*
Just as Master Qinghe was about to bring up the matter of urging Nanqing to ascend to immortality again, he suddenly noticed a red mark on Nanqing's neck.
He remained silent, quietly watching his senior uncle and junior brother.
After a long pause, she spoke softly:
"Uncle-Master, the Heavenly Mystery Pavilion discovered a secret realm some time ago and went to investigate it together with our three sects. Several elders have important matters to attend to recently. Would you be willing to go?"
His voice was calm and steady, but he deliberately concealed the most crucial information: that secret realm only opened once every thirty years and was protected by ancient restrictions. Even if a powerful being who had undergone tribulation broke through the void, they could not enter from any place other than the exit.
Qinghe pondered in his heart that if they were to separate, he would first separate his junior brother and his senior uncle for a period of time, because it must be because the two of them spend every day together!
Although the cultivation world is more open-minded about forming couples than the mortal world, the relationship between master and disciple is ultimately a taboo that transcends human ethics.
Nan Qing didn't think much of it. The little brat was too clingy; it was good to leave for a while. So she said:
When do we depart?
"The secret realm will open in three days," Qinghe said respectfully. "The other three sects will send their supreme elders."
He wasn't making this up; he was Qingxu Zhenren of Tianji Pavilion, Xuanguang Zhenren of Xuantian Sect, and Taihe Zhenren of Yushou Sect.
He had originally intended to invite another Grand Elder to accompany him, but now...
Tan Taipei suddenly stepped forward as well: "Disciple is willing to go with Master."
"No." Qinghe interrupted decisively: "The Heavenly Mystery Pavilion has discovered that this secret realm may be an ancient one, containing restrictions that only allow cultivators at the Nascent Soul stage or above to enter."
Master Qinghe was unaware of Dan Taipei's declining cultivation level, believing him to still be in the Nascent Soul stage.
The hall fell silent for a moment. Nanqing placed his cup on the table, looked at Tantai Bei, and said:
"Taipei, you stay here and take good care of your injury."
Seeing his junior brother's eyes dim instantly, Qinghe sighed inwardly, hoping that this love tribulation could be severed as soon as possible.
Three days later.
Nan Qing, dressed in white as usual, lightly traced a line with his fingertips, and the void in front of him cracked in response.
She took one last look at Taipei, then stepped into the void, her figure disappearing from Lingxiao Peak.
For three days, she indulged in her obsessive pursuit of Taipei, living a life of absurdity.
Candles burned eternally in the sleeping quarters, jade cups lay overturned on the table, and the hot springs behind the mountain were filled with enchanting beauty.
Tan Taipei buried his face in her neck, his voice low and hoarse: "Master...come back soon."
Nan Qing brushed his slightly reddened eyes and readily agreed.
Although he was reluctant to leave Taipei, he thought that at most they would be separated for a few months or a year.
After all, in ordinary secret realms, the shortest time is a few days, a month, and at most a year or three years.
After Nanqing left, Tan Taipei devoted himself entirely to cultivation.
He spent his days almost obsessively tempering his body, comprehending the Dao, practicing swordsmanship, and studying magic.
He knew that it was because he was useless and his cultivation was too weak that he was unable to go with his master.
If his cultivation level were high enough, he could go with his master instead of waiting here in vain.
But one year, three years, five years passed... and Master still did not return.
He asked his senior brother many times, but his senior brother said he didn't know. He also had to check on his master's soul lamp every day to make sure she was alright.
Later, Taipei became increasingly silent and gloomy.
He used to be just aloof, but now even Chu Yue finds it hard to get a word in edgewise with him.
In the ninth year, the sect's grand competition was held.
He alone, with only his sword, defeated all the direct disciples of the Eight Great Peaks.
As the last opponent fell off the stage, Qinghe Zhenren, who was watching the match, suddenly stood up and appeared in front of Tantai Bei in an instant. He placed a palm on Tantai Bei's shoulder and forcibly suppressed the violent aura emanating from his body.
"Taipei! Wake up!" Qinghe shouted sternly.
Tan Taipei slowly raised his head, a flash of crimson light passing through his eyes, and a chilling smile curled at the corners of his lips:
"Senior brother, how often does that secret realm open?"
Qinghe remained silent for a moment.
He originally thought that Tan Taipei's obsession with his uncle was nothing more than a youthful dependence, a feeling of filial piety that outweighed romantic love.
But over the past nine years, I've watched him grow increasingly gloomy and even push himself to this point.
He knew that if he continued to hide it, something really bad was about to happen.
He looked directly into Taipei's bloodshot eyes and said bluntly:
Thirty years.
"That secret realm opens once every thirty years."
He thought that his junior brother would go even crazier after hearing this, and that he was even prepared to forcefully suppress him.
However.
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the number "thirty years," the surging spiritual energy around Tan Taipei gradually subsided, and the crimson in his eyes faded, replaced by a sense of almost serene calm.
"So it was thirty years..."
He spoke softly, his voice so gentle that it startled Qinghe.
There was no madness, no breakdown, not even questioning.
He only felt a sense of peace and relaxation from his junior brother.
What Master Qinghe didn't know was that for Tan Taipei, his master was heaven and earth, and his only obsession in this life.
As long as she is safe and sound, as long as I know she will return one day.
Let alone thirty years, even three hundred or three thousand years, he would wait.
Tan Taipei slowly sheathed his sword, his fingertips lightly wiping away the bloodstains on the blade. He raised his eyes to look into the distance, his eyes reflecting the vast sky, deep and calm.
"Thank you for informing me, senior brother."
His tone was calm, as if the madman from before had never existed.
Master Qinghe stood there, stunned, and for a moment he didn't know what to say.
After speaking, Tan Taipei turned and left, his back straight as a pine tree, and there was no longer any shadow around him.
Tan Tai returned to Ling Shuang Peak and locked himself in the kitchen, constantly preparing spiritual dishes, each one of which was Nan Qing's favorite flavor.
As the sun rises and sets, the smoke from the kitchen never ceases.
Over the years, he has taken out pieces of the delicious spirit beast meat that he had stored in his storage ring and carefully cooked them.
Steamed snow bream.
Slow-cooked ginseng chicken soup.
Chilled plum cake.
Only when the last piece of spirit beast meat was used up and the last portion of seasoning was exhausted did Tan Taipei finally stop.
He sealed all the spiritual food in a jade box and put it into the storage ring that was specially used to store snacks for his master.
Three days later.
I stood quietly under the ancient tree at the exit of that secret place in Taipei.
The elders from various sects who were guarding this place slightly opened their eyes, then closed them again as usual and continued to meditate.
Over the past nine years, I have often come to this place in Taipei, sometimes standing there for a short while, and sometimes staying for several days.
But things are different today.
He found a blue stone under the ancient tree, sat cross-legged, and placed his sword horizontally in front of his knees.
In twenty-one years, Master will return.
He will wait here for his master.
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