Immortal Travel of Longevity

Chen Changsheng had never expected such a history between them.

He asked, "If I hadn't brought it up, would you have simply forgotten?"

The Demon Sovereign froze for a moment.

He considered the question, placed a game piece on the board, and said, "I forgot about it a long time ago. I only recalled it because you suddenly brought it up."

Chen Changsheng watched him, waiting for him to continue.

"Truthfully," the Demon Sovereign said, "for a very long time, I never viewed you as a person at all."

"In my eyes, you were merely a fragment of my divine sense. You were just an External Avatar. I had no reason to look at you as an individual."

"You were just something I stumbled upon and decided to use as a game piece."

"Is that so..." Chen Changsheng murmured.

"But if you were to ask me now, I've realized you truly are different. Compared to me, you sometimes act like my other half—like my past. You are walking the very path I once tread, though your journey has been far rougher than mine."

"Rougher?"

"Yes."

"I clawed my way up through the Cultivation World, greeted by endless slaughter. But that wasn't true suffering. True suffering is the torment inflicted on the human heart during times of peace—something you have endured time and time again. As far as life goes, mine was far smoother than yours."

"Eventually, I had everything."

The Demon Sovereign paused, lowering his head. "Yet over those countless years, the people I cared for and knew kept dying off. I could never escape the grip of that curse. Gradually, I lost myself in wine. That, too, was an unspeakable agony."

"I truly believed I would never have another friend for the rest of my life."

The Demon Sovereign exhaled softly. "As my mind grew more extreme, nothing but hatred remained in my heart. Just like you, I began severing my ties to the mortal dust, staying far away from anything resembling karma or connection. Anyone who approached me was driven away."

"Then, you appeared."

"I watched over your past life as well," the Demon Sovereign continued. "But back then, I guided you from the shadows, steering you onto a path of peaceful Cultivation. Everything you achieved was exactly as I planned. Back then, you were just a game piece."

"Until this current life of yours."

"I stopped interfering. I let you walk your own path. Wherever you went, it was entirely your own choice."

"And then, eventually, we met in the Yellow Springs."

"That was when I noticed you were different."

The Demon Sovereign exhaled again. "To be honest, even then, I didn't think much of you. It wasn't until later, when you used the Dream Method, that you reclaimed your physical body."

"You jumped off the chessboard. And you, as a person, finally came alive in my eyes."

The Demon Sovereign looked at Chen Changsheng. "Furthermore, your thoughts on certain matters completely diverged from mine. Only then did I realize that you are not me."

"You are a different person."

"Someone who, just like me, bears a tragic fate."

"You could call us kindred spirits in suffering. That might be the truest way to put it."

Chen Changsheng listened in silence, then slowly placed a game piece on the board.

"In this life of mine," the Demon Sovereign continued, "I don't have many friends left alive. If I had to name one... you, Chen Changsheng, are someone I can actually talk to."

"Hearing you say that," Chen Changsheng replied, "makes you sound quite pitiful."

The Demon Sovereign laughed aloud, not bothering to hide his amusement. "I am pitiful! But I'm a demon. And that is exactly where you differ from everyone else. The rest of the world wouldn't pity a demon, yet you do."

"The you of today no longer harbors prejudice toward so many things."

"Perhaps it's simply because I've seen too much," Chen Changsheng said. "Nowadays, I only see a difference in standpoints."

"Indeed."

The Demon Sovereign let out a long breath. He held a game piece between his fingers, but hesitated to play it.

"Nowadays, my favorite pastime is sitting here playing chess. For some reason, it sometimes makes me forget the hatred in my heart. When I really think about it, for the grand Demon Sovereign to end up like this is quite laughable. But it truly does make my heart feel alive again—just as alive as you."

Chen Changsheng looked up. Hearing those words, he shook his head. "This Chen has no interest in men."

The Demon Sovereign blinked in surprise, then burst into uproarious laughter.

He slapped his thigh, doubling over with mirth.

Chen Changsheng shook his head in resignation. Of course he knew the demon hadn't meant it like that. He was simply speaking from the heart, even if his choice of words had sounded rather sickening.

But ultimately, it was just the honest confession of a pitiful man.

The Demon Sovereign slowly caught his breath. "It's been a long time since I laughed this freely."

"Then you should laugh more."

"No more laughing. Let's play. If I talk too much, it'll ruin my image as a demon."

Chen Changsheng cast a glance at the Demon Sovereign, who was now staring solemnly at the chessboard.

A demon?

Truthfully, spending time together like this, Chen Changsheng didn't feel that the man in front of him resembled a demon at all.

Zhao Yuqing acted more like one than he did!

Through Chen Changsheng's eyes, the Demon Sovereign was nothing more than an elderly man. Those eyes held nothing but the deep weariness of countless years.

As they continued to play, Chen Changsheng shook his head and smiled.

Sometimes, he really did feel that this demon had something wrong with his head.

...

In the years that followed, apart from playing chess, Chen Changsheng spent his time wandering through the long expanse of time. Along the way, he discovered many ever-changing places.

Mountains that would physically move. Earth veins that would vanish without a trace.

He carefully marked each of these anomalous locations on his Geographical Maps.

It was only by comparing the Geographical Maps that he could even spot these discrepancies.

Sometimes, Chen Changsheng found the workings of fate quite amusing. The Geographical Maps had originally been a whim of his, yet now they had become the vital key.

He marked down every single place he had visited on the Geographical Maps.

Yet, in a sudden flash of insight, he realized that when these strange locations were connected, they seemed to form distinct shapes.

He froze, staring at the connecting lines drawn across the Geographical Maps.

"This is..."

"A hand?"

Chen Changsheng stared blankly for a moment before sudden realization washed over him.

The myth of Kuafu chasing the sun and his body transforming into mountains and rivers upon his death... perhaps it wasn't just a legend after all.

"I think I found it."

The Demon Sovereign was equally stunned when he heard the news.

Chen Changsheng laid out the Geographical Maps, and the full picture slowly revealed itself before the Demon Sovereign's eyes.

"Is this a hand?" the Demon Sovereign asked.

Chen Changsheng nodded. "Just like Kuafu, the physical body of the Heavenly Dao transformed into the mountains and rivers of this world. And as time marches on, they are slowly shifting, changing their positions piece by piece."

"This is exactly why the Geographical Maps in the Cultivation World are never accurate."

"The mountains and rivers are shifting! It seems this has been the underlying rule all along."

Hearing this, a look of dawning comprehension appeared on the Demon Sovereign's face.

He had actually found it.

Visit and read more novel to help us update chapter quickly. Thank you so much!