Aspiring to the Immortal Path
chapter-759

Canglong Prefecture, the Wei Clan.

The Wei Clan was in a joyous mood, for today was the birthday of the Wei Clan's most esteemed lady.

Zheng Shufeng was seated as the guest of honor, gripping her dragonhead cane as she happily accepted the congratulations from all around.

The years had turned this noble and graceful lady into a weathered granny, but even so, nobody dared to look down on her.

She had been the one to rescue the Wei Clan from the edge of decline, and not only that, she had orchestrated its revival, making it one of the biggest clans in all of Canglong Prefecture, all of the Ling Province. And now that Wei Tianchong was at Heart Demon and Tang Jie had become the Young Lord, it probably wouldn't be long before another name was added to Sageheart Kingdom's list of great clans. Although she was no longer the clan head and no longer intervened in its affairs, she still had her prestige, and even the current clan head did not dare to defy her will.

Meanwhile, the steward was constantly calling out names.

"Imperial Inspector Bai Cangqiong conveys his congratulations on your birthday and has sent ten bands of cloud brocade, one box of jade resin, and one box of silk!

"Secretary Nan of Qiong Province and Canglong Magistrate Zhu offer their felicitations, wishing the venerable lady a life longer than the southern mountains and happiness as vast as the eastern seas. They present one Great Yuan Vase, ten boxes of brocade, and one Heavenly Fragrance Longevity Peach!

"Canglong Branch Leader Li Tiansheng personally offers his congratulations…

"The Canglong Zhou Clan's Patriarch Zhou has come with his daughter to wish you a happy birthday…

"The Jade Radiance Sect's Sect Master Han conveys his well wishes…"

Local officials, medium and minor sects, and great clans all sent people to the Wei Clan to wish Zheng Shufeng a happy birthday, making the Wei Estate as busy as a marketplace.

Zheng Shufeng was happy to see all these guests.

When one got older, one became afraid of being alone and came to like crowds, and for an old lady like her, such days like this wouldn't last for long, so she would happily live out each day she could get.

But deep down, she still felt a sliver of sorrow.

It had been three years since Wei Tianchong had last come to her birthday party.

For cultivators, several years was like several months, and Wei Tianchong couldn't possibly come and visit every year.

But this was exactly why Zheng Shufeng missed her son all the more.

Occasionally, she would also wonder if Tang Jie would come to see her now that he was back.

Now that she thought about it, he had already been back for three months, and the news of his return had already spread to every corner of Rosecloud. If he wanted to come, he probably would have come by now.

Since he had yet to send word, he probably wasn't coming.

Moreover, Tang Jie had sworn a Heart Demon Aspiration that if Wei Tianchong ascended to Celestial Heart, Tang Jie would leave the Wei Clan.

Now that Wei Tianchong was a Heart Demon True Person, Tang Jie naturally had no connection to the Wei Clan. But in her heart, Zheng Shufeng still hoped that Tang Jie would do something so that she could know that Tang Jie still cared for the Wei Clan.

But this idea was a vain hope, and that figure she hoped to see failed to appear, leaving her to helplessly sigh.

This sigh startled the servants around her, and they immediately asked if they had done anything wrong, but the venerable lady only shook her head.

The mood became slightly heavy, but joyful music quickly washed it away.

Late night approached, and the guests dispersed.

The servants began to put away the chairs and tables and put out the lanterns. The old lady was feeling tired and prepared to retire to her chamber.

At this moment, a young man came to the gate of the Wei Estate.

A servant spotted him and asked, "Who are you?"

The man replied, "I've come to wish the venerable lady a happy birthday."

The servant replied, "You've come too late. The birthday banquet has already concluded, and the venerable lady wishes to rest and is not seeing any more guests. You should return."

The man said, "I came precisely at this time in order to save myself the trouble."

"Mm." The servant was rather surprised and examined this visitor. He found him to just be a rather clean-faced youth with nothing special about him. While he was wondering what was going on, the young man said, "I'm called Tang Jie."

The servant was frozen for a moment as he was trying to figure out where he had heard this name before, and then he realized, pointing a trembling finger at Tang Jie. "You… you're… Master Tang? You are Master Tang?"

Tang Jie didn't realize that this was how the employees of the estate were addressing him now. He smiled and said, "So can I go in now?"

"You… you may…" The servant nodded. And then he realized something and immediately rushed into the house, shouting, "Tang Jie is here! Tang Jie is here!"

It sounded more like he was saying a bandit was invading.

The venerable lady trembled and looked behind her in disbelief. "What?"

She saw a young man casually following behind that servant.

She rubbed her eyes and took a closer look, but her vision was still blurry, so she quickly said, "Zhi'er, Zhi'er, my eyes are going bad, so take a look and see if this is really Tang Jie."

The middle-aged man next to her was none other than Wei Tianzhi. As he had cultivated before, his lifespan was somewhat longer. He bowed and said, "Mother, your son confirms that this is Tang Jie."

Zheng Shufeng gleefully hurried over, but she had barely walked two steps when a figure appeared in front of her and supported her elderly frame. "My lady, be careful to not fall."

This familiar voice made Zheng Shufeng tremble, and she widened her eyes and felt Tang Jie's face. "It really is you… still the same as always, not changed at all!"

