Lu Yin looked at the seven people, and they looked back at him, locking eyes.
“You must be Mr. Lu. As the rumors say, you are unmatched beneath the Immortal realm. Impressive, truly impressive.” Of the seven, a burly man let out a sigh of admiration. He had a strong appearance, though the hair on his head was completely white, and his eyes showed the weight of age.
An old man beside the burly man spoke up. “So that’s Lifeforce. I never managed to grasp it. Truly enviable. How are the young ones so formidable nowadays?”
“There were also many remarkable figures among our generation, but alas, the times have changed. Some shone brilliantly for their entire lives, yet they did not manage to live to see this day.”
“The appearance of geniuses in each subsequent generation is a blessing for all of humanity.”
Lu Yin looked at them. “Seniors, are you from the First Night Pillar?”
“Hehe, indeed we are.”
Lu Yin stared at them intently. These seven must have lived for an incredibly long time to give off this sense of a candle fluttering in the wind. That was not an easily evoked sensation.
Even someone like Ye Ge, who was approaching the end of his lifespan, had never given off this kind of impression. Or at least, not nearly so clearly.
These seven looked as though they already had one foot in their coffins. They gave off a feeling of decay, death, and desolation.
Down on the ground, an elder suddenly shouted, “I remember now! That’s Qin Wudi! The Qin Wudi!”
“Qin Wudi? Who’s that?” someone asked in confusion.
The old man trembled with excitement as he dropped to his knees and kowtowed to the sky. “This junior greets his ancestor! Old Ancestor, you’re still alive!”
High in the sky, the burly old man looked down at the elder bowing, and then at the cultivators falling to their knees nearby. He sighed. “So I still have descendants? How wonderful. I’ll have someone to see me off after all. Old Xian, I’ve won our bet! I have descendants to bury me, haha!”
The black-robed elder chuckled. “You’ve merely not lost. That’s not the same as winning. I should also have descendants who can see me off.”
He then raised his voice and called out, “This old man is Master Xian. Do I have any descendants present?”
The booming voice echoed across the universe, spreading far and wide. His shout rang out, reaching the entire Nine Odysseys Megaverse.
But no one responded.
Master Xian’s face fell. He called out again, but there was still no reply.
His eyes dimmed, and then closed. The old man said nothing more.
Qin Wudi glanced over and clapped a hand on Master Xian’s shoulder. “My descendants are also your descendants, Old Xian. When they send me off, they’ll send you off too. There’s no need to distinguish between us.”
Old Xian let out a relaxed laugh. “As expected, this bet goes to you.”
An old woman stepped forward to stand between the two. “Enough. At our ages, we already have one foot in the grave. What’s the point of gambling? I wonder if anyone still remembers this old granny.”
“It’s Granny Three Heavens! It’s Granny Three Heavens! Master, I remember now! She is the one in the portrait whom we pay our respects to!”
Many others cried out in shock. “Granny Three Heavens? The one who once amazed the entire megaverse, whose name became famous even in the Spirit Nidus?”
“To think she’s still alive. That was the ancient past. She once caused countless wars in the Spirit Nidus...”
The old woman laughed in delight. “I didn’t think that anyone would still remember me, hahaha! But ‘Granny Three Heavens’ sounds awful. Back then, they called me Fairy Three Heavens, then Sister Three Heavens. Later it was Big Sister Three Heavens, and finally Elder Three Heavens. To hear that you now call me Granny Three Heavens... Ah...”
A gaunt old man behind her rolled his eyes. “You just called yourself granny a moment ago.”
“That’s none of your business! You talk too much!” The old woman shot a glare back at the man.
These seven people’s appearance was like opening a page of ancient history. Countless eyes stared at them, searching for hints of ancient memories.
In the Frightened Sparrow Terrace, Greater Sancte Awe Gate also stared at the seven figures. All of them were much older than even her.
She was an Immortal who was able to live an endless life and would easily outlast them. Still, at the moment, these seven were older, and they only had a short bit of time left. They were standing on the precipice of death.
These people were no longer able to fight. They did not stay in the First Night Pillar to actually protect it, but rather to enjoy their retirement.
Only the First Night Pillar’s power had allowed them to survive for so long. Without that, not even cryostasis would have enabled them to stay alive.
Descending from outer space, the seven stepped into the Frightened Sparrow Terrace. Upon arriving, they all bowed to Greater Sancte Awe Gate. “Greetings, Greater Sancte Awe Gate.”
“Greetings, Greater Sancte Awe Gate...”
Despite being older, they were facing an Immortal, and respect was still due.
Greater Sancte Awe Gate lifted a hand to raise them back up. “Seniors, such courtesy is unnecessary.”
The seven nodded in gratitude, and then they turned to look at Master Qing Cao, who was standing nearby. “Well, if it isn’t Qing Cao. Who would have thought even you would break through to the Immortal realm? The heavens must be blind.”
Qin Wudi made that comment. Not only did he not bow to Master Qing Cao, but the old man was also quite rude when speaking.
Master Qing Cao showed no offense. He simply offered a pleasant smile as he looked at Qin Wudi. “It’s been a long time, old friend.”
Qin Wudi scowled. “We’re not friends! Back then, I beat you half to death. Just don’t take your revenge now.”
Granny Three Heavens chuckled. “Qing Cao isn’t so petty. Right, Qing Cao?”
Master Qing Cao turned his smile to the old woman. “Compared to Qin Wudi, Fairy Three Heavens, you caused me much greater suffering. I still vividly remember being hunted by those people back then. Fairy Three Heavens, don’t you think that you owe me an explanation?”
Granny Three Heavens shook her head. “We’re all old now. Why bother clinging to the past?”
“Qing Cao, it’s been a very long time.”
“Eh? Even you managed to become an Immortal? How tragic. This must be the worst tragedy ever seen.”
“Let’s let bygones be bygones. There’s no need to dwell on the past...”
Master Qing Cao smiled at the seven elders. Long ago, all seven had visited the Spirit Nidus, and they had stirred up quite the commotion there. At the time, they had all been top geniuses, and had constantly competed with each other, scheming and plotting while looking down on the people of the Spirit Nidus. At that time, Master Qing Cao had been regarded as a genius of the Spirit Nidus, but he had been far beneath these seven. As Greater Sancte Blood Tower had once said, they had been able to beat Qing Cao to the point where he could no longer take care of himself.
Still, he was the one who had succeeded in becoming an Immortal.