Immortal Reincarnation Tribulation

Chapter 21 He had been here

The moment Du Fan looked at this person, he felt an extremely absurd sense of unreality, as if the other person was not standing in front of him, but in another space-time, seemingly able to disappear at any moment, and also able to reappear at any moment.

The man was dressed in a green robe, with long hair that moved past his shoulders even without wind. He stood with his hands behind his back, looking at Du Fan with a calm expression, as if he were smiling but not smiling.

The reason this is considered a special face is that Du Fan could only tell from the face that the person was around twenty years old, but he couldn't tell whether the face was beautiful or ugly, frivolous or profound, sorrowful or happy.

Du Fan could clearly see the other person's eyebrows, eyes, nose, mouth... and every angle and contour of their face, yet when he closed his eyes, he couldn't imagine their appearance at all. When Du Fan opened his eyes again, they were still the same person, unchanged. Just like the sky, the earth, and the thoughts of all living beings—no one knows what they look like, but they exist eternally.

"This is the first time a man has looked at me like this." The man in the green robe chuckled.

"I apologize for my rudeness. Was it you who saved me just now?" Du Fan suddenly realized his mistake, gently laid the girl in his arms on the ground, and quickly stood up and clasped his hands in apology.

"There are no other living people within a hundred miles of this place, so I suppose I'm the one who saved them," the man in the green robe said calmly, his words carrying a hint of humor.

"Thank you for saving my life. May I ask, did you also create this dark mountain range?" Du Fan clasped his hands in thanks, then pointed to the enormous black mountain behind him, his heart filled with doubt and unease.

"Mountains? Heh, this isn't a mountain range." The man in the green robe couldn't help but chuckle and shake his head.

"Then what is this?"

"This is an ancient ferocious beast, the Thousand-Eyed Glutton! It likes to devour realms for food. Not long ago, this beast was about to devour the realm you are in, and I happened to be wandering in this small cluster of realms. After discovering that this realm was dominated by humans, I took action and killed the beast. However, this Thousand-Eyed Glutton is among the strongest of the ancient ferocious beasts, and I had to use some powerful methods to kill it with lightning speed. Therefore, I couldn't control the scope of the battle well, and it unexpectedly affected this realm." The man in the green robe stood with his hands behind his back, speaking slowly and casually, his every move exuding a calm and composed air.

"So...so, this is also your fault?" Du Fan's mind was buzzing and his mouth was dry. Although the person opposite him spoke clearly and slowly, he still couldn't keep up with his thoughts.

"The sky is leaking? You're quite amusing, I suppose so." The man in the green robe chuckled again, somewhat surprised himself. He hadn't been angry or laughed in a long time, yet this little human in front of him had made him laugh twice.

"The Thousand-Eyed Glutton? You said this black mountain is a creature called the Thousand-Eyed Glutton? Does it have ten thousand eyes?" Du Fan tried to sort out what he had heard before, and suddenly a thought struck him, so he asked again.

"Huh? Why are you interested in this? I haven't really looked into it. It should be more than that number, right? Turn around and take a look for yourself." The man in the green robe was quite surprised, but he still waved his sleeve and said this.

"Ah!" As soon as Du Fan turned around, his scalp tingled instantly, and he involuntarily let out an extremely piercing scream.

Suddenly, countless giant crimson pupils appeared on the pitch-black object stretching for hundreds of miles. Each pupil was several meters in size, and they were wide open, motionless and menacing. Above, below, left, and right of each giant pupil, there was another one every ten meters or so.

Ten zhang should not be considered a short distance, but it was nothing to this creature that was hundreds of miles long and tens of thousands of feet tall. Therefore, the giant red pupils on this dark creature appeared densely packed and countless from a distance, giving people a sense of fear and nausea that made them tremble and want to vomit.

Du Fan felt a chill run down his spine, his hair stood on end, and a cold sweat rose from the bottom of his heart. The thought of those countless giant crimson eyes suddenly blinking... made Du Fan shrink back, instantly abandoning his initial idea of ​​studying this creature.

"Haha, you've had your fill of seeing." The man in the green robe laughed loudly, and with another wave of his sleeve, the Thousand-Eyed Taotie's crimson eyes closed instantly, revealing to Du Fan the enormous, pitch-black creature that was still there.

Even now, Du Fan still feels a lingering sense of dread.

"I must take this beast's corpse; this realm cannot bear it."

The man in the green robe suddenly opened his mouth and spat out a small, dark green sword. The sword slowly rotated several times, releasing a cloud of misty green vapor. The vapor rolled slightly and then suddenly spread rapidly, silently covering the Thousand-Eyed Gluttonous Beast and instantly enveloping its entire body.

The colossal creature, hundreds of miles long and tens of thousands of feet tall, shrank rapidly at a speed visible to the naked eye, eventually becoming the size of a fist. It was then carried away by the cyan mist that clung to it and returned to the dark green sword, disappearing without a trace.

The dark green sword emitted a buzzing sound, trembled, and then transformed into a dark green sword light, disappearing back into the mouth of the man in the green robe.

Du Fan's lips twitched. His first thought was that the extremely disgusting Thousand-Eyed Glutton had been eaten by the person opposite him. Compared to the other person, Xiao Hu's chicken leg was nothing. However, he didn't dare to say it.