Tang Jie smiled. "My lady is as elegant as ever."

"Me?" Zheng Shufeng shook her head. "Not at all. I'm an old lady, a monster who has lived for almost two hundred years. Now that I think about it, it's you cultivators who are better off. No matter how well-off we mortals live, after a hundred years, it will all be gone, not at all like you… not at all like you…"

Her voice trailed off.

Tang Jie helped her along as they walked to the side. "My lady, there's no need for you to be envious. Cultivators have their own risks that they have to face, and many people fall on the path before they can ever get this far. This life isn't much better than a mortal's. I was only able to live this long because I was lucky. But maybe I might run into some powerful expert who kills me with a flip of his hand, and I will have to go ahead before my lady."

"Pah, pah, pah, you crow mouth, don't go saying such unlucky things," Zheng Shufeng said, waving her hand.

"Yes, yes, this lowly one needs a beating for his clumsy tongue," Tang Jie said, acting like a servant.

These words made Zheng Shufeng feel like she was seeing Tang Jie back when he was just a servant, and she couldn't help but chuckle. "Who could have imagined that the kindness the Wu couple showed back then would result in such good fortune that even the entire Wei Clan was able to benefit? Alas, the old couple and Steward Qin are no longer here, unable to see you before they left."

Tang Jie sighed. "This is also my regret. An impulse of mine left me stranded far away from home, such that I was only able to visit now. I truly went too far that time. Right, how is Wu Xing doing?"

As they talked, the two of them arrived at a small pavilion.

Tang Jie helped Zheng Shufeng sit down, after which Wei Tianzhi said, "He's already passed away."

"Huh?" Tang Jie was startled. "Wu Xing is dead? How did he die?"

Just like Wei Tianzhi, Wu Xing had cultivated before, so there was no reason for him to have died.

Wei Tianzhi explained, "Seventy years ago, cultivators raided a caravan Wu Xing was escorting, and Wu Xing died in the exchange."

"Who would dare to rob a caravan of the Wei Clan? What about Tianchong?" Tang Jie was confused.

"They were cultivators from Duskland. We investigated the incident and found that it was the act of a minor sect called the Jade Spring Sect. After learning this, Tianchong found it difficult to do anything. If it had been a sect in Sageheart, he has enough status to deal with it, but he can't do much about a sect in Duskland. He doesn't have the status to meddle in affairs on that side, and when it comes to strength, the leader of the sect is a Soul Transformation True Person, and he has several Soul Transformation and Heart Demon True Persons under him, so he's just not strong enough."

Tang Jie understood why Wei Tianchong hadn't gone to settle accounts with them.

He asked, "Was this the will of the sect, or of an individual?"

Wei Tianzhi replied, "This is a bandit sect that relies on plunder and theft to develop. They were originally just a minor sect ruled by a Heart Demon sect master, and it was thanks to methods like this that they were able to rapidly develop. But they're very cunning, robbing the caravans of other kingdoms rather than Duskland's caravans, and they're very careful with their targets, choosing those that aren't protected by powerful cultivators. Besides that, they've also bribed some cultivators of the Seven Absolutions Sect. As a result, nobody has been able to do anything about them."

"I see." He then asked, "Does the Wu Clan have any descendants?"

"It does—a son and a daughter," Wei Tianzhi answered. "The son is called Wu Tang after you, and he's currently 102 years old. The Wu Clan is also a thriving clan of Canglong Prefecture now, and it is on good terms with the Wei Clan. My granddaughter has even married into their clan."

"That's good." Tang Jie relaxed after hearing that the Wu lineage had continued. He then said, "The Jade Spring Sect won't exist after this."

This one statement had decided the fate of an entire sect. Zheng Shufeng and Wei Tianzhi trembled, as they finally realized that the person standing before them was no longer that servant of yesteryear, but the mighty Young Lord of the Basking Moon Sect, Tang Jie.

This realization made them become much more careful with their words.

Tang Jie noticed this, and his enthusiasm waned.

He couldn't blame them for this. Even though he had tried his best to hide it, he had still inadvertently revealed some of his majestic bearing.

Continued conversation would simply be torture for them.

Thus, Tang Jie stood up and said, "I still have things to do, so I won't stay any longer."

"You're leaving?" Zheng Shufeng stood up.

While she was still a little afraid, she was also reluctant to see him go.

Tang Jie smiled. "Yes, I have an appointment with the Seven Absolutions Sect which should have happened a long time ago, but it's been delayed until now because of me. A few days ago, the sect officially sent a letter to them telling them that I was willing to carry out our agreement, and the Seven Absolutions Sect has officially sent an invitation letter to me inviting me to their sect. I actually came to visit my lady because it was on the way, as I'm heading to Duskland."

Of course, you're also going to annihilate the Jade Spring Sect while on the way, Wei Tianzhi inwardly said. When he looked at Tang Jie, he saw a sliver of murderous intent in that smile.

For him, this was really just a minor matter.

Wei Tianzhi sighed and bowed. "If that is the case, then farewell, Honored Immortal."

Tang Jie waved his hand and walked upward, striding into the sky as if there was an invisible staircase there, and in a flash, he was gone.

Mother and son gazed at each other, and then they suddenly realized that after this meeting, they would probably never see him again.