In his memory, he indeed set off towards the Taoist temple of Feixian.
Chu Xuan seemed to have asked someone for directions to Feixian temple, or perhaps he didn't; in any case, before completely losing consciousness, he definitely saw a small Taoist temple.
At this moment, the door creaked open, and a boy in blue, about ten years old, cautiously entered holding a steaming bowl of medicinal soup.
Seeing the downcast man on the bed staring at him, the boy exclaimed in surprise, "You're awake!"
"Drink the medicine first; after that, I'll inform Master."
With that said, he brought the medicinal soup over and sat down next to the bed.
Chu Xuan struggled to sit up, and seeing this, the boy quickly put down the bowl to help him, "Can you sit? Or maybe you should lie down."
Chu Xuan's brow furrowed tightly but he swallowed the pain without a sound.
"Is this Feixian temple?" he asked with a weary expression and a hoarse voice.
The boy nodded, "Where are you from? Why did you come here? How did you end up like this?"
Chu Xuan remained silent for a moment without responding, merely reached out to take the medicinal soup and downed it directly.
The medicine was extremely bitter, and coupled with having not had a drop of water for an extended period, he nearly threw up halfway through drinking.
"Drink slowly, drink slowly." The boy expressed some concern.
After Chu Xuan finished without a word, the boy reassured him, "You wait, I'll call Master over."
Chu Xuan silently closed his eyes.
...
Soon, an elderly Taoist in a green robe, with a grizzled beard, entered mumbling and grumbling.
He first asked the boy a few questions, then looked at Chu Xuan and said, "Do you have any family? Do you remember where you came from?"
Chu Xuan struggled to get out of bed, but the elder quickly pressed him down, "Don't force yourself, just say what you must."
Chu Xuan took a deep breath, "Are you the master of this Feixian temple, Daoist?"
The old Daoist nodded.
"Since childhood, I've admired the way of immortals. I heard that you are a true practitioner who can perform spells to drive away ghosts and demons, and even use talisman water to heal and save people."
"Therefore, I came from afar, hoping to follow your teachings."
Upon hearing this, the old Daoist looked rather troubled, "Don't listen to those ignorant people outside, claiming I am a true practitioner. I'm just an old fool."
"If you want, I can draw a few protective talismans for you, which might offer some consolation."
Chu Xuan, however, tightly clung to the elder's hand and said with determination, "Though I have lost my magical powers now, I can feel that you must be a practitioner."
Saying this, he showed the jade bracelet on his left wrist, "This is a storage magical treasure, valuable in itself, and it contains some items."
"Except for a few of them, I can give you everything else, along with this bracelet."
The old Daoist's expression turned even more troubled, "Alas, since you've made it plain, I won't shy away from telling you the truth."
"In your current body, it's impossible to cultivate further. Having survived is already a blessing from Heaven."
"Once you've healed sufficiently, please leave. Our small temple cannot afford to support a great deity like you."
The boy in blue listened in bewilderment, but he still felt the young man's mood suddenly darken, his eyes becoming more listless, looking rather pitiful.
"Daoist, I..." Chu Xuan wanted to speak further.
But the old Daoist simply waved his hand, "As for cultivation, it's off the table. Since you collapsed at the door of my temple, I can't ignore you, but there's nothing more I can do to help."
"For me, your best repayment would be to recover quickly and leave soon."
"Master." The boy couldn't help but interject, feeling the elder was being too heartless, considering the man was still on the brink of death and yet they're eager to send him away.
The old Daoist glared at him, "Adults are speaking, children should be quiet."
Ultimately, Chu Xuan nodded with difficulty and said, "Thank you, Daoist. I'll remember this life-saving grace today and will repay it one day."
"No need, no need, just rest well."
With that, the old Daoist left the room, pulling his apprentice along.
...
The room returned to silence, but Chu Xuan only sat dumbly on the bed, his eyes vacant and unmoving.
Hope shattered again.
What should he do next?
Return to the village, live as a modest mortal, farm crops, marry, have children, and spend a lifetime?
Or... the Hehuan Sect?
No, he now is a complete waste, holding no value for them.
Rashly approaching would only invite severe torment from Min Xinlan as revenge for his "betrayal" back then.
Moreover, he caused them to lose face back then; they wouldn't show him any favor now.
In a haze, Chu Xuan recalled his master... then he painfully and fiercely knocked his head, don't think, don't think, she doesn't want you anymore.
"Ha, ha." In difficult gasps, Chu Xuan suddenly remembered the real culprit of everything.
"Six, Souls, Banner." He almost uttered these three words through gritted teeth.
Since it descended from the heavens, his original life was instantly demolished and utterly changed beyond recognition.
Despite knowing rationally he shouldn't resent this thing, as it's his life-bound magical treasure and might provide him future empowerment,
But emotionally, he couldn't control himself, why appeared not sooner, nor later, but at such a time, crashing arrogantly into his life.
Even now, Chu Xuan doesn't know what it is.
Recalling 'The Investiture of the Gods' he read in his previous life, it seemed to have mentioned such a treasure, not only by the same name but identical in appearance.
Tongtian Sect Leader once attempted to use this treasure to simultaneously kill Laozi, Primordial Heavenly Venerable, Zhunti, Jieyin, the four Great Saints, along with Jiang Ziya and King Wu of Zhou.
Unfortunately, he trusted the wrong person, gave the Six Souls Banner to his disciple Long-Eared Ding Guang Immortal for safekeeping, and at the crucial moment when he wanted to use it, Ding Guang Immortal fled with the treasure, sided with the enemy, leaving Tongtian Sect Leader enraged.
Previously, Chu Xuan firmly believed he had a transcender's boon pending arrival, but now it seems this Six Souls Banner might be his boon.
After all, from his birth, this thing accompanied him, camouflaging itself among many soul banners to appear inconspicuous, until its master reaches Foundation Establishment, when it would fly over.
Of course, a more likely possibility is: This thing is the treasure of Chu Xuan's parents!
Although they abandoned him as a baby without showing any parental care, they still deliberately left behind the treasure to secretly protect his life.
And this might explain why Ji Mingyu suddenly turned on her disciple.
Perhaps Chu Xuan's parents in this life were some wicked individuals with deep hatred towards Primordial Monarch Taixu.
So when Ji Mingyu saw this Six Souls Banner appear again as Chu Xuan's life-bound treasure, she treated him so heartlessly.