Tian Jin watched the yellow leaves fall, struck against the mountain rocks, and then swept up by the wind to other places.

The mountain top in the early morning was buffeted by the cold wind, intensifying the chill. She hugged her arms and softly asked:

"Elder, do you need me to get a cloak for you?"

There was no response. She bent down and was about to lean close to the other’s ear but found the person leaning to another side.

Her heart "thumped," and Tian Jin hurriedly moved to the front of the other person. She squatted down and saw the other person with eyes closed and a relaxed face.

"Elder?"

Her voice was very light and quickly dissipated in the wind.

She grasped the other person’s hand, realizing she could no longer feel a pulse.

Tian Jin’s mind went blank for an instant, only reacting after a while. With complex emotions, she moved the master’s chair and the person to the quiet chamber of the grotto mansion, laying them flat on the bed.

She knew Elder Ji would arrive at 7:00 AM, so she waited at the grotto mansion’s door, reminiscing about every moment since coming to Ningcui Cliff, her heart filled with sorrow.

This kind elder would never open their eyes again, and in a few days, she too would leave here, reassigned to another place.

The elder once said they would reward her with a Foundation Establishment Pill to thank her for her meticulous care during the final stage of life. Now it seemed unlikely.

Next door to the grotto mansion, the teleportation array’s light flashed, and Ji An walked out briskly.

Despite experiencing teleportation many times, he was still very curious about the gray space passage during teleportation.

He saw Tian Jin, disoriented and forlorn, leaning against the grotto mansion’s door and felt an inexplicable premonition:

"Where is my master?"

The maid came to her senses and sorrowfully said:

"Elder Ge passed away at dawn watching the sunrise."

Ji An was slightly stunned. When he bid farewell last night, he felt that his master’s death energy within the body had accumulated to a certain extent but thought there should still be several months of life remaining, yet the soul departed by morning.

"Take me to her!"

He followed the maid to the quiet chamber and saw the master lying there lifeless, devoid of any warmth.

Ji An stood by the bed, gazed for a moment, and sighed softly with closed eyes.

For a reverse cultivating cultivator, when the cultivation no longer progresses, and the body’s functions decline day by day, watching oneself weaken each day, death might be a wonderful end.

From then on, no longer feeling life’s contrasts, all joy and sorrow dissipate together.

Ji An took a deep breath and slowly exhaled, yet the subtle sadness still lingered, memories with the master flashed rapidly in the sea of consciousness like a revolving lantern.

"I wish to take you as my registered disciple, do you agree?"

"Take this high-quality Foundation Establishment Pill and use it."

"What if you make a loss, what will you repay with?"

"Your talent in planting is excellent, cultivating water, wood, and earth type techniques all suit you."

"A Tier Two Top Grade Star Trace Gold, this gift is too precious, do you know what these things mean to those sword cultivators?"

"I happened to reserve some Cyan Lotus Pills; take them and use them."

"There are two Profound Origin Rebuilding Pills in the Jade Bottle, if the Dharma Body is injured... This red Jade Bottle contains a Blood Burning Pill, which can burn blood and magical power, do not take it unless absolutely necessary."

"Now only you can quietly listen to this old man’s ramblings..."

Ji An opened his eyes and exhaled again.

He took out more than ten Communication Golden Swords, inputted information, activated them, and sent them to Senior Sister Ge Luoying, various senior and junior brothers, and the Dan Ding Institute.

The master was an alchemist, so the funeral would be overseen by the Dan Ding Institute.

...

Three days later, as the head of the Dan Ding Institute, Han Yan presided over the funeral:

"We send off our friend Ge Ying with a heart full of grief; it’s because countless dedicated cultivators like her continue their path that the sect flourishes..."

The Dragon-Riding Ascension Map covered the wooden frame and Ge Ying’s Dharma Body, beneath which the charcoal burned bright red.

As the blazing fire burned, the body of the deceased transformed into Spiritual Qi, returning to the earth.

The flames extinguished, and the guests dispersed.

Ge Luoying and Ji An, among others, collected the ashes, either by sword light, cloud riding, or flying shuttle, and scattered the ashes on the land of Ningcui Cliff.

This was Ge Ying’s wish; she had taken charge of Ningcui Cliff for about a hundred and fifty years, deeply loving this land.

Finally, everyone gathered in the grotto mansion at the top of the mountain, chatted briefly, and Ge Luoying was the first to rise and bid farewell.

"Fellow friends, I bid farewell here, we shall meet again if fate allows."

Her relationship with most cultivators here was rather ordinary. She usually disliked such occasions.

Now that the great-grand-aunt had passed away, she was unwilling to linger in such an environment for long.

She strode out of the grotto mansion, not waiting for the crowd to see her off, like autumn water’s brilliance rippling as the sword hum lightly and swiftly departed.

...

The atmosphere in the grotto mansion was somewhat silent; no one spoke, and everyone’s breathing was very light.

After a moment, Zhu Qinghao glanced at the crowd and said solemnly:

"Fellow junior brothers and sisters, now our master has passed away, and Senior Sister Ge has left at this time, what shall we do with our master’s possessions?

Let’s discuss and establish a plan."

He was everyone’s senior brother, and even though his cultivation wasn’t the highest, his words naturally carried a certain weight.

Ji An did not speak; he knew that the master’s Jade Token’s Small Merit and Contribution Points had been exchanged into Spirit Stones half a year ago and given to Ge Luoying.

The master’s Magic Robe and various clothing were burned together with his Dharma Body, leaving behind a few pill furnaces, one of which had reached the Spiritual Artifact Level’s Four Symbols Spirit Furnace.

Besides pill furnaces, a number of pills for Foundation Establishment cultivators were left, along with some Jade Slips related to alchemy and planting.

Liu Yu first spoke: