His deep, aged voice echoed, like the final reverberation of life.
Shi Rong had been abandoned by the grand world, with no hope of survival, yet his eyes remained calm. So seek immortality for longevity, others for power... a thousand people, a thousand faces.
With his hands behind his back, he strolled through the empty alley, his immortal blood already drained.
Clang...
A faint sound of sothing hitting the ground was heard; it was a blood-stained token, the Nine Heavens Immortal Alliance Token!
This token gathered countless grievances from various boundaries, containing endless bloodshed and karma, and was a great hidden danger since the formation of the immortal world's Heavenly Dao. It was forged from a strand of essence from the Boundless Great World...
It was an immortal artifact crafted by the myriad clans' immortals!
All beings have an essence, and so do great worlds. Simply put, the concept of essence can be likened to the root system of a large tree, which supports the entire tree and provides it with water and nutrients.
And essence is the fundantal source of the immortal path for living beings, providing the foundation for cultivators to gain strength, extend their lifespan, and master spells, known as the immortal essence.
If the root is gone, cultivation is lost, like a bubble that bursts with a touch, and life ends.
The essence of a great world is the sa; it is the foundation of all beings, the root of the world's formation. If the essence is disturbed or lost, the vitality of mountains and rivers withers, spiritual qi diminishes, just like the small boundary where Chen Xun resides.
The essence of the grand world, like the constitution of living beings, grows, flourishes, declines... it can be slowly devoured by the power of the void, or stolen by small boundaries.
Even if the spiritual qi weakens slightly, it affects the entire myriad beings of the Three Thousand Great Worlds, magnified infinitely.
This is what was said when the Xuanwei Celestial Palace visited Trash Island, that the loss of boundary beings cannot compare to the loss of grand world beings.
And why do the immortals of the Three Thousand Great Worlds suppress the essence? To block the erosion from the Void Land outside the Three Thousand Great Worlds, forcibly maintaining the Three Thousand Great Worlds in a period of prosperity!
What the Immortal Alliance does is to block another breach, where the essence of small boundaries steals the essence of the grand world, as they share the sa origin!
And those pinnacle immortals above the myriad clans are expanding the territories for the Three Thousand Great Worlds, continuously strengthening its essence, and formulating grand plans.
Each of the three parties has its role.
This plan can be traced back to the end of the Era of Great Slaughter among the Myriad Clans, allowing generations of immortals to willingly elevate the Three Thousand Great Worlds, opening up the True Immortal Realm, as their ancestors did the sa.
However, such actions naturally incur inexplicable backlash, as it is an act against the heavens, making it difficult for lifespans to exceed a hundred thousand years, and no one has lived a second life, the sacrifices are significant.
But regardless of the number of tribulations an immortal faces, their lifespan does not exceed a hundred thousand years, and without the chaos of the myriad clans, everyone feels balanced...
Shi Rong, manipulating the essence of the Nine Great Worlds, although unable to fully utilize it, possesses the supre power of the grand world, where immortals prove their path within their great world.
The might is imaginable, withstanding the siege of a hundred immortals in the Milky Way, drawing the attention of the entire Three Thousand Great Worlds.
However, the essence of the Nine Great Worlds has been turbulent for years, naturally weakening and dissipating into the void, and to retrieve it, the price for the myriad clans is several tis greater.
This is why they say what Shi Rong did was fundantally harming others without benefiting himself.
Shi Rong was willing to suppress the essence of the Nine Great Worlds alone, long prepared for today's battle, and the backlash had already begun from that mont!
He wasn't reclusive, unable to manage the Nine Heavens Immortal Alliance, because from that day forward, Shi Rong Immortal was already crippled, as even his incarnation could only be a mortal!
And he would absurdly die of old age... even if Chen Xun's incarnation tried to pretend, he couldn't feign dying of old age, as a cultivator can discern at a glance.
The Nine Heavens Immortal Alliance Token is an evil artifact, and Shi Rong had no way out, even immortals have monts when they are not in control.
But he didn't want to pass it on to Chen Xun, at least not while he was still alive, it shouldn't fall into his hands...
Shi Rong's consciousness gradually sank into darkness, stumbling through the muddy alley, one hand struggling to support the mottled wall: "Cough, cough... cough, cough..."
"A bit tired." Shi Rong murmured softly, gradually stopping his steps.
"Ying Tiezhu!"
A graceful figure called out, like a gentle breeze sweeping through the world, warm and soothing, her eyes shimring with moonlight, holding Shi Rong tightly, "This ti... you can't use mana to shake off."
This graceful figure was Gu Yuexi.
"Yuexi..." Shi Rong's aged voice softly sounded, "Don't hate Chen Xun, I... had no life left to live, he was just here to see off."
His head turned in another direction, seemingly off course... Gu Yuexi was on his other side.
Gu Yuexi nodded repeatedly with a pained expression, just nodding continuously.
"Rember when we first t, you were sitting in the phoenix boat, scolding , saying I took your body refining elixir... ha, ha, so unruly."
Shi Rong laughed heartily, his laughter like bark scraping the ground, extrely sharp, "Who would have thought that the young lady of the Ancient Saint Clan could now stand alone, cough, cough... truly delightful."
"Who told you to act like a wild boy back then, not understanding any rules." Gu Yuexi smiled beautifully, gazing deeply at Shi Rong, "Back then, you dared to go to the Ancestral Myriad Domain at the Great Ascension stage, ruining my wedding."
"You, Ying Tiezhu, seem to have never feared death." Gu Yuexi laughed, tears glistening with moonlight, "My father said, another remarkable figure has erged among the human race."
"If there's a next life, rember to marry ... Ying Zhi Yi."
Gu Yuexi's eyes were filled with gentle affection, never leaving that decayed and hideous face, "You will always be that awe-inspiring, daring, and passionate Ying Zhi Yi."
"I have never been disappointed in you, an immortal should be like this, my Dao companion, Gu Yuexi, cannot be judged by success or failure."
"......"
Shi Rong trembled all over, countless words seed stuck in his throat, burning and hoarse.
"I loved watching you paint, you said you could capture the most beautiful mories of the world on it, unmatched by immortal history, incomparable to the Image Stone, just by thinking of it, you could paint..."
"You said you wanted to paint the most brilliant Boundless, the most brilliant world, but your heart... was always dark and colorless, in the end, even your eyes lost their light..."
Drip, drip... the raindrops falling to the ground seed to grow larger, Gu Yuexi's voice choked up, her hands weakly clutching Shi Rong's withered arm, "I wish... I wish I could et you all over again."
"Yuexi."
"...I'll see you off."
Gu Yuexi interrupted Shi Rong's unfinished words with a beautiful smile, "It was the human race that failed you, Shi Rong, you never failed them, you never failed anyone."
"Hehe... let's walk together."
"Alright."
Supported by Gu Yuexi, Shi Rong walked slowly past one door after another, the rain falling harder, but the world of the Shi Rong Realm had never felt so fresh, so relieved.
Qixiao, Yaoqin, Ke Ding, and other immortals all ca... they watched Shi Rong, step by step, walk towards extinction.
These immortals were Shi Rong's old friends, and so were his forr great enemies, they all ca silently.
Shi Rong's life was one of exploring secret realms, battling the myriad clans' prodigies, persevering through countless trials, his fa spreading far and wide, worthy of respect and admiration.
"See off Shi Rong Immortal!" Qixiao mournfully cupped his hands.
"See off Shi Rong..."
"See off Shi Rong!"
……
One by one, the immortals, eyes filled with reverence, sent him off with the grand rites of their clans, the Shi Rong Realm echoed with a mournful reverberation.
User Comments
0 comments from readers