"Senior Guanyan..."
Amid the swiftly vanishing time, the starlight of Yuheng carried Jiang Wang's apology.
"I already know." Guanyan's voice was as gentle as ever.
"Uncle-Master Zhi'e bore the consequences of his own actions. You cannot be blamed."
"Only today did I learn who my master died for. He had a thousand faults, ten thousand reasons to die, yet he left no hatred for me, allowing me peace in paradise."
Zhi'e had not told Guanyan the truth of Zhixiang's death. He had not told the young novice monk, newly emerged into the world and hailed as number one in comprehension, nor had he told the Yuheng Star Lord who later took charge of Yuheng and watched over the myriad realms.
"People truly are complicated. I entered the empty gate, then returned to secular life, yet still do not understand the single word 'human.' I possess Mind-Reading, yet see human hearts change in the blink of an eye."
In the end, he gave only a sigh.
"Jiang Wang. Jiang Wang..."
His voice followed the starlight, lost in the cosmos.
The Yuheng Star Lord had always been an elder Jiang Wang deeply trusted and respected. He taught him cultivation, helped him seek the Dao, and pointed out the direction of his life whenever he was lost. He profoundly shaped his values, broadened his horizons, and changed his understanding of life and the world...
Yet even such a man, such a sage, had moments of confusion.
Lost in the Forest Sea Source Realm for five hundred years, the first thing he never forgot was to return the Golden Body to the treasured temple.
Zhi'e was dead too.
Of the eminent monks of the Zhi generation who had once cared for and taught him, not one remained.
His last acquaintance in Hanging Temple—or rather,