Chapter 109: Life Ended, Obsession Remains

After Ye Qingxiao left.

After tidying up the stone pavilion, Ye Qingxuan returned to his blessed land and began a new round of secluded cultivation.

Now the Green Demon Realm watches with predatory intent, a fact Ye Qingxuan himself had not even noticed.

He no longer possessed his usual composure; an urgency had unconsciously risen in his heart, driving him to quickly elevate his cultivation base.

The invasion of the Green Demon Realm and the war between the two realms seemed far removed from Ye Qingxuan, yet their subtle impact on him was far from small.

Or rather, for cultivators living in the Earthly Xuan Realm, no one could truly ignore the full-scale invasion of the Green Demon Realm against the Earthly Xuan Realm.

Especially when the Earthly Xuan Realm had lost the initiative and fallen into a disadvantage.

In the days that followed, Ye Qingxuan unconsciously began to gradually increase his daily cultivation time.

Beyond that, Ye Qingxuan replanted many Spirit-Purifying Trees in the previously vacant spots.

However, Ye Qingxuan would only submit one hundred first-grade Spirit-Purifying Trees annually to fulfill his quota.

As for the remaining Spirit-Purifying Trees, Ye Qingxuan planned to wait until they were cultivated to the fourth grade before handing them over to Bai Zichun in exchange for the source of the spiritual vein.

In the current Qingxuan Cave Heaven Blessed Land, cultivating a Spirit-Purifying Tree to the fourth grade would take roughly thirteen years.

Spirit-Purifying Trees, which can continuously advance in grade, are quite special; their cultivation speed is slightly slower than that of other fourth-grade spiritual plants.

Had the Qingxuan Cave Heaven Blessed Land not advanced to the mid-stage of the second grade, and had it not integrated nine sources of spiritual veins this time, causing the energy accumulated in the earth to surge.

The time required for a Spirit-Purifying Tree to grow to the fourth grade would have been far more than thirteen years.

Spring passed and autumn arrived; in the blink of an eye, three years had passed since Ye Qingxiao descended to the lower realm for trial.

One day three years later, as Ye Qingxuan stood at the edge of the stone pavilion gazing at the distant scenery, he suddenly saw an unexpected person appear.

Watching the visitor descend beside him, Ye Qingxuan asked in confusion, "Clan Head, why have you come?"

The visitor was none other than Ye Yuhong, the head of the Ye family.

Logically, since Ye Yuhong had arrived at the Xuantian Sect not long ago, he should not be coming to the Xuantian Sect again in the short term.

Looking at Ye Qingxuan, Ye Yuhong seemed hesitant to speak. He took a letter from his robes and handed it to Ye Qingxuan, saying in a deep voice, "Qingxuan, please accept my condolences."

Hearing this, Ye Qingxuan's body suddenly froze, and an ominous premonition surged in his heart.

After a long while, Ye Qingxuan finally silently extended his hand and took the letter from Ye Yuhong.

Written boldly on the envelope were the six large characters: "For My Son Qingxuan to Open Personally."

Seeing Ye Qingxuan suddenly fall silent, Ye Yuhong spoke to comfort him:

"Qingxuan, your parents passed away with smiles on their faces. Do not be sad; take care of yourself."

Ye Qingxuan's parents had reached the advanced age of over one hundred and seventy when their lifespans ended.

Almost on the same night, as Ye's mother's life force was exhausted, Ye's father followed closely behind.

The two ultimately fell asleep embracing each other, smiling, and slept forever.

When other members of the Ye family discovered them the next day, only this letter remained by the bedside.

On the very day Ye Yuhong received the news, he rushed non-stop to deliver the letter to Ye Qingxuan.

After comforting Ye Qingxuan for a short while, Ye Yuhong left the Qingxuan Blessed Land alone.

Such matters must be overcome by Ye Qingxuan himself; he must walk out of it on his own, as the comfort of others' words is limited.

This is also something every cultivator must inevitably experience.

