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Chapter 697 - Passage of time

Northern part of planet Ran Yun, the capital of the Di Shan Empire. A person was sitting inside an extremely luxurious palace. This person was almost forty years old with a slight bit of white hair. Under his sword-like eyebrows was a pair of eyes that were like the stars.

This person was very handsome, and his green robe made him look very luxurious and gave him an aura of majesty.

There was a map spread out on the table before him. He pondered as he looked at the map. After a long time, he withdrew his gaze.

It was now late at night and the moonlight was covering the ground. As the person silently pondered, he stood up and walked out of the palace. He stared at the earth covered in moonlight and gently sighed.

"I wonder if Father is also watching this world right now…"

A cotton velvet cloak was put on the man from behind him. He raised his hands to hold it over his shoulder and smiled. "Still haven't gone to sleep?"

A woman appeared behind the man. This woman was very beautiful, and although she had aged, she didn't look old. Instead, she gave off a mature aura.

The woman's eyes revealed tenderness as she looked at the man and softly said, "The night wind is cold, rest early."

The man grabbed the woman's hand as he looked up at the moon in the sky and slowly said, "Qing Yi, what do you think our Dad is doing right now…"

Qing Yi's face turned red. She had accompanied this man for many years and even told him about her agreement with his father. The time they spent together had caused their feelings to grow, but at this moment, her face still turned red like a little girl's.

Qing Yi softly said, "It should be your dad…"

The man held onto Qing Yi's hand and laughed. "My father is your father."

Qing Yi's heart felt sweet. She followed the man's gaze toward the moon and softly said, "Dad should be resting…"

The man's eyes revealed a strange light and he shook his head. "I can feel that Father is watching me right now…"

In the Wang mansion in Vast Water City, Wang Lin withdrew his gaze from the distance. He was sitting in the courtyard under a tree accompanied by the autumn wind and listening to the leaves rustling. Sometimes one or two leaves would fall and drift before his eyes.

Falling leaves will all eventually return to the roots of the tree. They were like children who would leave when tired but would always return to their love ones.

Time seemed to silently flow by as the leaves fell. Time began moving, and in the blink of an eye, another five years passed.

The School of Heaven was extremely large and had enveloped the three empires, and it was still spreading all over planet Ran Yun. If the peace remained, it would have been fine, but three years ago, there was a sudden change in the Di Shan Empire. They began to crack down on the School of Heaven and even sent out large amount of troops to wipe them out.

This sudden change was like adding water into hot oil. This change caused the mortal world to go into chaos and caused a great uproar.

The School of Heaven's reaction was extremely fierce. In just half a month, they were able to gain control of the military in the Di Shan Empire without any bloodshed. Six or seven out of every ten people in the Di Shan Empire were followers of the School of Heaven.

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Taking less than a month to beat an empire was like a spring thunder that exploded in everyone's hearts. No one was prepared for it, and they were shaken to their souls.

The Da Qin Empire and the Chen Yun Empire didn't recklessly move. They sent out messengers to the School of Heaven to sign an agreement to not invade each other.

The Di Shan Empire no longer existed and was replaced by a giant empire called the Heaven Empire.

In the Heaven Empire's capital, Wang Ping was wearing the dragon robe while standing high above, looking down at the world. Beside him, Qing Yi silently accompanied him.

The officials of the Heaven Empire looked up at their new emperor. They could never see through this person. It was as if nothing in this world had any value to him. It was as if even him standing here today was just him trying to prove something to someone.

Wang Ping's eyes swept past the world beneath him and looked into the distance.

The matter with the Di Shan Empire attracted the attention of the cultivators on planet Ran Yun, and they showed signs of interfering.

Wang Lin's life was still as calm as water without any ripples, and his face was growing even older. This year was the fifth year since the Heaven Empire was established.

The Da Qin Empire and the Chen Yun Empire broke their agreement and launched their attack on the Heaven Empire.

Wang Lin didn't pay any attention to any of these. He sat in the inn all day, listening to people talking about the rumors of the three empires. He just silently drank and never said a word.

The waiter from back then had borrowed some money from his relatives and bought this inn, so he was now the shopkeeper. The new waiter was also very familiar with Wang Lin. Upon seeing Wang Lin arrive, he quickly brought the wine and food that he brought every time.

The waiter was very kind. After putting down the food and wine, he caringly said, "You are getting old. It is best to drink less."

Wang Lin smiled and nodded. "Today I'll drink only one jug!"

The waiter smiled and went to greet other customers. When he had spare time, he leaned against the counter by the door, looking at Wang Lin, and sighed. "This elder Wang is a man with a bitter life. He's this old and has no children to accompany him."

The cashier behind the counter lifted his hand off the abacus and shook his head. "I heard from a servant girl from their mansion that he had a son. However, the son left home many years ago and never came back."

Wang Lin held the wine jug and took a drink. His gaze fell outside the window and he sat there for a whole day.

At dusk, the old servants came to the inn. They thought that their master was getting old. When he didn't drink, it was fine, but after drinking, there should be someone with him. Otherwise, they feared he would fall and hurt himself.

Wang Lin and the old servants walked under the gradually rising moonlight as they returned home. The empty large house was dim without any light.

After telling the old servants to leave, Wang Lin sat down in the courtyard and looked up at the sky as he muttered, "Time passed very quickly. Ping Er is already 47 years old… Perhaps he has found some clues himself…"

The battle between the three empires slowly unfolded, but with the interference of cultivators, there were many unexpected turns of events. However, this all changed when the emperor of the Heaven Empire personally took charge.

No matter what cultivation level the cultivators were at, they would all retreat before him. Slowly, all of the interfering cultivators withdrew from the mortal world.

Aside from Wang Ping showing up, another big reason was that the Sun, Ran, and Zhao families had given their orders.

Wang Ping was sitting in the head position inside a golden tent in the army's camp. After waving away a few courtiers, he walked out of the tent. His eyes passed several of the passing soldiers before looking at Quilian mountain in the distance.

Wang Ping's face looked slightly older, and the hair around his temples was completely white. After becoming a supreme ruler among mortals, there wasn't much happiness in his life. All of the things he had to worry about made his heart feel fatigue.

He suddenly missed the 19 years of his childhood and everything he experienced in the village when he was a boy.

While he was looking at the Quilian mountain, pondering, Qing Yi walked out from the tent. She stood next to Wang Ping and softly said, "You said that that was where you grew up. Do you want to go see it?"

Qing Yi's appearance also revealed trace of time as she gently looked at Wang Pin.

Wang Ping sighed and said, "Let's go see…"

A par of sergeants followed as Wang Ping and Qing Yi walked toward Quilian mountain. Wang Ping looked at the surroundings. The unfamiliar surroundings gave him a sense of familiarity.

The smoke in the distance gradually became clearer, then the Fallen Moon Village appeared in his sight.

As soon as they got near, maybe because of the soldiers, fierce barking came from the village. During these chaotic times, the villagers of Fallen Moon Village were all vigilant. Now that they heard the dogs barking, they immediately got up and took their farming tools and torches outside. They saw that not far away were soldiers in full armor and a man and a woman wearing civilian clothes.

Facing the hostile gazes of the villagers, Wang Ping didn't say a word. He stared at the villagers, but in the end wasn't able to recognize a single one of them.

His face revealed bitterness. Time was like song, and in a flash many years had passed. He wasn't able to recognize the people he was familiar with back then, because their changes were too great.

Moreover, nearly thirty years had passed. He didn't know how many had stepped into the reincarnation cycle and were no longer here.

"Let's go to the back mountain. Grandpa Sun is buried there."

Qing Yi let out a sigh and walked forward with Wang Pin. The villagers before them hesitated before slowly spreading out and making a path.

Just at this moment, a weak voice filled with uncertainty came.

"Wang Ping…"

Wang Ping stopped, then he turned around and his gaze fell on a villager. It was woman who looked about forty years old. The woman appeared to be slightly old, but in Wang Ping's eyes, he seemed to see the girl who said "I hate you."

At this very moment near the distant planet Yun Xia, Greed was moving like a meteor. He looked at planet Yun Xia as he sniffed and his eyes revealed a strange light.

"Just as I entered the northern domain, I had a hunch that there was treasure here and followed its aura. The smell led me here. There is no mistake, the dense fog is clearly covering up the treasure's light.

"However, this planet looks a bit strange!"

Greed stared at planet Yun Xia for a bit. After hesitating for a moment, he flew toward it. In his whole life, he had never been to any place without treasure. He had a terrifying intuition about where treasures lied.

As he closed in, his heart beat wildly and his eyes glowed even brighter.

"I only had this feeling when I got that giant furnace. Could this place have a treasure comparable to that giant furnace?" Greed's eyes were filled with excitement. At this moment, he completely forgot about Wang Lin and the restrictions placed on him.

He clenched his teeth as he slapped his bag of holding and the giant furnace appeared before him. While using it to clear a path, Greed followed and slowly disappeared inside the fog.

"This old man has to see what kind of treasure this is!" Greed licked his lips.

Chapter 698 - Mother

The middle-aged woman whispered, "Wang Ping… It is you…"

Wang Ping walked up to the woman, looking at her face that no longer had the youth she had before, and smiled. "Zhou Ruotong!"

