Years Flow By Like Thirty Years

Mount Taixu, early spring.

When Su Qing'an Awakened in bed, her whole body was enveloped in a warm, languid feeling, like summer fatigue. The gradual increase in pleasure and the forbidden fruit of joy seemed to have happened during that hazy period.

Therefore, upon opening my eyes now, my weary senses can only offer an empty, lingering feeling of the tides receding.

Was it a dream?

Although he had completely sealed off the instincts and special characteristics of his manas consciousness in order to try to live a mortal life, it was precisely because of this that such a real and... bewitching dream was even less likely to occur.

But if that's not the case, it seems the only answer lies with someone else.

The first rays of dawn were breaking.

As my gaze followed the lingering trace of pleasure in the touch, lingering near the back of my knee, a clear image came into view.

The girl licked the lingering saliva from her lips. The red string on her wrist dimmed, indicating that the Udu-dust had stopped working. Her eyes shimmered, and as her eyelashes drooped, a hint of languor could be seen. Her expression was indifferent and detached.

The thin fabric she wore outlined clearly visible, flowing lines in the halo of light. Her fair skin and beautiful figure, in the early morning light, were like a cyberpunk-style color clash, boldly intruding into the eye and stimulating corresponding desires.

For some reason, the wisdom-like clarity made my mind exceptionally clear.

Su Qing'an reacted a beat late, realizing the source of this strange calmness.

Immortals possess an aura that blends holiness and decadence. Only when they curl up in one's own arms like a cat do they appear docile, shedding all their outer shells, like a pure and innocent little girl.

"Magnificent..."

"What's wrong?"

The girl naturally countered with a question. If it weren't for the overly lewd sounds made as her slender fingers rubbed together, and the suspicious traces still lingering on her lips, anyone would have begun to doubt their own filth and reflect on their own behavior in the face of such a natural and indifferent attitude.

For a moment, Su Qing'an felt something was wrong with him, but accompanied by a soft, ambiguous swallowing sound, he silently grabbed her wrist, pulling her entire body into his embrace, letting her black hair intertwine with her winter-gray hair, and leaned down...

Around noon.

Su Qing'an sat on the dark green eaves, sipping her tea with a detached expression.

His posture was clearly casual, yet it exuded a certain dignified air about him. If one ignored the detail of the Heaven and Earth Qi massaging his waist and abdominal muscles, this scene seemed not much different from before the wedding.

But over the years, this man, whose appearance has remained that of a young man, with only a few strands of silver appearing in his black hair, has become accustomed to it.

Perhaps it was because the time of separation was drawing ever closer, but beneath the wife's seemingly calm attitude, a hint of anxiety could only be glimpsed in the process of physical intercourse and in her invitations to it.

All I could do was pretend not to see it and respond with silence.

Su Qing'an lowered her eyelashes, scattering the few strands of golden light that fell upon her, and letting the arcs of light dance in her pupils, reflecting a touch of clarity. Her face remained calm yet exuded a gentle beauty, and her pale skin revealed its natural contours under the halo of light.

After consuming a large number of demons from the Lostbelt, resulting in a dramatic increase in physical age, the body's cells are clearly aging at a normal rate. However, the body has strangely retained the appearance of someone of this age, with only the silver strands that were once always visible among the jet-black hair gradually proving the passage of time.

Su Qing'an is clearly no longer at the age that can be called a teenager.

But whether it is this body that has stopped time, or the soul and even the mindset that have ignored the passage of time due to [thought], they seem to be not much different from the person he was back then.

Perhaps, in human terms, this age is considered the middle to late stage.

However, for Soul Lifeform, or an ascended being, Su Qing'an, who has not even completed a single cycle of reincarnation, is still in a stage of utter immaturity, like a newborn.

Immortal species.

Compared to the immortality of Fusion Warrior's physical body, where the spirit merely relies on pure will to fight against time, a life possessing [Nian] undoubtedly fits the definition of an immortal species better.

Su Qing'an remained unchanged; the passage of time did not cause any significant upheaval in his personality or lead to emotional defects.

This is the special nature of [Nian], its existence makes the shelf life of personality exceptionally long and fixed, like an eternal statue, whose core cannot be sculpted by any external force.

Even the long passage of time and the cycle of reincarnation, which are feared by all, are like this.

However, this unchanging bond, in the ever-flowing passage of time, may not be something to be happy about for others.

His existence is like a beacon proving one's past; almost a few glimpses are enough to bring back vivid memories of the past.

But allowing the elderly to frequently glimpse their most spirited and youthful selves is like being entangled by a vicious curse, gradually turning nostalgia into obsession.

The once-beautiful Xiao Yun left Mount Taixu for this reason, just as Li Shishi rarely visits nowadays.

Su Qing'an thought to herself, then silently looked down at the open space below.

This courtyard used to be Li Shishi's training ground when she first came up the mountain to practice the [Immortal Decree]. Back then, Jiang Rongyue would often come here to give her the corresponding training according to her instructions. It seems that the opportunity for the two of them to develop feelings for each other was actually brought about by her.

But as the years passed, it was a very long time since that smiling girl in red had come to Fuyun Temple.

