Undying Life

Chapter 239: Thousand Years of Waiting

"Gathering disciples?" Princess Qianyou frowned.

"Gathering disciples, sending them to the immortal sect, hoping they'll obtain the Forbidden Breaking Pill?" Zhongshan suddenly recalled.

Surprised, Ruyan nodded. "Yes, sir, you've understood it correctly. That was my husband's plan. During this time, he wanted to cultivate while nurturing disciples, hoping that among them, some would catch the eye of the immortal sect and bring back the Forbidden Breaking Pill. Do you know what my husband always said?"

"What?" Princess Qianyou asked.

"I just need a starting point. Just one starting point. I will definitely do better than anyone else," Ruyan reminisced.

"Yes, there's a huge gap between the innate and acquired realms. Reaching the innate realm means entering the ranks of cultivators, being able to interact with many cultivators, and go to places inaccessible to those with only acquired cultivation," Princess Qianyou nodded.

"When my husband was eighty-four years old, there was an opportunity for disciples to be recruited by the immortal sect. My husband took all his disciples there. I went too. On that day, faced with the temptation of the immortal sect, the disciples fought desperately. In the end, two of them were selected. But those two disciples didn't ask for the Forbidden Breaking Pill for my husband. Instead, they followed the people from the immortal sect and returned to the mountain," Ruyan said sadly.

Princess Qianyou was filled with indignation, while Zhongshan clenched his fists, his eyes flickering with uncertainty. Suddenly, Zhongshan stopped, looked up, took a deep breath, clearly feeling tumultuous inside.

Princess Qianyou looked at Zhongshan curiously. What was going on with him?

"Sir, are you okay?" Ruyan looked at Zhongshan and asked.

"I'm fine!" Zhongshan took a long breath.

It was too similar. This master of the Xiao family was too similar to himself. It's just that he was luckier, and Zhong Tian finally obtained a Forbidden Breaking Pill.

"You continue," Zhongshan said.

At this moment, they had arrived in front of a room, and Ruyan gently pushed it open. In the northernmost part of the room, there hung a portrait. In the painting, a young and beautiful woman was Ruyan, while the other was an old man with white hair and a withered face. The old man was Xiao Bingyi.

The painting was lifelike, depicting an affectionate scene of an old husband and a young wife.

"This was painted when my husband was ninety-four years old. It has been hanging here for a thousand years, and I've been protecting it, so you can still see my husband's appearance from the past," Ruyan pointed to the portrait of the old man and said.

"Were you already in the innate realm at that time?" Princess Qianyou asked.

"Yes, I was in the innate realm. My appearance remained the same, but my husband's life was nearing its end. In his final years, I often saw him smile bitterly alone. My heart was always filled with sorrow. My husband asked me to leave and continue on the path to immortality, but how could I leave him alone?" Ruyan showed a trace of sadness.

"What happened later?" Princess Qianyou looked at Ruyan.

"A long time ago, my husband had already built a tomb. As his end approached, two years later, when my husband was ninety-six years old, he began to have trouble moving. Seeing that I refused to leave, in the end, we agreed to go hand in hand to the underworld," Ruyan said.

"Agreed to go to the underworld together?" Princess Qianyou felt a bit melancholic.

"We were husband and wife in life, and we will be husband and wife in death," Ruyan said. Then, she gently patted the wall corner.

"It's been a thousand years, and the mechanism is no longer working. Sir, please lift this floor tile," Ruyan pointed to a large tile in the corner.

At this moment, Zhongshan also felt heavy-hearted. Looking at the old master of the Xiao family, he wondered if he would end up like this if he couldn't obtain the Forbidden Breaking Pill. He immediately walked over and lifted the floor tile.

As the floor tile was lifted, a downward passage was revealed. Ruyan went down directly. Zhongshan also took out a Night Pearl and followed Princess Qianyou down.

The further they went down, the larger it became. Below was a large underground chamber with many compartments, looking extremely eerie and terrifying. But no matter how terrifying it was, Zhongshan and Princess Qianyou were both cultivators. With Ruyan, a thousand-year-old vengeful spirit here, what could be scarier than that?

Ruyan led the two of them around for a while until they reached the largest chamber.

In the chamber, there was a large stone coffin, very conspicuous.

"Right here," Ruyan pointed to the stone coffin.

"May I open it?" Zhongshan asked.

"Please, sir," Ruyan said.

Handing the Night Pearl to Princess Qianyou, Zhongshan gently pushed the coffin lid, revealing a slight gap from which a faint light emanated.

With a heavy heart, Zhongshan continued to push until the lid was fully open, revealing the interior.

There was some space inside the stone coffin, allowing air to flow in. At one end of the coffin lay a circular box with a tai chi yin-yang fish pattern on it. On top of the box, at the eyes of the yin-yang fish, were two wicks, emitting a faint glow—one flame lit, the other extinguished. Beneath the wicks was a peculiar kind of lamp oil that hadn't burned out even after a thousand years.

Inside the coffin, there was another set of bones lying on their side. Underneath the bones lay a pile of black ash. And around the neck of the bones was a necklace called "Heart's Knot," made from our blood back then.

