Chapter 615: Father and Son Talk

Li Jiye is the name of Li Yi's father.

He never revealed this information to anyone upon arriving in this world, so when Li Yi heard this man casually utter his father's name, he was stunned and bewildered—he had never thought this man could be his father.

The aura and appearance don't match, but there are indeed traces of the Evolution Art on him.

Li Jiye now noticed Li Yi's reaction; he understood that mere words could never convince Li Yi of his identity, for when he was forced to cross over, Li Yi was only fourteen—a child—and now nine years had passed, not six.

Nine years are enough to completely change a person.

"Xiao Yi, I know you have many questions and doubts, but you must believe I am truly your father. Back then in Tianchang City, your mother and I were among the first to enter cultivation, constantly studying its mysteries—and in doing so, we neglected many things, including you." Li Jiye's memories returned to the past.

Back then, he had been so passionate, so full of vigor.

Unfortunately, the good times didn't last. At that time, the path of cultivation on Earth was still incomplete; everyone was groping in the dark, all eager to be the first to try, and he and his wife were no exception.

Perhaps it was ignorance and fearlessness, or perhaps it was simply unwillingness to fall behind.

Until one day, he and his wife suddenly had their souls depart their bodies. Though they were thrilled and fascinated at first, they never imagined this was the start of a nightmare.

Li Yi stared at him now and said: "Go on. I want to know everything."

He somewhat believed this man was his father, but he still needed more plausible explanations—otherwise, a single name would never make him trust a stranger so easily.

Li Jiye said: "This isn't a place to talk. Let's go to the cabin. Your father will give you a proper explanation."

Li Yi said nothing, only turned and entered the cabin.

Li Jiye followed him in. He glanced around the empty cabin, then gestured for Li Yi to sit, took a seat himself, and slowly said: "Xiao Yi, you know well that after the Heaven's Tilt event on Earth, spiritual energy revived and the path of cultivation reappeared. Your mother and I, as the first cultivators, honestly did many reckless things."

"Soul-crossing was one of them. At the time, your mother and I didn't understand the dangers—we were young and fearless. After sensing a spatial wormhole, we discussed it for a month and finally decided to jointly soul-cross."

"We chose to go together because we worried for each other—if anything went wrong, at least we could watch out for one another."

Li Jiye's eyes darkened with sorrow: "But no one could have foreseen how unlucky we were on our first crossing—we ended up in a world like hell."

"That was World 36," Li Yi said calmly.

"World 36? That world's been discovered and named already? It seems Earth has changed drastically—crossing over must be commonplace now." Li Jiye gave a bitter laugh: "If you know that world, you must understand its danger."

"World 36 is a world of vengeful ghosts," Li Yi said.

Li Jiye said: "Vengeful ghosts? Yes, exactly. On our first crossing, we encountered terrible peril. We didn't know they were vengeful ghosts—we only knew they were malevolent and terrifying, beyond our power to fight. We barely escaped, luckily having left a beacon on Earth, allowing us to sense the coordinates and return safely."

"But then the terrifying thing happened—the ghost followed us back to Earth."

At this, his face twisted in pain: "I watched your mother die at the hands of that vengeful ghost."

Li Yi's gaze darkened, and he drew a slow breath: "Then why are you still alive? Why did you run away?"

"Xiao Yi, you're wrong. I didn't run away—I tried to lure the ghost away. There was still you at home. I couldn't leave such a danger behind. Your mother was already dead; I couldn't lose you too. So I made that decision—I crossed over again, intending to draw that terrifying ghost into some unknown world."

Li Jiye's gaze turned resolute: "Even if it meant sacrificing a world, I wouldn't let you come to harm."

"But fate played cruel tricks. I crossed over with the certainty of death, luring the ghost to secure your safety—only to find, upon arriving in this world, that the ghost hadn't followed. And because my second crossing was rushed, I lost all sense of Earth's coordinates. I couldn't return."

"Do you know how desperate I was? Only you remained at home—with that ghost—and I was trapped here, powerless to do anything."

As he spoke, his emotions surged violently; his clenched fist leaked a trace of power, and the cabin walls instantly cracked, trembling as if about to collapse.

Li Yi fell silent.

He had heard this story from Yang Wei before, but Yang Wei told it as an outsider. Now, hearing his father recount it firsthand, he understood how complex the situation truly was—not the simple abandonment he'd imagined, where his father fled across worlds and never returned. "Under those circumstances, I didn't believe you could have survived at home. I saw how terrifying that ghost was—it could kill even cultivators, let alone a child like you," Li Jiye said. "Even if I raged and grieved here in this world, I could do nothing. I had to accept this cruel truth."

"So you possessed a prince and lived again?" Li Yi studied his new body.

Li Jiye said: "Not possession. At that time, the soul of this body was drawn away, and I naturally took over it to survive. What followed, you probably aren't interested in—it was just the usual power struggles, substitution of heirs, the Eight Princes' rivalry. Common in history. Fortunately, I survived and ascended the throne."

"So the Prince of Xin is my half-brother?" Li Yi said.

"Prince Zhao Rui is indeed the child of this body. To play this role well, I had to accept them—but they were merely tools I used. Over these nine years, though I took concubines, named an empress, and crowned a crown prince, all were merely political maneuvers to stabilize the court. Only you, Xiao Yi—you are my true son."

Li Jiye spoke with seriousness.

His words came from the heart: Li Yi was the child he and his wife had raised on Earth for over a decade, bound by deep affection. These others were merely accidents of this body's lineage—no emotion attached.

He didn't even want to have more children.

Because Li Jiye didn't know: if he fathered a child with another woman while wearing this body, would the child be his—or Zhao Chenggan's? And if he had a child, what would become of his dead wife and Xiao Yi?

It would be betrayal of his family.

Not a single word, not a single line, not a single thought inside him was right!

Precisely because he couldn't cross that inner barrier, he never truly belonged in this world. He remained only the distant Son of Heaven—not a father—with no feeling for anyone else.

Yet precisely because of that, he ruled as a perfect emperor.

Li Yi's emotions were complex. He didn't know what to say—blame his father? He hadn't done wrong. He did everything he could. Faced with a vengeful ghost from World 36, even a Soul Realm cultivator like him then had no solution.

"Xiao Yi, do you know how shocked and incredulous I was when I received your letter?" Li Jiye slowly stood, tears welling in his eyes: "I never dared believe you were still alive—and living alone in Tianchang City."

"During those chaotic times, I imagine you suffered terribly."

Li Yi said nothing, only took a state-of-the-art medical pod from his Five Elements Bracelet.

Inside the pod lay a man in his early thirties. Though his eyes were closed in sleep, the pod's top-tier care had kept his body perfectly healthy—his face flushed and lifelike, as if merely resting.

"This is..." Li Jiye trembled, staring in shock at the man in the pod.

It was no one else.

It was his own body on Earth—left behind in the pod after his crossing, sustained by nutrient fluid. He never imagined, nine years later, his body would still be intact.

"Xiao Yi, you..."

Li Jiye then sharply turned to look at Li Yi.

He couldn't believe it—his son, after he left, had preserved his body all this time, still flawless, unchanged.

For a child barely in his teens, how immense the effort must have been.

"After you and Mom left, I kept the nutrient pod running and the fluid supplied—until now," Li Yi said calmly.

Yet those few words brought unstoppable tears to Li Jiye, the reigning emperor.

"I should have returned. I should have come back sooner... I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I thought you and your mother were already dead. That's why I stayed here, never once thinking of returning to Earth. Had I known you were still waiting for me..."

His heart was filled with unbearable guilt—he felt himself a monster.

(End of Chapter)