Chapter 721: Breaking through life and death, meeting across the span of time

In this mysterious mine, there lies a power that defies the Five Elements, filled with a unique rule power not found in the Wild Heaven Region. Since the qi of the Five Elements cannot be cultivated, he decides to try using the reverse qi of the Five Elements, which is absent from the world!

If he can refine this with the power of the Five Elements, he could gain the strength to challenge the geniuses of the sacred lands, those who were once his peers!

Then he could walk proudly in the Tianxuan Sacred Land, and his father would finally look at him with respect, no longer sighing...

Time is meaningless in cultivation. Jing Yuxing forcibly absorbed the reverse qi of the Five Elements, and his mind became somewhat blurred.

However, to his great delight, he managed to break through to the Great Ascension stage. Yet, his energy inexplicably connected with the mine he brought back from the Wild Star Sea, and he was... refined by the mine!

He became a spirit of the mine, achieving his breakthrough but losing his sanity, unable to escape, as if controlled by the mine.

After thousands upon thousands of years, he finally managed to send out a wisp of his soul. The outside world had changed beyond recognition, and he could no longer tell north from south.

Jing Yuxing's wandering soul drifted through the Wild Heaven Region, sensing those bloodline letters along the way, written by his father's own hand...

He remembered the material of the object, a treasure his father cherished most, said to have been brought from the Ancient City of True Spirits to forge a supreme treasure for his personal disciple.

He carefully opened the letter, and his heart felt as if mountains and rivers were collapsing before him.

"My son Yuxing, it's been a long time since I've heard from you. I know you harbor resentment towards me, but as the Great Elder of the sacred land, a model for its cultivators, I can only watch your growth from the shadows."

"Over the years, I've paid attention to your every step. Your resilience is worthy of the title of cultivator, and I am very gratified, never minding your spiritual roots."

"But once you left for the Wild Star Sea, I could no longer watch over your path to immortality. Yet, through the bloodline's mysterious connection, I knew you were still alive. My son, Jing Xianghong's child, even without spiritual roots, is destined to be extraordinary."

"This token was meant to be used for crafting your life-bound magical artifact, but now it seems less important. I don't know when you'll return, so I leave it to you in a special way."

"The small cave abode in the back mountain is still preserved for you. Haha, the few golden-scaled fish you raised, I've bought low-grade divine souls from Boundless Heaven to seal them for you."

"I hope that after seeing the bloodline letters, you'll leave some news for me. You have your own path to immortality, and I won't interfere. But if you're tired, come back to the sacred land for a visit."

"If the road ahead is not smooth, after experiencing so much, I believe your Dao heart is as firm as a rock, undisturbed by worldly noise. Why fear returning? As the esteemed figure of the Heaven Region, can't I let my son enjoy his later years in the back mountain of Tianxuan Sacred Land?"

The letter ended there, with dappled sunlight filtering through the leaves, casting the marks of time quietly onto the paper.

Jing Yuxing's soul trembled violently, reading the letter over and over, not missing a single corner, afraid of overlooking any ink.

Yet, such precious immortal material had small cracks at the corners, like the marks of longing, gradually torn by the river of time, as if it had been a long, long time...

The ink on the letter was already somewhat blurred, leaving only traces of the pen, yet it seemed to reveal the deep emotions his father poured into writing it.

On the tattered envelope, the characters "Yuxing" were faintly visible, twisted and smudged, like his father's enduring concern for his son, now tinged with a sense of poignant beauty and sorrow.

Jing Yuxing rushed out of the mine in a frenzy, disregarding the loss of vitality within him, searching everywhere for the domain of Tianxuan Sacred Land, only to be struck by the harsh reality.

Tianxuan Sacred Land and Tianji Sacred Land had merged tens of thousands of years ago, now renamed Xuanji Sacred Land!

Holding the former sacred land's jade token, he entered Xuanji Sacred Land, where elders from all sides personally intervened, looking at Jing Yuxing in shock, plunging the entire Xuanji Sacred Land into an eerie silence.

Even the grand elder of the sacred land personally emerged, staring at the suddenly appearing Jing Yuxing in disbelief, even going to check the sacred scrolls of the land.

There really was such a person!

Jing Yuxing stumbled to the sacred land's tombs, but his father's tombstone was nowhere to be found. He seemed to have lost his soul, mechanically following distant memories to a nameless small hill.