Decades pass in the blink of an eye, and even the most innocent children are approaching middle age.

The peerless Courtesan once amazed the world, the most beautiful woman in the Number One Under Heaven, renowned throughout the martial arts world, has now lost her former splendor, melting into an unknown form in our memories.

The boy's hair was blown by the strong wind, and his clear black and white eyes reflected the desolate and deserted courtyard. Above him was a sky full of rolling clouds, and in the distance, the Cloud Cliff Sea still transcended the long years and accompanied him.

However, in order to leave the best impression on both of them, the old friend stopped visiting about a decade ago, but they exchanged letters every month, the tone and writing style still retaining the style of that person when they were twenty, as if concealing the passage of time.

Su Qing'an had considered going to find her herself, without letting her know, just to catch a glimpse from afar, but ultimately, out of respect for Li Shishi's choice, she completely abandoned that idea.

Thus, it was truly only the distance between Chao Xian City and Mount Taixu that separated them, and more than a decade passed in the blink of an eye.

When Li Shishi first visited, she was already thirty-seven years old. She had mastered the [Immortal Decree] very well, maintained herself well, and was naturally beautiful. She looked almost exactly the same as she had more than ten years ago, still like a young girl of sixteen or seventeen.

By then, Li Shishi and Xiao Xuan had traveled to many parts of Shenzhou. Like a traveler laden with souvenirs finally returning home, she recounted, like a child, the scenery she had seen, the people and events she had met, the hardships and storms she had encountered along the way, and the feelings she had experienced...

Su Qing'an thought at that moment that it might be the longest conversation he had ever had with her in his life. Even though he only spoke a few words, they were spread into thousands of words by the other party's deep conversation.

The immortal and Xiao Xuan sat to one side, their faces beaming with smiles.

Jiang Rongyue was playing with the White Sparrow in her palm beside Li Shishi, while a gentle white tiger lay lazily basking in the sun near the stone bench.

The murmuring sound of the Cloud Cliff Sea still lingers, like a river that flows through time, traversing the patterns strung together by each moment of time.

It was at that time that Su Qing'an first asked Li Shishi whether she wanted to achieve immortality.

Not long after their wedding, the two men revealed Su Qing'an's true situation to them. So, this question was essentially asking if they were willing to use the hibernation pod with him to welcome that unknown era. But in the end, Li Shishi, just as the Immortal Chi Yuan had expected, smiled and chose to refuse.

[Susu, it's fine if Sister Chi Yuan accompanies you then. I can't even see all of Shenzhou in this era, so I won't accompany you on such a long journey. After all... I still belong to this era.]

The man's answer was neither firm nor resolute, but his last sentence left Su Qing'an speechless, unable to utter a single word of farewell.

Finally, following Li Shishi's wishes, he concealed the conversation using his Manas consciousness, as if the conversation had never occurred.

This is the tenderness that Su Qing'an is willing to give, and it is also the shackles that Li Shishi fears will be worn down by time and become unlike the ones she begged to be given.

Who can guarantee that they will experience the pain of old age, witness the passing and decay of their youth, and still retain their original heart amidst the temptation of immortality?

As Fu Hua said, Li Shishi was a very insightful person. She did not think of relying on her own will, but simply used the Manas consciousness to erase the root of the troubles.

More than a decade has passed in the blink of an eye. The correspondence has not stopped, but the girl in red has never been seen again leading another person who habitually wears a bamboo hat to visit. Just like the [red-clad] who sent Ruoshui and her remains to Mount Taixu thousands of years ago until her death, both harbored the gentle thought of not wanting the immortals to suffer unnecessary sorrow.

Su Qing'an could understand their choices and actions, but he still couldn't help feeling lonely and sad. He still remembered the wedding ceremony the two of them had held in Mount Taixu, witnessed by him and Hua.

It was simple and deserted.

Apart from him and Fu Hua, there were no other guests.

Even so, Jiang Rongyue and Li Shishi were still very happy that day, like children clutching candy in their hands. No matter how worn out the candy coating was, it contained genuine happiness.

The boy witnessed her life after she left the Capital City, and everything they gained during that time seemed to have been worthwhile for their encounter.

If this is the end of the story, then it can hardly be called a regret.

Thirty years have passed in the blink of an eye. The preparation of the hibernation chamber had already been completed long ago. With the Tome of Cangxuan containing the external soul steel sphere and the property left behind by Cang Xuan and Dan Zhu in Mount Taixu, the relevant insurance and contingency plans have also been arranged.

Su Qing'an's lifespan became increasingly clear to his senses as time passed. He could almost instinctively calculate the time limit for cell death with precision down to the day.

Even if it's hard to see any signs of aging on the outside, the tempering of martial arts and the endless ticking of the clock, day after day, are like the ticking of a countdown, indicating the expiration date of Canned Food of yellow peaches.

The boy had a clear premonition that his death would not leave behind a corpse like that of ordinary people. His body seemed to be bound and frozen in this posture by some conceptual level, and the decay of the cells in his core was a definite time limit. Once that moment of zeroing was reached, he would probably be directly erased.

