The Waking Chen Xia

In the boundless starry sky, shattered stars drifted and fell into the void beyond the broken interface.

Yet, there was one small star that remained still.

And it hadn't been still for just a while, but for nearly a thousand years.

On that small star, there was a figure wearing a blue robe. After a deep slumber of almost a millennium, there was finally a slight movement. In general, the figure just turned over and continued to sleep.

Hovering beside him was an image of a faint red flying sword, somewhat resembling the serendipity of the Sword Dao Great Sage, but with the sword spirit and soul replaced by Ma Xiaohong.

The consciousness of the sword spirit was hazy, only instinctively guarding Chen Xia's side.

Long without any activity.

Exactly one thousand years later.

Chen Xia slowly opened his eyes, his expression slightly dazed. He gazed at the dim and declining sky, seemingly not fully awake yet. He looked at it for half a month like this, and finally, he sat up slowly, catching a glimpse of the sword beside him.

He naturally knew who it belonged to.

His expression froze for a moment, unsure of how to begin. He pursed his lips, propped up his head, and just stared blankly at the faint red flying sword before him.

The flying sword, seeing him awaken, instinctively felt a sense of joy and fluttered and danced around him.

Chen Xia shook his head and sighed.

Neither he nor Ma Xiaohong had died. One hadn't truly died, and the other hadn't completely died either. That was considered good news.

With the multitude of divine arts and techniques in the myriad realms, once he reached a certain level, he would surely be able to rescue Ma Xiaohong. If it wasn't possible, he would use his divine soul to forcibly retrieve her from the River of Time.

As for why Ma Xiaohong became a sword spirit, Chen Xia pondered for a moment and found the reason.

It was because of the serendipity of the Sword Dao Great Sage.

Using the serendipity of the entire Sword Dao Great Sage as the sword body, combined with her unique constitution, which wasn't an ordinary death, it was difficult for the Heavenly Dao to judge and thus inadvertently turned Ma Xiaohong's residual divine soul into a sword spirit.

But it was only a residual divine soul, while another portion of the divine soul had entered reincarnation, which was an unstoppable change of the Heavenly Dao.

But Chen Xia had also thought about it before. With the numerous divine arts and techniques in the myriad realms, it might be possible for him to negotiate with the Heavenly Dao if he became a Great Emperor.

"There's hope, there must be hope." Chen Xia murmured softly. The faint red flying sword still hovered beside him, seeming a bit tired from its fluttering and finally came to a stop by his side.

Chen Xia then sat cross-legged on the small star, gazing absentmindedly at the dim stars in the pitch-black sky.

This was already a place abandoned by the Heavenly Dao. He had no idea how to leave, so he could only sit and daydream for now.

But soon, he noticed something was amiss. It seemed that his chest was faintly connected to this vast realm of death.

It was as if there was a connection between the small world within him and the Great Death Realm.

"?" He was somewhat puzzled. If this development continued, would he become the controller of this Great Death Realm?

What kind of bullsh*t was this?

Chen Xia could instantly imagine the plotline of a book, titled "After the Death of the Dao Ancestor, the Widow Realm Encountered the Master of the Small World."

Damn it.

Chen Xia quickly shook his head, pushing aside moral considerations, and began to daydream with peace of mind.

All that could be said was that the plotline was quite thrilling, but it wasn't suitable to elaborate on. He stretched lazily, and his gaze focused on the image of the faint red flying sword. His eyes suddenly narrowed.

He sensed a lingering remnant of the Heavenly Dao in this sword image.

This isn't a good thing at all. It means that Ma Xiaohong is still bearing the consequences of the Heavenly Dao. She needs someone to help bear the consequences of the Heavenly Dao for her.

Chen Xia didn't think too much and directly reached out to grasp the imagery of the flying sword. The ethereal consequences of the Heavenly Dao surged out from the imagery of the flying sword, entwining around Chen Xia's left arm before quickly dissipating and entering his own Small World within his body.

