“Will you care?” Li Taibai asked out of nowhere.
Care?
To say he didn't would be a lie.
But...
At this point, saying more or explaining further would only make him a hypocrite.
A hypocrite?
A true villain?
Rather than being a hypocrite, he would rather be a true villain.
After all,
regardless of how willing Li Taibai and the others were, or what noble cause they served,
it was undeniable that Xu Xian was the beneficiary.
“It doesn't matter anymore.”
“Let the sin be mine alone, for the benefit of all eternity.”
The five of them couldn't help but feel a sense of deep respect.
One man's sin for the benefit of the world.
Willing to bear the infamy of a lifetime in exchange for eternal peace.
This act itself was tragic and heroic, even more so than their ten thousand years of withered waiting.
The young man's lack of explanation or defense made their hearts ache for him.
Yet, whether it was the Wendao Sword Sect or the Heavenly Li Clan, they shared a common belief.
Some things
had to be done by someone.
And this particular task could only be done by Xu Xian.
Regardless of success or failure.
As long as he accepted it, he was not in the wrong.
As for how future generations would judge him, they could not control or change that.
“Right and wrong will be judged by those who come after us. I believe that justice resides in the hearts of the people,” Li Taibai comforted him in a meaningful tone.
Xu Xian accepted this in silence,
offering no further response.
Li Taibai loosened his grip, and the Immortal Soul drifted across the churning lava pool, finally floating before the young man.
Xu Xian reached out and took it, holding it in his palm.
An Immortal Soul—
his wish had been granted.
“Let us begin.”
Li Taibai's voice rang out again, a look of grim determination in the eyes of the five seniors.
Xu Xian looked away from the Immortal Soul and toward the five of them, meeting each of their gazes in turn. He said:
“You are dying because of me, and you have sat here in silence for ten thousand years for the sake of the world, even sacrificing your lives. It is only right that you receive a bow from me.”
Xu Xian bowed deeply to the ground.
The five of them accepted it gladly.
Xu Xian straightened up and continued, “Do you have any remaining regrets? Tell me, and if I am able in the future, I will fulfill them for you.”
The five of them pondered, their gazes growing deep.
Regrets?
In this life, the one thing no one lacked was regrets.
To say they had none would be a lie.
But to say they had any—there were simply too many.
Perhaps
their greatest regret now was that they would not be able to see the young man raise the twelve swords, stand alone against the ages, and light up the stars of Cangming.
Aside from that, the rest were not worth mentioning.
Li Taibai remained silent.
The Third Senior Brother, Feng San, made a lonely request: “The four of us followed our Master to the lower realm by order. Ten thousand years have passed in a flash, and we miss our home dearly. In the future, if you ascend to the Heavens, could you take our remains back and bury them in the Li family graves? Though our souls will be gone, it would be returning home like falling leaves to their roots, allowing us to finally rest in peace.”
The others slowly nodded.
If that could be done,
it would be for the best.
Xu Xian's throat tightened. “Is there nothing else?”
Feng San thought for a moment and finally shook his head.
No more.
Their only request was to be buried in their homeland.
The others did not speak another word.
Suppressing the bitterness in his heart, Xu Xian said hoarsely:
“Alright!”
Having received his promise, Feng San grinned. His withered, emaciated body, aside from his bright eyes, revealed a row of teeth as white as salt.
Li Taibai looked at the other four, his eyes filled with apology, deep debt, and self-reproach.
He was the last Sword Bearer of the Li Clan. These people had followed him since childhood, looking to him for every lead, but looking back on his life, he had been unable to give them anything.
The descent to the lower realm ten thousand years ago.
The great contention in the Northern Borders.
The sealed Sky Gate before them.
They had followed him and suffered immensely, and in the end, he was dragging them to their deaths.
The complexity in his heart was not a bit less than Xu Xian's.
He was also under immense psychological pressure.
But he had no choice.
For the sake of the world, for Cangming, and for the mission of the Li Clan, he had to fail these four.
Of course,
it wasn't just the four of them.
There was also Tu Sisi,
and the daughter he had never met.
