Chapter 2609: Time Waits for No One
“Chen, are you really not returning to the Hell Realm with me?” Gong Nanfeng asked, looking quite disappointed.
After all, he had waited for a thousand years.
Zhang Ruochen’s mind was in turmoil, his thoughts no longer lingering here. He gently shook his head and said, “I am currently at the Thousand Questions Realm. I need to return to the Kunlun Realm, back to the Heavenly Court, to make up for some deficiencies in my state of mind. The day my state of mind is perfected will be the day I return to the Hell Realm.”
Gong Nanfeng could understand this. After all, Zhang Ruochen had grown up in the Kunlun Realm.
To pass the Thousand Questions Realm, he had to go back and face it.
“Should I deliver a message to the Blood Absolute Family for you? After all, for this thousand years, you’ve had no news at all, isolated within the Xumi Temple. Even trying to divine whether you were alive or dead was impossible. They might think you died a thousand years ago and are probably very worried,” Gong Nanfeng said.
Zhang Ruochen nodded. “Thank you.”
“Chen, with our relationship, what’s there to thank?”
Gong Nanfeng was now at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm, with formidable strength. He no longer feared having his divine artifact stolen and dared to travel alone, confident that there was no place in heaven and earth he dared not go.
“The news of my return to the Kunlun Realm must only be told to my mother alone. Otherwise, you will get me killed,” Zhang Ruochen said gravely.
Gong Nanfeng patted his chest. “Understood. My lips are sealed. I won’t spread the news that you’ve gone to the Kunlun Realm and the Heavenly Court.”
As a cultivator from the Hell Realm, sneaking into the Kunlun Realm and the Heavenly Court already carried immense risk.
If the news leaked and the world learned that Zhang Ruochen was still alive and had gone to the Kunlun Realm and the Heavenly Court, the consequences would be unimaginable.
After parting ways with Gong Nanfeng, Zhang Ruochen immediately rushed to the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen had already figured out many things. Although he had indeed returned to the original timeline, time would not wait for him in place; it kept flowing.
Time waits for no one—this had always been the case.
Going to the past inevitably meant missing the present.
A person could not always gain without losing.
Gain and loss had always been a balance.
A thousand years was but a fleeting moment for gods—sometimes, a single seclusion could last longer than that.
For Great Saints, a thousand years was neither long nor short. For Great Saints pursuing the divine path, sometimes polishing their Sacred Intent and accumulating Sacred Dao rules at the Hundred Shackles Realm and Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm each required over a thousand years.
For instance, Bai Qinger and Yan Yu had each spent over a thousand years at the Hundred Shackles Realm.
The stronger the Sacred Intent one wished to condense, the more time it took.
To achieve sufficiently high accomplishments in the divine realm later, one could not skimp on time spent below the saint realm. Even someone as strong as Bai Qinger had spent nearly three thousand years cultivating to become a god.
That Chi Yao could reach the divine realm in eight hundred years was due to the aid of the time-space treasure “Heavenly Wheel Seal.” Her actual cultivation time was not much less than three thousand years.
The Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works could reach the demigod level within a thousand years. First, because they cultivated Buddhism, the Thousand Questions Realm did not require too much time to break through.
Second, these two monks had picked too many Eon-level sacred medicines containing pure source power in the Origin Divine Temple. They directly relied on stacking sacred medicines to easily complete the accumulation of Sacred Dao rules at the Ten Thousand Deaths One Life Realm.
Only when condensing Sacred Intent at the Hundred Shackles Realm did they spend several hundred years fusing together a Sacred Intent of considerable grade.
But a thousand years meant an entire lifetime for cultivators at the saint level.
Most human saints could not live to see a thousand years.
As for mortals…
Zhang Ruochen dared not think further, because he knew that some people could wait for him for a thousand years.
But some could not.
It was precisely for this reason that he rushed to the Kunlun Realm without delay.
The Kunlun Realm’s Merit War had ended a thousand years ago. Now, all the world’s spatial holes had been repaired, and outside the realm, using various planets, ruins realms, star fortresses, and ancient sacred cities as formation bases, a realm-protecting grand formation had been set up. It was no longer possible to enter the Kunlun Realm casually.
