Chapter 145: Double Happiness

Bai Qingzhou stayed at Huoying Square for more than two hours, during which she shared a grand meal with Meng Li before finally departing.

Since she did not need to board the spirit vessel, Bai Qingzhou took a direct flight straight toward the mountain gate without detours.

Except for a brief rest midway, she flew at high speed the entire way, ultimately spending five hours to return to the mountain gate.

“Senior Brother Bai! You’re back!” Wen Lan, the gatekeeper, called out with delight.

Bai Qingzhou smiled and nodded. “Yes... Junior Sister Wen, long time no see.”

“Ah!” Wen Lan’s eyes sparkled with joy as she quickly grabbed the central formation disk and hurriedly said, “I’ll activate the formation now!”

Under her control, the circular transparent light shield revealed a small opening. Bai Qingzhou immediately flew in, after which Wen Lan promptly sealed it.

“Senior Brother, you’ve successfully established your Foundation Stage?” Wen Lan asked, leaning forward.

“That’s right, I just reached Foundation Stage,” Bai Qingzhou replied with a smile. After a pause, she added, “Junior Sister Wen, stay here for now. I’ll go find the Sect Leader.”

“Understood! Take care, Senior Brother!” Wen Lan beamed.

Bai Qingzhou nodded with a smile, then swiftly flew toward the Qingxin Hall.

...

Inside Qingxin Hall.

“I have not failed the sect’s training. After two years of cultivation, I have finally reached the Foundation Stage!” Bai Qingzhou exclaimed, bowing respectfully.

“That’s wonderful!” Nie Fang strode forward and clapped Bai Qingzhou heavily on the shoulder, tears of joy welling in his eyes as he swallowed hard. “It’s truly wonderful...”

“Sect Leader...” Bai Qingzhou’s eyes grew moist as he looked at the elderly man before him.

They had been apart for two years, and Bai Qingzhou could sense that Nie Fang’s cultivation had stalled. His face looked even more aged than before.

He understood that the immense pressure Nie Fang had borne over these years was the cause of his premature aging.

“Qingzhou, you’ve done very well!” Nie Fang said excitedly, clapping his hands and laughing heartily. “Now we have seven Foundation Stage cultivators in our sect, making us the largest sect in the Infinite Alliance!”

“Seven?” Bai Qingzhou was momentarily stunned. “Shouldn’t it be six?”

“Ha ha ha, Qingzhou, you haven’t heard yet! Before you returned, Ji Heng also came back a few days ago. He successfully reached Foundation Stage!”

“Senior Brother Ji has also established his Foundation Stage?!” Bai Qingzhou exclaimed joyfully. “That’s fantastic!”

He recalled that Ji Heng had ventured out seeking the opportunity to reach Foundation Stage before his own seclusion. He hadn’t expected their returns to coincide so closely.

“This is truly a double celebration! We must hold a grand Foundation Stage banquet! Ha ha!” Nie Fang laughed in delight, clearly overjoyed.

Bai Qingzhou nodded with a smile. “That is only fitting.”

“By the way, Daiba is already preparing the banquet, but he probably doesn’t know you’re back yet. You should go find him and explain the situation. Since you’ve been away so long, I’m sure you have some friends—you can invite them to the banquet. Just fill out the invitation cards, and then sect disciples will deliver them.”

“Deliver the invitations...” Hearing this, Bai Qingzhou was momentarily lost in thought. He suddenly recalled when, as a Qi Refining Second Stage cultivator, he had gone with Ruan Xiu and Qin Yi Han to deliver invitations. Ten years had passed in the blink of an eye...

Seeing Bai Qingzhou deep in thought, Nie Fang asked curiously, “What’s on your mind?”

Bai Qingzhou shook his head gently and smiled. “Nothing much, just reminiscing about the past.”

