Thirty-two years of prosperity.
February 15th.
Changping County, Dayue Street, Jinfu Tower.
A square table next to the stage on the third floor was covered with fine wine and delicacies.
There were four people sitting at the table, either male or female, old or young.
The difference is that all four of them have a cautious demeanor, exuding an extraordinary aura.
"Here, let's have a drink. Although it's all a dream, the taste reproduced in it is still quite good."
The fair-faced, beardless middle-aged man picked up the exquisite wine glass and drank it all in one gulp.
After hearing Su Mo's advice, the other three people also drank a drink each.
Lu Zongping, who also looked like a middle-aged man, put down the wine glass in his hand and said with emotion:
"Speaking of which, I have eaten a lot of food and wine in this fantasy world, and the taste and texture are all extremely realistic.
If outsiders accidentally enter this place by mistake, they may not necessarily regard it as a paradise.
Can the illusion of a quasi-mage really be so realistic? "
"That's hard to say."
Nangong Yuanxiao, who had two towering hairpins on his head, replied:
"We all know that there is a huge gap between practitioners and ordinary people.
Even if he has just stepped into the first level of the threshold, his physical qualities in all aspects are comparable to the limits of ordinary people.
Practitioners in the magic master realm can be regarded as a completely different species than ordinary people.
The gap between the mage realm and the magician realm is even more exaggerated than the difference between the magician realm and ordinary people.
According to legend, after cultivating the mage realm to the extreme, the body can be permanently solidified, immortal, and indestructible to external disasters.
Therefore, the mage realm is also called the land fairyland, which refers directly to the realm of immortality. "
Zhang Xuanyang, who looked like a middle-aged aunt, couldn't help but be very confused when he heard this:
"Is there something wrong with this magician's level of practice?
The first one has just started, but the second one will live forever?
No matter how great the span of strength is, it is never this wide. "
"The large span is one thing, otherwise the magician realm wouldn't be divided into three smaller realms.
But on the other hand, the span is not as big as you think. "
Nangong Yuanxiao took a sip of wine and continued relying on his profound family knowledge:
"In fact, the immortality in the mage realm can only be said to be pseudo-immortality.
The eternity of the physical body is only the perfection of the physical body.
But the soul cannot withstand long-term wear and tear, and will eventually disperse with the wind.
No matter how good the spirit-renewing treasure medicine is, it can only last for two hundred years at most.
Two hundred years later, when the soul dissipates, the body will be nothing more than a decaying empty shell.
The last mage in history, Zhang Qinghu, was already a thousand years ago.
So you can understand that there are no surviving mage from ancient times in this world. "
"In this case, can a strong man above a mage survive the thousand-year catastrophe?"
Lu Zongping asked with interest.
Nangong Yuanxiao's expression froze slightly, and he replied with a wry smile:
"Even if you ask me about these things, I don't know."
"The millennium-long Jueling Era has caused many records related to practice to be lost and the inheritance to be cut off.
Even the deeds of powerful people in the mage realm are largely regarded as the delusions and legends of ancient people.
As for the records above mages, they are even more pitiful.
Even if there is, it is no different from a myth and it is almost impossible to find evidence. "
When Su Mo heard this, his heart couldn't help but move slightly.
He has actually thought about this issue all along.
Although he now looks quite invincible.
But he knew very well that his own strength should not exceed the mage level.
Due to the revival of spiritual energy in this world, a strong man of this level cannot be born for the time being.
It can be used as an ancient world of spiritual practice in the great world.
In the French period, there were people as amazing and talented as Zhang Qinghu.
In that extremely long history, how many talented people should have emerged?
There must have been powerful men far beyond the mage realm in this world!
Even if they have completely disappeared and are missing their traces now, they will eventually leave traces.
Su Mo suddenly felt a desire to discover, and he wanted more and more to clear away the foggy history.
"It's too far-fetched."
Lu Zongping came back to his senses and said with a smile:
"We were just talking about this illusion. After all, Zhang Rulong is only a quasi-mage, not a mage. With his strength, can he really create such a realistic illusion?"
"That's hard to say."
Nangong Yuanxiao glanced at Zhang Xuanyang and continued:
"It is said that Zhang Rulong is a quasi-mage. After all, that is just the information that Taoist Zhang heard. He did not see it with his own eyes. Maybe the other person is a mage.
And don't forget that this is a huge formation that borrows the power of heaven and earth. If there are corresponding spiritual objects used as the base of the formation, then it is common sense that it can exert any strange effects. "
Zhang Xuanyang's expression moved slightly:
"In other words, the burial place of the Patriarch is probably related to the base of this formation?"
