Chapter 1528: Dominating the Inner Realm, The Past Like Smoke

Wang Lin did not seem to notice the old man's arrival. He stroked the tombstone, kneeling before the grave. The tombstone was very cold, and waves of chilliness traveled into his hands, yet it transformed into traces of warmth, stirring his heart and spirit.

Tears dripped down his cheeks onto the ground, falling upon the grave, slowly soaking the burial soil, as if melting into it and flowing into his parents.

The cold in his hands, the warmth in his heart, the tears in his eyes, and the dampness on the burial soil made it seem as if Wang Lin and his parents' grave had fused into one in this instant.

This Fusion exuded an indescribable feeling.

The old man in the sky stared blankly at all this, his heart and spirit roaring as if countless thunderbolts were exploding. His body trembled faintly. He had a guess in his mind, and this guess made excitement appear in his eyes.

The only person in this world qualified to kneel before this grave, qualified to shed tears before this tomb, and qualified to say the words "Father and Mother" is the Seal Venerable!

Within Wang Lin's body, a soft light slowly seemed to faintly permeate, enveloping the grave. He was oblivious to this, kneeling there as tears continued to fall, sorrowfully gazing at his parents' names on the tombstone.

But to the old man, he gasped. He didn't know if it was an illusion, but before his eyes, a phantom figure of a woman had appeared on Wang Lin's left.

This figure was very frail, as if it would dissipate with a gust of wind. She had long hair, and her face could not be clearly seen, but one could feel the same sorrow emanating from her.

She stood silently beside Wang Lin, looking at the grave, and likewise knelt down.

From afar, this illusory woman and Wang Lin looked like a husband and wife, paying their respects before their parents' grave.

In the blink of an eye, on Wang Lin's right side, under the old man's gaze, another illusory figure appeared. This figure was a youth, looking to be about twenty years old, and his appearance was strikingly similar to Wang Lin's.

The moment this youth appeared, a third illusory figure appeared beside him; it was a woman.

They looked at the grave with sorrowful expressions and then knelt down together.

This scene was like a family of four; while warm, it also carried an inexplicable bitterness that spread through the old man's heart and spirit.

Just then, a whistling sound echoed from the distant sky. The madman arrived, laughing loudly, with the old man's three Disciples in hot pursuit behind him.

The group instantly arrived above the old house.

As the old man's three Disciples approached with angry shouts, their Master flicked his large sleeve, directly sweeping the three of them to his side. With a glare from his eyes, the three immediately stopped shouting and bowed their heads in silence. However, the moment they bowed their heads, they saw Wang Lin kneeling before the grave below.

The madman had run quite a distance, but looking back and seeing no one chasing him, he couldn't help but scratch his head. His body flickered, landing in the courtyard beside the old house below. Seeing Wang Lin kneeling not far away, he immediately ran over, but let out a soft sound of surprise, circling Wang Lin a few times. He vaguely saw the three illusory figures beside Wang Lin.

Wang Lin paid no heed to all this. He knelt there silently, stroking the tombstone as if caressing his parents' aged faces.

At this moment, the world grew dim. As the setting sun gradually descended, the Formation of the entire State of Zhao flickered violently. Many powerful Cultivators of the Vermilion Bird Star, who had previously sensed the fluctuations of the Formation, now transformed into a dozen long rainbows, whistling and charging into the Formation in the blink of an eye. After entering the State of Zhao, they seemed to sense something and headed straight for the place where Wang Lin was located.

The dim sky was immediately streaked by the long rainbows. Many Cultivators were revealed from within the long rainbows, appearing one after another in mid-air, staring blankly at Wang Lin kneeling before the grave below.

Some were local Cultivators of the Vermilion Bird Star who had met Wang Lin before. Now, in such an environment, upon seeing Wang Lin kneeling before the grave, they immediately recognized his identity!

"Seal Venerable!!!"

"Wang Lin!!"

Bursts of exclamations came from the mouths of those Cultivators who recognized Wang Lin, causing a commotion. It was like a storm being stirred up, making all the arriving Cultivators tremble, their expressions filled with shock and, even more so, with disbelief and excitement.

The old man's three Disciples were even more dumbfounded. They never imagined that the person accompanying the madman, the person they had spoken of as vulgar, was actually the Seal Venerable!

With their minds blank, the three of them had forgotten how to think and just stood there in a daze.

The distant sky brightened as a red cloud whistled over, approaching here in the blink of an eye. A person stepped out from the clouds and mist; this person was an old man, dressed in a red robe, his face beneath his gray hair possessing a natural dignity that did not need anger to be intimidating.

Vaguely, one could still discern the appearance of Zhou Wutai from years ago on his aged face.

This old man was none other than the Master of the Vermilion Bird Star, Zhou Wutai!

He looked at Wang Lin kneeling below, his expression revealing reminiscence and melancholy. He stood there silently for a long time, and amidst the silence of all the surrounding Cultivators, he softly said a sentence.

"You… have returned…"

Wang Lin did not look up, continuing to gaze at the tombstone. After a long while, he spoke in a low voice.

"Returned…"

Zhou Wutai had aged; his body exuded a sense of vicissitude. As he stepped forward, he arrived beside Wang Lin and bowed toward the grave.

