Chapter 4252: Grand Finale (Six)
Yu Ling Shen sat by the Night Rain Sea, gazing at the star-filled sky, tranquil and at ease. She did not appear to be on the verge of her final moments, still looking young, though her black hair had turned white as decades of millennia slipped away swiftly.
"Greetings, Great Emperor."
Yu Ling Shen rose to welcome him, clasping her hands in a bow.
Zhang Ruochen stopped her: "What Great Emperor? We are allies, friends. How has your lifespan drained so severely? Should I extend it for you?"
"No need. Reincarnation has already been established. Rather than clinging to a lingering existence, it is better to be reborn and cultivate anew," Yu Ling Shen said calmly.
Zhang Ruochen had once actually decided to form a marriage alliance with the Yaksha Clan, thereby deeply binding himself to the Hundred Clans Royal City faction, but circumstances had changed unpredictably.
He and Yu Ling Shen were ultimately just passing figures in each other's lives.
Just like today, he remained merely a passerby.
For half a day, Zhang Ruochen and Yu Ling Shen sat by the Night Rain Sea, reminiscing about the past, laughter accompanying them from time to time.
"Imperial Dust, my time has come!"
Yu Ling Shen suddenly fell silent, her expression solemn.
Zhang Ruochen rose, clasped his hands in farewell: "Miss Han, this life's bond, Ruochen will remember forever."
In the chair, Yu Ling Shen never woke again.
Leaving the Hundred Clans Royal City, Zhang Ruochen crossed the Wuding Divine Sea.
The Sword Realm and the Nether Nation were no longer in the Guixu; they had moved to the Heavenly God Path.
However, Xinghuantian still sat upon the sea, on the other side of the Human Path.
Bai Qinger was right there in Xinghuantian.
But Zhang Ruochen did not disturb her for now. Instead, he descended to a mortal kingdom on Xinghuantian, wanting first to see two others.
It was the height of summer, the scorching sun so fierce it seemed to melt the stones on the ground.
The willow trees by the river were listless, their branches drooping.
On a boat by the river, cooking smoke rose.
A young woman, a floral cloth apron tied around her waist, was preparing lunch, frying freshly caught fish.
The aroma spread into the forest.
Zhang Ruochen sat on a distant rock, watching quietly, murmuring to himself: "Although the Great Calamity has been resolved, time in many parts of the universe still flows chaotically, not yet fully returned to normal. Only ten years have passed in the Yellow Spring Star River, but over twenty years have gone by on Xinghuantian."
"Acai, I'm back!"
A robust young woodcutter, wearing a coarse linen short coat, returned from chopping wood and boarded the boat for lunch.
"Today I cut two hundred jin of top-grade firewood. I'll carry it to town this afternoon and sell it to buy you a new set of clothes."
"No, we need to save money. There will be many places to spend in the future..."
"What do you mean?" A whisper cheek to cheek!
"What... I'm going to be a father! Haha, Acai, I'm really going to be a father!"
Zhang Ruochen's lips curled up involuntarily, happy for them. He did not disturb this moment of joy that belonged solely to them, walking straight into the forest.
During the Ancestor War, Xinghuantian was affected, its world body pierced by beams of residual power.
Arriving at the Divine Maiden City, Zhang Ruochen saw a scene of ruined desolation. In the space, remnants of Ancestor-level destructive power still lingered.
Not far from the site of the Divine Maiden City, a new city had been built.
"Hua!"
Bai Qinger flew out of the city, landing beside Zhang Ruochen, also looking at the gray ruins ahead: "It was caused by the desperate counterattack of Lord Mo Rong when he was besieged back then. Many gods fell, their souls scattered, less than one in ten survived."
"Instead of staying at home, you came back to Xinghuantian to be a realm lord?" Zhang Ruochen said.
Bai Qinger said: "Home? What home do I have left?"
Zhang Ruochen could understand Bai Qinger's feelings, knowing her life had been bitter, raised from childhood in an environment of being abandoned by her father. Her mother, meanwhile, was mocked and criticized by cultivators across the world.
Later, her mother died, her master became a corpse demon, and her father reincarnated and passed on.
Although she had married Zhang Ruochen, she had not borne children, unlike Mu Lingxi and Luo Ji, who had children to focus on.
Home and family...
To her, they were too illusory.
Zhang Ruochen used a teasing tone to lighten the somber atmosphere: "You have a little sister! I'm not lying, just conceived."
Bai Qinger's brows immediately furrowed deeply: "You went to see them?"
The fisherman and his wife by the river were the reincarnations of Huang Tian and Yu Yao.
Zhang Ruochen nodded: "I truly envy them. They can live so simply, obtain happiness and joy so easily, no longer needing to deal with any disputes or the troubles of the world's great affairs."
"Everyone has troubles. Great ones have great troubles, small ones have small troubles. The rise and fall of the world is one, daily necessities like firewood, rice, oil, and salt are another."
