445: Chapter 445 The Lord's Disappearance

Shadows wandered in the distance. Sensing his presence, they steered clear.

The Void Realm remained chaotic, yet for the first time, Gu Changkong felt there was light within this Chaos. The light was faint—a wisp of silver transmitted from the mark on his chest, a touch of gold refracted from the petals of the Flower of Sincerity, and the backs of those who had given him flowers, lingering in his memory.

The silver-white light gate slowly closed in the valley of the Meteor War God Realm, cutting off the last trace of the atmosphere from the Void Realm. The eight of them stood under the lights of the Spirit Plant Garden, all bearing varying degrees of injury, but no one was in a hurry to tend to them.

Luo Li stood on the stone steps, cradling the flowing sound zither with two broken strings, gazing toward the direction of the Void Realm. She was not looking at the Void Realm; she was thinking of Gu Changkong's final retreating figure. Chu Lan crouched in the Spirit Plant Garden, taking the Flower of Sincerity out of the jade box and placing it, pot and all, beside the fruit vine. The gold of its petals shimmered slightly under the moonlight.

"Do you think he regrets being over there all by himself?" Chu Lan's voice was very soft. The leaves of the fruit vine trembled, but did not answer.

Gao Feng walked into the cultivation room and placed the vajra sword on the stone platform. There were a few new scratches on the blade, left by the scales of the Shadow Giant Beast. They were not deep, but the sword soul hummed softly within the blade, as if reminding him of something.

He took the silver-white mark that Gu Changkong had returned to him from his robes and placed it alongside the crystallization of Liu Ruyan's obsession. The two crystals—one gold, one silver-white—shimmered in unison under the candlelight.

Gu Changkong had not taken this mark with him. He had said that if one day they encountered Liu Ruyan's Reincarnation in the Human Realm, they should return it to her on his behalf. But no one knew where Liu Ruyan's Reincarnation was. Perhaps in a hundred years, perhaps in a thousand, or perhaps there would never be a person named Liu Ruyan again.

"You are still lying to yourself." Tianxin's voice came from the doorway of the cultivation room. She did not enter, but stood outside the door, watching the mark in Gao Feng's hand. "You kept it because you don't want him to completely dissipate. You still want to see him again."

Gao Feng did not answer. Tianxin turned and left, the Spirit Fox curled up in her shadow, its tail covering its nose.

Deep in the Void Realm, the Shadow ruins.

Gu Changkong sat at the highest point of the ruins, cradling the pot of the Flower of Sincerity in his arms. The gold of the petals swayed gently in the shadows, like an inextinguishable lamp. The shadows curled up quietly at his feet, no longer wandering. He looked down at them, reaching out to gently stroke one of them. The form of the shadow trembled slightly, as if responding to his touch.

"You weren't born wanting to harm others, either," Gu Changkong's voice was very soft. "You were just hungry. Just like me, just hungry."

The shadows could not understand his words, but they did not move away. He stood up, holding the flowerpot, and walked into the depths of the ruins. The shadows followed behind him like a pack of cubs following their mother. He walked to the deepest part of the ruins, where there was a half-collapsed stone platform. The platform was carved with Formation patterns left by ancient Cultivators; it was the core of the Shadow Palace's self-destruction Formation. The palace had already largely collapsed, but the core of the Formation remained. As long as he activated it, the remaining Shadow crystals and Shadow energy would be swept into the spatial turbulence and completely dissipate in this Void Realm.

Gu Changkong placed the Flower of Sincerity on the edge of the stone platform, its petals swaying gently in the shadows. He crouched down and pressed his palm onto the Formation patterns, and Shadow energy surged from his palm into the patterns. The patterns lit up one by one, and a dark red light flickered in the ruins, like a heart about to stop beating. He was waiting, waiting for the last few people to arrive.

A silver-white light gate lit up not far away.

Gao Feng was the first to walk out, followed by Luo Li, Tianxin, Su Ning, Chu Lan, Yaoguang, and Lin Yue. Seven figures landed on the ruins. Chu Lan ran to the stone platform, and seeing that the pot of the Flower of Sincerity was still blooming well, she breathed a sigh of relief. Lin Yue stood on the periphery, alert to the surroundings.

"You shouldn't have come back," Gu Changkong's voice was calm.

"Are you going to activate the self-destruction Formation?" Gao Feng walked up to him without beating around the bush.

Gu Changkong nodded. "This palace was built with Shadow crystals, which contain the Shadow energy I have devoured over the years. If left unchecked, they will wander in the Void Realm and continue to devour passing living beings. It must be destroyed." He paused, his voice dropping lower. "It is also time for me to go. There is still residual Shadow energy in my body; if it is not completely purged, I will lose control sooner or later. But the purging process requires separating the soul from the shadows, and I cannot do it. Only the power of the self-destruction Formation can help me."

Gao Feng was silent for a long time. "Is there no other way?"

"There is. Spending decades or even centuries to slowly purify it. But I don't want to wait anymore." Gu Changkong looked down at the mark on his chest; it had already been returned to Gao Feng, but there was still a faint silver-white mark on his chest—the brand left by the mark. "Ruyan is waiting for me. Her seven lifetimes of ill-fated karma have ended, and her soul has entered Reincarnation. I don't know which corner she is in now, whether in the Human Realm or the Void Realm. But I know she is waiting for me."

Luo Li stepped forward, laid the flowing sound zither across her lap, and sat cross-legged in front of the stone platform. "I will play a song for you."

