Immortality: Starting with a grave, I'm invincible when burying corpses.

As the figure fell, the thick clouds in the sky dispersed.

Sunlight streamed through the gaps in the clouds, bathing the earth once more. The celestial mountains in the sea of ​​clouds regained their former hazy beauty, appearing dreamlike and ethereal.

Looking at the person lying on the ground, Mu Ling'er sighed deeply.

The hardest people to save are those who want to die.

Su Xiang's determination to die deserves due respect.

She wanted to save Su Xiang, but then she thought that using Mu An's power to save Su Xiang would be a desecration and completely meaningless.

Perhaps in the eyes of Su Xiang and the people he represents, Mu Ling'er is also a celestial being living in the heavens.

As beneficiaries, offering unauthorized assistance in this situation would only render their efforts worthless.

……

Having witnessed all of this, Mu Ling'er no longer had the intention of pretending to be a child in front of Mu An, and she silently put the Five Elements Creation Sword back into her hand.

She retrieved Su Xiang's corpse, along with the Qiming Sword, which was slowly being repaired.

After doing all that, she looked up at Mu An, and their eyes met.

One pair of eyes carried a faint trace of sorrow, while the other was as calm and vast as the starry sky.

Mu Ling'er tried her best to discern the changes in Mu An's emotions, but ultimately to no avail.

She didn't know what Mu An was feeling, nor did she know if what had just happened had affected Mu An in the slightest.

All she knew was that when Mu An looked at her, he always had the same doting affection he showed to a child, just like before, yet completely different.

Mu Ling'er dared not imagine what would become of her Da'an if this last glimmer of hope also disappeared.

She could only tell herself this over and over again.

No, it can't be like this... She will definitely succeed, she will definitely help Mu An regain her true feelings.

After a dozen breaths of eye contact, Mu Ling'er tugged at Mu An's sleeve.

"let's go……"

She glanced around, taking in the entire Four Elephant Mountain.

"There's nothing much to see here anymore..."

……

At the summit of White Tiger Peak, Ming Jiayu's expression was somewhat grim. She released her grip on Zhang Ming'an's hand and whispered.

"Are you and your parents hiding something from me? What exactly are you trying to do?"

Zhang Ming'an stood silently atop the mountain, gazing at the fairy island that was once again hidden by the sea of ​​clouds.

"It's just a matter of banding together to save ourselves."

After saying that, Zhang Ming'an stopped explaining. He lowered his head slightly, raised his hand and touched Ming Jiayu's swollen belly. His eyes softened considerably, unlike his usual cynical attitude.

"A father's duty is to protect his children, isn't it?"

"Don't overthink it. With us here, nothing will happen to you and the child... Born of the destiny of the Daoist sect, our child is destined to achieve great things in the future."

After staring at Zhang Ming'an for a while, Ming Jiayu noticed that her usually unreliable Daoist partner was unusually serious, and she naturally understood that she wouldn't get the answer she wanted.

Ming Jiayu lowered her head slightly and touched her stomach, seemingly somewhat dissatisfied.

"This little guy is probably always causing trouble, he might just become a troublemaker... But I do hope he can be more ordinary and just be happy every day."

When Ming Jiayu said these words in a complaining tone, Zhang Ming'an couldn't help but laugh.

"That's true. With us around, it's not the child's place to take responsibility... He just needs to grow up healthy and do what he likes."

……

……

On the banks of the Changjiang River, on an unnamed hill.

An ancient tree, two handfuls of paper money, three mounds of earth, and four tombstones.

The afterglow of the setting sun stretched the ancient tree's shadow very long, and the shadow cast by the ancient tree obscured Wan Shu's slightly downcast cheeks.

Black smoke rose from the burning paper money and drifted further away in the river breeze.

The four tombstones are inscribed with different characters from left to right.

The Tomb of Scholar Qin

"Tomb of Qin Sheng, disciple of Meng Yan and deputy head of the Wenchang Hall"

"The Tomb of Su Xiaoyu, Deputy Leader of the Datong Dao"

"Tomb of Su Xiang, Prime Minister of the Great Qi Dynasty and Palace Master of the Great Tongxue Palace"

Su Xiaoyu ultimately succumbed to the ravages of time, passing away twenty years ago with resentment and incomprehension towards her brother.

In accordance with Su Xiaoyu's last wishes, Wanshu buried her next to Qin Xiucai.

And now, her brother has also been buried here by Wanshu.

Looking at the tombstone under the tree, Wan Shu's feelings were very complicated.

