CHAPTER 252: CHAPTER 239: SEALING MEMORY

Shi Nian offered no explanation, only smiling as she said, "Little Martial Uncle, I know you cherish freedom. One day, you will find true freedom. Even if we part now, it’s just a temporary separation; one day, we’ll see each other again, right?"

Lu Zhuoyan quietly observed Shi Nian.

At this moment.

An existence in the Immortal World had been watching him all along.

Shi Nian was clever; she must have guessed something, hence she didn’t spell it out.

She wanted to convey to him.

Was she going to rescue him?

Lu Zhuoyan almost spoke but halted himself.

He had accepted his fate and truly didn’t want anyone to make sacrifices for his sake.

He knew Shi Nian was mysterious and capable.

But.

The supreme being of the Immortal World she would provoke.

It wasn’t worth it, nor necessary.

He was originally... just a fragment.

Lu Zhuoyan softly spoke, "I’m used to considering all places home; once I leave, I won’t return. Little Nian, you might as well think I never existed, and don’t be insistent."

Shi Nian arched her brow, "But Little Martial Uncle, what I love most is being insistent."

Lu Zhuoyan’s lips quivered, finding himself at a loss for words.

A strange emotion began to stir in his heart.

Lu Zhuoyan turned away, unable to look at Shi Nian any longer.

He lay on the grass, gazing at the vast starry sky, and muttered softly, "The stars are beautiful tonight."

Shi Nian looked up at the starry sky and nodded, "Yes, there will be even more beautiful starry skies in the future."

Afterward.

The whole world fell into silence.

Lu Zhuoyan and Shi Nian no longer spoke, simply enjoying this rare tranquility.

"I’m ready to leave," Lu Zhuoyan suddenly said, sensing something.

Shi Nian nodded, "Alright, then I won’t see you off."

She stood up and turned to leave.

This time, Little Martial Uncle was truly leaving.

It was only a temporary departure, but the difficulty of his return was immense.

Shi Nian wasn’t one to welcome trouble or danger.

But at this moment.

She thought.

Even against that supreme god, she might have no choice but to fight.

Behind her.

The starlight was dazzling.

This resplendent starlight gathered and lingered on Lu Zhuoyan.

The endless starlight enveloped him.

His body gradually became ethereal; Lu Zhuoyan took one last look at Shi Nian’s retreating figure, then his body slowly diffused into specks of light. In the final moment, Lu Zhuoyan reluctantly yet resolutely scattered some of the flickering light. Those scattered sparks disappeared instantly upon leaving, never to be traced again in the Human World. The remaining sparks shot into the sky, vanishing completely from sight.

When everything had disappeared.

Shi Nian turned her head back.

Behind her, Lu Zhuoyan was no longer to be seen.

Shi Nian’s fingers trembled slightly.

She knew.

With the Eternal Flower, she had ten years to rescue Little Martial Uncle.

What if it’s only soul fragments.

To Shi Nian and the people of Ling Tian Peak, Lu Zhuoyan was simply Lu Zhuoyan, entirely separate from that lofty being in the heavens.

A simple truth.

In those unwritten stories, had Little Martial Uncle been there, Shi Nian believed he would have desperately saved everyone.

He would never watch Master and the others befall such a fate!

But what about that lofty being?

He had absorbed Little Martial Uncle’s memories, but had he ever considered helping Ling Tian Peak?

To him, it was merely a dispensable story, never taking it to heart.

That person might be supreme. But to them, the only thing that mattered was Lu Zhuoyan alone.

If someday...

Shi Nian clenched her fists tightly.

If someday...

She is even stronger than that person.

Only she can grant the junior uncle disciple true freedom.

Shi Nian stood where Lu Zhuoyan had disappeared, silent for a long while.

The system consoled her in a soft voice: "Host, I am still with you. In the future, we will be very strong."

The system did not know its own origins, but it vaguely understood that its ultimate destination was the Divine Realm, not the Immortal World.

Upon reaching the Immortal World, the system would upgrade again.

Shi Nian’s ultimate destination would not merely be the Immortal World either.

That person might already be at the pinnacle in the Immortal World, but he is far from becoming a god.

Shi Nian will surpass him one day.

A faint smile surfaced on Shi Nian’s lips as she softly said, "System, let’s work hard."

"Mhm." At this moment, the system was exceptionally well-behaved.

For some reason, Shi Nian really wanted to pull the system out and hold it in a hug.

Unfortunately, the system did not have a physical form yet.

"Chirp chirp chirp chirp. (Master, what’s going on?)"

The featherless bird looked at Lu Zhuoyan’s sudden disappearance, its expression also vaguely anxious.

Shi Nian sighed.

Since she couldn’t hug the system, she reluctantly decided to hug the featherless bird instead.

She held the featherless bird in her arms and softly said, "It’s okay. The junior uncle disciple has gone out to have some fun. After we finish our own matters, we’ll go find him."

The featherless bird nodded somewhat blankly.

"Comfort your sister properly. Before we see the junior uncle disciple, she can follow me," Shi Nian said.

The featherless bird agreed.

"Featherless bird, let’s go, we’re heading back," Shi Nian patted its head.

In an instant, a person and a chicken disappeared from the wilderness.

Immortal World.

Within an imposing palace.

A concentrated orb of light was flickering on the fingers of a man.

The man smiled subtly.

This final fragment had at last returned.

The experiences of this fragment of his seemed quite extraordinary; originally, he had little interest in delving into the lower beings of the Human Realm.

But now. He was somewhat curious about that woman named Shi Nian.

How could this woman shield herself from the prying eyes of the Two Realms Mirror? What secrets does she harbor?

Despite his cultivation reaching the heavens, the path to immortality was broken. Even as an Immortal, attempting to peek into the Human World would come at a great cost; hence, under normal circumstances, he dared not look too far.

At this moment, the man did not understand the origins of Shi Nian nor her various circumstances.

But he was not in a hurry.

Now that Lu Zhuoyan’s fragment had returned, he could just review its memories.

Thinking this.

The man casually tapped the glowing orb.

Subsequently, these points of light drilled into his mind.

The memories of Lu Zhuoyan were neither too long nor too short.

A hundred years might be a lifetime for mortals.

But for the man reading the memories, it was merely a moment.

After reading through the memories.

His expression suddenly turned very ugly.

He had read all of Lu Zhuoyan’s memories, and there was not a single memory related to Shi Nian!

Annoyed, he rummaged through his body, and then Lu Zhuoyan’s vague figure blurred into existence in mid-air.

"You have hidden a part of the memories!" the man said coldly.

The figure of Lu Zhuoyan looked confused: "I don’t know what you are talking about."

The man’s expression grew even more unpleasant.

He realized.

Lu Zhuoyan truly did not know.

Because before coming to the Immortal World, he had already removed all memories related to Shi Nian!

The Lu Zhuoyan before him no longer had any memories concerning Shi Nian.

Good.

Very good.

Indeed, this fragment of him had learned a new trick. To prevent him from prying into Shi Nian’s secrets, he had directly destroyed that segment of memories!