355: Chapter 355: The Grand Finale

"Once entering the Mahayana Stage, one wanders freely; from now on, the world is mine to roam."

The moment Xiao Ran and Li Changsheng stepped across the threshold of the Mahayana Stage, nothing in the Cultivation World could threaten them.

From then on, the Cultivation World welcomed two of the strictest fathers.

When Xiao Ran returned to the Eternal Night Demon Sect, the sky was between light and dark, with a sliver of purple-gold afterglow still lingering on the horizon.

He did not fly; instead, he walked up the mountain path step by step.

His black robes fluttered gently in the evening breeze, and the faint, imperceptible pressure unique to Mahayana Stage Cultivators had been completely suppressed.

From the outside, he looked just like an ordinary Loose Cultivator who had just returned from a long journey.

However, the Disciples guarding the gate still straightened their backs involuntarily as he passed.

Because they could feel that hidden sense of oppression, which could not be completely covered up just by suppressing it.

At the end of the stone steps inside the mountain gate stood several stunning beauties.

Poison Lady leaned against the door pillar on the left.

Today, she had rarely changed into colorful attire, no longer wearing her perennial dark green robe.

Instead, she wore a lotus-root pink dress adorned with crushed gold patterns, with a silver silk ribbon tied around her waist, outlining her figure with three parts more softness than usual.

She crossed her arms, her gaze fixed on the direction of the mountain gate; when she saw Xiao Ran's figure appear below the stone steps, the corners of her lips moved slightly.

Another was someone who had not been seen for a long time: Bai Linger.

She had been directly transported here by Xiao Ran using a great Divine Ability.

Bai Linger stood in the very center of the steps.

Her moon-white dress shimmered with a soft luster in the darkening light, looking like a pure jasmine flower.

The three courtesans stood on both sides of the stone steps.

Master Su held her zither in her arms, her fingertips unconsciously stroking the neck of the instrument.

Master Liu held a closed folding fan in her hand, the fan ribs twirling between her fingers.

Master Hua was the most relaxed, simply leaning against the stone lion on the other side, a blade of grass in her mouth, like a cat basking in the sun.

The three women's gazes met on Xiao Ran for half a breath, then they each looked away.

It seemed casual, but the distance between them was half a step closer than usual, as if they had reached a tacit understanding after confirming something with each other.

Xiao Yating stood in the furthest position behind everyone.

With her hands behind her back, she wore a sharp, black dress, her long hair tied high in a ponytail, her expression cold and detached, her gaze passing over the five figures in front and landing on Xiao Ran's face.

Six people, six postures, six ways of waiting.

Xiao Ran stopped at the bottom of the steps.

He raised his head, his gaze sweeping from Poison Lady to Bai Linger, from the three courtesans to the final Xiao Yating, pausing for a beat on each person's face.

The evening breeze blew in from outside the mountain gate, causing his black robes to flutter and brushing a few stray locks of hair from his forehead behind his ears.

"Are you all waiting for me?"

"Ladies, I know I am very handsome, but please wipe the drool from the corners of your mouths."

A happy smile appeared on the corner of Xiao Ran's mouth.

After all, he could start the Yin Party tonight.

"Finished your Breakthrough?"

"Then you are in the Mahayana Stage from now on. The only Mahayana in the entire Cultivation World for ten thousand years—no, one of two."

Poison Lady spoke first.

She tilted her head slightly, correcting her statement.

"You won't think that someone at the Soul Transformation Stage like me is not good enough for you, will you?"

Poison Lady expressed her true feelings in a joking manner.

Xiao Ran looked at her, the corners of his lips curving up.

"If you think you're not good enough, then it must be you who dislikes me. After all, you know all my faults, Poison Lady."

Poison Lady was finally happy upon hearing this.

Then she walked down the steps, one step, two steps, three steps, and stopped in front of Xiao Ran.

The hem of her colorful dress brushed his toes, and she looked up, her long, narrow eyes shining in the twilight like two obsidian stones soaked in water.

"Then I won't be polite."

Poison Lady reached out and rested her hand on Xiao Ran's shoulder, standing on tiptoe slightly, and kissed him under everyone's gaze.

The movement was crisp and clean, without any hesitation.

Her lips only lingered for a short two breaths when they touched him.

Then she stepped back half a step, the corners of her mouth curving into a smile like a fox that had stolen a chicken, and looked sideways at the people on the steps.

"Alright, I'm done, the rest is up to you."

She turned to walk back, but suddenly paused.

Because Su Qinghan walked out from behind the crowd.

