Past Reappears

The heavy metal door closed soundlessly behind them, completely shutting out all noise and prying eyes from the outside world. The lighting in the secret chamber was soft, not from any soul tool lamps, but naturally emitted by countless warm jade stones embedded in the walls, creating a tranquil yet solemn atmosphere. The air was filled with the mingled scent of old books, special medicinal solutions, and an extremely faint sandalwood fragrance that seemed capable of calming the mind.

The chamber was exceptionally spacious. Rather than a room, it was more like a small library. Rows of bookshelves made from unknown metal and agarwood stood in neat formation, piled with all manner of files, ancient books, and special carriers sealed inside transparent crystals. Some of the shelves even moved slowly on their own, producing the faintest sounds of mechanisms and revealing the intricate spatial structure within.

Tang Fenghua, the current master of the Tang Sect, still wore an expression of barely contained excitement and reverence after leading them inside. He stood before a row of shelves, his fingers trembling slightly as they brushed over a metal plaque engraved with the words "Dragon King Era: End."

"Ancestor, Your Majesty Gu Yuena," Tang Fenghua said. His voice was especially clear in the silent chamber, carrying an almost imperceptible respect. "This place contains the most detailed historical materials jointly preserved by the Tang Sect and Shrek Academy regarding the final battle ten thousand years ago, as well as the two of you. Most of it has never even been fully revealed to the current elders. According to the oath jointly established by the current Sect Master and Sea God Pavilion, only the two of you, in person, are qualified to examine all of it."

Tang Wulin nodded slightly. His gaze swept over those weighty files, and his heart began to race uncontrollably. An inexplicable pull came from the words that had lain silent for ten thousand years, calling to his slumbering memories. "Thank you, Sect Master Tang."

Gu Yuena stood quietly at his side, her purple eyes sweeping across their surroundings. Her senses were sharper, and she could clearly detect the countless powerful spiritual restrictions and soul tool arrays set within the chamber. Any unauthorized probing or unusual movement would immediately trigger a devastating counterattack. This was the final fortress truly guarding the truth of history.

"This section," Tang Fenghua said as he carefully removed a heavy book from an independent crystal cabinet emitting faint energy fluctuations. It was neither metal nor jade, and its cover was dark silver, branded with intertwined golden and silver dragon patterns. "According to the notes left by the Sea God Pavilion Master at the time, this was jointly imprinted with spiritual power and recorded in writing by several beings who personally witnessed the final events... a recreation of the scene. Perhaps... it will be the most direct way for the two of you to recover your memories."

He gently placed the book on the only jade table in the center of the room, his movements incomparably respectful. "Please make yourselves at home. I'll wait outside the door. If you need anything, simply touch the array at the edge of the table with your Soul Power." With that, Tang Fenghua gave a deep bow and backed out of the chamber, closing the heavy door behind him once more.

Only the two of them remained in the chamber, along with the books that bore the weight of the past.

Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena exchanged a glance. Both saw the same solemnity and a trace of barely perceptible tension in the other's eyes. The ultimate truth from ten thousand years ago—the final battle that had separated them, put them into slumber, and even caused them to lose their memories—lay before them.

"Let's watch it together, Wulin," Gu Yuena said softly, taking his hand first. Her fingertips were slightly cool, but the strength they conveyed was unwavering.

Tang Wulin clasped her hand tightly in return and nodded. Together, they walked to the jade table. Tang Wulin took a deep breath, raised his right hand, and slowly placed it over the golden and silver dragon pattern.

There was none of the dusty sensation he had expected. The instant his palm touched the cover, the dark silver book abruptly lit up! Golden and silver light intertwined and rose, instantly engulfing them both. The surrounding scenery rippled like water, blurred, and faded away...

The scene reformed.

They stood above Shrek City from ten thousand years ago, within an absolute forbidden zone where even time and space seemed frozen. Beneath their feet was the sight of soul beasts charging forth. Snow drifted from the sky, and the piercing chill did not merely affect the body—it directly eroded the soul.

Ahead, two figures stood facing each other.