Zhongshan didn't touch anything and instead looked at Ruyan.

"These bones are mine, and the necklace around its neck is the token of love my husband gave me back then, called the 'Heart's Knot.' It symbolizes our eternal unity, living and dying together, never to be separated. And that there is the Eternal Lamp made from our blood," Ruyan explained.

"Heart's Knot?" Princess Qianyou looked at the necklace, touched by the sentiment.

"What happened that day? How did you die?" Zhongshan furrowed his brow.

"On that day, my husband sent away all the people from our family and came here with me. He lit the Eternal Lamp, closed the coffin lid, embraced me, and we swallowed cinnabar together, preparing to go to the underworld," Ruyan said.

"Embraced you? Swallowed cinnabar? Did you swallow it?" Zhongshan asked, his brow furrowing even more.

"We did. He fed me, and I fed him. After swallowing the cinnabar, we hugged tightly, hand in hand, ready to go to the underworld together," Ruyan said.

"But, Xiao Bingyi disappeared," Zhongshan said, his brow furrowed.

"Yes, my husband disappeared. When I returned on the night of the Ghost Festival, he was gone. When I went out, I found that everyone nearby was gone too. With no one left, I waited here, waiting for my husband to return. But this wait has lasted a thousand years, and I'm tired, very tired. Please, sir, you must help me find my husband," Ruyan pleaded with Zhongshan.

"Miss Ruyan, you can rest assured. I, Zhongshan, have never broken my promise. But are you sure Xiao Bingyi is still in this world? After all, it's been a thousand years. His constitution may have perished long ago," Zhongshan said.

"No, he's not. His Eternal Lamp is still burning. As long as he enters the underworld, the lamp will go out. He may have died, but his soul hasn't dispersed, nor has it entered the underworld. He's still in this world," Ruyan said, pointing to the lamp with only one lit wick.

Zhongshan was puzzled, looking at Princess Qianyou.

"This is how the Eternal Lamp works. Blood is infused into the lamp oil with a trace of soul binding. As long as the soul is in this world, the lamp will not extinguish. Once the soul disperses or enters the underworld, the lamp will go out," Princess Qianyou explained.

"In that case, have you been to the underworld?" Princess Qianyou suddenly looked at Ruyan.

"Yes, I waited down there for seven days but didn't see my husband. So, I took the opportunity of the Ghost Festival to come back. However, when I returned, my husband's remains were gone, but his Eternal Lamp hadn't gone out yet, meaning he's still in this world," Ruyan shook her head, filled with sorrow.

"However, a ghost cannot stay in the mortal realm alone for such a long time. For a thousand years, unless someone keeps infusing you with yin energy," Princess Qianyou said.

Ruyan glanced at Princess Qianyou, shook her head without answering, and looked at Zhongshan. "Sir, can you find my husband?"

Taking a deep breath, Zhongshan looked at the stone coffin, feeling a mixture of emotions. Xiao Bingyi hadn't died, but in such dire circumstances, how could he survive? Not to mention his constitution, which was similar to his own. Even if they had swallowed cinnabar back then, it was a death trap. How did he survive until now? How did he live for a thousand years?

"Have the people who used to live near Xiao Fu ever reappeared?" Zhongshan asked.

"No, on the night of the Ghost Festival, there was no one left here. Soon after, the miasma enveloped the area. For a thousand years, I asked many mortals passing through this place, but no one knows, no one recognizes my husband," Ruyan looked at Zhongshan, shaking her head.

Zhongshan furrowed his brow. His heart was filled with mixed feelings because he had already guessed a possibility from Ruyan's words. But Zhongshan was unwilling to believe, unwilling to believe in that possibility because if it were true, it would also touch upon the soft spot in his heart.

"Could it be that Xiao Bingyi's disciples finally came back?" Princess Qianyou suddenly said.

Hearing Princess Qianyou's speculation, Zhongshan took a deep breath. At this moment, he had to face this contradiction.

"It's impossible. Xiao Bingyi's two disciples didn't care about him at all. They looked cold and disdainful towards us," Ruyan shook her head.

"Disdainful? At that time, you were extremely disappointed, so there might have been some bias in your perception. In any case, this possibility exists," Princess Qianyou said.

"No, it's not possible," Ruyan shook her head.

Taking a deep breath, Zhongshan looked at Ruyan. "Who can know what happened back then? Which sect took an interest in Xiao Bingyi's disciples? Let's go ask."

"It's impossible. They wouldn't come back," Ruyan said, disbelief in her tone.

"At least let's ask and see if they know anything about Xiao Bingyi's whereabouts. We have to ask to have a chance to find out," Zhongshan said.

"Okay, I only know that both of them joined the 'Azure Cloud Sect.' I don't know anything else," Ruyan said after thinking for a moment.

"Alright, let's go to the Azure Cloud Sect and see. We'll come back and tell you," Zhongshan said.

"No, I'll go with you," Ruyan looked at Zhongshan.

"Alright," Zhongshan nodded at Ruyan.