Longevity Candle

Chapter 11 The Immortal's Gaze
At the foot of Baiyun Mountain.

The father and daughter started a fire and roasted their dry rations.

They don't plan to return to Baiyun Town; they will set off again at dawn.

"Jiang Zhu, I will find enough essence of the sun and moon for you, so that you will no longer need to sleep and can exist freely in the world."

Ayan's expression was resolute, and she also longed for the scene where the Green Lantern Spirit could always be by her side.

Those days must have been wonderful.

Gu Qianshan nodded in agreement: "We will do our best to search."

“No need.” Jiang Zhu shook his head and said, “Rare items are hard to come by. Even Bai Qiuyun only found this by chance and by devoting his whole life to it.”

"To dedicate one's entire life?" Gu Qianshan frowned. "He was so young when he found it; it shouldn't have been difficult."

"Because he obtained the evil scroll, he searched for it at all costs, and the cost was his lifespan."

He wasn't ill; rather, his lifespan had been shortened, and he had been corrupted by the evil energy of the painting.

Jiang Zhu sighed softly.

"Jiang Zhu, why did you say that the immortals on the white clouds are you and yet not you?" Ayan asked curiously.

"This all started with Baiyun Temple. It was built by Yan Nanxing, who is also the master of the Seven Star Sword Technique that you practice. At first, I didn't know why he wanted to build a Taoist temple..."

“He built a magnificent Taoist temple, erected a high platform, and placed offerings there. Regardless of wind or rain, day or night, he would sit cross-legged under the platform seeking immortality. He wanted to move the so-called immortals with his sincerity and perseverance, and with the magnificence of the Taoist temple.”

"Is he begging you?" Gu Qianshan asked.

Ayan asked, "Were you moved?"

"At that time, he was unaware of my existence. He sought someone who could guide him to the path of immortality, but I could not. I had not yet entered the path of immortality; I was merely an ordinary wandering spirit."

"Before he fell into slumber, I saw a green light coming from the clouds. I thought he had found immortality and that Baiyun Temple would be different."

When I woke up again, he was still sitting cross-legged, seeking immortality. The green light was standing beside me, which startled me.

"What is that?" The father and daughter asked curiously, feeling as if it were a dream.

"That was a bird. She was very beautiful. She came from the shores of the East Sea and her name was Jingwei. She was a magical spirit."

I asked her if she was moved by Yan Nanxing's sincerity.

“Jingwei asked me instead what they were doing, and I said they were seeking immortality, or spirits, to lead them onto the path of immortality.”

“Jingwei disdained the offerings and did not even glance at them. She only stopped because she was curious about my existence. It was she who taught me the method of gathering the essence of the sun and moon, otherwise I would have been asleep for much longer.”

"She is a wandering spirit, flying over thousands of mountains and rivers, traveling across vast landscapes, never stopping in one place."

Jiang Zhu sighed with emotion; their encounter back then felt like a dream to him.

The father and daughter fell silent. They spent all their wealth, abandoned their wives and children, built a Taoist temple, and erected a high platform in their quest for immortality. They sat in meditation day and night to demonstrate their unwavering determination to seek immortality.

But the result?

The elves arrived, not because they were moved by them, but simply because they were curious about Jiang Zhu.

"Before his death, he was still calling out, but no one responded. I was curious about why he was so determined to seek immortality, so I appeared and asked him."

He had seen the immortal master, whose appearance remained unchanged, but whose martial arts cultivation was utterly inadequate.

I said, "The white clouds are too high; without incense offerings, who would linger?"

Jiang Zhu's voice was low and melancholy: "But I never expected that my appearance would be mistaken for an immortal by him, and he would pass it on to Yun He."

"I've heard the older generation mention the deeds of Abbot Yunhe. Baiyun Temple was very prosperous for a time, but it later fell into disrepair," Gu Qianshan said.

After obtaining the green lamp, he made a special effort to inquire about the events at Baiyun Temple back then.

"In order to protect the Taoist temple, Yunhe occupied the temple alone, sought immortality on his own, and killed all his senior brothers."

He did a really good job; he opened the temple gates wide, and Baiyun Temple became bustling with worshippers.

"To seek immortality, you even killed your senior brother?" Ayan scoffed.

