# Chapter 844: Human Emotions
The Divine Calculator said that Ye Fan would be able to return to the other end of the starry sky in the near future, but just how near that "near future" was, how long a period of time it represented, he did not know.
Was it a few months, a few years, or decades? Cultivators could easily live for several hundred years or more; a few years was very short, and decades were not considered long.
However, how could he wait that long? He had been inexplicably stranded on this side for over twenty years already. How long could his parents, with their graying temples, wait?
The most sorrowful thing in life was nothing more than losing a child in one's old age. In the hearts of the elderly, their children were their only hope. For them to pass away before their parents—that was the greatest blow.
Ye Fan could not imagine the grief his parents must have felt when he disappeared from Mount Tai back then. Thinking of his white-haired parents murmuring in their old age, trembling as they caressed his photograph—that scene stabbed his heart like a knife.
There was always a fear deep in his heart—that when he finally returned, everything would have changed beyond recognition. All these years, he had been cultivating desperately, for only one purpose: to go back.
Even if it was just to see them for one glance, to sit together and share a reunion meal, to let his white-haired parents show their former smiles through their blurry, tear-filled eyes.
When he left, his parents had already shown signs of aging. Now, over twenty years had passed. He was terrified that grief had weighed on their hearts, that their health had deteriorated, or even...
Whenever he thought of these things, Ye Fan's heart ached and his vision blurred. The greatest kindness in this world was the nurturing grace of one's parents. When they missed him most in the final, dwindling days of their lives, he was in a foreign land, unable to return—this tormented him.
Losing their only child in their old age—how desolate must be the hearts of those two elderly people? His father's back no longer straight, his mother's hair even whiter—how could they bear it?
Others cultivated to attain the Dao. Ye Fan's greatest purpose from beginning to end was to return, to see the parents who gave him life and raised him again.
What was immortality? What was becoming a Great Emperor? What was eternity? For him, none of these were as important as seeing his parents one more time. This was human emotion.
A stone may be immortal, but even if it lasts as long as the world, what does it matter? It remains cold and unfeeling. What does it know of human emotion? Cold and numb forever.
If he abandoned his parents just to live longer in this world, what meaning would that have? Would he become as cold as stone, casting aside the true nature of humanity?
Since arriving in this world, he had only worked silently, advancing toward his goal. He had never shouted oaths or declared what he would or would not do.
Now that he knew he might truly be able to return in the near future, he would never give up, no matter what. Because he was not a cold stone—he had a sincere, filial heart.
To keep his aged parents from shedding more tears, to keep the white-haired old ones from sinking into gloom, to keep the two elderly from waking up desolately from their dreams—even if he had to shatter his bones and grind his body to dust, he would return. Just so their remaining years would not be lonely and sorrowful.
He was also reluctant to leave this world. He had friends bound by life and death, a peerless beauty who understood his heart, a path ahead that inspired him to strive, and ancient secrets spanning ten thousand ages waiting to be explored. Everything was so captivating. But he had to make a choice.
Just as he could not bear to leave his parents, Ji Ziyue could not leave her father, mother, and brother, nor could she abandon this world. She would only follow his trail when the ties of this world were exhausted.
Even Black Emperor, who had no family or attachments, was unwilling to leave his own world. He missed Emperor Wu Shi and wished to remain on his homeland forever, even if he could only guard his tomb in the end.
Everyone had their own persistence and emotional sustenance. This was the true nature of human emotion. And Ye Fan's greatest motivation for cultivating in this world was to go home—silently persisting, not for the sake of attaining the Dao.
Time was short. His parents could not wait. But the friends in this world still had long lifespans. His departure would sadden the old friends here, but they could still continue along their original life paths. If he did not return, however, his parents would be heartbroken and despairing for the rest of their lives.
Though there was struggle, though there was helplessness, a choice had to be made. Filial piety was the foremost of all virtues. He was just an ordinary person of flesh and blood. He could not forget the nurturing grace of his parents. The bond of blood was thicker than water and could never be severed.
He would not be so narcissistic as to think that this world would stop turning without him. Even without him, the friends here would still live on.
He was just someone who had not yet severed the Dao, not a supreme existence that suppressed the nine heavens and ten lands. His old friends and beloved were not living under his protection.
In fact, the foundations behind these people were far stronger than his. The Battle Victory Buddha, the Great Emperor's aristocratic clan, the peerless White-Robed Divine King, Qi Luo who would become a Killing Sage, the number one Great Bandit of the Northern Domain who had successfully advanced to Sage—all of these could intimidate the world far more than his existence.
The people behind Monkey, Ji Ziyue, Little Tingting, Li Heishui, and the others were now far more powerful than him. He had never been the guardian of the crowd.
As for Ji Ziyue, if they could not be together, who knew if they would ever reunite? What promise could he give her? It would be better to bless her and let her go, to let her walk further, to open her heart. She should have her own truly brilliant starry sky.
Though Ye Fan was sad, he could not shed tears. He could only work silently, letting these old friends continue along their original paths, not changing their course because of him.
"Are you really going back?" Li Heishui asked, sitting on the cliff.
"Yes, going back." Ye Fan nodded.
"You need to think carefully. Over twenty years have passed. Things may have changed beyond recognition. It might not be the result you want to see." Monkey sat on an ancient tree branch stretching out over the cliff.
