Layer upon layer of ripples slowly spread out, then diffused in a mysterious way.

This was the water's surface, the sea's surface. Below, one could see fish swaying as they departed. In the distant direction, waves surged, and at the center of the spreading ripples, something ascended, eventually connecting to a fishing line.

Someone was fishing at sea.

Then, the bamboo pole in their right hand exerted a slight force, the fishing line was pulled up, and the fish was caught.

"Bravo!"

Someone cheered from the side.

The fish caught by the fishing line was held in hand by an old man with white hair and beard. Despite being called old, his face lacked any wrinkles, and his eyes were bright and spirited, like a young man. He wore a Daoist robe, and a blue donkey grazed beside him.

It was Zhang Ruosu.

Or rather, Zhang Guolao.

Zhang Ruosu sighed, looked at the fish he had caught, took it off the hook, and tossed it back into the sea, saying, "What's so great about it? Doing this for decades, even centuries, anyone could get the hang of it, right?"

He spoke the truth.

Therefore, Lan Caihe, who had just cheered, simply smiled and said nothing more.

Daoist true cultivators, terrestrial immortals, whose cultivation had reached a point beyond further advancement, were in harmony with the world. Their inner world mirrored the outer world, unburdened by material possessions. Their realm was exceedingly high, but the spiritual energy of the mortal world was insufficient, and they could not act rashly, lest they deplete their own spiritual energy too greatly.

They needed an opportunity.

A chance for a vast and pure influx of spiritual energy to pour into this world.

At that time, they could take that final step.

That process, they called crossing the Immortal Gate.

A gentleman hides his talent within, awaiting the opportune moment.

Therefore, they left behind legends in various places, advising those who cultivated the Dao to nurture their inner power and not waste it excessively, such as, "Having attained the Dao for eight hundred autumns, never have I flown my sword to take a head. Until the Jade Emperor's heavenly decree arrives, I shall sell crude iron and drift with the world."

The so-called "until the heavenly decree arrives" was the key.

However, even though their souls were subtly united with heaven and earth, allowing them to live long lives, waiting for this "opportunity" had gone on for so long that Zhang Ruosu and the others felt a sense of frustration.

Han Zhongli, with his feet in the water, fanned himself with a palm-leaf fan and sighed,

"I wonder when the so-called time of causal opportunity for crossing the sea will arrive."

"If it doesn't come soon, the outside world will have changed completely."

"We've been waiting for almost two dynasties, and it still hasn't come."

When they first met that person, it was during the Song Dynasty, around the time of Yue Fei's death. They found the reincarnation of Lu Chunyang and took him to cultivate together. Decades later, Lu Chunyang's reincarnation, Wang Chongyang, finally reached the realm of terrestrial immortal, "ascended," left the Quanzhen Daoist sect, and began cultivating the Eight Immortals Formation with them.

They honed their realms and coordination while waiting on the shores of the East Sea.

They had thought they would be able to cross the sea soon.

But they never expected that decades would pass… The Song Dynasty fell, and then the Yuan Dynasty rose, with Kublai Khan's iron cavalry sweeping across Europe and Asia.

Zhang Ruosu, worried about the Lord of the Elven Forest with whom he would have a karmic entanglement in the distant future, had to personally venture out once, arriving at the Elven Forest. The old Daoist covered his face and indeed saw the Lady of the Lake, who had been born just over a hundred years ago.

Zhang Ruosu was already at the realm of Daoist immortal.

Higher than when he first arrived, he easily defused the Mongol cavalry's assault, saving the Lady of the Lake, who at the time looked like a mortal of fourteen or fifteen years old. She gratefully thanked Zhang Ruosu for saving her life, her eyes wide, insisting on repaying him.

The old Daoist replied,

"Do good deeds."

He paused, thinking of the

"future" karmic entanglement, and added,

"If you ever see a black-haired cultivator from the East carrying a sword, don't give him a good look, especially one named Zhang Ruosu. Don't let him into your Elven Forest, you must remember that."

He waited until the girl nodded solemnly, saying that she would definitely not give that Zhang Ruosu a good look.

Nor would she let him enter the Elven Forest.

Only then did Zhang Ruosu sigh, turn around, wave to the girl, and smile slightly,

"Then, Vivian, goodbye."

"Hm?"

"Yes, alright, goodbye."

"I look forward to meeting you again, sir."

