Chương 478: Realm in Chaos (IV)

"... what the hell is happening?!" Ya Bai mumbled into the darkness, his voice suffused with confusion. It was all going according to the plan--that pathetic woman was slowly gathering Life Qi and preparing for her breakthrough, while he siphoned just enough away to maintain the Soul-Twisting Netherfiend Formation....

but then, it happened--a beast within the realm commenced a Soul Immolation, and while that alone would have been bad enough, as residual Qi could have fended off death for weeks, somebody deflected it in such a way that its effects bordered on a level of an Imperial attack. A massive swath of land was effectively consecrated, and death could not permeate it. Not to mention that it tore open a few cracks in the formation, which woke up all the slumbering shadows, having them act out at once.

While the plan itself hasn't been interrupted in a meaningful way, it was escaping his grip.

"Master, should I go out?" the young man standing next to him asked, likely having noticed a trace of anxiety in his expression.

"No, it's fine," he said.

"Everything is still on track. If anything, it's accelerated; that woman will only need a couple of weeks to break through now. Just in case, however, go to the core and keep an eye out; if somebody appears, assist."

"Yes, Master!" the young man responded rather feverishly and sped off, likely from fear of Ya Bai changing his mind.

"... please," he mumbled to himself.

"Please... let it all go through normally. I can't fail... not again..." ** She felt it--the ecstasy of life pouring through her veins. The dormant Qi within her was now an awoken dragon, and the dried-up dreams of her youth were a sea now. All she had to do was sit in the center of a circle and guide the pure Life Qi per the man's instructions.... and it was working. It was working so wonderfully, in fact, she began feeling invincible.

It was no wonder that those phantoms were so otherworldly--if they utilized a way like this from the day they started cultivating... it was only a matter of time before one became an Empress. Though her breakthrough wouldn't make her one, it would put her back on path--she'd finally reach the Imperial Realm, shedding her mortal coil and finally beginning the journey toward True Immortality.

All those who mocked her, all those who whispered behind her back, all those old geezers who forced her to retire and give her position away to some brat... they'll all have to pay. She swore she'd drown this entire realm in blood, killing until her heart was satisfied. This book was originally published on Royal Road. Check it out there for the real experience. Her lips curled up into an involuntary smile as she felt her meridians loosen for the first time in thousands of years.

It was a sign of a breakthrough--the very first one. A Hymn of Dao erupted within her as her body began to levitate, motes of light swarming her like fireflies.

"Ah~" she moaned with pleasure as she splayed her limbs and heaved her head back, letting herself be thoroughly purified with life. Just a little while longer... and she would have the destiny she was always meant to fulfill. ** The kids were understandably confused for a moment when I told them we were turning back. But a very simple sentence cleared up their doubts.

"I've met the turtle in my dreams," was what I said, fully expecting them to act like my kids would--with silent rolls of the eyes and deep, distrusting gazes—but ultimately accepting it and moving on. That was not the case.

"Ah, of course!"

"Senior is so amazing that the Great Tortoise couldn't want any longer and decided to come out to greet him!"... that's actually kind of what happened, I think?

"Senior is truly amazing!"

"Ah, does that mean you passed the trials? Since you're here, you must have been blessed by the Tortoise!"

"Yes, I--""--hurray! He he, when we get back, I'll finally have something to throw back at Senior Sister Lia's face! She's always bragging about how she's met this or that Elder--well, so what, huh?! I've met the Greatest Elder ever!" Okay, wow.

"Let's hurry, let's hurry! I can't wait to see their expressions when I tell them!" I wish I could be a fly on the wall of where that conversation takes place. I'd probably drop dead on the spot from second-hand embarrassment. They'd already broken out into cheering and conversations, and it was sort of like a tide that could not be stemmed. It felt that, no matter what I said, it would not have mattered, as they'd come up with their own story, and that was the only one that mattered.

Regardless, I wanted to get out quickly, too; there was only so much time left for me to find the kids and get out of this damned place, and the sooner we got out of here the better. As such, we started skipping rest, thinking that we'd fight in shifts--except... there was no need. Why? Because nobody attacked us. After a few hours of nothing, I spread out my Divine Sense as far as it could go, but there was nothing. Even my ever-elusive guts were strangely calm and silent.

I didn't think for a second that the situation was somehow resolved, as the big old turtle hardly mentioned that would be the case. Since there was no danger, I finally had the moment to digest the reality of something that I was terrified of checking out from fear of me having completely made it the fuck up: my... my lifespan. It's approximately 40, 000 years. Forty-fucking-thousand-years. The kind of length of time that spanned a literal (maybe?) age.

Forty thousand years ago, back on Earth, there were just a bunch of wandering nomads and cavemen, not a civilization in sight. And I, barring being decapitated or something, would live at least that long. While it was a beautiful, beautiful realization, it led to a more terrifying recognition: if somebody as pathetic as me, and as low in a realm as I was had the potential to live for 40, 000 years... aren't, aren't my scales of time just way off? Like, by an order of magnitude off?

My utmost estimate of Long Tao's age was actually around six figures. And that was me thinking I was just being super careful. But despite what early realms indicate, it doesn't appear as though the lifespan of a cultivator was nearly as limited as I thought. Was it truly possible that Long Tao was millions of years old? I don't think so. But the fact that there's a chance, it's... terrifying.

A sudden window alert startled me out of my thoughts as I glanced to my side and caught sight of two rather terrifying announcements. [--congratulations, Host. Your Disciple, Xi Zhao, has broken through and reached the Spirit Manifestation Realm] [--congratulations, Host. Your Disciple, Light, has broken through and reached the Foundation Establishment Realm]