The Farewell Voyage

Who in this world can ever escape death?

No matter how peerless your beauty, how captivating your grace, in the end you are naught but a red-dust skeleton. No matter how brilliant your destiny, how vast your empire, in the end you turn to a handful of yellow earth.

The rise and fall of ages, the glory and ruin of dynasties—a thousand million years pass like the snap of a finger. And even if true deathless longevity were attained, what then? You would merely witness the rise and fall of one myth after another, leaving behind only a heart full of melancholy and sorrow.

Every mortal being, every genius, is the protagonist of heaven and earth. Each walks a different path.

Xiao Chen had journeyed far, following in the footsteps of the deathless ones, slowly unveiling a primeval mythic world sealed away for endless ages. Everything was cruel. The more he learned, the more he experienced, the more helpless he felt.

He stood at the end of the mythic age, and the situation before him filled him with utter unwillingness.

Not to mention the great matter of severing the passage to the Primordial Celestial Realm, but right before his eyes lay Ancestral Dragon Village, a place bound to him by countless ties. That was his home. His parents and loved ones were within. How could he not be anxious?

Seven colossal magic diagrams hung in the sky, sealing heaven and earth. Even Ancestral Gods were powerless to change the already-destined outcome.

The Ancestral Dragon Ship vanished at the horizon. The many cultivators who had gathered before the primeval ancient village had long since dispersed.

The final farewell had come. In the days ahead, some would leave this world.

Now, all was silent.

The giant magic diagrams pressed down from above, bringing a suffocating weight. Xiao Chen wanted to gaze at the sky, but he could see only massive shadows—no sunlight, no hope.

"I refuse!" Xiao Chen roared to the heavens, his voice shaking the firmament.

Divine power surged around him, sacred radiance blazing like roaring flames. Demonic patterns gathered on his forehead, coalescing into a vertical eye that seemed about to open.

Not far away, the towering, ancient Dead City trembled. The Slaughter Light wreathing it blazed even more brilliantly.

Xiao Chen shot into the sky, involuntarily seized by a powerful force and drawn to the Dead City's battlements. The Slaughter Light flared, rushing toward him—but at the last instant, it halted, then slowly retreated to its original place.

Keke, who had rushed over, halted at a distance when she saw he was unharmed. Jin Sanyi, Bai Qi, and the others also breathed a sigh of relief. The Dead City was now extraordinary, wreathed in Slaughter Light that even Ancestral Gods dared not touch.

"I want to break open the magic diagrams and open the way to the Primordial Celestial Realm!" Xiao Chen roared to the heavens.

Bai Qi and Jin Sanyi, standing far off, understood his feelings. Ancestral Dragon Village lay in sight, yet he could not reunite with his parents, so close and yet so far.

"Dead City, what power do you hold? Can you open a path to the Celestial Realm?"

Xiao Chen stood alone on the Dead City wall, his body blazing with light like a dazzling star. The demonic patterns on his forehead leaped and pulsed, forming a vertical eye that at last opened wide.

BOOM!

The Dead City shook violently. A baleful aura shot into the sky. Black mist flooded out, and the entire city seemed to come alive.

The seven magic diagrams in the sky responded. Rolling black mist erupted from them and surged toward the Dead City.

BOOM! The Slaughter Light shot up, twisting toward the black mist.

An invisible collision—then a dead silence. The Slaughter Light could not prevail and swiftly retreated.

Behind the seven magic diagrams stood at least seven powerful Otherworld Ancestral Gods. That kind of strength was unimaginable, and no one present could withstand it.

Xiao Chen leaped into the Dead City and strode toward its center. At the heart of the Dead City, the Yellow-Clay Altar sealed the Demon Well. Upon it rolled beads of blood, shocking to the eye.

Acting purely on instinct, Xiao Chen pressed his hand against the Yellow-Clay Altar. The entire Dead City flashed with black light, trembling violently.

"Open that magic diagram!"

The vertical eye on Xiao Chen's forehead shot forth a beam of black light, as if carrying the full power of the Dead City, sweeping toward the seven magic diagrams in the sky.

It was a force of immense strength, shattering the void, scouring the seven diagrams—space itself ceaselessly annihilated.

Without a sound, the seven magic diagrams began to rotate. Overwhelming power poured out, instantly shattering the black beam from Xiao Chen's forehead. Bloodlines appeared around his vertical eye, trickling down.

"Why must it be this way? I need power!" He had a mad thought—to shift the Yellow-Clay Altar that sealed the Demon Well, to borrow the power of the Abyss of Evil.

But a solemn voice from a Ancestral God thundered in his ears: "It is already too late. Do not struggle in vain..."

Xiao Chen would not listen. He strained with all his might to move the Yellow-Clay Altar, but in the end his hands were only stained with blood; he could not budge it an inch.

Finally, he walked out of the Dead City in dejection. He could not change it. He could only accept reality.

The seven magic diagrams had completely shrouded Ancestral Dragon Village. The illusory village could no longer be seen.

A day later, the horn of the Ancestral Dragon Ship resounded across the land. The list of those who would leave had been decided. Though not yet announced, everyone knew that the most brilliant talents and those with extraordinary gifts would be chosen.

Xiao Chen, Jin Sanyi, Bo Shi, Bai Qi, Fatty Zhuge, Totti, Wu Ming, and others left Ancestral Dragon Village. They exchanged farewells filled with deep emotion, then each went their separate ways, roaming through the Nine Provinces and the Four Worlds. Perhaps some of them would be leaving; they all wanted to look upon the magnificent mountains and rivers one last time.

Three days later, Xiao Chen met the Inverse Dragon King, Liu Mu, and Niu Ren in the Curse World, and they traveled together toward the Nine Provinces.