The brown-haired, slightly curly-haired Lady of the Lake, wearing the elaborate long dress typical of the era, looked up blankly, then slightly lifted the hem of her skirt with both hands, bowed gracefully, and looked up to see the Daoist waving goodbye with his back to her. He took a step and disappeared, but she could still vaguely see his back, unrestrained and free, his hair tied up with a wooden hairpin, carrying a sword.

She deeply imprinted this back view in her mind, watching the old man leave before turning around with a light step, humming a song. Two birds landed on her shoulders. After a few steps, she suddenly remembered a problem, patted her forehead, and said, "He told me to do good deeds and to ignore this Zhang Ruosu."

"But if this Zhang Ruosu is seriously injured outside, should I help him or not?"

"Not helping him wouldn't be doing a good deed, but helping him would be paying attention to him?"

After thinking for a long time, the girl came to a conclusion.

"First, save his life."

"Then, I can be mean to him!"

The old Daoist did not know what the girl was thinking. He only felt at peace, with a touch of melancholy and a hint of ease, muttering to himself, "You saved my life once back then, and I've repaid you today. One cause, one effect, the intertwining of karma, severing the causal ties, so that we may never meet again in the future."

Then, he traveled from Northern Europe back to Divine Continent.

This round trip took several decades. The old Daoist learned on the way that Kublai Khan, who had spent his life conquering, had already passed away. However, the Eight Immortals had also been traveling around, preventing many unnecessary killings, which led to the time of crossing the sea being delayed once again.

At this moment, on the shores of the East Sea, Zhang Ruosu looked at the vast sea, listening to his friend's nagging.

The old Daoist slightly raised his eyelids and said faintly, "Calmness is essential for great events… How can you be capable of great things when you are so restless?"

"If you wish to cross the East Sea and reverse the years, you must naturally have a transcendent state of mind. If you still have attachments, like the endless waves of the East Sea, how can the 'time' ever arrive?"

Lu Chunyang, Han Xiangzi, and the others were shocked and speechless, then sighed,

"So that's it. The so-called time arriving refers to our own state of mind, peaceful and without waves."

"Being so concerned about this matter, the attachments in our hearts rise up, and with attachments come demons. The time will never come… Alas, our realm is still too low."

They bowed to the old Daoist.

Zhang Ruosu sat on the bluestone and nodded slightly.

Looking at the sea reflecting the sky, the clouds, and the sea, the corners of his mouth twitched.

No, I was just saying whatever came to mind, how did you all come up with so much profound reasoning?

Damn it, I'm also very anxious!

Wei Yuan, you brat, three years after three years, three years after three years, it's been more than half a Jiazi now, how long are you going to make us wait!

Zhang Ruosu gritted his teeth.

This old man can't wait to show off in front of that old codger Lin Shouyi.

To put his arm around his shoulder and tell him, you worship the Eight Immortals, right? You're worshipping me!

Come, come, this is Lu Chunyang, this is Han Xiangzi, and this is He Xiangu, the dream lover of so many young Daoists, she's real, really! Isn't it amazing? Isn't it a surprise? And then watch the old guy's dazed expression and laugh, then give him alcohol infused with quick-acting heart-saving pills!

This old man can't wait!

Don't make me wait any longer!

Tieguai Li and Han Zhongli were also drinking. Tieguai Li was very open-minded, after all, he was a Daoist who had been personally taught by Laozi. His mentality and state of mind were calm and unhurried. Although calm and unhurried, he sometimes envied the unrestrained freedom of the others. He took a sip of turbid wine and suddenly asked,

"We kept going down the mountain to stop the Yuan army's atrocities. I remember you went to save people afterward. What happened to those children in the village that was hit by the locust plague?"

Han Zhongli sighed, "The world is cruel, numb, and indifferent. Bandits are rampant, and there are locust plagues and epidemics. The Yuan Dynasty has only pacified the world for such a short time, and it's already on the verge of collapse again. I'm afraid there will be more killings. In the Central Plains today, one hardly sees Han Chinese clothing anymore."

The Eight Immortals, who were all born in the golden age of China, fell silent.

Han Zhongli said, "As for those children, they didn't have the aptitude for cultivation and couldn't endure any more hardships. I arranged for them to be settled."

"Most of them still had relatives. Only one, whose family of several people had died, leaving only him and his second brother. His second brother had his own family, and his sister-in-law was unwilling to take in the child, so I placed him in a temple."

"That child mocked himself, saying that he had no home or family, and asked my name, but he didn't even know it."

"The monk asked him about his origins, and he only said that he was from Zhongli, Haozhou."

