Chapter 350: Remembrance

A year passed. The Rainbow Alliance had long been disbanded. Those who had homes returned to their homes. Those who had sects returned to their sects. Many who witnessed the four sacred beasts would continue to tell it to their descendants for generations to come, even after the four mythical beasts had gone back into indefinite slumber.

"You’re finally leaving," the Empress held back tears.

Nodding, Liu Guiya smiled. It had been two decades too long. Now that the dust had settled and the calamity was over, it was time for her to return to her rightful place.

The two women stared at a small longevity lock with an incomplete number of ribbons that did not match in colour. Even after a year, the memory remained vivid in everyone’s mind.

Time could not cure all wounds. It simply made the pain more bearable. Life continued as long as the sun rose from the east. But memories lasted for a lifetime.

Liu Guiya recalled the final moments of an unsung hero in the form of a ten-year-old prophet. That morning, she ascended to the heavens with the golden dragon’s purified scale as a spec of golden light with the halo of a rainbow. Zhao Mingfeng and Yan Ping arrived at the outskirts of Chang’an to witness a new sage’s ascension just in time and a little too late.

As per Anji’s final wish, she was remembered under both persimmon trees in the Celestial Dragon Sect and in the Mystical Qilin Sect. A grand memorial ceremony was held in her name, and Zhao Anji was officially recorded into the royal family, although her body was not left behind to verify her existence. 𝒻𝘳ℯℯ𝑤ℯ𝒷𝘯ℴ𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝑐ℴ𝑚

With the great evil banished forever, the worlds woven together by threads of fate started to unravel. Cultivators returned to their world, and Liu Guiya could no longer remain in the palace. She had a sect to rebuild after her long absence.

The White Tiger Sect, Azure Dragon Sect, Black Tortoise Sect and Heavenly Phoenix Sect underwent massive reforms after the war ended, with new generational leaders taking over. However, the Vermillion Bird Sect, Mystical Qilin Sect and Celestial Dragon Sect had gone silent into mourning behind closed doors. Liu Guiya did not blame them. They were the closest to Zhao Anji. Today would be the first year since Anji’s ascension.

Normally, the ascension of a sage was celebrated. It represented the ending of suffering and trials. However, Zhao Anji was no ordinary sage. She left behind a fragment of herself in the longevity lock and a legend, but not a single trace of herself. Her ascension was no different from death to those around her.

Unlike others, Hong Nian Niang decided to focus on recovery according to Anji’s previously prescribed cure for her infertility while roaming the vast world like a hedonist. Without a need for information gathering, the Red Palace was sold to the Empress as the Vermillion Bird Sect moved out.

Mourning Anji’s death the most, the Celestial Dragon Sect completely halted any operations. Nobody in the sect had the spirit to continue. Zhao Mingfeng and Zhao Wanting abdicated their leadership position to their oldest daughter, who threw herself into work tirelessly as if to avoid memories of her younger sister entirely. Zhao Mingsheng threw himself into training like a madman, coming back with a battered body each day worse than the last until Doctor He banned him from attempting to overwork himself to death. Meanwhile, Yihao hit the books. The change was so drastic, but nobody celebrated. Everyone knew the brothers were grieving differently over the death of their youngest sister.

The people in the Celestial Dragon Sect mourned in their individual ways after Zhao Anji’s ascension. Some continued to tidy her old room, keeping it exactly the way it was from her childhood. Others tended to her garden meticulously. Yet, the persimmon tree she grew did not bear flowers or fruit. Lizi officially took over the operations for the Gentleman Club, and Gu Ying begged for permission to leave the sect and roam the world, unable to bear the memories of losing her charge.

To the outside world, the Celestial Dragon Sect mourned the heaviest. However, within the guarded walls of the once more secretive Mystical Qilin Sect, the truth could not be more different.

Instead of rebuilding the broken arrays and fallen sect, Yan Ping sat beneath the persimmon tree Anji had grown in the Mystical Qilin Sect and from that moment on remained unmoving, almost like a living statue. The sect slowly fell into disarray, with the Elders managing internal affairs, pouring focus into different research with no fixed direction. Every researcher vowed to fix their loose ends, from inferior combat skills to actually useful research, to prevent the same tragedy in the last war based on personal experience. It was a new age of innovation for both good and bad ideas.

Liu Guiya sighed. She had witnessed many deaths and sacrifices in her life. As a follower of the divine phoenix, she strongly believed in second chances and reincarnation. The rebirth of Zhao Anji would most definitely not be normal. However, knowledge did not change the nature of grief.

"Please take care, Your Majesty. Although our paths might never cross again, you can always rely on me as a friend."

Parting was always bitter. Over the two decades, Liu Guiya spent her time beside the royal couple watching their black hair turn into streaks of grey. Although the empress was still only in her late thirties, she looked much older than Liu Guiya, who had lived past a hundred years.

Leaving the imperial palace under the cover of night, Liu Guiya took a look at the overview of the Forbidden City from above the clouds. Mortal troubles seemed so small from high above. Did Anji already know this when she embraced sagehood? She was such a smart child. Surely, she would have known the sadness that would follow her sacrifice.

Looking forward with resolve, Liu Guiya left the peaceful life she had known behind. Her eyes steeled into the forgotten warrior from two decades ago, not a shred of warmth in them. Anji’s sacrifice had laid the perfect foundation for them to truly reveal the rot from within. Not one to waste her efforts, Liu Guiya flew across the night sky like a shooting star. She had a sect to burn down and rebuild to restore the heavens.