Ning stood there with a blank look on his face. "They really entered Immortality already? But… how many years has it been since I was gone?" he asked.
"Uhh… about 730 years or so, I think," Dahlia said.
"They went from Spirit Transformation to entering Immortality in just 700 years?" Ning asked again. He simply couldn't believe it. In the other universe, people would spend thousands of thousands of years to enter immortality.
Even White was quite old when he became immortal. Hearing these words, Ning couldn't help but feel something was going on there.
"Wait, were they fast because of the skills I left behind?" he asked. Those were good cultivation books, certainly, but they were far from the best especially since he had bought them back when he barely had any energy at all.
"Your books helped a lot, grandmaster," Dahlia said. "But they were fast because of where we are right now."
"Right now?" Ning looked around. "Ah! The Origin. I forgot you can cultivate very fast here."
Ning shook his head. It had been so long since he had last been inside an Origin with other people that he forgot the slowed-down time worked for everyone else.
"Come with me, Grandmaster. We can talk somewhere else," she said.
"Alright, let us go."
Ning arrived by a large mansion behind which was a massive garden. They sat on a few chairs around the garden as other people came to meet them too.
Ning looked at the newcomers, but he didn't recognize anyone. Most were either too distant from him for him to care, or were simply born after he had left.
"Are you the only one remaining from before?" Ning asked Dahlia.
"I… suppose, yes," Dahlia said while looking around at the newcomers. None of these people were there to get acquainted with Ning back when he was still around.
"Why haven't you left yet?" Ning asked.
"I'm going to leave soon too," Dahlia said. "Just a few dozen more years and I'll be gone too. I'm just staying behind for the kids. I don't want to leave too soon."
"I see," Ning said. "Who has ascended exactly?"
"Hmmm, quite a few actually," she said. "Let's see, there's my grandmother, my mother, my aunt, my siblings and cousins, most of senior Hyesi's immediate family including his Great grandchildren, the three senior beasts that used to follow you and their family, and senior Ely. That should be all."
"Only Ely? Not her family?" Ning asked.
"No, her household refused to relocate here, so senior Ely left them be. Besides, they were so far off from her in relation that she didn't feel very strongly for them. She helped them where needed, but aside from that, she didn't really interact with her own family anymore," Dahlia said.
"I see. Her younger brother has his own life and family, I guess," Ning said.
"Oh… her brother passed away years ago," Dahlia said.
"What? Ender died? How?" Ning asked.
"Qi deviation. He crippled himself by mistake, and as a mortal, he couldn't live for very long," Dahlia said.
"That's… that's terrible," Ning said. He remembered the young man he met by the road and shook his head.
"Anyway, has anyone returned back after ascending?" Ning asked.
Dahlia shook her head. "We have no idea what happened after the ascension. The only reason we are even hopeful that they are alive and well is because the book you gave us said that once ascended, one would go to a different world with a high-level Qi," she said. "That's… true right?"
"That is true," Ning said. He closed his eyes and asked his system about the status of everyone out there.
"They are all fine," Ning said. "You don't have to worry about them. But it does look like they all ended up9 in various different worlds. It will take some time to get to them all."
"Is that so?" Dahlia asked.
"Alright, I'll leave now," Ning said as he stood up.
"Leave? Grandmaster, but you just got here. You can't leave just like that." Dahlia could not understand his intent behind wanting to leave so soon.
"Don't worry, I'll be back to get you in a few months," Ning said. "You can meet your entire family then."
"I… I can meet them again?" Dahlia asked.
"Yes, you can," Ning said. He turned to look at the others that were gathered there. "You all must be responsible for everything that happens here, right?"
The other men and women that were there nodded.
"Good, can you guys do something for me?" Ning asked.
"What is it, grandmaster?" Dahlia asked.
"Tell the people that I will be relocating everyone to another planet with better Qi. If they wish to, they can be ready for that. Don't force them, just let them make a choice. I will be back in a few months," Ning said.
"We will do as you say, grandmaster," Dahlia said.
"Alright, I'll see you later," Ning said and opened a portal right where they stood. "Don't try to come through this. Goodbye."
The group watched in shock as they saw the silver portal remain behind them. Dahlia looked through it and saw a busy street.
She saw some sort of grassland with walls in the distance. Ning turned around and waved them goodbye.
The silver portal closed a bit later and Ning walked off. Thanks to the system, he knew exactly where he had to go.
The Qi here was quite thick, allowing one to progress quite far in their immortal journey.
The planet was called Gionia and he was currently in front of a city called Redstone city.
He went through the city gates with no trouble and made his way to a building in the distance that seemed to be one of the more popular ones.
He smiled when he read the name and walked in. There were people who tried to stop him or make him stay in line, but Ning went past them all as he made his way directly to the very top of the building.
With a little bit of searching, he found the room he was supposed to go to. As he opened the door, the dozens of people that were following him to stop him arrived with him.
Ning sidestepped a few of them, who walked through the door by mistake.
"I told you guys to not bother me when I'm working," the woman said.
"I'm sorry, miss. We will do it right away," the guards said and turned around to grab Ning. However, Ning was already inside the room, next to the woman.
"Do you really want me to leave?" He asked.
Ely turned the moment she heard his voice, dropping everything she had been doing. "Ning?" she asked in disbelief.
"Have you missed me?" he asked.
"Is that… really you?" she asked.
"Of course," Ning said. "Who else could it be?"
Ely couldn't help but jump onto his embrace. "You're back! You're really back! I've missed you so much."
Ely started crying out loud as she couldn't hold back her emotion. Ning's felt his heart grow warmer after hearing her voice.
"I've missed you a lot as well," Ning said. "I'm glad to be back."
[End of Book 6: Return]
