Chapter 1326: Six Lifetimes of Waiting

The Heavenly Dao of Wanggu was reshaped. From then on, one eternal path and ninety-nine continuous paths of cultivation were established.

For Wanggu, this was a meritorious act.

For the myriad races, it was hope.

The path of cultivation was finally reconnected!

The obsession of the Ancient Spirit Emperor, using his former status as a Summer Immortal, would ignite a lamp in the darkness before the myriad races.

While dispelling the mist, moving towards the lamp would lead them to the other shore!

“There are still some matters to attend to,” Xu Qing murmured from the sky, looking down at the earth, and stepped forward.

Zhou Zhenglì and others followed him.

Time passed, and three days went by.

During these three days, Xu Qing visited many places. His presence descended upon each of the powerful clans where the gods resided. Xu Qing also entered places where traces of external forces were suspected to exist.

Ultimately, he removed almost all visible external pawns.

After completing these tasks, his own Immortal-God fusion reached its limit and could not be sustained. At dusk on the third day, he separated before Ghost Emperor Mountain.

His God-body detached and merged with the divine essence. To some extent, the God-body could now be seen as a clone of Shanghuang. It was formed from Shanghuang’s flesh and blood and now possessed Shanghuang’s divine essence. Although it remained mysteriously connected and intimately related to Xu Qing, too many uncertainties existed.

Because of this, Xu Qing did not let it return to the underground palace. Instead, he submerged it deep within Wanggu.

Then, returning to his Immortal-body, he stood before Ghost Emperor Mountain in the dim twilight, gazing at the massive peak. Behind him were Zhou Zhenglì and others, silently accompanying him.

As for what lay before him… there was also a person on Ghost Emperor Mountain. That person sat cross-legged on the mountain peak, their clothes somewhat soiled, their expression haggard, eyes closed in contemplation.

“Third Senior Brother,” Xu Qing said softly.

The figure sitting cross-legged on Ghost Emperor Mountain was none other than Seventh Master’s third disciple, Xu Qing’s Third Senior Brother!

Back then, during the Wanggu Catastrophe, Seventh Master went into seclusion, Xu Qing went out, Second Bull traveled to Huangtian, Second Senior Sister remained in Seven-Blood Eyes, and Third Senior Brother… he came to Ghost Emperor Mountain. He sat cross-legged on the peak. He had been sitting there for nearly thirty years.

He wished to return to his former self, to use the power of his past life to protect those he cared about in this current life. For he was the reincarnation of the Ghost Emperor!

This connection between him and Ghost Emperor Mountain… Seventh Master was clearly aware of it, and clues had appeared multiple times in Xu Qing’s past memories.

Back then, the Ghost Emperor had meditated to his demise in Yinghuang Prefecture, his three souls transforming into mountains, and his seven corporeal souls becoming malevolent entities. His spiritual power had dispersed, nourishing all beings in Yinghuang Prefecture. Yet, clearly, his vital essence remained. Dispersed with his spirit, perhaps through reincarnation or the intervention of an external force, he was reborn in Yinghuang Prefecture many years later. His childhood was filled with hardship and hatred, ultimately leading a servant to send him to Seven-Blood Eyes. He then took Seventh Master as his teacher, becoming Seventh Master’s third disciple.

However, an invisible chasm clearly existed between his past and present lives. It was not easy to return, integrate, or reclaim the power of his past life. His three souls did not return, and his seven corporeal souls remained still. His vital essence… was merely vital essence.

Therefore, Third Senior Brother, who had been sitting on Ghost Emperor Mountain for nearly thirty years, had not succeeded. Perhaps, if Xu Qing had not returned, the black tower of the Ninth Stellar Ring behind Third Senior Brother would have provided assistance during the Ancient Immortal Tribulation, allowing him to successfully merge with his past life. He would have become a larger pawn in the black tower’s scheme for Wanggu. But at that point, he might no longer have been himself.

However, Xu Qing’s return and his drawing of the line ended the Ancient Immortal Tribulation. Simultaneously, the black tower of the Ninth Stellar Ring was the only one among the four Divine Venerables who chose to sever all karmic ties.

Thus, Third Senior Brother… was free.

At this moment, as Xu Qing’s voice echoed, Third Senior Brother, sitting cross-legged on the peak of Ghost Emperor Mountain, slowly opened his eyes and spoke hoarsely.

“Fourth Junior Brother…”

Xu Qing’s relationship with this Third Senior Brother was much weaker compared to his relationships with Second Senior Sister and First Senior Brother. Their interactions were few, and the most striking memory was of the Mermaid Princess back in Seven-Blood Eyes. That princess, while being pursued by Xu Qing, had fled onto Third Senior Brother’s magic vessel, only to have her neck gently snapped by him with a smile. That scene had profoundly impacted Xu Qing. It was precisely because of this that a sense of caution arose in his heart, leading him to rarely interact with Third Senior Brother afterward.

Recalling the past and looking at the present, Xu Qing felt a sense of lament. So he took a step and appeared on Ghost Emperor Mountain, standing beside Third Senior Brother. Gazing at his haggard Third Senior Brother, Xu Qing spoke softly.

“Third Senior Brother, do you need my help to return to your past life?”

Third Senior Brother remained silent, a hint of confusion in his eyes. After a long moment, he shook his head.

“Fourth Junior Brother, do you want to hear my story?”

Xu Qing nodded.

