The Return of Stars to the Jianghu

Chapter 207 Silence Transmission Within the Dilapidated Ancestral Hall

Roland gently took out a seemingly ordinary iron ring from his storage ring. The appearance of this iron ring was exactly the same as the iron ring worn by Luo Yifei at his waist, just like the resemblance between Roland and Roman, the twins.

"Wind and Fire Wheels?" Luo Yifei asked in surprise, his eyes flashing with disbelief.

Just then, a hazy light suddenly shot out from Sun Li's body, like a shooting star, and plunged straight into the iron ring in Roland's hand. Immediately afterward, Sun Li's body went limp, she lost consciousness, and collapsed into Roland's arms.

Seeing this, Roland calmly explained, "The Wind and Fire Wheels are a pair, representing the power of wind and fire respectively. The one in my hand is the Wind Wheel, and the one in your hand is the Fire Wheel. The Wind Wheel nourishes the spirit, making it more resilient; the Fire Wheel nourishes the soul, making it more vigorous. We shouldn't linger here. Not far away is the Ancestral Hall of Wind Whisper Mountain, the only well-preserved building on Wind Whisper Mountain. Let's go there and talk in detail."

Roland's tone remained calm, as if all of this was within his expectations.

......

Fengyu Mountain, a sacred site of a long-established cultivation sect on the Floating Life Continent, once had its Ancestral Hall as the core of the sect. However, after a long period of 100,000 years and nearly a hundred years of neglect, the Ancestral Hall has become dilapidated, and its former glory and solemnity have long since vanished.

The main door of the Ancestral Hall was ajar, its hinges creaking groaning from years of neglect. Outside, weeds and vines grew rampant on the stone steps, as if nature had ruthlessly encroached upon this abandoned building. Inside, dust covered everything, cobwebs crisscrossed, and a deathly silence conveyed an endless desolation and bleakness.

The hall, where statues and portraits of the sect's patriarchs once stood, is now empty. However, in the shadows of a corner, a few faded portraits still stubbornly hang, as if telling a story of past glory.

A huge portrait hangs in the center. Although the face of the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud is blurred, his deep gaze seems to still pierce through the mists of time and see through all things in the world. The edges of the portrait are broken and the paint is peeling off, but the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud's extraordinary temperament still inspires awe.

On either side of the portrait of the Old Ancestor of Wind and Cloud, the portraits of the Green-Robed Sword Immortal and the Wise Heart Immortal also appear dilapidated. The tip of the Green-Robed Sword Immortal's sword is broken, and in the portrait, she seems to still be wielding an invisible longsword, but that elegance and sharpness have been greatly diminished. The portrait of the Wise Heart Immortal is even more desolate; his face is almost completely covered by the dust of time, with only his kind eyes faintly visible, as if telling of his expectations and care for future generations.

Besides these patriarchs, portraits of other patriarchs are scattered throughout the patriarch hall. These portraits, due to their age or neglect, are incomplete and difficult to identify. Even so, they still exude a unique charm, a profound and weathered quality accumulated over time.

Inside the Ancestral Hall, besides the faded portraits, various dilapidated items were scattered about. The incense and candles had burned out, leaving only ashes and remnants; the flowers had long since withered and turned to soil; the fruit had rotted, emitting a foul stench. These items, together with the dilapidated Ancestral Hall, created a poignant and heartbreaking scene.

……

Roland, Luo Yifei, and the others each found a stool and sat down. For a moment, everyone fell silent, and no one spoke first.

"Why aren't you two saying anything? Don't you know each other?" Elder Qingsong broke the silence, secretly wondering if the two of them had a past romance.

Luo Yifei and Roland exchanged a smile, seemingly finding a tacit understanding in each other's eyes. However, Elder Qingsong remained oblivious to this unspoken understanding, still looking at the two with a puzzled expression.

“Elder Qingsong, we do know each other, but not in the way you think,” Roland spoke first, her tone tinged with helplessness and amusement. She turned to Luo Yifei and continued, “We met during a training exercise, faced many difficulties together, and forged a deep friendship from then on.”

Upon hearing this, Luo Yifei nodded in agreement, saying, "Yes, Elder Qingsong. Our friendship is built on shared experiences and mutual support. This encounter is also due to fate."

Elder Qingsong, upon hearing this, suddenly understood, a relieved smile appearing on his face. He patted his head lightly and laughed, "It seems I was overthinking it; the emotions among you young people are indeed complex. Now that I have successfully brought you back to the Floating Life Continent, and you have coincidentally reunited with old friends, I think my mission is complete. In that case, I will take my disciples to explore other secret realms to seek opportunities. Would you like to come along?"

