Chapter 67: An Old Friend Bids Farewell, Three Hundred and Twenty Years of Slumber
Chapter 67 – An Old Friend Bids Farewell, Three Hundred and Twenty Years of Slumber
Shrugging off the restraints, Wan Yan Yue demanded coldly, “You vanished for so long. Why even bother returning?”
“Now, that statement lacks all reason.”
“What does the length of my absence have to do with my decision to return?”
Wan Yan Yue offered no rebuttal, merely turning her gaze toward the grave of Wanyan Aguduo.
After a long silence, she spoke. “I did everything in my power for Yi Xiu.”
“I know. Yi Xiu’s affliction was not something the mortal realm could easily cure.”
“Have you visited the Shangqing Temple?”
“I have. That fellow Yuanshan managed to seize his destiny, successfully breaking through to the Soul Formation stage.”
“You have visited both places. So why come to my domain?”
“I came to inspect the seal beneath the Bronze Ancient Hall, to ensure whatever slumbers there remains docile. I merely offered a greeting, yet you immediately sought my life.”
Wan Yan Yue fell silent for a moment, processing his words before continuing.
“Where have you wandered all these years?”
“Drifting with the wind, pausing when I pleased. I have walked across countless lands; it is not a tale easily summarized.”
“How long do you intend to remain this time?”
“I do not know. I might depart at dawn.”
“And if I force you to remain?”
“You lack the strength.”
“You…”
Struck by Chen Changsheng’s ruthlessly blunt truth, Wan Yan Yue’s composure shattered.
She lunged forward, seizing him by the collar. Discarding all the dignity befitting a sovereign, she roared her demand.
“For centuries, I have cultivated to the point of bleeding! Why does your strength still eclipse mine?!”
Chen Changsheng merely spread his hands in a gesture of absolute innocence.
“I truly do not know. Across all these eras, I perhaps dedicated a mere ten years to earnest cultivation.”
“The rest of the time, the thought barely crossed my mind.”
“I am equally baffled as to why my foundation naturally deepens, surpassing those who bleed for the Dao.”
Wan Yan Yue: “…”
His words were a venomous strike to her pride. Had she possessed the power to shatter his bones, she would have beaten him mercilessly.
Releasing her grip on his collar, she turned her back and spoke with icy detachment.
“The Bronze Ancient Hall remains under my vigil; the seal is absolute. Now, get out of my sight.”
Observing her rigid posture, Chen Changsheng tilted his head, studying her expression before probing gently.
“You haven’t developed feelings for me, have you?”
“Did you ever grant me the opportunity?”
“No.”
“Then there is your answer. Now begone!”
Realizing she was on the verge of forcibly expelling him, Chen Changsheng forced a lighthearted smile.
“Truthfully, it would be natural for you to harbor such affections. After all, my peerless grace is difficult to ignore.”
“Yet, our destinies cannot intertwine. You walk the path of a wolf, and I am bound to humanity.”
“Should we produce an heir, the heavens only know if it would howl at the moon…”
“I will slaughter you!”
Consumed by wrath, Wan Yan Yue unleashed a devastating barrage toward him.
Unwilling to tangle with a sovereign fighting as if her life depended on it, Chen Changsheng instantly transformed into a streak of light, vanishing over the horizon.
Staring into the empty sky, Wan Yan Yue’s chest heaved with ragged breaths, her fury burning like a raging inferno.
After several long moments, she suppressed the turbulent Qi in her meridians, turning on her heel.
She walked slowly toward the freezing, solitary expanse of the imperial hall.
Their initial encounter in their youth had been chaotic and absurd, yet it was permanently etched into her soul.
Because of him, she drew breath today.
Because of him, her royal father’s corpse was spared the indignity of rotting in the wild.
And because of him, the blood debt of the Night Moon Country had finally been collected.
Truly, their shared history was steeped in profound karmic ties.
Yet, the threads of destiny in this world are fickle; some are robust, while others fray and snap.
The moment the Yu Hua Zhenren perished, the karmic bridge connecting her to Chen Changsheng had collapsed.