Third Senior Brother raised his hand, took out a bottle of old wine, and after taking a sip, said hoarsely.

“I was born in Yinghuang Prefecture… and after my birth, I initially didn’t know my connection to the Ghost Emperor. But a voice kept calling… The direction it pointed was precisely this mountain. And as I grew, this calling became stronger and stronger, giving me an ethereal sense that… this mountain was me. It wasn’t until Master went into seclusion that this voice became more frequent, so I came here. You went missing, and First Senior Brother went missing too. I could guess that you were both trying to find a way to help Master, and I wanted to as well… So I stayed here, trying to merge with this mountain. During that process… I saw a black tower. That tower told me that for all these years, it wasn’t Ghost Emperor Mountain calling me, but *it*. It was calling, it wanted my soul, my body, everything about me, and it promised to protect Seven-Blood Eyes. I agreed.”

Third Senior Brother murmured.

“Actually, I don’t even know if my connection with Ghost Emperor Mountain is truly past life and present life… But I wanted to try, so with the black tower’s help, I began merging with Ghost Emperor Mountain. This process was long, and finally, I vaguely saw you, Fourth Junior Brother. I saw you drawing lines in the starry sky. I also saw that mysterious black tower sever its connection with me, giving me freedom… But…”

Third Senior Brother looked up, gazing at Xu Qing.

“At the moment of disconnection, I discovered that the voice which had appeared in my childhood and called to me for half my life… was still there! This voice didn’t come from the black tower at all. In fact, sitting here, I can be very sure it didn’t come from Ghost Emperor Mountain either… Before that, the black tower had deceived me. That voice… it’s coming from that direction…”

Third Senior Brother raised his hand and pointed North.

“There’s someone there, waiting for me… for many years…”

Xu Qing followed Third Senior Brother’s gaze towards the North, and a ripple rose in his heart at that moment. That was the direction of the Primordial Separation Pillar, that was… the Ghost Cave!

“You asked if I wanted to merge with the Ghost Emperor. I don’t, Fourth Junior Brother. I want to go there, I want to find the source of that calling voice… to meet the person who calls me.”

Third Senior Brother looked at Xu Qing.

“Alright.” Xu Qing raised his hand and waved. Instantly, the world twisted, and the void blurred. In the next moment… his and Third Senior Brother’s figures vanished from Ghost Emperor Mountain.

When they reappeared, they were on the icy plains north of Yinghuang Prefecture, standing in the sky. Amidst the howling cold wind, the Primordial Separation Pillar stood majestically in the snowstorm. As Xu Qing and Third Senior Brother appeared, the colossal Separation Pillar suddenly began to tremble. One by one, the previously dim inscribed runes on it instantly brightened.

Finally, the entire Primordial Separation Pillar shone with brilliant splendor.

However, Third Senior Brother paid no attention to the changes in the Primordial Separation Pillar. His gaze, completely unfocused on anything else, was fixed on the ground. More precisely, he was looking at… the point where the Primordial Separation Pillar connected with the earth! That was the entrance to the Ghost Cave!

“All these years, the voice that kept calling me… it was here all along…” Third Senior Brother’s voice trembled slightly as he murmured, instinctively raising his hand to press against the Primordial Separation Pillar.

As his right hand rose, perhaps due to the continuous fusion with Ghost Emperor Mountain over the past thirty years, or perhaps because the external influence of the Divine Venerable’s black tower was gone, his connection with the Primordial Separation Pillar became much tighter, no longer distorted. Immediately, the Primordial Separation Pillar began to rumble. To the astonishment of the cultivators in the surrounding tents, the Primordial Separation Pillar slowly began to rise amidst the immense sound.

During this process, the icy plains trembled! The Primordial Separation Pillar rose higher and higher, finally pulling directly out of the ground! Soaring into the sky!

Violent winds swept across the land, howling in all directions. Countless tents were ripped away, and the cultivators of various races residing and practicing there retreated in shock. Even some of the Sword Holders present changed expressions and ascended into the sky, wanting to see what was happening.

On the ground, as the Primordial Separation Pillar ascended, a massive and pitch-black opening abruptly appeared! That opening was precisely… the Ghost Cave!

As gusts of cold air emanated from within, the sound of a woman singing opera also faintly echoed from the Ghost Cave.

“Past lives do not return, but future lives are always present; affections clipped and painted as dust…”“This life lingers, the rest of life buried; who waits within the cycle of rebirth…”

The voice was mournful and beautiful, like weeping and lamenting. It seemed to carry countless regrets and reluctance from past lives, thread by thread, weaving the confusion of this life and the solitude of the remaining years into the melody. Every word seemed to be ground from endless longing and loneliness, swirling in the wind and snow, trailing long echoes, like an intricate thread of emotion impossible to untangle, weaving a melancholic and wistful tableau across the heavens and earth. It made one feel as if they saw all the missed opportunities of past lives, loves sealed by time, helplessly turning to dust and dissipating in the winds of time, leaving only a faint trace of sorrow lingering in the heart.

Rising and falling…

Beyond the dreams of three lives, old memories are hard to change; only lingering regrets sway in the wind.Four generations of sorrow, obsession’s rise and fall; tears spill by the Bridge of Helplessness.Five generations of waiting in vain, fate hard to rekindle; leaning alone against the cold cave, pouring out one’s heart.Six generations of solitary sorrow, old dreams turned to haze; even as splendor fades, presence remains elusive…