Time moved forward in silent steps, but life was not necessarily a headlong march through day and night. Sometimes one needed to pause, look back, admire the scenery along the way, stop, and rest.
Time flew. Spring passed, and autumn came.
Inside the Ominous Being Mirror, Ren Ye waited for four years and five months.
He and Little One had weathered hardship after hardship and finally traversed more than half of the Emperor's Path, only to have two Divine Avatars bar their way here. Unable to advance and unwilling to retreat, they could only wait as the years slipped past for that final "opening" to arrive.
He did not know when that opening would appear, nor did he know whether it could help him clear the hurdle before him once it did.
The only thing he knew was that these dear friends of his deserved his trust, and that they shared an understanding that needed no words.
After Qingning advanced in grade, Li Yan had taken her back to Qingliang Prefecture, originally intending to hold a "homecoming after completing her studies" gathering for their friends and family. Unexpectedly, they had not found Ren Ye after entering Qingliang Prefecture. Brother Huang had told them that Prince Huai had taken a group of friends to the Nine Li Continent to seek opportunities in the Emperor's Tomb.
Li Yan had wanted to catch up with Little Bad King and travel with him, but after asking around, he learned that Great Emperor Jiuli's Tomb had already opened, and that the Ancient Emperor Successor had caused an uproar at the Heavenly Prodigy Grand Gathering, prompting several Nine Li sects to hunt him down.
Had Old Liu heard about this, he would certainly have immediately sought a way into Nine Li, then grabbed his saber and