A vast expanse, including the Immortal Realm, came to a standstill.
It was like a forbidden land cut off from the world, like a memory lost in the passage of time.
The Martial Emperor lay quietly within the Tree of Time. Despite being unrivaled, he ultimately succumbed to the relentless march of time. Under the constraints of the newly formed Time Dao, he became one of the many who slumbered in the annals of time.
Not just the Martial Emperor, but the entire Way of Heaven had also fallen into this newborn flow of time.
Chen Xia, wielding the power of the Way of Heaven, bore the weight of all the time in the All Heavens World. The Tree of Time behind him became his vessel.
Thousands of years were but a fleeting moment in the endless river of time.
Cultivators only knew that the battles in the Immortal Realm had ceased. They didn’t know who had won, nor did they care. They simply hoped that no further conflicts would arise in the Immortal Realm.
Meanwhile, the Five Emperors and members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea rushed to the Immortal Realm, eager to uncover the outcome of the battles and to check on Chen Xia.
However, they were unable to enter the Immortal Realm. The massive Tree of Time blocked their path, its overwhelming temporal energy rejecting all who approached and obscuring the scenes of the past battles.
The members of the Blue Sky Sword Sea decided to set up camp outside the Immortal Realm, waiting for the day when the temporal energy would dissipate. They had time to wait.
And indeed, they didn’t have to wait too long.
A few thousand years passed.
The Tree of Time slowly began to open, revealing gaps between its branches and leaves.
Huang Qingyue was the first to notice. Without hesitation, she informed the others and rushed into the Tree of Time, into what was once the Immortal Realm.
Beneath the Tree of Time.
Chen Xia slowly opened his eyes. His face was still pale, even more so than it had been thousands of years ago. He had sacrificed too much of his lifespan, his vitality, and his spiritual energy. The price he paid was steep, using the Sixth Dao as a vessel to simultaneously seal the Martial Emperor and the Way of Heaven.
So now, he was still exhausted, too tired to even stand. He could only lie there, struggling.
A breeze blew past the Tree of Time, carrying with it the winds of the past.
Chen Xia’s hair swayed as he tried to shift his position, leaning against the trunk of the tree. He attempted to gather spiritual energy to heal himself, but it was no use. His depleted spiritual sea couldn’t provide even a trace of energy.
Chen Xia could only sigh helplessly.
“Damn, I really went all out against those two bastards.”
But it was fine. At least the conflict was contained within the Immortal Realm and didn’t spill over elsewhere. It was close enough to the outcome he had desired.
“I guess I’m the winner,” Chen Xia chuckled softly, his spirit still optimistic. He decided to sit beneath the Tree of Time, thinking that perhaps one day he would be able to leave.
“Brother Chen!”
A loud call caught his attention. He struggled to lift his head and look toward the sky.
Before he could even see the figure in the sky, she was already in front of him. The woman’s voice was filled with both joy and concern as she called out again.
“Brother Chen!”
Chen Xia managed to raise a hand, waving weakly at Huang Qingyue. He grinned and said,
“What… what a coincidence.”
“Brother Chen!” “Chen Xia!”
Voices filled the air as familiar faces began to appear before Chen Xia, one after another.
Chen Xia was momentarily stunned. Then, with great effort and slowness, he patted his head and frowned.
“Am I seeing my life flash before my eyes? Wake up, man.”
“No, stop talking nonsense. It’s not your life flashing before your eyes. We’re here for you,” Huang Qingyue quickly interrupted, her eyes welling up with tears as she took in Chen Xia’s weakened state.
“Brother Chen, I’ve waited so long for you. Everyone in the Blue Sky Sword Sea is waiting for you to come back and lead us!” Emperor Capital shouted from the side.
“Can your injuries heal? I’ll go search the All Heavens World for some remedies,” Big Yellow Dog said with concern.
“If you’ve won, then stop lying around. The Blue Sky Sword Sea is waiting for you,” Li Yang said, crossing his arms.
“So you’ve won, right? Does that make you the strongest in the world now? That means I’m friends with the strongest in the world, haha,” Li Yue said with a grin.
Xu Zhen looked at Chen Xia’s extremely pale face, her voice trembling with worry as she said, “Come on, Brother Chen, let me take you to heal.”
“Chen Xia, once you’re fully healed, I’ll teach you how to play chess.”
“The Blue Sky Sword Sea still needs you to manage it. Without you, Emperor Capital has been running wild, always talking about fighting this and that. He even got beaten up by an old man from a neighboring Star Region, claiming the old man was giving him lecherous looks.”
“…”
The group continued to chatter, while Chen Xia listened quietly, a faint smile on his lips. To him, all of this felt surreal, like a beautiful dream.
When the chatter finally died down and the atmosphere grew quiet, Chen Xia struggled to sit up straight and said with a bitter smile,
“I don’t think I can leave. I’m stuck here.”
“…”
The group’s expressions froze. Xu Zhen couldn’t hold back her emotions and began to cry, unsure of what to say.
“What do you mean?” Big Yellow Dog asked, his expression grave.
