Immortal Travel of Longevity

The Demon Sovereign had long since set up the chessboard.

Back in Reincarnation, Chen Changsheng sat down as usual.

"A fast game, as usual?" the Demon Sovereign asked.

Chen Changsheng paused for a moment, then nodded.

As the game pieces steadily fell, the Demon Sovereign cast a glance at Chen Changsheng.

He didn't understand what Chen Changsheng was playing.

This was nowhere near his usual standard.

At first, the Demon Sovereign didn't pay it much mind, assuming Chen Changsheng was simply lost in thought after taking a stroll through the Mortal World.

But halfway through their fast game, Chen Changsheng seemed to completely lose focus. The Demon Sovereign had played his piece a long time ago, yet Chen Changsheng showed no reaction.

"It's your turn," the Demon Sovereign finally said.

Chen Changsheng looked up. He froze for a moment before finally remembering he was in the middle of a match against the Demon Sovereign.

But as he reached for a game piece, he accidentally knocked over his bowl.

Clatter...

The game pieces spilled out, clacking sharply against the board.

Sighing in resignation, Chen Changsheng set down the piece in his hand.

The Demon Sovereign stared at him, remaining silent for a long time.

A heavy silence settled over Reincarnation.

Chen Changsheng let out a breath, finally gathering his wits. "Let's start over."

The Demon Sovereign just nodded.

Yet the second game went much the same way. Though he didn't make another clumsy blunder, Chen Changsheng repeatedly drifted off, his mind completely absent from the match.

Seeing this, the Demon Sovereign tossed his game piece back into his bowl.

Chen Changsheng snapped back to reality. Looking a little embarrassed, he set down his piece. "Sorry. Give me a moment to collect myself."

The Demon Sovereign asked, "What did you experience in the secular world?"

"It's very strange," the Demon Sovereign remarked, his eyes locked on Chen Changsheng. "Why does it seem like you've come back to life?"

Chen Changsheng froze for a moment, then let out a long sigh.

The Demon Sovereign offered no sympathy. "I suggest you clear your head," he said bluntly. "You are nothing but a discarded plaything. Someone might occasionally pick you up and toy with you for a while, but they will always forget you in the end."

Chen Changsheng shook his head. "What about Yu Xuan, then?" he asked.

The Demon Sovereign stiffened, then violently swept the chessboard off the table.

"I was trying to make you realize there's no point in torturing yourself, yet you dare bring her up?" he snapped. "Do you think I don't long for her? But what can I do? She was mortal! She was always going to die! Do you understand that?!"

Chen Changsheng let out a heavy breath and rubbed between his eyebrows.

The Demon Sovereign stormed off with a flick of his sleeve, leaving behind only a single parting remark.

"Think it over yourself."

The Demon Sovereign's departure left this stretch of Reincarnation feeling more tedious than ever.

Yet, unlike before, a faint spark of anticipation for waking up had taken root in Chen Changsheng's heart. Life and death were no longer exactly the same to him.

He wasn't a fool, of course; he understood perfectly well what the Demon Sovereign was trying to tell him.

But to Chen Changsheng, some things simply couldn't be forced. It was like when people swore they were doing something for the 'last time'—there was always a next time.

The Demon Sovereign believed this was a mistake, but Chen Changsheng knew that if their positions were reversed, the Demon Sovereign would have made the exact same choice.

They were the same kind of person. Or rather, they were the exact same person.

Though their personalities were vastly different, their choices would always align perfectly.

Once autumn arrived, the Peach Orchard outside Qingshan City gradually lost the vibrant splendor it held during the spring and summer.

The starkness of it all couldn't help but evoke a quiet sense of sorrow.

Dead leaves drifted down from Green Mountain on the wind, scattering across the Peach Orchard.

If one picked up a leaf, they would find it completely dry and brittle.

Aqing sat in the midst of this desolation, gently stroking the Thumb Ring on her hand.

All she could do was wait. Wait for the coming spring.

When spring arrived next year, the orchard would once again bloom with peach blossoms. And when summer came, the branches would grow heavy with fruit.

Sometimes she wished she could keep the Peach Orchard forever green. But the truth was, all things in the world operated according to their own underlying laws. It was the way of nature. Defying those natural laws would inevitably invite consequences.

Aqing had, of course, tried. The result was that the peaches were nowhere near as delicious as before. And no matter how beautifully the peach blossoms bloomed, they would instantly scatter at the slightest breeze.

And she also lost her anticipation for the Peach Orchard.

So she never interfered again.

"Sister Aqing, why don't you come live in the city with me? There's no need to tend the Peach Orchard in the autumn and winter anyway."

Aqing looked at Xuanji. "I'm used to being on my own."

Xuanji sat beside her, looking confused. "You and Granduncle are exactly the same."

"Hmm?"

"Always alone."

Aqing paused at the remark, then shook her head.

"In the past, there was always someone by your granduncle's side," she said softly. "It only became like this later."

"Why?" Xuanji asked curiously.

"Cultivators live long lives," Aqing explained. "Before they can fully comprehend the Dao and temper their state of mind, they will always, intentionally or not, avoid the karma of the Red Dust. That is because the Red Dust grinds a person down. It torments the heart."

"Whether it was your Big Sister or anyone else, everyone eventually left your granduncle behind. In the end, everyone you meet just turns into a memory hidden deep in your heart."

Aqing continued, "And every time you remember them, it feels like a knife twisting in your heart. When you reach that point, it seems better to just stop looking at the Red Dust altogether. Avoiding it is much, much better than accepting it."

Xuanji was no longer the little girl she used to be. She could still be a bit mischievous, but she was old enough to understand these truths.

"Are you like that too, Sister Aqing?"

Aqing shook her head. "I don't have as many memories weighing on my heart as your granduncle does."

Xuanji pursed her lips. "But I think you're even more heartbreaking than Granduncle, Sister Aqing."

Aqing froze, suddenly unsure of how to answer.

Seeing this, Xuanji didn't press the issue.

In truth, both of them understood perfectly well.

It was a long time later, as the sun began to set, when Xuanji finally spoke again. "Come back to Qingshan City with me. We can go to Chuanfeng Alley. It would be nice."

Aqing thought about it for a moment, then shook her head.

"I'll pass."

In the end, Xuanji couldn't change Aqing's mind.

She gave up on the idea. Aqing harbored a stubbornness in her heart that set her apart from ordinary people.

Her heart, it seemed, only had room for Granduncle.

Xuanji left the Peach Orchard and made her way up Green Mountain.

She stood there, gazing out over the land surrounded by green mountains.

Out of all the countless places Xuanji had traveled, Qingshan City was by far the most beautiful.

Yet the longer she looked at it, the heavier her heart felt.

She also had things she couldn't let go of. That was exactly why she kept leaving.

There were far too many memories tied to this place.

Big Sister, Second Sister, and Auntie Hong Jin... so much of it had already faded into the past.

Aqing was right, really.

The longer a person lived, the more torturous it became.

"So," Xuanji murmured to herself, "for cultivators like us who can't let go of the Red Dust... what is the point of living?"

She often couldn't figure it out.

That was why she was always wandering the road, just like Granduncle, endlessly searching for the meaning of her existence in this world.

Just like Big Sister and Second Sister, just like Granduncle and Sister Aqing.

But what about herself?

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