Chapter 1795: A Great Era Withers
He wept with snot and tears, recounting the events of these past years. For him, it had been a dark history—trapped on the path to immortality, completely cut off from this world.
"What?!" Everyone was utterly shocked.
"Unfortunately, it wasn't the path to immortality of this era, but one from millions of years ago. Granny dug through the ancient road, breaking through the chaos, and we fell into an inexplicable chaotic divine land."
Speaking of the old woman, Tu Fei's expression dimmed. That elder, who belonged to the same era as Old Madman, had not withstood the blade of time and had already passed away in meditation. But she had imparted far too much to Tu Fei.
They had originally only been excavating ruins to obtain the Arctic Immortal Light, only to end up sealed within an ancient path to immortality from the past—a truly astonishing turn of events.
"You've become a Quasi-Emperor. That's truly heaven-defying." Li Heishui sighed, because based on Tu Fei's original talent, it should have been utterly impossible for him to reach this step.
Ye Fan saw it more clearly than Li Heishui. Tu Fei had undergone a complete transformation, a rebirth from the marrow outward. His talent was vastly different now. Becoming a Quasi-Emperor at over four thousand years old wasn't early, but his foundation was exceptionally solid.
"It's the result of the Nirvana Heavenly Art. Unfortunately, Granny didn't succeed. I, on the other hand, nirvanad, died once, and then was reborn through a complete transformation." Tu Fei did not conceal the truth and recounted everything.
Tu Fei returned, entered the Heavenly Court, and learned of the events that had transpired over so many years. He couldn't help but sigh, the Dark Calamity and the post-Golden Prosperity Era stirring deep emotions.
Most of all, Ye Fan had become an Emperor. This shocked him, but then he felt relieved—after all, he himself was now a Quasi-Emperor.
"Time... passing like this, and we've achieved such accomplishments." Tu Fei sighed softly, then tears welled up in his eyes. So many people would never be seen again.
Three of the five little bandits had already died. Liu Kou, Wu Zhongtian, and Jiang Huairen were gone forever. Some had died during the chaos caused by the Ancient Clans and the Assassin Divine Dynasty, others during the Dark Calamity.
"Ah, wuwuwu..." Tu Fei wailed loudly. Time had flown, and in the blink of an eye, nearly four thousand years had passed. This was an eternal farewell; he would never see those good friends again.
Li Heishui and Ye Fan were also saddened. They patted his shoulder, not knowing what to say.
Black Emperor had hung its head nearly to the ground. It was the one who had teleported Tu Fei away, and only now, after so many years, had he returned. But truly, it couldn't be blamed. In the crisis of that time, when everyone was trapped in the Immortal Mountain and the Headless Rider had appeared, it had no choice. It could only use the chessboard formation as an experiment to teleport people away—survival first, accuracy second.
"And my grandfather? He..." Tu Fei's voice trembled.
"The old man is still alive. He's been constantly muttering, waiting for you to return."
Soon after, Tu Tian was brought over. He was incredibly aged, already in his twilight years.
In fact, if Ye Fan hadn't been using his blood to extend his life, he would have passed away in meditation many years ago.
"Grandfather!" Tu Fei cried out, his face covered in tears.
"Xiao Fei... you've... finally come back to see your grandfather." The old man's eyes were clouded with tears. Trembling, he took Tu Fei's hand, his lips quivering.
He wept. Having lived to such an old age, having once made a fearsome name for himself, in the end, he had only waited for his grandson's return, unable to let go, his heart filled with sorrow.
"Grandfather, may you live ten thousand years! I'm back. We'll never be separated again. I want to take good care of you." Tu Fei cried loudly.
He already knew that of the Thirteen Great Bandits, who had once shaken the Eastern Wasteland, only one or two remained. The rest had either died in the Dark Calamity or passed away from old age.
This filled him with immense grief. The only reason his grandfather, Tu Tian, had survived was the stubborn obsession in his heart—he couldn't let go of Tu Fei, hoping just to see him once more.
"To be able to see you, Grandfather is very content. Even if I die, I will have no more regrets." Tu Tian's hair was white as snow, his eyes dim, as old tears fell.
