Chapter 601 - 610: This Life

The young woman’s heart ached at his words. Her delicate brows furrowed as she asked, "Don’t you have any dreams of your own?"

"Dreams?" He grew somber at her question, lost in thought.

"Living a better life. Not having to worry about where my next meal or drink comes from. Not having to worry about suddenly dropping dead one day. That’s enough for me."

A captivating light flashed in the young woman’s eyes. "Don’t you want to command the entire Immortal Realm, cross the universe, strike awe into myriad worlds, and explore the infinite, unknown mysteries?"

His lips parted, but before he could speak, she grabbed his hand and began running into the distance.

"I’m taking you to my clan’s Forbidden Land! You’re going to observe the Heaven and Earth Origin Stele so you can find a path of your own!"

...

After that, everything seemed to progress as expected.

Within the Youxiong Tribe’s Heaven and Earth Origin Stele, he obtained the Dao of Longevity—ranked over one hundred among the Three Thousand Great Dao—and from then on, he was plunged into the turbulent state of the world.

The Demon Race was driven out of the Immortal Court by the Human Race. But before the Demon Race could be completely annihilated, the Human Race fell into civil strife. The humans had already conquered half of the Immortal Realm when the chaos began.

At this time, several tribal powers began to carve up the fruits of their victory. However, none would submit to another. In the end, they split into four, forming the Four Immortal Courts.

The young woman became the Lord of the Eastern Immortal Court. Her cultivation reached the level of the Eastern Immortal Court’s sole Immortal Emperor, while he, in turn, became an Immortal Monarch whose might shook the Immortal Realm.

He was one of the Human Race’s Thirty-Six Immortal Monarchs. His power wasn’t the highest, and he cultivated the Dao of Longevity, but no one dared to underestimate him.

His ordinary Swordsmanship had not officially broken through to the Heavenly Dao Realm, nor did he cultivate a top-ranked Sword Dao. Yet, no one dared to look down upon his Swordsmanship, which was as steady as a mountain and as profound as the mysteries of heaven and earth.

Then there was his Alchemy Dao. Even the Nine Refining Pill Immortal was filled with admiration for him. The Medicinal Canon he compiled was even revered as a Holy Scripture by the Human Race.

Although his title was Immortal Monarch, within the Human Race, others called him the Seventh Immortal Emperor.

And then...

Despite standing at the pinnacle of the Human Race...

They were nothing more than sacrificial pawns in a grand conspiracy, mere pieces on the board of the Primordial Chaos. Under the ruthless pressure of ancient tribes, thousands of supreme Daoist Sects, and hundreds of other races and powers, they were crushed and buried in the sands of time.

"Abdicate!" "Abdicate!"

"Execute the Longevity Immortal Monarch!"

"Execute him!"

Conspiracy, power, status... what was the real reason? To this day, he still didn’t understand the specifics of what happened back then. Why did the Eastern Immortal Court suddenly change masters? And why did she abdicate?

In the end, even he, the great Longevity Immortal Monarch, was stripped of his Monarch Position and forced into hiding to escape his pursuers.

’The Western Immortal Emperor? The Southern Immortal Emperor? The Youchao Clan? The Spirit Race? Those people from the Daoist Sects?’

He didn’t know who had orchestrated the plot. He died without ever finding out.

A lifetime of glory, reduced to nothing but a few lonely wisps of smoke in the end.

At this point, the Human Race completely disintegrated. Perhaps it was the dawn of a new era.

...

"I wonder how the Immortal Realm is doing now? Are you really dead?" Wen Qingye gazed at the lonely moon above and couldn’t help but mutter to himself, "Is this life of mine for achieving the glory we never had? For finding the truth of what happened back then?"

"Yes. It must be." A light brighter than all the stars in the sky suddenly erupted from Wen Qingye’s eyes. It was boundless and vast, causing heaven and earth to dim in comparison.

The regrets of his past life would be mended in this one.

In this life, as long as he was alive, the name "Wen Qingye" would be magnificent and world-shaking! Only then would this life, this second chance, not be in vain.

Xiaoo Zuilan watched Wen Qingye remain silent for a long moment before she couldn’t resist asking, "Little Ghost, what are you muttering about? Did you not have a childhood or something?"

Wen Qingye looked at the lonely stars scattered across the sky, smiled faintly, and said, "That was a long time ago. I’ve almost forgotten it."