He looked at the four of them in turn,
calling their names softly:
“Yan Yi.”
Yan Yi: “Master.”
“Wu Shuang.”
Wu Shuang: “Master.”
“Feng San.”
Feng San: “Master.”
“Chen Si.”
Chen Si: “Master.”
The corners of Li Taibai's mouth curled up into a stiff smile, and he said in a bold and hearty tone:
“Die with me!”
The four of them laughed freely and said loudly:
“Sword Attendant Yan Yi, at your command.”
“Sword Attendant Wu Shuang, at your command.”
“Sword Attendant Feng San, at your command.”
“Sword Attendant Chen Si, at your command.”
Li Taibai slowly closed his eyes and tilted his head back toward the sky, taking a deep breath.
“Go on ahead. I will follow shortly.”
As soon as he finished speaking.
There was almost no hesitation or doubt.
Yan Yi, who possessed a wood spirit root, severed his own spirit veins, and his soul separated from his body. Without warning, his head slumped forward, and his palms slipped from his knees, hanging limply.
Only a skeleton remained, sitting withered on the high platform.
Above his head.
His soul seeped out, and under the influence of his final will, it slowly gathered, condensing into a deep green sphere of light.
His three souls and six spirits, along with countless divine thoughts, slowly reconsolidated.
Xu Xian's heart suddenly wrenched, and he averted his eyes, unable to bear the sight.
In his vision, the other three were the same; at some point, they had already closed their eyes.
Their heads hung low.
Above their heads, similar spheres of light were also condensing.
Yan Yi's was deep green.
Wu Shuang's was jade.
Feng San's was crimson.
Chen Si's was yellow...
Dead.
They were already dead.
When their souls fully emerged and condensed into Saint Souls, they would vanish from this world forever.
It was irreversible,
unless the young man could reverse yin and yang.
But...
that was a divine ability said to be possessed only by those who reached the Dao Realm.
He was very close to being an immortal, but he was truly too far from the Dao Realm.
As the four of them slumped their heads one after another, Li Taibai's eyes opened slightly, and his voice rose heavily, filled with endless sorrow.
“It won't be long. Soon, the souls will gather and condense into a Saint Soul.”
Xu Xian remained silent, offering no response.
Li Taibai said earnestly, “Child, you don't need to be sad for us. Your future is destined to be even more painful, sorrowful, and helpless than ours...”
Xu Xian continued his silence.
“You will enter the fray alone, and what awaits you is endless darkness.”
“Don't be afraid,”
“don't cry,”
“survive...”
“Use every means possible to survive...”
“The long night will eventually pass, and the stars will never be extinguished...”
Xu Xian's fists were clenched tight.
His fingers dug deep into his flesh, blood staining his nails and seeping from the web of his thumb.
His body was tense, as if trembling.
His cheeks were hollowed,
but
he still responded in an extremely calm and gentle tone:
“Alright!”
“I will...”
“I'll stay alive, forever!”
Looking at the Xu Xian before him, Li Taibai thought of his own past.
He also recalled the days gone by.
He even saw the shadow of his own daughter in the young man.
He was indeed the Sword Protector.
But he was only thirty years old.
Even in the mortal world, he would only be at the age of standing firm.
Thirty years old?
Yet he was being made to shoulder such a monumental responsibility without any preparation.
For him, was this not a form of cruelty?
And as his master in name, how could Li Taibai not feel heartache?
But...
Though he was only thirty,
he was also the Sword Protector the Li Clan had waited a million years for.
He had to be strong.
He could only be strong.
To accomplish something that even Li Taibai himself was powerless to do.
Li Taibai exhaled a long breath and sighed.
“Sigh...”
Then,
he closed his eyes and lowered his head.
Above his head,
a golden sphere of light began to slowly gather.
In the end,
he said nothing more, and explained nothing else.
His only entrustment
was for Xu Xian
to live on.
Simply to live on!
Xu Xian kept his head lowered, his face shrouded in shadow.
After a long time,
his tightly bitten lip relaxed, and his clenched fists loosened.
He murmured in a low voice.
“Live on.”
“Live on...”
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