Chapter 1228: Changyang Hu’s Transformation

“It’s about time I complete my promise to the sea G.o.ddess, but I never thought that the day of the worldly ebb would have approached so quickly,” Jian Chen mumbled to himself. He was not surprised by the fact that the sea G.o.ddess could find him with great precision. Although she had already lost her fleshy body, her soul was even more powerful than in ancient times. She could easily engulf the entire Tian Yuan Continent or the Beast G.o.d Continent.

Jian Chen got off the bed. He had no idea how much time he would spend in the sea realm after leaving, so he needed to sort some things out beforehand. This included dealing with the Flame Mercenaries. They risked suffering the revenge of those from the Underworld sect who had managed to escape.

“A’Hu… A’Hu, don’t go! Don’t leave your mother! You’re my only son! I can’t be without you! A’Hu…”

Just when Jian Chen opened the door, his first aunt’s sorrowful voice rang out from afar.

Jian Chen was stunned, but he seemed to think of something soon. His expression immediately changed a little as he ran over.

From afar, Jian Chen could see his eldest brother hovering ten meters in the air with his white robes. He did not give off any rippling of energy and was not hovering in the air like a Heaven Saint Master. At the same time, Jian Chen did not sense the Saints Rulers’ abilities from him. Changyang Hu was levitating in the air through a method that Jian Chen did not know or understand.

There was an indescribably and unexplainable charm about Changyang Hu, making him seen otherworldly, as if he was a transcended immortal. It was a divine charm.

Below, Ling Long looked at him with her head raised. Tears constantly poured from her eyes since she was in utter sorrow. She sobbed as she pleaded with him.

A group of guards had already surged over, and even Yu Fengyan, Bai Yushuang, Bi Yuntian, and Changyang Ba had hurried over. All of them looked at Changyang Hu in unease.

Jian Chen’s heart sank. He knew that the exact thing that he did not want to happen had finally happened. He took a step and instantly traversed over a hundred meters, arriving before Changyang Hu.

“Brother!” Looking at Changyang Hu’s emotionless face, Jian Chen could not help but call out in worry, as if he was trying to awaken Changyang Hu.

Changyang Hu was very calm. His gaze was extremely bright at times, clear and transparent like two luminous pearls, which were filled with wisdom and willpower, yet at other times, it was dark, profound like the starry sky. It seemed to contain a whole different world inside, everything in fact. It was extremely profound and difficult to explain.

“Brother, I will be leaving,” Changyang Hu said to Jian Chen as he calmly looked at him. He bore a smile. When he said ‘brother,’ it had become indifferent, having lost its sincerity long ago.

At that moment, Jian Chen felt like his brother had become a different person. He was so strange that Jian Chen could not find any familiarity at all.

All the times that he had spent with him in Kargath Academy flashed through Jian Chen’s head like a movie, making his heart ache. He had realized that his brother had severed his kins.h.i.+p, which was why he had become so unfamiliar. The brother in his memories had ceased to exist.

From that day on, his close brother only lived in his memories.

“Brother, have you really severed your kins.h.i.+p? Are you really willing to see first aunt in so much pain?” Jian Chen’s voice slightly trembled. He still wanted to see if he could turn Changyang Hu back.

Changyang Hu remained smiling throughout the exchange. His expression did not change at all with what Jian Chen said. He looked into the distant s.p.a.ce with his profound eyes and said, “The world is emotionless. We were born from the world, and we follow the path provided by the world to comprehend it. The impurities of worldly affairs are like strands of a demonic presence, obscuring the wisdom of people and misleading their hearts. Only by transcending worldly affairs can one regain their original awareness, and thus, see through all the mysteries of the world.

“The life of a mortal is like a dream. When a person is born, the dream begins. When they die, the dream ends. Everything that happens in the dream seems real and fake, but it will all be reduced to a void in the end. The dream seems fake so it cannot be real, and it seems real but it is not real. These are the so-called emotions and desires. They are illusory, and only by abandoning the worldly affairs can you return to your original conscience. Only be understanding the truth and severing the false can you be at peace, stand true to fate, see through the mysteries of the world, and witness the supreme all…”

With that, Changyang Hu drifted away. He moved away extremely freely, without any reluctance.

Jian Chen fell silent. He hovered in the sky as he watched Changyang Hu gradually grow further away. His heart ached. He knew that Changyang Hu had completely severed everything. The current him probably no longer maintained any connections of family. He was only an unchanging spirit to comprehend the world. He had embarked on a different path.

Jian Chen became rather depressed at that moment. He was in a horrible mood. He had just lost Rui Jin, Hong Lian, and Hei Yu, and now he had lost the brother he respected the most. Although he had the ability to make his brother forcefully stay, he did not do that. He knew that all of it would result in nothing. Changyang Hu’s path had already been determined and could no longer be changed.

“A’Hu…” Ling Long’s heart shattered like gla.s.s after Changyang Hu’s straightforward departure. She cried out in sorrow before fainting.

“First madam, first madam…” Several female servants paled in fright as they hurried up to catch her.

“Take her back to her room to rest,” Changyang Ba said in dejection as well. His mood was extremely heavy.

Jian Chen starred in the direction Changyang Hu had disappeared in for quite some time before deeply sighing. He returned to the ground in low spirits.

