Chapter Thirty-Six
As Ayin spoke these words, the wind blew past, tangling their long hair together for a moment. Unfortunately, neither of these carefree ancestors noticed.
Gu Jin, stared at by her large, clear eyes that contrasted black and white, even paused his breath for a moment. For a time, he forgot to be annoyed with her, only feeling somewhat dazed.
"Hey, A Jin, I'm asking you?"
The teasing intent in the young girl's eyes was unmistakable, and this time Gu Jin saw it clearly. He sighed at her childishness, and for some reason, as if guided by some unseen force, he replied:
"Hua Shu's nature is free-spirited and magnanimous. She's definitely not the jealous type. Since I raised you, she naturally won't object to you staying by my side."
Ayin was taken aback, not expecting Gu Jin to respond this way. They had only met twice—was he already thinking of marrying Hua Shu?
What was originally meant as a teasing joke aimed at Gu Jin now stirred a dense, sour ache in Ayin's heart.
Seeing that Ayin had fallen silent, Gu Jin, though knowing his reply had been righteous and proper, couldn't help feeling somewhat strange and guilty. He patted Ayin's head, coughed lightly, and said, "What's wrong? I already said I won't abandon you. You're just a little girl worrying over nothing all day. It's late, let's go back. We have a long journey ahead tomorrow." With that, he walked toward the campfire.
"Who's a little girl? Who's worrying over nothing?" Ayin hid the dimness in her eyes, pouted playfully, and followed him back without another word.
Not far away, behind a rock, the little fox lifted a paw to stroke its chin, thoughtfully rolling its eyes before silently darting toward the campfire as well.
After that night, the two and the fox seemed to reach an unspoken understanding. None of them mentioned what had happened in Guixu Mountain again, leisurely making their way back to Great Marsh Mountain.
At the Immortal-Demon boundary lay a stone dragon stretching for a thousand meters, majestic and imposing.
The dragon's head faced west, its tail pointing east. Upon closer inspection, one could see that the dragon's head seemed to gaze vaguely in the direction of Guixu Mountain.
The stone dragon was perpetually shrouded in immortal mist, its divine power profound. After all, Mu Guang had ruled the Immortal Realm for sixty thousand years, and his authority lingered. In the century since his fall, few dared to approach the dragon's body.
A few meters from the dragon's head stood a small thatched hut. An elderly woman sat before the hut, quietly gazing toward the dragon's head. She showed neither sorrow nor joy, from sunrise to sunset, day after day, year after year, as if turned to stone—yet she was unmistakably alive.
When Jing Zhao arrived, this was the scene she witnessed, unchanged for a century.
She remained silent for a long time before finally stepping forward and speaking softly to the figure's back.
"Mother."
The woman remained motionless.
"I know you don't wish to return to Guixu Mountain with me. I came today only to tell you that Second Brother's soul still lingers with Feng Ran. Though I don't know how long it will take, one day, Second Brother will return."
A century ago, after Wu Huan was punished by Shang Gu, she had remained here, guarding near this stone dragon. Jing Zhao visited every few years, but Wu Huan never spoke again.
The woman's lowered eyes trembled almost imperceptibly, and her hands, hidden in her sleeves, shook faintly.
Jing Zhao couldn't see her expression, but she could see her trembling body. Concealing the ache in her own eyes, she bowed.
"Mother, I'm returning to Guixu Mountain. Take care of yourself. When Second Brother returns one day, I'll bring him to see you."
Jing Zhao turned to leave, and at last, the figure who had kept her head bowed stirred."No need. If he returns, there is no need to bring him to see me." The voice was low and hoarse, yet it was a sound Jing Zhao had not heard for a century.
"Mother!" Jing Zhao turned abruptly, feeling both joy at Wu Huan finally speaking and surprise at this response.
"I am not worthy to be his mother. If he returns, tell him..."