Tang Wulin of ten thousand years ago had fully awakened the bloodline of the Golden Dragon King. Brilliant golden dragon scales covered his body, yet his black eyes no longer held their usual fighting spirit. There was only endless exhaustion, pain, and the madness of someone who had lost his beloved.

Gu Yuena of ten thousand years ago displayed the Silver Dragon King's power without reservation. Her silver hair danced gently in the icy wind, the elemental halos around her dim, while her purple eyes held unfathomable sorrow and a resolute love.

They both bore shocking wounds, but the golden spear lodged in the woman's chest drew the most attention. It was the Golden Dragon Spear.

"Gu Yue..." Tang Wulin's voice trembled.

"How could you bear to leave me?"

Tears filled Gu Yuena's eyes and slid down her pale cheeks, instantly freezing into icy beads. Yet her gaze was filled with the love she had previously never dared to reveal so boldly.

"Wulin, this was the ending I planned long ago, and it's also the best ending. I don't want to stand against you anymore. I can only use my death to fight for a right to survival for the soul beasts. I saw long ago that you wanted to use your death to awaken me, but how could I bear that? In the end, you still weren't as smart as me. In the end, you're still my fool."

Tang Wulin slowly moved closer. With a soft puff, the Golden Dragon Spear pierced through his chest. He held Gu Yuena tightly in his arms. He raised a hand as if to wipe away her tears, but his fingertips stopped before they reached those frozen tears.

Gu Yuena tried to reach out and push him away from the Golden Dragon Spear, but it had already drained all her life force. How could she possibly have the strength to push him away?

"So this is what it feels like to have your heart pierced. You're my wife. From the moment you put on that ring, wherever you are, I'll be there. If you're leaving, how can I remain behind alone?"

"Protecting the human world is my responsibility, but... protecting you is my instinct."

He looked at her, his eyes full of undisguised devotion and determination.

"A world without you has no meaning to me."

Gu Yuena's tears flowed even more fiercely, but she smiled. It was a heartbreakingly beautiful smile. "Wulin, you still have your parents. You promised them you would wait for them to return!"

Tang Wulin held her tightly and stroked her pale cheek.

"Father and Mother still have my sister by their side. But you only have me."

"Wulin..." Her face was already wet with tears as she used the last of her strength to hold him tightly.

The last trace of the Silver Dragon King's origin power slowly overflowed from Gu Yuena's body, transforming instead into the gentlest protection. Within Tang Wulin, the Golden Dragon King's blazing blood and energy also calmed, becoming the most steadfast—

Tang Wulin rose into the air and crushed the Ice God Pearl at his chest. Vast frost spread over their bodies. Dazzling golden and silver light bloomed from their embracing forms. No longer opposing one another, the lights merged perfectly, forming an enormous cocoon of golden and silver radiance.

The cocoon rapidly solidified. A transparent layer of ice spread upward from beneath their feet like the finest amber, completely sealing their intertwined figures within. That ice was no ordinary ice. It contained their final divine power and Dragon Clan Origin, indestructible and eternal.

Golden and silver light slowly flowed within the ice crystal, preserving their final embrace. It was as though they were merely asleep, their faces peaceful with relief and happiness.

The next instant, they had transformed into icy mist and shot toward the Far North.

The scene came to an abrupt end.

The golden and silver light receded. Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena's consciousness returned to their bodies. They were still standing in the Tang Sect's secret chamber, their hands still pressed against the dark silver book.

The light on the book had completely dimmed, leaving it plain and unremarkable.

For a long time, neither of them spoke, as if their souls had been frozen by the Ten-Thousand-Year Profound Ice. Tears silently rolled down their faces, not from sorrow, but because of that love which had crossed ten thousand years of time and remained fierce enough to burn away every barrier and opposing stance.

Tang Wulin suddenly pulled Gu Yuena tightly into his arms. His arms squeezed so hard that he nearly pressed her into his body. His voice was hoarse, trembling violently. "Thank goodness. I didn't lose you."

