The blood-colored figure was silent for a long moment before his ancient voice once again echoed out in Mount Blood Demon.
“If you choose a single lifetime, then I will fuse her soul into her fleshly body. By nourishing it with a miraculous object of Heaven and Earth, she can be completely recovered in a hundred years.
“However, her soul has been damaged, and her body weakened. The fusion is difficult and if it fails, she won’t last even a hundred years. Even if it does succeed, she will be incapable of Spirit Severing. You will be able to spend a thousand years with each other, until her longevity reaches an end.
“If you choose a whole life, then… she must enter the cycle of reincarnation. Her soul will travel to the underworld of the Fourth Mountain, and she will be born anew. As to which Mountain she is born in, it is impossible to say. Before reaching Immortal Ascension, she will remember nothing from her previous life. However, in the moment she does reach Immortal Ascension, she will remember everything.
“Then, she will be able to accompany you for your whole life.
“You have a choice to make. Take her to the underworld to be reincarnated. Or, live with her here for a thousand years.
“If you take her to the underworld, then I can make you a promise. I’m on good terms with Kshitigarbha, the Earth Store Bodhisattva. Your beloved will be able to avoid any suffering in the underworld, and upon reincarnation, she will be accompanied by incredible good luck. Afterward, there will be a high likelihood that she can achieve true Immortal Ascension.
“You have a month to decide. I’ll be waiting for you in the Blood Pond.” Gradually, the blood-colored figure transformed into a glow of blood that faded away into the surroundings.
The sun rose and set. Meng Hao looked at Xu Qing, and she gazed tenderly back.
They didn’t speak, they just looked into each other’s eyes. Day, after day, after day….
Half a month went by, although it seemed like an eternity. Finally, she smiled. “Send me into the cycle of reincarnation. I don’t want a thousand wonderful years. I want to spend my whole life with you.”
Meng Hao didn’t respond.
She looked at him for a moment. “We agreed, didn’t we? I want to grow old with you….”
Meng Hao shook his head. He was about to open his mouth to speak when Xu Qing smiled and interrupted him. “You’re scared that you won’t be able to find me, aren’t you?
“Senior Blood Demon said that if we pick reincarnation, then it’s impossible to tell which Mountain I will end up on…. However, let’s make an agreement. You come looking for me, and I’ll wait for you….
“There’s no need to fear, Junior Brother. Our agreement in this lifetime, is an agreement for a whole life….
“In my next lifetime, I’ll definitely dream of you treading through the Heavens to come find me. You’ll hold out your hand to take mine, and then we will live the rest of our lives together.
“There’s no need to talk any more about what decision to make. We can live together for ninety-nine years. In the final year… I’ll enter the cycle of reincarnation.” Xu Qing looked at Meng Hao earnestly.
Meng Hao looked at her and then nodded, pain stabbing through his heart.
She smiled, a beautiful smile. He reached up toward the glowing red pearl that contained her soul, and it floated down onto his palm. He closed his eyes and clutched it as if he was embracing her.
He would never forget how her beauty had turned into old age.
He would never forget how some of his life force contained hers.
Finally, he opened his eyes and stood up. “It doesn’t matter which Mountain you are reincarnated to, I will find you.”
With that, he carefully took Xu Qing’s soul into the mouth of the cave behind him, which glowed brightly like blood.
Meng Hao walked into the shallow cave, quickly reaching its end. Up ahead was a blood-colored pond, within which was a withered corpse. It emanated invisible ripples that made it look incredibly ferocious, and growing out of its forehead was a blood-colored horn.
He wore a tattered blood-colored robe, and the skin visible through the tears was dark-red flesh covered with blue veins. The entire image was quite terrifying. His lips were shriveled, his eyes sunken in, his entire body dried up. Visible within his mouth, were razor-sharp fangs.
His body was the shape of a human, but this was clearly no cultivator.
This was a Demon! Patriarch Blood Demon! 2