Chapter 1288 Return to the Real World
The man's expression was resolute, and he had a burly figure. The woman, on the other hand, looked gentle and beautiful. They were a handsome and exceptional couple.
However, what really shocked Ye Qingyu was not their character or appearance. After all, he ruled the Vast Thousand Domains and the Dark Realm now; he had seen all sorts of characters. The two were not the only exceptional people he had encountered.
What really surprised him was that their looks were part of an indelible memory in his mind.
They looked exactly like his parents from his previous memories.
"How could this be?" Ye Qingyu could not help but exclaim.
Countless thoughts flashed in his mind in an instant.
"Countless living beings, anti-heroes and characters who have dictated the fates of their epochs have seeked to break free from reincarnation, but they didn't understand the benefits of the cycle… only after having undergone hundreds and thousands of reincarnations will one understand the true meaning of life and reincarnation," said the Divine Light Emperor in a weak but extremely clear voice. "Today, I'm sending all of you to be reincarnated, to experience true Heavenly Dao… look for the next Destined One within the endless cycle of reincarnation and complete your tasks."
He pointed again with a finger after finishing his speech.
The power of the entire small World of Light trembled. A seemingly invisible power concentrated on his finger.
A flower of light with seven petals was glowing on the Divine Light Emperor's fingertip.
A petal fell off from the flower and stuck itself onto the center of Ying Zizhong's eyebrows.
Tens of thousands of flames burst forth from the petal and enveloped Ying Zizhong's body. Eventually, he transformed into a ray silver flowing light with a reluctant shout and melded into the void, vanishing from sight.
"You’re Majesty, this…" the Divine Flaming Lance General asked in surprise.
"I'm sending all of you back to be reincarnated and reborn, so that you can re-learn the martial way… all of you have been tainted by my karma due to being by my side. If you don't cleanse yourselves, it'll be hard for all of you to attain a Great Dao in the future. Furthermore, I don't know how many tens of thousands of years more it'll take for the Destined One to be born. You won't be able to live to see that day without undergoing reincarnation!"
He pointed again as he spoke.
Another petal fell off from the flower of light and eventually landed between the Divine Flaming Lance General's brows.
He did not make any attempt to evade the petal.
Eventually, he was engulfed by flames from the petal's light like Ying Zizhong, transforming into a ray of blinding light before vanishing into the void. He was thus also sent toward reincarnation.
After that, a few other divine generals, including the fatty Wang Li and the person with the gold face, also experienced the ritual.
The couple that looked similar to Ye Qingyu's parents in his memories were also enveloped by the flames from the light flower petals. They too transformed into silver light, entering the cycle of reincarnation.
The battle pet, the divine monkey Sun Wukong, was also sent on his way.
"Your entire past will be erased once you enter Reincarnation. You'll only be able to find your true heart by maintaining a shred of True Divinity in you," the Divine Light Emperor gave the first creature he saw upon arriving on this world his last piece of advice. It used to be an ordinary monkey that underwent a complete transformation because of the opportunities and trials it experienced just by being alongside the Emperor. This caused it to become the strongest demonic entity of its time; the Emperor named it Sun Wukong to remind him of his past before he traveled to this world. The fact that his heart had been weighed down with so many problems all those years had something to do with this monkey as well.
The monkey was incredibly mournful and beat its chest as it shouted, "My name is Sun Wukong, I'll never forget that… I can't forget."
It agreed to be reincarnated to fulfill its responsibility and its master's wish. However, it absolutely did not want to forget its origin and its master.
Only the Divine Blood Ax General was left.
"Your Majesty, I don't wish to be reincarnated nor assist anyone else. I also don't wish to break free from the cycle of eternity; greater powers mean nothing to me. Please allow me to remain behind, your Majesty, to protect you," the Divine Blood Ax General exclaimed. He sounded as if he was weeping and confessing his innermost thoughts at the same time.
He was an orphan that was rescued and brought up by the Divine Light Emperor. The Emperor gave him his life and taught him martial arts, allowing him to achieve all his accomplishments. He had long thought of the Divine Light Emperor as his own father and could not bear to leave him behind, especially at his current condition. If the Emperor really succumbed after all of them left, no one would be able to make arrangements to see that his death was properly handled. He was a tool of Divine Light that was able to dominate the world, and his corpse couldn't be left there unattended.
His heart was torn.
The Divine Light Emperor looked at the Divine Blood Ax General as he heard him speak. He smiled and told him, "Everything comes to an end in this world. Silly child, you have to be reincarnated to understand the true meaning behind your existence… go."
The last petal from the flower of light fell in between the brows of the Divine Blood Ax General.
"Your Majesty…" Tears of blood flowed from the Divine Blood Ax General's eyes as he exclaimed.
Eventually, the flames of light engulfed him.
The Divine Light Emperor's expression looked extremely lonely as he watched the Divine Blood Ax General's figure disappear bit by bit, as if he suddenly thought about something. "I've finally sent all of them away, and I'm the only one left on this world… now that I'm all alone, I really wish I could have a bowl of lamian from Lanzhou again… come to think of it, how many years has it been since I've tasted the noodles from my hometown…?"
He knew that the troubles and obsessions in his heart had been released after making that statement; he was no longer actively suppressing his emotions.
