Chapter 357: Catching Delicacies - 357
When they once again arrived at the platform in the inner section of the cosmic sect, three people were waiting for them.
Pangu had fallen into his role as a teacher, though he still had ambition for the future, the same as Ying Xiong.
Feng Liu and Lu Zhong went up to speak to the three teachers, while Hei Ren continued to silently stand next to Zhou Fan.
Zhou Fan looked around the platform and felt a slight appreciation. On this single platform were the most talented cultivators to be born over the period of around 10 billion years.
And all of them would die in the future. It was a thought that Zhou Fan couldn't stop himself from thinking.
As always, he found a new appreciation for the flow of time and the everlasting cycle of the universe.
'Perhaps only I can truly exist forever.' Zhou Fan thought to himself.
He never thought about attaining immortality, as it was something he considered guaranteed. Yet, standing next to everyone managed to make him think about it, although for just a moment.
Zhou Fan returned to his mountain with all 3 children in tow, and even Pangu.
Feng Liu and Lu Zhong were not willing to begin cultivating again for the time being, and although Hei Ren wanted to, he had to wait.
As for Pangu, he came to receive Zhou Fan's teachings.
"I heard from Ying Xiong that you were not only the first cultivator, but are also the strongest." He said.
"I would like you to teach me something." Pangu asked.
Zhou Fan nodded and began to look at Pangu's body. There were no secrets that could be hidden from him, and Zhou Fan soon found something that could help Pangu.
"Your skybreaker technique is slightly flawed." Zhou Fan said as he stood up and created an axe.
Fiend Qi and Sky Qi covered his body and the axe as he slashed down.
There was no collision or damage done, but the technique was clearly laid out for Pangu.
"Thank you, sir." Pangu said as he hurriedly left. He had to go and practice the technique while it was clearly in his memory.
Zhou Fan turned his attention to the children, but they were just running around and playing.
Like Hei Ren, Feng Liu and Lu Zhong had also entered the core formation realm. Therefore, their games also involved flying.
They were playing tag, and Hei Ren was soon kicked out since he was too good.
He came next to Zhou Fan and sat down. He had never wanted to play the game in the first place.
Zhou Fan had begun fishing, and Hei Ren asked why he was fishing in such a small pond.
"It may look small, but this pond is connected to thousands of lakes extremely far away. Through this pond, I can catch fish anywhere I want." Zhou Fan said.
"That sounds interesting. Can I try?" Hei Ren asked.
"Sure, but I'll have to give you a special fishing rod since you are too weak." Zhou Fan said as he created a fishing rod.
The fishing rod would make anything hooked by it powerless, unless its cultivation realm surpassed the space shattering realm.
The best part was that even Hei Ren, a core formation cultivator could use it. He threw the hook into the pond and it naturally floated down.
When Hei Ren looked, he could still see the hook, but it seemed to be in a different space.
"Does it not need any bait?" Hei Ren asked.
"No. Chanel your Qi through the line and it will attract sea creatures." Zhou Fan responded.
Before Hei Ren could catch anything, the other 2 children saw what was going on and came over in interest.
"Can we try?" They asked.
Zhou Fan nodded and created 2 more fishing rods for them.
Soon, 4 people were fishing in the small pond. Hei Ren was the first person to catch something.
When he yanked his rod up, a golden angler fish came out.
Hei Ren wanted to keep it, but Zhou Fan denied him.
"Many of these fish are rare species. If we keep one everytime we find it, they may end up going extinct." Zhou Fan explained.
The children nodded in disapointment and understanding.
"However, there are also a few fish that are not very rare but taste good. If you catch one of those, we can eat it." Zhou Fan said.
This inspired the children to catch fish even more than before, and Feng Liu soon pulled her rod up.
On her hook was a small fish with many colors covering it.
"That is a fruit fish. It is rare, but not so rare that we cannot eat it." Zhou Fan said.
Feng Liu happily sat it to the side before continuing to fish.
They spent the next 5 hours fishing. Zhou Fan had only caught 3 since he was simply relaxing, but the children eagerly fished and caught 20 in total. Of those, 4 were set aside to eat.
As night fell over the mountain, the 4 sat next to a campfire and ate cooked fish.
"This is amazing! It doesn't taste like fruit at all, but I can't describe it!" Feng Liu shouted.
They had caught 2 fruit fish. She was eating one and Lu Zhong was eating the other.
He agreed with her as he took a bite.
Hei Ren was eating a white ghost fish. It was not too rare, and although it did not seem that apetizing, it tasted like marshmellows after being cooked.
Zhou Fan ate a normal fish that he had caught. It wasn't anything special, but Zhou Fan liked it.
As the campfire died down, Lu Zhong and Feng Liu soon fell asleep, leaving only Zhou Fan and Hei Ren.
They sat in silence for a while before Hei Ren asked him a question.
"Do you understand how these people think?" He asked.
Zhou Fan shook his head.
"Not really. I suppose it is simply because they are children." Zhou Fan answered.
"But so am I, and I don't act like them."
"You are clearly different. Don't worry about it." Zhou Fan said, reassuring Hei Ren.
"Alright. I was just curious." Hei Ren responded as slience once again took over the courtyard.
Chapter 358: Leaving - 358
The next month was entirely composed of the children playing around or relaxing on Zhou Fan's mountain.
Ying Xiong was beginning to get impatient, so Zhou Fan sent the two children away.