Wan Shu could guess to some extent what Su Xiang had been doing.

After truly leading the Datongdao uprising, Wanshu gradually came to understand the hardships Su Xiang had endured.

Many things are not as simple as she thought; one cannot survive in this world by only pursuing beauty.

A world that is black and white only exists in ideals.

She can pursue beauty and her beliefs because someone else has borne the darkness for her.

Just like a person's shadow, darkness always accompanies light.

The two are two sides of the same coin, and are interdependent.

Over the years, Wanshu has witnessed far too many things she had never understood in detail before, and her understanding of human nature has become increasingly profound.

You can never truly understand what lies beneath the surface by only looking at the surface.

Only by delving into its inner workings can one truly understand its intricacies.

By now, Wan Shu has come to understand that Su Xiang's achievements are worthy of Qin Xiucai's appreciation.

The reason why Qin Xiucai chose Su Xiang back then was perhaps because Qin Xiucai understood that the road to pursuing ideals would not only be bright, but also that someone would have to take on the dirty work.

The quality of not bowing down for a mere five pecks of rice may seem noble, but it avoids much of the responsibility.

Zhuangzi had his path, and Qin Xiucai had his path.

We all pursue similar goals, yet we walk on different paths.

Wan Shu inherited Zhuangzi's will, upholding light and justice to the end and pursuing her ideals. Su Xiang inherited Qin Xiucai's beliefs, enduring hardship in the world while striving to improve himself.

Unfortunately, most people can only see the beautiful side, or rather, they only allow the beautiful side to exist.

After all, darkness is always unpleasant, making people unconsciously want to avoid it and throw it into an abyss where the sun never shines.

Therefore, Wan Shu became a wise leader, while Su Xiang became a treacherous minister beside a tyrant.

Even Wan Shu herself wouldn't dare say that she was completely without prejudice.

Otherwise, she should have been more patient in Qi'an City instead of being prejudiced.

……

In fact, the Datongdao (Great Harmony Path) has now embarked on a similar path.

The leader of the Datong Dao, Wan Shu, must be an impeccable person whose every action conforms to the Datong Dao's ideals.

But her disciples, her students, and the forces under her command do not have to do so.

Because people's eyes were only on her.

Wan Shu felt sad whenever she saw the students of Datongdao and watched Tianming do things that went against his ideals.

She wanted to stop them, but didn't know how to start.

She wanted to criticize them, but didn't know what reasoning to use to do so.

Wan Shu knew in her heart that they had not done anything wrong, and these were things that had to be done.

Some things just have to be done by someone.

In order to gain support, necessary sacrifices are always unavoidable.

To win, to achieve ideals, compromise and darkness are acceptable.

How can the road to victory be all sunshine and rainbows?

All of this boils down to the word "moderation".

……

Caterpillars crawl across the soil, butterflies flit among the branches and leaves, and burning paper money turns to ashes in the flames.

As the sun set, Wan Shu looked up at the sky and let out a long sigh.

"Sir, the Great Harmony Path has ultimately taken a completely different path from its beginning, and I've become at a loss as to what to do next..."

"Sir, Wanshu is old, so old that she can no longer see the world clearly, nor can she distinguish right from wrong."

"Sir, Wan Shu really doesn't know... if the world you want will ever come true..."

As the setting sun cast its rays down the riverbank, an elderly man with graying temples, his body hunched over, slowly descended the hill.

……

In December of the 100th year of the Qiming era, Qi'an City and its surrounding areas fell completely.

In the struggle for control of Qi'an City, the Southern Frontier and Qishan Road engaged in several large-scale conflicts in Qi'an City.

Ultimately, due to the need to simultaneously deal with the attack from Dongqi, Mu Yong ordered a temporary withdrawal of troops, abandoning Qi'an City to consolidate the gains of this northward campaign.

……

January of the following year.

Bai Xi, the King of Southern Xinjiang, ascended the throne in Qi'an City and moved the capital to Shuzhou City.

Baixi changed the country's name to "Shi" and established the Great Shi Empire.

February.

King Mu Yong of Qishan, using the names of the Five Elements True Lord and the Five Spirit Mystic Maiden, claimed that his monarchy was divinely ordained and ascended the throne in Qishan Dao.

Mu Yong adopted "Ling" as the name of his country, proclaiming to the world that the Great Ling Empire was the legitimate successor of the Heavenly Revelation Domain.

March.

With Shen Yunwei's support, Shen Zhixin, the King of the Northern Territory, ascended the throne and established the Lingbei Empire.

……