Chapter 4451: Stay Alive

Lu Yin took Progenitor Chen to the top of Earth's highest peak. They let the planet turn beneath them as they stared up at the countless stars that drifted by like clouds.

For them, it actually made no difference where they stood. They could see the stars from anywhere. Just as Lu Yin had said, choosing Earth was simply for a good omen.

Ten years passed, and Lu Yin was still gazing at the endless stars. Earth had day and night cycles, but the two men’s sight went beyond the sky itself, so the stars never left their view.

After another ten years, Lu Yin was still observing the heavens, watching the stars that had already become familiar to him and hoping to incorporate them into the Starfist Manual to find a fist intent that belonged to him alone.

One decade, then another, and another and another. They had already spent forty years on Earth.

One day, meteors streaked across the sky. The night view was beautiful. Lu Yin lowered his eyes to observe Earth’s sky, the meteor shower, and the countless other people on the planet. Every meteor was like a burst of fist intent as it cut through the sky. He wanted to grasp those fist intents, but they were not real fist intents. Each one needed to be comprehended on its own. He could do it, but it would still take him a long time.

Looking over at Progenitor Chen, Lu Yin realized that, at some point, the man’s aura had become incomparably calm. The fist intent that he had comprehended over the course of 1,000 years in the Mirari Realm had completely dispersed. It had not vanished but rather had merged into the distant stars, one by one.

Those stars originated from Progenitor Chen, from his Cosmic Art. In the past, Lu Yin had relied on those same stars to defeat powerful enemies and save his respected seniors. Now, those stars carried Progenitor Chen's fist intent, and each one was linked to another. In this way, his fist intent had gradually spread across the entire sky.

Lu Yin knew that Progenitor Chen had achieved enlightenment. Asking the man to help him cultivate this battle technique had indeed been the right choice. Progenitor Chen not only possessed unmatched talent when it came to developing battle techniques, but he was also uniquely attuned to the stars. His Cosmic Art seamlessly connected with the Star Fist.

In Lu Yin's eyes, Progenitor Chen's Starfist Manual had changed.

One star after another arranged itself to form a familiar sky, like the Milky Way, but reduced countless times over. It gradually drifted up and ultimately revolved wildly around Progenitor Chen.

The man opened his eyes and raised an arm, throwing a punch. One star lit up. He threw another punch, and then another. The stars revolving around him lit one after another. It resembled both his Cosmic Art and the Star Fist.

With a bang, the sky trembled. A large expanse of stars lit up, and the power of Progenitor Chen's punches grew stronger and stronger. However, the interval between each punch also grew longer and longer.

Ten years, twenty years, and then fifty years passed. More and more stars lit up. Progenitor Chen continued to release his fist intent, and the Starfist Manual continued to expand, spreading outward across the Outerverse.

Lu Yin did not interrupt the man, and he simply watched as Progenitor Chen threw an unknown number of punches. At this moment, the power of each punch was already enough to rival the strongest beings beneath the Immortal realm. It had to be remembered that Progenitor Chen was only an Ortuser. The reason why he was able to fight across realms with a combat power that approached a peak Dukkhan’s was the Nirvana Tree Path.

The Nirvana Tree Path was the means by which many experts in the Trio were able to fight above their own realm, but for typical cultivators, the best that they could hope for was to challenge an ordinary Dukkhan while being an Ortuser, not a peak Dukkhan. The two were on entirely different levels.

Progenitor Chen had accomplished that, shocking countless people.

At this moment, by relying on his own, unique comprehension of the Star Fist, he had surpassed the level of a peak Dukkhan and reached the pinnacle level of power beneath the Immortal realm. With just one more step, the man would become an Aberrant.

At this moment, the human civilization had many experts such as Qing Xing, Dan Jin, and the Great Master who had long since reached the pinnacle of strength beneath the Immortal realm. Then, by relying on Immortal matter in battle, they were able to attain Aberrant-level combat strength with the Nirvana Tree Path. However, all of those individuals had already reached the pinnacle of strength beneath the Immortal realm. None had managed to accomplish Progenitor Chen’s feat, crossing realms to approach the strength of an Aberrant as a mere Ortuser.

