Daojun, start from Penglai foundation building

Old friend?

Jiang Sheng glanced over and saw a ship over a hundred feet long rising and falling with the waves above the sea.

The ship was extremely luxurious, decorated with jade and jewels, with a bottom inlaid with corals and giant clams, the decks covered with brocade, and there were clusters of flowers and brocade between the pavilions and towers, and there were groups of maids.

Although there were no identification items, the identity of the ship's owner could be known from the clam girls and mermaids on the ship. He must be a nobleman from the East China Sea.

The person on the ship who shouted at Jiang Sheng was indeed an old friend of Jiang Sheng.

Ao Ke, the dragon son of the Thirteenth Palace of the East China Sea in the former Shanhe Realm.

Although the dragon clans in the East China Sea and the South China Sea were cleared out by Xuanmen, some unimportant dragon descendants still remained.

After the merger of the three realms, the surviving dragons in the East China Sea and the South China Sea were naturally appointed by the Heavenly Court to guard the southeastern seas for the Heavenly Court.

At this time, Ao Ke was wearing a gorgeous brocade robe with waves and clouds, and a flying dragon crown on his head. He looked handsome, elegant, and noble.

Standing between the pavilions, Ao Ke looked at Jiang Sheng with a smile.

While looking at Ao Ke, a hint of darkness flashed in Jiang Sheng's eyes.

Although his itinerary was not a secret, few people knew when and where he would appear.

Even the Lord of the East could not know when he would leave the East.

But just as he left Dongyu Luzhou, he met Ao Ke, an old friend from the past.

Was it a chance encounter, or had he been waiting for me here for a long time?
A thousand thoughts raced through his mind, but looking at Ao Ke, Jiang Sheng still landed on the ship.

When Ao Ke saw Jiang Sheng fall from the clouds, he also breathed a sigh of relief: "I thought that the True Lord had forgotten this old man."

Jiang Sheng smiled and said, "Everyone in the Three Realms knows that Jiang Sheng is a nostalgic person, so how could he not remember his old friends?"

Ao Ke's expression slightly changed when he heard this, and he extended his hand to signal, "Master, please."

Jiang Sheng happily entered the pavilion. Everywhere he looked, he saw clouds and flowing pearls, copper stoves burning incense, mermaid maids dancing gracefully, clam girls holding pearls, and dragon girls pouring wine. It was a luxurious scene of the Dragon Palace.

Ao Ke invited Jiang Sheng to take a seat, and then personally poured wine for Jiang Sheng: "Since we parted in Zheng State in the past, although Xiaolong has been to the Golden Elixir Ceremony and the Yuanshen Dharma Assembly of the True Lord, those who surrounded the True Lord at that time were all the true disciples of the Holy Land and the geniuses from all sides."

"With Xiaolong's low level of cultivation, he is not qualified to enter the main hall."

"Since the rebellion at the Dragon Palace in the East China Sea, Xiaolong has been hiding here and there, fearing that he would be sent to the Dragon Slaying Platform in Penglai. If you count carefully, he has not seen the True Lord for more than three hundred years."

"The three realms are united, the heaven and earth are settled, His Majesty the Emperor of Heaven has allowed us dragons to guard the sea borders, and Xiaolong has also been given a sea border shepherd to guard the East China Sea for His Majesty."

After that, Ao Ke sighed, his face full of vicissitudes: "More than three hundred years have passed, and the world has changed a lot. Xiaolong is still stuck in the realm of transformation, while Zhenjun is already a fairy."

Jiang Sheng looked at the fragrant and elegant wine in front of him, picked up the wine cup and sniffed it.

"Hundred Fruit Wine."

This was the spiritual wine that Ao Ke requested when he and Jiang Sheng first met in Zhengdu, Zheng State. It was brewed with 108 kinds of spiritual fruits. The wine was sweet and pure, with a light fruity aroma.

For Jiang Sheng and Ao Ke, who were only in the Purple Mansion Realm at that time, Hundred Fruit Wine was a rare treasure.

At this time, Jiang Sheng was in the realm of refining emptiness, and Ao Ke had also reached the realm of transforming spirit. This Hundred Fruit Wine was no longer of any use to them. Tasting it was just to reminisce about the past.

Three hundred years, from Purple Mansion to God Transformation, is that slow?
Not slow anymore.

In the Purple Mansion realm, the lifespan is 500 years, in the Golden Core realm, the lifespan is 800 years, the Nascent Soul realm has a lifespan of 1,500 years, and the Spirit Transformation realm has a lifespan of 3,000 years, during which time one can sit back and watch the vicissitudes of life until the seas dry up and the rocks crumble.