Gu Qianshan calmly replied, "Is it true that the immortals come when the incense is thriving?"

“I lied to him, but he really did attract spirits,” Jiang Zhu said. “They were two white cranes. Seeing that no one was absorbing the incense offerings for the White Cloud Immortal, they landed in the main hall and cried out to inquire about the White Cloud Immortal.” “The cranes did not understand their intentions and felt that they were disturbing the pursuit of immortality. They used bamboo poles to drive them away. The cranes talked with me for a while and learned that he had killed his senior brother, occupied the Taoist temple to pursue immortality, and had no more attachment to the temple. They flew into the clouds and never returned.”

"Yun He personally destroyed his own destiny to become an immortal?" Gu Qianshan was dumbfounded.

Ayan was stunned; it was so ridiculous and laughable.

He prayed his whole life, only to have it all shattered by his own hands.

"Later, Yunhe, like the abbot of Baiyun Temple, called out from his bedside, asking why he did not receive a response."

I felt a pang of pity, and since he was the only one inside the temple, I told him about the white crane.

Jiang Zhu shook his head and said, "I didn't expect that he would record my story before he died, and that someone else would obtain it and remember it incompletely."

If the story were complete, Bai Qiuyun would know that his immortal destiny had long since passed, and he would not be attached to Baiyun Temple, nor would he have any lingering affection for it.

He has never enjoyed or absorbed the incense offerings from the temple, so naturally he has no affinity for them.

"If we hadn't driven away the white cranes back then, Baiyun Temple might have truly become a celestial temple," Gu Qianshan remarked with emotion.

Jiang Zhu said, "The so-called seeking of immortality, the so-called 'immortals lowering their eyes,' is nothing more than them just passing by and just happen to glance at mortals. Yet mortals, because of that one glance, are obsessed with it their whole lives but cannot obtain it."

"Just passing by?" Ayan murmured.

"They're just passing by. If they happen to glance at us now, it would be an honor to have immortals look down on us," Jiang Zhu said with a hint of mockery.

He had prayed to the immortals his whole life, and they looked down at him. He thought his desire for immortality was unwavering and his sincerity was boundless.

But how can the masses of people, hundreds of millions of living beings, possibly keep track of everything?
Furthermore, they also need to cultivate themselves; they are not just money-giving boys who bestow blessings everywhere.

"So there's no need to deliberately pursue it. Just live your lives well, and I don't ask for anything in return."

Jiang Zhu said, "Life is short, so we should enjoy the present moment. I have long been accustomed to sleeping."

He didn't want Ayan to be so obsessed with him that she ended up like Yan Nanxing and Yunhe.

However, after several great dreams, the magical power will gradually accumulate, eventually extending the duration.

He can now live for four hours.

He only felt pity for the father and daughter for a moment, so he bestowed upon them a trace of magic power, taught them martial arts, and changed their fate.

He never expected anything in return from them.

Ayan fell silent. Gu Qianshan opened his mouth, feeling a strange sense of desolation in his heart.

Jiang Zhu slept for ten years, only reviving prematurely when Bai Qiuyun accidentally obtained the essence of the sun and moon.

If not, it might take even longer.

How many decades does an ordinary person have in their lifetime?

The favor he received back then was simply because he happened to wake up, and out of compassion and kindness, he seized that sliver of good fortune.

Just like the abbots of Baiyun Temple and Yunhe Temple back then, when a spirit happened to pass by and lowered its gaze to the human world.

It's bright.

"I'll leave this merit to you; it's useless for me."

Jiang Zhu tried, but couldn't use the merit no matter what, so he simply left it to the father and daughter.

His form faded again; his time had come, and he entered a deep slumber under the green lamp.

The father and daughter rose heavily and left Baiyun Town.

"Ayan, don't overthink it. Focus on your martial arts training. Let's go see our ancestors first and take a break along the way," Gu Qianshan said.

Having this kind of life is already enough; if one is greedy like Yan Nanxing and Yun He, one will only bring disaster upon oneself.

Ayan gazed into the distance: "Father, I want to pursue the path of immortality. My life is too short. When he awakens again, I fear I will already have gray hair."

Gu Qianshan clenched his hands involuntarily, his eyes reddened, and his lips were full of bitterness.

In the end, she chose what was in her heart.

(End of this chapter)