System Granted Me Immortality; I Outlived Everyone

Chapter 41: The Falling Flowers Harbor Intent, But the Flowing Water is Heartless; Burying the Grandmaster

As Emperor Zuo unleashed his world-shattering punch, a colossal cauldron tore through the void from within the forbidden land of the Night Moon Country, hurtling directly toward the Emperor.

Watching the heavens and earth tremble under their clash, Chen Changsheng clicked his tongue in mild awe.

“The world of Cultivation is truly treacherous. It is a good thing I despise fighting.”

Leaving the slaughter behind, Chen Changsheng rode the wind toward Yixiu and the others gathered in the distance.

Seeing the man who had vanished for half a century suddenly descend, a profound wave of reunion washed over the group.

“Big Brother Changsheng! I knew you would return to us.”

Song Yuanshan stepped forward, his voice trembling with unchecked emotion.

Chen Changsheng swept his gaze over Song Yuanshan’s Daoist robes and smiled. “Decades have slipped by. That little shadow who trailed behind me has finally grown up.”

“Very good. Third Senior Brother’s meticulous teachings were not poured into the dirt.”

Watching this exchange, an ethereal woman possessing a sharp, wild aura hesitated, biting back the words on her tongue.

This was the reigning princess of the Night Moon Country, Wanyan Yue.

“What is your next move?”

The question finally slipped from her lips, unable to be contained.

Meeting her complex gaze, Chen Changsheng offered a faint smile. “What else is there to do? I will simply walk my own Dao.”

Hearing this, Wanyan Yue shifted her gaze toward the suffocating ranks of the Xuanwu Kingdom’s army, her expression heavy.

“You still intend to leave?”

Though she spoke no words of retention, Chen Changsheng could taste the faint bitterness of reluctance hidden in her tone.

“I would not call it leaving,” he chuckled softly.

“Every soul has a karmic burden to bear and a final resting place destined only for them. I am merely heading where the wind points, tending to the funerals I must oversee.”

“But why?”

Song Yuanshan asked, his brow tightly knit in confusion.

“The slaughter has ended. The Shangqing Temple lies in ruins, awaiting its rebirth. Big Brother Changsheng, will you truly abandon our foundation to the wind?”

Confronted with the younger man’s agitated plea, Chen Changsheng rested a heavy hand on his shoulder.

“Breathing life back into the Shangqing Temple is your heavenly mandate, not mine.”

“The fates of men are not woven from the same thread. Some are meant to lay deep roots in the soil, while others are destined to drift like dust across the four seas.”

“The Daoist sects cling to the concept of ‘karmic ties.’ My ties with you all have frayed to their ends. It is time to step into the mist.”

Song Yuanshan’s knuckles turned white as his fists clenched tightly at his sides.

In truth, from the very day Chen Changsheng entered the sect as a Novice, the entire Shangqing Temple sensed his eventual departure.

Even though he executed every duty flawlessly, none could detect a tether anchoring his soul to their peak.

To be precise, Song Yuanshan viewed the Shangqing Temple as his blood and hearth, while Chen Changsheng merely saw it as an inn to rest his weary bones.

A mortal walks across a thousand lands in their lifetime, sometimes leaving a piece of their heart behind.

Yet the only place that commands the feet to halt is home.

Chen Changsheng never viewed the Shangqing Temple as his home. No matter how fond his memories were, he was bound to fade into the horizon.

Breaking the heavy silence, Chen Changsheng turned toward the profoundly calm face of Yixiu.

“Little monk, you and I have weathered the most years together.”

“I am about to vanish into the world. Will you not offer a single word to keep me?”

Hearing this, Yixiu rolled his eyes dramatically, his voice dripping with disdain.

“When Chen Changsheng decides to walk, what chains in this world could bind him?”

“We are but the grass and ancient trees rooted in this dirt, while you are merely a bird resting upon a branch.”

“A bird will eventually take flight, no matter how sweet the fruit it finds. I foresaw this parting decades ago.”

Even as Yixiu spoke, the heaven-shaking clash on Emperor Zuo’s side drew to its brutal conclusion.

Noticing the silence, Chen Changsheng chuckled. “Half a century has passed, and it seems your Buddhist insights have deepened.”

“Continue to temper your mind. Perhaps one day, you will be revered as a true Master of your generation.”