At this moment, the Divine Blood Ax Generals' last lingering shred of consciousness heard the Divine Light Emperor's last words as well.
"Noodles…" the General committed the words to his memory. That last bit of consciousness made him feel resolute. He could not forget the Emperor's last words, even if he had to be reincarnated for multiple lifetimes. He would absolutely not.
At the same time, the small World of Light was rapidly shrinking. Right then, it only covered an area of about one thousand square meters.
The Divine Light Emperor's gaze fell on the Sky Emperor's body.
He stared at it in silence, his inner thoughts unfathomable.
His aura was already extremely weak at that time, as if it were a flickering candle flame in a strong gust of wind, one that could be extinguished at any time.
The aura of light within his body was dissipating slowly; it was akin to a dried up sea bed by now.
All of his aura vanished after a moment. There was not a shred of the aura of light left in his body; he had turned into an ordinary old man. His yuan qi, martial aura and life force was similar to a normal person of his age. He had transformed from a mighty Martial Emperor into an ordinary living being.
"I traveled to this world because of the Gold Finger. I chose the Power of Light and could progress incredibly quickly without having to train like normal people. I thought I could give this world endless Light, but I didn't expect that it would be so hard to be a Traveler. Instead, I brought harm upon this world. Did I make a mistake? Will I be allowed to have another shot at this?"
He was muttering to himself.
"Traveler?"
"Gold Finger?"
"What was all that about?"
Ye Qingyu was befuddled. Were these names from the Divine Light Emperor's hometown?
It should be so.
Ye Qingyu clearly knew that the Divine Light Emperor had always been dreaming about his hometown, and the obsession grew bigger. At this moment, he had completely given up all resistance and allowed it to spread. He no longer suppressed his emotions, and his thoughts began to spread like crazy…
Suddenly, the Divine Light Emperor twisted his head and looked in Ye Qingyu's direction.
His gaze was calm and his eyes seemed a little distant. A strange smile appeared on his lips.
Ye Qingyu trembled.
He felt as though his presence had been discovered.
The Divine Light Emperor's gaze had undoubtedly passed through several timelines and dimensions, fixing on him.
Impossible, all of the Dao in his body has been removed, and he lost all of his cultivation. He's now no different from an ordinary person and can't possibly have this kind of ability… Ye Qingyu thought as his heart beat incredibly fast. An extremely strange feeling emerged; he could actually sense the Divine Light Emperor looking at him, and it was not just a simple glance.
Very quickly, however, the Divine Light Emperor turned his head back.
"One wrong step can result in years of regret, and it can be too late when one wants to repent. Is there still a chance for me to be saved?"
He muttered softly, but his expression was no longer as gloomy as before.
Eventually, his gaze fell on the Sky Emperor's body.
"One can only see real blue skies after the haze has dissipated. From now on, you shall be known as Lan Tian. Haha, you always dreamed of allowing your soul and body to break free from the chains of eternity, but how could you do that if you haven't reincarnated? …be reincarnated as well. Who knows? You might be able to change fate someday," the Divine Light Emperor smiled as he said.
The entire World of Light began crumbling as he continued smiling.
At last, the Power of Light transformed into flames that engulfed both Lan Tian and the Divine Light Emperor's bodies.
The blazing flames swept over them.
It looked the same as when the Flowers of Light brought the others into the cycle of reincarnation earlier on.
Ye Qingyu did not know what to say and could only watch quietly until the Flames of Light took everything away. The entire World of Light collapsed, and all of the light in front of him dissipated, until eventually, when everything turned dark…
Ye Qingyu opened his eyes slowly.
Bright sunlight poured down from above the courtyard, turning the Light Palace into a divine temple.
Lan Tian looked cheerfully at Ye Qingyu and asked, "Lord Ye Qingyu, did you grasp anything?"
Ye Qingyu massaged his temples and tidied up his thoughts. He knew that he had already left Lan Tian's memories and returned to reality, as the indelible memories stopped once they reached the scene where everyone was reincarnated. What happened next was either not really important or perhaps Lan Tian did not have a good recollection of time.
"Many thanks, I learned a lot," he said, nodding his head.
It was really a good bounty for him.
The most obvious was that Ye Qingyu now understood how the enemies of this world came about, and he knew how terrifying the so-called camp was. He was certain that the "camps" he came to know about from the Vast Thousand Domains were only a small piece of the real ones; even the might of the camp of past Martial Emperors so painstakingly built by the the Sky Emperor was minute compared to that of the King of Destruction.
He had not achieved the amount of influence and level of cultivation as the Divine Light Emperor; being so, the camp of the King of Destruction had not really attempted to harvest his might yet.
He could imagine, however, that the fate awaiting him when he reached such a level of accomplishment would be no different from that of the Divine Light Emperor.
Ye Qingyu was not a boastful person, but he could vaguely sense that the "Destined One" the Divine Light Emperor was talking about was him.
If he had not received all of the luck in the world, his power would not have increased so quickly.
Aside from this benefit, he had also come to understand many ancient secrets of the world that had long been sealed away.
He was still facing many doubts. If the Divine Light Emperor had already lost all his Dao and died, then who was the peerless War God that appeared in the Snow Empire who had inherited the Light Palace and created Light City? Also, why did the two divine generals who had been reincarnated look exactly like his parents?
Now, Ye Qingyu was completely unable to determine his own origin anymore.
