From the capital to Furnace-Listening Pavilion, even an ordinary martial artist riding at full gallop would take more than half a month.
Yet Qi Tianchen took merely four breaths.
On the first breath, he was still in the capital; on the fourth, he already stood before the mountain gate.
The edges of the characters “Furnace-Listening Pavilion” on the bluestone archway had been smoothed by time, and the gate pillars were covered in climbing wisteria vines.
Standing beneath the archway, Qi Tianchen looked up at those three characters, suddenly feeling somewhat dazed.
He had spent over sixty years of his life at Furnace-Listening Pavilion.
From an apprentice to a consecrated retainer, and from a consecrated retainer to a Supreme Elder, he had passed through this gate tens of thousands of times without ever feeling there was anything special about it.
Yet standing before this gate right now, he actually felt as if a whole lifetime had passed.
And even swifter than his divine abilities as an Earthly Immortal was the speed at which news traveled across the martial world.
He had already heard about what had transpired in Jinyang City.
He had also learned that Chen Zui was returning to Furnace-Listening Pavilion alongside Qin Tiegu and the others.
“That kid Qin Tiegu finally did one thing right.”
Qi Tianchen let out a sigh of emotion.
That young man had broken through two realms in a row to step into the ranks of Martial Arts Grandmasters—this was far beyond what the words “young talent” could describe.
Given time, as long as the boy didn't meet an early demise, it was a certainty that the Way of the Spear would reclaim its glory of centuries past through his hands.
With any luck, he might even become an Earthly Spear Immortal.
To forge a bond with a person like this was undoubtedly a tremendous blessing for Furnace-Listening Pavilion.
He felt at ease with how that kid Qin Tiegu handled matters.
Yet as for the young man Chen Zui, he truly could not get a read on him.
Put politely, someone like that was uninhibited; put plainly, he was unpredictable.
The biggest flaw of an unpredictable person was simple.
You never knew where his next step would land.
“All I can do is wait and see.”
With that, Qi Tianchen stepped into the mountain gate.
A few days later, a fast horse trod through the morning dew and galloped through the mountain gate of Furnace-Listening Pavilion.
The rider was a disciple sent ahead mid-journey by Qin Tiegu to deliver a message. Covered in dust and with cracked, dry lips, his legs buckled for a moment as he dismounted.
When he delivered the letter to Qi Tianchen, Qi Tianchen was studying a blueprint for spear forging in front of the casting furnace.
The furnace fire burned brightly, casting a warm red glow across his weathered face.
“Arrived so soon?”
Qi Tianchen’s hands showed a hint of eagerness as he opened the letter.
Then, he finished reading it.
On his deeply wrinkled face, the expectant expression froze bit by bit, then darkened inch by inch.
Qin Tiegu had written it out in crystal-clear detail.
Young Hero Chen had agreed to return to Furnace-Listening Pavilion with the group, and they were currently making their way back.
However, due to the exhausting journey and the fact that Young Hero Chen needed time to stabilize his cultivation after his recent breakthrough, their pace was somewhat slow.
As they passed several scenic spots along the way, Young Hero Chen had taken a keen interest, so the group accompanied him on a bit of sightseeing.
They estimated it would take another half a month or so to arrive.
“Somewhat slow?”
Qi Tianchen slammed the letter onto the desk, causing three deep cracks to split right across the bluestone surface.
“Sightseeing? Sightseeing?!”
Several apprentices pulling the bellows before the furnace shrank their necks in terror at his shout.
Does Qin Tiegu have mush for brains?
Leaving important business aside to take someone sightseeing along the way?
Does he not know how difficult it was to invite that kid named Chen?
What if halfway there he suddenly decides going to Furnace-Listening Pavilion is boring and takes a turn elsewhere?
What if he meddles in some random business on the road and plunges straight into some deep forest or wilderness?
Qi Tianchen paced around the casting furnace three times, growing angrier the more he thought about it.
“Qin Tiegu, oh Qin Tiegu, you truly are trying to infuriate this old man to death!”
“Go, bring me my calligraphy paper!”
Trembling with fear, an apprentice brought over brush, ink, paper, and inkstone.
Qi Tianchen lifted the brush and briskly dashed off a few lines.
The message essentially read: Return at once. Delay no further.
Having written it, he picked up the paper, blew on the ink, and prepared to stuff it into an envelope.
Then his hand abruptly froze.
No, this wasn't right.
Why should he rush them?
He was the Supreme Elder of Furnace-Listening Pavilion, a peerless expert at the Earthly Immortal Realm.