"Grandfather, you can't die! I want to take good care of you!" Tu Fei shouted.
"Silly child, how can people not die? Thousands of years pass in a flash. A new generation replaces the old. This world belongs to you now. People like us will all slowly die and disappear." Tu Tian spoke as if comforting, yet also as if lamenting.
"I can't bear to lose you! I don't want Grandfather to die!" Tu Fei's tears fell like rain.
Ye Fan once again wanted to refine supreme imperial blood to extend Tu Tian's life, to keep him alive.
"No need. Thank you, Xiao Ye. All these years, I've felt guilty. If it weren't for wanting to see Tu Fei, I would never have let you waste a single drop of blood." Tu Tian refused.
Everyone tried to persuade him.
But he stubbornly shook his head, saying, "How could I do that? So-called sacred blood extending life is just draining Xiao Ye's own life. That's your life essence. It shouldn't be wasted on me."
"It's fine. The Heavenly Court has Medicine Kings and such. They can let the old man live a while longer." Ye Fan said, feeling terrible watching the grandfather and grandson face a parting of life and death.
"I've already waited for my grandson. I have no more regrets. I am content. I can go and join those old comrades. We Great Bandits will reunite underground. I truly miss those old partners." Tu Tian said, his mind wandering.
His spirit was dazed as he continued, "The Golden Great Era must eventually come to an end. The outstanding talents wither, time is like a blade. When that time comes, you will need the Medicine Kings more than I do. I can already see a bleak great era approaching. It's more useful to leave the divine medicines and such for you children."
Everyone was startled, then sighed.
Half a year later, Tu Tian passed away. Tu Fei accompanied him through the final stretch of his life. The old man departed satisfied, with no more regrets.
Time flowed like water, rushing away, never to return.
Another thousand years passed. Ye Fan was now over five thousand years old. His blood energy was more vigorous than ever. For others, this age marked the beginning of a decline from life's peak, heading toward old age.
But for him, it was just the start. As a Sacred Body, he could naturally live for ten thousand years. Now that he had become a Heavenly Emperor, it was hard to say exactly how long he could live.
Yet time was merciless. It could not take away his youth, but it was reaping the lives of the older generation.
During this period, Old Knife Handle, the grandson of the Killing Saint Qi Luo, passed away in meditation, reaching the end of his life. Soon after, grievous news came from the Big Dipper. Red Dragon Daoist, who had shown kindness to Ye Fan, passed away in meditation. With this, all of the Thirteen Great Bandits had departed from the world. Subsequently, Peacock King, Crow Daoist, and others also passed away.
At five thousand years old, Ye Fan was unmatched in the world. He could no longer find an opponent. No one dared to clash with him. Yet, his heart was filled with immense grief.
One by one, those who had shown him kindness departed. It pained him deeply, but there was no real solution. He wanted to extend their lives, but they all refused.
Sacred blood was like a divine medicine, especially the blood of a Sacred Body who had become a Heavenly Emperor—it was even more precious. But as those who refused him said, his blood energy was his life. Extending others' lives would, to some extent, consume his own lifespan.
The elders, facing death, would rather die than let him consume himself.
The Qilin Medicine, Flat Peach, and others had all matured once. They were harvested and stored. The older generation did not consume them, intending to leave them for Ye Fan, the Monkey, Ye Tong, Yang Xi, Little Pine, and the next generation. Because when the Golden Great Era finally ended, they too would eventually enter their twilight years and would certainly need them.
Although Ye Fan was invincible in the Nine Heavens and Ten Earths, he was powerless. He was exploring the path to immortality, but those people could not wait.
For five thousand years, he could not find a single worthy opponent, yet he was helpless against time. He could not reclaim the youth and lives of those people.
Sometimes, Ye Fan would gaze alone at the starry sky, often not moving for an entire night. Friends and old acquaintances passed away one by one, leaving him despondent and somewhat lonely. His wife and daughter were also far away, unlikely to be seen again in this life. Though he stood at the pinnacle of the human path, he could change little. In a few more millennia, would all his contemporaries be dead? By then, he would be even more alone.