She had been standing on the low hill watching Xiao Ran go up the mountain, and only now did she truly step out of the shadows into the area illuminated by the lights.

She was still wrapped in that black cloak, but the mask on her face had already been removed.

She had taken it off a hundred years ago; after that night at the Ling Sha Cliff, she no longer needed that half-mask.

Poison Lady glanced at her, and their gazes met for an instant.

In that instant, everyone knew that the real main character had arrived.

But unexpectedly, Su Qinghan, who had always opposed the Yin Party, did not care about everyone's overtures.

This was tacit consent.

So, the next one moved.

Bai Linger walked down from the steps, holding the Ling Lan in her hands up to her chest.

"Young Master Xiao."

She spoke, her voice soft, exactly the same as when she called people in the City Lord's Mansion all those years ago.

"I'm back."

Xiao Ran looked at her.

Decades had passed, and Bai Linger was still the same Bai Linger from back then; her appearance had hardly changed at all.

Only the childishness in her eyes had faded a layer, replaced by something that had settled over time.

The Ling Lan flower bud in her hand quietly bloomed a petal as she spoke, and a faint fragrance filled the air.

Xiao Ran reached out and took the pot of Ling Lan.

The flowerpot was white porcelain, warm to the touch, and the leaves of the Ling Lan gently brushed against his fingertips.

He held the flowerpot in his palm, looked down for a moment, and then looked up to meet Bai Linger's shining eyes.

"Then don't leave."

"Mm, not leaving."

After Bai Linger finished speaking, she stepped back to Su Qinghan's side and stood still, as if she had found her place.

The three courtesans exchanged a glance, and Master Su moved first.

She walked down from the stone steps holding her zither, her lotus-root pink dress brushing against the stone surface, and she did not stop when she reached Xiao Ran.

Instead, she walked halfway around him, like a guest appraising a fresh object.

"Young Master Xiao, the three of us have discussed it, and we want to follow you."

"This time, you are not allowed to shake us off."

Master Liu and Master Hua stood behind her; one closed her folding fan and tucked it into her sleeve, and the other spat out the blade of grass she had been chewing.

They didn't speak, but their meaning had been expressed very clearly.

Xiao Ran looked at their three faces, each half-dyed by the twilight and the lamplight, and suddenly remembered the noise and zither music that filled the Wan Hua Pavilion when he first walked in many years ago.

"Of course."

"I have long missed the skills of you three."

After Xiao Ran agreed.

The three of them retreated to Bai Linger's side, the four of them standing in a row like a line of willow trees brushed by the spring breeze.

The last one to walk down was Xiao Yating.

She had been standing at the very back of the crowd, waiting until everyone had finished speaking before walking down the steps unhurriedly.

She was the last to follow Xiao Ran, but also the one who provided the most help to Xiao Ran.

Therefore, after Xiao Ran took control of the Far North Land, he also visited Xiao Yating several times.

Xiao Yating, through these times, also had her Realm soar.

Now she was already in Xiao Ran's shape.

Xiao Yating walked to Xiao Ran and stopped.

"The Yin Qi in my body has been completely resolved."

The implication was that she accepted the Yin Party.

"I want to find a place to rest my feet, and your place looks good."

Xiao Ran looked at her, not saying anything.

Xiao Yating waited for a moment, and seeing him not speak, she tilted her head: "What, won't you take me in?"

"Take you in."

Xiao Ran nodded immediately and said.

Xiao Yating nodded, as crisp and decisive as finishing a business deal.

She walked straight up the steps and stood in the shadow of the stone pillar next to the others.

Finally, naturally, it was Su Qinghan.

There was no need to say much between Su Qinghan and Xiao Ran.

The two just exchanged a look.

Su Qinghan said softly, "Welcome home!"

Just four short words, hitting Xiao Ran's heart the most.

Xiao Ran smiled calmly, "Home? I'll go home and see for myself tonight."

Meanwhile, ten thousand miles away.

Li Changsheng, that old repressed man, also used his great Divine Ability to transport all his women over.

And then they slept together under the same quilt.

The End!

The story ends here.

The sky of the Cultivation World has gone completely dark.

This is my first original Xuanhuan imaginative work; there are quite a few pitfalls and uneven plot points. I hope all the readers will forgive me.

Humbly thank you!!!

The new book is already being written; the next one will try a new theme, urban imaginative work.

I hope you can find me in the bookstore! (This means I've become famous! Hahahaha!)

The green hills remain unchanged, and the clear waters flow on.

See you in the next book!!!