"Very unfamiliar. Incomparably lonely."
Hearing this, Ouyang Boxiao smiled as well. "Ancient Seven Realms, I am truly glad to see you revived."
"Likewise."
Ancient Seven Realms' gaze gradually settled, and he asked softly, "Even after living this long, you still see it this way...?"
Ouyang Boxiao clasped his hands behind his back and slowly turned around. "That year, mountains and rivers were shattered, and all old friends fell. Amid the masses, I watched one protagonist after another slowly grow through the years, rise to prominence, and shine brilliantly..."
"When I saw heaven and earth renewing with each passing day, when I saw the Immortal Dao flourishing, hehe, all I wanted then was to hide away, curl up in a corner. I was terrified to the extreme—I was even afraid of seeing living beings."
"Fu Tian..." Ancient Seven Realms' expression abruptly turned exceedingly grave.
The mighty Fu Tian of the Tai Yi Immortal Court had actually fallen into such a wretched state. Yet Ancient Seven Realms felt no urge to mock him; instead, he understood all too well.
"I felt that I was facing something more terrifying than annihilation," Ouyang Boxiao continued calmly. "A great terror I had never experienced before. Later, I gradually understood—it was loneliness."
"This loneliness was not the simple loneliness of having no one by one's side, walking the Great Dao alone, with no one in the world knowing me."
He smiled. It was also the first time he had spoken so much. "It was the desolation of years while living deep within the mortal world, the loneliness of an era. Now, that feeling has reached its peak in this battle with the younger generation's Chen Xun."
"Indeed." Ancient Seven Realms sighed deeply. "I recall Zhi Yun once saying that he did not wish to entangle himself