She could never forsake the Night Moon Country, and a man like Chen Changsheng would never anchor his soul for the sake of another.
He could serve as her confidant, her ally, her oldest acquaintance—but he would never walk beside her as a Dao companion.
……
“Little girl, I have paid my respects to the remnants of our era.”
“That little bald monk remained shackled by his benevolent heart until the end. However, my little Senior Brother proved worthy of the heavens, actually breaking through to the Soul Formation stage.”
“With such longevity, I should not have to fear his absence when I awaken next.”
Chen Changsheng leaned casually against A-Man’s tombstone, his tone conversational and light.
Beside her resting place gaped a freshly excavated trench—a grave Chen Changsheng had carved out for himself.
Reaching into his spatial storage, he extracted the heavy stone coffin of the Hundred Defeats Immortal Venerable.
Lowering the sarcophagus into the dark earth, he stepped inside and lay down with practiced familiarity.
Staring toward A-Man’s monument, he murmured, “Mortals often claim: if we cannot share a bed in the waking world, we pray to share the earth in death.”
“In this life, my Dao brought you only suffering. Should the cycle of reincarnation spin again, pray that our paths never cross.”
Sealing his final words, he pulled the heavy lid shut, instantly triggering the profound Formation inscribed in the surrounding soil.
Avalanches of dirt cascaded down, fully burying the ancient stone vessel beneath the earth.
Thus, Chen Changsheng sank into his third era of hibernation—a profound, breathless stillness that spanned three hundred and twenty years.
……
The celestial bodies rotated in their endless dance. Frost gave way to bloom, and leaves surrendered to the snow.
Time, an essence mortals would kill to grasp, slipped through the fingers of the world in absolute silence.
Three hundred and twenty years was a crushing weight, sufficient to carve new rivers and grind mountains into dust.
The two graves Chen Changsheng had painstakingly erected were completely erased by the merciless tides of nature.
Boom!
An ancient, towering tree violently shuddered before a tyrannical surge of Qi shattered its roots, ripping it entirely from the earth.
“Pah! Pah! Pah!”
Spitting out the bitter soil that had intruded into his mouth, Chen Changsheng brushed himself off and surveyed the landscape.
The terrain etched in his mind from centuries past bore zero resemblance to the sprawling wilderness before him.
Concluding his visual sweep, he summoned the ethereal interface of the System Panel.
[Host: Chen Changsheng]
[Strength: 200 (Nascent Soul Middle Stage)]
[Speed: 260 (Nascent Soul Late Stage)]
[Defense: 280 (Nascent Soul Perfection)]
[Spiritual Power: 200 (Nascent Soul Middle Stage)]
[Lifespan: 640]
Sweeping his eyes over the projected values, Chen Changsheng nodded in cold satisfaction.
Ever since uncovering that his internal Qi bled into the environment during hibernation, he had ruthlessly sought a remedy.
Ultimately, he had woven the Heaven-Earth Life-Extinguishing Formation to isolate his flesh, forcing his spiritual essence to remain locked within his meridians.
While the containment was not flawless, the preservation of his cultivation was highly acceptable.
Adhering to his relentless methodology, he immediately funneled all three hundred and twenty accumulated Attribute Points into his Defense.
However, the immediate shift in the accompanying realm classification caused him to narrow his eyes in bewilderment.
Rather than evolving into the Soul Formation or Void Refinement realms, the text condensed into three stark words: “Fifth Realm.”
Frowning at the anomaly, he questioned the void, “System, explain this deviation.”
The cold, mechanical voice echoed in his mind. “The displayed classification is merely a mortal metric used to quantify the Host’s physical fortitude.”
“When the universal laws shift, the metric must naturally adapt.”
“Due to profound environmental anomalies, a generalized classification is currently enforced.”
Chen Changsheng: ???
Rather than granting enlightenment, the cryptic response only deepened the fog of uncertainty.
“What do you mean ‘the universal laws shift’ and ‘profound environmental anomalies’?”
“The current celestial mechanics are excessively convoluted. Once the Host fully restores his cultivation base, the truth will naturally reveal itself.”