Chapter 1691: This Life

"Ah..." Ye Fan was like a wounded beast. His white hair was disheveled, and blood and tears streamed from his eyes. All his best friends had died in battle, and his favorite disciples had all perished.

And his daughter, so intelligent and adorable, only a few years old, was struggling there with no path forward.

As for Ziyue, he hadn't even seen her one last time, despite using the secret technique of tracing back to the source. There were only specks of blood among the ruins and a torn piece of purple clothing. His heart was twisted with agony, and tears rolled down his face.

Never had Ye Fan felt such desolation, such self-loathing. Why hadn't he been there with them? Instead, he was separated by an entire era.

How cruel was fate, to show him such a scene yet render him powerless to join the battle, filling him with a profound sense of helplessness.

"Mommy, don't leave me! Xiao Zi is scared." A tender voice echoed. The spatial rift closed, but she wasn't teleported away.

Those two massive hands had imprisoned eternity; no one could escape. Even Ren Xiaosong, despite his utmost effort and ultimate strike, failed to tear open a space-time rift.

When Ye Fan saw those two colossal hands grasp and cover the void, he closed his eyes. The salty tears flowed into his mouth.

For the first time since he began cultivating, he felt such exhaustion and couldn't help but weep. He had known heartache and regret before, but never this level of despair.

"Father, where are you? Xiao Zi is scared. Mommy's gone...嗚嗚..."

These tender words pierced Ye Fan's heart like a sharp knife, making his whole body tremble. He clenched his fists.

"Ah..."

Ye Fan cried out in sorrow, roaring, and furiously striking towards the sky, confronting the two massive hands. He wanted to stop all of it; he could not tolerate anyone harming his daughter.

He shattered the firmament with a single punch, causing the two massive hands to break apart and vanish. But this was merely the shattering of the vision, not a true battle spanning ten thousand years.

The final image froze: Xiao Zi sobbing, her wide eyes open and helpless, staring at the sky.

Just like that, everything shattered and vanished. There was no future to see, no outcome.

Ye Fan couldn't bear to watch Xiao Zi a second time. His heart was riddled with holes, already too wounded to control himself. Blood flowed from his fists. His veins bulged and broke through his skin.

His power surged wildly, shaking the universe and causing the ruins to tremble. Many cracked stars further exploded into fragments.

Ye Fan sang a mournful song, driven to madness by hatred. He suppressed his wounds and pain, walking step by step into the depths of the ruins. This was the pure land he had once protected and lived in, but now there was nothing left.

Rubble, broken weapons, and bloodstains revealed how tragic that battle had been, and how desolate the present was.

The broken head of a spiked club beneath his foot made a flash of sorrow reappear in his eyes. This was the Barbarian's weapon. This outcome was not unexpected, aligning with his grim suspicions.

Since the Heavenly Court had been destroyed, few could have survived. His friends, who had once fought side-by-side with him through life and death, were gone, lost forever.

Ye Fan was like a lone spirit, walking through the silent ruins. Hot tears streamed down his face. He said nothing, made no sound, and didn't want to stop; he just wanted to keep walking.

Why? Why had he been unable to participate in that battle of the past? This regret was irreparable!

He wanted to cry out loudly, but the sound caught in his throat. He wanted to roar, but when he opened his mouth, his voice was hoarse. At this moment, he could only stare at the ruins, his heart pierced, enduring in silence.

How could this be? Ye Fan clutched his hair. He began to hate himself. Why had he left? How could a single period of solitary cultivation last ten thousand years?

Walking through the cold starry sky, unable to find any trace of past warmth, Ye Fan was like a lost soul—dazed, his entire body chilling. This wound was difficult to heal.

He fell into deep self-reproach. Why hadn't he been by their side? Why had he missed that battle? It was unforgivable!

Ye Fan was distraught, tasting bitterness in his solitude and chewing on torment in the silence. He moved forward ceaselessly, unwilling to stop, his heart aching, his spirit broken.

If he could cry out loud, perhaps he would feel a little better, but he couldn't. So many people were gone.

Ziyue's brilliant smile was buried beneath the ruins, leaving only bloodstains. Little Zi sobbed, losing her playful innocence. Pang Bo's mighty body couldn't withstand a single blow from a Netherworld giant, leaving behind only a tragic splash of red...

Ye Fan moved like a puppet, his steps mechanical, tears silently falling. His heart ached so profoundly, watching everything unfold, yet unable to return to the past.

He wandered there like a ghost for many days. There was no sun, no moon, only darkness, for everything had been shattered.

Finally, Ye Fan knelt there like a child and sobbed aloud.

He was no longer young; his white hair was disheveled, and his wrinkles were like knife marks. Time had left an indelible impression on him.

After sitting for ten thousand years, looking back, how much love, hate, sorrow, joy, and revenge had been surrendered to the river of time.

How could he accept this? How could he bear it? Ye Fan howled to the sky in grief. He was like a lone wolf, howling amidst the bloody desolation, his white hair wild. His sorrow was boundless, his sadness inexpressible.

