True Martial World Chapter 1709 - Ending (7) - Starting Point

Translator: CKtalon Editor: CKtalon

Restoring the Heavenly Dao couldn't be finished in a single day. Moreover, even as Yi Yun intended to return the Heavenly Dao and follow his personal Martial Dao, he required time to comprehend and fully grasp the Heavenly Dao.

At present, Yi Yun cared most about the Luo clan.

Compared to the massive factions in the Sinkhole, the Luo clan might seem insignificant, yet it remained a formidable family in the 12 Empyrean Heavens.

Luo Yan had a Connate Fire Spirit Dao Embryo, marking him as a natural genius within the Luo clan. They should have poured all resources into nurturing him, but his plain attire suggested he was just an ordinary warrior.

This indicated that the Luo clan was likely facing tough times.

“Luo Yan, what’s the situation with the Luo clan now?” Yi Yun gazed at the youth in linen clothes.

The youth looked anxious after suddenly drawing Yi Yun’s focus. The man before him was the supreme existence in the Sinkhole, having attained a realm beyond the grasp of all Sinkhole powerhouses.

“Senior... Senior Yi... you know about the Luo clan?”

In the vast Sinkhole, the Luo clan was minuscule. To someone of Yi Yun’s stature, it would appear utterly negligible.

The linen-clothed youth never imagined Yi Yun would be aware of the Luo clan.

“I have deep ties with the Luo clan from long ago. Is Luo Huo’er doing alright?”

Yi Yun spoke calmly then, yet anxiety clenched his heart. The Ancestor God’s calamity had ravaged the Sinkhole, and amid that chaos, Luo Huo’er was like a fragile spark that could vanish in an instant.

He dreaded that misfortune had befallen Luo Huo’er.

Astonishment filled the youth’s eyes as he stared at Yi Yun. He hadn’t expected Yi Yun not only to know the Luo clan but also Luo Huo’er personally, with a long-shared history. It was truly astonishing.

After a brief hesitation, he replied, “Sister Huo’er is okay...”

Yi Yun let out a deep breath of relief. This was the greatest news he could hear.

“Where is she?”

“Uh...” The youth faltered, not responding right away.

Yi Yun raised his eyebrows. “What’s the issue?”

“It’s nothing. Sister Huo’er just hasn’t seen visitors in ages. But for Senior Yi, I’m sure she’ll agree to meet...”

“Lead me to her,” Yi Yun said. He still had debts of gratitude to settle in the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven. Beyond the Luo clan, Felicitous Rain Lord resided there too—his master who had mentored him.

The Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven had undoubtedly endured the Sinkhole calamity. Yi Yun had no idea what fate had struck Felicitous Rain Lord.

He planned to visit the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven to clear that karma.

...

Over the century since Yi Yun departed the Sinkhole for the Chaos Heavens, the Sinkhole had undergone massive upheavals.

After mending Old Snake and Huan Chenxue, Yi Yun also restored Godly Monarch River of Forgetfulness. He merged a fragment of the Ancestor God’s remnant Dao into him as well.

These three ancient beings, who had endured for hundreds of millions of years, convened in the Mirage Sea Realm, waves of complex emotions surging within them.

By now, the Lands of Hope served no further purpose. The Sinkhole had returned to its true path, reborn through surviving the disaster.

Prior to leaving, the new sovereign of the White Lunar Divine Empire—Tianxuan Mengyao—gazed at Yi Yun with swirling emotions. Long ago, she had sought to temper her Dao heart in the Mirage Sea Realm. But encountering Yi Yun now, she saw he stood at heights she could scarcely imagine, filling her with awe.

Just before, Lin Xintong had formally passed the White Lunar Divine Empire to Tianxuan Mengyao.

Though Lin Xintong would ultimately depart this Multiverse alongside Yi Yun, the White Lunar Divine Empire was her lifelong home across reincarnations. She didn’t want it to fall into ruin.

Bai Yueyin chose not to face Huan Chenxue or the other ancient Godly Monarchs in the end.

She refrained from requesting Yi Yun to rebuild her body.

Instead, she lingered in Yi Yun’s soul sea, observing the reunion of Huan Chenxue and the others merely as a spectral presence through his eyes.

Witnessing Dragon King Old Snake’s delight and ease, Huan Chenxue’s ethereal grace, and Godly Monarch River of Forgetfulness’s composed demeanor, Bai Yueyin realized she no longer fit among them.

Thus, it was better she stayed away.

For hundreds of millions of years, her sole obsession had been escaping the Sinkhole Multiverse to venture into a fresh realm. There, she could potentially trace the path of the Human Emperor.

Long ago, she was just an innocent young maiden, yet now she had weathered the storms of existence...

Her intention was to depart the Sinkhole alongside Yi Yun.

—————

Upon ascending to the 12 Empyrean Heavens, Yi Yun's initial destination was the Luo clan within the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven.

Humans dominated the Sinkhole Multiverse, yet the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven stood apart. Fey formed the bulk of its population; still, after endless generations in the Sinkhole, their bloodlines resembled humans more than those of the Chaos Heavens Fey.

The Luo clan possessed a Fey bloodline too.

Yi Yun had come back to the Luo clan of the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven alongside Luo Yan. To his surprise, Luo Huo’er wasn’t there. The young man kept guiding him even after they arrived, toward a hidden spatial passageway.

Though the spatial passageway stretched on endlessly, Yi Yun traversed it in mere seconds thanks to his immense power.