Gu Yuena buried her face deeply in his shoulder. Her body trembled softly from sobbing, and her arms wrapped tightly around his waist. "It was the home we chose together. Only us."

So the so-called "final battle" had not been a defeat at the hands of an enemy. It had been their joint choice to end all conflict and pain in such a resolute manner, preserving their love for eternity.

Only after a long while did they gradually recover from that overwhelming emotional impact. Yet the stirring in their hearts, and their cherished sense of having regained one another, only grew stronger.

"Let's look through the later records—what happened after we were frozen, and... why we awakened." Tang Wulin's voice was still slightly husky. He released Gu Yuena, but their hands remained tightly clasped as his gaze turned toward the other files on the shelves.

They began searching through the relevant shelves, finding more supplementary records and analyses left behind by the contemporary Sect Masters, Shrek's upper echelons, and generations of people who knew the truth.

[Record One: Postwar Investigation and Confirmation]

· The final battlefield was located in the Core Region of the Far North. After the energy reactions subsided, the God Rank powerhouses of the era conducted a joint investigation and discovered the "Everfrost Domain." It was confirmed that Golden Dragon Moonlit Tang Wulin and Silver Dragon Wulin Gu Yuena had been eternally sealed within mysterious ice crystals in an embracing posture. Their vital signs had completely ceased, yet their Dragon Clan Origin remained perfectly preserved. No one could approach it, and no one could destroy it.

· Following a joint resolution by Sea God Pavilion, the place was designated the highest taboo. The news was sealed, known only to the highest levels of the Tang Sect, Shrek, and Spirit Pagoda. They would guard it generation after generation, awaiting a possible miracle.

[Record Two: Ten Thousand Years of Guardianship and Speculation]

· The "Everfrost Domain" was extremely stable and had not changed in any way over ten thousand years. Some powerhouses speculated that this frozen state was not death, but an "absolute stillness" created by an ultimate Dragon Clan secret technique, waiting for a certain opportunity.

· Around three thousand years ago, an abnormally faint energy fluctuation was detected in the Core Region of the Far North, similar to the descriptions of the Everfrost Domain. However, it vanished in an instant, and the search yielded nothing.

[Record Three: Analysis of the Possibility of Awakening—Top Secret]

· According to deductions left behind by Space-Time Douluo Xie Xie, the Everfrost Domain had formed from the two Dragon Kings' ultimate emotional power and the fusion of Dragon God Origin. The condition for its unsealing might not lie in external force, but within.

· Key speculation: As time passed and the outside world changed, once a certain "node" that resonated with the Dragon God's power or their own obsessions was reached, combined with the accumulated nourishment of Douluo Star's life energy reaching a certain level, it might "melt" the Dragon God's ice from within, allowing their life cores to "regenerate." However, this would require a long recovery process.

· Supplementary speculation: This "regeneration" more closely resembled a form of "nirvana," retaining the most essential bloodline cultivation and soul imprints, though the souls would need to accumulate and awaken anew from the beginning.

This file matched the current state of the two of them extremely well.

Upon reading this, Tang Wulin and Gu Yuena suddenly understood.

"So... it was our own choice." Gu Yuena sighed softly, complicated emotions in her purple eyes. "Frozen as an ending, and frozen as a new life."

"And the opportunity for rebirth may have been the passage of ten thousand years, or the accumulation of Douluo Star's life energy, or perhaps..." Tang Wulin tightened his grip on her hand, his black eyes blazing. "Perhaps it was our souls. Even while frozen, they never stopped yearning to meet again."

They understood now. Their lovers' death together ten thousand years ago had not been a hopeless ending. In that unsolvable predicament, it had been the only way he could think of to remain together forever while possibly preserving a sliver of hope. And after ten thousand years of waiting, that hope had finally blossomed.

"Now, we're back." Tang Wulin looked at Gu Yuena, his gaze resolute and gentle. "This time, there are no opposing stances, no shackles of duty. There's only us, and the... future we need to face together."

Gu Yuena met his gaze and nodded firmly, gripping his hand even tighter. Ten thousand years of frozen slumber had brought them a clearer and more unwavering understanding of each other.