Chapter Nineteen: The Celestial Master's Residence

It was nearing noon, and the scorching sun hung high in the sky. At the foot of Mount Longhu, a team of people stood waiting.

After days of nerve-wracking anxiety, Gu Feng had finally emerged from that place that had filled him with such dread. The initial terror had faded, but he still found himself restless. After all, the matter was not yet concluded, and his fate remained undecided.

Standing at the base of the mountain, he was greeted by a landscape of green hills, clear waters, and reflected clouds. A gentle breeze swept by, carrying a rustling sound accompanied by the crisp chirping of birds. Under normal circumstances, this would have been a breathtaking sight, but Gu Feng had no heart to appreciate it.

Beside him stood the members of the Enforcement Squad. Over this period, he had grown somewhat familiar with them. He had come to realize that these were formidable men who had truly taken lives, and the fact that he had remained unscathed in their hands was nothing short of a miracle. As an ordinary person, the very idea that the Enforcement Squad had been mobilized to travel thousands of miles to retrieve him felt like a massive overreaction. Thus, standing among them, he felt like a Siberian husky lost in a pack of wolves, his nerves frayed. Even though their attitude toward him had softened after they realized he was not the member of the God-Worshiping Cult they had been hunting, their solemn and disciplined demeanor still left him struggling to adapt.

Waiting for the people from Mount Longhu felt to him like waiting for a final judgment. For a student who had just graduated from high school, such torment was excruciating.

Before long, a young girl came rushing down the mountain in a flurry of activity. Seeing her arrival, the members of the Enforcement Squad breathed a sigh of relief; even the most stoic among them managed to squeeze out a smile.

Upon reaching the group, Zhang Qing could not help but scan them, looking for the person her grandfather had deemed to have a "destined connection." There was a reason she had been sent to receive the squad. The loss of a heritage text was a blow to the dignity of Mount Longhu, and having the Enforcement Squad return it made the situation feel all the more embarrassing. Consequently, the sect would not send elders to welcome them with great fanfare, yet they could not afford to be impolite—especially to those who had recovered their sacred scriptures. Sending the Celestial Master's granddaughter was the perfect balance: it maintained proper decorum without turning the event into an elaborate spectacle.

She quickly locked onto her target: a young man with a naive expression standing in the crowd. She looked him over from head to toe, but found nothing particularly special about him.

"Is it him?" Zhang Qing asked, her eyes lighting up.

"That's right," a member of the Enforcement Squad nodded.

"Very well, please follow me up the mountain!" Zhang Qing turned and led the way. The squad followed her pace toward the heights of Mount Longhu.

Gu Feng had no choice but to tag along, sighing inwardly, "I hope there won't be any more twists. This has been such an ordeal." He prayed silently. If there were a next time... well, after thinking it over, Gu Feng realized he would probably still do the same thing.

Wang An and the others followed Zhang Qing into a courtyard, where they saw an old man hoeing the earth. They stood in the courtyard, their expressions becoming reserved, their hearts filled with an unspeakable sense of reverence. The old man before them was the contemporary Celestial Master, a household name across the Great Xuan—the legend who had once descended the mountain, sword in hand, to purge the world of demons. He was a celebrated myth of the martial arts in the current Xuan Star. The stability and status of the Great Xuan were largely thanks to him; how could they not respect such a legendary figure?

Although Gu Feng did not know who this man was, the profound respect shown by the Enforcement Squad told him that this must be a person of immense power. From the moment he stepped into the courtyard, he felt the ground vibrate slightly with every strike of the old man’s hoe. Though not a martial artist himself, Gu Feng was familiar with many of their secrets, and the sheer strength displayed by the old man left him stunned.

The old man suddenly stopped what he was doing and turned to look at them. Seeing Gu Feng, he could not help but reveal a smile.

"Little friend, there is no need to be nervous. Bringing you here is not to hold you accountable; we can discuss the details later."

Hearing this, a weight lifted from Gu Feng’s heart. Regardless of the old man's cultivation level, the kindness in his words suggested he was a benevolent person. He still did not realize that the man before him was the famed Celestial Master, as the old man’s attire made it impossible to associate him with such a grand title.

"The loss of our heritage caused you all to travel back and forth for days and go thousands of miles to bring it back. You have worked hard, and I thank you all," the old Celestial Master said with a gentle smile and a warm tone.

"This is our duty, Senior. You are too kind," Wang An replied hurriedly, bowing. The loss of the scriptures had been linked to the God-Worshiping Cult, and it was their job to hunt down such people. It was hardly a burden; even if the lost item hadn't been a treasure of Mount Longhu, the mere appearance of the cult would have necessitated the Enforcement Squad’s intervention.

The Celestial Master smiled and changed the subject. "Since you have traveled such a long way, you must all be hungry. Why not rest on the mountain for a while? Our food is quite substantial. I wonder if you would be interested in tasting the local specialties of the mountain?"

As soon as the Celestial Master made the offer, it caught everyone's attention, and they readily agreed. After all, it was a rare opportunity to visit Mount Longhu, and tasting the delicacies of the Celestial Master's estate was an enticing prospect. The members of the Enforcement Squad looked expectant.

Mount Longhu was not only a legend in the world of Eastern martial arts but also a famous tourist destination in the Great Xuan. It was open to the public, and with many tourists visiting, there was certainly no shortage of food. However, as martial artists, they knew the food served to them would be the "martial rations" unique to the practitioners of Mount Longhu. How could they not look forward to that? As members of the Enforcement Squad, they had their own martial rations, but different schools of martial arts developed different recipes. These rations not only provided superior nutrition but were also crafted for flavor.

The members of the squad looked at one another, and they all swallowed hard in anticipation.