Chapter 1203: Old Friends (1/2)

Chapter 1203: Old Friends

After leaving the Paleo-Immortal Mausoleum, Meng Hao flew through the starry sky, thinking about the old days in the Reliance Sect. After a while, he turned and headed toward another asteroid and another teleportation portal.

This time, his destination was the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!

He was not going there to collect money either, but to see an old friend. His Elder Brother Chen Fan had joined the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto years ago!

Meng Hao was not unfamiliar with the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto. Although he had never been there, since he was the joint disciple of the Three Great Daoist Societies, then technically speaking, the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto was also his sect.

As soon as he arrived, the sound of tolling bells rang out through the sect. The Dao Realm Patriarchs came out to see him, and Meng Hao was taken to offer respects to the Sect Leader and the Patriarchs and explain the purpose of his visit.

When he finally saw Chen Fan, he looked different than before. Last time, he had seemed middle-aged, but now he looked old, with grayish-white hair and a placid expression. His cultivation base was in the Immortal Realm.

Although he wasn’t very well known among the disciples of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto, the Elder Generation felt that he had unlimited potential!

Chen Fan sat in meditation. Wherever he went, he took a huge boulder with him, within which could be seen the faint image of a woman.

One of the Dao Realm Patriarchs of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto stood next to Meng Hao, explaining. “He converges his love and transforms the love into a sword, a sword that can pierce the Heavens!

“The sword of your Elder Brother here is not merciless, and does not sever love. His memories of the past have filled his heart to the point where they have become his sword. His love... allows him to cultivate the Dao of the Heart-Sword!

“His latent talent is well suited to such a Dao. If he can step into the Ancient Realm within the next hundred years, then he will definitely be another Chosen of the Sublime Flow Sword Grotto!” The praise in his eyes as he looked at Chen Fan was impossible to conceal.

Chen Fan’s eyes slowly opened as he looked first at the sword laid across his knees, then up at Meng Hao. A smile appeared on his face.

It was the same smile Meng Hao remembered from the Reliance Sect, and the Solitary Sword Sect. It was a warm, caring smile, although now it seemed much more ancient.

“Little Junior Brother,” he said. As soon as those three words left his mouth, Meng Hao’s heart surged with emotion, as he remembered all the things that had happened in the past.

“Elder Brother...” Meng Hao said softly. As he walked over toward Chen Fan, the Dao Realm Patriarch smiled slightly, then turned and left, leaving Meng Hao in Chen Fan’s care.

Meng Hao first clasped hands and bowed in greeting to the boulder. He knew that the woman in that boulder was his Eldest Brother’s true love, and that she had eventually come to be Chen Fan’s entire life.

In my life, I will only love one person. I fell in love with you when you were alive. And after you died, that feeling became a memory.... If you live, I will spend my whole life with you. If you die, then I will accompany the memory of you for my whole life.

That was Chen Fan.

His naivety and obsession were why the Solitary Sword Sect chose to take him from the Reliance Sect in the first place. Back then, he didn’t hesitate at all to make his decision. If the sect was going to be destroyed, then he would choose... to die along with it.

He was naive and obsessed. That... was Chen Fan!

Chen Fan’s expression was the same as ever as he watched Meng Hao offer formal greetings to the boulder. Since Meng Hao was his little Junior Brother, then Meng Hao was also Junior Brother to his wife as well.

Years ago, he had constantly worried about this Junior Brother of his. But then, he had watched him flourish, one step at a time, and that made him very happy. He had always hoped that Meng Hao would continue to improve, and that one day, he would reach the true pinnacle.

“On the path of cultivation,” Chen Fan said softly, “it doesn’t matter if you talk about your own heart, or the Dao. The most important thing is to be steadfast.”

Meng Hao nodded, then sat down cross-legged in front of Chen Fan. It felt just like it had back in the year they had met. Now, Meng Hao possessed a cultivation base that stood on equal footing with the Dao Realm. However, in the presence of his Elder Brother, he was still... the same little Junior Brother he had always been.

That was how it would be for their entire lives.

He told Chen Fan about his plan to leave the Ninth Mountain and Sea, to find Xu Qing and bring her back.

“I am aware of the purpose of your visit,” Chen Fan said quietly. “We are cultivators, and our lifespans are long. Heaven and Earth are large, and it’s a good thing to visit new places, and travel new paths.... There is no need to worry about us here in the Ninth Mountain and Sea. We all have our own different paths.

“You have to trust Li Fugui and myself, just as we trust you. All of our dreams... will come true eventually!” He looked over at the rock, and the faint image of the woman inside.

“Elder Brother.... If it ever becomes possible for me to do so, I will definitely... help you resurrect sister-in-law Shan Ling!” Meng Hao said softly. It was his first time he had ever said such a thing. Although he had been able to keep his promise to Han Shan, considering the level of his cultivation base, there was no way for him to resurrect someone who had been dead for so long.

“You’re thinking too hard on it,” Chen Fan said, chuckling. His eyes shone with a soft light. “To me, she's always here.”

Meng Hao stared at Chen Fan in shock.