The middle-aged woman bit her lower lip and stared at Wang Ping. After a long time, she revealed a graceful smile and softly said, "I recognized you the moment I saw you… After this many years, you still came back."

Wang Ping felt melancholy as he watched the woman before him. There was also a girl about ten years old beside her. This little girls looked a lot like Zhou Ruotong.

Wang Ping asked, "Is this your daughter?"

The woman nodded. She turned toward the girl and said, "Call him 'uncle.' He was your mother's childhood friend."

The girl seemed a bit shy. She stood behind her mother and whispered, "Uncle…"

At this moment, some of people among the villagers also recognized Wang Ping. However, when they looked at the armored soldiers, they were afraid to greet him.

Wang Ping smiled at the girl and asked, "What is your name?"

The girl hid behind her mother and didn't speak. Her eyes were filled with fear.

Wang Ping sighed as he looked at the woman and said, "I'm going to the back mountain to pay respects to Grandpa Sun…"

The woman smiled. From beginning to end, she didn't look at Qing Yi, who was next to Wang Ping. She pulled her child to stand next to her husband. Her husband was a brawny man and had obviously inherited his father in law's ability to hunt. However, if Wang Ping looked closely, he would find that this man wasn't a stranger.

Wang Ping turned around and walked toward the back mountain. Before following Wang Pin, Qing Yi thoughtfully looked at the woman that was rubbing her daughter's head.

Just after Wang Ping walked several steps, the little girl hiding behind her mother exposed her head and shouted, "Uncle, my name is Xu Nianping!"[1. A her name is literally remember Ping. Xu is the family name, but her name is Nianping. Nian means to remember and Ping refers to Wang Ping.]

"Nianping… Nianping…" Wang Ping's footstep stopped and he let out a sigh. He didn't turned around and continued walking away.

It wasn't until they had left that all the villagers dispersed. The strong man next to the woman let out a sigh and softly said, "Why did you do this…"

"Brother, don't talk about this anymore." Zhou Ruotong looked up with a smile. Her smile was very beautiful and it revealed a joyous expression.

"I'm content in being able to see him again."

There were no weeds around Sun Tai's grave. It was clear that someone had been cleaning it. Wang Ping stood before the tomb for a long time before he silently left.

Wang Ping whispered, "Qing Yi, I think I'll visit my father soon… I haven't seen him in almost twenty years…"

Qing Yi didn't speak and only silently followed Wang Ping. No matter where Wang Ping wanted to go, even the underworld, she would follow him. This had nothing to do with her agreement; she willingly accompanied him.

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"There are some matters I need to ask him about…" Wang Ping looked at the Fallen Moon Village one more time and left.

In Vast Water City, Wang Lin hadn't gone to the inn in a long time. He just sat inside the courtyard all day. He was waiting, waiting for Wang Ping's return.

The falling leaves need to return to their roots. A wandering child will also one day return to their loved ones.

Three months later, Vast Water city was filled with turmoil and chaos. Most of the servants in the mansion had all left. Only one old servant who had no place to go chose to stay.

The entire Vast Water City was almost empty as everyone fled from the war. Although there were no civilian casualties where the Heaven Empire's army went, panic still spread.

Vast Water city was occupied by the Heaven Empire, and the army continued to push forward. Wang Ping was standing outside the city. He didn't enter but left with the army.

"Father, the current me still hasn't completed my wish. Once I finish, I'll come to see you…"

The wheel of time continued to turn as spring, summer, autumn, and winter changed several times. In a flash, another five years passed.

Wang Ping was 52 years old.

The Da Qin Empire and the Chen Yu Empire surrendered one after the other. Then the Heaven Empire became the only empire on planet Ran Yun.

When he left home, he was 27 years old. It took 25 years for Wang Ping to obtain everything he wanted. Even though many things that he that wasn't aware of had happened for all of this to come true, since Wang Lin had said "yes" to his request, none of it was surprising.

Sometimes he felt like time went by too quickly.

After conquering the world, Wang Ping didn't immediately come to see Wang Lin. Instead, he calmly looked at the mountains and rivers he owned and felt the might of the world.

Wang Lin still sat in the courtyard every morning, accompanied by the old servant and living his ordinary life. During these fifty plus years, his heart was gradually evolving.

Ten years passed by quietly without any waves being set off.

The 62-year-old Wang Ping looked quite old. These ten years of being a supreme leader made his heart feel even more tired. This made him miss his childhood and the eight years of traveling through the world. What he missed the most was the feeling of his father accompanying him for those twenty-seven years.

Qing Yi had turned into an old woman and wrinkles had appeared on her face. However, her gaze was even more tender than before.

Despite the fact that they never had a child in all these years…

On this day, it was the 35th year since Wang Ping had left his father. The leaves flying in the wind revealed a hint of the autumn coldness.

Wang Ping stepped down from his position as supreme leader of the mortal world. Before leaving, he gave the world he had conquered to an official that had followed him the entire time.

What he took with him, aside from the 35 years of memories, was Qing Yi. After getting on a carriage, he slowly headed toward his father.

As the carriage moved along the official road, the leaves on the side of the road accompanied them. The leaves swayed back and forth along with the wind before falling to the ground.

The falling leaves will always end up back at their tree's roots, just like a wandering child will also return to their loved ones. Just like the distance between the leaves and the earth, Vast Water City was getting closer and closer…

Wang Lin was currently sitting inside the courtyard. His only old servant had died three years ago, so now he was the only person remaining in this large house.

There was a table before him with two extra chairs. There were a few dishes on the table, a pot of wine, and three pairs of chopsticks.

The dishes still gave off hot steam and bursts of fragrance were coming from them. When the wind blew by, their fragrance were scattered outside the mansion.

A rush of horse hooves came from the distance followed by the sound of wheels rolling on the ground. This sound grew louder and louder until it stopped outside the mansion.

Wang Ping walked down from the carriage and smiled at Qing Yi as he helped her down, then they walked through the door. The green and red plaque with the words "Wang Mansion" looked like it had been through the passage of time. The green was faded and the red exposed white marks.

Wang Lin raised his head. He seemed to have waited 35 years to do this. He revealed a kind smile and said, "Come and sit down, the dishes are still hot."

The simple words revealed a calm warmth. There was no inquiry, no doubt, no politeness. It was as if Wang Ping often came back. Wang Lin's eyes revealed a tender gaze.

Wang Ping stared at this father. It had been 35 years. After he left, he hadn't even seen his father once. If he had, it was only in his dreams.

"Dad…" Wang Ping knelt on the ground, and two streams of tears rolled down from his eyes.

Qing Yi also knelt down beside Wang Lin and softly said, "Dad…"

Wang Lin stood up, helped Wang Ping and Qing Yi up, and said, "Let's eat."

This meal lasted a long time. A long lost warmth appeared in Wang Ping's heart. He had been separated from this feeling for 35 years…

During the 35 years Qing Yi had accompanied Wang Ping, she had long since identified Wang Lin. She knew he was Xu Mu, the senior back then that slaughtered his way to planet Thousand Illusion by himself and shocked the entire northern domain! After all, Yun Wufeng had mentioned the words "Xu Mu" back then.

Even now, she still couldn't believe it it. It was impossible to think that this kind old man was Xu Mu, the one who once shook the entire northern domain.

Qing Yi didn't tell Wang Ping the legends regarding Xu Mu. After all, all of this happened before she was even born. Everything was just rumors, so she had no right to tell him.

It wasn't until the moonlight gradually grew bright and the Autumn wind swept by that Wang Ping put down his chopsticks and looked at this father. He had a thousand words to say, but at this moment, he couldn't say any of them.

Wang Lin looked at Wang Ping and slowly said, "Ping Er, what do you want to ask?"

"Dad, I want to know about my mother…" It had been more than 60 years since Wang Ping first asked this. He remembered that he had only asked his once, and he saw how crestfallen his father was that time.

This was the second time he asked.

Wang Lin silently pondered. After a long time, his eyes revealed a hint of reminiscence. Looking up at the bright stars in the sky, he softly said, "I'll tell you a story… Far away from here, there is a cultivation planet called Suzaku…"

Wang Lin's voice revealed a thick sense of vicissitude. From his mouth, he slowly told the story of a youth named Wang Lin and his nearly 900 years of life.

From when he entered the cultivation world, the Heng Yue Sect, the Tian Dao Sect. The story of Wang Lin's life gradually opened like a scroll before Wang Ping and Qing Yi.

The story was long, very long…

However, those who heard the story could feel an unspeakable and strange aura that caused the heart of anyone who heard this story to tremble…

Wang Ping stared at his father as he listened to the story. Beside him, Qing Yi's eyes were wide open as she listened to the story. She couldn't help but be immersed in it, even though she knew that the protagonist was Wang Ping's father, the old man before them.

"That female cultivator was named Liu Mei…"

Chapter 699 - A Real Messenger From the Thunder Celestial Temple

The moon was bright and the stars were sparkling.

The autumn wind accompanied Wang Lin's voice and seemed like it was unwilling to leave the courtyard. The story of the youth on planet Suzaku contained a hint of sadness among the twists and turns. This feeling became even stronger with the autumn wind.

