Thirty Thousand Years

Upon seeing Chen Fan's robes soaked in the blood of True Immortal, Chen Changqing shuddered, his previously scattered consciousness instantly becoming fully clear.

There was no wild joy at being resurrected or breaking through to a higher cultivation level.

The man, now reverting to his middle-aged appearance, almost instinctively struggled to sit up from the bed, reaching out his once strong and powerful rough hand to grab Chen Fan's blood-stained sleeve tightly.

"Fan'er?!"

Chen Changqing's face was deathly pale, his eyes filled with panic and heartache. His hands groped wildly over Chen Fan's body as he cried out in a trembling voice, "Why are you covered in blood?! Where are you hurt? Does it hurt? Let your father take a look!"

That familiar voice, that unreserved tension and concern, transcended the boundary between immortals and mortals.

Chen Fan looked at Chen Changqing's hand, which was tightly gripping his sleeve, and at his eyes, which were filled with fear and worry.

His Divine Soul, which had been as tense as iron, completely relaxed in that instant.

The overwhelming killing intent accumulated from shattering the Southern Heavenly Gate, beheading several True Immortals, and blasting away a Half-Step Immortal King in the Celestial Court of the Supreme Sovereign melted and disintegrated completely at this moment, like spring snow meeting the blazing sun.

Chen Fan did not break free from his father's hand. He grinned slightly, then threw his head back and burst into an unprecedentedly hearty laugh.

"Ha ha!"

Laughter thundered, echoing throughout the entire Imperial Palace Bedchamber.

As Chen Changqing revived, the causal bridge connecting the two entities within the Miniature Divine Kingdom suddenly trembled violently!

The purest and most profound True Meaning of Life, following the causal path, transformed into a raging torrent that flowed back into Chen Fan's Sea of Consciousness.

Rumble!

The Life Formation Core within the Divine Kingdom reached its ultimate perfection, the black and white Taiji completely merged into one, and the territory of the Divine Kingdom surged and expanded wildly outward for a full five hundred miles!

The last hidden lock within the clone's body quietly melted away, and its cultivation, without any hindrance, surged forward unstoppably, directly approaching the peak of the True Immortal Peak!

Chen Fan wiped the blood from his face, then took Chen Changqing's trembling hand in his, a rare gentle smile in his eyes, and said softly:

"Father, I'm not hurt."

"This isn't my blood."

"I came down from heaven and saved your life."

Chen Changqing stared blankly at his son, then looked down at his strong arms, feeling the vast, ocean-like Dao Integration True Essence within his body, and the immense, endless Wheel of Life in his Sea of Consciousness.

Thirty-Thousand-Year Lifespan!

Early Dao Integration!

His mind went completely blank.

Blood in the sky?

A life snatched back?

Chen Changqing's lips trembled as he looked at Chen Fan, who remained calm. He finally realized, belatedly, what an earth-shattering thing his sixteen-year-old son had just done!

The winds of the Cangwu Realm have blown for Thirty Thousand Years.

The Celestial Court of the Supreme Sovereign, which collapsed by a third back then, has now become the training ground for the Heaven-Patrolling Immortal Official the Limitless Divine Dynasty. The Black Dragon Banner of the Divine Dynasty spans three thousand middle thousand worlds and One Hundred Thousand Small Thousand Worlds, and all living beings in the Myriad Heavens and Worlds chant the name of the Wuji Emperor.

However, this emperor, who reigned supreme over the Nine Heavens and Ten Lands, spent most of his time in the past quietly sitting on a rocking chair in the Rear Garden.

He accompanied Chen Changqing fishing and helped Chen Changqing tinker with those low-level spiritual herbs. The Broken Saber that had shattered the Thirty-Three Heavens back then was casually tossed aside by the woodpile and completely rusted into a piece of iron.

"Fan'er, the wind is picking up."

Beside the rocking chair, an old man dressed in a coarse cloth robe spoke softly.

The old man's hair eventually turned completely white.

Even though Chen Fan had slain True Immortal and a Venerable Immortal, forcibly seized the Primordial Ninth-Turn Immortal Peach, and nurtured it day and night with supreme laws, Chen Changqing's Mortal Body had finally reached the end of the Great Dao.