“The slaughter over there has ended. I must go prepare a coffin for an old acquaintance.”

Without another word, Chen Changsheng turned his back and walked toward the scarred forbidden land.

Gazing at his fading silhouette, an immovable sorrow weighed heavy in the eyes of all three.

Yet, the sorrow swirling in Wanyan Yue’s eyes carried a far more intricate, silent yearning.

Catching her gaze, Yixiu sighed. “Cease your longing. That man will never anchor his feet for the sake of another soul.”

“Besides, for the past fifty years, you have howled daily about crushing Chen Changsheng to avenge the shame he brought upon you.”

“Now the man stands before you. Why do you keep your blade sheathed?”

Wanyan Yue’s voice turned frosty. “His Cultivation is unfathomable. I cannot match his blows as I am now.”

“I can lend you my fist!”

“He truly possesses no talent for slaughter. If we strike together, we have a profound chance of beating him into the dirt.”

Scowling at Yixiu’s instigation, Wanyan Yue snapped, “The Buddhist path demands compassion, yet your mouth overflows with murderous Qi. You are but a hair’s breadth from falling into demonic deviation.”

Spitting out her rebuke, Wanyan Yue spun on her heel and strode away.

But halfway across the ruined earth, her steps halted.

“Will the Heavens allow our paths to cross again?”

“The Dao is fickle. But if you cling to longevity and outlast the eons, perhaps the chance remains.”

Armed with Yixiu’s cryptic comfort, Wanyan Yue dissolved into the mist.

Perhaps, from the very day he had callously dyed her fur black, this maddening undertaker had permanently scarred her Dao heart.

……

The Night Moon Country Forbidden Land.

Balancing a heavy, ornate coffin upon his shoulder, Chen Changsheng carefully navigated the cratered, pulverized earth, finally arriving before the ancient bronze hall.

Thud!

The massive wooden vessel slammed into the dirt. Chen Changsheng gazed down at Ascension True Person, who was violently pinned beneath the ruins of the bronze hall, and smiled.

“Grandmaster. How does this coffin, meticulously crafted by your grand-disciple, suit your tastes?”

Ascension True Person coughed, his gaze drifting to the polished wood, and let out a bloody chuckle. “Not terrible. I can sense the heavy intent you poured into its grain.”

“Ever since you slipped through the cracks of fate last time, a gnawing shadow has plagued my Dao heart.”

“Yet I never anticipated you would return before the dust settled, dragging such an unfathomable monster to do your bidding.”

Chen Changsheng shifted his gaze to Emperor Zuo, who stood nearby, quietly studying the ancient bronze hall’s Dao Patterns.

“My hands were tied. Grandmaster’s Cultivation shakes the Heavens. How could a mere funeral peddler lower you into the earth alone?”

“Since we stand at the precipice of your demise, would Grandmaster humor his disciple with a few lingering truths?”

“Speak.”

“The Boundless Secret Realm also harbored an ancient bronze hall. Why forsake it to spin your web here in the Night Moon Country?”

“The great horror suppressed beneath the Boundless Secret Realm was purged by another’s hand. Left with ashes, I sought out the Night Moon Country.”

“Ah, the karmic threads align!”

“Then, a second inquiry. When you slaughtered my Master and the others… did the shadow of regret ever touch your marrow?”

As the words fell, Chen Changsheng locked onto Ascension True Person’s eyes, his gaze piercing like a blade, eager to strip away the lies and behold the raw truth.

After a suffocating silence, Ascension True Person sighed into the dirt. “It was merely frost upon the blade.”

“For those who walk the path of Cultivation, stepping upon a mountain of corpses to grasp eternal life is the Natural Law.”

“If the day comes when I shatter my mortal cage, even swallowing the most bitter poison would taste like heavenly nectar.”

“Hahaha!”

Hearing this chilling philosophy, Chen Changsheng burst into laughter, a dark, genuine amusement echoing across the ruins.

“What a profound realization! Grandmaster’s Dao heart is akin to unyielding iron. This grand-disciple bows in admiration!”

“Since there are no lingering regrets to shackle your soul, allow me to perform your final rites.”

As the decree of death fell, Emperor Zuo materialized silently at Chen Changsheng’s side.

Glaring up at the tyrant who had crushed him, Ascension True Person displayed not a sliver of terror.

“Had I not been bound by this ruin, your fists would never have shattered me so easily.”