When he was alone with Hei Ren, he began to speak.
"I doubt that I will stay here much longer. I am getting both complacent and bored." Zhou Fan said. "The question is, do you want to go with me, or stay here?"
"I would like to go with you." Hei Ren said without any thought.
"Let me explain it first. I will likely be in seclusion for the next 10 billion years after leaving. That means that, aside from occasional guidance, you will sit in a void and be completely alone." Zhou Fan explained.
"But it would benefit me more to go with you, right?" Hei Ren asked.
"I suppose. In the long run, it will likely help you more, but you only have a single life, and if you come with me, your entire youth will be wasted." Zhou Fan said.
He was aware that Hei Ren didn't really care, but he would still feel somewhat bad if he made him spend so much time away from other beings.
"Let me put it this way, would you mind if you faced such a situation?" Hei Ren asked.
"No. It would actually be pleasant, but I'm not like normal humans." Zhou Fan answered.
"Do I seem to be like normal humans?" Hei Ren questioned.
Zhou Fan sighed and patted Hei Ren's head.
"I know, I was just making sure." Zhou Fan said as he stood up.
"Now, let's train." He said as he pulled out a sword.
—--------------------------------
Nearly 10 years later, 2 children burst through Zhou Fan's doors. Both Zhou fan and Hei Ren looked over.
When Feng Liu and Lu Zhong saw them, they didn't even seem that excited.
They dropped to their knees, before falling face first onto the ground.
"Uncle Zhou Fan, I really can't take it anymore." Feng Liu said as her face was planted on the ground.
"Please, Uncle Zhou Fan, Teacher Ying Xiong deserves death." Lu Zhong said.
Ying Xiong just sighed and shook his head from behind them. He didn't even know why he was the only one who deserved to die. Tong and Pangu were there as well.
"Alright, get up. You are free now." Zhou Fan said.
"Just let me sleep right here for a moment." Feng Liu said.
"Same." Lu Zhong said.
Zhou Fan just shook his head and looked at the two.
They could no longer be called children. They were fully grown cultivators. Hei Ren was as well.
Feng Liu still had long white hair and wore a blue dress, while Lu Zhong still had long black hair and wore yellow clothes. Although they seemed to grow, they didn't change much.
Feng Liu had grown up to be very pretty, while Lu Zhong had grown up to be very handsome.
Zhou Fan looked at his own disciple, and Hei Ren did not lack compared to them.
He had short black hair that seemed to absorb the light around it and wore black clothes.
Zhou Fan let the two sleep until they recovered, and a year passed by as they relaxed on the mountain. After seeing their exhausted state, Ying Xiong was not in a hurry to make them cultivate again, so he did not bother them at all.
As they spent a day fishing, Zhou Fan broke some news.
"I'll be leaving the cosmic sect soon, and I won't be back for a long time." He said.
Lu Zhong and Feng Liu both dropped their fishing rods and froze in disbelief.
"WHAT!" They shouted at the same time.
"I'm sorry, but I have my own things to do. I would love to accompany you all more, but I must go." Zhou Fan explained.
"Y-You can't leave us. What would we do?" Feng Li said.
"I simply must go. Perhaps, as you continue to follow the path of cultivation, you will one day understand." Zhou Fan said.
Lu Zhong suddenly stood up and bowed his head.
"I understand Uncle. Thank you for staying with us all this time." He said with maturity.
Neither Hei Ren nor Zhou Fan expected such a reaction from him, so they both sat shocked for a brief moment.
Feng Liu looked unwilling and desperate, but she soon sighed and did the same thing.
Neither of them wanted to burden Zhou Fan, even if they were selfish and greedy.
"Don't worry. I'll stay for another half a year." Zhou Fan said.
Time flew by as half a year passed.
On the outer ring of the cosmic sect, Hei Ren and Zhou Fan floated in space.
"We'll miss you, Uncle." Feng Liu and Lu Zhong said.
"I'll miss you guys too." Zhou Fan said as he turned to Ying Xiong.
"I'll come back once I exit seclusion. Make sure these two cultivate hard." Zhou Fan said.
"I will." Ying Xiong solemnly nodded.
Zhou Fan turned to Pangu and Tong.
"You two cultivate well. I expect both of you to enter the inner world realm by the time I return." Zhou Fan said.
"We will not disappoint you." Pangu and Tong responded.
"Alright. I'll make sure to capture any talented youths I find." Zhou Fan said.
"Please do." Ying Xiong chuckled.
"Goodbye." Zhou Fan said as he put his hand on Hei Ren's back and the two of them disappeared.
—--------------------------------
When Zhou Fan finally stopped moving, he was at the edge of the Zhou Galaxy cluster.
"I thought we would never leave." Hei Ren said.
"I'm not one for all that sad goodbye stuff." Zhou Fan said as he began to fly to the center of the Zhou supercluster.
It did not take long for them to arrive.
As soon as Hei Ren felt the space around them, he shuddered.
"Don't worry, the formation on you will last until you enter the lesser dao creation realm. I also split the Qi in this area so that it is possible for you to cultivate." Zhou Fan said as a large bubble, bigger than a galaxy, appeared.
"Thank you master." Hei Ren bowed.
"Don't worry. I'll be cultivating up there. I'll check on you after a hundred years." Zhou Fan said as he disappeared and reappeared outside of the bubble.
He crossed his legs and began to cultivate.
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