After Nie Caizhu's figure completely disappeared, Qinglian Zhenren spoke up: "I originally thought that with your qualifications, you would never have the luxury of seeing Caizhu again in this life."
"I wonder if you feel disappointed right now, senior?" Shen Luo looked up at her and asked.
“On the contrary, I don’t feel disappointed, but a little surprised. With your aptitude, you can cultivate to the out-of-body stage in such a short time, which is itself a surprising thing. It’s a pity…” Master Qinglian said at the end, shaking his head with some regret.
"It's a pity that this junior doesn't have much time left." Shen Luo smiled and finished the second half of the sentence for her, his tone extremely calm.
"You come to participate in this Immortal Apricot Conference just to increase your lifespan, right? However, forgive me for being frank, this method of using external forces to increase your lifespan is just a stopgap measure. The real solution is to practice to break through the realm and ascend to become an immortal. But with your current level of cultivation, it is too difficult to achieve the state of ascending to become a true immortal. Even if you have the chance, you don't have enough time." True Man Qinglian said slowly.
"Didn't the senior think back then that it would be impossible for me to reach my current level of cultivation? Then who can predict what will happen in the future?" Shen Luo remained neither humble nor arrogant, and replied with a smile.
"Your future is worrying, but Caizhu has a bright future ahead of her. Don't you think that appearing in front of her again will only be a burden to her?" True Man Qinglian asked without changing his expression.
"If I had not met her before, I might have had this doubt, but after seeing her, I am not afraid anymore. And please don't look down on Caizhu, senior. None of us will be a burden to anyone else." Shen Luo said with a smile.
"I've never worried about her qualifications. The only thing that worries me is her character. In order to get down the mountain as soon as possible, she practiced without restraint, which is why she's facing a bottleneck now. Can you say that this isn't your fault?" True Man Qinglian frowned.
"The rule that one cannot leave the mountain before reaching the Mahayana stage was established by senior. How can you blame me for it? However, senior, there is no need to worry. Such a bottleneck cannot stop Caizhu." Shen Luo said helplessly after hearing this.
"No matter who wins or loses the Immortal Apricot Conference, I can give you an Immortal Apricot afterwards. It will at least increase your lifespan by two hundred years, as long as you promise not to interfere with Caizhu's cultivation in the future." Seeing that persuasion was ineffective, True Man Qinglian spoke frankly.
"Thank you for your kindness, senior. However, there are some things that I will never give up, and there are some things that I prefer to fight for myself." Having said this, Shen Luo no longer had the interest to continue. He clasped his fists, turned around and left.
"Are you so sure that you can win the Xianxing Conference?" asked True Man Qinglian.
Shen Luo just waved his hand with his back turned and walked away without stopping.
True Man Qinglian looked at his departing back, his eyes flickered slightly, and his figure suddenly disappeared from the spot.
…
Time flies and it’s been several days.
Inside the Xumi Valley of Mount Putuo, there is a huge square covering an area of a thousand feet, which is bustling with people.
A large number of disciples from Mount Putuo gathered around the square, enthusiastically discussing the Xianxing Conference that was about to begin. Many of the servants who were usually busy with work also had some free time today and also came to watch the event.