In terms of seniority and status, looking across both realms, hardly anyone could compel him to personally extend an invitation.
Although Chen Zui possessed boundless potential, when all was said and done, he was merely a junior.
A youngster who had just stepped into the Wind-Riding Realm.
If word got out that he was urging him on so eagerly, chasing after him in such a frantic rush, what would that look like?
Those who didn't know the truth would think Qi Tianchen was eagerly begging a junior to come guest at his home.
At this thought, Qi Tianchen crumpled the letter into a ball and threw it into the furnace.
The furnace fire swallowed the paper ball, sending up a leap of bright flame.
“Forget it.”
He sat back down in his chair, picked up his teacup, and took a sip, his face regaining its usual calm and composure.
“If he wants to come, he comes; if he doesn't, so be it. I am the dignified Supreme Elder of Furnace-Listening Pavilion—could I possibly beg him?”
The apprentices looked at one another, none daring to utter a word.
And then...
That very night...
Qi Tianchen suffered from insomnia.
In this manner, two more days passed.
Qi Tianchen sat in the courtyard sipping tea, calm on the surface, but in truth his ears were pricked, constantly listening for any commotion at the mountain gate.
“Elder Qi! Senior Brother Qin and the others are back!”
A disciple ran in out of breath to report.
Hearing this, Qi Tianchen’s hand holding the teacup trembled slightly, spilling two drops of tea onto his lapel.
“Ahem...”
Calmly and composedly, he set down the teacup and tugged at his lapel to cover the two water stains.
Then he asked unhurriedly:
“Understood. Where are they now?”
“They've already entered the mountain gate and are heading this way! Young Hero Chen is with them too!”
Qi Tianchen nodded, his expression completely devoid of ripples.
He slowly rose to his feet, smoothed his robes, and walked toward the mountain gate with slow, measured steps.
After taking a few steps, his pace somehow quickened by thirty percent.
Noticing this, he slowed down again, coughed softly, and readjusted his stride.
An Earthly Immortal who had lived for over seventy years, personally going out to welcome a junior in his early twenties.
If word of this spread through the martial world, where would he put his old face?
Outside the mountain gate, Qin Tiegu and his group walked in, covered in the dust of travel.
Chen Zui walked in the middle of the group, having changed into a clean green robe, with the broken spear wrapped in a red tassel still slung across his back.
A-Tong followed behind him, chatting endlessly with animation.
“Brother Chen, there's a bamboo forest behind our Furnace-Listening Pavilion! The bamboo shoots are super tender, I'll take you to see it later!”
“Oh, right, right! We also have a kind of fruit here called Golden Silk Dates. The skin is thin, the flesh is thick, and they're so sweet they stick your lips together. I stole one to eat when I was little, and Master chased me down three streets beating me...”
Qi Tianchen stood firm before the mountain gate.
With hands clasped behind his back, a smile on his face, and an easygoing aura, he exuded the full demeanor of an Earthly Immortal.
Seeing him, Chen Zui stepped forward and cupped his hands in greeting.
“Senior Qi, we meet again.”
Qi Tianchen nodded with a smile.
“Young Hero Chen, I trust you have been well. Was the journey smooth?”
“Very smooth,” Chen Zui said with a smile.
At that moment, Qin Tiegu hurried up from behind with a broad smile, cupping his hands toward Qi Tianchen.
“Elder Qi! We have fulfilled our heavy trust and safely invited Young Hero Chen here!”
He had thought Qi Tianchen would praise him a bit, as he had accomplished a significant merit on this trip after all.
The sword was delivered, and the person was successfully brought back.
Even though they were delayed for a few days on the road.
That was only to accommodate Young Hero Chen's condition after his recent breakthrough, which was entirely understandable.
Who could have known that Qi Tianchen merely gave him a cool glance, uttered a brief “mm,” and turned back to continue chatting with Chen Zui.
Without even a single “thanks for your hard work.”
At this sight, Qin Tiegu’s smile froze on his face.
What was going on?
Why did Elder Qi’s glance at him just now carry a chill?
What had he done wrong?
How could he know that during those days he took his time sightseeing...
...this old patriarch back at Furnace-Listening Pavilion was so anxious he couldn't even sleep!
Qin Tiegu looked to the side again, where Qi Tianchen was still chatting with Chen Zui with a warm smile on his face.
His attitude was gentle as a spring breeze, his words polite and appropriate.
It was completely the concern and encouragement a highly respected senior ought to show to a junior.
This left him thoroughly bewildered and utterly at a loss.
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