From the earliest Old Uncle Jiang and Fifth Master Zhang, to the later Victory Buddha, Gu Tianshu, and Qi Luo, then to Human Demon and Old Madman, followed by Tu Tian, and now Red Dragon Daoist—one by one, they departed. If this continued, constantly seeing them off, how could he bear such sorrow?
In the following years, a large number of Heavenly Soldiers began to age, and some Heavenly Generals also began to die. An entire generation of the Heavenly Court was growing old and about to depart.
Time flowed on. Ye Fan was six thousand years old. His world-shaking power was even greater than before. Not only was there no enemy, but it was even difficult to find someone who could withstand a single move from him.
But he was even more desolate.
Looking around, the Heavenly Court was filled with many stone tablets. Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals had died in large numbers, buried in the Heavenly Garden. Familiar old friends were gone forever.
The autumn wind rose, a bone-piercing chill. Ye Fan stood in the cemetery, looking at the rows of tombstones, his heart cold. He walked step by step, growing more and more silent.
By now, everyone in the Heavenly Court showed signs of aging.
At this point, only the Monkey, Ye Tong, Yang Xi, and others still had blood energy like an ocean, having reached the peak of their lives. Around six thousand years old was their most glorious era, shaking the universe and overawing the eight desolations.
In these years, whenever they appeared, no one could resist. They were revered by heaven and earth alike, reaching the pinnacle of brilliance and splendor!
But if time continued to flow, they would be like the sun at noon, eventually tilting westward, gradually moving away from their prime.
Aside from them, everyone else had long since been on a downward slope, like the setting sun, their prime no longer present.
That year, an important combatant of the Heavenly Court, the peak expert Mountain Phoenix, reached the end of his life and passed away in meditation within the Immortal Mountain. The other great demons who had escaped the Eighteenth Layer of Hell with him and followed Ye Fan into the Heavenly Court had died many years ago.
In the same year, after leaving the Underworld, the half-human, half-ghost Gu Xin'ao's body disintegrated, returning dust to dust, ending his muddled life.
The world-shaking combat power of the Heavenly Court began to depart one after another, signifying that after reaching its peak of glory, the Heavenly Court, like all things in heaven and earth, was destined to wither, unable to escape this law—fading into obscurity, its curtain falling.
This was not just the case for the Heavenly Court. The entire world was the same. All kinds of bloodlines showed signs of aging. The incomparably glorious Golden Great Era, after developing to its extreme, began to show signs of decline.
People knew that the great era was about to wither!
This law of succession was something no one could resist. All things develop, and when prosperity reaches its peak, decline is inevitable—it was already fated.
"The King of the Azure Sky is dead!"
"The Netherworld King Body, which had contended for supremacy in the golden age, has now had its old wounds flare up, turning to dust."
"The Feather-Transformation King defied heaven in his breakthrough, shattering his bones and dying."
"The Brahma Heavenly Battle Body's old injuries triggered new Dao wounds, becoming ashes of calamity."
"The Void Heavenly Body has aged, passing away in meditation within his stone chamber!"
...
One piece of news after another arrived. One earth-shaking outstanding talent after another reached the end of their lives. The great era showed signs of decline. The so-called Golden Prosperity Era was truly about to wither.
The tombstones in the Heavenly Court grew more numerous. Looking out, the stone tablets were like a forest, stretching beyond the horizon. An entire generation of Heavenly Soldiers and Heavenly Generals had passed away. The wind blew the withered leaves, making the place seem bleak.
Ye Fan stood there, not moving for a long time.
"Master, seal me away!" A voice came from behind Ye Fan.
It was Little Pine. He was in the most glorious era of his life, his youth still present, still simple and pure. Time had left no trace on his face.
"I want to guard the Heavenly Court. When the day comes that even Master is no longer young, I will emerge again. I don't want it to wither; I want its glory to continue." Little Pine said seriously. (To be continued. If you like this work, you are welcome to register as a member on the literature website to recommend this work. Your support is my greatest motivation.)