What kind of tragedy was this? After parting ways in the past, he could never see them again, only witness their bloody end from across space and time, powerless to act.

Ye Fan sat there alone for many days, tearless and silent. After many days, he finally stood up. He used his immense power to move stars from the depths of the cosmos, refining them, condensing them into tiny forms, and then piling them up. Here, he built a stellar tomb, burying everything of the Heavenly Court.

Ruins, residual blood, shattered bones... He didn't know which belonged to his daughter, which to Ziyue, or which to his friends. His heart held only endless grief.

Since the Heavenly Court had fallen and everyone had died together in battle, he would erect a massive tomb for them all to remain together, buried beneath the ancient starry sky.

Then, Ye Fan resolutely turned and walked into the starry sky. He was going to fight!

Where was the Netherworld? Where was the Phoenix Nest?

Ye Fan's blood roared within him, his battle spirit boiling. He yearned to fight against the heavens, to reclaim everything from the past.

However, as he walked beneath the starry sky, he saw no one. Had all living beings perished in battle? Many ancient stars were shattered, including many ancient lands of life he had once visited.

Could he not find a single soul?

In this vast universe of endless galaxies, there was only wreckage, no completeness. He sought revenge against the Netherworld and Phoenix Nest, but there was no way in.

Finally, he found an ancient land with life, but he saw no masters there, only what could almost be called "mortals." There were cultivators, but they couldn't break out of their home star, completely unable to venture into the cosmos.

What had happened to this world? Could he not even find a single powerful cultivator?

Ye Fan traversed the star regions, searching for ancient lands, but almost all were ravaged. He sensed residual fluctuations of Great Emperor level power. Was it another great dark battle?

Even when he occasionally found an ancient life star, he saw no sages, let alone anyone from his own generation. This world was so alien; he felt utterly out of place.

Ye Fan, with his white hair and aging face, was filled with sorrow. The end of an era had imprinted itself on him; had he truly become a relic of a past age?

Following his old memories, Ye Fan journeyed towards the territories once ruled by the Netherworld. His endless travels revealed vast desolation and widespread ruin.

"Even this place is shattered. Was it Xiao Nannan after her awakening? Did her decisive battle with the Nether Emperor and other ancient supremes lead to this?"

Ye Fan's gaze swept over the scene as he advanced. Even if he didn't know the exact location of the Netherworld, he had to find a clue.

The reality exceeded his expectations. After venturing deep into a fragmented star sea, he saw a vast expanse of gloomy mist shrouding the heavens. It was a massive netherworld, where stars, like fireflies, occasionally fell.

The netherworld was greatly damaged. There was a collapsed Gate of the Underworld, and a broken copper plaque, stained with terrifying ancient emperor's blood, lay half-buried in the dust. On it were the characters for "Netherworld."

"It's here, but it's empty."

Witnessing this scene, Ye Fan felt no joy, no excitement, only boundless melancholy. Could he not even exact his revenge personally?

All his friends and loved ones were gone. What was the meaning of his continued existence? Only sorrowful indignation sustained him, driving him to slaughter all the way to the end, to destroy the Netherworld and the Phoenix Nest.

He walked alone, crossing the netherworld, passing through it. It had become ruins.

He then walked into the starry sky, traversing the Heavenly Road. Decades later, he found the Phoenix Nest, but it was already shattered, torn to pieces by an attack!

"Nothing is left..." Ye Fan felt no joy of revenge accomplished, only endless sorrow. How many past events could truly be recovered?

How many people, once missed, could never be seen again? He couldn't help but roar. Everything had ended like this; he saw neither old friends nor enemies.

At this moment, in a vast and boundless world, he found no resting place and felt intensely alone.

"All gone, you've all left me..." Ye Fan smiled sadly, facing the high heavens, his aging face filled with bitterness and pain.

Just one period of solitary cultivation, far more profound than ancient legends of "seven days in the cave, a thousand years on earth." That saying was insufficient; a full ten thousand years had passed in an instant!

All his love, hate, joy, sorrow, separation, and mad hatred were buried in the past. In this era, there was no one he knew.

To Beidou, into the forbidden zone of life!

Ye Fan rushed towards Beidou. Upon arrival, alas, it was still ruins. The star rivers here had long collapsed; nothing remained.

He was a lonely traveler, walking for a hundred years, his body growing older each day. The Netherworld had vanished, and his curse had not materialized.

Aimless, with no future, unable to see loved ones, even his enemies were all dead. These were the things he feared most deep down, and now they had truly come to pass.

"Is this how my life should end?"

Ye Fan was utterly disheartened, feeling that his life had lost all meaning.

"I refuse to accept this! I couldn't even protect Xiao Zi, couldn't guard my friends or my wife. What kind of man am I?!" Ye Fan growled.

He had been lost, his eyes devoid of vitality, but at this moment, his gaze suddenly sharpened, emitting beams of light that seemed to scorch the nine heavens.