Chapter 1998: Flickering Lights, Tomorrow

The turmoil within Dao Ancient Imperial City, Xuan Luo's Disciple Wang Lin's intrusion into the palace, repaying kindness with death, slaying the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate under the gaze of countless onlookers, and even the Sacred Ancestor Ye Wei was unable to prevent Wang Lin's departure.

These events, as the tribesmen of the other two races departed, gradually spread throughout the entire Ancient Race land. Almost no one with the qualifications to know about this matter remained ignorant.

This matter should have caused an even greater sensation, but it slowly faded away due to another even more astonishing event: the premature opening of the Primordial God Realm, which caused an uproar throughout the entire Ancient Race, and even the entire Immortal Astral Continent.

The vast sea between the Ancient Race and the Immortal Race had now become a giant, boundless pit, emitting a putrid smell. Furthermore, in the very center of what was once seawater, the upright rotating ocean continuously let out thunderous roars.

Within the swirling, roaring seawater, a gate composed of nine colossal sky-reaching pillars appeared intermittently. The existence of this scene attracted the attention of most of the powerhouses on the Immortal Astral Continent, causing many to arrive with their respective Divine Abilities. However, after observation, they all silently departed.

Jiudi also personally came, but the seawater swirled like a storm. With his cultivation, he could not go too deep and was simply unable to enter the depths. Moreover, the intermittently appearing gate had not yet opened. However, with his cultivation, combined with the deductions of Haizi, he vaguely calculated that it would take approximately five hundred years for the Primordial God Realm to truly open.

And this opening would be a complete opening, unlike any before!

Dao Yi, Wu Feng, and several Great Heavenly Venerates from the Ancient Race land, including Xuan Luo, also arrived one after another. They all stopped outside the storm of swirling seawater, observed silently for a long time, and then departed in silence.

But at the same time, a message from Ancient Dao Mountain reached the minds of the Great Heavenly Venerates of the three Ancient Race lineages and the Imperial Family. The message was very simple: it informed everyone not to observe the Primordial God Realm anymore, that this place would open in five hundred years, and instructed the three Imperial Families and their respective Great Heavenly Venerates to prepare for war within these five hundred years.

Ancient Dao Mountain did not pay any attention to the death of the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate. This strange phenomenon also caused the faction within the Dao Ancient Lineage that advocated pursuing Wang Lin and pleading for the Ancient Dao Great Heavenly Venerate to act, to fall silent and never mention the matter again.

Similar to the Ancient Race land, on the Immortal Race land, from Ancestral City's Emperor Mountain, together with the Immortal Race Imperial Palace, an imperial decree was issued to the world, announcing that the Primordial God Realm would open in five hundred years. It instructed all Sects in the Seventy-Two Prefectures to fully cultivate their powerhouses within these five hundred years, especially those Heavenly Venerates and Soaring Heavenly Venerate Cultivators. Their hearts were filled with excitement, as for them, the Primordial God Realm was like a carp leaping over the dragon gate; once they obtained good fortune, they could ascend to the heavens in one step and become Great Heavenly Venerates!

The Immortal Astral Continent, due to the appearance of the Primordial God Realm, became turbulent for a time, but under the five-hundred-year deadline, everyone endured. Undercurrents spread, like the calm before a storm.

Regardless of Immortal or Ancient, all who considered themselves qualified to enter the Primordial God Realm could feel the oppressive atmosphere from all around, the subtle movements from various prefectures, vaguely knowing that in five hundred years, at the moment the Primordial God Realm opened, there would be a grand event like a gathering of heroes.

However, this matter was very likely to trigger another Immortal-Ancient War, whose duration was unknown, on the Immortal Astral Continent, which had not seen war for a long time!

The Ancient Race was preparing… and so was the Immortal Race!

Five hundred years, only five hundred years! For Mortals, for low-level Cultivators and the tribesmen of the three races, five hundred years might be long, but for those powerhouses, five hundred years was but a blink of an eye.

Just as the Immortal Astral Continent showed signs of war due to the Primordial God Realm, in a prefecture bordering the twelve counties of the Dao Ancient Lineage and the Initial Ancient region, rain fell continuously. In this season, it was like the plum rain season; the rain was not heavy, but it fell continuously, forming a curtain of rain that seemed to last a long time.

In the rain, apart from the bustling dao ancient cities, the outside land was in tranquility. Rain pattered on leaves, making a 'pa-pa' sound, and accumulated on the ground, forming small streams.

The sky was dim, seemingly hazy, but in the distance, on a not-so-tall mountain peak, there was a young man dressed in white, holding an oiled paper umbrella. Beside him stood a woman. The woman had a beautiful figure and stood with the man, both looking forward.

"These are the stories between you and the remnant soul named Wan'er within me, aren't they…?" The woman spoke softly, her gaze withdrawing from the rain curtain as she turned to look at the white-clothed man beside her.