"Little guy, don't look at me like that. I'm not eating it; I'm just collecting its corpse and dealing with it when the time is right. Alright, that's all for now. I'm leaving." The man in the green robe looked up at the sky and was about to depart.

"Wait, don't you have anything to offer me?" Du Fan asked hastily as he watched the man in the green robe about to leave.

Given Du Fan's temperament, he would never have uttered such words. However, he has now begun to accept the fact that he has transmigrated and has come to understand what kind of world this is. He is helpless and powerless to protect his only two friends. He yearns for a power that will allow him to survive in this cultivation world and hopes that this power will give him a reason to live.

This man in the green robe was undoubtedly a figure of extraordinary talent, especially when he saw the other party about to leave, which greatly aroused the desire in his heart.

"Benefits? What benefits?" the man in the green robe asked in surprise.

"Our meeting is fate, and you are a master. This fate is my opportunity, and you should bestow good fortune upon me. This is the responsibility and obligation of you senior masters to us juniors." In his haste, Du Fan uttered words that startled both himself and the man in the green robe.

What you said... makes some sense.

Unexpectedly, the man in the green robe said something after pondering for a long time, which surprised Du Fan greatly.

As the man in the green robe raised his hand, a beam of green light shot out from his hand in an instant.

Before Du Fan could react, he saw the azure light instantly disappear between his eyebrows, which startled him greatly. However, he felt nothing at all, as if it were an illusion.

"I never expected you to possess such a rare Water-Concealing Spiritual Root. I just activated the spiritual root within you, and from now on you can embark on the path of cultivation," the man in the green robe said slowly.

"Spiritual root? I once underwent a spiritual root test and was told that I do not possess one and will never be able to cultivate in this life." Du Fan's breathing quickened instantly, and a sharp light flashed in his eyes, but he still asked with doubt.

"Your spiritual root is somewhat special; it's a latent spiritual root, also known as an acquired spiritual root. It's impossible to detect with ordinary methods. Even I, if I hadn't secretly examined your body just now, would have thought you were just a mortal," the man in the green robe exclaimed in amazement.

"You just said that my spiritual root is extremely rare, does that mean my aptitude is exceptional and I can be considered a cultivation prodigy?" Du Fan's expression was slightly excited, and his eyes showed a rare gleam of excitement.

"Did you know there's another way to describe hidden spiritual roots?" The man in the green robe asked with a strange expression.

Du Fan shook his head.

"A useless spiritual root!"

"A useless spiritual root?" Du Fan was taken aback.

"That's right. Hidden spiritual roots cannot be cultivated originally and must be activated before they can be cultivated. Even so, the activated hidden spiritual roots are far inferior to normal spiritual roots. Whether it is sensing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth or absorbing the spiritual energy of heaven and earth, they will be extremely slow, which greatly hinders the improvement of cultivation. Even the bottleneck is ten or a hundred times more difficult than that of ordinary cultivators. Therefore, hidden spiritual roots are also called useless spiritual roots."

However, the way of Heaven is to take from those who have too much and give to those who have too little. People with hidden spiritual roots often have multiple spiritual roots of the five elements at the same time, thus achieving balance, which can be regarded as a kind of compensation from Heaven.

"Useless spiritual roots are rare to begin with, and you only have one. Even I've never heard of such a thing before. Your aptitude is so poor that it's probably the worst I've ever seen in my life. It wouldn't be an exaggeration to say that it's unprecedented and will never be repeated. I really don't know whether to say you're lucky or unlucky, but it's still better than a mortal without any spiritual roots." The strange look on the man in the green robe grew even more intense, and he patiently explained it to Du Fan in detail.

Du Fan understood, subconsciously rolled his eyes at himself, took a deep breath, and forced himself to cheer up.

"Senior, this doesn't count. You need to give me something else!" Du Fan looked like he was ready to go all out, indicating that he wouldn't let the man in the green robe leave until he was satisfied.

"For countless millennia, no one has dared to speak to me like this. Yet, I feel no aversion towards you; on the contrary, I find you quite endearing. Even I am somewhat surprised. Perhaps this is our destiny. However, while I will not harm anyone without cause, I will also not bestow favors indiscriminately. Therefore, I make a promise to you: if we meet again someday, I will take you as my disciple." The man in the green robe pondered for a moment before speaking solemnly.

"What are the benefits of being your apprentice? And when can we meet again?" Du Fan felt that the other party was just being perfunctory.

"Be my disciple, Chu Liantian's disciple, and you can roam freely in heaven and earth. We'll meet again if fate allows!"

As the dashing and domineering voice echoed, a strong sense of confidence instantly infected Du Fan, who was standing there dumbfounded.

The man in the green robe suddenly soared into the air, and in the blink of an eye, he appeared at a very high point in the sky. In another flash, he turned into a green dot, passed through the Heavenly Cave, and disappeared in an instant.

As the man in the green robe disappeared, the transparent hole that stretched for miles also vanished. The boundless black clouds around it gradually faded and eventually disappeared, and sunlight shone down, revealing a clear blue sky.

When he appeared, the winds rose and the sky changed color; when he left, the autumn waters were still calm and the leaves fell silently. A thousand years later, the sky is still blue and the wind is still blowing. Who still remembers that he ever came?