Qing Yi's eyes had already shed countless tears as she silently listened. Half way through the story, Wang Ping lowered his head, so his face was hidden.

"After that, he brought the child over and settled down on planet Ran Yun…" When Wang Lin finished his story, he picked up the jag and drank a mouthful before silently staring at the sky.

Qing Yi stared at the father and son before her with an unknown emotion in her heart. She subconsciously grabbed Wang Ping's hand and immediately found that his hands were completely cold.

The courtyard was extremely quiet. After a long time, Wang Ping softly said with his hoarse voice, "The story was very beautiful. Dad, I'm tired." Wang Ping stood up and walked toward a side room in the courtyard. Qing Yi bowed to Wang Lin and followed Wang Ping.

Wang Lin was the only person remaining in the courtyard. He silently sat there and stared into the distance.

The coldness of the autumn wind reached its peak at night. It took some of the leaves far into the distance.

After an unknown amount of time, Wang Lin let out a sigh and lowered his head. He then picked up the jug to drink only to find that he was out of wine…

Wang Ping got no sleep that night.

He stared at the moon in the sky with pain in his eyes as he sat inside the room. Qing Yi only sat beside him and held his hand. She didn't say anything and only silently accompanied him.

"It turns out… This was the answer… The answer I waited over sixty years for…" The pain in Wang Ping's eyes became even stronger.

"It turns out I was refined into a resentful spirit by Mother…" Wang Ping lowered his head. His face was filled with bitterness and melancholy.

At the morning of the next day, Wang Ping left, and Qing Yi still followed him.

From beginning to end, he didn't say a word to his father or even looked at his father. Even when he left, he did so early in the morning. He silently sat in the wagon and went far away from Vast Water City.

He didn't notice that when he left, a gaze silently looked at the carriage from a distance. This gaze was filled with vicissitude…

Wang Lin walked out from the room, sat in the courtyard, and quietly looked at the sky. "Perhaps one day you will understand…" he muttered.

Wang Ping didn't know where to go and was just blankly moving ahead. He felt very tired; it was as if nothing in this world could make him raise his head and take a look anymore.

Wang Ping whispered, "Qing Yi, I'm very tired. Let's find a quiet mountain village to live in…"

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Qiang Yi nodded. Her eyes were filled with tenderness.

Wang Ping and Qing Yi settled down in a ordinary mountain village and they lived a quiet life. They were no longer young, and the passage of his life often flashed across Wang Ping's eyes.

His entire life was 18 years of ordinary life, eight years of travel, 25 years of battle, and ten years of being the supreme leader. Although it was a short life, it was more exciting than anything ordinary people would experience.

However, in the end he still returned to his starting point, back to his ordinary life. Every morning he would get up and carve wood in the yard. There was warmth in this ordinary life. Qing Yi would always sit behind him and watch with a soft gaze as he carved the wood stroke by stroke…

"Father once said that carving requires one to use their heart. Only then can all the memories be engraved on the carving." Wang Ping held the carving before him and gently blew on it, causing all of the saw dust to fly up into the air.

After putting down the wood carving, Wang Ping's eyes revealed a trace of nostalgia and he softly said, "This is the young father."

The carving was Wang Lin. The young Wang Lin had fierce eyes, his hand was behind his bad, and he looked at the world with a proud aura.

Time flashed by and another ten years passed.

The passage of time wasn't able to wash away the traces of the reincarnation cycle. Life and death continued, and no one could escape the path set by the heavens.

Ten years was a long time, yet it felt really short. This was a very contradicting feeling, but it was a true portrayal of how every mortal felt.

For Wang Lin, these ten years were short yet felt very long.

His haired turned white and was very long as if it hasn't been groomed in a long time. His face was very old, and when he closed his eyes, he felt as if he had entered the reincarnation cycle.

During these ten years of calmness, his understanding of the heavens became even more clear and profound. He didn't do this intentionally, he inadvertently and naturally gained enlightenment.

It was like how most of the trees in the courtyard had died because they weren't able to escape the reincarnation cycle. However, after they died, new life appeared.

Within the life and death domain, the changes of life were everywhere. If it was before, then Wang Lin wouldn't have seen the comprehension of life even if he saw this. However, now, no matter where he looked, he saw life.

The flower by the wall withered every year but bloomed every year as well.

The clouds in the sky would scatter but would always gather once more. Just like how some people died and others were born as if there was a balance.

It could be said that karma was also contained within this.

Wang Lin was the only person living inside the Wang mansion. The surrounding neighbors had long grown accustomed to this. The surrounding children would often come here to play. At first they were afraid of Wang Lin, but before long they found out that this old grandfather wasn't scary at all.

The Wang mansion gradually became a place for children to play. Wang Lin watched the children every day, and his heart was calm.

Descendants have their own fortunes. He did what he should've done and said what he should've said. Whether Wang Ping understood depended on Wang Ping himself.

Wang Lin believed that a child he raised would have a mind as open as the heavens and would be able to get through any restraint!

After ten years of time, Wang Ping was even older. He had entered the twilight of his life, but he had never put down the carving in his hand.

Wang Ping softly said, "Father was right, an ordinary life is better. If I have a choice or if there is another life, I hope I can spend an ordinary life with Father in an small, mountain village…"

Beside him, Qing Yi quietly looked at Wang Ping and softly said, "Since you already understand, why don't you go see him?"

Wang Ping put down the carving of his father. This was a carving of Wang Lin from ten years ago. He sat down before the table and gently said, "Let's eat."

"Qing Yi, you don't understand…" The wisdom in Wang Ping's eyes became even stronger as he grew older.

"In my heart, aside from the question about my mother, I had another doubt I dared not ask about… I had a feeling that this doubt was the real reason why Father wouldn't let me cultivate." Wang Ping's eyes revealed a trace of sadness. This sadness was very similar to Wang Lin's. He had seen through some clues but didn't dare to look deeper into them.

"Qing Yi, I can feel that I have reached the end of my life; I fear I don't have much time left. You are a cultivator and can live longer than me. Once I die, please send me to my father.

"As for you, you are free. However, no matter how much time passes, you are not allowed to forget that you belonged to me for one reincarnation cycle!" Wang Ping's voice contained a trace of determination.

Qing Yi's body trembled. She was about to speak, but she was interrupted by Wang Ping.

"It has been hard for you, these years. As a cultivator, you can change your appearance. In order for me not to feel lonely, you have been gradually making yourself age with me. I, Wang Ping, will never forget this. If there is another life, I will never forget you!"

Tears fell from Qing Yi's eyes. Her cultivation level had been raised by Wang Lin to the peak of the late stage of Nascent Soul. More than twenty years ago, she comprehended her domain while accompanying Wang Ping. Her domain was regretless passion.

"I'll even accompany you in the afterlife!" Qing Yi softly said, "Cultivation is mere dust in my eyes… I don't want to be a ruthless celestial, I just want to be a sentimental person…"

Wang Ping stared at Qing Yi, then he sighed and softly said, "Why be like this…"

At this moment, a bolt of thunder whistled by as it moved through the stars. If one looked closely, there was an incredibly huge and fierce beast inside it. This beast looks like a Qilin, but it didn't have a horn. Its entire body was surrounded by flashes of lightning, it was a Thunder Beast!

There was a middle-aged scholar sitting on the back of the Thunder Beast. This person's cultivation was powerful enough, so he didn't mind the lighting form the Thunder Beast moving through his body.

The bolt of thunder was extremely fast as he moved toward the northern domain of the Allheaven Star System.

His goal was very clear; it was planet Ran Yun in the northern domain!

Seventy years ago there was a change on planet Thousand Illusion. The Huan family's ancestor, who was in the second step, died, and it was suspected that a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple was behind it. This rumor gradually spread and aroused the attention of the Thunder Celestial Temple.

According to the investigation, it seemed the suspected messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple didn't leave planet Ran Yun, so he was sent here to check.

The middle-aged man's cultivation level was already past the first step of cultivation and was at the Illusory Yin stage. He was sitting on the back of the Thunder Beast as he entered the northern domain. He didn't stop at all and charged straight for planet Ran Yun.

"There are even people who dare to impersonate a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple. This kind of thing hasn't happened for a very long time!" The middle-aged man sneered. As a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple, his power was great. In the entire Allheaven Star System, aside from a few ancient cultivation families, almost no one dared to provoke the Celestial Thunder Temple.

"Just let me, Thunder Daoist, a real messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple, meet this person. Don't think that just being able to use a few thunder spells means you can pretend to be a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple. Real members of the Thunder Celestial Temple own a Thunder Beast!" Thunder Daoist patted the Thunder Beast's head with his right hand.

The Thunder Beast seemed to notice his owner's pride. It let out a roar that echoed among the stars. They were getting closer and closer to planet Ran Yun.

Chapter 700 - Startling Change

The end of a mortal's life is a century, but not many can actually live a full century.

When Wang Ping was 72 years old, he felt that his life was at its end. A year later, though his body was still healthy, he could clearly feel that his life was about to end.

Winter came early this year, just like the year Sun Tai left. The snow had sealed the roads early on, so the villagers couldn't go out and could only slowly pass the winter with their loved ones.

