Chapter 57

Yan Bujian's scarlet-gold eyes swept across the empty water, molten gold flowing in their depths. The next moment, the atmosphere around him suddenly became cold, as if the coldest days of winter had suddenly arrived.

His divine consciousness surged like a tide, covering the entire Yunshan Mountain in an instant.

After a century of seclusion, he had now reached the state of returning to the void, his divine consciousness easily capable of covering vast mountains and rivers. At this moment, the swaying of every blade of grass and tree, the rolling of every grain of sand and stone in the mountains, were all perfectly palpable within his perception.

However, from the Fish-Dragon Realm to the battlefield outside the boundary, from the deep underground pool to the triple mist, wherever his spiritual thoughts reached, he could not find any trace of that beautiful figure.

"Lin Yibai..."

Yan Bujian's face darkened, his knuckles turning white from exertion. Anxiety grew like a vine in his heart: Where had she gone? Had something happened to her while he was in seclusion?

Or...did she betray him again?

The scene before the retreat a hundred years ago flashed through his mind. Lin Yibai's worried brows and whispered promises were like the sharpest knife, cutting his heart and making it ache.

Finally, when his divine consciousness swept across Yunshan Mountain for the third time, he finally caught a glimpse of something unusual somewhere in the mountain range.

It was a land enveloped by a thick layer of earthly spiritual energy, its outer perimeter entwined with layers of dark golden ancient runes, isolating it from the outside world. If he hadn't reached the perfection of Return to the Void, even if he patrolled the mountain for countless years, he would never have been able to detect it.

Yan Bujian frowned when he saw this, and without delay, he turned into a stream of red-gold light. In almost an instant, he broke through the numerous mountain barriers and appeared in front of the ancient formation.

As his eyes turned slightly, the sword mark in his eyes burst out with a sharp red-gold sword energy, and the ancient formation was broken.

The moment he stepped into the secret realm, his eyes suddenly opened up——

The valley is deep and mossy, dotted with flowers. A gurgling stream meanders out from the depths of the valley, the sound of water like the gentle caress of a jade harp.

In the heart of the valley stood a dream tree several dozen feet tall, its petals like layers of ice and snow, their edges shimmering with a pale golden glow. The stamens shone brightly, and the person he had thought of for a century lay peacefully within them. Enveloped by the glow like a mist, she looked like a fairy in the clouds.

The girl's face remained unchanged, still as beautiful as it had been a hundred years ago. Her long eyelashes drooped quietly, and a faint smile played at the corners of her mouth, as if she had simply fallen into a sweet dream. The light film around her echoed with the radiance of the nightshade flower's stamens. With every breath, a subtle spiritual energy flowed through her nose and into her body, nourishing her soul.

Yan Bujian slowly landed in the air in front of her, looking at the girl's peaceful sleeping eyes. Complex emotions were surging in those red-gold pupils - there was the joy of regaining what had been lost, there was relief that she was safe and sound, but more of it was the anger and confusion of being abandoned.

He flew through the air, stepping closer to Meng Epiphyllum, his fingertips almost touching the girl's cheek, and the question was on the tip of his tongue: Why did you leave halfway? Why didn't you keep your promise and wait for him to come out?

However, at this moment, a dark golden light suddenly flashed in front of Lin Yibai.

Yan Bujian paused, and when he looked up again, he saw another "familiar face" - a hundred years had passed, and the dry vine had undergone earth-shaking changes. It was no longer half-dead. The vine had become a bit thicker, and the dark golden lines were more and more brilliant, as if the veins of the galaxy were engraved on it. The breath of life emanating from its body was as majestic as a spiritual vein, entwined on the stem of the dream cereus, and interwoven with the luminescence of the petals to form a strange light curtain.

"Don't be so angry here." The next moment, the old vine spoke to him in human language, with a hint of helplessness in its voice. The tip of the vine swayed gently towards him, "This girl didn't want to leave you at first, but I dragged her away by force. If I hadn't brought her to this 'Tanxin Valley', she would probably still be waiting foolishly underwater for a hundred years, not even caring about her own future."

Yan Bujian heard this and felt that the lingering depression in his heart was swept away at this moment: So, it wasn't her who left him...

The next moment, a trace of murderous intent suddenly flashed in his eyes, and he said coldly to Old Teng, "If I had known earlier, I should have cut you into ashes in the maze of Old Teng Yan, so as to avoid the trouble today."

Wu Shenggen shuddered at his pressure and quickly defended himself, "I'm trying to help her! This flower was transformed from a thousand-year-old mountain spirit on Yunshan Mountain. Its roots are connected to the earth's veins, making it the very heart of the mountain. Once she refines the Dream Palm, she'll be able to control the entire Yunshan Mountain as her cave abode. By then, even a master of the Tongtian realm won't be able to cross the line unless she agrees!"

It paused, then continued, "—Do you think she can return to the Bodeng Sect after her trip to Yunshan? Lin Wuya is completely insane, and returning would be like walking into a tiger's mouth! With Yunshan as her home, she will truly have a safe place to stay."

"I will destroy the Bodeng Sect and give her a safe home. Why should you interfere?" Yan Bujian snorted coldly, his tone filled with unquestionable certainty. With his current cultivation level in the Return to Void Realm, destroying the Bodeng Sect would be a piece of cake. After that, he would find a beautiful place for Lin Yibai to protect her for the rest of her life.

Wu Shenggen was silent for a moment, his vine body swaying slightly, and his tone suddenly became serious: Wu Shenggen was silent for a long time, his vine body swaying slightly: "The former is easy for you. But the latter - do you really think you can do it?"