After Ye Yuhong departed, Ye Qingxuan's hands trembling slightly, opened the letter left to him by his parents:

"Xuan'er, your father and mother are gone. Do not be sad or grieved.

Although you have not been by our side these past years, it is because of you that the family has taken such good care of us.

The freedom and ease we enjoyed in our remaining years, and the happiness of seeing our children and grandchildren surround us, are all due to you.

Therefore, in our lives, your shadow has always accompanied us.

What worries your father and mother most is you! Although we cannot cultivate, we know this path is destined to be full of hardships.

You, alone, have embarked on this road of no return, bearing far more than your father, mother, younger brother, or younger sister ever had to.

Your father and mother at least had your younger brother and sister by our side, while you have always walked silently alone.

Over these years, your father and mother never blamed you, so after we are gone, do not blame or feel guilty for yourself.

Your father and mother have limited abilities and could not lend you a hand on the path of cultivation, but we are very fortunate that we never became a burden to you in this life.

Although your father and mother are gone, we hope you will carry our thoughts and keep walking, seeing for us the scenery of the Immortal Dao that we once vainly dreamed of.

Your father and mother will bless you from below, pray for you, and watch you until the very end.

You are the pride of your father and mother in this life. Go for it, my son!"

After reading the letter left by his parents, a glimmer of light flashed in Ye Qingxuan's eyes, but he did not shed tears.

Standing dazed at the edge of the stone pavilion, Ye Qingxuan gazed into the distance, lost in thought, and could not help but think:

"If I could have broken through to the Golden Core realm faster and formed a clone, could I have seen my parents one last time?"

Once this thought arose, Ye Qingxuan gradually fell into a certain obsession.

Memories of his life with his parents after arriving in the Earthly Xuan Realm constantly floated through his mind.

In this long life, the most relaxed and happy time for Ye Qingxuan was perhaps the twelve years spent with his parents.

Standing there, the light in Ye Qingxuan's eyes gradually dimmed as he wondered what he was thinking.

He stood there for seven days and seven nights. Immortals are heartless, not because they are born without emotion, but because on the long road to immortality, they lose all emotion! After seven days, the light returned to Ye Qingxuan's gaze, yet the aura surrounding him carried a new indifference never seen before.

A determination never before seen shone in Ye Qingxuan's eyes. With a tone carrying a hint of indifference, he said, "What I have lost on the path to immortality, I will reclaim all of it once I reach the peak."

Afterwards, Ye Qingxuan carefully put away the letter in his hand and returned to the blessed land.

He began his own long years of solitary cultivation.

In the days that followed, Ye Qingxuan was rarely seen outside the stone pavilion.

Only when Bai Zichuan came annually to collect the Spirit-Purifying Trees would Ye Qingxuan venture out.

In the remaining time, Ye Qingxuan almost sealed himself within the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, cultivating day and night with all his might.

Even knowing that such a cultivation method yielded little effect, Ye Qingxuan still did not care.

Ye Qingxuan had lost his former reason, seeming to think only of rapidly raising his cultivation base.

Bai Zichun, who came every year to collect the Pure Spirit Trees, was almost the only outsider who could see Ye Qingxuan.

Each time he saw Ye Qingxuan's increasingly indifferent aura, Bai Zichun tried several times to speak and offer advice, but ultimately fell silent.

Although Bai Zichun did not know what blow Ye Qingxuan had suffered, he knew that Ye Qingxuan had fallen into some kind of obsession.

The current Ye Qingxuan simply could not listen to anyone else's advice.

Blindly advising him might produce the opposite effect, causing Ye Qingxuan to sink deeper.

All of this could only be overcome by Ye Qingxuan himself.

An outsider sees clearly; Ye Qingxuan, who was an orphan in his past life, had still underestimated the impact of his parents' passing on him.

He thought he could take it all lightly, not realizing he had already fallen into an obsession.

Compared to other cultivators, Ye Qingxuan's dependence on his parents was actually deeper; it was just that Ye Qingxuan himself had not realized it.

Descending into the Di Xuan Realm with memories of his past life, naturally withdrawn as he was, he had held deep wariness toward this world since infancy.

