Covering the Sky: The Years I Was the Empress's Strictest Master

At that time, however, he was engaged in a fierce battle with Supreme Horned Void, and it was already nearing its end.

If they choose to come, they will miss the golden opportunity to swiftly and decisively kill the Supreme Horned Void, allowing him to react in time, resulting in failure and the complete collapse of the overall situation...

Perhaps if he had come directly there, he could have saved him before the Heaven-Opening Axe fell.

But there are no "what ifs" in this world.

Ultimately, he silently made a choice between the greater good and the safety of the other party, which is the source of the guilt he feels deep in his heart at this moment.

When he arrived, the Heaven-Opening Axe had already been severed, and Chi Yao had been harvested by the Supreme Lord of the Beginning Light.

He could only kill the Supreme Being of the Beginning of Light at an extremely fast speed, and at the moment the Supreme Being perished and his blood was sacrificed to the Immortal Ascension Cauldron, the Dao Laws collapsed.

Using the extraordinary power of the Soul Pearl, it detected a wisp of divine soul light within the opponent's "flesh and blood," a light that was on the verge of complete annihilation, yet to be completely obliterated.

They then forcibly gathered them together, barely managing to recreate that last bit of lingering resentment from the other side.

But that's it.

The opponent's physical body was destroyed, their primordial spirit was annihilated, and their essence was refined.

At this moment, this lingering regret, or what might be called a spark of inspiration, is nothing more than a rootless duckweed, like a candle flickering in the wind, ready to vanish completely at any moment.

Even with the elixir of immortality in hand, there was no way to turn the tide; the opponent no longer had a "container" to contain the medicinal power or the ability to refine the elixir.

"Feel sorry."

Tan Lin finally spoke, his voice unusually dry:

"I'm late."

This was the first time in so many years that he had shown such obvious emotional fluctuations in front of Chi Yao.

The trace of self-reproach he had hidden deep within finally seeped out from between his words.

Upon hearing this, Chi Yao seemed to realize something. She first pursed her lips, and then a faint smile appeared on her illusory face.

wow...

With light, graceful steps, her jade-like feet beneath her skirt touched the air, and her ethereal figure drifted closer.

Then, she reached out her almost transparent hand and gently, with a touch of intimacy, touched Tan Lin's brows, as if to smooth out the heaviness between his brows.

This is something she would hardly have done in her lifetime.

But at this moment, she was merely a wisp of lingering will, about to dissipate; she herself was already dead.

All the worries and anxieties seem to have become less important.

"Don't say that..."

Chi Yao's voice remained gentle, yet carried a sense of detached understanding.

"Brother, you have done very well. You have killed two supreme beings and won a chance for life for all living beings. What a magnificent feat!"

I merely happened to be there, becoming just one of the countless victims in this turmoil.

How can one expect you to be perfect in everything and protect everyone's safety at every turn?

As she spoke, she paused, her unreal eyes fixed on Tan Lin, her smile growing fainter, yet possessing a breathtakingly poignant beauty:

"To be able to see you one last time before I am completely gone, to say a few more words to you, makes my regrets lessened... What more could I ask for?"

Her gaze, as gentle as moonlight, fell upon Tan Lin, her voice seemingly capable of quietly touching his soul:

"Brother, you really don't need to feel guilty or blame yourself. The outbreak of turmoil and the spread of darkness are calamities of the times, not the fault of any one person alone."

And that you stepped forward and drew your sword for the sake of all living beings is enough, truly enough..."

The voice drifted into my ears.

Looking at the woman who had passed away but was smiling and comforting him, Tan Lin felt a pang of guilt that did not lessen because of her words, but instead became clearer.

He knew the other person was exceptionally talented, aspired to the highest ideals, and possessed an unlimited future.

If not for being born into this great age, one could have shone brightly and attained enlightenment.

But now, it's all for naught!

And the other person, in the final moments of his life, suppressed all his resentment and regret, and was even able to comfort him in return?

"you……"

Tan Lin opened his mouth, as if to say something, but was interrupted by Chi Yao gently shaking her head.

"I don't have much time left, Brother, please allow me to say a few more words to you, okay?"

She smiled, and a strange sense of sorrow welled up in her heart—the sorrow of being separated from her loved ones by death.

A flicker of trust in her sister and longing for her parents crossed her eyes, but it all turned into composure in the end. She said softly:

"If there is an opportunity in the future... please take good care of them for me."

Xuan'er is simple-minded and sometimes too stubborn. Her parents are getting old, and this 'big change' might have damaged their mental health... Anyway, please..."

I promise you.

Without the slightest hesitation, Tan Lin agreed in a deep voice.

"Thank you."

As she spoke, even with the slowed flow of time caused by the miraculous Soul Pearl and the Immortal Ascension Cauldron, Chi Yao's figure became increasingly transparent.

Starting from the hem of her skirt, it had already transformed into a series of poignant raindrops of light, and her figure silently faded away and vanished.

Finally, she looked down at her disappearing body, then looked up at Tan Lin. Her illusory face still held that faint, sorrowful smile.

"Brother, do you know?"

She suddenly spoke, her voice very soft, as if she were telling a secret that had been hidden in her heart for a long time:

Three years ago, when I had made some progress in practicing the secret arts of the previous characters, I had a dream in a daze.

