The old man looked at Yun Jin with a trace of apology in his eyes. "Esteemed guest, I should've gone down the mountain to welcome you myself. It's just that my condition isn't great these days and I can't leave the summit. I'm afraid I've made you take the trouble to come all the way here."
Yun Jin blinked in mild surprise. Because of the system, she already knew that this Língzūn didn't have much lifespan left. But normally, wouldn't someone in his situation try their best to hide it?Even the spirit beasts on the Sacred Mountain probably didn't know the truth. If they did, the entire mountain would be a thousand times more chaotic.
Yet this Língzūn casually told an outsider like her the truth. Wasn't this… a little too trusting?
He seemed to notice Yun Jin's confusion and smiled gently. With a wave of his hand, a wooden table and chairs appeared by the field, and a pot of steaming tea settled on the table.
Língzūn raised his hand to invite Yun Jin to sit.
She accepted without hesitation. Right now she was incredibly curious about him.
Língzūn poured her a cup of tea and watched her with a look of anticipation.
Yun Jin tasted it, then her expression turned oddly complicated.
"How's the taste?" Língzūn asked eagerly.
Yun Jin spoke with great seriousness. "I've never had tea this good."
Língzūn chuckled. "You flatter me. This tea was grown by these old hands. The trees are right over there."
He pointed to a row of tea trees by the field. "The rare varieties don't survive under my care. The only ones that grew were these ordinary ones. The flavor isn't bad, but with your experience, this shouldn't be anything special to you."
Yun Jin cleared her throat softly. "To be honest, I'm not great at telling tea quality apart. Whether it's good or bad, it all tastes roughly the same to me."
Língzūn's gaze softened. "You're a gentle child."
His praise was so sincere that Yun Jin felt a little embarrassed. When she came here, she'd been on full alert. But at some point, she'd completely relaxed.
This Língzūn wasn't quite what she'd imagined.
She went straight to the point. "Senior, how did you know I came from another world? I'm pretty sure I hid my aura well enough."
Língzūn smiled. "You did. Your aura is buried deep in your sea of consciousness. No one can detect anything odd about you."
"Then how did you know?" Yun Jin asked.
He answered softly. "My innate ability is foresight. More than two years ago, my prophecy told me that today, a visitor from another world would arrive on the Sacred Mountain. And this visitor will save the entire spirit beast world in its moment of crisis."
Língzūn's voice was firm. "And that person is you."
Prophecy?
Yun Jin's pupils tightened.
What a terrifying gift. A talent like that was probably rarer than rare among divine beasts. What exactly was Língzūn's true form?
He seemed to read her thoughts. "My true form is the divine beast Baize."
Yun Jin's eyes widened slightly. During her travels through the small worlds, she'd heard tales of Baize.
The divine beast Baize was said to understand the nature of all beings and know the affairs of ghosts and gods. It was considered the wisest of all divine beasts. If he was Baize, then having prophetic abilities made perfect sense.
Língzūn watched Yun Jin recover almost instantly from her surprise and grew even more curious.
Had she heard of his name before? She really was mysterious.
But only someone like her could be the one who saved the spirit beast world.
And she truly was unusual.
He had said two things earlier.
One, that he had the gift of foresight. Two, that she would save the spirit beast world.
A normal person would react strongly to the second statement.
Yun Jin hadn't even questioned whether she could save the world. She was simply curious about his ability. As if… saving the world was something she'd naturally do, something that didn't need to shock her.
Língzūn smiled and felt a great weight lift from his heart. He'd been forcing himself to hold on for so long that his candle had nearly burned out. Being able to meet the person from the prophecy before his end gave him peace.
He said gently, "Your three spirit beasts are still training inside the secret realm. Would you like to see them?"
Yun Jin's gaze flickered.
Ever since she entered the spirit beast world, she'd been trying to contact them. But the place they were in was strange. Even though they were in the same world, she couldn't reach them.
By now she wasn't surprised by Língzūn's omniscience. Hearing him ask, she nodded. "I do miss them. But we'll meet sooner or later, so I'm not in a rush. If Senior needs to pay any price to let us meet early, then it's not worth it."
Others might not notice.
But as someone on the same level of cultivation, Yun Jin could clearly feel the life force leaking from Língzūn's body.
He really didn't have much time left.
Maybe…
Only a few months.
Before seeing him in person, her system had warned her that Língzūn's life was short, but it hadn't felt real. Now, seeing this kind and wise old man who would soon enter reincarnation, a soft sadness rose in her chest.
Língzūn's gaze was warm.
He'd lived too long. Life and death no longer frightened him.
But this child in front of him was far too gentle.
"It's fine," he said. "Watching won't cost me anything."
Yun Jin nodded. "Then I'll trouble Senior."
Língzūn lifted his hand and a water screen appeared before them.
In the flowing surface…
Yun Jin immediately saw Gun Gun, Huan Huan, and Dan Dan sitting cross-legged in cultivation.
Joy flickered in her eyes. Even if it wasn't a real meeting, at least she could see them.
When she'd parted from them, only Dan Dan had taken human form. Gun Gun and Huan Huan still needed more time.
Now…
Two years had passed for her, but more than twenty years had passed for them. In those twenty years, all three spirit beasts had taken human form.
Gun Gun's human form was that of a little boy with a stubborn tuft of hair on his forehead that made her want to tug it.
Huan Huan had become a lovely young woman. Aside from the faint hint of fox-like ears, she looked completely human.
Dan Dan was still the alluring older-sister type, but now her beauty carried a cool and heroic edge that hadn't been there before.
Their progress…
Was truly astonishing.
Yun Jin felt comforted.
But then a terrifying beast roar thundered through the water screen.
Gun Gun, Huan Huan, and Dan Dan's expressions changed and they shot to their feet.