381: Chapter 381 is back

"..."

The back mountain.

After leaving the mountain gate, Lin Yang did not depart. Instead, he came to the back mountain of the current Holy Emperor Sect.

The reconstructed Holy Emperor Sect remained in its original location; even the placement of the Immortal Caves within was identical to how they were before.

Gazing at all the familiar old things, only to realize the people in his memories were no longer there, Lin Yang couldn't help but feel a sense of daze.

"The scenery remains, but the people have changed..."

Aili also couldn't help but sigh softly. Many years ago, she and Lin Yang had lived and cultivated together in this place for a long time, and she likewise held unforgettable memories of it.

Ascending the stone steps, the surrounding space felt somewhat secluded and quiet, with only the occasional sound of birds chirping.

When Lin Yang arrived at his former Immortal Cave, he did not conceal his figure. A hunched old man sweeping fallen leaves before the door discovered him.

After the old man turned around and saw him, he froze for a moment. Then, his lips trembled as he spoke in disbelief, "Saint... Saint?!"

Hearing this title that he hadn't heard in a long time, Lin Yang immediately recognized the white-haired old man before him.

It was none other than the Saint Elder who served as one of his two Protectors during his time at the Holy Emperor Sect—Qin Shan!

He, too, had fortunately survived that great upheaval.

However, his Foundation had been damaged and his cultivation was entirely lost. Thus, he had concealed his name to become an ordinary sweeping monk here in the back mountain, contributing his last bit of meager effort to the Sect.

"Ah, now I should address the Saint as the Heavenly Emperor..."

Although he had been reduced to an ordinary person, the name of the Heavenly Emperor had long since spread throughout the heavens and earth. Qin Shan had naturally heard of it. After a moment of daze, he quickly changed his form of address.

"Elder Qin, if you aren't used to it, you should still call me Saint," Lin Yang said with a smile.

Seeing another old friend alive, Lin Yang was naturally overjoyed. He personally extended Qin Shan's life, using a drop of Immortal Emperor essence blood to reshape his Dao Foundation!

Within just a few breaths, Qin Shan transformed from a withered, hunched old man directly into the Immortal Realm, becoming a Heavenly Immortal!

"When I first met the Saint back then, we felt the Saint was certainly no ordinary person. I never expected that our vision was still too shallow. The Saint's achievements today have long since far exceeded our horizons."

Feeling his own life energy suddenly surging and a Realm countless times stronger than even his previous Peak, Qin Shan looked at Lin Yang before him with a myriad of emotions.

Lin Yang sat on the ground with him in front of the door, conjuring tea and reminiscing for a long time.

From Qin Shan's mouth, Lin Yang learned that not many disciples of the former Holy Emperor Sect remained; most had died in the upheaval.

The previous Dark Turbulence was too terrifying, causing the deaths of over ninety-nine percent of the creatures in the entire Lower Realm. The reason Xue Changming and Qin Shan of their Holy Emperor Sect were able to survive was because of their acquaintance with Lin Yang; they only narrowly escaped with their lives due to the intervention of experts from the Immortal Alliance.

But not everyone could be so lucky.

In the face of the Dark Turbulence, even an organization as strong as the Immortal Alliance could not protect everyone's safety.

The other elder who, like Qin Shan, had served as Lin Yang's Protector, Liu Song, had also fallen during the upheaval...

Lin Yang sighed upon hearing this. It seemed many old friends were destined to never be seen again.

"Rest assured, one day, I will bring them all back!"

After a long while, Lin Yang stood up to leave, promising Qin Shan that one day, he would make those old friends reappear in the world.

Qin Shan was puzzled, because those people's Soul Flying Away and Spirit Scattering was complete; many hadn't even left behind a speck of ash. How could they reappear in the world?

However, he did not question further because he believed in Lin Yang implicitly.

After watching Lin Yang disappear into the distance, Qin Shan slowly restrained his own Immortal Dao aura.

After all these years, he had long grown accustomed to this life in the quiet back mountain where a thousand years felt like a single day. Now, although he had gained unparalleled power, he had no intention of leaving. Instead, he decided to continue concealing his identity and remain an obscure sweeping monk...

After leaving, Lin Yang visited the Lin Family home and the ruins of the Saint Essence Sect, among other places.

The Saint Essence Sect, though once one of the strongest Schools in the Eastern Wasteland, had been destroyed as early as when the Nirvana Venerable Lord led his masses to invade. Not to mention the later Great Dark Turbulence; very few disciples from the Sect had survived.

Now, it had become a mere shadow of the past.

And the Lin Family was even more so.

The Lin Family was originally a small Family. Any fame it once had was because Lin Yang had emerged from it. However, the talents of the other clansmen were very ordinary, and few attained the Dao. The mere passage of these tens of thousands of years was enough to wear down the lives of the vast majority of them.

Not to mention that in that cruel upheaval, where even Immortal Kings could hardly protect themselves, how many could have survived?

However, within this Lin Family manor that should have been lonely and deserted, the sounds of feminine chatter and laughter could be heard.

It was Nangong Xueli, Li Shiya, Shen Youchu, Mu Yunxi, and the others.

Several years ago, after assisting the Nine Heavens in eliminating the Hundred Eerie Clans, they had coincidentally all come here to stay.

Because, no matter how great the world outside was or how vast the heavens were, this was the Lin Family ancestral home—it was Lin Yang's home.

Seeing the girls all appearing here at the same time, Lin Yang's footsteps froze, and he felt a massive headache coming on.

This was definitely the greatest crisis he had encountered since becoming the Heavenly Emperor!

He turned his head to look at Aili beside him, only to find her wearing a mischievous smirk.

Clearly, she had known all along that the women were waiting for him here, yet she hadn't given him the slightest warning the whole way, just waiting to see his reaction upon returning home.

Lin Yang smiled bitterly; being a playboy is fun for a moment, but returning home is a crematorium.

The only saving grace was that the women seemed to get along quite harmoniously, with no signs of conflict.

Furthermore, the women had actually divided their positions themselves, with Nangong Xueli as the primary wife residing in the main room, while the other women each chose a side wing.

For several days in a row, Lin Yang rotated between the main room and the side wings.

Time continued to pass like this...

On this day, the sun rose in the east.

Lin Yang suddenly snapped his eyes open and leaped up from the bed.

"What's wrong?"

Beside him, Nangong Xueli and Li Shiya were startled awake. Looking at the solemn-faced Lin Yang, they asked softly in confusion.

Lin Yang did not speak. He looked up at the sky outside the window, his gaze piercing through layers of space, seemingly able to penetrate the stars of the heavens and reach the edge of the Universe.

His gaze extended all the way to the end of the Universe, until it stopped before a pitch-black Dark Portal...

At the same time.

Dong! Dong! Dong!

The hurried sound of a bell rang through the heavens. The bell tolled nine times, spreading through the myriad Realms of the heavens; it was the highest-level warning signal.

"They... have returned..."