Fortunately, with the Grand Minister of Works and the Second Minister of Works—two Buddhist demigods from the Kunlun Realm—Zhang Ruochen was able to pass through the realm-protecting grand formation and quietly return to the Kunlun Realm.
Zhang Ruochen did not immediately go to pay respects to Yunshen Daozhu, as he did not know if his grandmaster was in the Kunlun Realm. Instead, he hurried without stopping, at the fastest speed, to the Central Domain’s Tiantai Prefecture.
The Kunlun Realm had fully revived, becoming even more vast.
The great mountains and rivers were full of vitality, and every prefecture and city was prosperous.
The golden age was as Xumi Saint Monk had wished.
The Blood God Sect was one of the seven ancient sects of the Kunlun Realm after the Middle Ages. Its headquarters was located in the northern part of Tiantai Prefecture’s “Prefecture of Ten Thousand Holy Lands,” near the Eternal Ancient Snowy Mountains.
Zhang Ruochen did not go to the Blood God Sect to visit Blood Lingxian or his former acquaintances. He went straight into the Eternal Ancient Snowy Mountains, traversing a thousand miles of ice and snow, and arrived at the edge of the Endless Abyss.
The Endless Abyss was one of the most mysterious places in the Kunlun Realm.
Standing there, Zhang Ruochen looked up at the sky. The thick dark clouds were only a few dozen meters above his head, giving an unusually oppressive feeling.
Gazing into the distance was endless void.
This cliff seemed like the end of the world.
Zhang Ruochen could not help recalling the feeling of standing here for the first time. Back then, he always felt as if the sky was about to collapse. The clouds were too low, too dark, as if they could swallow a person.
At that time, he had come here to find the missing Shengshu Cainü.
The past was unbearable to recall.
Zhang Ruochen’s heart tightened, carrying a trace of fear, and he leaped down.
Before long, he passed the first gradient and arrived at the second.
Before him was a blood-red mountain, covered with numerous palaces and pavilions. Blood-red water cascaded down from the mountain peak like a waterfall, a magnificent sight.
“Rustle, rustle.”
Zhang Ruochen sensed several powerful auras in the mountain but did not disturb them. He went straight to a courtyard on the mountainside.
His steps were heavy, and his heart grew even more fearful.
It was like a wandering son returning home.
Just as he was imagining what the courtyard might look like, before he even pushed open the door, before he even reached the courtyard, he froze as if turned to stone.
He stood by the cliff, still dozens of meters from the courtyard, his eyes fixed on the lonely grave beneath the bare blood maple tree outside the courtyard. He collapsed to his knees, tears streaming down, his voice choked with sorrow: “Mother, I came back too late. Chen… Chen came back too late!”
The lonely grave was desolate, covered in blood-red maple leaves.
On the tombstone before the grave were carved four characters: “Lin Lan’s Grave.”
Lin Lan was the name of Zhang Ruochen’s biological mother, Consort Lin.
Back then, Xue Hou had sent someone to bring her to the Endless Abyss, where she lived in this courtyard. Before Zhang Ruochen went to the Hell Realm, he had seen her here for the last time.
When Zhang Ruochen learned that a thousand years had passed, he had mentally prepared himself, but he had always clung to a faint hope.
He hoped his mother was still in this courtyard. If he pushed open the door, she would be overjoyed, take his hand, and tell him many repetitive yet warm words, urging him to protect himself and not take too many risks.
Then, his mother would cook many, many dishes, constantly putting food in his bowl, always smiling, not eating herself, just staring at him, as if she could never look enough, full of doting affection.
But when he saw the tombstone and the lonely grave, all the fantasies in Zhang Ruochen’s mind shattered.
Zhang Ruochen had thought that after experiencing countless life-and-death situations, seeing countless cultivators turn into bones, even going to the Primordial Beginning and walking through the long River of Time, his heart had long become unshakable, immune to anything.
But a small, lonely grave instantly broke through his mental defenses.
At that moment, he was as fragile as a child, completely unable to hold back his tears.
Zhang Ruochen almost crawled to Consort Lin’s grave, wailing bitterly: “Mother… Mother… Chen came back too late… I’m sorry… I’m sorry…”
“It’s all Chen’s fault. I was wrong, I was wrong. I should have stayed with you. I’m sorry, I’m sorry… Ah…”
Zhang Ruochen completely lost control of his emotions and let out a long, anguished roar.