The cold wind roared in the sky as if it was taking lives that were about to end one by one. The entire process was like a reincarnation cycle.

The winter this year seemed to be even colder than the winters before it, and the wind carried bone-piercing coldness. At night it was especially cold. If a simple house didn't start a warm fire, it would be pierced by the coldness of the night wind.

In a house in the western part of the village, there was a fire glowing in a window, giving off a trace of warmth. However, compared to the cold, winter night, it seemed so insignificant.

The cold wind roared through the air and surrounded the area. The wind formed a mini vortex that kicked up a large amount of snow into the air.

The livestock in the village were all curled up and slightly trembling as they resisted the coldness of the wind.

The sky was completely dark aside from the endless snow. If one looked at it for too long, they would feel lost.

Wang Ping was sitting on a chair with a carving knife in his hand, and he was carving stroke by stroke. He was carving a trace of nostalgia at the end of his life.

What he was carving was still his father, but his father's appearance was even older.

This year, Wang Ping often dreamed about his childhood and remembered drinking the bowls of medicine. The taste back then was bitter, but now it seemed somewhat sweet. What was sweet wasn't the taste but the warmth he felt.

Qing Yi was sitting beside him and looking at him. There was a trace of sadness in her tender gaze.

Bursts of roaring, cold wind came from the outside as if it wanted to rush in and take away Wang Ping, who was nearing his end.

Wang Ping softly said, "After I die, burn these statues…" He looked at the last statue in his hand. This was a half-finished product, and he was going to complete it.

There was a huge, wooden shelf on the side of the room. There were more than one hundred statues placed on it, and every single one of them was of Wang Lin.

Some of the statues had a statue of a small child beside them. The child had a satisfied smile while holding his father's hand, giving off a sense of attachment.

Wang Ping looked at the carving in his hand and softly whispered, "Father, I have forgiven you long ago…"

A bright bolt of thunder closed in on the planet on this dark, winter night. The planet's atmosphere instantly disintegrated as the thunderbolt descended and echoed across planet Ran Yun.

At this moment, every snowflake trembled as if they were frozen in mid air.

Even the raging, cold wind collapsed at this moment.

At this moment, all of the cultivators on planet Ran Yun noticed this powerful aura, and the might of the thunder exploded in their ears.

The Sun family's ancestor, Sun Xi, had been in closed door cultivation for many years, but at this moment, his eyes lit up. In a flash, he arrived in the sky and looked up. His expression immediately changed.

"What powerful celestial spiritual energy and thunder!" Sun Xi sucked in a breath of cold air and his pupils shrank.

Behind him, the late stage Soul Transformation cultivators came out one by one. There was a total of eight people. Sun Qiming stood out and said, "Ancestor, it seems the person came with ill intent!"

The Ran and Zhao families also came out. However, they weren't as strong as the Sun family; after all, most of their experts had left a long time ago.

Vast Water City, Wang mansion courtyard. Wang Lin put down the wine jug and slightly looked up. There was no color in his eyes, making it seem like he was a real old man, and they were very foggy.

He only took one glance before lowering his head and drinking a mouthful of wine.

A huge beast covered in lightning moved through the sky. Two streams of hot air were flowing out of its nostrils, making it look extremely fierce, and there was a middle-aged man sitting on its back. He was the Thunder Celestial Temple's Thunder Daoist!

His eyes were like lightning as he coldly looked at the earth. His divine sense instantly swept across the planet without any care; Vast Water City was included as well.

However, for some reason, when his divine sense swept by, he didn't stop on Wang Lin at all.

As his divine sense swept by, every cultivator on planet Ran Yun trembled. Along with the cultivators, all of the monsters also trembled under this divine sense as if they were facing the might of the heavens.

Even mortals felt the same, but they weren't aware of the reason. They only felt cold followed by a shock to their minds before they all passed out.

At this moment, the entire planet became silent like it never had before…

Shortly after, Thunder Daoist withdrew his divine sense and frowned. He searched the entire planet and didn't find anyone who met the requirements.

When he withdrew his divine sense, the snow started falling once more and the cold wind moved again.

"It has been too long; maybe he has already left. That person sure is lucky!" Thunder Daoist turned around to leave, but his eyes suddenly narrowed. His divine sense moved like lightning and locked onto a small, mountain village on planet Ran Yun.

When the divine sense swept by, Qing Yi immediately turned pale and her body trembled. The spiritual energy inside her body also collapsed, and it took her a long time to somewhat recover.

Wang Ping was startled. He raised his head to look at Qing Yi and softly asked, "Qing Yi, what's wrong?"

Just as Qing Yi was about to speak, her expression immediately changed and she coughed out a mouthful of blood. A powerful divine sense pushed away the snow and wind and directly descended here.

This divine sense was so powerful that it caused the entire earth to tremble. The thick layer of snow on the ground was suddenly shaken and launched into the air.

Outside the room, the snow and wind that were just allowed to move collapsed once more. It looked like Wang Ping's residence was isolated from the world. Outside, the snow fell and wind blew, but everything was completely still near the house.

It was as if all of the wind and snow around his house had been crushed.

Qing Yi's newly formed origin soul immediately struggled to release spiritual energy. This allowed her to take one step before this powerful divine sense, and she stood before Wang Ping.

Her appearance was old, but her eyes revealed an unyielding struggle.

"Interesting! You didn't pass out!" The cold voice echoed through the room.

At the moment the voice appeared, the door was suddenly opened and a middle-aged man walked in. At the moment he walked in, Qing Yi's face turned deathly pale.

She could feel an unimaginable aura coming from the other party. This aura was very strong; it was like the might of the heavens and was impossible to resist.

Before him, Qing Yi felt like she was only an ant, as if with just one thought, this person could kill countless people like her. She would die without a grave and never be able to be reborn.

What really made her pupils shrink was that there were flashes of lightning coming from him. The lightning that moved around his body made him look like a thunder celestial.

He seemed to casually step into the room, but the whole room started crackling. Lightning moved along the walls and made the entire house become a lighting cage!

If one looked from outside, they would clearly see that Wang Ping's house was surrounded by lightning. The Thunder Beast was lying idly in the sky, and its eyes were filled with disdain. It was as if nothing in the world was worth its slightest attention.

This was because it was a Thunder Beast! The holy beast of the old Thunder Celestial Realm!

Although its bloodline wasn't very pure and there was a very big gap between its ancestors, its pride came from its bones.

Wang Ping put down the wood carving and stood next to Qing Yi. He looked at the middle-aged man and calmly asked, "Who are you?"

The current Wang Ping wasn't like a mortal at all. The calmness in his eyes wasn't fake, he was truely calm. He stood before Qing Yi like a man that was holding up the world.

All of this was due to his father, Wang Lin. 19 years of ordinary life, eight years of travel, and more than 30 years of being a supreme ruler among mortals allowed him to have a heart that doesn't fear the heavens. He wasn't afraid of the heavens collapsing, much less of this cultivator!

Qing Yi stared at Wang Ping's eyes. At this moment his figure was forever engraved in her mind. The tenderness in Qing Yi's eyes became even stronger. She dispersed her cultivation, she stood next to her husband, and calmly looked at the middle-aged man.

The middle-aged man looked meaningfully at Wang Ping, and his eyes revealed a strange light. This gaze seemed to be able to see through Wang Ping.

The reason his divine sense descended here was because all of the mortals had passed out when his divine sense swept by. This was because his cultivation was too strong and contained a hint of thunder, which made his divine sense felt like the might of the heavens for mortals.

However, only this mortal before him didn't pass out, and it looked like this mortal didn't even notice that his divine sense had passed by. This was why it aroused his interest and his divine sense had locked on to this place!

He slowly said, "Interesting! No wonder you didn't pass out. It was like this…"

Just at the moment the middle-aged man stepped into the room, in the far away Vast Water City. Wang Lin was originally sitting in a chair holding a jug of wine when he suddenly stood up. The wine jug in his right hand shattered and even the wine inside completely disintegrated.

When Wang Lin raised his head, the eyes that hadn't showed any color for seventy years showed coldness that had never appeared before. This was even more terrifying than the time in the restaurant.[1.Referring to when Wang Ping was threatened inside the restaurant when they first entered the city] The difference was heaven and earth and simply couldn't be compared!

Chapter 701 - Cultivation

Thunder Daoist's gaze fell on Wang Ping's body. With interest in his eyes, he slowly said, "It turns out you're not human…"

Before he finished speaking, Wang Ping's body trembled, and at this moment, the shadow behind him suddenly moved. The moment the celestial guard puppet appeared, it threw a punch.

This punch created a sonic boom. The sound almost replaced the roar of the thunder as it charged straight at Thunder Daoist.

Thunder Daoist's eyes narrowed. He had seen that there was a puppet hidden very well inside Wang Ping's shadow, so he wasn't surprised. His hand formed a seal, lightning appeared in his hand, and his palm slammed toward the puppet.

The celestial guard puppet landed directly on the lightning and penetrated it. The puppet was completely indifferent to the lightning, and its punch landed on Thunder Daoist's hand.

A destructive force moved like crazy from the puppet's fist into Thunder Daoist's body. It was as if a storm was set off and rumbling sounds were coming from his body.