Chen Xia's expression was slightly peculiar, unsure if the consequences of the Heavenly Dao were a self-imposed trap.

Once inside the Small World, the consequences of the Heavenly Dao couldn't determine whose form to take.

He exhaled a turbid breath and glanced at the flying sword in his hand, smiling gently.

"From now on, I'll call you Xiaohong."

The flying sword chirped with inexplicable joy.

Chen Xia continued to sit on the dim stars, propping his head up with one hand. Suddenly, he extended a finger and tapped his left eye, asking,

"Are you there?"

No reply.

Chen Xia had already anticipated this outcome, but confirming it made him feel uneasy. He couldn't help but feel that this trip to the Great Death Realm wasn't a good one.

Now he was reaping what he had sown. He couldn't leave the Great Death Realm anymore. His divine sense could still connect with his external avatar, but he couldn't control it, only sensing it slightly.

Chen Xia sat alone among the stars.

No trace of heavenly light.

His back faced the shattered interface, adjacent to the void.

Facing the dim firmament, no starlight was visible.

Alone for eternity.

————

Lower realm.

Zhang DaoMing no longer sat on the small stool, instead opting to walk while standing. It was said that doing so could extend one's life by a few years, but who knew if it was true or false.

Anyway, the old man who told him this method had died thirty years ago, so it didn't seem quite right.

But Zhang DaoMing didn't think too much about it. What if he could live one more year? What if that extra year was waiting for Chen Xia?

No one could say for sure.

With his hands behind his back, his short stature hunched over, he continued to walk slowly.

"DaoMing." Another voice, equally aged, came, belonging to an old man who bore some resemblance to Zhang DaoMing.

"Second Brother?" Zhang DaoMing was a bit surprised and somewhat puzzled as to why the Zhang Family, with whom he rarely had any contact, would come to find him. He asked again, "Do you have something to discuss?"

The second ancestor of the Zhang Family smiled warmly and replied, "We're family after all. I won't hide anything from you. I came to ask you to return to the Zhang Family. We're all one family, and we don't want you to feel too lonely outside alone."

"Nowadays, the Zhang Family has many younger generations, and it's quite lively. Even if we die, our spirits can still be enshrined in the ancestral hall, finding a home."

Zhang DaoMing just stared at him, and after he finished speaking, there was a long pause before he slowly spoke.

"Second Brother, is there some difficulty in the family?"

"Haha." The second ancestor of the Zhang Family laughed, his expression becoming more serious. He nodded and said, "You are indeed clever. Something has happened in the family, as you already know. Our previous Ancestral Master of the Heaven Mending Realm has died, leaving the Zhang Family without a leader. Other families have been suppressing us, and we can't lift our heads up."

"The Zhang Family has had a long-standing prominence. How can we endure such humiliation? I thought that since you seemed to have a good relationship with Senior Wang Yangzi, maybe you could speak to him on our behalf. Haha."

"After all, we are family, bound by blood, with bones and tendons connected."

Zhang DaoMing didn't respond immediately. His aged and cloudy eyes stared at the second ancestor of the Zhang family with a complex expression. After a long while, he gently shook his head and said, "Stop, Second Brother. You should go back. I'm not familiar with Senior Wang Yangzi, and I wouldn't say such things."

"DaoMing, don't hold a grudge. This is a major matter for the family now!" The second ancestor of the Zhang family sounded urgent.

Zhang DaoMing remained silent and walked slowly towards the house, his expression gloomy.

From behind, the second ancestor of the Zhang family continued to shout, his tone becoming increasingly hurried and rude, eventually resorting to insults.

"Zhang DaoMing, don't think that just because you've formed some relationship with Senior Wang Yangzi, you can be so arrogant. Without the Zhang family's initial cultivation of you, you're nothing but a ungrateful traitor!"

Zhang DaoMing gently closed the door, never speaking a word, his gaze lowered.

The clouds in the distance were no longer bright.