At this point, the body of the Manas consciousness and the Planetary-class essence will become entangled and run rampant in the Proper World, while the personality named Su Qing'an will disappear completely.

Therefore, even when he falls into a long slumber, in order to prevent unnecessary accidents, he will deliberately give himself a reminder similar to a biological clock, so that he will truly Awakened before his lifespan ends and finally step into the Sea of Quantum, as a graveyard that can not interfere with this world.

Even if, in theory, a hibernation chamber could infinitely slow down the rate of cell death to zero, it is never surprising what can happen over the long course of time.

Just like the Immortal Chi Yuan who protected the Shenzhou for so long and still maintained his prime, he eventually lost most of his power and memories before the arrival of the later era. From then on, he even had to exert a lot of effort to use the Divine Key and always fell into embarrassing situations that he shouldn't have.

Plans never keep up with changes.

Therefore, the two decided that they had to retain a certain amount of their lifespan and enter the hibernation pod ahead of schedule.

Otherwise, if unforeseen circumstances arise, Su Qing'an will completely lose the ability to maintain his autonomy. He currently has about fifty years of life left, and to be on the safe side, he will likely enter a hibernation pod in about thirty or twenty years to begin a period of slumber.

In this way, whether it's to stabilize the two dimensional ascension paths that are about to become unbalanced, to Awakened up midway and devour the large number of demon corpses prepared by the Taixu Sect, or to leave behind a lifespan of twenty or thirty years in case of possible variables, it is a very thorough preparation.

Only...

Su Qing'an lowered his eyelashes and gazed at the sea of clouds reflected in his teacup; he was probably somewhat reluctant to part with it.

"Xiao Su, what are you daydreaming about?"

The boy looked in the direction of the sound and saw a small white cat carrying an even smaller White Sparrow, running in circles as if on a playground.

Thirty years have passed, Su Muxi, as a conscious being, has clearly remained almost completely unchanged in her mind.

One can glean something from the fact that this childish yet naive hobby, which reveals a malice beneath its surface, remains unchanged.

Su Qing'an was somewhat speechless. He leaped into the courtyard, placed the teacup on the stone table, picked up the kitten and the White Sparrow with one hand each, then walked to the corridor, sat on the wooden floor, placed them on his lap, and teased the two little creatures, laughing as he said:

"Xiao Xi, why are you letting Little White carry you around running again?"

The cat in the boy's arms was the same animal that had signed a soul master-servant contract with Su Muxi thirty years ago.

Yes, that big white cat.

Unable to resist the child's tearful advances, Su Qing'an, before the tiger reached the end of its lifespan, used her past experience of killing countless Honkai Beasts and some professional knowledge gained in the Previous Civilization to try to actively transform it into a silicon-based life form similar to Honkai Beast.

The result was a lucky success.

The subtle manipulation of the Manas consciousness and the intuitive guidance of the correct answer from the unseen realm played an indispensable role in this process.

Even with the help of high-tech testing equipment, Mobius couldn't have done better than Su Qing'an back then.

Of course, although in terms of the result, Little White is different from those monsters with pale, hard shells or twisted and deformed forms, after it has absorbed and accepted the transformation of the Heaven and Earth Qi and the guidance of the Manas Consciousness, it is ultimately a rather special Honkai Beast.

Due to the special nature of the father and daughter, this Honkai Beast possesses complete autonomous intelligence and a kitten-like form. As for its combat power, it is merely a negligible bonus compared to its lifespan.

After all, unless it's Judgment-class, Su Muxi can beat Honkai Beast below that level to a pulp on her own. Little White just needs to be a mascot, pet, and playmate who can live on and accompany her.

... In some ways, this is much harder than going into a fight.

White Sparrow rubbed against the man's slender fingers, then dissipated into countless tiny points, transforming into the shape of a girl. She tilted her head and opened her arms to the kitten curled up in Su Qing'an's arms. Little White's body visibly trembled, and it reluctantly jumped into the other's arms.

Su Muxi bypassed the other party's question and slowly said:

"Is Xiao Su thinking about what will happen after she enters the hibernation pod?"

She reassured him with unwavering confidence:

"With Sister Xiaoxuan and me here with Xiao Fu, everything will be alright."

"By then, perhaps when Xiao Awakened, she'll be able to see all the familiar faces she used to know."

Su Qing'an remained silent for a while. Leaving Su Muxi in the outside world where time was still flowing was a natural decision. Letting her fall into a long slumber with him would not only be unfair to her, but would also make the already lonely Chi Yuan have even less to rely on.

This is why he was willing to transform Little White into Honkai Beast capable of immortality.

In the future, if the Immortal Chi Yuan truly has to shoulder the responsibility of becoming a leader of a power, then the time she can spare will probably become increasingly scarce. It would naturally be a good thing for Xiao Xi to have a long-term playmate.

Moreover...

If viewed from the perspective of a parent, Su Qing'an has always felt guilty about Su Muxi's current life and circumstances, and turning Little White into an immortal being is undoubtedly an expression of his desire to make amends.

Su Qing'an patted the girl's head and said softly:

"Yes, I believe Xiao Xi."

He believed that such a bright future would surely come.