It was this man who had intruded into the dao ancient Imperial Palace, killed the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate, and walked out alone, with no one daring to block him for half a step, bringing her here.

She didn't know where he was going, but along the way, the man's gentleness and thoughtfulness made her feel a warmth from the depths of her soul.

Along the way, the man told her a story, a long story. An accidental encounter, beginning with the words "I'll take you to kill someone," sparked a thread of affection.

With the words "Even if Heaven wants you dead, I will snatch you back!" as its ending, leaving thousands of years of sorrow and longing.

Wang Lin looked at the woman before him, his eyes softening. He nodded.

The woman fell silent. She could feel that the softness in his eyes was not directed at her, but at the remnant soul within her. She silently gazed at the rain curtain in the distant sky for a long time before speaking softly.

"Where are we going?"

"To where we first met." Wang Lin embraced Song Zhi, who had Li Muwan's remnant soul within her, and with a sway of his body, he walked into the distance, facing the rain.

Along this journey, he did not travel at full speed, needing to care for Song Zhi's currently weak body and the unstable soul within her. Therefore, nearly a year had passed since he killed the Dao Ancient Imperial Venerate.

During this year, Wang Lin did not encounter any pursuit from Ancient Dao Mountain, and the Dao Ancient Lineage remained silent on the matter. In this peaceful journey, Wang Lin led the woman, gradually reaching the edge of the Dao Ancient Lineage's territory.

Beyond here was the Initial Ancient domain.

"The place we first met… is it Black Stone City…?" The woman, in Wang Lin's embrace, had strands of her black hair blown by the wind, a few brushing against Wang Lin's face, seemingly intertwining with his white hair.

Wang Lin did not speak, leading the woman, gradually disappearing into the rain.

Several months later, Wang Lin and Song Zhi left the Dao Ancient Lineage and stepped onto the land of the Initial Ancient. After returning here, Song Zhi's mood no longer seemed low. She looked at the scenes of the Initial Ancient, vaguely finding a sense of familiarity.

But her words became fewer and fewer. When facing Wang Lin, she was mostly silent, her heart very complex. For over a year, he would occasionally send a warm aura into her body. She didn't know what this aura was, but she could feel that the soul within her, which seemed to be slowly fusing, showed signs of separating.

"He is separating the soul of the woman named Wan'er from within me… Perhaps when this soul is completely separated, it will be the moment of my death… But to be able to see my hometown, to see Aunt Chang and Dong Mei before I die, would be very good." Song Zhi's heart was bitter, and she became even more silent.

She was very afraid, but powerless.

Wang Lin saw all of this but did not explain anything. They were getting closer to Black Stone City.

Several more months passed.

"Tomorrow, we can reach Black Stone City?" As the sky darkened and the sunset disappeared, on a desolate mountain, Song Zhi looked into the distance and softly asked the man beside her.

Just now, Wang Lin told her that tomorrow, they could return to Black Stone City, her hometown.

Wang Lin nodded.

Song Zhi was silent for a moment, then a smile appeared on her face, and she sighed softly. She turned to look at Wang Lin, at the man who had accompanied her for over a year, at his face that seemed youthful but was actually full of vicissitudes.

"Wan'er is very fortunate… I hope you and she will be happy forever."

At noon the next day, Black Stone City was faintly visible in the distance. The city, composed of black giant stones, fell into Song Zhi's eyes, making her feel the aura of her hometown.

"Can I touch your face…?" Less than a mile outside the city, Wang Lin stopped. Song Zhi looked at Wang Lin and spoke softly.

Wang Lin looked at the woman before him for a long time, then gently nodded.

Song Zhi smiled, a blush suddenly appearing on her pretty face. She raised her hands and caressed Wang Lin's ordinary face. After a while, she leaned her head against Wang Lin's chest, as if she could hear his heartbeat.

The thumping sound made her close her eyes.

Wang Lin lowered his head, raising his right hand to caress the woman's beautiful hair. A delicate fragrance wafted into Wang Lin's nose. The two embraced like this until time passed.

When the distant sunset faintly emitted a red glow and the world grew slightly dim, Song Zhi raised her head and left Wang Lin's embrace.

"If I die, please…"

"You won't die." Wang Lin looked calmly at the woman. As he spoke, he tapped her forehead with his right hand. Song Zhi's vision blurred, and she slowly fell to the side, as if asleep.

Half an hour later, when she awoke again, her eyes showed confusion. She looked around, then fell silent, pressing her head, frowning her delicate brows. After a long time, she seemed to remember something.

At this moment, the sunset had largely fallen, and the world was faintly dark. Song Zhi stood up and immediately saw a jade pendant hanging around her neck, emitting warmth.

She could feel that the remnant soul belonging to Wan'er within her was gone. She was still Song Zhi, unharmed in the slightest, but her heart held a trace of melancholy. Her eyes showed complexity as she looked at the empty surroundings. After a long time, she turned and walked towards Black Stone City in the distance.

That was her hometown.