A muffled sound echoed through the room as Thunder Daoist retreated several steps, but the numbness in his hand and the lightning dissipated quickly. His eyes revealed a strange light as he looked at the puppet and laughed. "Top quality puppet!"

The celestial guard puppet retreated two steps. Its eyes were cold. Lightning moved through its body as if snakes were dancing.

As Thunder Daoist laughed, he took a step forward. Just at his foot landed, all of the lightning around the house gathered at his foot and followed his foot down as he mercilessly stomped the ground.

The entire world seemed to collapse at this moment.

The house instantly dissipated without any trace of it remaining. The lightning spread like crazy, and Wang Ping was right in the middle of it.

The celestial guard puppet's eyes became even colder and it threw another punch. However, there was too much lightning, so the celestial guard couldn't block all of it.

The lightning was about to spread to Wang Ping's body. Qing Yi's expression was unchanged. She pulled Wang Ping's hand and looked at him tenderly

As for Wang Ping, he didn't panic at all. It was as if even if Mount Tai collapsed, he wouldn't move, because he knew that his father would definitely come.

In his eyes, his father was the strongest existence under the stars. No one stood a chance against him!

Wang Ping's calmness attracted Thunder Daoist's gaze. After taking a careful look, he was startled. It seemed he had seen through somethings.

The lightning ripples darted straight toward Wang Pin, but just as it got close, an ancient voice echoed between the heavens and earth.

This voice was very ancient, and at the moment it landed, it caused all of the lightning that was moving like dragons to freeze.

The blue lightning seemed to be alive, and some of its thin branches were only three inches from Wang Ping, but at this moment, all of them were frozen.

The voice only said one word: "Stop!"

A huge vortex appeared in the void and a white-haired old man slowly walked out from the vortex.

He stepped on the void and arrived before Wang Ping. He then casually pointed at the lightning frozen before Wang Ping. There was a series of crackling sounds as cracks immediately spread around this ripples of lightning.

In an instant, this spread like crazy and the ripples of lightning collapsed…

This happened so suddenly that it caused Thunder Daoist to gasp. He retreated two steps and stared at Wang Lin with caution in his eyes.

He wasn't able to see through this person's cultivation!

He could see the person with his eyes, but with his divine sense, this old man seemed to not even exist.

Wang Ping stared at the old man before him and softly said, "Dad…"

This call contained his decades of longing…

The old man was Wang Lin! His originally muddied eyes were extremely cold. This kind of gaze hadn't appeared in his eyes in a long time.

Wang Lin slowly said, "Thunder Celestial Temple messenger!"

The celestial guard puppet moved next to Wang Lin in a flash and coldly stared at Thunder Daoist.

Thunder Daoist stared at Wang Lin with a very serious expression and asked, "Who are you, sir?"

Wang Lin looked at his surroundings. Such a large commotion and yet there was no movement from the villagers. It was obvious that all of them had been knocked unconscious by this person's divine sense.

He waved his right hand and a gentle light surrounded Wang Ping and Qing Yi. At the same time, he took a step and instantly took Wang Ping and Qing Yi away. The celestial guard followed closely after him.

Thunder Daoist's expression turned gloomy. He let out a cold snort and also disappeared after a step.

Wang Lin appeared above a vast, uninhabited plain in the western part of planet Ran Yun. Wang Ping and Qing Yi also appeared with the gentle light surrounding them.

At the same time, thunder flashed one thousand feet before them and Thunder Daoist appeared.

The moment he appeared, a large amount of lightning appeared around him. At this moment, the entire sky darkened and bursts of lightning came from the clouds. It was very shocking.

Thunder Daoist's voice was cold as he stared at Wang Lin and slowly said, "I don't care who you are. Leave behind the puppet and this old man will spare the three of you!"

Wang Lin's eyes became even colder and he calmly said, "Even if you let me go, I will not let you off. If I was a step slower, my son would have died by your hand. This matter has touched my bottom line. I don't care what your identity is, today you'll die!"

His voice was filled with resolve, and killing intent suddenly appeared. At the same time, the celestial guard stepped forth and its entire body released a golden glow. It rushed forward like a man made of gold and threw a punch at Thunder Daoist.

Thunder Daoist slapped his bag of holding and a thunder net appeared in his hand. His hand formed a seal and threw the net. The net suddenly became large enough cover the heavens and earth before it quickly began to contract toward the celestial guard.

There were countless runes flashing on the thunder net. It was extremely tenacious, so the punch from the celestial guardian puppet wasn't able to shatter it.

"This old man is an messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple. With your strength, even if you have this puppet, it will be impossible to kill me!" Thunder Daoist didn't even look at the thunder net as his hand formed a seal. He then shot out a bolt of lightning toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's expression remained neutral and he didn't even dodge the bolt of lightning. As it closed in, he merely opened his mouth, and before Thunder Daoist's gaze of disbelief, Wang Lin devoured the lightning.

Burst of lightning moved around Wang Lin's body, giving off crackling sounds.

"This tiny amount of lightning isn't enough!" Wang Lin raised his right hand and some of his origin soul immediately moved toward his right hand. A ball of thunder suddenly appeared in his palm.

Although the ball of thunder was only the size of a fist, it caused a change in all the dark clouds in the sky and made all of the lightning go crazy. In an instant, all of the lightning charged out toward the ball of thunder in Wang Lin's hand.

This scene caused Thunder Daoist to gasp. What he saw was all the lightning falling down like rain toward this person's palm.

"This is true thunder!" Wang Lin's voice was calm, and he waved his right hand. The ball of thunder gave off a thunderous rumble as it flew toward Thunder Daoist.

Thunder Daoist's expression changed greatly and he retreated without any hesitation. He slapped his bag of holding and immediately took out a black, metal bar that was three feet long and one inch thick. There were countless runes carved on the stick, and there were dark red lines interlaced on it.

At the moment Wang Lin's ball of thunder arrived, Thunder Daoist mercilessly stuck the bar into the ground. At the same time, both of his hands formed seals that landed on the bar.

Thunder Daoist's eyes narrowed and he shouted, "Thunder of heaven and earth, gather!"

The ball of thunder closed in with a loud rumble but was immediately affected by the metal bar. It unexpectedly charged straight toward the metal bar and then a powerful layer of lightning immediately surrounded it.

As the lightning moved along the bar, all of the runes began to shine as if they were rapidly absorbing something.

However, the ball of thunder was too strong. In the next breath, it broke, releasing a sound as if it couldn't hold it anymore, and cracks began to appear on it. But the dark red lines moved along the cracks, acting like a glue that prevented the metal bar from collapsing.

The ball of thunder rumbled loudly, giving off a sense of majesty. Although a lot of its thunder had been absorbed by the metal, it still collided with the metal bar.

At this moment, the cracks on the metal bar rapidly spread and seemed to extend all over the bar in an instant. Now the dark red lines seemed to be covering the entire metal bar in order to keep it intact.

Thunder Daoist looked at the scene before him with a look of disbelief.

Just at this moment, the metal bar seemed to be unable to withstand the powerful lightning. After absorbing the entire ball of thunder, it trembled and suddenly collapsed before Thunder Daoist.

It was as if thunderclaps had gone off and planet Ran Yun trembled. Large amounts of mountain peaks had collapsed, causing a huge uproar.

The metal bar collapsed and the powerful thunder exploded forth with Thunder Daoist at the center. He was forced to retreat ten steps and his face turned pale. He looked at Wang Lin and shouted, "You are the person who pretended to be a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple, Xu Mu! What exactly is your cultivation level?!"

The thunder power from the collapse of the metal bar caused the the lightning surrounding the celestial guard to vanish, and the celestial guard walked out.

Wang Lin calmly looked at Thunder Daoist and slowly said, "My cultivation level…" He pondered as celestial spiritual energy suddenly erupted from his body. From Foundation Establishment climbing all the way up to Soul Formation. Then it continued to rise until it reached the peak of the late stage of Soul Transformation.

This was not the end. As the celestial spiritual energy in his body burst forth, his cultivation level rose to the early stage of Ascendant!

As Wang Lin's body was being filled with celestial spiritual energy, Thunder Daoist's expression became even more ugly. Although he wouldn't consider a first step cultivator a threat, this old man's cultivation level kept climbing, and he didn't know where it would ultimately end.

The early stage of Ascendant wasn't the end. As the celestial spiritual energy inside his body burst forth, his cultivation reached the mid stage of Ascendant.

The celestial spiritual energy gradually calmed down and stayed at the mid stage of Ascendant. However, Wang Lin's aura became even stronger without any pause. This aura came from his domain!

The limitation of mid stage Ascendant cultivation wasn't able to stop the increase in domain. Wang Lin's domain aura became stronger and stronger, causing Thunder Daoist's expression to become more gloomy.

The increase in domain seemed like it was never going to stop and broke past what an ordinary mid stage Ascendant cultivator would have. At this moment, Wang Lin's white hair moved without any wind and he began to ponder even harder.

The powerful aura spread out from Wang Lin and dashed out in all directions. It slowly covered planet Ran Yun.

As his domain continued to spread, it reached the late stage of Ascendant. This wasn't the final stopping point; it continued to increase!