“Xiang’er, come here,” Bi Yuntian arrived beside Jian Chen and grabbed his arm. After witnessing what had happened with Changyang Hu, Bi Yuntian became rather scared inside. She was afraid that she would lose her child just like Ling Long.

“Xiang’er, can you tell your father what happened to your brother?” Changyang Ba asked in pain. He could sense that his first son had probably become a thing of the past.

Jian Chen thought silently before he replied, “Brother’s chosen a path that’s suitable for him. He’s embarked on a unique cultivation path. I have no idea what will happen in the future.”

A white-robed person stood on a tree branch as he watched Changyang Hu walk away from Lore City. He mumbled, “Looks like Changyang Hu has gotten past the final stage. His Great Liberation is complete. He has finally reached this step.”

…

Jian Chen delayed his journey to the sea realm by a day due to what had happened with Changyang Hu. On the next day, he visited the Flame Mercenaries to sort out some matters before properly comforting Bi Yuntian. He promised that he would return after dealing with his matters. He then set off for the sea realm with Nubis.

Emerging from a s.p.a.ce Gate, Jian Chen and Nubis hovered above the vast sea. They felt the calmness of the sea as well as the gentle sea breeze. A comfortable, easy feeling immediately bloomed within Jian Chen, pus.h.i.+ng away all the unhappiness from his brother’s departure the day before.

With the sea G.o.ddess’ a.s.sistance, Jian Chen and Nubis pa.s.sed through the barrier without any obstructions. At the same time, the sea G.o.ddess’ voice rang in their heads, “The worldly ebb will be erupting soon. I will keep paying close attention to the situation, so spend a few days in the sea realm and wait for my news.”

“Yes, your majesty,” Jian Chen politely replied. Hesitating slightly, he then said to the empty s.p.a.ce, “Your majesty, I have something that I would like to inquire about. May I ask if you know about protector Shui of the Ice G.o.ddess Hall?” Jian Chen knew that the sea G.o.ddess basically existed everywhere, so she definitely would have heard what he said.

An illusionary, hazy woman silently appeared before him right after he finished speaking. She sternly asked, “Why are you asking about the Ice G.o.ddess Hall? Do you want to visit that place?”

Before Jian Chen could reply, she followed up with, “I’ve never heard of a protector Shui of the Ice G.o.ddess Hall, but the Ice G.o.ddess Hall is an extremely terrifying place. From the ancient times till now, countless Saint Emperors have entered those icy plains, but less than a tenth have returned alive. I once tried to investigate the depths of the icy plains using my soul, but as soon as my soul approached that place, it would be frozen by an extremely terrifying coldness. It would even use my soul as a guide and quickly travel toward the sea realm. If I had not pulled back my soul fast enough, the outcome would have been unthinkable.” The sea G.o.ddess’ voice was filled with a lingering fear. It was evident just how terrifying that area was for the sea G.o.ddess, who belonged to the Origin realm.

“Afterward, the Winged Tiger G.o.d gave me the Empyrean Demon Orb and also warned me to never investigate the place no matter what unless the icy plains disappear from the arctic. That was why I never looked into that area again.” The sea G.o.ddess’ voice was filled with some mixed emotions. Her soul was extremely powerful. Not only could it engulf the entire sea realm, she could extend it as she wished into the Tian Yuan Continent, the Beast G.o.d Continent, and even the Wasteland Continent.

Without any exaggeration, her soul could move freely throughout the entire world. There was nothing that could threaten her, including the most dangerous place on the Tian Yuan Continent, the Death Nest, except for the Ice G.o.ddess Hall, a region forbidden for her to enter.

“Your majesty, then may I inquire when the Ice G.o.ddess Hall appeared?” Jian Chen asked again. The sea G.o.ddess was a sovereign-like figure of the same era as Mo Tianyun. She knew many more secrets than Saint Emperors.

“The Ice G.o.ddess Hall seemed to have always existed. No one knows when it first appeared, but the people of the organization rarely ever visit the Tian Yuan Continent. Every time they appear, they visit the continent in search of disciples, and they handle everything with an extremely low profile,” said the sea G.o.ddess. She did not know the answer to Jian Chen’s question either.

At this moment, Jian Chen thought about how the sword spirits had described protector Shui as someone who had come down from above. In that case, did it mean that the organization was founded by protector Shui?

Jian Chen asked again after thinking up to that point, “Your majesty, if you surpa.s.s Saint Emperor, is it possible to live for more than a million years?”

The sea G.o.ddess shook her head, “Beyond Saint Emperor is the Origin realm. It has three subdivisions, which are Receival, Returnance, and Reciprocity. With my understanding, those of the Origin realm can only live for a hundred thousand years, and even people who have reached Reciprocity cannot live longer than two hundred thousand years after ingesting various heavenly resources to extend their life. Perhaps only cultivation realms beyond that will allow you to live longer.”

“Of course, if there is any heaven-defying treasures, you may be able to live for a million years or even longer. However, even if that’s the case, they’ll end up the same as me, only able to maintain a soul while the body will be gone. At the same time, the soul will not be able to separate itself from the treasure that protects it.”

Jian Chen became extremely depressed. He had already guessed that protector Shui probably had already surpa.s.sed the Origin realm, having reached an even greater level. He could not become happy over this no matter what, as the stronger protector Shui was, the more unlikely he would be able to save Rui Jin and the others.