"Old ox, I'm entrusting the medicine to you."

Chen Xun shouted, taking out a small booklet, "I need to start crafting our cultivation plan. Learning is endless. Haha!"

Basic spells, formations, inscribing talismansthey haven't even started on these. Most importantly, they lack a proper cultivation technique, and they'll need to find one suitable for the Foundation Establishment stage.

"Moo moo~" the big black ox responded indifferently, as if it were an easy task.

Chen Xun buried the restricted token at the entrance to the Revolving Spring Gully, taking precautions against any unwanted visitors or troublemakers.

"But we can't just take these Foundation Establishment Pills without a proper cultivation technique. The unrefined essence within them is too pure; it almost burst our meridians. Adding some defensive measures was fortunate; otherwise, it could have been dangerous. We need to be more careful next time, and hopefully, we can find a suitable cultivation technique," Chen Xun reflected.

As they couldn't leave the medicine garden, they started working on their individual tasks. They needed to prepare their new home, and it had to be perfect since they would be staying here for the next century.

Time passed quickly, and after a month, Chen Xun led the big black ox out of the medicine garden. They were probed by various spiritual senses multiple times inside the array, but once they exited the array, they were left alone.

The biennial journey to the Southern Dipper Mountain was about to begin. Every year, the Five Elements Sect would have a new influx of disciples, but there would also be many old ones leaving the sect quietly. They would often glance back at each other during this time, with the older ones seeing themselves in the younger generation and the younger ones feeling more motivated.

Inside the mountains, there were numerous cave dwellings and wooden houses belonging to Qi Refinement disciples. An elder who had just celebrated his 60th birthday was sitting in one of these houses, packing his belongings. Though his hair had turned slightly gray, his body was still strong, and his eyes were bright. The wrinkles on his face told stories of the years he had seen, but in his youth, he must have been quite a handsome man. This man was Ji Kun.

His vitality had not waned, and Qi Refinement disciples of his level could usually live past a hundred years. He still had much to accomplish, and he was determined to go on this year's journey to the Southern Dipper Mountain.

The sect had relaxed its rules for experienced disciples like him, and Ji Kun was unsurprisingly included in the list of participants for this year's journey.

As he packed his things, he heard a knock at the door. Ji Kun's heart skipped a beat. With the upcoming journey, he couldn't afford any accidents. He cautiously rose to his feet and went to open the door. When he saw who was standing there, he froze in disbelief. The face that met his eyes was a familiar one, identical to the one he had encountered on that flying boat many years ago. The same friendly smile had not changed.

"Chen... senior apprentice-brother," Ji Kun greeted with a bitter smile. He couldn't believe how young Chen Xun looked, a clear sign of his successful Foundation Establishment.

He had heard of the legends that transcending realms could bring rejuvenation or maintain one's youth, depending on one's inner intentions.

The years have flown by, and time has passed erratically. It seems that Junior Brother Chen is doing well, not struggling like I did.

A bitter memory flowed through his heart, and his own failures were undoubtedly disheartening, but others' successes were even more unsettling. Ji Kun seemed to bend even lower.

They had grown apart over the years and now felt like strangers.

In the distant mountains and nearby ridges, with a bewildering view of a thousand hills and countless valleys, the world seemed to be covered in fluttering moths. The sky and the earth turned gray, and the first snowfall in the Jade Bamboo Mountain Range came silently.

"Ji Kun..." Chen Xun hesitated for a long time before he called out his name.

"Hehe, Senior Brother Chen gracing my humble abode is truly an honor," Ji Kun said with a smile. He had lost much of his former sharpness and had become more polished. "Please come in, Senior Brother."

The cold wind blew through, making the almost broken door shudder and rattle. Chen Xun nodded slightly and entered the house.

The room was practically empty, with only a bed, a table, and chairs, all quite old, much like Ji Kun himself.

"I wonder why Senior Brother Chen has come..." Ji Kun said, bowing and showing respect. He hesitated, then sighed and added, "Senior Brother has been through so many years."

Chen Xun suddenly yelled out, scaring the big black ox outside and making it shiver.

Ji Kun merely gave a sorrowful smile, his eyes full of wrinkles, and the snow and wind outside seemed to grow stronger, blowing on his aged face.

"Ji Kun, have you really become this desolate?"

Chen Xun frowned, his chest heaving and anger rising inside him. "Where's your spirit? I'll tell you, I was already not happy with you back on the Blue Cliff Eagle!" He shouted.

"Moo!" The big black ox also bellowed from behind, recalling how Ji Kun had ignored them on the Blue Cliff Eagle.

After hearing this, Ji Kun felt even sadder. It was clear that Chen Xun had come to humiliate him. Ji Kun replied, "Please forgive me, Senior Brother. I..."

"You! What are you saying!?" Chen Xun roared, his robe fluttering as if blown by the wind. His magical power surged and shook the dilapidated little house, causing it to become even more disarrayed, with the risk of collapsing.

Ji Kun was pushed back by the strong wind, his hair disheveled, and he was bumped into the wall, letting out a muffled groan. He looked pitifully at Chen Xun. The snowstorm outside seemed to intensify, blowing across Ji Kun's aged face.

"Ji Kun, do you really have to be so defeated now?"

Chen Xun's anger grew. He grabbed Ji Kun's robe, his eyes furious. "My senior apprentice-brother from back then was nothing like you are now. He was a man with spirit, not this lifeless thing in front of me!"

The big black ox's pupils contracted. It had never seen Chen Xun this angry before, even after all these years.

"Hahaha..."

Ji Kun's laughter trembled through his body, and he chuckled with red-rimmed eyes. It was a forlorn, pitiful laughter. He wasn't the spirited Ji Kun of the past, but just a rural figure in the world of cultivation who had never left his small corner.