This caused Thunder Daoist's eyelid twitch non-stop, and he almost stopped breathing as his heart felt a sense of dread. When he felt the domain stop, he relaxed a bit and thought, "A cultivator still stuck at the first step is easy to kill… However, is he only this strong…"

A large mountain and river painting appeared in the sky. This painting used the sky as the canvas and the land as ink. It was as if a mirage had just suddenly appeared.

An underworld river slowly appeared from the painting and flowed slowly.

However, the underworld river suddenly trembled and went into Wang Lin through the top of this head.

While Thunder Daoist was in complete shock, Wang Lin's domain, which was about to peak, suddenly increased and reached the peak of the late stage of Ascendant.

Wang Lin's domain stopped here!

Thunder Daoist let out a sigh of relief. He was really afraid that Wang Lin's domain had broken through the first step. If that was really the case, then Thunder Daoist would be in for an gruesome fight today due to the assistance of the puppet!

Thunder Daoist sneered. "Just this tiny amount of cultivation and you dare to impersonate someone from the Thunder Celestial Temple!?" However, there were still some doubts in his heart. After all, that ball of thunder that Xu Mu used earlier was too shocking.

This kind of thunder spell was not something an ordinary cultivator could have. He had only seen it from earth-ranked messengers in the Thunder Celestial Temple. Another thing that made him suspicious was that earlier, his divine sense couldn't even detect the existence of this person. Although right now he could clearly see the other party's cultivation level, he always had a feeling that there was a layer of mist covering this person. It was like trying to watch the moon in the water's reflection.

Wang Lin raised his head. He didn't have enough celestial spiritual energy, so his cultivation had stabilized at the mid stage of Ascendant. However, his domain had reached such a high level, which even surprised Wang Lin, as this was outside his expectations.

Moreover, he had only released his life and death domain. There were still the thunder might and karma domain that he hadn't released.

The reason Thunder Daoist wasn't able to see through Wang Lin's domain was precisely due to the karma domain. After Wang Lin's domain evolved, it would be impossible to see through it unless one was a true second step cultivator. After all, the Yin and Yang stage was merely a transition between the first and second step.

Wang Ping stared at the father before him. At the moment his father's cultivation level increased, there was a slight fluctuation in his body. He clearly felt this fluctuation in his soul, and it made him even more sure of his speculation.

Chapter 702 - Shut up

Wang Ping's heart felt even more bitter. Beside him, Qing Yi held his hand. Her eyes were filled with tenderness as she said, "Don't worry. No matter what you are, I'll accompany you."

Wang Ping silently pondered and nodded.

Thunder Daoist's expression was gloomy as he stared at Wang Lin and said, "This old man will let you know what a real messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple is!" He raised his hand to point at the sky and shouted, "Celestial Thunder Beast!"

Large amounts of thunder came from all directions and seemed to occupy the entire sky. The thunder condensed like crazy into a giant ball above Thunder Daoist.

Then a thunderous rumble echoed throughout the planet. This sound was filled with majesty that would shock anyone who heard it.

At this moment, the cultivators that had struggled under Thunder Daoist's divine sense all heard the thunderous rumble. All of the spiritual energy inside their bodies went crazy, and they almost couldn't control it.

The ball of thunder trembled before suddenly shrinking until it turned into a noble and extraordinary Thunder Beast!

This Thunder Beast was extremely brilliant, and it was discharging two bolts of lightning from its nostrils. Its large eyes revealed its pride as if it was the noblest being in the world.

However, at the moment it looked at Wang Lin, it was startled and revealed a trace of confusion.

Thunder Daoist looked at Wang Lin and calmly said, "It is because of the Thunder Beast that one can be called a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple. The crime of pretending to be one is the genocide of your entire family!"

Wang Lin glanced at the Thunder Beast and slowly said, "It can't be called a Thunder Beast without a thunder horn!" He slapped his bag of holding and the war chariot flew out and turned into a large amount of thunder!

A destructive aura that could destroy the world began to spread. Then a huge beast slowly walked out from the thunder.

It looked like a Qilin, but it wasn't a Qilin. There was a silver horn on its head that gave off the crackling sounds of lightning!

At the moment it came out, Thunder Daoist's expression instantly changed. This was the most shock his heart had felt ever since he came to planet Ran Yun. The shock was so great that all he could do was stare at the beast and without saying a word.

The Thunder Beast from the Thunder Celestial Temple above him also released thunder from all over its body, and its four hooves stomped the ground, making it appear extremely aggressive.

The beast formed from the war chariot raised its head and roared at the sky.

Rumbles of thunder came from the sky and bolts of lightning descended. This wasn't divine retribution, it was caused by the beast's spell.

The Thunder Beast from the Thunder Celestial Temple released thunder from its nose as if it couldn't withstand it anymore and also began roaring.

Wang Lin's Thunder Beast's eyes became cold. When Thunder Beasts met, if their masters weren't there to stop them, then they would enter a battle to the death. This was very different from other celestial beasts.

A ray of thunder appeared under the foot of Wang Lin's Thunder Beast. Without any hesitation, it charged directly at the Thunder Beast from the Thunder Celestial Temple.

That Thunder Beast's eyes revealed a trace of panic. Its bloodline wasn't pure, but it could clearly feel that the other beast's thunder was extremely powerful. However, the dignity from its soul made it refuse to get trampled on, so it let out another roar and rushed up without flinching.

Bursts of thunder echoed across the land as the two Thunder Beasts began their fierce battle.

At this moment, it was as if the world was trembling and everything was dim.

"This… This is… a Silver-Horned Thunder Beast!!!" Thunder Daoist's gaze fell on the silver horn on Wang Lin's Thunder Beast, and his eyes were filled with shock.

"Having a Thunder Beast and is well versed with thunder spells…" Thunder Daoist's face was filled with bitterness. If he hadn't been ordered to come and make sure that no messenger from the Thunder Celestial Temple had been here 70 years ago, then he would've also thought that Wang Lin was a messenger from the Thunder Celestial Temple!

The Thunder Celestial Temple did have Silver-Horned Thunder Beasts, but there were very few of them, and they were all in the hands of the administrative heaven-ranked messengers. If he could obtain a Silver-Horned Thunder Beast, his status in the Thunder Celestial Temple would improve a lot.

His eyes revealed a trace of greed as he looked at the horn on the Thunder Beast. He then looked directly at Wang Lin and no longer hesitated. Both of his hands formed a seal and then his two hands suddenly came together. When he pulled them apart, there was a intense flash and a silver lightning sword formed.

As lightning moved through the sword, Thunder Daoist's right hand formed a seal and pointed at the puppet. The silver longsword flew out from the Thunder Daoist toward the celestial guard puppet.

"As long as I kill this person, this ownerless Thunder Beast will be mine!" After Thunder Daoist threw the flying sword, he charged out. His hands opened and he shouted, "Thunder Celestial Realm Retribution!"

A ray of purple lightning suddenly appeared in his hand and turned into a net. It gave off a loud rumble as it flew out toward Wang Lin.

Wang Lin's expression was neutral, but his pupils shrank slightly. This Thunder Daoist was worthy of being a Illusory Yin cultivator. Not only was his body filled with celestial spiritual energy, but his control over thunder was shocking!

"I fear this person's domain is also related to thunder!" Wang Lin's eyes became cold as his right hand touched the bag of holding and the golden celestial brush immediately appeared in his hand.

Wang Lin waved the brush in the air and a symbol suddenly appeared. He didn't stop but continued at an extremely fast pace and suddenly drew seven strokes!

Seven strokes was his limit! He had to divide a portion of his origin soul for each stroke, and with seven strokes, he had already divided his origin soul seven times!

After Wang Lin's origin soul absorbed the ancient thunder dragon, it changed. Now that seven portions of his origin soul were inside the symbol, the symbol no longer emitted a golden glow but a white glow filled with thunder!

This time it didn't only emit the pressure of a celestial, the pressure of heavenly thunder was present as well! At the moment the symbol was complete, there were crackling sounds coming from the lightning moving through it.

A unimaginable destructive force exploded like a storm from the symbol!

This pressure was the true might of heavenly thunder; it was not something average thunder spells could compare to. The moment this might of heavenly thunder appeared, even the two Thunder Beasts that were battling not far away stopped and looked over. With their awareness for thunder, they clearly felt that that thunder contained the a trace of ancient heavenly thunder!

This ancient heavenly thunder came from the ancient thunder dragon. The ancient thunder dragon once controlled thunder for the heavens and gained the power to control heavenly thunder. After Wang Lin devoured the ancient thunder dragon, it gradually fused with his origin soul and he gained that power.

It could even be said that the thunder from Wang Lin's origin soul was above all other thunder in the world. If Thunder Daoist used other spells, he would be fine, but if he faced Wang Lin with thunder spells, there was no chance for him to win!

Even though his cultivation level was higher, it wasn't high enough. He would have to be in the real second step to win!

Wang Lin had absolute superiority when it came to thunder, and there was no thunder spell in the world that could injure him!

In other words, Wang Lin was a living thunder dragon!

After drawing the seven-stroke symbol, the brushed gently tapped the symbol and it flew toward Thunder Daoist.

