Chapter 421: 257: The Ancestor

Chapter 421: Chapter 257: The Ancestor

Returning to the Shushan Sect’s main gate, Li Shiming expressed his gratitude to Elder Zhao and then headed to his master, Elder Su.

Elder Su had almost immediately sent a message to him as soon as he arrived at the gate, instructing him to come without delay.

“Master, your disciple has returned!” When Li Shiming reached the summit of Heavenly Eye Peak, he saw Elder Su waiting for him and promptly went forward to pay his respects.

“Come with me!” Elder Su’s face was very serious, but Li Shiming could feel that Elder Su was in a good mood, his stern visage betraying a sense of contentment in his eyes.

Li Shiming followed Elder Su, flying towards the rear of the mountain gate, and soon arrived at a peak.

Elder Su cast a spell into the interior, a process Li Shiming was very familiar with—it was the same as when his clone, Li Yuan Ba, followed Elder Jian to visit Ancestor Lu.

Given Elder Su’s status, such a formal visit likely meant they were seeing one of the ancestors.

“This must be the location of Fan Ancestor’s cave dwelling!” Li Shiming surmised to himself.

This wasn’t difficult to guess; Fan Ancestor had spoken out to help him send Venerable Huike away when he had met him.

Li Shiming saw Fan Ancestor—who had a head full of white hair and a ruddy, healthy-looking face—sitting in front of a stone table laden with food. Fan Ancestor was devouring his meal, washing it down with large swigs of wine.

This sight slightly stunned Li Shiming, as he had not expected Fan Ancestor to have such an appearance.

“Master, this is the Spiritual Wine I’ve found, brought specially to honor you!” Elder Su seemed accustomed to Fan Ancestor’s appearance, smiling as he placed a bottle of wine on the stone table.

Li Shiming did not dare to act so casually and bent deeply in a formal bow, maintaining his posture.

“Enough, rise! In the future, remember to bring me some good wine—far better than any formalities!” Fan Ancestor waved his hand, and a force made Li Shiming stand up straight involuntarily.

Fan Ancestor opened the wine Elder Su had brought, poured a cup, and took a sip, then nodded his head in satisfaction.

Although Li Shiming did not dare to use Divine Thought, the scent of the wine allowed him to discern that it was but a second-grade Spiritual Wine.

Of course, the flavor of Spiritual Wine isn’t entirely linked to its grade—it’s more about the taste.

The Spiritual Wine gifted by Elder Su, though second-grade, was undoubtedly carefully crafted and was a top-tier presence among second-grade Spiritual Wines.

“I understand, Grandmaster!” Seeing that Fan Ancestor had an easygoing nature, Li Shiming didn’t reticulate too much and replied with a smile.

Elder Su chuckled on the side; he was, of course, very clear about his own master’s temperament.

In fact, every Nascent Soul Ancestor has some quirks. Who can blame them when Nascent Soul Ancestors live for such long periods, their thousand-year lifespans allowing them to see through the world’s machinations?

Nascent Soul Ancestors need some way to pass their leisure time. Moreover, as almost the peak beings of Beishu, what they want and do are hardly restricted. Their freedom allows them to indulge in the actions they inherently wish to take.

This is also a form of cultivation—letting their true nature take its course, which is a way of tempering their own spirit.

Fan Ancestor took about two hours to eat and drink, with Elder Su constantly pouring him more wine, their interactions as natural as those between father and son in the mortal world.

“You’re Li Shiming, aren’t you? You’re a bit too cautious!” After Fan Ancestor finished eating, he glanced over Li Shiming from head to toe and shook his head.

“Master, Shiming is a good kid. If he hadn’t brought back Spiritual Medicine from the Ten Thousand Great Mountains for me, my injury might have affected my cultivation path!” Hearing Fan Ancestor’s words, it was Elder Su, not Li Shiming, who was the most anxious, as Elder Su hastily explained.

Li Shiming also looked at Fan Ancestor, puzzled as to why he would receive such an assessment.

“I didn’t say he wasn’t a good kid, just that he’s a bit too cautious!” Fan Ancestor waved his hand at Elder Su and then, turning to Li Shiming, asked, “Your teacher here really does spoil you. Last time he told me you had just advanced to the Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, and now you’ve already reached Late-stage Foundation Establishment without him knowing!”

Elder Su turned to look at Li Shiming in disbelief.

The Foundation Establishment Stage is not like the Qi Refinement Realm; with sufficient resources, cultivating in the Qi Refinement Realm can be very fast. But even with ample resources, it would take several years.

Yet the Foundation Establishment Stage is considered foundational, every advancement requiring repeated tempering of the body’s Spiritual Power and compressing it to the extreme—all of which take a substantial amount of time. Not to mention just amassing the Spiritual Power in the Spirit Lake for each layer, which would take at least several years or even decades.

Had Li Shiming’s aura been unstable, Elder Su would have certainly noticed, but Li Shiming’s aura was exceedingly grounded, indicative of a very solid realm.

What Elder Su was even more taken aback by was that Li Shiming had concealed his realm. While appearing to be in Mid-stage Foundation Establishment, he had in fact reached Late-stage Foundation Establishment.

“Shiming made his way from Sky Sea Island to the Beishu Continent before joining my teachings, traversing the Ten Thousand Great Mountains. It’s normal for him to be a bit cautious and discreet!” Elder Su still defended Li Shiming.

“Shiming, as my disciple and someone under the Shushan Sect’s protection, there’s no need to hide anything about your realm. I also understand your thoughts. The Cultivation World is full of adventures, and no matter what kind of serendipitous encounter allowed you to rapidly enhance your strength to the Late-stage Foundation Establishment, you don’t have to worry about being pressured to reveal anything. Each and every Nascent Soul Cultivator of the Shushan Sect lineage has their adventures and secrets. If our sect couldn’t accommodate such diversity, it would have crumbled long ago!” Fan Ancestor said to Li Shiming with a smile.