Thousands of years later, Ye Muxi's hair had already turned white. Over those years, the Demon Race had run rampant, and Supremes had emerged one after another.
He had focused solely on slaying demons, numbing himself with his sword, until he had nearly drained himself dry and entered his twilight years.
Most Great Emperors in the world could live at least ten or twenty thousand years in a single lifetime, let alone those who lived through several more lives.
"Why does this Sword Emperor of the Human Race burn himself away in battle like this, as though he was always seeking life through death?"
Even some slumbering Supremes of the Demon Race were deeply puzzled.
Even the Demon Race's Supremes were frightened by Ye Muxi's momentum and seldom emerged.
With the All Under Heaven Sword in his hand, he had forcibly carved out several thousand years of peace for the Human Race.
As ten thousand years drew near, his hair had already turned white.
Though tales of his deeds still circulated throughout the world, no one ever saw any trace of him again.
That day, a Supreme of the Dragon Race among the Demon Race awakened, slaughtering wantonly and offering the world in a blood sacrifice.
For a time, the Heavenly Radiance Dynasty, too, was plunged into deep waters and scorching flames.
Outside the imperial palace halls, Ye Muxi slowly approached.
He looked at the imperial palace that had raised Yun Chenxi, yet had also imprisoned her for her entire life.
"Your Highness, someone outside asked me to bring you a message. He said an old acquaintance requests an audience," a maid reported as she came before Yun Chenxi.
"Though his face is handsome and his bearing is unlike that of an ordinary man, his hair is terribly disheveled, and he even looks a little unkempt. How strange."
Hearing this, Yun Chenxi came outside the hall and gazed at that man from afar, ten thousand years held in a single glance.
"Have you ever resented me?"
The words escaped both their lips at the same time.
"Back then, my imperial father forced me to marry. I no longer had the face to see you." Yun Chenxi's gaze dimmed slightly.
"Back then, there was no word of you. I simply went off to pursue my own Dao of the Sword, and never sought you out again."
Ye Muxi gave a faint, bitter smile.
Even after becoming a legendary Great Emperor, he still harbored regrets.
All things were decreed by fate; not the slightest part lay in human hands.
Looking at the necklace around Yun Chenxi's neck, Ye Muxi seemed to see those happy days they had spent together back then.
"Once, I asked the sword in my hand whether it regretted anything. Now that I've seen you, I have no regrets."
The Eternal Night Sword Emperor smiled serenely.
"Back then, for the Dao of the Sword in my heart, I shrank back. All these years, I only numbed myself by slaying demons."
"Only today did I understand: seeking my true heart is what makes my sword mine. All these years, my sword was too heavy, and I, too, was trapped by it. This time, I won't shrink back."
"I'm going to meet that Supreme of the Demon Race." Sweeping away his gloom, Ye Muxi laughed and strode outside.
"Why?" Yun Chenxi sobbed softly.
"For all the living beings beneath heaven, of course, for the sword in my hand, and for this responsibility of a Great Emperor," Ye Muxi answered in a ringing voice.
"And of course, for you, too," he murmured as he left the palace.
Ye Muxi's hair turned black, and his whole body seemed brimming with vitality. He was actually about to undergo ultimate sublimation to battle that Supreme of the Dragon Race.
Watching Ye Muxi's retreating figure, she seemed to see again that spirited youth from back then, who had declared that he would make his name known throughout the world and attain the Dao as a Great Emperor.
Tears drifted down with the wind as Yun Chenxi tightly clasped the necklace around her neck.
This time, she did not hesitate to speak, but simply shouted toward Ye Muxi.
"Stay alive!"
Things remained, but people had changed, and all was over; before words could come, tears flowed.
Outside the palace, Ye Muxi summoned the All Under Heaven Sword.
"This All Under Heaven Sword-I named it when I attained the Dao. Wasn't my true intention to protect the lands of your dynasty?"
For one person, he guarded a nation.
"Will you fight alongside me once more, old friend?"
The long-sealed sword left its sheath once again.
