Chapter 311: Rebirth - I Became the Grandpa (Part 35)
Su Chen sat cross-legged above the long river of time in the void.
The Heaven's Mandate Pearl was merging with Dongfang Yunxing.
Dongfang Yunxing and the true immortal characteristic within the Heaven's Mandate Pearl were engaged in a fierce, brutal clash.
Su Chen watched the scene without any emotion.
"Master…"
Dongfang Yunxing suddenly murmured. His voice was soft, yet it caused the long river of time to surge.
Su Chen opened his eyes.
On Dongfang Yunxing's body, the imprints of the great Dao began to manifest—the proof of his existence in this world.
Su Chen looked over.
The scene began to replay from Dongfang Yunxing's birth, evolving gradually.
Su Chen knew.
These were the traces Dongfang Yunxing had left in the world, being erased bit by bit. When the traces reached their end, it would be the moment his body and Dao perished.
That would also be Su Chen's best opportunity—the chance countless transcendents in the Land of Immortality had dreamed of.
Immortality!
Su Chen saw the Dongfang Family provoke Chen Xuan and get annihilated.
Dongfang Yunxing, alone, clutching the Heaven's Mandate Pearl, relying on the tiny authority Su Chen had used when he awakened in time, lay among the rotting corpses. He had survived through caution. The overwhelming hatred had perfectly activated the Heaven's Mandate Pearl, earning its recognition.
Using Su Chen's inheritance, Dongfang Yunxing transformed step by step from an ordinary body.
"Who could have thought that a dull and honest boy would one day touch upon the opportunity of immortality?" Su Chen felt a trace of daze.
Teaching Dongfang Yunxing had been nothing more than a casual act during his long years. He did not know when the Heaven's Mandate Pearl would be activated a second time by coincidence. At that time, Su Chen did not have the energy to wait for a second activation. It was all a coincidence in the dark.
A coincidence that changed the life of an unknown boy whose family had been wiped out by a transmigrator.
Fortunately, the later Dongfang Yunxing had satisfied Su Chen somewhat. Poor talent was not a problem. Perhaps it was his hatred for Chen Xuan that made him always obey Su Chen and rely on him… Even for some strengthening methods that Su Chen himself did not think Dongfang Yunxing could persist with, Dongfang Yunxing had exceeded his expectations and endured.
Repeated tempering had gradually matured Dongfang Yunxing, giving him a Dao heart that did not easily give up.
After the Ghost Clan ruins, Su Chen's strength was insufficient. To avoid trouble, he chose to sleep.
During the time he slept, Dongfang Yunxing experienced many hardships… chased by powerful experts, hunted by demonic beasts, and charging alone into dragon dens and tiger lairs for his beloved.
A Saint-level existence wanted to take Dongfang Yunxing as a disciple.
"As long as you agree to become this Saint's disciple, you do not have to die."
"I, Dongfang Yunxing, already have a master."
"So what if you have a master? As long as you cripple your cultivation and willingly become this Saint's disciple to accept my inheritance, where in the entire Southern Domain can you not go? Aren't you fond of that little girl from the Drifting Snow Sacred Land? If you agree, this Saint will take you to propose marriage."
"Thank you for your kindness, Senior. However, I, Dongfang Yunxing, have only one master."
"You foolish boy! It is your honor that this Saint has taken a liking to you. I, the Great Saint of the South Sea, want to accept a disciple. Countless Sacred Sons and Sacred Maidens would willingly abandon their own inheritances and cripple their cultivation to become my disciple. Who is your master? Could he give you more than I can? If you do not become my disciple today, you will not leave the South Sea. No one will let you go. Have you considered this clearly?"
"Thank you, Senior. However, I, Dongfang Yunxing, have only one master."
"Idiot! Do you know the consequences of refusing a Great Saint? It's not too late to change your mind."
"I… Dongfang Yunxing… do not regret…"
The scene gradually faded.
A single strand of a Great Saint's aura was enough to crush a Profound Connection realm cultivator into powder.
In the final corner of the scene, Dongfang Yunxing was covered in blood, his body shattered… yet he still refused to kneel.
"What a fool… In these seven thousand years, this Saint has never seen anyone as foolish as you. You don't know how to adapt…"
Su Chen watched as Dongfang Yunxing eventually left the South Sea.
Facing east, he smiled brightly, as if some things were more important than life itself.
"What a fool…"
The scenes from the past flowed like illusions in a mirror, fading away bit by bit.
Each disappearing image meant one less trace of Dongfang Yunxing left in the world.
"Dongfang Yunxing, you really are a fool."