Wu Huan stood up and slowly walked toward the stone dragon. After just a few meters, she was blocked by the dragon's immense Immortal Power, unable to take another step forward.
She reached out her hand—the dragon's body was within reach, yet forever untouchable.
"He has been reborn into a new life. The past has nothing to do with him anymore. This time, let him live for himself."
Wu Huan never turned around. She waved her hand in Jing Zhao's direction.
"Jing Zhao, leave now. Do not come again in the future. I will no longer guard him."
Even though Wu Huan was neither god nor immortal after a hundred years, her Divine Power gone, Jing Zhao knew that once she made a decision, she would not change it.
"Yes, Jing Zhao bids farewell to Mother."
The figure bowing toward the stone dragon appeared weathered and sorrowful. Jing Zhao knelt, kowtowed heavily, and quietly left with tears in her eyes.
"Mu Guang, I... am also not worthy to be your wife." Wu Huan finally lowered the hand that had longed to touch the dragon's body. A hoarse, trembling voice of repentance rose, dissipating in the immortal mist.
The stone dragon's eyes gazed into the distance, heavy with sorrow yet gentle, just as they had been for the past century.
Wu Huan took one last look at the slumbering stone dragon, then staggered as she turned and headed toward the Heaven-Pillar deep within the Immortal-Demon boundary.
You willingly endured millennia of loneliness, transformed into stone for my sake, yet I could not let go of my pride. In this lifetime, how could I ever be worthy of being your wife?
Her figure remained hunched, yet now carried a resolute conviction. She walked farther and farther, disappearing into the depths of the boundary.
In the 213th year of the Post-Ancient Era, the Path to Heaven left behind by the Ancient True God in the Three Realms was finally tread upon.
That person endured the Ninety-Nine Thunder Tribulations, with shattered bones and half-white withered hair, knelt at the end of the heavenly path, and struck the Heaven-Inquiring Drum.
The moment the Ancient Realm's gate reopened, brilliant Divine Light illuminated the world.
It is said that on that day, when the immortals and demons of the heavens rushed upon hearing the news, they only heard a faint question from within the Ancient Realm's gate:
"The Divine Punishment was already delivered back then. There is nothing left to punish you for. What do you have to say now?"
"I was wrong." The figure kneeling before the gate was on the verge of death, but a faint yet repentant voice echoed through the clouds.
"Divine Lord, I was wrong."
The Nine Heavens Divine Thunder could Refine and Absorb all things. Without Immortal Power to protect herself, after completing this journey, her body and soul were nearly scattered and destroyed.
"Wu Huan's life was filled with grave mistakes, unforgivable sins. I have no face to linger in this world." She kowtowed heavily toward the gate, her body slowly turning transparent, dissipating bit by bit.
"I thank the Divine Lord for the grace of nurturing me. Wu Huan's death is of no consequence. I only beg the Divine Lord, in memory of the master-disciple bond shared with him in the past, to save him—spare him from millennia, tens of thousands of years, and eternal loneliness."
The final word drifted away at the end of the heavenly ladder. In that moment, Wu Huan, the Celestial Empress who once ruled the Three Realms for sixty thousand years, turned into nothingness, her soul forever extinguished.
After a long while, a soft sigh came from within the Ancient Realm's gate. The Divine Light vanished, and the gate closed once more, as if nothing had ever happened.
Later, no one knew exactly when, but by the time the inhabitants of the Three Realms noticed, the stone dragon that had guarded the Immortal-Demon boundary for a century had disappeared.
Throughout the Three Realms, it was said that the Celestial Empress's repentance had finally moved the Ancient True God, and the True God spared Celestial Emperor Mu Guang from millennia of loneliness.Yet no one knew where the Celestial Emperor's soul had gone after breaking free from its shackles.
Did it ascend to the Divine Realm? Or fall into the cycle of reincarnation?
That no longer mattered.
Regardless of how many wrongs the Celestial Empress had committed in her lifetime, she was ultimately the one Mu Guang chose to protect. Now that the one he guarded had vanished, there was no longer any need for Mu Guang to exist either.
