Of course, there were no ifs. How many things had all become laughing matters?
Qin Tailai's words seemed directed at Xi Yuan, but in truth, they were merely spoken to himself.
Winds and clouds scattered and drifted; the memories of youth could not be blown away.
Yet between then and now, so many people and so many things had ultimately ceased to be as they once were.
Nor could anyone remain forever in that moment from the past.
"The decree of the Saints—what overwhelming Momentum!"
This remote, barbaric world had, several thousand years ago, been a land of evil. Baleful Intent teemed everywhere, savage beasts ran rampant, and though humans had been born here as well, most practiced the arts of witchcraft and curses. Some refined Baleful Intent into their bodies; others seized blood to nourish themselves, using such means to forge indestructible bodies and vajra forms.
But over a thousand years ago, the radiance of civilization had shone upon the myriad worlds. Many "immortals" descended upon this realm, refining the Baleful Intent of the heavens and replacing it with clear spiritual qi. They established lineages and passed down cultivation methods, utterly transforming this world, which was thereafter named the Clear Sun Realm.
At this moment, atop a towering divine mountain in the Clear Sun Realm, a Daoist in the guise of a middle-aged man watched the decree's radiant light pierce through boundless space and time. He muttered to himself as he shook his head.
This Daoist, too, possessed the bones of the Dao and the bearing of an immortal. At a glance, he seemed even more lofty and weighty than the mountain beneath his feet; anyone who saw him would know him for a true master of the Dao.
Only, the slight furrow in his brow at this