141: Chapter 141 Return to the Undying Mountain

Return to the era that belonged to him.

Return to eight hundred thousand years ago.

Return to that Desolate Ancient Era before Ye Fan was even born.

Then, spend eight hundred thousand years nourishing that wooden stake, waiting for the Willow Deity to sprout anew.

And at this moment—

The portal closed completely.

Those fragments of time vanished into the endless Void Realm.

The surrounding turbulence of time and space began to subside rapidly.

The dancing fragments of time gradually dissipated, and the twisted Void Realm slowly recovered.

The Boundary Sea remained that ocean built from Remnant Worlds, with black "waves" still rising and falling, as if nothing had ever happened.

But Chu Tianjiao knew that everything was already complete.

The Willow Deity had completed her closed loop.

The "he" of the past, carrying the Willow Deity's remnant body, had returned to eight hundred thousand years ago.

And now—

Chu Tianjiao looked down at his own hands.

He could feel the surrounding time and space rejecting him.

It was the River of Time reminding him—You do not belong here; it is time to go back.

He raised his head, took one last look at that Boundary Sea, and glanced in the direction where the Willow Deity had disappeared.

Then, he closed his eyes.

He let that force take him away.

The light faded.

Chu Tianjiao opened his eyes.

What met his gaze was the courtyard of Undying Mountain.

The ancient tea tree of enlightenment swayed gently in the night breeze, scattering specks of Dao charm.

The immortal peach tree was rooted beside the spirit pool, its branches and leaves stretching out.

The human emperor banner hovered above Undying Mountain, scattering a golden rain of light.

The Tyrant Blade leaned against the wall, its blade occasionally shimmering with a faint light.

Everything was as it had been.

He had returned.

He had returned to the era that belonged to him.

Ye Fan's era.

It was the exact moment when the Desolate Tower had taken him, the Willow Deity, and the Azure Emperor away.

Chu Tianjiao took a deep breath and turned to look to his side.

There, a green figure stood silently.

The Willow Deity.

She was looking at him as well.

Their eyes met.

Neither of them spoke, yet they both smiled at the same time.

In that smile, there was relief, realization, and a tacit understanding that only they could comprehend.

The Karma closed loop was complete.

The Willow Deity understood why she did not remember the Desolate Tower, understood why she had appeared in that era, and understood everything she was about to experience—no, everything she had already experienced.

And Chu Tianjiao finally understood the ins and outs of everything from back then.

From beginning to end, they had been within this circle.

They had never left.

And they would eventually return.

"Teacher!"

A voice choked with sobs suddenly rang out.

The figure of Xiao Nannan was like a streak of white light, instantly throwing herself into Chu Tianjiao's arms.

Her arms wrapped tightly around his waist, and her whole body was trembling slightly.

"Teacher... just now, you suddenly disappeared... you scared me to death..."

Her voice was muffled against Chu Tianjiao's chest, carrying irrepressible lingering fear.

Chu Tianjiao looked down at her, his eyes full of tenderness.

He reached out, gently stroked her long hair, and patted her back.

"It's alright now."

His voice was very soft, yet it carried a power that put people at ease.

"I just went out for a trip; I'm already back."

Xiao Nannan did not speak, she just buried her face deeper and hugged him tighter.

Chu Tianjiao did not urge her, just held her quietly, letting her vent that emotion of having lost and regained him.

The Ancient Kirin Emperor walked over from the side, his gaze sweeping over Chu Tianjiao and the Willow Deity, then looking around, his brows furrowing slightly.

He waited a moment, and seeing Xiao Nannan's emotions settle slightly, he finally spoke.

"Where is the Azure Emperor?"

His voice was not loud, but it stunned everyone present.

Chu Tianjiao's movements paused.

The Willow Deity's smile also stiffened slightly.

The two exchanged a glance and saw a trace of—bewilderment—in each other's eyes.

The Azure Emperor?

That's right.

Where was the Azure Emperor?

Chu Tianjiao remembered clearly that the Desolate Tower had brought the three of them back to this era together.

He and the Willow Deity were both here, so the Azure Emperor—

He looked around, his Divine Thought instantly spreading out, sweeping across the entire Undying Mountain, across the entire Emperor Burial Star, and across every corner of the Big Dipper Astral Region.