Very few had ever accomplished such a feat, and Progenitor Chen had just joined their ranks.

Lu Yin was certain that, once Progenitor Chen entered Dukkha, he would achieve Aberrant-level combat power due to the combination of the Nirvana Tree Path and the Star Fist.

Another fifty years passed before Progenitor Chen slowly lowered his arm. He had thrown fist intents out for 110 years. Lu Yin had long since stopped bothering to count how many stars had been illuminated. This was Progenitor Chen's own Starfist Manual, and the stars that he had ignited were still far from enough to complete the entire manual.

Even so, Lu Yin was already satisfied. The fact that Progenitor Chen had reached this point proved that he was entirely capable of fully illuminating his own Starfist Manual. When that day came, the power of his Star Fist would be enough to stir anticipation in anyone.

At the same time, his success proved that this path was viable.

Progenitor Chen looked up to gaze at the stars for quite a while before he finally turned to Lu Yin. "My Starfist Manual is completely different from the one that you used to awaken me. Although I have stepped onto my own path, my path is very narrow, narrow to the point where it is hard to breathe."

"What do you mean, Senior?" Lu Yin asked, puzzled.

Progenitor Chen stared off into the distance in a daze. "I will broaden this path as much as I can. Also..."

He paused. "I am about to enter Dukkha."

Lu Yin was surprised, but quickly smiled. "Congratulations, Senior."

Progenitor Chen looked back at Lu Yin. "Wait until I enter Dukkha, and then we will verify the Star Fist together again. I believe that, at that point, I will have gained other insights. You don’t need to hurry."

"All right." Lu Yin understood.

Progenitor Chen left Earth. Lu Yin did not know where the man was headed, but it had to be related to entering Dukkha. He hoped that Progenitor Chen would be able to identify his true Dukkha.

Since Lu Yin was on Earth, he might as well visit an old friend.

His consciousness swept across the planet, and the situation on Earth instantly became perfectly clear to him. There were several old acquaintances still present.

With a single teleport, Lu Yin arrived in Jinling, where he saw Zhou Shan watering flowers in an old-fashioned courtyard.

Zhou Shan looked much older than before. After all, he had lived for several thousand years. In truth, his cultivation was still very low, and if he hadn’t forcefully elevated it through resources later on in life, he would not have survived as long as he had. He looked weathered by life, yet his spirits remained good.

Knock, knock, knock.

"Who is it?"

"An old friend."

Inside the courtyard, Zhou Shan froze while watering his flowers. He suddenly looked up. Is that... Lu Yin?

He hurried over to open the door, and sure enough, there stood Lu Yin.

Lu Yin smiled at him. "It’s been a long time."

Zhou Shan stared at Lu Yin, so excited that he did not know what to say. "Please come in! Quickly, come in!"

Lu Yin stepped into the courtyard with a smile. It was not large. Given Zhou Shan's status, he could have a courtyard of any size, anywhere he wanted. It would not be a problem for him to get some space even within the Heavens Sect. However, he had spent his whole life on Earth and never gone anywhere else. For him, material pursuits had long become a thing of the past. Memories were what mattered most.

"Sit. I will go make some tea." Zhou Shan bustled about, and Lu Yin did not try to stop him. Meeting an old friend like this made Zhou Shan very happy.

How long had it been since Lu Yin had last seen his friend? More than 2,000 years, most likely. Such a vast stretch of time must have felt like an entire lifetime for Zhou Shan, but for Lu Yin, it had passed very, very quickly.

His last visit to Earth had been 170 years ago. In the blink of an eye, 170 years had passed, but to Lu Yin, it felt like nothing.

Time might seem fair and impartial, but for different people, it could feel entirely different.

Lu Yin had been on Earth at different times, and he had seen Zhou Shan often, but he had never disturbed him.

