Next to the old man rested a body. It was a man with no hair or eyebrows; he was completely shriveled up. Wrinkles covered his skin, and he looked as if he had just climbed up out of a grave. The entire body stank of putrefaction.
He had no right arm, and a gaping hole could be seen in his chest, where there existed… no heart whatsoever.
A flame burned above him, casting out a gentle light that covered over his body. As the light was cast out, it transformed into glittering dots, within each of which could be seen flickering, incomprehensible magical symbols. Oh so slowly, those dots of light bored into the hole in Meng Hao’s chest.
Inside of Meng Hao’s chest, the flesh and blood writhed, as if it were slowly growing.
The years seemed as if they would flow by in this manner forever, and because they were in the Inner Ring of the Milky Way Sea, there was no one who could find the ancient ship, or Meng Hao.
On one particular day, the armored old man slowly opened his eyes. Hidden within them were the sun, the moon, and the stars. Endless years of time permeated those eyes, as if the man could see into their boundless depths.
He turned his head, and his abstruse gaze fell onto Meng Hao.
When that happened, Meng Hao’s body seemed to experience the passing of thousands of years. The fire burned intensely, emitting more crystalline dots of light that merged into the hole in his chest. The wriggling of the blood and flesh increased, and soon the healing process was visible to the naked eye. A new heart formed, and the wounds were healed. Even the bones and flesh of the right arm slowly began to grow out.
In what seemed like the blink of an eye, Meng Hao was completely restored. Not a wound could be seen on him. However… his hair was pure white, and he looked incredibly old, as if he were an elderly man.
Weakness radiated out from him as he opened his eyes.
His eyes were filled with confusion. He lay there thinking for a long time before memories started to trickle into his brain. He thought of the 10th Wang Clan Patriarch, and how he had chosen to end in common ruin with him rather than give up his freedom. In the end, he had landed a sword blow on the Wang Patriarch’s soul!
“My cultivation base….” He closed his eyes and cast his senses inward. After a while, he slowly rose into a sitting position and looked at the armored old man, who sat with his back to him. The old man seemed as if he would sit on this ship for all eternity as it roamed about.
Meng Hao clasped hands and bowed deeply. “Senior, thank you for your kindness in saving my life!”