“Creak.”
The courtyard door beside him opened, and Kong Xuan quickly walked out.
When she saw Zhang Ruochen kneeling before the lonely grave, crying uncontrollably, she was momentarily stunned. Then, as if confirming his identity, she tentatively asked, “Young Master… is it you, Young Master?”
Zhang Ruochen’s current appearance was somewhat different from the Ninth Prince of Yunwu Commandery he once was. After going to the Primordial Beginning, even his aura had changed.
After a thousand years, Kong Xuan really dared not immediately recognize this man.
After all, the world believed Zhang Ruochen had died a thousand years ago, fallen in the Origin Divine Temple of the Sword South Realm. It was said he was likely killed by a god from the Paradise Realm or by Xiu Chen Heavenly God.
“Whoosh, whoosh.”
Several figures broke through the wind and landed on the mountain path, standing by the cliff, looking at Zhang Ruochen.
There were Xue Hou’s disciples, Qiu Yichi and Chi Linyuan.
And Kong Lanyou.
When Kong Lanyou saw the figure kneeling before the grave, her eyes reddened, and tears fell like rain. Her voice trembling, she said, “Cousin, you’ve finally returned!”
Qiu Yichi and Chi Linyuan were shocked and exchanged glances.
Zhang Ruochen paid no attention to anyone, completely immersed in grief. He slumped among the blood maple leaves, lacking the strength to stand, muttering softly to himself.
After who knows how long, when Zhang Ruochen’s emotions had somewhat stabilized, Kong Lanyou walked to his side and said softly, “Cousin, please accept it. Aunt Lin was ultimately just a mortal, unable to escape the cycle of birth, aging, sickness, and death.”
“She was a mortal staying in the Endless Abyss. Those years must have been very lonely, right?” Zhang Ruochen said.
Kong Lanyou said, “I once had Kong Xuan send Aunt Lin to the Eastern Domain’s King Mountain. There, she had the Lin family, as well as the Fourth Prince and Ninth Princess of Yunwu Commandery. With family by her side, Aunt Lin was not entirely alone.”
“In her later years, Aunt Lin insisted on returning to the Endless Abyss, saying she wanted to wait here for you to come back, hoping to see you one last time. Your cousin from the Lin family also came to the Endless Abyss to accompany her through her final days.”
“I tried to extend Aunt Lin’s life, hoping to fulfill her wish, but when she reached two hundred and thirty years old, she still hadn’t seen you. By then, she was at the end of her rope, her life flame extinguished. Even a Great Saint could not prolong her life.”
“In those years, every day she would lean on her wooden staff, accompanied by Kong Xuan and Lin Lengshan, standing by this cliff, under this blood maple tree, gazing into the distance, often muttering, ‘My Chen, why hasn’t he come back yet? My Chen, why hasn’t he come back yet? I’m afraid I won’t be able to wait for him…’”
“Before Aunt Lin died, Lin Lengshan wanted to take her remains back to King Mountain to be buried with the Commandery Prince. But she insisted on staying here, saying she must wait for you to return. She said she would keep waiting by this cliff so that the moment you came back, you would see her first.”
Zhang Ruochen’s tears flowed again, his guilt and self-blame reaching an unbearable level.
In his mind, he recalled the past.
He remembered when he first arrived eight hundred years later, having nightmares every night about being killed by Chi Yao. Consort Lin would hold him in her arms, soothing his emotions.
He remembered how, to beg for a cultivation technique for him, Consort Lin knelt before her own brother in the Lin residence.
He remembered how, when he first started cultivating, Consort Lin secretly sold her gold hairpin to buy blood pills for him.
…
To Consort Lin, Zhang Ruochen was her everything.
But the time Zhang Ruochen spent with her was far too little. Instead, he would disappear for long periods, always leaving her worried and anxious.
Back then, when he was captured by the First Central Empire and faked his death with the help of Xuanji Sword Saint, he had to change his name and wander. It was Huang Yanchen who stayed by her side to take care of her.
Later, when he went to the Heavenly Court, it was the Fourth Prince Zhang Shaochu, the Ninth Princess Zhang Yuxi, and Lin Lengshan who took care of Consort Lin.
When he went to the Hell Realm with Xue Hou, Zhang Ruochen thought he would soon rescue Kong Le and Kunlun. But who knew that when he returned, a thousand years had passed? His mother had ultimately not waited for him, not seen him one last time.