Lu Yin compared his current visit to his last meeting with Zhou Shan and remembered the man and his daughter, Zhou Xixi, who had acted rather restrained. Now, despite Lu Yin's status being higher than ever, Zhou Shan was much more relaxed than before. He genuinely acted like he was just meeting another old friend.

Only after bustling around for quite a while did things in the house settle down. In front of Lu Yin were tea, snacks, and even a booklet.

Curious, he picked the booklet up and opened it. Inside were portraits of one person after another. "What is this?"

Zhou Shan explained, "I am old now, and I was afraid that I would forget them, so I painted them. Consider it my way of remembering."

The booklet contained pictures of the people whom Zhou Shan had encountered during Earth's apocalypse. Some of them Lu Yin recognized, and others he did not.

Some had even once been his enemies, but to Zhou Shan, they were all precious memories.

There was a picture of Li Hongliang, the strongest commander of the Jinling penal camp at that time, as well as the instructor for the new recruits, Feng Hong. There were also Luo Yun, Qin Xuan, Huan Sha from the capital, Elder Lian, and many others.

As Lu Yin turned through the pages one at a time, the memories started coming back, becoming clearer and clearer. He had not forgotten these people. It was just that, after thousands of years of memories, not to mention Lu Xiaoxuan's memories, many things in his past no longer needed to be deliberately recalled.

Zhou Shan was different; these were the only memories that he had. He had hardly ever left Earth throughout his entire life, so these memories were extraordinarily precious to him.

At the end of the book were pictures of Zhou Xixi and many others from Zhou Shan’s family. He had put his family tree in the same booklet as the people in his memories.

Lu Yin set the booklet down. "You can still live for a long time. Barring the unexpected, raw resources can push you into the Envoy level. There’s no need for this."

Zhou Shan laughed and waved a hand. "I refused those resources."

"Why?"

"Living a long life is certainly good, but watching old friends leave you one by one is painful." Zhou Shan gave Lu Yin a smile. "I am truly happy that you came to see me. I thought that I would never see you again in my life."

Lu Yin picked up the teapot and poured tea for Zhou Shan. If this were the Zhou Shan of more than 2,000 years ago, he might act somewhat more reserved, but at this moment, Zhou Shan was truly treating Lu Yin as an old friend.

After taking a sip of tea, Lu Yin looked back at the man. "Do me a favor."

Zhou Shan grew puzzled. "What could I possibly help you with?"

A hint of melancholy entered Lu Yin’s voice. "Help me to preserve my memories."

"What do you mean?"

"Stay alive."

Zhou Shan froze and then stared at Lu Yin. "Would that help?"

Lu Yin nodded and met the man’s gaze. "Everyone has the right to choose life or death. Your experiences may make you want to face death naturally. What I am asking is somewhat selfish, but to me, if you remain alive, it means that my past also remains alive."

"But there are many old friends around you."

"As time passes, even Immortals will die, let alone others." Lu Yin gently swirled the tea in his cup. "I know that, sooner or later, there will come a day when I must bid them farewell, one by one. You have already experienced that pain, and it has made you wish to face death naturally, but I have not yet experienced that."

Zhou Shan understood. "You hope to experience it later on."

Lu Yin’s voice dropped low, "The later, the better. I do not want our human civilization to reach its peak, only for me to look back and find that I am alone."

Zhou Shan stared at Lu Yin intently for a long time. You know, don’t you, that in the end, it will be exactly like that, right?

But he did not say those words aloud. His own experiences were already enough to make him willing to face death naturally, but compared to Lu Yin, the difference between them was far too great.

Lu Yin had experienced more, far more. He carried a much greater burden and shouldered far more responsibility. The time had not yet come, but when he needed to bid farewell to his old friends one by one, how much pain would he have to endure?

Zhou Shan let out a breath. "Xixi is dead."

Lu Yin already knew that, as there was a portrait in memory of her in the room.

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