Xiaoo Zuilan could tell Wen Qingye didn’t want to talk about it. She shrugged and changed the subject. "Fine, forget I asked. I seem to have heard that the Taiyi Pavilion is hunting you. If you don’t have some deep-seated grudge with them, I think it’s better to resolve it."

"Resolve it?" A cold glint flashed in Wen Qingye’s eyes as he shook his head. "Impossible."

Hearing his response, Xiaoo Zuilan stared at Wen Qingye and chuckled, covering her mouth. "Impossible? I bet you won’t be saying that once you find out who’s backing the Taiyi Pavilion."

"Who’s backing them?" A flicker of doubt crossed Wen Qingye’s eyes, but he quickly replied coldly, "I don’t care who they are. I fear no one."

RUMBLE!

Just as Xiaoo Zuilan was about to speak, the ground suddenly trembled. The gravel on the sand ridge began to shake violently.

On the distant horizon, a turbulent current of air surged endlessly, clearly visible under the hazy moonlight.

"It’s the corpse! It’s undergoing a change! Let’s go, quickly!" Xiaoo Zuilan pointed ahead, overjoyed.

Wen Qingye’s brow furrowed slightly. He shook his head and said, "Let’s wait. I need to refine this Nascent Vein Flower. Otherwise, our combined strength is still too weak."

Xiaoo Zuilan asked, "How long will it take you to refine this Nascent Vein Flower?"

"Around three days," Wen Qingye said after a moment of thought.

"That won’t work," Xiaoo Zuilan said. "It’ll take us about two days to get to where the corpse is from here. Get on my Purple Rhyme Brocade. You can refine the flower, and I’ll stand guard."

Wen Qingye nodded. Since Xiaoo Zuilan was from the Witch Race, she wouldn’t be surprised by his Body Refining Martial Arts. Besides, with the Sword Spirit Qingg Ruo’ai present, Wen Qingye could relax a little.

With a wave of her sleeve, Xiaoo Zuilan sent the purple Purple Rhyme Brocade unfurling. Wen Qingye slowly sat down on it.

The Purple Rhyme Brocade formed a powerful barrier of wind in front of Wen Qingye, blocking the raging sand and gales.

He took out the black Nascent Vein Flower and placed it on his chest.

SWOOSH!

The next moment, an extremely strong suction force erupted from Wen Qingye’s Qi Sea. The Nascent Vein Flower dissolved into a stream of black energy and rushed toward it.

As soon as the black energy stream entered his Qi Sea, it was like a Flood Dragon freed from its bonds, and it began to churn wildly within his Sea of Life and Death.

Countless streams of Primordial Qi began to swirl along with the black energy. Driven by this current, it all rushed through his entire body, seeping into every meridian, bone, and drop of blood.

As Xiaoo Zuilan steered the Purple Rhyme Brocade toward the distance, she caught a glimpse of Wen Qingye’s skin shimmering with a five-colored radiance and her eyes widened in surprise.

’This kid’s Body Refining Martial Arts is pretty good. Although it’s not a high-grade technique, it seems to hold some kind of profound mystery. A Body Refining Martial Arts like this is perfect for building a foundation.’

The Five Elements Body Refining Technique was a truly mystical Body Refining Martial Arts that contained the mysteries of the Five Elements. Even if Wen Qingye were to cultivate a more High Level and unique Body Refining Martial Arts in the future, this technique would still provide him with a solid foundation. Otherwise, he never would have chosen to practice it.

The Purple Rhyme Brocade soared through the air, rushing toward the source of the disturbance, while atop it, Wen Qingye began to rapidly refine the Nascent Vein Flower.

...

「Two days passed in the blink of an eye.」

Xiaoo Zuilan’s brow was furrowed. ’What in the world is going on with this kid? Isn’t he just refining a single Nascent Vein Flower? Why is it causing such a commotion?’

Wen Qingye floated motionlessly above the Purple Rhyme Brocade, but his Qi Sea was like a bottomless pit, frantically absorbing the surrounding Primordial Qi.

The Nascent Vein Flower on his chest had long since vanished, having completely transformed into a black stream of energy that flowed into his body. Bit by bit, this black energy seeped into every inch of his skin, bones, and blood, as if it were trying to merge completely with his body.