Treading the void, Ye Muxi charged alone into the nine heavens.
He confronted this Supreme of the Demon Race at the height of his power.
Their clash went on for a long time, and no one could see their exchanges clearly.
Suddenly, Ye Muxi retreated half a step, a trickle of blood spilling from the corner of his mouth.
The Netherdark Dragon Venerable threw back his head and roared, his blood and Qi seemingly about to overturn heaven and earth.
"Even with ultimate sublimation, your blood and Qi have already withered," the Netherdark Dragon Venerable sneered.
Countless people knelt in worship, tears streaming down their faces. They knew that, over these years, this Sword Emperor had slain demons and destroyed Supremes for the peace of the Human Race, long since exhausting his strength and depleting his own origin. Now, he truly stood at the end of the road, powerless to turn the heavens around.
"Still, I have never felt that I would fall here today, defeated by your hand. In undergoing ultimate sublimation, I came already resolved to die."
"After settling what weighed on my heart, I have long since become fearless, wholly at peace and unburdened. Right now, I feel only clearheaded and refreshed." Ye Muxi lightly wiped away the blood at the corner of his mouth.
"I am old, and my strength ends here. For her, I want to protect this world once more."
"Today, I fight for all the living beings beneath heaven. Sword cultivators of the world, will you lend me a sword strike?" A voice spread throughout the entire world.
Whether children just learning the sword, old men who had long since sealed theirs away, carefree youths roaming the martial world, or even emperors deep in thought within their courts, all unconsciously slashed their swords toward the void at that moment.
Every sword cultivator heard that cry, and everyone feared that they might swing one strike too few and fail to help this Eternal Night Sword Emperor.
This was Sword Qi gathered from every direction to fight for this world.
The young Ye Muxi, that spirited child from a mountain village, also swung his sword.
In a later age, Ye Wushuang, who had already become the Heavenly Son of the Ye Lineage, seemed to see through the void. He looked up toward the horizon and also swung his sword.
These were two streams of Sword Qi that crossed time and space, belonging to the past and the future.
"We sword cultivators have nothing to fear from a battle. So what if you are an unparalleled Supreme of the Demon Race, towering high above? For this world of hers, I, too, have the courage to unleash this sword strike."
"To battle across the heavens, for this world, I am willing to strike once more. I protect this world, and the people of this world protect me, too."
This supremely powerful Sword Emperor actually began to dissipate slowly between heaven and earth, gradually merging into the All Under Heaven Sword, and likewise unleashed a stream of Sword Qi.
This was a stream of Sword Qi belonging solely to the present.
The three streams of Sword Qi converged, seeming to pierce through past, present, and future.
"Madman, is it really worth it?" A trace of panic appeared on the Netherdark Dragon Venerable's face.
Beyond the heavens, countless streams of Sword Qi swept in from every direction, endlessly renewing, flowing without cease.
"Come, Netherdark Dragon Venerable! Feel the edge of the world's sword cultivators!"
A radiance blossomed, and everything returned to nothingness, leaving only the All Under Heaven Sword alone between heaven and earth.
In the final moment before Ye Muxi's soul dissipated, that imperious little princess seemed to appear before his eyes once more.
Dressed in bridal robes, her smile blooming like a flower, she wore the necklace he had given her and walked toward him.
"Idiot, I stopped blaming you long ago. Back then, we each had our own difficulties."
Inside the palace, Yun Chenxi gazed in a trance at the lone remaining sword.
The signs of an emperor's fall manifested, and pure white snow drifted down across the sky, as though even heaven were mourning in silence for these ill-fated lovers.
"It's snowing, my little guard. This time, you protected all the living beings in this world, and you protected me, too."
"At this moment, you are my hero."
The All Under Heaven Sword flew back into the palace. Yun Chenxi walked out of the hall and gathered it into her arms.
She stood outside alone, the falling snowflakes seeming to dye all her hair white.
Snow fell across the sky onto the blade, and onto the strands of her hair as well.
May there be years to look back upon, and may we grow white-haired together in enduring love.