“Oh?” Nie Fang reflected for a moment, then smiled. “Right, you went to deliver invitations back then too... Ah, how quickly time flies! I was Foundation Stage First Layer, you were Qi Refining Second Stage. Now you’ve reached Foundation Stage First Layer, while I’m still only at Foundation Stage Second Layer. Time truly waits for no one...”

Seeing Nie Fang’s slight gloom, Bai Qingzhou comforted him, “Sect Leader, don’t be discouraged. The path of the Dao lies in diligence...”

“Enough, enough...” Nie Fang waved his hand and sighed. “I know my own limits. My current task is simply to help you all succeed...”

Suddenly, a thought struck him, and his expression changed as he burst into hearty laughter. “But now that our Xuanyang Sect has seven Foundation Stage cultivators, if Yu Yun knew in the afterlife, he’d surely be proud of me!”

At those words, the image of a figure in a black-and-white long robe appeared in Bai Qingzhou’s mind—youthful and confident, smiling directly at him...

Bai Qingzhou chuckled. “Sect Leader Li would certainly be comforted.”

“All right, go speak with Daiba first. He’s busy preparing the banquet—you can surprise him with your return,” Nie Fang said with a smile.

Bai Qingzhou bowed. “Then I will take my leave!”

“Go ahead!”

Stepping out of Qingxin Hall, Bai Qingzhou flew toward the Gongshan Pavilion.

Along the way, he encountered two fellow disciples. Both were overjoyed to see him back and offered their congratulations, which Bai Qingzhou greeted warmly.

After chatting briefly, they parted ways, and Bai Qingzhou continued forward.

Soon, he entered the main hall of Gongshan Pavilion.

His eyes fell upon several of his students inside.

It was none other than Cao Mo, Zhu Xin, Zhou Tao, and Ying Chu.

The four were bent over a desk, busily working, so engrossed they didn’t even notice Bai Qingzhou’s arrival.

Observing their serious expressions, Bai Qingzhou quietly drew closer for a better look.

He saw they were carefully writing invitations, stroke by stroke, completely focused.

They were preparing the invitations for Ji Heng’s Foundation Stage celebration...

Smiling softly, Bai Qingzhou cleared his throat gently to draw their attention.

“Ah! Steward Bai!”

“Steward Bai is back!”

The four turned in unison, gasping excitedly. They quickly rose and surrounded Bai Qingzhou, chattering nonstop.

“Where have you been?”

“Why did it take so long to return?”

“Did you bring any gifts?”

Bai Qingzhou felt overwhelmed by the barrage of questions and could only smile in response.

While the four continued their questioning...

“Junior Brother Bai, you actually came back?!” A male voice sounded from behind.

Bai Qingzhou turned to see Daiba, a vigorous man appearing to be in his sixties.

“It’s been a long time, Steward Daiba,” Bai Qingzhou greeted with a smile.

“Ha ha, you’ve also reached Foundation Stage! Our Xuanyang Sect is truly fortunate!” Daiba immediately noticed Bai Qingzhou’s change in cultivation.

Bai Qingzhou chuckled. “Heh heh, I was lucky this time...”

“Tsk! When you advanced to Qi Refining Fourth Layer, you said the same thing! But I know the truth—if you weren’t diligent, even with such talent, you wouldn’t have reached Foundation Stage!”

Bai Qingzhou said nothing, only smiled in agreement.

He did not deny his own efforts. Over the past ten years, no matter how busy or where he was, he always found time to cultivate without neglect—even during his two years of seclusion, he trained daily without pause, which led to his success.

He considered himself indeed a hardworking cultivator.

“By the way!” Daiba exclaimed as if waking from a dream. “You came to tell me about the Foundation Stage banquet, right?”

Bai Qingzhou nodded happily. “Yes, the Sect Leader mentioned it to me. Perhaps more invitations, seating, and other supplies need to be prepared.”

“No problem!” Daiba moved to the desk and picked up pen and paper. “Tell me who you want to invite.”

(End of chapter)