Yan Bujian was startled when he heard this, and then his eyes suddenly became sharp: "What do you mean?"

"Have you forgotten the path you chose?" Wu Shenggen said solemnly, "Once the immortal realm is ushered back, you will ascend to attain enlightenment, forever separating the immortals from the mortal world. A hundred years may seem like a blink of an eye to you, but it's a lifetime to her. You can protect her for a moment, but can you protect her for a lifetime? Only by refining Meng Tan and controlling Yunshan can she truly stand on her own feet, without having to rely on anyone else."

Although these words were few and far between, each one was as sharp as a knife, piercing through the veil covering Yan Bujian's heart and laying the bloody reality before him.

He was silent for a moment.

"I know my limits." After a while, he spoke slowly, his voice stubborn but with a barely perceptible hoarseness.

Even though he was extremely unwilling, he had to admit that what Lao Teng said was exactly the fate he had to face now.

Wu Shenggen shook his head, and the tip of the vine pointed at Lin Yibai in the stamen of the Dream Cloud Flower. "She will need time to wake up. The Dream Cloud Flower's spiritual energy is nourishing her soul, which can not only stabilize her current Qi Integration Realm cultivation, but also refine her physique and help her better align with the earth's veins."

"I will be here to protect you. Your most urgent task is to complete your mission. I'm afraid 'that' has been waiting for you for a long time."

Yan Bujian heard the words, his eyes fell on Lin Yibai's face, he leaned forward, and gently brushed her cheek with his fingertips.

The place he touched was warm. He looked at the girl's sleeping face, with enthusiasm and hesitation intertwined in his eyes.

The next moment, he finally couldn't suppress his inner desire, and leaned over, and placed a careful kiss on her smooth forehead as if she were a rare treasure.

He then slashed his fingertips, causing a drop of crimson-gold blood to drip onto the petals of the Dream Cloud Flower. The moment the blood soaked into the petals, a crimson-gold pattern emerged on the white petals, like an invisible brand, tightly connecting his aura to the Dream Cloud Flower.

"Hey! How can you be like this..." Wu Shenggen said anxiously when he saw this, but the next moment, he was frightened by the sharp gaze and fell silent again.

He whispered to her, "Wait for me."

Before he finished speaking, he turned into a stream of red-gold light and flew away into the air.

*

Empty mist.

Just as Yan Bujian stepped into this chaos again, the familiar bronze mirror appeared in front of him again like a ghost.

He stared at the bronze mirror, his face expressionless, and said calmly: "Now that things have come to this, why not just reveal it?"

As soon as he finished speaking, the next moment, the bronze mirror suddenly shattered!

A purple-robed figure slowly walked out of the chaos—the old man had white hair and a youthful face, a dignified expression, and a faint immortal aura emanating from his body. It was none other than the immortal who stood at the head of the immortals, whom Yan Bujian had seen in the mirror a hundred years ago.

His gaze was like a deep pool, as if he could see through everything in the world. When it fell on Yan Bujian, it was with a hint of scrutiny and satisfaction.

"It's you." Yan Bujian's eyes darkened, but there was no surprise on his face.

From what he saw in the mirror at that time, to the inscriptions on the Fish-Dragon Realm, and then to the agreement of the Wind and Thunder Order, he had long guessed that the driving force behind all this was the residual soul of the immortal who died at the end of the immortal era.

The Immortal Venerable spoke slowly, his voice thick with the vicissitudes of time: "Indeed. You are truly gifted. In just a hundred years, you've cultivated to the perfection of Return to the Void. Now, with your current cultivation and the Sword Bone, even before you ascend, your strength far surpasses that of the immortals of the past... It seems I made the right choice."

"It's all thanks to the Jade Rain you left behind." Yan Bujian's expression was indifferent. He didn't show the awkwardness of a former giant, but instead had a hint of alienation. "But isn't all this within your expectations? Between you and me, let's skip these empty words and get straight to the point. The reason I came here is to confirm with you once again how I can bring the immortal world back."

He did not have much respect for the Immortal Lord. After all, the Immortal Lord's "trial" was essentially just a shackle that pushed him into fate, and even almost made him lose Lin Yibai.

They just got what they wanted, and he really didn't have any good feelings towards him.

The Immortal Venerable was not angry when he heard this. Instead, he looked at him with a smile, as if admiring a perfect work of art: "Only two steps."

"Eliminate all demons from the Three Thousand Continents, use the sword bone to reforge the Demon-Suppressing Sword, and seal the Demon Realm once more. Then, using your spirit soul as a guide, communicate with the origin of the Immortal Realm and usher in the return of the Immortal Realm. At that time, you will release all the suppressed cultivation within you, and naturally strive for the Tongtian Realm, ascend to enlightenment, and inherit the Immortal Venerable position that has been vacant for four hundred years."

Yan Bujian nodded, took his words to heart, waved his sleeves, and was about to turn and leave.

"Why are you so impatient?" The Immortal Venerable's voice suddenly rang out, a sigh lingering in its wake. "You should know that while your 'mental barrier' has largely dissipated since you saw that girl didn't betray you, it still lingers. Suppressing the demonic realm and guiding the immortal realm won't be difficult for you, but when your cultivation reaches the celestial realm and you encounter the thunder tribulation, it will become your greatest hidden danger – the slightest carelessness could lead to eternal damnation."

"Why don't you stay here for a few years and let me help you clear your mind completely..."

Yan Bujian's back paused, and then he interrupted it coldly -

“No need.”

Before he finished speaking, he had already stepped out of the chaos.