There lay a sealed, dilapidated cave abode, and beside it, an immortal tomb, Jing... Xianghong...!

Jing Yuxing trembled all over, tears streaming down silently, realizing that all the dangers he faced in the Wild Heaven Region after leaving the sacred land were due to his father's help from behind the scenes.

He had a thousand words in his heart, but his throat was hoarse and dry, unable to utter a single word, even as the black hair on his head slowly turned white at a speed visible to the naked eye.

The farewell at the back mountain of the sacred land had been tens of thousands of years ago, and looking back, everything had changed. Jing Yuxing gazed at the vast world, his heart like dead ashes, his vitality fading even more.

He slowly knelt, tears welling up again, speaking in a low, hoarse voice, "Father... your child has returned."

The immortal tomb stood silently beside the cave abode, as if watching over that figure, still silently caring for him.

At this moment, the wind rose in the back mountain.

The rustling of the trees spread in all directions, leaves flying in the air, like the gratified response of the deceased in the immortal tomb, knowing that their child had finally returned...

He had finally waited.

Jing Yuxing's figure gradually blurred, but tears continued to fall to the ground, his gaze fixed on the immortal tomb, unwilling to leave.

Yet, after he left, the strong figures of Xuanji Sacred Land naturally speculated on what had happened, beginning to deduce Jing Yuxing's movements from the clues.

This was undoubtedly related to a great secret!

...

Deep within the mine.

Several jade slips' light screens gradually dimmed, the images within frozen at this final scene.

"...So that's how it is." Chen Xun's gaze was deep, sighing slightly, hoping that their longevity would not be like this, for some things, once missed, could never be made up.

Black Bull's eyes trembled, snorting several times, as if recalling something of its own...

Buzz—

The jade slip suddenly transformed into a sky full of divine light of the Five Elements, and a phantom figure gradually appeared, none other than Jing Yuxing.

"It seems a fellow Daoist has arrived here."

"Daoist Jing."

Chen Xun, with an ethereal demeanor, nodded with a smile, no longer in the mindset of scavenging treasures, returning to his calm and serene self.

Jing Yuxing seemed unable to see them, speaking to himself, "There is no legacy here, only some of my stories to share with visiting Daoists. Sometimes, experiences on the path to immortality are more valuable than resources."

"Indeed." Chen Xun's smile was gentle, "Thank you, Daoist, for the gift. After cultivating immortality for so many years, we've fallen into worldly ways."

"The paths to immortality differ, as do the insights. I hope the visiting Daoists find a clear path, and do not make the same mistakes I did. The vast scenery of cultivation is never about realms or spiritual roots."

"Hehe."

Chen Xun cupped his hands, smiling with emotion, "It seems the Daoist has already entered the Dao. Congratulations, it was presumptuous of us to enter this treasure land."

Jing Yuxing's vacant gaze suddenly turned to Chen Xun, as if gaining awareness, crossing life and death, crossing the river of time, meeting Chen Xun in this ordinary cave abode.

He said no more, but a relieved smile appeared at the corner of his mouth, cupping his hands towards Chen Xun.

Moments later, Jing Yuxing's phantom figure soared into the sky, completely dissipating in this eerie mine, without any earth-shattering events or strange phenomena.

Even the serene corpse sitting there gradually vanished with the wind, so free, so unrestrained...

Chen Xun returned Jing Yuxing's storage ring to the table, patting the still-entranced Black Bull, "Return these things, and those jade stones are unnecessary."

"Moo?"

"This is Daoist Jing's resting place, let's not disturb him further."

Chen Xun walked out slowly, hands behind his back, looking relaxed, "Besides, the origin of this mine is already clear, why be greedy, let it rest with Daoist Jing."

"Moo moo~" Black Bull nodded, quickly running to catch up, no longer worried, its nature different from Little Chi.

But as Chen Xun left, he kept one thing for himself, the jade token of Tianxuan Sacred Land.

On the road.

"Bull."

"Moo?"

"What do you want to eat? Today, this Dao Ancestor is in a good mood, willing to personally cook for the Bull Clan's Formation Emperor!"

"Moo moo?"

"Haha, indeed."

"Moo~~~"

...

Chen Xun walked alongside Black Bull, laughter echoing, gradually fading into the darkness, without taking a single piece of the finest Tianhang Jade Stone.

After they left, the secret realm was suddenly enveloped by a world-shaking formation, sinking continuously, never to appear again in the world.