Tieguai Li said, "Using your name as his hometown?"

"He's a good kid."

"Yes, but when I went there before, the temple had already dismissed too many disciples due to the continuous years of disaster. That child has already been displaced."

Tieguai Li looked complicated and asked, "What's his surname?"

"Perhaps I can calculate it."

Han Zhongli was about to speak.

*Whoosh—*

Suddenly, on the East Sea, waves rose, and the rumbling primal energy rushed in all directions, causing huge whirlpools to appear. Even Zhang Ruosu's fish were startled away. The Eight Immortals abruptly stood up, their eyes gleaming, looking at the strange phenomenon ahead. A golden stream of light fell, transforming into the figure of a person, who said faintly,

"Karma has appeared. The Eight Immortals should arrive."

"You can cross the East Sea."

Zhang Ruosu stood up, his body exuding a sharp aura, and said loudly,

"The time has come!"

"Everyone, time is like the sea. We have cultivated together, we should cross it!"

At the same time—

In the distant First Daoist Temple, Zhang Sanfeng, who was almost a hundred years old, took a child's hand and walked to his master. He rarely returned to the mountain, looked at the black-clothed Daoist who had not changed at all from a hundred years ago, exchanged greetings for a moment, and said,

"Master, this is a child I found down the mountain."

"He has no home or family, and is lonely. Now there are signs of great chaos in the world again. This disciple wants to take him back to the mountain, just like my adoptive father took me in back then, and also give him the Zhang surname. This disciple is already a hundred years old, and may die in a few years. Then he will take care of you."

The child raised his head.

The hundred-year-old Daoist beside him, who still looked young, took his hand and smiled at him gently.

That hand was warm and dry, making his whole body feel warm, and the worry and fear in his heart disappeared in an instant, becoming peaceful. Then he subconsciously held this hand back. It was this Daoist who had saved him when he was displaced.

He gave him clean clothes and let him eat his fill.

He taught him martial arts when he wanted to learn. When he woke up trembling at night, he could see the Daoist meditating not far away, with bright lights nearby, still illuminating his world.

This bit of warmth in such a chaotic world left a great mark on his dark life.

So that even after a long, long time, even if he gradually drifted apart and had no contact with this Daoist, even if he had power over the world, he would still send people to find him more than once.

Later historians wondered and praised how a monk and beggar who had been abandoned by the temple, who should have been like a sheep prostrating under the feet of nobles, being sheared of his wool and flesh, his bones exposed in the wilderness, could rush to this chaotic world like a roaring lion, crushing all the enemies of that era.

And whether he was called a ruthless and ungrateful tyrant or a hero who reshaped China, whether praised or reviled, no one could deny that there was a hand belonging to him in the fires of war in that era. His youthful experiences, his pain, his desires, ultimately transformed into the Bright King's purifying fire that burned the world.

That beggar stood tall, riding a war horse on the banks of the Jiangnan River to save this world.

But under his sword were already piles of white bones.

And he, who had spent his whole life in temples, went to find a certain Daoist more than once.

During the Ming Dynasty.

The name Zhang Sanfeng, for the Ming Dynasty, was almost like the pursuit of immortality for the Qin Dynasty. That iron-blooded emperor was searching for his traces even in his final moments, as if to find the warmth that pulled him forward in that misty rainy night, even though he knew it was only in vain.

And now, he saw the black-robed Daoist lower his eyes, his eyes like the sky, yet with a hint of gentleness.

"What's your name?"

The boy, whose hair was not yet long enough, hesitated and bowed, answering, "My surname is Zhu, from Zhongli, Haozhou."

"There are many brothers in my family, I'm the eighth, so I'm called Zhu Chongba."

"But my father and mother are already dead. Fortunately, my second brother inherited the incense. This disciple is willing to change his surname to Zhang, hoping that the old Daoist can take me in."

"Zhang?"

The black-robed Daoist looked at him and suddenly asked, "What do you think of this era?"

The boy seemed to remember his dead relatives, was silent for a long time, and said,

"The people are suffering, they should be punished."

The black-robed Daoist's eyes were deep and gentle, and finally he seemed to sigh and said, "Take him in."

"But there is no need to change his surname. In such a chaotic world, it is good to leave behind incense."

"Zhu Chongba, Zhang is not placed in front, but in the back."

"From now on, you will be called…"

"Zhu Yuanzhang."

Yan ZK reminds you: Remember to bookmark after reading.