Bearing It All Alone

In ancient legends, Immortal are high above, and after paying a huge price, they can even change the cycle of reincarnation. But they are not immortals after all, and do not have the means to reverse fate or restore the world.

"..."

Chen Nianzhi walked out of the mansion, her face calm and revealing nothing.

Before the mansion, an old man with snow-white hair stood quietly. This man was none other than the Fourth Elder, Chen Qingyuan. He looked at Chen Nianzhi and said calmly.

"He's gone?"

"Um."

Chen Nianzhi nodded, and looking at the figure in front of him, his heart inexplicably trembled again.

Chen Qingyuan 101 years old this year, and she doesn't have many years left to live.

In fact, compared to the Great Elder, Chen Qingyuan had greater regrets in his life. Before he turned sixty, his Lineage obtained a Foundation-Building Pill, but he couldn't compete with Chen Qingmeng.

Later, when he was exactly sixty-one years old and his Qi and Blood were declining, his Lineage obtained two Foundation-Building Pill at once, but he just missed this fortuitous opportunity.

Chen Qinghao and Chen Qingwan, who are about the same age as him, broke through to the Foundation Establishment in one fell swoop, and have now even reached the Foundation Establishment Fifth Layer. They have a good chance of breaking through to the Purple Mansion stage in the future.

Such a huge gap is probably Chen Qingyuan's biggest regret in his life.

Chen Qingyuan sat calmly in front of the mansion, looking at the distant sea of clouds with Chen Nianzhi, and said calmly.

"In my Qing Meng, I had a fiery temper. After failing to break through to the Foundation Establishment, I still took a desperate gamble and risked breaking Foundation Establishment again."

"At the time, I thought he was shirking responsibility, and I was ashamed of his suicidal actions."

"But it wasn't until I got older that I gradually understood Qing Meng's thoughts."

He shook his head, a relieved smile appearing on his face.

Chen Nianzhi turned her head to look at him and found that he no longer had the impetuousness of his youth, but instead had a peaceful demeanor.

"In life, there will always be many regrets."

"We are all like fish struggling against the current, living in this Long River of heaven and earth, only able to passively drift with the tide, desperately swimming upstream, and eventually being submerged in the Long River of time."

"Only a very few people like you can continuously struggle across the water, transcending the boundaries of life and death, and have a slim chance of becoming immortals, thus breaking free from the shackles of time and Bu Xiu in the Long River of time."

As Chen Qingyuan spoke, his expression was calm, yet tinged with self-deprecation.

It was a kind of resignation, a kind of compromise. He didn't have enough power to change his fate, so he could only compromise with time, admit that he would face death, and quietly wait for his lifespan to slowly run out.

Even if one is a peerless and brilliant Primordial Spirit Dao Lord, what good is it if one cannot become an immortal? In the end, one cannot transcend the cycle of rebirth and will only end up as a handful of dust.

He smiled and looked at Chen Nianzhi, saying, "Your life has been a struggle, like a fish leaping in the Long River, constantly growing stronger and changing yourself, all for the sake of one day transforming into True Dragon and transcending the world."

"Even someone as amazing as you has things you can't do."

"One day, you too will watch as those you love, or those who love you, walk toward death."

"You are too sentimental. This is an obsession in your spiritual practice, and it may turn into a torment in your heart, or even become your inner demon."

"I hope you can understand some things. You need to take some things less seriously and not get too caught up in them. Being too emotional might hurt you."

Chen Nianzhi listened silently to his words, not uttering a single word.

He stood quietly on the mountaintop, watching the sea of clouds roll and surge between heaven and earth, and remained there for a long time.

After an unknown amount of time, he turned his head to look at Chen Qingyuan and calmly said, "Whether something can be done or not, we'll only know after we try."

"As for feelings, whether it's obsession or inner demons, I, Chen Nianzhi, will bear the consequences myself."