Chen Xia leaned against the massive tree trunk and sighed. “I’m the foundation of this Tree of Time, its source of nourishment. The tree hasn’t fully matured yet, so I can’t leave.”
“Oh, that’s a relief,” Big Yellow Dog replied, reassured that it wasn’t a matter of life and death.
The group relaxed, and Xu Zhen quickly wiped away her tears. The usually strong-willed woman took a deep breath and walked over to Chen Xia, nodding firmly.
“I’ll stay here with you.”
The others quickly chimed in, each vowing to stay by Chen Xia’s side beneath the Tree of Time.
If the story ended here, it would have been a truly beautiful conclusion.
Chen Xia couldn’t help but think this, a smile forming on his lips.
The group did stay with him, but Chen Xia couldn’t remain awake indefinitely. He fell into slumber three times in total.
The first time was three hundred years later. His weakened body could no longer sustain the Tree of Time’s demand for nourishment, forcing him into a deep sleep.
During this time, the barriers between the Great Heaven and the All Heavens World disappeared, and the two realms merged into one. Star Regions and worlds fused together, and the void between them diminished.
Time moved silently, quickly, too quickly.
Neither “time flies” nor “fleeting as a white horse’s shadow” could adequately describe its passage.
Chen Xia awoke for the first time thirty thousand years later.
Some of the faces before him were missing. Huang Qingyue and Xu Zhen were still the first to arrive, but the marks of time were now clearly visible on their faces.
Time had etched irreversible scars upon them.
The two women still called him “Brother Chen,” telling him about the events that had transpired in the All Heavens World over the past thirty thousand years, and the various affairs of the Blue Sky Sword Sea.
Chen Xia mostly listened in silence. He couldn’t contribute much to the conversation, as he had no knowledge of what had happened, and thus didn’t know where to begin.
Slowly, the others arrived as well, each coming to see Chen Xia as if visiting an old friend they hadn’t seen in an eternity. They, too, seemed at a loss for words.
Emperor Capital waved at Chen Xia with a smile, calling out with a hint of unfamiliarity.
“Brother… Brother Chen.”
Big Yellow Dog and Chi Yu stood quietly, their eyes hiding a subtle sadness. They were already thinking far, far into the future.
Li Yang, Li Yue, Qiu Li, Huang Can, Jia Bai, Wang Yangzi, and Qiu Yi were all there.
Chen Xia looked at each of them, feeling a sense of familiarity, yet also a faint layer of estrangement.
A sense of helplessness washed over him. Chen Xia didn’t know what to do. He was still exhausted, as the Tree of Time was at a critical stage of growth, its roots deeply embedded in his spiritual sea, thriving.
A few hundred years later, he closed his eyes again, entering his second slumber.
This time, it lasted even longer.
The All Heavens World continued to merge. Star Regions and worlds became interconnected, and the concept of the All Heavens World faded away, leaving only a single, boundless realm that encompassed all of existence.
No one knew how many years had passed. Time had no meaning beneath the Tree of Time. Cultivators came and went, one group replacing another.
Gradually, protectors began to appear around the Tree of Time. The area around the tree became known as a sacred land, guarded mostly by Quasi-Emperors who stood watch at its outermost edges.
At the same time, the Blue Sky Sword Sea’s reputation grew throughout the world. It was known as the sect with the most Emperors, and it was poised to become the number one sect. Its leader, the Vast Emperor, was said to rival even the Five Emperors.
So, a very, very long time had indeed passed.
Chen Xia opened his eyes for the second time. His mind was hazy, and only Xu Zhen and Huang Qingyue stood before him. The signs of aging on their faces hadn’t increased much. Had not much time passed?
It was unclear.
The two women were overjoyed and began to converse with Chen Xia once more. However, this time, their conversation felt different. Chen Xia could barely comprehend what they were saying, as if he were a wandering ghost forced to face judgment.
He strained to listen, but in the end, he was left in a daze.
The others arrived as usual, all old friends. Yet, as Chen Xia carefully counted, he noticed someone was missing. Puzzled, he asked,
“Where is Chi Yu?”
Everyone lowered their heads, remaining silent. Finally, the Big Yellow Dog spoke in a calm, almost indifferent tone.
“Chi Yu’s cultivation could only reach the level of a Quasi-Emperor. His lifespan wasn’t enough, so he departed ahead of us.”
“…”
Chen Xia’s face froze, remaining expressionless for a long time. Then, in a fluster, he opened his mouth but couldn’t find the words. He wiped the corners of his eyes awkwardly before finally pausing, as if he had come to terms with the reality. He lowered his head and nodded softly.
“Alright… alright.”
Silence followed—a long, heavy silence.
Time had carved a vast chasm between them.
Chen Xia stood at the deepest end, and even when he strained to look up, he could no longer see them.
The Tree of Time continued to grow, reaching its peak. Its branches ceased to spread, and its fruits no longer formed.
At this moment…
The Tree of Time stopped growing, and Chen Xia closed his eyes.
This was the third slumber.
And it marked the end of an old tale.