Chapter 1116: Hard To Say
After a long silence while looking at the emptiness, Chen Baojiao, who was standing next to him, asked softly: “Can they do it, can they reach the other shore?”
“I don’t know. We can only pray for their safe arrival.” Li Qiye withdrew his gaze and gently sighed.
Li Shuangyan comforted: “Don’t worry, they can definitely reach the other shore. The millions of heroic soldiers could sweep through the world with nothing able to stand in their way.”
Li Qiye only smiled wryly after hearing her encouragement: “I hope so.”
The Expedition Path was a road full of the unknown. The success rate might depend on one’s strength or it might play no part at all. There was even a chance that different people would find different things on the path and find different things on the other side…
They had to be the ones to find the answer since no one was privy to the path’s ultimate end.
“Both the path and the platform are just eternal mysteries, like the underworld itself.” Even Bu Lianxiang lamented. She didn’t comfort Li Qiye with words, but she did hold his hand tightly.
Her words made the girls even more curious, so they stared at her for a bit. This was because Bu Lianxiang back then boarded the underworld boat. Her presence today meant that she had successfully prolonged her life. The girls were curious about what she saw after boarding the boat.
There were many legends about the boats flowing along the underworld river. Some believed that the river ended at the deepest location of the earth, flowing to the underworld palace of hell. However, some also thought that it was a path to the immortal world. Only the immortal world could prolong someone’s life…
Regardless of the final destination, the girls were curious all the same. They knew very well that Bu Lianxiang was the only person who prolonged her life. Of course, the last sect master of the Thousand Emperors Gate also did the same, but he was now dead.
“Don’t look at me.” Bu Lianxiang gently shook her head: “I can’t explain a few things clearly. You have to personally experience it.”
“Certain things aren’t necessarily real even though you are seeing it, especially regarding the underworld boats.” Li Qiye smiled.
“Is there really an underworld?” Even so, Chen Baojiao still asked because she had seen with her own eyes the wonders in the sky at the underworld river back then. They became questions buried in her heart.
Li Qiye only smiled at her question. Bai Jianzhen was curious as well because she saw Bu Lianxiang at the Heavenly Corpse Burial Ground too.
Bu Lianxiang shook her head gently: “I can’t give you an answer to this question. The underworld boat didn’t go to a hellish palace, or at least mine didn’t. Perhaps only those who gain an entirely new life would be able to reach the very end of the river unlike the others.”
“I heard War God Mu lived for another generation.” Mei Suyao became interested about this mystery. She glanced over at Li Qiye.
In fact, Li Shuangyan and the others also did. Back then, Li Qiye chose the boat for the War God Temple’s ancestor and the princess. It was likely he was the one who understood the underworld the most.
Li Qiye smiled wryly at the excited girls. He gently shook his head: “Don’t look at me either, I also don’t know. Or rather, no one really knows about this. War God Mu indeed lived for another generation, but he never talked to anyone about it after returning. Who knows what he saw there, not even his disciples are privy to this.”
The girls were a bit disappointed after hearing this. Back then, there were too many unsolved mysteries at the burial ground.
“Alright, let’s go.” Li Qiye took one last glimpse at the expanse. The heroic legions had disappeared into the void already.
The girls turned around and left first. They wanted to let Li Qiye and Bu Lianxiang stay together, so they went in front. Bu Lianxiang and Li Qiye were holding each other’s hands. She looked at the girls and slowly asked: “You still haven’t told them?”
“Tell them what?” Li Qiye revealed a faint smile before sighing: “Some things are better left unknown. Plus, it is not certain that they will have to face it eventually. They are different from us; we are old monsters that have lived from one generation to the next. They are still young and in the spring of their youth. They might not need to face the darkness in this world.”
“Unlike you who have been enduring the darkest aspects of this world from the Desolate Era to the Ancient Ming Era and even to the present day.” Bu Lianxiang looked at him and softly said: “There are things you are still burying in your heart, things that you are reluctant to share with others.”
“One could say that it is one of my missions.” Li Qiye sighed once more: “This is the price of immortality. Others do not need to bear this burden or even know about it. The world is full of unimaginable darkness, not everyone needs to face it. It is better for them to think that this world is one of light.”
Bu Lianxiang didn’t know how to respond while looking at this man beside her. After millions of years, he had learned too many things. Some cursed him as a murderer, the evil hand behind the curtains, a bloodthirsty maniac.
However, since the ancient eras and especially during the extremely grim Ancient Ming Era, without his struggles, just how long would it have taken for this era to end? He had always been facing the darkness alone, the true burden his alone.
Li Qiye looked at her and gently said: “If you are willing, I can help you live for another generation. I have the power and the means to do so this time. I have absolute confidence in being able to make my way to the end of the underworld river.”
“There’s no need to do so.” She sighed and shook her head: “To live for another lifetime might sound wonderful, but I know that there is a price one must pay to obtain this. People who have done so are unwilling to talk about their experience. There’s no need to think any further, I can faintly guess what I will have to face.” She held his hand intensely and spoke with gravity: “Personally, I feel that I have lived long enough. Living for one or ten more generations won’t make a difference. It is meaningful and worthwhile enough to be by your side, even if it is only for a short time.”
“Plus, right now, I still have at least several centuries or even a thousand years more.” She continued: “This is an ample amount of time for me.”
“Several centuries…” He repeated. For cultivators, centuries or even a thousand years was not a long time, but it was enough for Bu Lianxiang.
She looked at him deeply and said: “Once the Heaven’s Will appears, I will send you off on your journey and then stay here waiting for that day to come. That is all I want.”
She spoke very softly in a gentle manner. However, each word carried a lot of weight. They seemed to be engraving themselves straight into his heart.
“I will stay and protect the nine worlds until the last day of my life.” She spoke softly: “Or rather, I will leave something behind for you in this world. Regardless of the passing years and the outcome in the future, your traces will be eternal here.”
“That day will come.” He answered with a sense of helplessness in his heart. Regardless of how powerful one might be or how long they lived, there were always some things that would make them feel helpless.
“I have no regrets today.” She spoke sincerely: “Although I will not be able to see that day, I believe that you will be able to succeed because my man has never failed before. No matter the era or the opponent, my man will be the man laughing in the end!”
“Yes, I will be the last one smiling when I return triumphantly one day!” He solemnly said: “You will be able to see that day.”
“I will definitely see it regardless of whether I am still in this world or not.” She held his hand tighter: “But that doesn’t matter. Just know that I am very happy and content right now.”
The two held hands and continued forward in silence. Li Qiye couldn’t express his feelings at this moment.