Zhang Ruochen could not help but reflect. Even if he had not been trapped in the Xumi Temple for a thousand years, how much time could he have spent with Consort Lin?
He had probably spent less time with her than Huang Yanchen had.
There were always too many helpless situations, always on the path of cultivation, always wandering at the edge of life and death.
But if he did not cultivate hard, did not fight, he could not even protect the ones he loved. What was the point of talking about companionship?
Which was more important: companionship or protection?
Zhang Ruochen no longer wanted to think about this question. All he could think of was his mother standing here every day in her later years, waiting for him. Waiting until the end, never seeing him—what kind of despair was that?
“Soul Summoning.”
Zhang Ruochen’s eyes blazed with fury. He pressed both palms to the ground, and his powerful spiritual power erupted.
Countless spiritual power thoughts condensed into translucent figures, quickly carving a soul-summoning formation on the ground. Dense patterns manifested.
Kong Lanyou knew that Zhang Ruochen was a deeply emotional person who could not accept this fact. She quickly advised, “It’s useless, Cousin. Aunt Lin was just a mortal. Her soul was fragile and has long since dissipated into heaven and earth.”
Kong Lanyou had once thought of preserving Consort Lin’s soul, but it was useless. Once a mortal died, the consciousness in their soul quickly faded, turning into unconscious ghost souls.
What was the point of preserving that?
It was better to let Consort Lin pass away peacefully.
Moreover, by the time Consort Lin died, her soul had already withered.
Qiu Yichi said, “Your Highness, Madam Lin has been gone for several hundred years. All her soul has disappeared. Even if you summon it back, it would only be a shadow of a soul, long without consciousness. Summoning the soul will only bring you the pain of backlash, with no meaning.”
Zhang Ruochen would not listen to anyone. He was determined.
Soon, the soul-summoning formation was complete. Under Zhang Ruochen’s spiritual power, the sky changed, thunder roared, lightning flashed, and rain poured down. A deep soul-summoning channel slowly opened.
“Mother, where are you? Return!”
Zhang Ruochen used all his strength to control the soul-summoning channel, gathering Consort Lin’s soul fragments from heaven and earth.
After who knows how long, even Zhang Ruochen’s powerful spiritual power began to falter. Blood tears flowed from his eyes, and the soul-summoning channel collapsed. The heavenly phenomena disappeared.
Only the rain continued to fall, soaking his hair and robes.
“Again.”
Zhang Ruochen struck his chest with one palm, spitting out a mouthful of blood.
He used the blood to activate the soul-summoning formation.
Kong Lanyou, Qiu Yichi, Chi Linyuan, and Kong Xuan could no longer bear to watch. They all acted, regardless of their abilities or whether it would help, pouring their spiritual power into the soul-summoning formation.
This time, Zhang Ruochen finally saw, through the soul-summoning channel, deep in the endless distance, a faint, flickering elderly figure.
“Mother!”
Zhang Ruochen roared with all his might.
That elderly figure walked forward, unable to hear his voice.
The soul-summoning formation could no longer hold. Kong Lanyou, Qiu Yichi, Chi Linyuan, and Kong Xuan were all drained and collapsed to the ground.
Zhang Ruochen ignored them, his eyes wild. He cut open both his wrists, using the already faint bloodline connection between himself and Consort Lin as a guide, and once again performed the great soul-summoning technique.
This time, Zhang Ruochen spent a long time, once again seeing in the depths of the dark heaven and earth that elderly figure slowly moving forward.
“Mother, come back! I am your Chen!”
“Mother!”
“Mother!”
…
Zhang Ruochen did not care about anything else, only letting out call after call, as if his heart were being torn apart.
Just as he was about to completely collapse, deep in the distant heaven and earth, at the end of the soul-summoning channel, that elderly figure—perhaps having heard his voice—turned back, seemed to show a faint smile on her face, and then her shadow completely dissipated.
Zhang Ruochen’s vision went black. His spiritual power was exhausted, and he collapsed to his knees in the rain.
…
I won’t specifically mention whether there will be an update tonight. In short, as long as I’m not in a particularly bad state and really can’t write, there will be a chapter in the evening. Finally, asking for monthly votes!