The dream was long and vivid, yet... too ambiguous, contradicting my reality in every way..."

Upon hearing this, Tan Lin's eyes flickered slightly, but he did not interrupt her.

Chi Yao continued speaking, her eyes somewhat unfocused, as if lost in memories:

"In my dream, everything seemed to start over, and I... fell in love with a man."

When she uttered the word "love," a faint blush appeared on her illusory cheeks, though it was fleeting.

"Although the man's face in my dream was blurry, I could never see it clearly."

But for some reason, in my dream, I stubbornly believed... that he was you..."

"I fell in love with 'him' and we eventually became Daoist partners. There was no grand ceremony, no heavenly celebrations, only a tranquil starry sky and a bright, clear moon."

And... he played a piece called "The Rainbow Skirt" for me..."

As Chi Yao spoke, her smile deepened, and a gentle light appeared in her eyes:

"His piano skills are excellent, far superior to mine. I often lean against him, listening to the music flowing through the starry sky, and then dance for him. I feel that's just right, so right..."

"Later, we had a child..."

Her voice grew softer, carrying a tenderness unique to a mother speaking of her child:

"That child was extraordinary even before he was born. He could draw upon the essence of heaven and earth while still in the womb, and there were even sounds of the Dao when he moved. He... In your dream, you were very happy and nurtured him day and night with your own Dao principles, saying that you wanted to lay the best foundation for the child..."

"But..."

Chi Yao's voice lowered, and the light in her eyes dimmed slightly:

"The child didn't even have a chance to see the world... 'He' had an accident..."

She didn't specify what the accident was, perhaps even she didn't know:

"Years later, in my dream, I stood before the empty cave, holding my infant child, gazing at the bright moon he used to pluck for me, and felt... that though the world was vast, I had nowhere to return..."

"And that dream came to an end."

Chi Yao raised her head and looked at Tan Lin again, his silent figure reflected in her unreal eyes:

"I once thought that it might be a glimpse of the future from the secret of the past, but after thinking about it later, I realized that it was impossible. How could you and I have the chance to be together in this life?"

I didn't realize until I died that it was all a dream...

The me in my dreams is vaguely different from the me in this life; the you in my dreams... is also quite different from the you now. Will my real brother spend his life by my side in such an ordinary way...?

"But that dream was too real, so real that..."

Many nights after I woke up, I would gaze at the starry sky and unconsciously think of the song "Rainbow Skirt Song," the warmth of my baby's movements in my womb, and that last, cold moon..."

She paused, looked at Tan Lin, and said seriously:

"Brother, please take good care of yourself. You have done your best in this turmoil, and you have a clear conscience."

If something is impossible... don't force it.

This calamity is not your sole responsibility; do not... try to withstand it.

She spoke these words slowly, each word clear and solemn.

Tan Lin listened quietly, his eyes becoming as deep and unfathomable as an ancient pool from the moment she mentioned "dream".

When she uttered "him in my dream," his golden aura seemed to freeze for a moment.

When she mentioned "child" and "accident," his fingers, hanging at his sides, twitched almost imperceptibly.

When he finally said, "Don't try to tough it out," a crack appeared in the depths of his eyes, something as hard as ice.

He didn't speak, he just looked at her, engraving every word and every expression of hers into his heart.

"at last……"

Chi Yao's figure had mostly dissipated, with only the part above her chest barely maintaining its outline.

Her voice grew weaker, yet it still carried a hint of laughter:

"Until the moment before I died, I had a vague sense of déjà vu, and I think I finally understood that perhaps... it wasn't my future..."

"Or rather, that's me, yet not me..."

She sighed softly, a sigh that contained both relief and a hint of indescribable melancholy.

Even if there truly is an afterlife, even if a 'similar flower' were to bloom...

But by then, "I" no longer remembered my parents, Xuan'er, or anything from this life, nor...

She looked at Tan Lin, not finishing her sentence, but the meaning was self-evident.

"Then what is the meaning of the next life?"

As soon as he finished speaking,

Her last remaining illusory figure also began to dissipate rapidly.

The light rain fell in a breathtakingly beautiful and poignant way, like a grand yet silent farewell.

Tan Lin looked at the scene before him,

Watching this woman, in the final moments of her life, smooth the heaviness from his brow, recount his past dreams to him, offer him her last words of advice, and then calmly face her final demise…

His usually calm and rational mind was finally disturbed by a stone thrown into it, creating ripples.

"Then I'll let you... still be you."

Just before Chi Yao's last illusory figure was about to completely turn into a rain of light, Tan Lin suddenly spoke.

His voice was calm, yet carried an undeniable decisiveness.

next moment,

He no longer hesitated, his brow glowed, and the Soul Pearl of All Causes seemed to emerge, slowly rotating.

hum! ! !

On the Soul Pearl, ten of the sixteen deep crimson light spots that had been refilled with fireflies suddenly burst forth with an unprecedentedly brilliant light!

Then,

The fireflies within those ten points of light burned and evaporated at a speed visible to the naked eye!

boom……

A deep crimson light, like boiling magma, surged forth from the Soul Pearl.