"Chen Xuan? We don't know him. That was just an excuse to lure you here."
"Even if your talent is unmatched, how can you survive under this Emperor array?"
"If you must blame someone, blame yourself for shining too brightly."
"This Emperor is willing to accept you as a nominal disciple. Will you agree…?"
"Dongfang Yunxing, you actually dared to refuse a Great Emperor."
"Chen Xuan… I've finally found you… As long as I kill you, Master may be able to awaken…"
"....."
Memories of the past flowed like the years.
During the years Su Chen had been asleep, too many things had happened—things Dongfang Yunxing had never spoken of. Or rather… Su Chen had never cared about these insignificant matters.
Su Chen watched the scenes where Dongfang Yunxing hesitated to speak, thousands of words ultimately turning into a faint smile.
"Disciple Dongfang Yunxing… congratulates Master on awakening."
Su Chen had lived too long. After one life after another, he had long since extinguished unnecessary emotions.
"What a fool."
Su Chen's gaze was calm as he watched the images fade, murmuring softly.
"Immortality…"
"Master, is immortality the end of the martial path?"
"Perhaps it is."
"Your master has never stepped into the immortal realm either, so I don't know what that realm is like."
"Then this disciple swears that in this life, I will become an immortal!"
"Master, how can I bring you back to life? Even if I have to climb mountains of knives or plunge into seas of fire, I will risk this life of mine to resurrect you."
"Your master is too lazy to resurrect. I've grown used to living inside this Heaven's Mandate Pearl."
"Master, this disciple wants to sever the connection with the Heaven's Mandate Pearl. This pearl is Master's true body. I don't need it."
"The Heaven's Mandate Pearl is a true immortal's artifact, related to the opportunity of immortality. It is something countless transcendents in the Land of Immortality have dreamed of for billions of years. Are you really willing to give it up?"
"This disciple is willing. Without Master, there would be no today's me."
"What a fool… Your master is quite comfortable like this. If you can become an immortal, just bring your master along with you."
"Good…"
Su Chen watched the memories continue to flip through.
Soon they reached the end—the great battle with the Great Yang Emperor Lord.
Great Yang Emperor Lord charged toward Dongfang Yunxing. Su Chen did not intervene much.
A smile appeared on Dongfang Yunxing's face.
The two powerhouses fought fiercely.
Dongfang Yunxing suffered a terrifying punishment and was severely wounded. Some of Great Yang Emperor Lord's desperate final attacks could have been avoided.
He did not dodge. He chose to fight Great Yang Emperor Lord head-on and took the heavy injuries.
"Master…Take care…"
The memory faded.
Chapter 312: Rebirth - I Became the Grandpa (Finale)
The imprint that Dongfang Yunxing had left upon the world began to fade like a mirage dissolving into thin air.
The immortal characteristics sealed within the Heaven's Mandate Pearl gradually replaced him.
Su Chen closed his eyes. He had once been an ordinary mortal who, by a twist of fate, found himself in this vast and turbulent world of cultivation.
Fear and loneliness had consumed him. His family was slaughtered, his lover perished, and his dreams turned to ash. All that remained was his unyielding obsession with the martial path.
Unlike Dongfang Yunxing, he possessed no heaven-defying luck, no mysterious old mentor, no Heaven's Mandate Pearl, and no supreme cultivation techniques. The only thing he could rely on was his undying cycle of reincarnation.
Like an ephemeral mayfly, he had struggled desperately through the river of fate, raising only the faintest ripples with each life.
He had become a king, an emperor, a venerable, a saint, and even an Emperor. Yet none of these were his final destination.
Su Chen was determined to climb to the pinnacle of this mortal world, step by step, and achieve immortality.
And now, the chance to become an immortal stood right before him.
Seventeen lifetimes of struggle could never be summarized by mere words like "long years."
Su Chen opened his eyes.
He watched as the agony on Dongfang Yunxing's face slowly faded into calm.
Suddenly, countless beams of white light erupted from the Heaven's Mandate Pearl, surging from every direction to merge with Dongfang Yunxing.
Ten thousand paths transformed into dragons, each carrying a heavenly pearl in its mouth.
A stretch of time shattered directly. The long river of years split into two.
Though this disruption occurred only within the Land of Immortality, it still provoked a heaven-shaking tribulation.
Dense waves of karmic punishment crashed down upon Su Chen. If any Emperor-level beings still existed within the river of time, they would have witnessed a towering figure standing tall, his majestic form enveloped in radiant white light.