Nothing.

There was not a trace of the Azure Emperor's aura.

The Willow Deity was searching as well, and she also found nothing.

The two looked at each other again, their expressions becoming complex.

The Azure Emperor was gone.

Xiao Nannan raised her head from Chu Tianjiao's arms, her eyes still a bit red, but her attention had been diverted.

She looked at Chu Tianjiao, then at the Willow Deity, and finally at the Ancient Kirin Emperor.

"The Azure Emperor... didn't come back with you?"

Chu Tianjiao was silent for a moment, then shook his head.

"No."

His voice was somewhat low.

"The Desolate Tower brought us back to this era, and after we landed, there were only the Willow Deity and me left."

The Ancient Kirin Emperor's brows furrowed even tighter.

"Could he have landed somewhere else?"

Chu Tianjiao shook his head again.

"I just swept across the entire Big Dipper, there is no sign of his aura."

The Willow Deity also spoke: "I have also probed; he is not there."

The courtyard fell into a brief silence.

The night breeze blew, and the branches and leaves of the ancient tea tree of enlightenment rustled, as if whispering about something.

The human emperor banner still floated gently above Undying Mountain, scattering golden rain of light, oblivious to all of this.

The Ancient Kirin Emperor looked at Chu Tianjiao and the Willow Deity, opened his mouth as if to say something, but ultimately did not say it.

He just sighed.

"Forget it. With the Azure Emperor's strength, he should be fine. Perhaps he landed somewhere else and will come back on his own after a while."

Chu Tianjiao nodded, not speaking.

But his brows remained furrowed.

The Azure Emperor... where exactly did he go?

Xiao Nannan leaned against his chest, sensing his emotions, and gently squeezed his hand.

"Teacher, don't worry. The Azure Emperor is so strong, he will be fine."

Chu Tianjiao looked down at her, pulling a smile to the corner of his mouth.

"Mm."

He said softly.

"He will be fine."

Over the next few days, Undying Mountain fell into a rare peace.

Chu Tianjiao and the Willow Deity each went into seclusion to organize the gains from this trip to the Boundary Sea.

Although to the outside world, they had only disappeared for a quarter of an hour, both of them knew that in that chaotic time and space, they had experienced too much.

Chu Tianjiao sat cross-legged in the quiet room, closing his eyes and focusing his mind.

In his mind, those images replayed repeatedly—the Willow Deity's back as she stepped into the portal, the moment the half-broken Desolate Tower floated out carrying the charred wooden stake, the instant his younger self reached out in confusion.

Karma closed loop.

These four words echoed in his heart for a long time.

He looked down at his own hands.

These hands had once received that wooden stake eight hundred thousand years ago, had once spent eight hundred thousand years nourishing that faint green light, and now, had witnessed the beginning of it all with his own eyes.

"So that's how it is..."

He murmured softly, a smile of relief appearing at the corner of his mouth.

From beginning to end, he had been within this circle.

He had never left.

And now, the circle was closed.

He could be at ease.

On the other side, in the Willow Deity's quiet room.

The phantom of that massive willow tree shimmered behind her, countless emerald willow branches swaying gently, scattering specks of life's radiance.

She sat cross-legged with her eyes closed, her aura flowing around her, deeper than before.

She remembered everything.

Those forgotten memories rushed back like a tide—the Desolate Tower, the Ancient Chaotic Battlefield, the four Quasi-Immortal Emperors, Shi Hao's back, and that final glance.

And, that young figure who had reached out at the end of time and space.

That was the Chu Tianjiao from eight hundred thousand years ago.

It was the Chu Tianjiao who had not yet experienced all of this.

It was her "child".

The Willow Deity opened her eyes, a tender smile appearing at the corner of her mouth.

"Silly child..."

She said softly, her tone carrying a hint of doting and a hint of emotion.

The cycle of Karma, so that was it.

She raised her hand, and a wisp of emerald light appeared in her palm.

That was the purest life essence of her Origin, the new power she had condensed after struggling back from the brink of self-detonation.

Now, she would make good use of this power.

For the future.

For those who were still waiting.