference, while the inferiority disappeared.
Xu Yunsheng bowed deeply towards Zhu Yi. "Master, disciple has returned."
He had finally returned to the life that he yearned for in the past, the bright world, from the dark Heaven Mystic Realm.
He no longer had the Great Zhou Dynasty standing behind him and holding his weakness. He no longer had to worry that his identity could be exposed at any time. He no longer had to suffer the torment of doing harm to his sect. He no longer had to worry that the life he yearned for and the bright world would completely leave him.
From now on, when he stood under the sun, there was only his own shadow behind him, and there would be no more ghosts.
Even if he had to work hard in the Heaven Mystic Realm for a hundred years, living twice as long as an ordinary person's life, he would gladly endure it.
Zhu Yi looked at Xu Yunsheng and said, "Yunsheng, now that you've returned to the sect, everything will start anew. When you look back in the future, you'll realize that these hundred years weren't completely wasted, but right now, you've indeed lost a hundred years compared to others."
"A hundred years in the Heaven Mystic Realm is twenty-five years in the Great Thousand World. Many things have changed, but people have changed."
Xu Yunsheng smiled. "I understand, Master. I'm ready."
Even if Zhu Yi didn't say it clearly, Xu Yunsheng had already thought of many things. In fact, he had already thought of it before he entered the Heaven Mystic Realm.
Twenty-five years in the Great Thousand World, including the time acceleration of Xuanmen Tianzong's Universe Hall and Mysterious Heaven's Time Paradise, wasn't a long period of time for many forces in the cultivation world. In fact, some people could even spend a longer period of time in seclusion.
But for Xuanmen Tianzong's disciples, this period of time was enough for earth-shaking changes.
Xu Yunsheng himself was a disciple of Xuanmen Tianzong, so how could he not know what kind of progress his fellow disciples and juniors had made?
At the moment, he was still at the early-stage of the Golden Elixir Realm, but the second-generation true disciples who were his peers in the past had all far surpassed him in terms of cultivation.
In the ten years since the end of the war between the two worlds, not only did the second-generation true disciples and Dao Yuting emerge, but more Essence Soul Realm cultivators also emerged. Xuanmen Tianzong's Yuanying and Golden Elixir Period cultivators also surged, forming a huge number that shocked the entire Heaven Primal World.
Not to mention the second-generation true disciples, even the third-generation true disciples had already formed the Yuanying Realm.
Not only his peers, but even his juniors and nephews had already caught up and left Xu Yunsheng far behind.
This was even under the circumstance that Xuanmen Tianzong delayed the fourth-generation true disciples from entering the sect. Otherwise, Xu Yunsheng might even face the awkward situation of his grand-disciples surpassing him.
In fact, such a situation was not uncommon in some forces that had a longer history. The seniors would waste their time, and the juniors would catch up.
But for Xu Yunsheng, it was really a test to not lose his mind under the impact of such changes.
After all, he was not an ordinary person among the second-generation true disciples in the past. He was once a top-notch hero. Even when Xuanmen Tianzong recruited geniuses, such as Tang Jun, Zhou Yuncong, and Han Yang, Xu Yunsheng could still enter the top ten under normal circumstances.
And these years, it was not because he was complacent and had the intention to waste it. He did not work hard to improve, but because it was a complete blank. There was no way to talk about working hard.
However, Xu Yunsheng's expression was the same as usual. He smiled and said, "Even the cultivators in the Golden Elixir Period have a lifespan of a thousand years. Although disciple has a gap of a hundred years, it is still not too late to work hard now.
"After everyone reaches the Primordial Spirit Realm, their lifespans will be endless. At that time, it will take a long time to advance again. If disciple concentrates on cultivation, I may have the chance to catch up to the other senior and junior brothers."
His tone was calm and not arrogant, but he was also full of confidence in himself.
The hundred years of training in the Heaven Mystic Realm were not without gains. If it was him in the past, he would have easily developed obstacles in his heart. But now, it was as if he was walking on flat ground, and there was not the slightest ripple in his heart.
These years of tempering his mind and willpower was enough to benefit him for the rest of his life. Not to mention comparing himself with others, just comparing himself with himself, his future cultivation path would be much smoother than before.
However, even if he improved, others would definitely not stagnate. The hundred years that he had missed was real.
Xu Yunsheng had never imagined that after he came out of the Heaven Mystic Realm and stepped on the path of cultivation again, he would be able to reach the sky in one step and Yuanying in an instant.
If cultivation was so easy, then all the cultivators in the Golden Elixir Period would have sealed their cultivation and worked hard for a hundred years. There would have been thousands of Primordial Spirit Realm powerhouses all over the world.
His gains were real, and so were his efforts. What he needed to do now was to concentrate on his cultivation and convert his gains into actual gains. He would then apply them to his own cultivation and catch up with his own efforts to make up for the time that he had lost.
Although it might be awkward to meet many juniors and disciples that he did not even know, he had to meet them.
Although compared to the inside of his own sect, when he went out again in the future, the people of other forces in the outside world would be even more embarrassing. There would even be contempt and ridicule. There would even be people who would take him as a stain to ridicule the Celestial Sect of Wonders.
But Xu Yunsheng had already been mentally prepared for all this before he entered the Heaven Mystic Realm. At this moment, his state of mind would not be affected at all.
What really made Xu Yunsheng's mind a little shaken was that there were a few people that he would have to face again.
Although there was no news in the Heaven Mystic Realm, Zhu Yi did not completely go to the extreme. He would tell Xu Yunsheng simple news about Xu Miaoying so that he could be at ease. Therefore, Xu Yunsheng knew that his sister had become a disciple of Yang Tie and was now a Yuanying cultivator with the Taoist title Perfected Lord Yuanying.
As for the other person, Xu Yunsheng had never heard any news about her. Although he kept telling himself to forget about her, it always lingered in his heart.
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