Emerging from the spatial passageway's end, Yi Yun beheld a serene and peaceful realm.

Its Heavenly Dao was frail beyond measure, and Yuan Qi so sparse it barred cultivation, yet the birdsong and blooming fragrances of the landscapes created an idyllic haven.

In that instant, an inexplicable impulse to weep surged within Yi Yun.

This was the Tian Yuan world, he realized...

Return had finally come.

Prior to entering the 12 Empyrean Heavens, Yi Yun had ignited his martial arts journey as an ordinary mortal in the Tian Yuan world. Here, in the Cloud Wilderness, he encountered his sister Jiang Xiaorou; in the Tai Ah Divine City, Luo Huo’er; and also Lin Xintong.

All origins traced back to this place.

Yi Yun hadn’t foreseen revisiting the Tian Yuan world at the pinnacle of strength across the Sinkhole’s Multiverse, returning to the very spot where his odyssey began.

“Is Luo Huo’er here...”

No words from Luo Yan were necessary then. With eyes barely shut, Yi Yun’s perception swept over the whole Tian Yuan world in a flash. Soon enough, he located Luo Huo’er...

Her dwelling was his old home—Soft Clouds Mountain Manor.

“Sis Xiaorou...”

Emotions surging uncontrollably, Yi Yun softly summoned Jiang Xiaorou from the God Advent Tower.

She had accompanied Yi Yun upon his departure from the Chaos Heavens.

A crimson silhouette materialized next to Yi Yun.

Gazing upon Soft Clouds Mountain Manor, Jiang Xiaorou’s eyes misted over unwittingly...

A millennium had passed, yet Soft Clouds Mountain Manor stood unchanged. Still, Jiang Xiaorou understood that numerous structures had been reconstructed, the plants cycled through many generations, and the pond drained and replenished repeatedly.

Thus, Soft Clouds Mountain Manor lingered just as in her recollections...

This estate marked the moment Yi Yun first seized control of his destiny, after fleeing starvation and destitution.

Soft Clouds Mountain Manor evoked a subtle pull for Yi Yun and Jiang Xiaorou. Visions flickered of their arrival, with Jiang Xiaorou stubbornly handling tasks herself amid plentiful servants...

Soft Clouds Mountain Manor endured as before. The modest estate stayed unaltered, while the world bore time’s relentless scars.

Indeed, one shift had befallen Soft Clouds Mountain Manor: its master, now Luo Huo’er...

In the manor’s garden, Yi Yun spotted Luo Huo’er in blue attire, her hair casually bound, harvesting tea leaves beside a woman in white.

Yi Yun recognized the white-clad woman too. Back in the Ten Thousand Fey Empyrean Heaven, from the White Fox clan rivaling the Luo clan, he had encountered her—Princess White Fox herself.

Yi Yun had vied against Princess White Fox in the Luo clan’s trial grounds once. Later, fate reunited them in the Yang God Empyrean Heaven. Their shared past ran deep.

As the Ancestor God’s catastrophe ravaged the Sinkhole and demonic servants rampaged amid the 12 Empyrean Heavens’ imbalance, Yi Yun hadn’t anticipated Luo Huo’er and Princess White Fox forsaking their clans for the Tian Yuan world, embracing isolation from worldly strife.

Though cultivation eluded them here, and the Tian Yuan world faced inevitable doom with the Sinkhole’s decline—of which it formed a piece—what of it?

Ordinary mortals lead a hectic existence lasting roughly a century, enduring birth, death, sickness, and decay while tasting the delights and heartaches of life. Though their days seem far more pitiable than those of warriors in their transient forms, a mortal's life still boasts its radiant moments.

The natural hierarchy of existence may divide lives, yet human emotions—be they joy or grief—stand undivided by such distinctions in life's order.

For every individual, their joy holds equal measure. The same applies to their pain and torment.

The ultimate bliss for a scholar hopeful comes from triumphing in the imperial exams, while farmers revel in bumper crops. This matches precisely the elation from a warrior's ascension to Supremacy or Divine Lord realms.

Is there any fault in forsaking all quests along the Martial Dao to live fully as an unremarkable mortal?

“Xue’er, smell this. This year’s tea is really fragrant.” Luo Huo’er plucked a fresh bud and handed it to Princess White Fox.

Princess White Fox tilted her head down gently and inhaled it with care, then offered a faint smile. She nodded. “Yes, it smells great.”

In that instant, they appeared to detect something and turned their gazes over.

Through the verdant tea garden's expanse, a black-robed youth alongside a woman in red garments approached them unhurriedly.

An enormous span of time had kept them apart, during which vast shifts and storms had raged.

Yet now, this small group reunited at Soft Clouds Mountain Manor. Yi Yun progressed step by step, as if fording against the flow of a thousand-year temporal river...

This persisted until he arrived back at his origin.

Right then, nothing had altered.

His youthful visage endured, and Luo Huo’er still beheld the young man who had accidentally intruded upon her cultivation in the Tai Ah Divine City.

Yi Yun, too, seemed to glimpse that mildly vain, mischievous red-clad girl from the Tai Ah Divine City.

Life's peaks and valleys are nothing more than passing clouds. How splendid if partings and reunions stayed anchored to that first encounter. A millennium slips away with joy guaranteed, but what portion of sorrow does it demand in trade?

The End.

Author’s Note: There will still be one or two chapters as an epilogue.