It was his parents' care, drop by drop, that slowly made him lower his guard and accept his parents of this life, and this world.

One could say that during Ye Qingxuan's infancy, the only ones worthy of trust were his own parents.

His father and mother were also the most crucial bond between Ye Qingxuan and the world in those early years.

Now, with his father and mother gone, Ye Qingxuan was like a kite with a broken string, as if he did not know where to return.

He had cultivated for over a hundred years, yet when his parents passed, he could not be by their side to see them off one last time.

Ye Qingxuan appeared calm on the surface, but how could he not feel self-blame and guilt deep within? Wasn't his seemingly mad cultivation just Ye Qingxuan subconsciously escaping the self-blame and guilt deep in his heart?

Moreover, along his path, Ye Qingxuan had encountered almost no setbacks; compared to others' cultivation paths, Ye Qingxuan's was truly too smooth.

So, under the dual stimulation of the Green Demon Realm's invasion of the Di Xuan Realm and his parents' passing,

subconsciously, Ye Qingxuan desperately wanted to obtain greater power, to completely control his own destiny, and to change all of this.

Under the influence of various factors, Ye Qingxuan unknowingly fell into an obsession without realizing it.

As time passed, Ye Qingxuan's attention to external affairs became increasingly faint.

Under the influence of his obsession, Ye Qingxuan immersed himself directly in cultivation; the liveliness in his eyes was gone, no longer as it once was.

Even the Azure Dragon, Xiao Kong, and Xiao Ling, who were usually very close to him within the Blessed Land, now only dared to linger not far from Ye Qingxuan, fearing they might disturb him.

Although they were merely spiritual beasts, their perception of changes in external auras far exceeded that of ordinary people; naturally, they sensed the change after Ye Qingxuan changed.

Ten years after his father and mother passed away,

Ye Qingxuan sold another five hundred fourth-rank Pure Spirit Trees, exchanging them for four third-rank Spirit Vein Sources and five second-rank Spirit Vein Sources.

This time, seeing Ye Qingxuan's increasingly indifferent aura, Bai Zichun could no longer hold back and spoke to advise:

"Qingxuan, your path is still long. On the road of cultivation, who does not experience setbacks? Look at it more lightly!"

Bai Zichun was not clear on what exactly had happened to Ye Qingxuan, so he did not know how to help him.

He also never expected that Ye Qingxuan, who had been developing so well, would suddenly undergo such a huge change, falling directly into some kind of obsession from which he could not extricate himself.

Moreover, it now seemed that Ye Qingxuan was trending toward sinking deeper.

Regarding Bai Zichun's words, Ye Qingxuan seemed not to hear them at all; he merely nodded mechanically before returning to the Blessed Land.

It was not that Ye Qingxuan did not want to respond, but rather that Ye Qingxuan was like one trapped in a cognitive barrier, still regarding everything in the outside world as he did before falling into the obsession.

Therefore, Ye Qingxuan himself had not noticed his own changes.

Seeing this, Bai Zichun could only shake his head in regret before leaving the Qingxuan Blessed Land.

Twenty-three years after his father and mother passed away,

Ye Qingxuan once again sold five hundred fourth-rank Pure Spirit Trees, exchanging them for four third-rank Spirit Vein Sources and five second-rank Spirit Vein Sources.

After all the Spirit Vein Sources were fully integrated into the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land, the Blessed Land now contained:

twelve third-rank Spirit Veins, seventeen second-rank Spirit Veins, and twenty first-rank Spirit Veins.

With more than a dozen additional second- and third-rank Spirit Veins, the transformation speed of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land's origin increased several-fold.

With the assistance of numerous Spirit Veins, the origin of the Qingxuan Cave Heaven and Blessed Land quickly accumulated enough, smoothly advancing to the late stage of the second rank.

Twenty-eight years after his father and mother passed away,

Ye Qingxuan, in a state of day-and-night cultivation, successfully broke through to the Golden Core Realm.

(End of this chapter)