"Even if there's only a glimmer of hope, I have to go back. Even if I might face the cruelest outcome." Ye Fan said in a low voice.
"To be honest, I understand how you feel. If I were given a chance to return to the ancient times, I would rather give up everything and go back to the Primeval Era. Unfortunately, I don't even have a glimmer of hope to try." Monkey sighed.
"You need to be mentally prepared." Yan Yixi said, sitting on a large rock at the edge of the cliff. Ye Fan had not hidden his past from them. They could infer some things that might have happened over the years.
"This is my obsession. If I can't go back, I might go mad one day, or even fall into demonic deviation." Ye Fan said.
"This is human emotion." Li Heishui sighed.
"Some people sit in meditation their whole lives for cultivation. Some are trapped by love for a lifetime. Some are stubborn until old age. Some maintain a peaceful state of mind until the end. This is human nature and emotion. Everyone has their own pursuits and persistence, their own emotional sustenance." Ye Fan said.
Several people sighed. There was no reason to stop him from leaving. Monkey grabbed a purple-gold gourd, took a deep drink, and passed it out. They each took a turn drinking. It contained a thousand-year divine wine, clearly stolen from Qi Luo.
"Damned monkey! You stole my wine again! That was my last bottle of thousand-year aged wine! I'll kill you!" Qi Luo's heart-wrenching scream came from afar.
The people on the cliff immediately scattered like startled chickens and fleeing rabbits, escaping into the distance.
Big Black Dog was the last to leave, tilting the wine gourd to pour the last drops into his mouth until not a single drop remained. He belched, set up an array platform, and teleported through the void.
"Ahhh..." Qi Luo wailed. He reached the cliff, picked up the empty wine gourd, and cursed bitterly, heartbroken.
"Ancestor, Que'er wants to drink too." A little one, sucking on a pacifier, tugged at his pant leg.
"So fragrant..." Tongtong, Gu Fei, and Gu Lin also twitched their little noses, their faces full of longing.
"I'm telling you, this is poison. Don't ever touch it!" Qi Luo warned. He was truly afraid that before he could suppress the big drunkard, a group of little drunkards would grow up. Then not a single bottle of his treasured collection would remain.
The future of the Heavenly Court was infinitely bright. Anyone could see that as long as these children grew up, as long as the Supreme Yin Physique, the Battle Saint Holy Prince, and these people were all brought in, it would become an invincible divine dynasty in the future.
Big Black Dog was especially valued by Qi Luo, almost to the point of being worshipped, all for the sake of having him carve Emperor Wu Shi's array patterns to protect the mountain gate.
But Black Emperor was currently uninterested. He always felt that training the two Silver Blood Royal Clan members was more fulfilling, boasting that he would train the Silver Blood Twin Emperors in the future, to destroy the Celestial Prince and Yuangu.
"Don't look at me like that, as if I'm about to leave. Although the Divine Calculator said that, it might still take a few years." Ye Fan said.
"One less look each time. Better get a few more looks in now." Big Black Dog said.
"Dead dog! Do you even know how to talk? I'm not about to die." Ye Fan kicked him.
Black Emperor shamelessly came closer and said, "Anyway, you're leaving. Why don't you give me that Qilin Immortal Medicine and the Primordial Qi Cauldron?"
"You really have no conscience. You're not upset that I'm leaving, but you're coveting my things. I'll strangle you." Ye Fan grabbed his neck.
"Woof! I'm afraid you'll get stuck halfway and lose these immortal treasures."
"Beat this dead dog!" A group of people came forward and beat Black Emperor together. Dog barks rang out, somewhat diluting the melancholic atmosphere.
"This time I'm leaving, the time uncertain. I want to kill a batch of people before I go. Any candidates?" Ye Fan asked.
"Wang Teng!"
"Yuangu!"
"Hua Yunfei and Li Xiaoman!"
"Those few mysterious people who attacked us. We only know there's a damaged Nine-Orifice Stone Man among them. Their identities are unknown."
They casually named a few people they wanted to kill, then shook their heads, saying he didn't need to act—they would take care of them themselves in the future.
Monkey in particular firmly refused. He wanted to kill them all himself. And he had the right to say so. As the Holy Prince, already having severed the Dao, looking around, who could contend with him when no Sage had emerged?
"Brother Monkey, let's compete. Let's see who kills more!" Ye Fan said. The great era was stained with blood. Some people were destined to fall.
He warned Li Heishui, Li Tian, and the others not to act. This time, they only needed to watch quietly and use this time to cultivate well.
Monkey's uncle had now been confirmed to be alive, sitting on Mount Sumeru, overlooking the entire land. If the Holy Prince went to take revenge, no one would dare to trouble him.
"My grandfather has passed away. Old Immortal has finally agreed to take me as his disciple." Li Heishui said. "I'll go cultivate for a while, but I'll often come to the Heavenly Court to visit."
This time, even if Ye Fan left, he would be at ease. Except for Li Tian and Yan Yixi, almost everyone else had a Sage's shadow behind them.
The Battle Victory Buddha, the Southern Ridge Barbarian Clan War God, the Ji Family, the peerless White-Robed Divine King, the number one Great Bandit Old Immortal, Qi Luo—each one was oppressive enough to make people gasp for breath.
"I'll introduce you to a Sage master." Ye Fan said to Li Tian and the others with a smile.