"No, since I have the honor of reuniting with an old friend, I should naturally have a good chat. There's no need to trouble the elder," Luo Yifei replied politely.

"And you?" Elder Qingsong turned his gaze to Qi Yuan.

"Thank you for your kindness, Elder Qingsong, but I already have plans for this trip, so I won't trouble you any further," Qi Yuan replied firmly.

Seeing this, Elder Qingsong did not press the matter further. He stood up, cupped his hands in greeting to everyone, and said, "Take care, everyone. Until we meet again."

After saying that, he turned and left with his disciples, disappearing outside the gate of the Ancestral Hall.

After Elder Qingsong and his group left, the Ancestral Hall fell into a brief silence once again.

“My dear sister, that old man is finally gone. You don’t know, he was staring at me the whole time,” Roman said to Roland.

Sun Li, who was standing nearby, had already fainted against a pillar. However, no one cared about her.

Luo Yifei glanced at Roland, then at Roman, unsure where to look. Their faces were almost identical, but their attire was drastically different. Roland's style was dashing and clean-cut; Roman's, on the other hand, was alluring and seductive, her clothes remarkably sparse in fabric. Luo Yifei couldn't help but look at Roman a few more times. Fortunately, Roman didn't show any displeasure; instead, she smiled at him.

Qi Yuan, on the other hand, kept his eyes down, staring at the sword in his hand, remaining silent.

“Alright, they’ve gone far enough that they won’t be able to hear us with their divine sense,” Roland said.

“I have a lot of questions I want to ask you, but I don’t know where to begin,” Luo Yifei said.

"Ask whatever comes to mind," Roland said.

"You know Wen Bin, right?" Luo Yifei asked.

“He was my sister’s and my mentor. But we haven’t been able to contact him for over a month,” Roland replied.

"Wen Bin said he was an agent of a higher civilization, are you too?" Luo Yifei pressed.

“No, we are just his disciples. There are many interpretations of Master’s identity, and being an agent is just one of them. Sun Li is also an agent. In fact, there is a simple explanation in the cultivation world, which can be summed up in two words—servants of the gods. Master has always had a suspicion that the so-called advanced civilization no longer exists, that is, the true god is dead. So he made thousands of tests, repeatedly transgressing the rules of agents. But he never received divine punishment. Therefore, we became even more convinced of this suspicion—the true god is dead. Until more than a month ago, we lost contact with Master.” Roland said, looking at a blurred portrait in the lower left corner of the Ancestral Hall.

Luo Yifei followed her gaze. Although the portrait was already blurry, he still guessed that it should be the portrait of Wen Bin, the middle-aged man he had met at the deserted island café two years ago.

“Master has possessed many dying people. Unless it’s a temporary possession, he will always change their appearance back to their original form. This is one of the rules for divine servants.” Roland withdrew his gaze and looked at Luo Yifei. “Master paved a lot for you. But he also made your journey too smooth, so you never encountered any real danger. That’s why you are still at the Body Refinement Realm. You haven’t even been able to draw spiritual energy into your body, so you haven’t even truly embarked on the path of cultivation. He broke many rules to help you, just to keep a promise to someone.”

"A promise? To whom?" Luo Yifei could only think of one person capable of getting Wen Bin to protect him. "Captain Zhang?"

“No, it’s someone you couldn’t meet on the Floating Life Continent,” Roland replied.

“Mr. Ding? We’re right here on the Floating Life Continent. I really want to meet him then,” Luo Yifei said.

“There’s no chance anymore, he’s no longer on the Floating Life Continent,” Roland said.

......

At the foot of the "Wind Whisperer" peak of Wind Whisper Mountain, Wang Zhi, a disciple of the Xuantian Sect, asked Elder Qingsong through telepathy: "Elder, why did you always use telepathy to communicate in the Ancestral Hall? Is there some ancient power hidden here?"

Elder Qingsong turned his gaze to him, but instead of responding with a telepathic message, he answered directly: "These mountain peaks should be the former site of the Fusheng Fengyu Sect. It will probably take some time before we can leave this place."

Upon hearing this, Wang Zhi's face showed surprise. He looked around and saw that Fengyu Mountain was beautiful with clear waters and lush mountains, and there was no indication that it had once been the site of a sect.

"I can't tell at all?" Wang Zhi replied, puzzled.

“Yes, is it really a good thing if most of the high-level cultivators of a sect ascend to immortality or go to another world?” Elder Qingsong said, clearly not expecting an answer.

None of the three Xuantian Sect disciples, including Wang Zhi, responded.