Gu Changkong sat down opposite her. Lin Yue retreated into the distance, Chu Lan retracted the Shadow-Eating Vine into her sleeve, and Tianxin held the Spirit Fox in her arms. Su Ning's spatial passageway was already opened, ready for evacuation at any moment. Yaoguang stood at the entrance of the passageway, cyan light gathering in her palm, providing final healing for everyone.

Luo Li's fingers touched the strings. She was playing "Requiem"—not the impassioned melody of battle, but the low, sobbing sound of a farewell. The music flowed through the ruins, shattering the remaining fragments of Shadow crystals into powder. Soothed by the music, the shadows lay quietly at Gu Changkong's feet, like a group of children seeing someone off.

Gu Changkong closed his eyes. The Formation patterns beneath his palms grew brighter and brighter, casting his shadow onto the ruins with dark red light. He took out a fist-sized dark purple crystal from his robes; its surface was patterned with flowing silver-white lines, identical to the crystallization of Liu Ruyan's obsession. The Void Core—the essence he had condensed over the years from devouring countless spirit items, containing extremely pure Space Power and Shadow energy.

"Take it. Embed it into the eye of the Wuxiang Spirit Gathering Array, and it can permanently reinforce the Spiritual Vein Seal. This is the only thing I can give you to make amends." Gu Changkong handed the Void Core to Gao Feng.

Gao Feng took the core without saying thanks. He tucked it into his robes.

"You should go." Gu Changkong's voice was calm, like a stagnant pool of water. Luo Li's zither music continued, without stopping.

Tianxin stepped forward and placed the Spirit Fox at Gu Changkong's feet. The Spirit Fox rubbed against the back of his hand, then jumped back into Tianxin's arms. Chu Lan picked up the Flower of Sincerity from the stone platform. "I will take this flower with me and take good care of it. When you return, I will give it back to you."

Gu Changkong looked at the potted flower, the corners of his mouth lifting slightly. It was his first smile, and also his last.

Su Ning opened the passageway, and Luo Li's zither music slowly tapered off on the final few notes. Gao Feng sheathed the vajra sword and walked into the passageway. Luo Li picked up her zither and looked back at Gu Changkong, who was also looking at her. "Your zither music is very pure. Thank you."

"You are welcome." Luo Li stepped into the passageway, and Chu Lan followed behind her, carrying the flowerpot.

The silver-white light gate slowly closed. Only Gu Changkong and the shadows curled up at his feet remained in the ruins.

"You should go too." He looked down at the shadows, pointing toward the direction where the passageway had closed. "Go there; someone will take you in. They won't harm you."

The shadows seemed to understand his words. They floated up from the ground and drifted in that direction. When the last shadow floated away, it paused by his hand for a moment, as if saying goodbye.

Only Gu Changkong remained in the Void Realm.

The light of the Formation patterns had reached its peak. The ruins of the Shadow Palace began their final collapse. Fragments of Shadow crystals peeled off the ground and drifted into the depths of the Void Realm. Gu Changkong sat on the stone platform, the Formation patterns beneath his palms drawing the last bit of Shadow energy from his body. His body began to dissipate from his feet up, turning into specks of golden light. The golden light drifted in the Void Realm like a swarm of startled fireflies.

He closed his eyes. Did Liu Ruyan also see such light before she dissipated? He did not know. But he hoped she had seen it. Because this light was beautiful.

Gu Changkong's body completely dissipated, and the last speck of golden light drifted toward the depths of the Void Realm, in the direction of the Wuxiang Sect, and also the direction of the Human Realm.

From a Genius Disciple of the Taixu Sect to a traitor who succumbed to Qi Deviation, from resentment drifting in the Void Realm to the Lord of the Shadow Palace, and finally to this nothingness dissipating into specks of golden light. His life had finally ended. He did not die at the hands of others; it was his own choice.

The eight of them walked out of the spatial passageway and returned to the Meteor War God Realm. Su Ning closed the passageway without looking back even once. Chu Lan placed the Flower of Sincerity in the Spirit Plant Garden next to the fruit vine and watered it with some time spirit spring; the petals swayed gently in the moonlight, not withering.

Tianxin placed the Spirit Fox into her shadow and walked into the cultivation room. She did not close the door, but sat on the stone bed, staring blankly at the moon outside the window. Luo Li leaned the flowing sound zither against the wall; the two broken strings were not replaced. Gao Feng stood at the cliff's edge, gazing toward the direction of the Void Realm.

There was nothing there, only endless darkness and the occasional twinkling of starlight. But he knew that deep within that darkness, there had once been a Shadow Palace, and a lonely Lord who sat on the ruins cradling a flowerpot, waiting for them to leave. And then he had turned into golden light and dissipated.

Gao Feng took the Void Core from his robes. The core glowed with a dark purple light under the moonlight, with silver-white lines flowing within it.

Tomorrow he would embed it into the Wuxiang Spirit Gathering Array to permanently reinforce the Spiritual Vein Seal. Gu Changkong had exchanged his own dissipation for at least a hundred years of peace in the Human Realm; he deserved a thank you.

"May you find true peace in your next life." Gao Feng gazed toward the direction of the Void Realm.

Tianxin walked out of the cultivation room and wiped the tears from the corners of her eyes. "Let's go back." The Spirit Fox poked its head out from her shadow and let out a cry.

Chu Lan crouched in the Spirit Plant Garden, watering the fruit vine and loosening the soil for the Flower of Sincerity. Yaoguang walked out of the pill room holding a bottle of rejuvenation pill. Lin Yue leaned against the cliff, staring blankly while holding a Formation Plate. Su Ning was deducing a star map, crossing out the coordinates of the Shadow Palace on the Void Realm distribution map.