"One day, when I am strong enough, then..."

"Then, may I enter the depths of the Nine Netherworlds to search for someone?"

Chen Qingyuan's expression changed, and she finally understood that Chen Nianzhi's beliefs were firm, and that his sense of proportion was the whole world. He did not approve of Chen Nianzhi's way of avoiding Karmic Retribution and severing karmic ties.

He has a sharp and resolute personality, is not afraid to take responsibility and karma, and has a grand and ambitious spirit beneath his calm exterior.

But achieving this is incredibly difficult. Even those who sever ties with Karmic Retribution and diligently cultivate themselves find it extremely difficult to become immortals, let alone someone like him who is not afraid of the karmic Karmic Retribution that befall him.

Looking at his tall and upright figure, dressed in white as snow, Chen Qingyuan felt a strange emotion and a word came to mind.

Her beauty was unparalleled, and her grace was like jade.

"..."

When I came out from the back mountain, the banquet was about to begin, and several major Purple Mansion Immortal Clan had also sent Purple Mansion cultivators to offer their congratulations.

The Pan Immortal Clan of Yu Commandery sent Pan Boyuan, who was at the Fourth-Layer Purple Mansion realm.

The person from the Xu Clan of Feng Commandery was Xu Daoyuan, whose cultivation had actually broken through to the Fourth-Layer Purple Mansion realm.

The Xu Clan Xu Clan reaped great benefits Beast Turmoil six or seven years ago, and with this gain, they upgraded their Daoist temple's Spirit Vein to the Tier 3 Mid-grade.

Furthermore, he spent two precious treasures to buy two Cloud-Pattern Creation Pill for Xu Daoyuan. Relying on these two Cloud-Pattern Creation Pill, Xu Daoyuan broke through to the Mid-Purple Mansion realm in one fell swoop.

It is said that Xu Ganyang's cultivation has also made further progress, breaking through to the Sixth Purple Mansion Layer. Xu Ganyang's lifespan is still more than a hundred years. If he is not stuck at the bottleneck of the Purple Mansion Late Stage Realm for too long, he probably has a 20% to 30% chance of breaking through to the Golden Core realm in the future.

The last person from the Spirit Commandery Yang Clan to arrive was Yang Yuanhe. The Lineage had suffered a severe injury years ago and had not yet recovered. It could be said that the Yang Clan's strength had been greatly reduced.

However, Yang Yuanhe purchased a gold-attribute Purple Mansion Cultivation Method from the Chu Kingdom Barter Fair six years ago, and now his cultivation has finally made further progress, reaching the Second Layer of Purple Mansion realm.

At the banquet, more than a dozen Foundation Establishment cultivators from the Chen Clan entertained fellow Foundation Establishment cultivators from various parts of the Border Province.

The Old Clan Leader and several Purple Mansion cultivators sat at a table. Upon seeing Chen Nianzhi arrive, Xu Daoyuan smiled and said...

"Fellow Daoist Chen, you're the host, why are you so late today?"

"Something came up, sorry to have kept you all waiting."

Chen Nianzhi stepped forward, raised a glass of wine, and smiled, saying, "I will punish myself with a glass as an apology to everyone."

Apart from Pan Boyuan, the others present were all fellow Daoists who had fought side by side during the Beast Turmoil. In addition, they were all fellow Daoists from the Border Province, so they naturally felt quite close to each other.

In fact, everyone held Chen Nianzhi in awe. Although Chen Changxuan was the patriarch of the Chen Clan clan, the cultivators of the Chu Kingdom knew that Chen Nianzhi's methods were even more ruthless. After he broke through to the Purple Mansion, even cultivators in the Purple Mansion Late Stage stage had to look at him with more respect.

After a few rounds of drinks, Chen Nianzhi put down her glass and said with a smile.

"Gentlemen, to be honest, the reason I've invited you all to this banquet today is to discuss the distribution of profits from the Border Province."