In just three hundred years, he crossed the three realms from the Purple Mansion Realm and achieved the Divine Transformation level. Even in the True Dragon Clan, he was considered a genius.

But, isn’t three hundred years really that slow?
Looking at the three realms, people of the same generation have already achieved the Dao Fruit and entered the realm of refining emptiness.

The gap between Transformation of the Spirit and Refining of the Void is not only the gap between the third realm of the middle three realms and the first realm of the upper three realms, but also the gap between immortals and mortals.

In the middle and lower six realms, no matter how talented or brilliant one is, one is still ordinary. If one does not enter the realm of refining emptiness and attaining the realm of immortality, one will eventually die.

These are just the surface, there are deeper things that have never been shown to the world.
Taking a sip of the Hundred Fruit Wine and feeling its sweetness, Jiang Sheng said, "In the past, I called you Brother Ao, and you called me Brother Jiang."

"From now on, I will still call you Brother Ao, and you can call me Taoist Jiang."

"Today, you don't even need to use my last name, just call me True Lord."

As he spoke, Jiang Sheng looked at Ao Ke: "Brother Ao, what is the reason that makes you keep changing the way you address me?"

"Difference in status?"

"But the Brother Ao I know doesn't care about these people. He has a broad mind and courage that can reach the sky and embrace the sun and the moon."

"Why is there such a bleak mood today?"

Ao Ke sighed and said with a wry smile: "You were once the true disciple of Penglai, and I was the Dragon Son of the East China Sea. Our statuses are naturally equal."

"But the Dragon Palace of the East China Sea was destroyed by Penglai. How noble is my identity as the Dragon Son of the East China Sea?"

"Right now, you are the famous True Lord Yuchen Lingyuan in the Three Realms, who is not bound by the Heavenly Court, and I am just a small god in a certain sea area in the East China Sea."

"Brother Jiang, there has long been a barrier between you and me. Don't you realize that you have surpassed us old friends by a lot?"

"The gap between you and the rest of us is like a chasm. We can no longer catch up with you."

Jiang Sheng fell silent. He indeed hadn't seen his old friends for a long time.

The two fairies Xiang Yao and Xiang Yu from Chu, the old friends from Lu and Wei, the Cha family from Qi, as well as the fairy Xu Xiao, the fairy Li Yan from Tang, and the heavenly master Su Yajun.
And Southern Xinjiang
The old friends from the East Territory Continent in the past seemed to be getting further and further away from Jiang Sheng.

Even the people I met in Luzhou, the southern region, seemed to have not been heard from for a long time.

Not only these people, but even those true disciples in the holy places who have dealt with him countless times, haven't they rarely heard any news about them?
Is it because I am too aloof and ignore the news from the outside world, or are we no longer on the same path?
Did I walk too fast and lose sight of them?
Jiang Sheng pondered and silently took another sip of the Hundred Fruit Wine.

Above the East China Sea, the building ship seemed to be drifting aimlessly, and before it knew it, it had drifted into the depths of the East China Sea.

The sky suddenly cleared, and a hazy fog gradually rose from the sea, fluttering and floating.

And in the deep sea, there seemed to be some shadows crawling and growing, spreading upwards.

Above the sea surface where sea fog was surging, the sky light gradually became mottled, and a faint rustling sound could be heard in the fog.

Meanwhile, inside the ship, the mermaid dancers were still dancing and stretching their bodies to the music played by the musicians.

The singing and dancing are graceful, and the soft jade emits fragrance.

Jiang Sheng and Ao Ke sat opposite each other, watching the mermaid dancer stretch her body with great effort to show off her dancing skills, and watching the musician play all kinds of pleasant and moving music, but the atmosphere was still somewhat silent.

Finally, Jiang Sheng finished a glass of fruit wine and looked at Ao Ke: "Brother Ao, I think what you said has its own reasons."

"But the so-called fellow Taoists and Taoist companions are people who walk the same path together. They may go their separate ways due to fate, but in the end they will definitely reach the same destination and meet again."

"Over the years, I have made many good friends, but I have never met most of my old friends. This is because I am cultivating myself, and because they are cultivating themselves."

"Cultivation is like this. Our paths may be different, but when we meet again, we can still be honest with each other."

"I have met my old friends before in other places, and they have never treated me differently because of their changed status or position."

"It's the way it should be with old friends."

"Today I meet Brother Ao again. Brother Ao has a huge difference in cultivation and status. Even his expression is so bleak. Why can't Brother Ao be honest with me?"

"Is it my fault, or is it Brother Ao who has a guilty conscience?"

As soon as the words came out, it was like thunder exploding, and the ship was completely silent. (End of this chapter)