Bai Qinger walked toward the newly built Divine Maiden City. "Why don't you conceive one too?"
Zhang Ruochen followed unhurriedly. Bai Qinger did not respond.
In the Hall of All Gods within the Divine Maiden City, Zhang Ruochen lit a stick of incense for the fallen gods.
The spirit tablets in the hall were numerous, stacked row upon row.
Candle flames flickered.
Zhang Ruochen saw the spirit tablets of Yu Baiwei, Yu Yao, Huang Tian, and even the Corpse Demon. Finally, he stopped before the spirit tablet of the Underworld Flower Pavilion Master, "Yu Qiancheng," and lit a separate stick of incense.
He also changed the inscription on the spirit tablet from "Underworld Flower Pavilion Master Yu Qiancheng" to "Heavenly Dao Great Emperor's Disciple Yu Qiancheng."
He was neither a qualified master nor a qualified father, always rushing about. When had he ever stopped to care for and teach them?
Having great cultivation did not mean one could do everything well.
"Boom!"
In the scorching summer, a thunderclap.
"Tap! Tap! Tap..."
The tiles of the hall were pounded by raindrops as if about to shatter.
Summer rain, raindrops as large as beans, carrying the warmth of the air, came swiftly, soon turning into a torrential downpour.
Zhang Ruochen and Bai Qinger stood side by side under the eaves outside the hall, quietly watching the curtain of rain, watching the mist rising from the eastern mountains outside the city, listening to the thunderclaps one after another.
Trampling the morning frost, listening to the cicadas chirping all night, several autumns passed.
In the following ten-plus years, Zhang Ruochen was sometimes awake, sometimes asleep. He went to the Heavenly Court, traveled through the Sha Tuo Heaven Domain, the Truth Heaven Domain, the Xumi Dojo, the Red Dust Market, the Space Divine Temple, the Time Divine Temple, the Heavenly Man Academy...
Finally, he returned to the Kunlun Realm.
At the Blood God Sect, he paid respects to Ji Shui and Yan Liren.
Then to the Sword Grave, where he taught the great-grandson of Shi Ren for three days in the Dao of the Law.
At the northern cliff of the Book Mountain, he did not see the Talented Woman.
The imperial palace in the capital was now home to the fifteenth generation of descendants of the Zhang family since Zhang Ruochen. They met but did not recognize each other.
Returning to the Eastern Domain, it was already late autumn one year. The Fallen God Mountain Range had colorful forests on all peaks, layers of forest like splashed ink. Countless young men and women, carrying dreams of cultivation, walked the ancient mountain paths to the Liangyi Sect to apprentice and cultivate.
The mountain gate of the Liangyi Sect consisted of two yellow stone peaks standing side by side, majestic and perilous, like two doors.
"Reaching the Heavenly Saint Realm, the two Liangyi green mountains stand eternally beautiful." "Once attaining the Dao, the sky is high, the sea vast, a name for ten thousand generations."
The characters Zhang Ruochen had carved into the stone back then were still placed at the mountain gate, very conspicuous, worshipped by cultivators across the world.
Every young cultivator who came to apprentice bowed respectfully to the giant stone.
The white-robed outer disciples and blue-robed inner disciples guarding the mountain gate all held their chins slightly raised, sharing in the glory.
Entering the mountain gate, a thick aura of Heavenly Divine Qi rushed toward him.
Precipitous peaks formed a forest, giant beasts flew, and countless palaces and Daoist temples were scattered among the clouds and mist. The young disciples all had an imposing bearing, full of the spirit of striving and forging ahead.
This feeling was just like when he first came to the Liangyi Sect, youthfulness reappearing.
Zhang Ruochen had just reached the entrance of the Shangqing Palace when he collided head-on with Gai Tianjiao, who was about to go out.
Gai Tianjiao's burly figure blocked the doorway, dominating Zhang Ruochen's entire field of vision.
Her square-shaped face was rich with expression. First, she was stunned, then she burst into loud laughter, quickly walking down the stone steps to greet him: "Greetings, Great Emperor, greetings, Great Emperor! The Great Emperor's glorious return to the Liangyi Sect brings splendor to the entire sect. Great Emperor, how about leaving another inscription for the Liangyi Sect?"
"Absolutely not."
If he left another one, Zhang Ruochen suspected Gai Tianjiao would directly place it in the Heavenly Court to show off to all realms and clans, recruiting disciples for the Liangyi Sect.
Gai Tianjiao was not as awed by Zhang Ruochen as other cultivators, still retaining the carefree spirit of their younger days: "No matter what, you are a disciple of the Liangyi Sect, you have to admit that..."
"I admit it, of course I admit it. Whatever the Senior Sister says is right, but no inscription," Zhang Ruochen said.
Gai Tianjiao quickly grabbed Zhang Ruochen, who was about to turn and leave: "Fine, no inscription then. The one left by Red Dust is enough. Come, I'll take you to see someone..."
