A lifetime of freedom or a lifetime of frustration

[Month one, you refined the Sword Pellet Li Changge gave you and began cultivating the Yi Wood Sword Art.]

[Month two, you broke through to the foundation establishment middle stage.]

[Month three, you performed impressively in the Sect Grand Competition, making Liu Chenyu see you in a new light.]

[Month nine, your Yi Wood Sword Art grew increasingly polished, and your cultivation broke through to the foundation establishment late stage.

Before Li Changge could come looking for you, you left the Setting Sun Sect to gain experience in the outside world.]

[Year two, your status as a disciple of the Setting Sun Sect spared you a great deal of trouble during your travels.

You enjoyed yourself thoroughly this year, though your cultivation progressed somewhat slowly.]

[Year three, you made quite a few friends during your travels.

After learning that you were a disciple of the Setting Sun Sect, they offered you considerable help.

Your foundation grew increasingly solid, but you still had no confidence in forming a first-rank core.

You decided to return to the sect first and seek your master's guidance.]

[Year five, after spending two years in secluded cultivation at the sect, you sensed the faint stirrings of insight and prepared to venture out again.

This time, you planned to visit some secret realms that were not too dangerous.]

[Year seven, over the past two years, you underwent the baptism of battle, accumulating considerable sword intent and further condensing your true essence.

You decided to spend some time in seclusion, contemplating what you had learned.]

[Year eight, you finally sensed an opportunity to break through.

You seized it and formed your golden core in one stroke, achieving a first-rank core.]

[Year nine, you suddenly remembered the calamity that would befall your sect.

You initially wanted to expose the Yin Corpse Sect's plot, but years of peaceful living made you hesitate.

After agonizing over it for several months, you ultimately backed down.

Under the pretext of traveling, you left the Setting Sun Sect.]

[Year ten, the Yin Corpse Sect's slumbering ancestor awakened and breached the Setting Sun Sect's gates.

From afar, you watched the radiance of spell arts stain half the sky red. Without your noticing when it began, tears slid down your cheeks.

You suddenly felt as though you had lost something.

After pondering it for a long time, you realized you had lost the anchor that had sustained your heart for the past nine years.

Only then did you suddenly realize that you had already come to regard the Setting Sun Sect as your home.

And now, your home was gone.

With a long sigh, you left, preparing to start anew.]

[Year twelve, over the past two years, the Yin Corpse Sect grew increasingly powerful, but you remained largely unaffected.

You had long since flown thousands of miles away on your sword and settled in a secluded paradise beyond the world.]

[Year fifteen, you reclaimed several acres of spirit fields in your secluded paradise and raised a few spirit beasts.

Each day, aside from meditating and cultivating, you played with your spirit beasts, living a thoroughly pleasant life.

Yet whenever you had a moment to spare, the sight of the Setting Sun Sect's mountains collapsing still flashed through your mind.]

[Year twenty-three, your cultivation finally advanced, reaching the core formation middle stage.

For someone with a first-rank core, this pace was truly far too slow, but you did not care.

You wanted only to lose yourself among mountains and rivers and live a lifetime of freedom.]

[Year thirty-three, while out clearing your head, you encountered a mortal youth who was being hunted down.

After saving him, you were pleasantly surprised to discover that he, too, possessed a wood spiritual root. You asked whether he would return to the mountain with you.

The youth immediately prostrated himself before you and loudly hailed you as his master.]

[Year forty-two, your disciple achieved foundation establishment and wanted to travel the world.

After a brief moment of consideration, you agreed to his request.]

[Year sixty-eight, your disciple finally formed a golden core as well, though his was only fifth-rank.

You were somewhat disappointed, but encouraged him not to lose heart.]

[Year seventy-three, your disciple took on several disciples of his own, bringing a little more life to your home.

Watching those youths play happily, you suddenly gained an insight and broke through another minor realm, reaching the core formation late stage.]

[Year ninety-eight, your swordsmanship grew increasingly polished, and you had earned a modest reputation among core formation stage cultivators.

Yet the Yin Corpse Sect's influence kept growing, showing signs of spreading into this region, and your worries deepened.]

[Year one hundred and nine, just as you prepared to relocate your entire sect, you suddenly received some heartening news.

The Yin Corpse Sect's Resurrected Ancestor had actually been wounded by someone.

When you learned the attacker's name, you froze where you stood.

His name was Li Changge!

Long-buried memories resurfaced, and a jumble of emotions filled your heart. You felt only that you had let down your former sect.]

[Year one hundred and eighty, over the past few decades, you tried several methods of condensing a nascent soul, but failed to break through every time.

In truth, you knew it was because the knot in your heart remained untied.

Though your golden core brimmed with vitality, there was a breach in your state of mind that could not be healed.

If you forced a breakthrough, you would most likely condense only a flawed nascent soul.

You began considering whether to use the outer dao to form your nascent soul.]

[Year two hundred and sixty, someone grievously wounded your disciple for no apparent reason.

You went to reason with the attacker, but a disagreement escalated into an all-out fight.

After a fierce battle, you finally inflicted serious injuries on him. He declared that he would summon his elders to avenge him.

Only then did you learn that he was a disciple of the Artifact Soul Sect.

You prepared to relocate your entire sect, but were a step too late.

His sect's Nascent Soul Elder had already come attacking your doorstep.

Left with no other choice, you forcibly condensed a nascent soul by sacrificing your future potential.

Even so, you were no match for him.

After a bitter struggle, you managed to drive him back, but suffered grievous injuries yourself.

Your nascent soul withered, and little of your lifespan remained.]

[Year two hundred and eighty, your injuries flared up again, and you passed away in your cave abode.]

[You died!]