Thunder Daoist's expression was gloomy. He clenched his teeth and pushed the thunder his palm to meet the symbol.

Boom!

The symbol collapsed, carrying endless force along with seven portions of Wang Lin's origin soul, and directly imprinted on Thunder Daoist. The purple lightning in his hand immediately disintegrated and he sprayed out a large mouthful of blood before retreating like crazy.

Boom, boom, boom, boom! Every explosion was a portion of origin soul echoing inside Thunder Daoist's body. He continued to cough out blood as he continued to retreat.

When the final portion of origin soul finished echoing, Thunder Daoist's face was pale and he had already retreated 1,000 feet. The aghast in his eyes was monstrous.

This was the first time in his life that he was defeated by a thunder spell. He even had a feeling that if he were to compared to his enemy, this Xu Mu was the real messenger of the Thunder Celestial Realm and he was the fake.

This sense of confusion made him take a deep breath and his eyes became even more gloomy.

Wang Lin sighed in his heart. This Thunder Daoist was indeed an Illusory Yin cultivator. After being hit by the symbol, he was only injured and his core wasn't affected.

The other party's celestial spiritual energy was too strong, and there were even traces of the origin energy mixed in. When the thunder entered Thunder Daoist's body, it was constantly being dissolved by this force.

"You are very strong! I guess you were in seclusion in planet Ran Yun in order to comprehend your domain. If given another 100 years, perhaps you would become even stronger than me. If your cultivation level was same as mine, I would die without a doubt, but unfortunately, your cultivation stopped at the first step!" Thunder Daoist took a deep breath and all his injuries immediately recovered.

However, Wang Lin could clearly feel that there seemed to be a bit less of the world origin energy in the other's body.

Thunder Daoist said, with a heavy tone, "I'll ask you one more time: hand over the Silver-Horned Thunder Beast and the puppet and I'll let you go! Otherwise, you will definitely die today! The spell I used was only a normal spell, but if you remain stubborn, I'll use an origin energy spell exclusive to second step cultivators. You won't be able to resist!"

Wang Lin's expression was calm as his right hand touched his bag of holding and a large sword appeared in his grasp. He calmly said, "Attack, let me experience an Illusory Yin cultivator's origin energy spell!"

Whether it was the Huan family's ancestor, or Qian Kuizi, or Thunder Daoist, Wang Lin found one thing in common between the three of them, and that was the origin energy!

It was obvious that this origin energy was the key of second step cultivators!

This battle could be said to be Wang Lin's first time personally battling an Illusory Yin cultivator. The powerful recovery ability of an Illusory Yin cultivator made Wang Lin's heart gloomy.

Thunder Daoist's gaze went past Wang Lin and landed on Wang Ping and Qing Yi. His eyes revealed a mysterious light and he slowly said, "You gave up comprehending your domain for a dead person. This has puzzled this old man greatly!"

Wang Lin suddenly looked up, revealing bloodshot eyes. He raised the sword in his hand and coldly said, "Shut up!"

Chapter 703 - Spell of the Second Step

Thunder Daoist's eyes lit up. For the first time he used a spell with his eyes to look at Wang Ping.

Under this gaze, Wang Ping's body felt cold. It was as if his body had no secrets at all and was completely seen through by the other party.

Wang Lin's power had touched Thunder Daoist's bottom line. Unless it was his last resort, he didn't want to use an origin energy spell, because origin energy was simply too scarce.

With his cultivation level, unless it was a life and death situation, he was unwilling to use an origin energy spell. After all, the more times he used it, the longer he would stay at the Illusory Yin stage. If he couldn't break through after one thousand years, his cultivation would forever stop progressing.

He had less than 300 years left, so he wasn't willing to casually use origin energy spells.

What he feared the most was Wang Lin's thunder. Thunder Daoist deduced that the thunder was related to this person's domain. If he could break this person's domain, perhaps he could win without using an origin spell.

"Let this old man see once more! So it was originally a resentful soul. I thought there was some problem; how could a mortal resist my divine sense? At first I thought it was the puppet, but it looks like I was wrong…" Thunder Daoist laughed, and there was a hint of malice in his words. However, his pupils shrank and he stopped what he was saying. His gaze toward Wang Ping revealed a powerful sense of fear.

"This… This is sword energy… This sword energy is too terrifying!" Thunder Daoist gasped and immediately retreated with his scalp feeling numb. That spell just now allowed him to see the two rays of sword energy inside Wang Ping's body!

"Madman! This person is a madman! He actually used this kind of sword energy to form flesh for a mere soul fragment. This old man can't fight this time; I need to quickly retreat!" Thunder Daoist's body trembled and without any hesitation he quickly retreated toward the Thunder Beast.

The two strands of sword energy inside Wang Ping completely frightened him!

Wang Ping silently pondered as he stared at his father's back, and he didn't speak for a long time.

Wang Lin's eyes were bloodshot as he stared at Thunder Daoist, who was attempting to escape. If it wasn't for the fact that Ling Tianhou's sword energies weren't in his body, he would have released them all to kill this person.

At this moment, without any hesitation, he waved his hand and chopped down! A portion of the origin energy that merged with his origin soul entered the sword.

As Thunder Daoist retreated, his expression changed once more. He felt a terrifying aura descend from the heavens.

"Origin energy spell! How can you use an origin energy spell!?" As Thunder Daoist's expression changed, he felt a sense of life and death crisis. Thunder Daoist was inferior to the Huan family's ancestor. After all, the Huan family's ancestor's cultivation level was originally at the early stage of Nirvana Scryer. Even though his cultivation level fell, he was still much more powerful than any ordinary Yin and Yang cultivator.

Feeling a sense of crisis, his finger pointed between his eyebrows and his eyes released a white light. This white light was gentle, and it contained a sliver of world origin energy. In an instant, a portion of origin energy came out from Thunder Daoist's body and charged out from the top of his head.

At this moment, the entire planet trembled and a faintly discernible aura filled the world. Thunder Daoist's face was pale; it was clear that using an origin energy spell was a huge burden for him.

Thunder Daoist shouted, "Origin energy thunder furnace!" More origin energy came out from his head and then the world changed!

This was a real change and not just some illusion. The sky slowly descended and everything began to sink.

The earth began to rise. There were bursts of rumbling sounds as the ground under Thunder Daoist continued to shake.

The change of the sky and earth completed in an instant. At this moment, there was no longer sky or earth, only a huge, blue furnace!

The sky and earth had turned into a giant furnace! The sky was the lid while the earth was the body! This was an origin energy spell!

At this moment, the Thunder Beast from the Thunder Celestial Temple let out a roar. It dragged its wounded body, turned into a bolt of lightning, and landed on the furnace. Soon, countless carvings gradually appeared on his originally blank furnace.

They were carvings of the Thunder Beast!

"Xu Mu, this is this old man's origin energy spell! Let us see which of us will live!" The world had been turned into a furnace, and at this moment, Thunder Daoist's voice was like the heavens' might.

Thunder rumbled inside the giant furnace and countless lightning bolts appeared everywhere in this boundless world. The furnace formed by the world was like an oven, and it began refining everything inside as more bolts of thunder appeared.

The sword in Wang Lin's hand simply fell. The strange aura that now contained the law of the world filled the entire furnace. What it was cutting wasn't any material object but the law of this world!

Bolts of thunder continued to descend on Wang Lin. This thunder wasn't born from the heavens but from Thunder Daoist's spell. Aside from thunder, they also contained his dao!

When the Heavenly Chop landed, the furnace turned illusory to Wang Lin's eyes. There were strands of blue lines surrounding the area, and it was these strands that formed the furnace!

The sword chopped down and the blue strands quickly collapsed. Thunder Daoist's muffled groan came from the world, and at the same time, more origin energy rushed out of his body to maintain the integrity of the furnace.

Shortly after, even more dao thunder descended. Every bolt that fell on Wang Lin caused his body to tremble. If it wasn't for his origin soul changing, this much dao thunder would have caused his body to vanish without a trace.

Wang Lin's eyes became even colder. At this moment, the celestial guard puppet, which was also inside the furnace, began waving its fist like crazy. It bombarded the entire area, making the entire world seem to tremble.

Although the thunder here was strong, the flesh of the puppet was even stronger, so the thunder couldn't damage it at all. Every punch from the puppet was equal to an Illusory Yin cultivator's attack as they landed on the furnace. This was the biggest threat to Thunder Daoist!

Almost like a response to the celestial guard puppet, the Thunder Beast roared. Its body gave off a bright light and then a sliver of gold came from its silver horn. Countless thunderbolts flew from its body and spread across the area. The thunder caused countless rumbles and made the furnace shake even harder.

Thunder Daoist's muffled groan echoed once more and a large amount of origin energy flew out of his body once more into the large furnace.

"Refine for this old man!!!"

Chapter 704 - A Reincarnation Cycle Ends

A hideous voice echoed. At the moment the dao thunder descended inside the furnace, a purple flame appeared. In an instant, a sea of flames appeared inside the furnace. The combination of thunder and fire was much more powerful!

