Chapter 485: Moonlit Sword Dance

Every stroke of this painting was imbued with emotion and memories. Looking at it, he felt as if he was reliving the beautiful moments he had shared with his wife.

The painting naturally resonated with Meng Chuan's deepest feelings and profoundly affected his primordial spirit, which continuously radiated spiritual light. However, even after he finished, his primordial spirit remained at the sixth level.

"I've finished painting, and I've calmed down."

Meng Chuan sat under the big tree and waved his hand, putting away the scroll. "I think I can calmly continue my cultivation now," he mused.

Unlike King Zhenwu, who doubted his cultivation path, Meng Chuan had no such doubts about his own.

"Let me get thoroughly drunk; after that, I'll cultivate properly," Meng Chuan said. With a flick of his hand, he produced a jar of Firefruit wine, then sat under the tree and began to drink.

As the Firefruit wine went down his throat, it felt like flames burning in his chest, making his head feel hot. Meng Chuan deliberately prevented his body from expelling the alcohol, enjoying the slightly intoxicated feeling.

With his physical body, even the finest wines of Yuanchu Mountain could hardly make him truly drunk.

"Qiyue," Meng Chuan whispered to himself, embracing the wine jar under the tree and drinking. "In the past, when I encountered setbacks, I could talk to you. I could share my joys, boast about cultivation breakthroughs, and you were there for me when I was sad... But what about now? Who will I talk to during the millennia to come?"

Meng Chuan tilted his head back, drinking.

He drank deeply.

The Firefruit wine, like a fierce flame, burned his chest, making him feel drunk. Yet, Meng Chuan's mind became increasingly active, and scenes of beautiful memories flashed before his eyes.

"The happy days we spent together, fighting side by side, raising our children..." Meng Chuan chuckled self-deprecatingly. "Now they only exist in my memories."

"Only memories?"

"How ridiculous."

Meng Chuan continued to drink, muttering to himself.

The sky gradually darkened.

One jar of wine was finished, then another.

His intoxication grew stronger.

"They say that if two hearts are truly long-lasting, their bond transcends being together day and night!" Meng Chuan murmured. "But what I want is to be together day and night!"

"I'm talking nonsense again. It's impossible now."

"It's impossible!"

Meng Chuan threw away the empty wine jar and drew the Demon Slaying Blade from his waist.

He freely and wildly performed his blade techniques, each move venting the sorrow, indignation, and unwillingness in his heart.

After all, not everything in the world goes as one wishes.

Some people give up on themselves, some sink into despair, but the strong accept it and strive to change the future.

However, even the most powerful individuals sometimes need to vent.

A crescent moon hung high, its cold light bathing the training grounds of Meng Mansion by Mirror Lake.

A lone figure freely performed blade techniques on the training grounds.

As he performed his blade techniques, Meng Chuan recited aloud, his voice echoing in the dark night: "Like a pair of birds flying across the vast world, how many winters and summers have passed for their old wings?"

He and Qiyue had once been like that pair of birds, journeying across the world together, no matter how long it took.

He continued: "The joy of reunion, the sorrow of parting, and within it, the devoted children."

So many memories.

Days of joy, the pain of separation.

"Devoted children?"

Meng Chuan continued to recite, his blade techniques becoming increasingly desolate and beautiful: "My lord, you should have words: vast layers of clouds across ten thousand li, mountains covered in evening snow, to whom does a solitary shadow fly?" His movements resembled a solitary wild goose flying alone amidst a thousand mountains shrouded in evening snow.

"To whom does a solitary shadow fly!"

As that one strike was unleashed...

Meng Chuan felt the night sky was as beautiful as a painting. As moonlight poured down, he could see strands of light piercing through the void, spreading everywhere.

Everything seemed to slow down.

The moonlight's flow slowed, the wind seemed to stop; everything decelerated. This slowness neared 'stillness,' making all things in heaven and earth appear like 'a painting.' Only the moonlight still fell relatively quickly, yet Meng Chuan could clearly see each strand of light with his naked eye, making the scene all the more exquisite.

The blade vanished from sight the moment it was unleashed, existing within the fissures of space-time. It was like the most potent move created by Ancestor Guo Ke, the 'Heart Intent Blade,' which was invisible, striking enemies before they even realized what had happened.

Meng Chuan's strike had not yet reached the Heaven and Earth realm; it was merely the first truly successful manifestation of his ultimate art, the 'Endless Blade.'

This one strike...

It existed in the fissures of space-time, difficult to find, impossible to block; those slain wouldn't even perceive the blade.

This strike also altered time.

Time slowed to a near standstill, and the enemy was already struck.

Only a blade of such caliber, wielded by someone at the peak of the Grotto-Heaven realm, could hope to transcend ranks and slay an Emperor.

"So this is the true Endless Blade," Meng Chuan murmured to himself.

It was his profound love for his wife and his deep reluctance to part with her that allowed Meng Chuan to unleash that strike.

Only with such an endless and enduring affection could such a strike manifest.

It was under Meng Chuan's state of mind that the 'Light Aspect,' 'Yin-Yang Aspect,' and 'Wave Splitting Aspect' of the Thunder lineage coalesced into this desolate yet beautiful strike, a strike capable of breaking free from the shackles of the world's rules.

Legend had it that...

when pure speed shattered the rules of heaven and earth, it could also alter time.

Meng Chuan continued to perform his blade techniques under the moonlight, every move imbued with his deep longing and reluctance to part with his wife.

When his emotions had run their course, Meng Chuan stopped, lay down under the big tree... and fell asleep.

***

Yuanchu Mountain, Grotto-Heaven Pavilion.

"According to our intelligence, in recent days, Meng Chuan first went to Fengxue Pass, then to Jiangzhou City and other places, returned to Yuanchu Mountain, and is now in Dongning City," Li Guan said with a frown. "As far as we can tell, all the places he's visited are where he and Liu Qiyue once lived together. They've been childhood sweethearts for a century, and their affection is incredibly deep. I'm worried it might affect Meng Chuan's cultivation."

"While emotional shocks can have an impact, they won't cut off his cultivation path," said the illusory figure of Luo Tang. "Among Yuanchu Mountain's past generations of Godfiends, some have lost close relatives; while they might be affected for a short time, they generally recover. King Zhenwu, however, doubted his cultivation path. With Liu Qiyue merely in a deep sleep... Meng Chuan has no reason to doubt his own cultivation path."

"Give him some time," said the illusory figure of Qin Wu. "He needs time to adapt. I think he'll be fine in a few months."

"Mm-hmm."

Li Guan nodded gravely. "The pressure of defending the passes is tremendous. We currently have six super-large passes. There are only nine Creation-level Venerables in the world, and Yuanchu Mountain also needs Venerables to guard it. If we get two or three more super-large passes... it will be very difficult to defend them. As for me, I only have a few decades left before my lifespan ends, so Meng Chuan needs to grow quickly and shoulder this burden."

"Everyone has moments of weakness," Qin Wu said. "I believe in my disciple; he will recover quickly."

"Mm-hmm," Li Guan and Luo Tang nodded slightly.

***

In Dongning City, on the training grounds of Meng Mansion by Mirror Lake, Meng Chuan still lay asleep under the big tree.

In the morning, the sun began to rise.

As the sunlight warmed his body, Meng Chuan slowly opened his eyes, gazing at the crimson rising sun. "It's morning?"