Chapter 671: Chapter 265: Fan Wubing, the Immortal, Passing Through the Mortal World_2

"If Heaven suppresses the Great Li National Destiny for such reasons, does it not prove that Heaven is not truly divine?"

"Heaven is not divine." Fan Wubing smiled wryly, "You certainly dare to say anything."

The Profound Dragon Robe fluttered, and on Ye Yixian’s somewhat weary face, a bright glow emerged,

"Then I won’t be this Emperor, okay! I’ll issue a decree to abdicate right now!"

Fan Wubing shook his head with a smile, "That won’t do." He teased, "You’re all alone, who would you pass the throne to?"

"I’ll call the Nineteenth Sister back and make her Empress!"

Though Ye Yixian hadn’t touched a drop of wine, he spoke drunken gibberish.

When in good company, even an Emperor finds it hard to decline.

For the first time, the two of them ascended the Qi Observation Platform at the Li Palace, setting up a small table and lighting a few pots of wine, coincidentally on a full moon night, looking over the brightly lit Imperial Capital. At that moment, the excited Ye Yixian suddenly calmed down, and after a while, his emotions turned somber,

"I’m so afraid that you truly died..."

Fan Wubing said, "In the past ten thousand days and nights, this was an inescapable truth."

Ye Yixian lay on the ground, "You’re like a dream that everyone had, but no one wants to wake up from."

"Is it really that exaggerated?"

"People need spiritual support, especially in this muddled era. Without support and faith, one might simply drift along and stumble confusedly."

"That puts a lot of pressure on me." Fan Wubing chuckled. 𝐟𝐫𝕖𝗲𝘄𝚎𝗯𝕟𝐨𝕧𝐞𝚕.𝕔𝕠𝐦

"For many nights in the past, I couldn’t help but wonder, if not for you, would Great Li be where it is today? You see, the ideal country we casually spoke of is gradually taking shape. The billions in Great Li now all can read and cultivate. In recent years, every month, scholars in Wenxin Heaven write essays saying that Great Li has shown cultivators around the world that cultivation doesn’t have to be built on human exploitation."

"That’s quite remarkable." Fan Wubing praised.

Ye Yixian smiled bitterly, "But all this is thanks to you."

Fan Wubing shook his head, "Human wisdom is never limited to a phrase or two. If I were in your place, I surely couldn’t do as well as you."

Ye Yixian sighed, "Over the years, I’ve come to realize more and more that what the people of Great Li might need is not a wise Emperor, but a direction, a... guideline." He looked at Fan Wubing, eyes full of hope and longing, "What do you think the future world will become?"

Fan Wubing paused, thought for a long time before shaking his head,

"I can’t give you a definitive answer. I didn’t knock on the Emperor’s gate back then to make Great Li an Imperial Dynasty, and now, I don’t strive for the world to become better, but if my actions have the hope of making the world better, why not?"

Ye Yixian smiled, "Since you say so, it means you’re also quite confused. You don’t know if the path you’re on will make the world worse or better."

"You deserve to be an Emperor." Fan Wubing smiled.

"But you will still walk. The confusion is in the vision, not in your heart."

"Indeed."

"Great Li will support you."

Fan Wubing shook his head, "Let’s not talk about things involving so many people’s destinies."

Ye Yixian smiled, "Then I’ll put it another way." He said, "I will support you."

"Thanks!" Fan Wubing drank his wine in one gulp, stood up, and left with a flick of his sleeve, "I’ll come find you for more drink when I’m free."

Ye Yixian whispered softly,

"You’re still as carefree."

...

Fan Wubing’s second stop was the Little South Continent.

Upon arriving at Little South Continent, he did not rush back to the Eternal Immortal Sect and Fan City, but appeared at the northern port city, Wangbei City.

He planned to visit the old man who had taken care of Xianchan.

Upon landing, he discovered that the old man had already passed away. Although Pei Weiyi’s Yin Yang Fate Divination Skill had not reached its pinnacle, it was already quite accomplished. For such small matters, there was no need for divination; it could be instinctively sensed.

The old man was just a common folk and had been deceased for more than twenty years.

