“And then you opened your shop in the sect…. Ai. If I wasn’t there… well, let’s just say that by that time a lot of people had taken an interest in you.” Xu Qing wanted to smile, but suddenly was overtaken by a fit of coughing. Fearful of disturbing Meng Hao, she covered her mouth. When she lowered her hand, it was covered with purplish blood.
“If the Reliance Sect hadn’t been destroyed, I wonder how things would have turned out…. When I was taken to the Black Sieve Sect, I was met with coldness. Everything was strange, and I had to deal with that malicious Elder Brother….
“Back then, I really missed the Reliance Sect, and I missed the State of Zhao. I missed… you.” She looked down, and delivered another strand of life force to Meng Hao.
Her face was pale white, and her body frail and withered. She looked like a lamp that was on the verge of flickering out, and she was well aware that every bit of life force she gave to Meng Hao caused her own death to approach even more quickly.
Right now, she could still abandon Meng Hao. If she left the Rebirth Cave, because of her special soul, she could easily return to the outside world and recover all of her life force.
But she did not do that. Nor did she regret the decision.
“You don’t know it,” she murmured, “but when I saw you in the crowds of people, at first, I thought I was dreaming…. Then, in my moment of despair in the ancient Blessed Land, you appeared. From that moment on, you were in my heart.
“Not long after, you saved me again, from the discarnate soul of Matriarch Phoenix.
“Later, outside the Rebirth Cave, I could only weep as I watched you disappear into the distance. My heart hurt so bad….
“When I went to the Violet Sea, I couldn’t find you, but I could sense that you were so close….
“Finally, I saw you again in the ancient Demon Immortal Sect. Meng Hao… I was so happy then. Thank you.” She looked down at him for a long moment.
She didn’t speak very often about how she felt, but her actions showed how deeply her love went. Anyone in Heaven and Earth who could have a companion like this could die without any regrets.
“Meng Hao, I can’t hold on much longer….” She was not a flickering lamp any more. She had reached the end of the road. If she closed her eyes now, then she would never open them again.
Perhaps if she closed her eyes, then years later, someone would come into the Rebirth Cave to find their bodies. A woman, sitting cross-legged. A man, reclining across her legs.
One sleeping. The other smiling. Through all eternity….
“You live, I live. You die, I die….
“If you grow old, then I’ll grow old with you.
“If you slumber here, then I will accompany you….” Xu Qing lowered her head and began to deliver the last bits of life force she had to Meng Hao through a kiss.
As the life force left her, she shivered, and her hair began to fall out. Everything started to go blurry. However, she gritted her teeth and once again prepared to give some more.
By this point, even all of the observing streams of will were shaken by what they saw. It was then that the stream of will that belonged to the roc suddenly emerged, transforming into a woman.
She stood there in front of Xu Qing, indescribably striking and matchlessly beautiful.
She was the embodiment of the roc. She came from the bones that existed in the coffin in the Milky Way Sea. She was… the goodness of the Resurrection Lily that had reached Immortal Ascension at dawn.
Back then, she had fallen in love with a man. From that moment on, she willingly sank into depravity. Because she faced pain and sorrow, she took her goodness and severed it away. Then she became the Dawn Immortal.
That goodness now appeared in front of Xu Qing, in the form of this woman.
“If you keep that up, your soul will scatter,” said the woman softly.
Despite her muddled consciousness, Xu Qing heard the woman’s words and looked up.
“If you keep it up, you will lose your life for all eternity….” The woman looked down at Xu Qing, and almost seemed to be looking down at herself. “From time immemorial, the League of Demon Sealers have been heartless. Is it really worth it to do what you’re doing?”