Half a day later, they arrived at the Yellow Crane Tower—the finest riverside pavilion beneath heaven, towering over the river with extraordinary grandeur.

When Xiao Chen and the others ascended the tower, all eyes turned to them.

With the great calamity approaching, many cultivators were also wandering the famous mountains and great rivers, just as they were.

Here were cultivators from the Nine Provinces, as well as experts from the Four Worlds.

When the Hundred Races experts saw Xiao Chen, killing intent immediately leaked out. The atmosphere on the tower grew tense.

"Gentlemen, many years have passed. I have missed you deeply." That was Xiao Chen's opening line. He seemed to have forgotten the anguish of Ancestral Dragon Village; his smile was bright, showing a mouthful of white teeth as he greeted everyone.

Earth King's eyes went wide the moment he saw Xiao Chen ascend the stairs, but Sea God King grabbed his arm, transmitting a silent message: he must restrain himself.

Besides the foreign Heavenly Kings from years past, their sons and nephews were also present. All were on high alert, staring silently at Xiao Chen.

"Time can erase everything. Let bygones be bygones regarding the grudges of those years." Xiao Chen chose a table and sat down, letting Liu Mu and Niu Ren sit as well, then turned and continued, "Of course, if you are unwilling, you may come at me."

He spoke very casually, but the others could not act. Xiao Chen now had more than enough strength to say such things; he could truly contend with Half-Ancestors.

"An old friend bids farewell at the Yellow Crane Tower, in this desolate age boards the dragon boat. A lone sail's shadow vanishes into the azure sky; only the Long River flows at the sky's edge." Liu Mu, pale and sickly, stood by the window, raising his cup to Xiao Chen. "Today's parting is a farewell for eternity. I borrow the Immortal Poet Li Bai's poem to see you off, Brother Xiao. If one day you return, please pour a few cups of wine for me at this spot."

Given Xiao Chen's talent and achievements, leaving was natural; he was sure to be chosen. Liu Mu's talk of eternal separation was the simple truth, but at this moment and in this place, it was especially poignant.

Xiao Chen wanted to say something, but in the end fell silent. Liu Mu was merely at the Perfected Man realm. Though his talent was extraordinary, when measured against the whole of the Nine Provinces and the Four Worlds, he might not stand out so much. There would likely be no place for him on the Ancestral Dragon Ship.

"Clink." Xiao Chen clinked his glass hard with Liu Mu's, tilted his head back, and drank the bitter wine.

"In this life, having a few true friends to live and die with is enough." Honest Niu Ren also raised his cup, gently touching it to Xiao Chen's. "Do not forget that there once was a friend named Niu Ren. If, a thousand years from now, you occasionally remember, please also pour a few cups of wine into the earth for me."

Xiao Chen's heart felt choked. He wanted to speak, but at this moment he could not utter a single word.

Beside them, the Inverse Dragon King and Keke were also silent.

Many of the surrounding cultivators were equally somber. Were they not the same? Some would leave, while others would remain forever, waiting only for death.

"Clatter, clatter, clatter."

Footsteps sounded from the stairway. Someone else was ascending the tower.

"Xiao Chen! You really are here!" A middle-aged man with graying temples spoke with a trembling voice, striding over quickly.

"Chen Fang... is it you?"

When Xiao Chen had not yet followed the Celestial Maiden Lan Nuo in breaking the void to enter the World of Immortality, Chen Fang had been his friend in the mortal world. In those days, Chen Fang had loved Ruo Shui, yet had yielded because of Xiao Chen. To this day, Xiao Chen still felt regret over that affair.

"I know you are about to leave. We were friends before you became famous. Even though your forgetting Ruo Shui made me hate you, we are still friends—old friends, come to see you off."

Xiao Chen's heart ached bitterly. He had long since recalled everything about Ruo Shui, but he had been unwilling to face it, burying it deep in his heart. Chen Fang's words only made him feel more guilty. If Ruo Shui had chosen Chen Fang back then, perhaps there would be none of today's regrets.

Over two hundred years had passed. Almost all of Xiao Chen's old mortal friends had long since turned to yellow earth. Only Chen Fang, who had followed the Pure Maiden Qingyun to train overseas, had achieved some success and still lived.

"Chen Fang..." Xiao Chen wanted to say something, but did not know how to begin.

"We have been friends since we were boys, and we are still friends now. Even if I have no future, and when you return one day I have long turned to dust, I believe true friendship can last forever."

Seeing the graying Chen Fang speak thus, Xiao Chen felt his eyes blur.

"Chen Ziteng, come over and meet your Uncle Xiao." Chen Fang waved toward the stairway, and a young man walked over—his son with the Pure Maiden Qingyun.

Xiao Chen forgot what he said. He left the Yellow Crane Tower thoroughly drunk.

He walked on the waves of the Long River, singing a mournful song as he traveled upstream against the current.

Everything that had been—all his friends—would now be parted forever. Life and death would be separated by an impenetrable veil. From this day on, heaven and man would be sundered.

A dragon's cry resounded across the land. The Ancestral Dragon Ship appeared, beams of divine light sweeping down from it. Those who had been chosen vanished from the Nine Provinces and the Four Worlds.

Xing Tian, Chi You, Laozi, Zhuangzi, the Buddha, the War God—all the elite would be sent away.

Xiao Chen, as a potential expert, was also selected and boarded the Ancestral Dragon Ship.

The Ancestral Dragon Ship floated in the void beyond the heavens. Two Ancestral Gods stood at the prow, their faces as calm as an ancient well. After a long pause, they spoke: "After three thousand years, you will be able to return here. Set sail!"

The Ancestral Dragon Ship shook the heavens. All the experts were about to depart.

Those who were leaving felt no joy. They all let out a howl from the depths of their souls: "We shall meet again in three thousand years!"