In the white stone square of the Shangqing Palace, sharp sounds of breaking wind rang out rhythmically.
A stunningly beautiful young figure in red was practicing swordplay.
Her sword was like a startled swan, agile like a swimming dragon.
She looked only fifteen or sixteen years old, though her actual age was clearly more, having cultivated very early, delaying her body's growth.
Zhang Ruochen naturally knew this was the reincarnation of Ling Feiyu.
He had come this time specifically for her.
Outside the square, Gai Tianjiao complained to Zhang Ruochen: "It was Red Dust who brought her mother to the Liangyi Sect, foisting her on me. She said that although my cultivation is not as good as hers, my ability to teach young disciples far surpasses hers. Tell me, what kind of thing is this?"
Ling Feiyu's reincarnation stopped, sheathed her sword, and, carrying a fragrant breeze, strode briskly and heroically to Gai Tianjiao, bowing: "Master."
"Feiyu, let me introduce you to a senior, one of the top figures in heaven and earth..."
Gai Tianjiao pointed at Zhang Ruochen, then winked, signaling him to introduce himself.
Zhang Ruochen did not know why Ling Feiyu's reincarnation was still called "Feiyu," but he guessed it was mostly Zhang Hongchen's doing.
He cleared his throat, putting on airs: "Don't listen to your master's nonsense. I am still young. I also cultivated at the Liangyi Sect in my early years. I am her junior apprentice brother, named Lin Yue."
Unexpectedly, upon hearing the name "Lin Yue," Ling Feiyu's flickering beautiful eyes immediately filled with shock and reverence. She knelt on one knee, bowing in worship: "Feiyu is terrified, paying respects to the Heavenly Dao Great Emperor!"
"..."
Zhang Ruochen looked at Gai Tianjiao with a questioning gaze.
Gai Tianjiao stomped her foot, holding her belly and laughing: "Great Emperor, oh Great Emperor, Junior Apprentice Brother, oh Junior Apprentice Brother, in this world today, who doesn't know that you once used the alias Lin Yue to apprentice at the Liangyi Sect?"
"In the territory of the Liangyi Sect, besides yourself, who would dare to call themselves Lin Yue?"
"I can't take it anymore, I'm dying of laughter... Person, you take her away quickly. Her Saint Realm foundation has already been laid. I can't teach her anything more..."
In the following days, Zhang Ruochen stayed in the Zixia Spirit Mountain of the Changsheng Courtyard, where he had once lived, purifying Ling Feiyu's marrow and forging her body.
During this time, he also visited the Su Nu Courtyard, the Ancient God Mountain, the Fallen God Tomb Forest, and other places.
Unfortunately, after hundreds of thousands of years, mountains and rivers had changed, old sites had been rebuilt, no longer looking like they did in memory.
The people in those memories, except for Gai Tianjiao, the Talented Woman, and the Taiyi Ancestor, had all disappeared into the river of time.
The Taiyi Ancestor was still at the Wangchuan Ferry and had not returned.
After bidding farewell to Gai Tianjiao, Zhang Ruochen took Ling Feiyu and left the Liangyi Sect, walking down the mountain along a winding ancient path.
Zhang Hongchen had clearly already laid a solid foundation for Ling Feiyu, so although she had only cultivated for a few decades, her progress was very fast. Staying at the Liangyi Sect was indeed no longer of much significance.
Ling Feiyu carried her sword on her back, following behind Zhang Ruochen, looking at the majestic and upright figure before her. Her eyes were full of admiration and adoration. She had heard too many legends and heroic deeds about him since childhood.
This was a towering lord of the universe!
Ripples stirred in her heart lake, and she asked cautiously: "Imperial Venerable, where are we going?"
"You don't need to call me Imperial Venerable. Just call me Zhang Ruochen."
Zhang Ruochen did not turn around.
Ling Feiyu's red lips moved, but in the end, she did not have the courage. She whispered: "Ruochen... Master?"
During these days, Zhang Ruochen had not only purified her marrow and forged her body but also guided her sword techniques and taught her many cultivation methods. She felt she should address him as Master.
"Alright, you once taught me, now I teach you... that's fitting..."
This whisper was only audible to Zhang Ruochen himself.
Walking out of the Liangyi Sect's mountain gate, Zhang Ruochen looked back, bowed deeply, bidding farewell to his own past, burying all old acquaintances in his heart. Then, he grabbed a handful of heaven and earth energy, enveloping himself and Ling Feiyu, turning into a streak of light that flew away, disappearing into the clouds.
Outside the mountain gate, only yellow leaves fell year after year, but new people had replaced the old faces.
Moments later, the two arrived at the Wu Ding Mountain, where the Moon Worship Demon Sect was located.
Zhang Ruochen handed Ling Feiyu's reincarnation over to Zhang Hongchen.