Thirty thousand years is an unimaginably long and wonderful dream for a mortal cultivator who was originally stuck at the Nascent Soul stage.

Chen Fan stopped carving and looked up.

That face, which looked about sixteen years old, was as calm as a deep pool. The ferocity and murderous intent of yesteryear were gone from his eyes, replaced by a profound all-encompassing gaze.

"Father, if you wish, I can go to the Beyond the Realm one more time."

Chen Fan's voice was soft, yet it carried a weight powerful enough to make the laws of the heavens tremble.

"Now, I can extract the Heavenly Dao Origin Source of this realm to prolong your life."

This is not an exaggeration.

For thirty thousand years, the Divine Dynasty has been unified, and the Fortune and vitality of Billions of Stars have continuously nourished its Divine Kingdom. Its foundation has long surpassed the understanding of this world.

If he so desires, even the Heavenly Dao can become his prisoner.

Upon hearing this, Chen Changqing smiled.

The old man reached out and patted Chen Fan's head, just like he did when Chen Fan was a child; the touch from his withered palm was still rough.

"Silly child."

Chen Changqing shook his head, his cloudy eyes filled with relief and satisfaction.

"In this life, if a person can live for several decades or a hundred years, they've already won big. Thanks to you, your father has enjoyed thirty thousand years of peace and happiness, witnessing the starry heavens and drinking the celestial wine of countless worlds... Your father is content."

I'm truly content.

Chen Changqing gripped Chen Fan's hand, his strength gradually weakening. "Stop arguing. Heaven and earth are born and die, plants flourish and wither—that's the law. If your father keeps lingering, he'll become an immortal monster."

Chen Fan remained silent, letting his father hold his hand.

His Divine Thought could sense that Chen Changqing's Dao Integration Primordial Spirit had begun to spontaneously Dao Transformation, and the fire of his Divine Soul was as weak as a candle flickering in the wind.

This is the true sign of the Heavenly Five Declines in a living being, which cannot be reversed by external forces unless Chen Fan completely erases Chen Changqing's self-awareness and refines him into an immortal puppet.

But he won't do that.

"Okay." Chen Fan nodded. "Dad, where do you want to go?"

Chen Changqing looked south, a glimmer of light appearing in his cloudy eyes.

Let's go back to Qingyun Mountain and take a look.

"That broken iron pot on Sunset Glow Peak... I wonder if it's rusted yet."

Southern Region of the Cangwu Realm, Sunset Glow Peak.

The former site of the Azure Cloud Sword Sect has long been revered Supreme Sacred Land, but within a radius of a thousand miles, the Wuji Immortal Army strictly forbids anyone from setting foot there, preserving its original appearance.

The Bamboo Grove still rustles in the breeze, and dust settles on the stone stove in front of the old house.

Chen Changqing rolled up his sleeves, walked unsteadily to the stove, and skillfully lit the Mortal Fire.

The pot was bubbling and boiling, still the Spirit Deer Bone Soup, but the heat wasn't even, and the spiritual energy was rough and unpleasant.

The afterglow of the setting sun shone on the cliff, casting long, long shadows of the two people.

Chen Changqing ladled a bowl of steaming soup and handed it to Chen Fan, a gentle smile on his wrinkled face, "Drink it while it's hot. The cooking from Setting Sun Mountain is better than that of the imperial chefs of the Divine Dynasty."

Chen Fan took the large, rough porcelain bowl and drank it all in one gulp.

The soup was very hot, and as always, it had a slightly astringent taste.

"It tastes good."

Chen Fan said.

Chen Changqing sat down on the bamboo chair with a cheerful smile, picked up the cup of cooled tea next to him, and took a small sip.

He watched the sun slowly sinking on the horizon, the sunset dyeing the entire sea of clouds a golden red, vast and magnificent.

"It's so beautiful..."

Chen Changqing muttered to himself, his eyelids gradually becoming heavy.

The hand that was holding the teacup fell limply to its side, and the teacup shattered on the Bluestone Slab with a crisp sound.

The old man's presence dissipated completely in the breeze.

His face was extremely peaceful, and there was even a lingering smile on his lips.

Those terrifying eyes, enough to make any Cosmic Foreign Races tremble, slowly opened...