Long River Eternity

When Wei Wu heard Lin Ding's guess, the mysterious novel publishing house that Yang Nian mentioned that day came to his mind. He asked in disbelief, "Isn't this too coincidental?"

"Whether it is true or not, we'll know after we go and confirm with Teacher Yang." Liu Xianxian said softly.

So they quickly packed up and prepared to go to Yang Nian's house. Just as they reached the door, it slowly opened, and it was Yang Nian who came into view.

"Going out?" Yang Nian asked calmly, glancing at the few people.

"We were just about to go to your house to find you. What a coincidence." Liu Xianxian smiled, took Yang Nian's hand, and walked into the house intimately.

"I have to go on a long trip for some things, so you don't need to look for me during this period. What do you want to see me about?" Yang Nian asked.

"Going on a long trip? What happened?" Lin Ding's voice was nervous. Yang Nian's sudden departure made him feel a little uneasy.

"Actually, it's nothing serious. The spiritual energy has been revived recently, and the Feng family hasn't practiced for a long time, so they wrote to ask me to go over and give some guidance." Yang Nian said lightly.

Hearing that it was only the Feng family's invitation, Lin Ding felt relieved and said, "I'm glad you're alright. Actually, we're looking for you about the mystery novel."

"Oh? Are there any new clues?" Yang Nian asked with a smile, a hint of expectation in his eyes.

"I don't know if it can be considered a clue, but I just want to ask, what is the name of the city where the publishing house is located?" Lin Ding asked seriously.

"The name of the city... seems to be Dong... Donglin City." Yang Nian recalled, with a hint of thought in his eyes.

After hearing this, everyone's faces lit up with excitement. They were actually in the same place. Lin Ding then told Yang Nian the clues he had discovered yesterday: "So, could this mysterious novel be related to those white aliens?"

Yang Nian didn't answer immediately. His brow furrowed slightly, lost in thought. After a moment, he shook his head helplessly. "I can't think of any necessary connection between white people and novels. I have some guesses, but the clues are too few to be of much significance."

"Even you have no clue, so it seems we can only go to Haizhou." Lin Ding said.

"With your current strength, you can still barely reach the nearshore area, but the danger of the open sea is too great. At least we have to wait until everyone breaks through to the Yuheng Realm and has the ability to fly. It would be safest if they break through to the Tianquan Realm," Yang Nian reminded, with a hint of seriousness in his tone.

"Is Haizhou so dangerous?" Wei Wu asked doubtfully, with a hint of dissatisfaction in his tone.

Yang Nian shook his head slightly. "Haizhou itself isn't dangerous, but the ocean hides a huge threat. Whether in ancient times or during the period when spiritual energy disappeared, humans have never truly conquered the ocean. In ancient times, sea monsters and humans fought endlessly; and during the period when spiritual energy disappeared, although the sea monsters disappeared, humans still knew very little about the depths of the ocean. Today, with the large amount of nuclear waste water discharged into the ocean after the nuclear war ten thousand years ago, the monsters in the ocean are even stronger than those on land. If humans leave land for a long time, their strength will be greatly reduced. Even if they fly, they may be attacked by bird monsters. Therefore, Haizhou is not dangerous, but the journey to Haizhou is full of dangers."

After hearing Yang Nian's words, the others looked at each other, each pondering their own thoughts. At this moment, Wei Wu suddenly said, "Then wouldn't it be enough to just raise Old Chu and the brat to the Yuheng realm? They can just go out of the city and kill a few monsters, letting Xianxian gather their energy, and they'll be able to break through."

Upon hearing this, Yang Nian frowned slightly, and with a slight movement of his fingers, a stone palm suddenly condensed above Wei Wu's head, and then with a loud "bang", it hit his head.

Wei Wu screamed in pain, clutching his head and yelling, "Who attacked me?!" When he saw the stone hand above his head, he looked at Yang Nian in confusion, "Teacher Yang? Why did you hit me?"

"I see you've been a little bit arrogant lately? Do you think breaking through realms and killing monsters are easy?" There was a hint of dissatisfaction in Yang Nian's tone, and a hint of severity flashed in his eyes.

Wei Wu covered his head, not daring to respond. Seeing this, Yang Nian continued, "You, Lin Ding, and Kuang Shi joined forces to barely defeat Cang Hu, but this came at the cost of everyone being seriously injured. And if I hadn't arrived in time, you would have been killed by Wu Xiang long ago."

"This time we're close to Zhongzhou City, so I can rescue you in time. But if you encounter a similar situation outside, how will you deal with it? Now that your mentality is so impetuous, you still want to go to Haizhou. Even the five inner states will find it difficult to deal with it."

After hearing this, several people lowered their heads. Although it was Wei Wu who said this, the others also had the same idea in their hearts.

Although they experienced hardships all the way from Nanshan City, they had a smooth journey, which made their self-confidence swell and they gradually forgot: whether it was saving Lin Tiansheng and his wife, taming the mad lion, or fighting against Cang Hu, it was Yang Nian who solved the most difficult problems for them at the critical moment.

"Teacher Yang, we know we were wrong," Lin Ding said with a guilty look on his face. "The recent series of events has indeed made us impetuous and overly simplistic. We will definitely calm down and correct our mindset in the future."

Seeing Lin Ding realize his mistake, Yang Nian sighed softly, "It's good that you admit your mistake. But then again, this can't be entirely your fault. After all, you're still young, fresh out of school and facing so many challenges. Add to that the overwhelming praise, and it's easy to lose your way when you're young and famous."

He turned to Chu Tianxiao, his tone laced with reproach: "Although Zhan Tianqiong suppressed the negative public opinion against you, that was directed at outsiders to prevent your plans from being affected. However, it is still necessary to let them see some rational negative comments. Otherwise, if they continue to live in false praise, what can they achieve in the future?"

"It was my negligence. I didn't consider this." Chu Tianxiao seemed a little self-blaming.

Yang Nian nodded, stood up, and said calmly, "We're not in the academy now. If you make a mistake, you still have a chance to correct it. Now you are facing a life-or-death challenge. Any negligence will cost you dearly. Don't be impatient or arrogant. I believe you won't let me down. Take care of yourselves and your companions while I'm away. I'm leaving."

So everyone sent Yang Nian to the door and watched him leave.

As Yang Nian's figure gradually faded away, Wei Wu quietly nudged Chu Tianxiao beside him and asked in a low voice, "Hey, are there really so many negative comments about us?"

Chu Tianxiao chuckled: "More than you think."

"No way? We worked so hard, what's wrong with that?" Wei Wu retorted dissatisfiedly.

Lin Ding and Liu Xianxian also turned around, puzzled. They thought, even if they couldn't gain everyone's approval, at least they wouldn't be blamed, right?

"Of course, most of them are groundless and nitpicking, but there are a few that are quite pertinent. I did intend to find a suitable opportunity to show you, and now it seems that the time has come." Chu Tianxiao said seriously.