Fan Wubing took a look at his dwelling from before his death. The streets here were no longer what they used to be. Little South Continent has been undergoing continuous change, and Wangbei City has transformed into a Great Immortal City. The city has been replanned, no longer having areas like shantytowns.

But the old man’s former residence had remarkably been preserved, turned into an ancestral hall, with even a stone tablet erected for commemoration.

The stone tablet recorded the old man’s life.

Fan Wubing read it over, feeling quite moved.

After taking Xianchan away, he had left a sum of money for the old man. This money, for a mortal, was a fortune enough to support twenty people for a lifetime.

However, the old man did not spend this money on himself; instead, he used it on the orphans he adopted.

Since then, until his death thirteen years later, he adopted a total of thirty-four orphans and spent money to educate them.

When these orphans grew up, some joined major sects and became cultivators, including one who joined the Eternal Immortal Sect. Others went to the Confucian School, and some became wealthy businessmen...

They collectively built an ancestral hall for the old man.

Fan Wubing let out a long breath.

This world, filled with so much pettiness, also never lacks such goodness.

"Hmm?"

Suddenly, he felt a chill, moving his fingers, he drew it toward him.

It was a wandering soul, deceased for over a decade, already in a muddled state.

Fan Wubing discovered its wandering trajectory, always lingering nearby.

"Could it be..."

He immediately operated the "Heart’s Forge", restoring the wandering soul’s consciousness.

Upon regaining its consciousness, the wandering soul uttered in a hoarse voice,

"Girl... Girl... are you doing well..."

Fan Wubing’s brow twitched.

It was the wandering soul of that old man.

Why was this so?

When a person dies, the soul returns to Heaven. Wandering the world means being either trapped or holding on too deeply. With no soul-binding artifact around, it could only be... the latter.

Fan Wubing spoke, "Old man, old man."

The old man turned, looking at Fan Wubing, his ethereal form twisting, with the soul fire in his eye flickering intensely,

"You, I remember you... Immortal, you... have returned."

Fan Wubing asked, "Old man, why haven’t you returned to Heaven?"

The old man rasped, "It’s just this muddle-headed, foolish old man, not afraid of your ridicule, back when I was near death, I dreamt of the girl night after night. She was crouching, covered in blood, crying terribly. This old man, pained deeply, but not knowing what to do, died in confusion, dying without peace."

The girl the old man mentioned was Xianchan.

Fan Wubing felt an ache in his heart, he also wanted to know what Xianchan had gone through,

"But old man, wandering as a soul is not a solution either. You might be unwittingly killed by passing cultivators."

"Ah, truly sorry, Immortal, as an old man, I was useless in life, and in death, I cause trouble for you."

Fan Wubing shook his head, looking at the monumental stone, "This monument has already inscribed the value of your life, now let me add another note."

He raised his hand to grasp the air, materializing a Qi Mechanism Pen, then inscribed on the stone,

"In remembrance of Li Youguang, who set layers of merit in life, in death, his benevolent heart remains, thus granted as Shan Gong God.

"Those who remember Shan Gong God’s name can accumulate meritorious fate; those who offer incense to Shan Gong God will receive blessings."

After writing,

He raised his hand to summon the God Sealing Register bestowed by He Youyi.

In an instant, divine brilliance enveloped the old man’s wandering soul, completing his form and casting a golden body.

Radiant light burst forth, attracting the entire city of Wangbei to this spectacle.

By the time they arrived, the ancestral hall had transformed into a temple, with the golden statue of Shan Gong God standing benevolently inside.

Those with knowledge immediately recognized that the newly ascended Shan Gong God was a Great God upon inception.

This meant it was personally sealed by the God Sealing Register, directly overseen by the Confucian order.

This was indeed a tremendous blessing for Wangbei City.

Thus, the crowd fervently chanted the name of Shan Gong.

"Those who hold the God Sealing Register are generally Confucian Saints, or even Great Saints! This means a Saint just passed through!"

"Hurry and check if the Saint’s name is left on the golden body!"

The crowd hurriedly gathered beneath the golden body, discovering a line of text—

"...Fan Wubing bestowed."

"Fan Wubing..."

"Who is Fan Wubing?"

The elderly Shan Gong whispered from beside his golden body,

"So that Immortal’s name is Fan Wubing."