"Why are you stopping me?" the Heaven's Mandate Pearl transmitted. "Isn't this the outcome you desired?"
A cold voice emerged from behind the pale strands of hair covering Su Chen's face.
"I simply wanted to erase your final traces. In the end, the victor will still be me."
A chuckle rang out from within the Heaven's Mandate Pearl. "Interesting… Your choice truly exceeds this Immortal Lord's expectations. You are the greatest variable—the very nothingness I foresaw in the future?"
Even more terrifying boundless immortal light surged from the Heaven's Mandate Pearl, carrying the accumulated fate energy of countless eons. The true immortal within it still held a hidden card.
"If this Immortal Lord had not been schemed against, I might have spared an interesting fellow like you," the voice continued. "But now, I must claim the immortal position in the Void Cosmic Sea."
"You will not succeed," Su Chen replied calmly. "Your traces will be completely wiped away, leaving only a wisp of ‘immortal' aura trapped inside the Heaven's Mandate Pearl."
The self-proclaimed Immortal Lord inside the pearl dismissed the warning.
"An immortal remains an immortal. Even if only a single wisp of aura survives, I am still an immortal. You cannot kill me."
"If you had stayed hidden within the Heaven's Mandate Pearl, I might have remained wary. Yet you chose the most foolish path and severed your connection to it."
Su Chen smiled.
"Why don't you take a look at this?"
Above his head floated a transparent orb. Endless immortal energy circulated within it, carrying an aura of eternal immortality.
"This is…"
The Immortal Lord's voice changed.
Inside the orb hovering above Su Chen's head was also a trace of ‘immortal' aura.
Every immortal spirit cast into the Land of Immortality within the End Times Immortal Domain carried a wisp of such aura. Great Yang Emperor Lord had refined all the immortal spirits of the Final Lands, transforming their ‘immortal' essence into a single characteristic of the End Times Immortal Domain.
Great Yang had sought to become an immortal. Unfortunately, he lacked the destiny for it.
Su Chen did not possess the destiny to become the End Times Immortal Domain either. But for him, the wisp of ‘immortal' aura within the orb was enough. Only an immortal could slay another immortal.
He merged himself into the immortal orb.
The two ‘immortal' auras intertwined and rotated, evolving in an endless cycle of life and creation—until they reached utter annihilation.
"You fool… You actually want to perish together with this Immortal Lord? Is it worth it? Your strength has touched the taboo. It will obliterate your true soul, dooming you to never transcend in all eternity!"
The Immortal Lord within the Heaven's Mandate Pearl finally lost his composure.
Su Chen was even more ruthless than he had imagined. He had merged himself with the immortal orb, intending to wield the aura of the true immortal from the End Times Immortal Domain to erase him completely.
But the immortal of the Final Lands was still an immortal. How could a wisp of immortal aura be controlled so easily?
"I will not die… Even if my true soul falls into oblivion, after countless tribulations, I will return once more to seize the opportunity for immortality. As for you, once this wisp of aura dissipates, you will never have another chance to shed your shell. The forces you have offended will never let you go."
Su Chen's soul began to fracture. Strands of white flame burned within the shattered remnants of his soul body, slowly incinerating him into nothingness.
No one knew how much time had passed.
The world fell completely silent.
Time itself stagnated, and the myriad realms turned into ruins.
Countless more eons drifted by.
New life gradually emerged in the world. These beings began to cultivate and walk their own paths.
Powerful existences rose one after another, stepping onto the road of immortality.
Within the Land of Immortality, another cycle began.
"That is…"
Countless eras later.
A supremely powerful being transcended the long river of time.
He caught a glimpse of a figure's body lying quietly within the river of years.
"Could that be… the corpse of an ‘immortal'?"
Just as the powerful being wondered, the "corpse" stirred.
It slowly sat up.
The entire Land of Immortality shook violently.
The transcendent discovered that he was gradually fading away.
Time flowed backward.
Dongfang Yunxing reversed everything, as if searching for something.
Yet no matter how hard he searched, he could not find that figure.
With a single thought, he could resurrect countless old friends who had vanished in the river of time.
He could transform the Land of Immortality into any point in his memories.
He was the supreme ruler of all.
But Dongfang Yunxing always felt that something was missing.
The Land of Immortality rapidly shrank.
In the palm of a towering figure, it condensed into a black sphere.
Within the boundless space, waves of congratulations and hymns of praise rang out.
"Master…"
A single clear tear fell upon the space.
It was as if it had dropped onto the surface of a calm lake, sending ripples spreading outward.
He had succeeded.
Dongfang Yunxing had become an immortal.