Ancient Realm, Star-Gazing Pavilion.
Blazing Sun brewed a pot of bitter tea for Shang Gu and handed it to her. Noticing her wistful expression, he smiled and asked, "What's wrong? Feeling reluctant after seeing Mu Guang off?"
Shang Gu accepted the tea, took a sip, and shook her head. "It was his own choice."
She and Blazing Sun had used their True God power to awaken Mu Guang's soul, which had been sealed within the stone dragon. As a High God, even though his physical form had dissipated, Mu Guang could have cultivated anew in the Ancient Realm and shape-shifted again. Yet he insisted on drinking Granny Meng's Soup and re-entering the cycle of reincarnation. Shang Gu and Blazing Sun had no choice but to let him.
Once he re-entered the Six Paths of reincarnation, the Celestial Emperor Mu Guang would cease to exist in this world.
"You once shared a master-disciple bond with him. It's good that you can accept this."
"All worldly connections gather and scatter. Whether to cling or let go—each is one's own choice," Shang Gu said calmly. She gazed in the direction of the Cosmic Altar, her eyes as resolute as they had been for years past.
Blazing Sun sighed inwardly and brought up Yuan Qi. "What about that boy A Qi? I heard from High God Ling Juan that he shattered the soul of that little phoenix from the Phoenix Clan and got slapped back to Great Marsh Mountain by Feng Ran to be confined in seclusion."
Shang Gu was well aware of Yuan Qi's mischievous and unruly nature. She shook her head as she listened. "He grew up spoiled by Feng Ran and Tian Qi, which is why he causes such trouble. Some confinement to temper his mind might do him good. But since Dong Hua ascended not long ago, he must have left the Forbidden Valley by now. I once divined the fate of that little phoenix. Her connection with A Qi is destined; these tribulations are likely unavoidable."
"Oh?" Blazing Sun grew curious. "You divined it? That's good to hear. From the sound of it, have you already settled on a daughter-in-law?"
Shang Gu, however, did not nod. After a long moment of contemplation, she said, "Feng Yin's destiny is influenced by A Qi. Now their destinies are entangled, both shrouded by Primordial Chaos Power. I cannot divine their future."
Blazing Sun could not hide his surprise. "Feng Yin's destiny can actually be influenced by A Qi?" Seeing Shang Gu nod, he stood up and looked toward the Mortal Realm. "Well, children have their own fortunes. Even if we worry, he must experience things for himself. Otherwise, how will he bear the responsibilities of the Divine Realm in the future?"
Turning back, he noticed Shang Gu's slightly bent leg. "Are you really not going to treat the injury on your leg?"
Shang Gu had knelt at the Cosmic Altar for years, leaving her with an old ailment, yet she refused to use Divine Power to heal it.
"No need. If not for the pain in my leg reminding me, I might forget how long I've waited for him. One must hold onto some hope to keep waiting."
Blazing Sun recalled something and asked, "The divine envoy I sent to Purple Moon Mountain reported that Tian Qi is not there. Do you know where he went?"
Shang Gu shook her head. "He returned to the Star-Gazing Pavilion ten years ago, saying he was going to visit an old friend. Why? Has he not returned yet?"
"No, that's strange. Whose destiny could even elude him, taking ten years and still not found? It seems I'll be presiding over this year's Qionghua Banquet alone again."
Blazing Sun sighed, took a sip of tea, and felt somewhat wistful. "Who knows when the four of us will be able to gather again at the Ancient Hall, drinking and reminiscing together."A faint trace of nostalgia also passed through Shang Gu's eyes. She smiled, gazing toward the vast and tranquil Ancient Divine Realm. In her eyes, which had witnessed countless eons, the vicissitudes of time were etched, yet they remained as gentle and serene as ever.
"That day will come, Blazing Sun. You must believe that one day, they will return."
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