Chapter 156: The Base Heart of Bygone Days

"Alright, I've answered your many questions; now it's your turn to answer mine," Xu Xing said.

"Ask."

"Did you… really return to your homeland?"

"I don't know," Yuan answered bluntly. "When I left this fragment of my divine soul behind, I indeed had a way to leave the Tai Xuan Realm, but whether I succeeded or not, this fragment of my soul is unaware."

"Qing Xu?"

"Yes," Yuan nodded. "I actually owe it to Elder Yuanjun for sending me and Sister Wan Zhu to Qing Xu to seek the Mo Lin Flower—otherwise, I never would have discovered the weak points at the edge of the Tai Xuan Realm."

Sister Wan Zhu was the disciple of the Spirit Ancestor who had walked a thousand years beside him.

At this, he couldn't help but sigh.

"But that journey to Qing Xu was no easy task—I wonder what Elder Yuanjun ultimately did with the Mo Lin Flower we brought back."

We never had time to ask; Elder Yuanjun simply left right away.

Xu Xing: "..."

Never mind—I won't tell him what Elder Yuanjun used the Mo Lin Flower for.

"Alright, go on asking."

Yuan paused, then spoke in a tone hard to decipher: "And you… don't you want to go home?"

In truth, this was the question he cared about most.

"I managed to leave the Tai Xuan Realm—you, if you wanted to return, would surely find it easier than I did."

Then he probed further, "Or are you the kind who…"

Xu Xing understood what he meant to ask: "Before I came to this world, my parents were alive, and all my friends and relatives were in good health."

Most transmigrators arrive as orphans with a cursed fate, but he was not one.

"Are you?"

"Of course not!" Yuan quickly denied it. "You haven't answered me yet—don't you want to go home?"

Xu Xing still didn't answer, but asked instead: "Do you want to know what happened in ancient times between the Cang Clan and the human race in the Tai Xuan Realm?"

Yuan froze at this. Could this be connected to whether he wanted to return? "Go on."

Then Xu Xing spoke in a calm, measured tone: "The Cang Clan—a race favored by Hun Tian Yi—was the dominant power of ancient Tai Xuan Realm."

Yuan nodded slightly; he already knew this.

"All beings were their livestock; our human race was no exception—in fact, we ranked quite high on their menu."

"..." Yuan fell silent.

"Though humans did have resisters back then, we were far too weak—even resistance became entertainment before their meals."

"Countless ancestors sacrificed themselves in search of a way to change our fate, but with minimal results."

"Until one day, a renowned 'gourmet' among the Cang Clan discovered that marinating humans in Yang Jing Dan Xi and Su Po Zhen Hua made their flesh far more delicious."

"Most humans died in the process, but a small fraction survived, gaining strength equal to that of a newborn Cang infant."

"Because of this change, those survivors were not immediately served as food—they were thrown into hunting grounds for the Cang Clan's amusement."

"Soon, this practice grew wildly popular; more and more humans were captured for experimentation, and humans became a popular hunt in the Cang Clan's grounds."

"Yet the frail humans were of little concern to the Cang Clan."

"So during a chance conflict between two Cang Clan lords, the hunting grounds erupted into chaos—and finally, someone escaped."

"Those who escaped… were the first cultivators of the human race in the Tai Xuan Realm."

Xu Xing looked at Yuan: "Among them was the master who saved me after I arrived in this world."

The truth was cruel and surreal: the first human cultivators were born from a Cang Clan dish. "But life for humans back then was unbearable—every morning, you faced pursuit by the Cang Clan and other races. Even after my master saved me, I constantly longed to return."

"After all, my presence made no difference—I was just one person. What could I possibly change?"

"But now I think about it, I was truly selfish and base back then."

At that time, most humans were kept as livestock by the Cang Clan or other powerful races; every free human was a spark of hope.

"It's only natural… I can understand," Yuan said.

Xu Xing nodded: "Yes, that's exactly how I comforted myself in my heart."

Back then, my senior sister was just a girl who liked to sit beside me listening to stories, often hugged her sword while murmuring at night, yet acted cold and aloof to outsiders.

Yet she never feared, never once considered fleeing.

My master took us both, fleeing from the Cang Clan and other races, traveling the Central Continent to create cultivation methods.

It was then that I met these companions—some still alive, others long gone.

Each had their own small flaws, yet all displayed fearless courage in the face of death.

While living with them, Xu Xing appeared composed, but he knew deep down he was merely a base jester hiding among them.

"But selfishness is selfishness—no matter how you dress it up, the essence remains base."

Yuan shook his head slightly: "Yet in the end, you gained the ability to leave—and you didn't. As the saying goes: a gentleman judges by deeds, not intentions; if you judge by intentions, no one in the world is perfect."

No matter what he once thought or how he acted, this fellow countryman ultimately stayed.

Just that alone was worthy of admiration.

"..." Xu Xing fell silent for several seconds. "You're not a Han language major, are you? Or maybe you were demoted?"

Yuan nearly broke: "I'm not!"

What even is this?

"I just like reading random books in my spare time."

Xu Xing nodded.

These few remarks disrupted the rhythm, but also lightened the heavy atmosphere somewhat.

Yuan even wondered if his fellow countryman had said it on purpose.

"Those are all the questions I wanted to ask."

Yuan prepared to end the conversation and disperse this wisp of divine soul.

"Fellow townsman, I don't know what choices you'll make afterward, but in the Clear Ruins there are a few things I left behind and some world coordinates I derived. When you have time, you can go over and take them."

"The exact location—Sister Wan Zhu knows. You can make a trip to Ling Yin Fang."

"Fellow townsman, you're so badass, so seeing her shouldn't be a problem for you."

"Lastly, I'd trouble you to say a word to her for me…"

"I'm sorry."

If one were to speak of whom he felt most guilty toward in the Xuan Realm, it could only be Sister Wan Zhu.

After leaving Longxiang Qingtianzong, Sister Wan Zhu had stayed by his side the whole time. Without her help, his life in the Xuan Realm would probably have been even harder.

Sigh~ "But I think it'd be better if you told her yourself," Xu Xing said.

"I'm just a wisp of divine soul about to dissipate—I can't hold on until…"

Halfway through his words, he suddenly froze, clearly realizing something.

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(End of this chapter)