“I’m a simple person,” she said softly, “but just because a person is simple doesn’t mean they lack determination. When a person has determination… then they will never forget. The path of cultivation is a long one, and I can’t keep going on alone.
“Since that’s the case, let’s go together to the Yellow Springs. What do you say? I can only hope that if there is another life after this one, then we will meet again.” Although her voice was not loud, and the gurgle of rain filled the air, Meng Hao could hear her words clearly.
The trembling of his heart increased, and he stood up. He walked out from under the eaves, allowing the rain to drench him as he walked over to stand in front of Xu Qing.
The ground was slippery, and the wind cold. Meng Hao was freezing, and he looked more elderly than ever.
Xu Qing looked at him. To her, it didn’t matter how much he had changed. To her, he was still that young man from Mount Daqing, her Junior Brother.
Rain fell onto them, and even between them, but it couldn’t stop them from looking into each other’s eyes.
“Take me to the Rebirth Cave!” Meng Hao said. The determination in his eyes grew more intense. He wanted to keep living, and he wanted that second life from the Rebirth Cave.
He was doing it for himself, for the obsession in his heart, for Xu Qing, and for all of his friends and family!
Xu Qing smiled and nodded. She stepped forward and took hold of his hand. Despite Meng Hao’s weakness, her face still flushed when she found herself up against his chest.
Time seemed to slow down for an eternity.
At some point, it stopped raining. A rainbow appeared in the morning sunlight, and it was beneath that rainbow that Xu Qing and Meng Hao transformed into a beam of light that shot off into the distance.
Meng Hao could not fly, but he did have magical flight items. Under the control of Xu Qing, the loom shuttle transformed into what looked like the eighth color of the rainbow.
Time passed by. The loom shuttle was powerful enough that it only took ten days to fly from the State of Zhao to the Rebirth Cave. When they finally landed outside, Meng Hao’s face was even more ashen than before.
The closer they got to the cave itself, the more Meng Hao felt his life force withering away. He was shriveling up, and the death aura that surrounded him only grew stronger.
Things were different than they had been last time he was here. Perhaps then, Choumen Tai’s presence had caused things to change from their normal state, and now that he had entered the Rebirth Cave, everything had returned to normal.
Life was prohibited.
This was the Rebirth Cave.
Living beings were not allowed.
The aura of death in the area made Meng Hao feel even weaker. As it thickened, however, Meng Hao could sense that a trace of opportunity existed within.
To experience rebirth, one’s body must first die. Only after death could one have life in defiance of the Heavens!
Meng Hao took a deep breath and walked forward. Even as he took his first steps forward, Xu Qing reached out to support him. He looked back at her, and she returned the look but didn’t say anything. The determination in her eyes said what thousands and thousands of words could not.
“Living beings cannot enter this place,” he said softly.
She smiled faintly and then led Meng Hao toward the inner region of the Rebirth Cave.
As soon as they entered, Meng Hao became weaker than before. His body withered even faster, as if he were burning with an invisible fire. Every step forward, every step closer to the Rebirth Cave, caused his body, his soul, his everything… to waste away rapidly.
At the same time, more than ten streams of will spread out from within the Rebirth Cave. They looked coldly as Meng Hao and Xu Qing approached.
—–