"Yes, otherwise do you think I am digging a tunnel over there in my spare time?"
Nangong Yuanxiao shrugged.
Zhang Xuanyang rolled up his sleeves and stepped on the stool:
"If you want to fight, just say so. I'm not afraid of you here."
Nangong Yuanxiao compared the strength of the two and said righteously:
"The Nangong family never bullies the old, weak, women and children. This is our family motto."
Zhang Xuanyang still needs to talk about it.
Lu Zongping said solemnly:
"Zhang Rulong is here!"
Everyone turned to look downstairs.
He saw a stern-looking Taoist in gray robe with a short beard walking slowly forward among the crowd.
Now in the thirty-second year of Shenglong, Zhang Rulong, who was originally naive, has become a sixth-level master.
In these years, he traveled all over the country, conquering demons and monsters, and gained quite a reputation in several nearby counties.
This time they were drinking here just to find a chance to get to know each other and accompany them on the road.
Originally, this might be a bit difficult. After all, Zhang Rulong was doing the job of subduing demons. Ordinary people couldn't get close to him. If he tried to get close to him, it would just be death.
However, presumably to reduce the difficulty for them, everyone on this trip actually became practitioners after crossing over. The weakest were at level 3, and the strongest even reached level 5.
If this kind of strength is just for traveling with Zhang Rulong, it should be no problem.
But what worries Nangong Yuanxiao and others even more.
Now only 32 years old, Zhang Rulong has already reached level 6.
Later on, his strength will only become stronger, the enemies he faces will become stronger, and the difficulties he will encounter will become more difficult.
So are his regrets really something they can solve?
When they thought of this, a shadow cast over the hearts of several people.
Even with Su Mo sitting in charge, he could not completely brush it away.
Seeing Zhang Rulong approaching, everyone no longer hesitated, followed the established routine, stepped forward to talk, and successfully formed a team with him using some of the information they had previously investigated.
In the next few days, they assisted Zhang Rulong in successfully killing several monsters, solving several incidents, and established a good relationship.
During this period, they had been observing Zhang Rulong's regrets and inquiring around the edges during verbal exchanges. However, there were no clues. It seemed that he was very satisfied with his current life.
This also means that the so-called regret has not yet been discovered, and even Zhang Rulong himself does not know about it.
Nearly a month passed like this, as they followed Zhang Rulong around, slaying demons and saving people. During this period, they also saw what real troubled times are.
It's actually not quite right to say that the world is in troubled times, because the current society is nominally under the rule of the Daqi Dynasty.
The Daqi Dynasty in historical records was turbulent, with constant wars and frequent disasters. It only lasted for one hundred and fifty years before it completely fell apart, and warlords emerged to compete in the Central Plains.
According to the original analysis of historians, this had a lot to do with the corruption of officialdom at that time, the corruption of the court, natural and man-made disasters, etc.
But after actually experiencing this dynasty, I discovered that the culprit was the monsters that frequently appeared in various places.
Including many counties that died mysteriously in history, most of them were destroyed by big demons and evil spirits.
Su Mo had seen with his own eyes the bloody remains after the big demon massacred the city.
I have also seen a market town with tens of thousands of people turn into a strange place on earth.
We also saw that Daqi's demon slayers were massacred instead of forming a team to quell the disaster.
Even though he can prevent these tragedies to a certain extent here.
But the real history of the outside world will not change because of this.
Only by personal experience can one know how close the huge and powerful human race was to destruction.
Therefore, those demon exterminators and folk monks who run around and work hard to maintain the safety of the world are even more worthy of respect.
So at this time, where have all the powerful ones above the mages gone?
Su Mo thought about this question more than once and asked Zhang Rulong, but in the end he had no answer.
A low-level casual cultivator like him has never even been touched by a mage, so how can he be said to be above a mage?
However, Su Mo also discovered it while walking with Zhang Rulong.
Compared with the ignorant orphan who struggled at the bottom many years ago, Zhang Rulong today is not only more mature, but also has a harder heart.
During this month, they traveled around and solved many monsters and disasters.
But there were several times when we failed to arrive in time.
But even these times, it still failed to trigger Zhang Rulong's regret.
It's not that he doesn't have regrets, it's that his regrets haven't reached the point where he can form a fantasy specifically for them.
Contrast that with the time when he created an illusion just to save Lu Qi.
He is no longer the same person now.
After all, thirty-six-year-old Zhang Rulong is no longer the six-year-old Zhang Rulong.