"You all leave; let me have a quiet moment with him."

As Zhou Wutai raised his head, his gaze swept across the people in the sky. Although there were many Cultivators here whose cultivation was higher than his, Zhou Wutai was the Master of the Vermilion Bird Star; his status was the most esteemed among the Cultivators here, and his words already carried more weight than cultivation level.

The dozen or so Cultivators surrounding them, suppressing their excitement in silence, bowed deeply to Wang Lin, then bowed to the grave, before turning and leaving with respect.

Among them were many Cultivators who did not belong to the Vermilion Bird Star, but had come from other places, voluntarily guarding the Vermilion Bird Star to show their respect for the Seal Venerable.

The old man also left with his three Disciples, who still could not believe what they had seen.

In the blink of an eye, only Wang Lin, Zhou Wutai, and the madman remained in the old house.

After watching for a while, the madman felt a bit bored, so he walked to the side on his own, leaned against the courtyard wall, closed his eyes, and fell asleep.

"How long do you plan to stay this time you've returned?"

Zhou Wutai was silent for a moment, then sat beside Wang Lin. With a flip of his right hand, he produced two jugs of wine, placed them beside him, and looked at the grave, speaking softly.

Wang Lin lifted his hand that had been stroking the tombstone and sat silently on the ground. The three illusory figures outside his body slowly dissipated.

"Not too long…"

Wang Lin picked up a wine jug and took a sip.

"This is…"

The wine in the jug had a taste he was familiar with, as if he had returned to over a thousand years ago.

"This is the Ceng family's wine. I kept quite a bit back then, just to get drunk with you one more time."

Zhou Wutai said softly.

"I took that child of the Ceng family as my Disciple… If he knew you had returned, he would be very happy."

Zhou Wutai picked up the wine jug, took a sip, looked at the sky, and said slowly.

Wang Lin was silent, as if the child of Ceng Niu from back then, that young child with good natural talent, appeared before his eyes.

"Thank you."

Wang Lin looked at his parents' grave and said softly.

"What is there to thank? My position as the Master of the Vermilion Bird Star was also given by you back then, but I could not stop the changes to the Vermilion Bird Star. After you became the Seal Venerable, many people came. They meant well, wanting to turn this place into a Holy Land, but I could only preserve this State of Zhao…"

Zhou Wutai shook his head with a bitter smile and took a large gulp.

"I know you are a person who cherishes the past. Perhaps this place has changed too much, making it feel unfamiliar to you."

Zhou Wutai sighed softly.

Wang Lin did not speak. After drinking the entire jug of wine sip by sip, Zhou Wutai took out several more jugs and placed them in front of him.

The sky slowly grew dim, and moonlight enveloped the earth. Amidst the softness, there was a trace of chilliness.

The two of them drank the wine from the past under the moonlight, outside the old house, in Wang Lin's home, drinking slowly and talking about the past.

"Yun Quezi of the Rune Clan has reached the end of his Lifespan and passed away. I buried him… Before he died, he kept saying your name…"

"The Cloud Heaven Sect has now become one of the nine great Sects, but the old friends from back then have all passed away one after another. The current Vermilion Bird Star, let alone you feeling it's unfamiliar, even I feel it's unfamiliar…"

"Of the people from back then, very few remain, very few…"

Zhou Wutai drank the wine, his expression filled with reminiscence.

"Do you still remember Zhou Zihong of the Fire Burning Country? I only learned later that you two had a past. She left many years ago with her mother, Feng Luan. It is said she joined a Sect in the Zhao River…"

"That Zhou Zihong's Dao Companion died in a great battle a few years ago…"

Wang Lin listened to Zhou Wutai's words and drank the wine in silence, one jug after another.

"Wang Lin, actually, I really envy you…"

The moonlight grew thicker, and the bright moon hung high in the sky. Under the pervasive moonlight, Zhou Wutai seemed a bit drunk; perhaps it was not his body that was drunk, but his soul.

"You dared to walk out of this Vermilion Bird Star, dared to struggle in life and death… I dared not; I could only guard this place…"

Zhou Wutai's face revealed bitterness.

"This guard has lasted over a thousand years… I have never been able to forget the back view of you leaving alone after designating me as the Master of the Vermilion Bird Star, gradually disappearing into the sky. Back then, although I envied you, it was not as intense as it is now…"

"Do you still remember that Disciple of mine…"

Zhou Wutai took a large gulp of wine, sorrow appearing in his eyes.

"He has been dead for many years; he was the source of my Concept when I reached Soul Transformation… I once promised him that I would accompany him until death… I buried him on the Vermilion Bird Star. Every time I want to leave this Vermilion Bird Star, I go to see him and silently drink alone before his grave."

Zhou Wutai lowered his head.

"That Disciple of mine was very homesick; he didn't want to leave his hometown…"

Wang Lin did not speak. He and Zhou Wutai drank the Ceng family's old wine until the bright moon gradually dissipated, until the horizon turned white, and until the morning sun rose.

"Wang Lin, Hong Die might not be dead!"

In his soul-drunken state, Zhou Wutai said this sentence at the very moment of dawn.