Chapter 178 Kunlun

Facing Wei Yuan's inquiry, the celestial maiden simply turned her back to him, gazing at the mortal realm she had been separated from for over 1,700 years. This wasn't the ghost domain where she had been trapped upon her initial awakening; this was the human world she had longed for, filled with the fragrance of flowers and grass, the breeze rustling through the treetops, and sunlight dappling through the leaves.

She looked into the distance, and after a long while, replied, "I wish to see if old friends are still around, to listen to the song of the mountain spirit, to see if the River God is still fishing, and finally, I must return to the mountain."

The mountain.

Wei Yuan had always been curious. He had previously thought it was just the mountain in the ghost domain, but now it seemed more complex. He smiled and asked, "When you say the mountain, do you mean..."

The celestial maiden replied, "Kunlun Xu."

Kunlun...

Wei Yuan was silent.

She turned to look at Wei Yuan and said, "For the grace of saving my life, you may call me by my name, Jue."

Wei Yuan had wanted to ask the celestial maiden's surname, but then he realized that a celestial maiden from the Qin and Han dynasties was not a person of the mortal realm, so how could she have a surname? More likely, like the ancient clans, she was referred to by a single character. Since she didn't mind, and he wasn't one to stand on ceremony, he simply clasped his fist and smiled, "Then, Jue, may your journey be smooth. If you have time in the future, you can come to this human world and seek me out."

The celestial maiden nodded and softly said, "Farewell."

As the words fell, she turned back and took a light step forward.

Enshrouded in swirling wind, she vanished in the blink of an eye.

Wei Yuan stood on the mountain, holding his sword, his left hand behind his back, his right hand raised, picking up a fallen leaf swept up by the breeze. This trip to the ghost domain felt like a dream. After recalling it for a long time, he smiled freely, released the leaf in his hand, letting it tumble down, and turned to leave.

……………………

After leaving the mountain, the celestial maiden Jue traveled along the river systems.

However, what she saw along the way was completely different from the past. In ancient times, from the pre-Qin Warring States period to the Qin, Han, and Wei dynasties, there were only changes in dynasties, and the basic tone of the world did not change significantly. A city from the Wei state of the pre-Qin period might still be in use during the later Wei dynasty, and the Great Wall of the Qin King also became a barrier for the Han dynasty.

But the difference between the present and the past was no longer so simple.

It was almost as if the very foundation of the world had changed.

Steel jungles rose from the ground, mortals moved at speeds that only true cultivators could achieve in the past, and iron dragon-like contraptions pierced through mountains and crossed long rivers, running non-stop between different cities. The celestial maiden, who had been asleep for thousands of years, found the world had changed so much that she could hardly believe it.

She wanted to ask someone for directions, but she didn't know how to begin.

Although she had been traveling at great speed for several days, she had only just awakened, and forcing herself to use large-scale spells and divine powers had caused her cultivation to stagnate like dead water, so she couldn't go very far. However, along the way, she found no River God in the Yellow River and no mountain spirits in the mountains, which made her feel even more estranged from this world.

One day, the moon hung high in the sky, and the moonlight was as cool as water.

The celestial maiden stood on the top of a mountain, silently watching the brightly lit mortal world below, lost in thought.

Her eyes flickered slightly, and she suddenly spoke in a clear, cold voice, "Come out."

There was a rustling sound.

The person who came did not conceal their aura.

The celestial maiden turned around and saw an old man with white hair, wearing a plain gray Daoist robe, looking like an ordinary old man, only a little more vigorous. However, the fact that he had followed the celestial maiden all the way here meant that he was definitely not that simple.

She sensed a familiar aura from the old man, and a look of surprise appeared on her face.

"Are you... a descendant of Zhang Daoling?"

The old man bowed slightly and smiled, "This humble Daoist is Zhang Ruosu, greetings to the celestial maiden."

The celestial maiden looked at the old man and thought of the Daoist true cultivator, who was said to be a rare find in a thousand years. Her expression softened, and she said, "You were waiting for me here on purpose. Is there something you need?"

The old Daoist nodded and replied, "It's just that the divination signs indicated it. I came here to prevent the celestial maiden from returning to Kunlun."

"At least, you shouldn't go back at this time."

………………

The old Daoist waved his sleeve, and the feng shui layout of the land beneath his feet changed.

He used a breeze to isolate all the sounds in this area, ensuring that the words spoken would not be revealed. Then, he slowly explained to the celestial maiden. This was a secret conversation that no one else would ever know the content of. The maiden's expression was surprised at first, and finally, she slowly nodded in agreement. The old man smiled, "In these thousand years, the human world has changed greatly. Celestial maiden, your lifespan is long. Why not wander around and take a look first?"

