Upon hearing these words,
Jiang Yuechu's hand, which was picking up food, paused slightly.
Everything suddenly became clear in her mind.
No wonder.
Back in the Lingshan territory, the System had suddenly prompted her out of the blue that she had gained a large amount of Dao Cultivation.
She had been puzzled at the time; she clearly hadn't lifted a finger, so where did this windfall come from?
As it turned out, her golden body Clone left in Chang'an City had triggered its defense mechanism and handily slain a Demon Emperor who had come to deliver its own head on a silver platter.
This golden body was actually quite excellent for guarding the house.
"If it's dead, it's dead," Jiang Yuechu said, taking a mouthful of rice, her tone remaining flat.
Looking at his sister's calm and indifferent manner, the Emperor's heart was practically overflowing with pride.
This family banquet lasted for a long time.
It was mostly the Emperor rambling about trivial matters, while Jiang Yuechu listened quietly, occasionally nodding in response.
It wasn't until the sun began to set and the sky grew dark
that Jiang Yuechu finally found an excuse to extract herself from the Emperor's doting care.
Leaving the imperial palace,
Jiang Yuechu summoned Zhou Xuan.
She tossed him several large-sized storage Magic Treasures filled with resources from Wuxiang Mountain.
After instructing him on the matters of inventory and recording, she walked alone into the night of Chang'an City.
...
Since arriving in Chang'an, this master and disciple duo, Thirteen Wu and his pupil, had been acting quite strangely.
The Great Tang imperial family had intended to bestow a luxurious mansion in the inner city to serve as the residence for the Immortal Master.
However, Thirteen Wu had flatly refused.
The old Daoist took his young disciple and mingled within the markets of Chang'an's outer city.
Furthermore, they never stayed in one place for long.
Often every few days, they would quietly move to a different courtyard.
According to Thirteen Wu's reasoning, living too comfortably made it easy to become complacent.
Guided by the faint traces of Qi she had left on the two of them,
Jiang Yuechu passed through several deep and secluded alleys.
The surrounding clamor gradually faded away.
Finally, she came to a halt before a remote and dilapidated small courtyard.
The courtyard walls were low, and several broken tiles were teetering on the verge of falling.
The courtyard gate was left ajar.
From inside, suppressed coughing could be faintly heard.
For cultivators, once they step into the Ink Dot Realm, they are already immune to heat and cold.
Not to mention someone who had Cultivated to a Realm like Thirteen Wu's; how could he still be afflicted by any illness?
But hearing the sound of that coughing...
Jiang Yuechu's brow furrowed, and just as she was about to ponder the reason behind it,
the ajar wooden door was suddenly pulled open from the inside.
The wooden door made a dull scraping sound.
Behind the threshold,
a figure in the form of a Child was revealed.
"Why have you come?"
Wang Ziyu looked at the Girl in Black Robes outside the door in surprise.
He seemingly hadn't expected her to come looking for them at this time.
Jiang Yuechu's train of thought was interrupted.
She also looked down.
This old fellow usually put on an air of being sophisticated and worldly-wise.
His speech was even more improper.
At this moment, however, that tender little face was devoid of its usual playful grin.
His brow was tightly knit, looking quite solemn.
"Did something happen?"
Hearing this,
Wang Ziyu subconsciously nodded, then shook his head again.
He let out a long sigh and said, "You should come in first."
Wang Ziyu stepped aside, yielding half the passage.
Jiang Yuechu stepped over the threshold and followed Wang Ziyu into the courtyard.
The yard was overgrown with weeds.
In a corner sat a creaking old rattan chair.
Thirteen Wu was slumped in that rattan chair.
Sensing a visitor, Thirteen Wu instinctively wanted to straighten his back, trying his best to hide the aura of decline about him.
He attempted to put on the air of an otherworldly expert... but for a moment, he found it difficult to achieve.
His body had just tensed for a second before it slumped down weakly.
Seeing that the girl's gaze had already fallen upon him,
Thirteen Wu simply couldn't be bothered to hide it anymore; he hunched his back and coughed without restraint.
Jiang Yuechu frowned slightly and said softly, "What happened?"
Hearing the girl's question,
Wang Ziyu stood to the side, clenching his fists, just about to speak.
Before the Child could make a sound, Thirteen Wu, slumped in the rattan chair, raised a withered hand and waved it dismissively.
"Actually, it's no big deal."
The old Daoist smacked his lips, his tone returning to his usual nonchalant manner.
"The world thinks that once you've reached the Denglou Realm, you can live as long as heaven and earth, immortal and undying, but how could it be that easy... This old Daoist has lived for so many years and seen all the ups and downs of this Eastern Region; I've had my fill."
"This remnant body of mine has simply reached its limit; the oil is spent, and the lamp is going out."
"..."
Jiang Yuechu stood there, looking at the old Daoist in the rattan chair, remaining silent.
Just a few days ago, this old fellow was full of vigor; how could his end be near after not seeing him for only a few days?
But since he was deliberately hiding it and unwilling to speak plainly,
she wouldn't pry further.
Although Thirteen Wu had been kind to the Great Tang and helped a lot,
Jiang Yuechu had never been the type to rush to investigate others' hardships or act as a babysitter.
If it truly reached the point where he needed her help, he would surely come to her door to ask.
There was no need for her to get to the bottom of it here.
Even for the Great Tang,
if she helped them like this and they still failed to show promise... she likely wouldn't worry about the Great Tang anymore...
Seeing that the Girl in Black Robes was only silent and had no intention of digging for the truth,
Thirteen Wu breathed a sigh of relief.
The old Daoist coughed twice, straightened his wrinkled Daoist robes, and changed the subject.
"Lass."
"Why aren't you staying in the palace in the middle of the night, and instead come seeking this old Daoist?"
"Could it be that the Great Tang has run into some thorny trouble again?"
Jiang Yuechu shook her head.
She found a relatively clean stone stool near the rattan chair and sat down casually.
Her posture was upright, her expression calm.
"The Great Tang is fine... It's that I've encountered some obstacles in my Cultivation."
She looked at Thirteen Wu and spoke straightforwardly.
"I have now reached the Late Stage of the Denglou Realm."
"But I always feel that this Tower Ascent Perfection isn't as natural as a normal breakthrough. Why is that?"
As soon as these words were spoken,
Thirteen Wu, who had been slumped in the rattan chair putting on an act, suddenly stiffened.
Wang Ziyu, standing nearby, widened his eyes even more, his tongue half-hanging out.
Master and disciple stared at each other.
The sorrowful atmosphere of life-and-death separation and the nearing end from just now
instantly vanished into thin air in the face of this casually spoken sentence.
Wait, what?
Are you kidding me?
Thirteen Wu swallowed hard, his throat feeling dry.
He remembered very clearly.
By all accounts, this girl's entry into the Denglou Realm was only a matter of a few days ago.
How many days had it been?
And now she's come to ask about Tower Ascent Perfection?!
The master and disciple almost instinctively sent their Divine Sense toward Jiang Yuechu.
Jiang Yuechu did not deliberately hide her aura.
When that powerful spiritual energy fluctuation belonging to the Ninth Level of Tower Ascent was revealed without reservation to their perception,
Thirteen Wu's hand trembled, and Wang Ziyu silently closed his mouth, pulling back his half-protruding tongue.
The two of them stared blankly at the cold-faced girl sitting on the stone stool.
They fell into a complete silence.
---