Wang Lin's expression was gloomy. The origin energy in his body couldn't compare to the old man's, so he couldn't display the full power of the Heavenly Chop. It was just as the Huan family's ancestor had said, if Wang Lin was at the second step, or even at the Yin and Yang stage, the power of his Heavenly Chop would increase exponentially.

His eyes lit up as he put away the celestial sword and looked at the Thunder Beast. Wang Lin bit the tip of his finger and used his blood to draw a very complex symbol.

This symbol was filled with vicissitude as if it had existed for a very long time. The moment this symbol appeared, the Thunder Beast was startled, and it turned its big head toward Wang Lin.

"Third seal, open!" Wang Lin waved his hand and the symbol penetrated all the thunder and lightning before imprinting on the Thunder Beast's forehead.

The Thunder Beast's body trembled, its face revealed a painful expression, and then it let out a startling roar. As its body trembled, a row of thorns came out from its back. These ferocious thorns gave off a cold glint, and intense lightning zipped between them. A terrifying aura suddenly appeared inside the furnace.

This aura contained a heaven-defying might. If it dared to defy the heavens, then there was no need to mention this origin energy spell!

The Thunder Beast's body suddenly grew several times bigger. The silver lightning that was moving all over the Thunder Beast turned black!

The black lightning carried a destructive aura as it suddenly charged out from the Thunder Beast's body. The beast let out another roar, then it flew into the sky and complex beast language came out of its mouth. This made the Thunder Beast from the Thunder Celestial Temple start trembling. It came out from the furnace and lied down on the ground in submission, not daring to look up. Previously, it felt that the other Thunder Beast was only a bit stronger than itself, but its pride made it dare to fight.

However, a deep fear came from its soul this time. The other Thunder Beast had suddenly changed into its ancestor, and that was something it couldn't resist!

After the Thunder Beast had the third seal released, its body was covered in lightning. At this moment, the amount of lightning reached its peak and the black lightning began to spread out. A black thunderstorm expanded like crazy.

At this moment, the celestial guard's body began to release a golden light. The golden light slowly turned red and then orange, and the power it contained became even stronger.

Boom! The thunderstorm cover the entire furnace and countless cracks suddenly appeared, and these cracks continued to expand.

Boom! The celestial guard's punch landed on the furnace, causing even more cracks to appear.

The powerful force spread everywhere, and Thunder Daoist's origin energy surged into the furnace like crazy. He had no time to feel pain over the use of origin energy, because this was the most difficult battle he'd had since becoming a messenger of the Thunder Celestial Temple. It was a life and death battle!

However, the speed at which his origin energy was entering the furnace couldn't match the combined power of the Thunder Beast after the third seal had been released and the celestial guard puppet. At this moment of crisis, Wang Lin's eyes became cold. He didn't pick up the big sword but raised his finger and mercilessly chopped down!

"Heavenly Chop!"

Rumble! An indescribable explosion echoed the heavens and earth. The giant furnace suddenly exploded!

There was black lightning on each of the fragments, and then there was another series of explosions as those fragments exploded once more!

Wang Lin's expression was deathly pale. After using two Heavenly Chops, he was really low on origin energy, almost to the point of his cultivation level falling. If he was missing even a sliver more, his cultivation level probably would have fallen.

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His body flickered and the world around him returned to normal. Wang Lin took a deep breath. Although his face was pale, his eyes were even colder than before.

Thunder Daoist's body appeared in the air. He coughed out a large mouthful of blood and directly turned around to flee. He was afraid. He had fought countless battle but never had encountered something so strange. Although the enemy was merely a first step cultivator, all of the spells and treasures he possessed made his scalp numb and those two rays of sword energy made him only hate himself for not being able to run away sooner!

The celestial guard puppet quickly chased after Thunder Daoist. The Thunder Beast let out a roar and also closely followed after the celestial guard. They gradually disappeared over the horizon…

Wang Ping softly said, "Dad… Is what he said true…"

In the battle just now, Thunder Daoist didn't include Wang Ping and Qing Yi in his spell, as he didn't dare to provoke those two rays of sword energy inside Wang Ping.

Wang Lin's expression was extremely pale. He slowly turned around and stared at Wang Ping. After a long time, he nodded.

Wang Ping stared at this father and faintly smiled. This smile was really carefree, and he calmly said, "Dad, is this the real reason you didn't let me cultivate and why I still don't have a child with Qing Yi… Because I'm already dead…"

Wang Lin's eyes revealed sadness as he looked at Wang Ping and softly said, "You are not dead…"

Wang Ping shook his head and smiled. "Dad, you taught me that if I meet a mountain, I can climb it; if I meet a river, I can cross it; even if I meet the heavens, I can walk defyingly against them. Dad, thank you…

"In fact, I already had the answer to this question a long time ago, but I didn't dare to face it, to confirm it…

"Why I can't cultivate, why I can't have an heir, why I have never gotten sick in more than 70 years. I have never even truly felt tired before. Why I can clearly feel that my end has arrived while my body feels nothing… I finally understand now."

Wang Ping looked at Wang Lin. His smile revealed his carefree nature, but there was a hint reluctance in it…

"Dad, I, Wang Ping, don't have a mother, just a father. Thank you for accompanying me." Wang Ping felt his eyes water up, but he found that he had no tears.

"It turns out I don't even have tears…" Wang Ping bitterly looked at his father and softly said, "Dad, take care… Ping Er failed to keep this promise of accompanying you for generations…"

The sadness in Wang Lin's eyes became even stronger. After Liu Mei handed Wang Ping to him, he had fed Wang Ping the medicine and used his own thunder to help heal him. However, in the end, he found out that Wang Ping had died a long, long time ago…

The life of a mortal was very short, and it was the same for a resentful spirit. What existed was only a sliver of soul that was surrounded by resentment, so it couldn't return back to the reincarnation cycle. This was the true form of a resentful spirit!

What Liu Mei gifted Wang Lin was his soul fragment!

This soul fragment couldn't cultivate because it was unable to cultivate! If tried to cultivate, the resentful aura would activate and would completely vanish.

Wang Ping couldn't cultivate in secret from Wang Lin, because his body was made of sword energy…

Using one ray of sword energy to form flesh and another ray of sword energy to protect the soul, this was Wang Ping! This growth was done merely with a spell…

More than 70 years of life, all of Wang Ping's growth was due to Wang Lin's celestial spell.

Wang Lin whispered, "Your promise will come true, believe me."

Wang Ping looked at his father as he held Qing Yi's hand and softly said, "Dad, let Qing Yi go…"

He turned around and looked meaningfully at Qing Yi. He revealed a gentle smile and softly said, "If there is an afterlife, if I reincarnate, I'll come and find you, Qing Yi…"

As tears fell down Qing Yi's cheeks, she opened her mouth as if she wanted to say something. Wang Ping shook his head as he looked up at the sky and softly said, "Dad, Qing Yi, I'm leaving…"

Wang Ping's eyes revealed a powerful sense of reluctance. He wanted to be with Qing Yi and accompany his father forever… forever…

In a trance, he seemed to have returned to his childhood. In the 19 years he stayed at the mountain village, he drank the medicine and revealed a happy smile.

"Dad, the medicine is very bitter…"

He seemed to see his father using a spell to disperse the resentful aura in his body every night. He could see that the medicine wasn't absorbed by his body but by his soul.

Because his body couldn't absorb medicine…

It was as if he could see that his body was a ray of golden sword energy. He could also see that there was another ray of golden sword energy wrapped around his soul.

"No wonder I always dreamed I was in a golden world during my childhood …"

Wang Ping's eyes closed…

At this moment, his body released a golden glow and turned into a ray of sword energy that stood beside Wang Lin. Following that, another ray of sword energy appeared.

All that was left was a ball of white light quietly floating there. There was a black thread moving inside the white ball.

This black thread was the last sliver of resentment!

Wang Lin stared at ball of white light for a long time before raising his hand and gently wiping the ball. That black thread disappeared…

After experiencing one reincarnation cycle, all of Wang Lin's child's resentment was finally dispersed. Tears came out of his eyes as he gently held the ball of light as if he was holding the baby from back then.

The wind started blowing, and the ball of light showed signs of dissipating, but Wang Lin didn't let go. Wang Lin knew that if he let go, then the purified Wang Ping would return to the reincarnation cycle.

"Ping Er, your promise will come true!" Wang Lin took the ball of light and pressed it between his eyebrows. It entered the heaven defying bead and rested next to Li Muwan's nascent soul.

"From now on, your mother is Wan Er…" Wang Lin turned around and walked into the distance.

"Dad…" Qing Yi knelt on the ground. The sadness in her eyes wasn't any weaker than Wang Lin's.

Qing Yi's eyes were filled with tears as she softly said, "Dad, I have an appointment with Wang Ping. Even if it's to the afterlife, I'll accompany him! Take me away with you, even if it only as a soul fragment. I'll go anywhere as long as I can accompany Wang Ping! Dad, it was you would told me to always accompany Wang Ping!"

"You won't regret it?"

"No regrets!"

Wang Lin left, and along with him was Qing Yi's regretless soul.

Under the sunset, his old body gradually changed. His hair was no longer grey and turned black. His slightly hunched back slowly became straight. The Wang Lin from 70 years ago slowly walked toward the void…

A reincarnation cycle ends…