"If you need any help, the Tianshi Mansion will definitely do its best to assist you."

………………

When the sun reached the top of the willow trees, Wei Yuan woke up leisurely.

He stretched, did his morning practice, circulated the Crouching Tiger Sutra to cultivate, and took medicine from the Great Han Armory to regulate the damage to his internal organs caused by the forced use of baleful energy. It had been more than half a month since he returned from the ghost domain, and there hadn't been any changes.

Except that the museum still didn't have many visitors.

That is, two more small shops couldn't keep going and closed down.

Then new people bought the land and started renovations, which was a small matter.

After all, this place was in the old district, and the core of Quanshi's development wasn't in this area. Therefore, the traffic in this place was pitifully small. Although it was quiet, it wasn't suitable for opening a shop. Eventually, it would probably become a memory of this city and slowly disappear.

Wei Yuan didn't care too much.

Although his museum no longer had a salary, he now had income.

When the museum signed the transfer contract, Zhang Hao was also there and guessed that Wei Yuan seemed to be a bit short on money. Originally, there was a salary, but now that the museum was his own, there was no salary. This time, after killing the ghost king, he directly sent a reward similar to the police's reward for criminal suspects.

It immediately relieved Wei Yuan's embarrassment.

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The yellow talisman that Wei Yuan obtained after killing the heretical Daoist was directly handed over to the Special Operations Team.

With the information from the Special Operations Team, they should be able to find clues about the identity of the heretical Daoist from this talisman. As for the merit points, Wei Yuan spent ten points to exchange for healing medicine from the Great Han Armory to heal his injuries.

After his injuries recovered, he would carefully consider what kind of divine power to exchange for with the remaining merit points.

It was truly a rare and leisurely day.

Wei Yuan drew out the Eight-Sided Han Sword, stepped with the Yu Step, and still skillfully performed the Mysterious Origin Sword Art in the narrow environment of the museum. The swordsmanship was no longer as sharp and aggressive as it was at the beginning. After experiencing life-and-death battles, it was like a blunt stone, mellow and unhurried.

After performing the swordsmanship several times, Wei Yuan put away the sword and prepared to open the rolling shutter door outside.

The museum still had to be open.

It was already spring, and the sunshine was warm and mild. As soon as he opened the door, he saw the car of the Special Operations Team outside. In the car were Zhang Hao and Shen Jifeng, who was obviously extremely excited. After seeing Wei Yuan, they first greeted him as Curator Wei and then couldn't restrain the faint excitement on their faces.

Wei Yuan asked in surprise, "Did you find the trace of that yellow talisman?"

Zhang Hao's face twitched.

Wei Yuan thought for a while and then said, "Is there a new breakthrough in spiritual energy research?"

Shen Jifeng lowered his head and adjusted his glasses.

Wei Yuan smiled and said, "It's not that you found out the details of that heretical Daoist, and it's not that there has been a breakthrough in the popularization of spiritual energy. What are you two so excited about?"

Shen Jifeng raised his head and said, "We, we just came here to help and then to visit."

"A senior who has been living in seclusion for a long time is coming to walk in the world, and we are helping to solve some mundane affairs."

"That senior is so beautiful..."

"I see, would you like to come in and sit down?"

Wei Yuan welcomed the two in, served them two cups of tea, and then saw a bunch of flowers at the door. He was slightly surprised and asked the paper dolls who came here early every day. The two paper dolls hugged each other and swayed for a long time before Wei Yuan understood their meaning. They were sent by the people who opened the new shop opposite.

At this time, Wei Yuan noticed that the original two shops opposite had been merged into a new shop.

It was a flower shop. With the blooming of spring flowers, a rich fragrance had already been carried by the wind.

"They're neighbors."

Wei Yuan smiled, put the flowers in a vase, thought about it, and felt that it was reasonable to visit. He turned around and said a few words to the two people in the room, walked across the slightly sloping asphalt road, the road surface was warmed by the sunlight, Wei Yuan knocked on the door and said, "Hello, I'm from the museum opposite, thank you for your flowers."

"Hello?"

Wei Yuan pushed open the door, and the crisp bell rang lightly.

Then he froze in place.

In the rattan chair surrounded by flowers, a girl in a goose-yellow dress, with a light-colored knitted vest over her shirt, raised her head, her black hair like a waterfall, gently placed an ancient book on her lap, and nodded, "You're welcome, Crouching Tiger."