But Su Mo can understand this.
He had just seen corpses covered with flies dozens of times on the road, and he already felt a little numb.
Not to mention Zhang Rulong, who has been dealing with disasters all year round.
Maybe you will feel angry, remorseful, and regretful at first.
But by now, I'm afraid I've already gotten used to it.
Get used to not being able to save in time.
Get used to not being able to kill the big monster.
Get used to the city being littered with corpses.
So what exactly is his regret?
With this confusion, they met a familiar figure in another small town.
"Tao... Taoist Master?!"
Looking at the green-robed figure not far away that he had seen once many years ago, Zhang Rulong's voice could not control his trembling.
Zhang Qinghu is still as he was when we first met him, wearing a green Taoist robe and a short bun on his head. He has the calm appearance of a middle-aged man, but there is a little more frost in his eyes.
Looking at Zhang Rulong, he smiled slightly and said:
"Fellow Taoist, we meet again."
The encounter between the two made Su Mo and others see the dawn of a breakthrough.
If nothing else, Zhang Rulong's regret must be related to this wandering Taoist priest.
Compared with more than ten years ago, the difference is that Zhang Qinghu now is a true master in the mage realm.
This is also the first mage Su Mo has seen since entering the illusion!
He couldn't tell whether this was the only remaining mage in the world.
But there is no doubt that this person is definitely not a mediocre person even among mages.
Su Mo's heart immediately surged with excitement.
Try the fighting spirit.
He has no match at all in the outside world.
Not even a single person of the same rank can be found.
But here, he met an unprecedented mage.
When I see the hunting heart, I inevitably want to fight with the opponent a few times to see the weight of the mage realm.
However, seeing that they had just met and had a lot to talk about, Su Mo had no choice but to suppress his emotions for the time being.
After some pleasantries.
Zhang Qinghu said with a smile:
"I've been traveling around the world over the years, and I've often heard of your reputation.
I originally thought that Zhang Rulong was an accomplished person, but I never thought he was the one I saw that day.
You have grown a lot in these years. I did not give that Qi training method to the wrong person. "
Looking at Zhang Qinghu with a look of admiration on his face, Zhang Rulong's old face turned red and he said a little shyly:
"Ever since I changed my name, I have been worried that it will disgrace the Taoist priest's teachings. Over the years, I have always been vigilant and worked hard to practice the principle of slaying demons and saving people, without daring to be negligent. Now that I hear the Taoist priest's approval, in the past Everything I did was worth it.”
Zhang Qinghu smiled slightly and said:
"These are the praises you deserve and have nothing to do with me. Even if another person comes and hears about your achievements, he will not be stingy in praising you."
Zhang Rulong looked excited.
After a long while, he put his hands together, bowed his hands to the bottom, and prayed:
"Everything Rulong has learned has been gifted by the Taoist Master. Although the Taoist Master is not my teacher, he is better than my teacher!
Here, Rulong once again begged the Taoist Master to accept me as his disciple! "
When Su Mo and others heard this, they couldn't help but feel a little surprised.
As we all know, practitioners often advocate freedom and hate restraint.
A strong person like Zhang Rulong already has the most critical Qi training method. As long as he relies on his own practice and continues to accumulate resources, he can always reach a higher level. The master's teaching may not be as fast as his growth outside the experience. Under normal circumstances I would never choose to become a disciple.
But he just bowed down.
This kind of apprenticeship is more out of gratitude and a kind of status.
Maybe outsiders don't think much of this, but Zhang Rulong obviously doesn't think so.
Zhang Qinghu was obviously a little surprised when he heard Zhang Rulong's request to become a disciple.
He did not agree or refuse immediately, but replied leisurely:
"I once told you that a person who is used to being a dissolute person does not like to find an apprentice. An apprentice is just a burden.
This statement is completely sufficient for you who were once an ordinary person.
It's a pity that your cultivation speed is faster than I imagined.
In this Dharma-ending world where spiritual energy is gradually declining, it actually only took sixteen years to reach the sixth level.
If you were in the golden age of cultivation, with your qualifications and character, it would be easy to become a Dharma Master.
Even if you are not a mage now, level six can still be regarded as valuable combat power.
If I use the same excuse as before, I'm afraid you won't be convinced. "
Speaking of this, Zhang Qinghu couldn't help but sigh, and then said:
"Okay, then let me tell you a more real reason. I am on the run."
"Now is not a good time to take on an apprentice."
When Su Mo heard this, his eyes lit up.
