28 Moving On

Chapter 28- Moving On

"Naturally so." The Phoenix Empress replied. Although the three of them have known each other for millions of years, she and the Dragon Emperor were mostly unaware of Xiang Chen's past. Whenever they asked, he would shrug it off while saying it doesn't matter.

'After all, this might be our lasting meeting. I don't wish to die without even properly knowing one of my closest friends. I feel bad about lying, but this is our only option.' The Phoenix Empress thought as sadness filled her heart, but her facial expression never changed. Xiang Chen was extremely perspective, so she and the Dragon Emperor have been planning what they'll do in this meeting for over a month just to make sure he won't find anything suspicious before they were done with their preparations. The sudden talk about the past was not out of pure curiosity, but to make Xiang Chen focus on something other than them.

"I made a promise to my wife that she will be my only wife in this life. So naturally, I can't declare another woman as my wife. Maybe I'll get a harem for myself if I reincarnate?" Xiang Chen replied with a laugh, surprising both his friends.

"You have a wife?" Both the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress asked in unison. For a moment, they forgot the reason they came to meet Xiang Chen. When did he get a wife without even telling them?

"Had." Xiang Chen corrected them. "I even had a son, he was 9 years old. But now, it's nothing more than a memory from a very long time ago, even before I became a cultivator. Well, not technically since I was at Qi Transformation Realm when they were still alive, but you know what I mean."

Looking at the curious gazes of both the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress, Xiang Chen sighed and continued. "Before I started the path of Martial Dao, I was nothing more than the owner of a small tavern in a secluded Universe World. My wife and son helped me run that tavern. It was a tough life, but it was fulfilling nonetheless."

Xiang Chen's voice carried a lot of nostalgia. "But every good thing must come to an end. The city we lived in was not much developed in terms of cultivation, the city lord was nothing but a Saint King Realm Cultivator. I went outside the city to buy some supplies for the tavern, but when I returned, what awaited me was a destroyed city and the dead bodies of my family. After inquiring about what happened to the city, I learned that it was destroyed after the city lord ended up offending an Emperor Realm cultivator who was passing by to search for some buried treasures. Later, that Emperor would go on to become a Great Emperor in that Universe World. I swore an oath that every time I pick up my sword, someone must die until I kill the one who killed my family. It's a rather boring story if you ask me."

"Then what happened to that Great Emperor?" The Phoenix Empress asked. Although both she and the Dragon Emperor were sad after hearing what happened to Xiang Chen, showing him any pity would be an insult to his resolve to move on. Everyone has at least once experienced the loss of their loved ones, they were no exception.

"Oh, that? After reaching the Emperor Realm, I realised I couldn't become a Great Emperor since the world was at its limit already. Coincidentally, I was abducted by a female Dual Cultivator who came from the 3000 Worlds after she took a fancy to me thanks to my appearance, that's how I learned about Dual Cultivation. After some hard work, I was finally able to condense a Dao Seal in the 3000 Worlds."

Before Xiang Chen could continue, the Dragon Emperor interrupted. "Wait, your handsome face isn't because of the Secret Art you cultivate?"

To his question, Xiang Chen shook his head and replied with a smile. "It's the face I was born with, stop being jealous. As for what I was talking about, after I condensed my Dao Seal, I went back to the Universe World and got my revenge, and the rest is history. The female Dual Cultivator who abducted me back then is one of my top subordinates right now and the one who manages most of the things for me, if I am not wrong, you guys have met her once." Xiang Chen replied with a chuckle as four beads appeared on the table. Above each bead, there was a translucent image of a person. "As for the Great Emperor who killed my family, he is still with me."

"Human souls?" The Phoenix Empress raised an eyebrow as the Dragon Emperor looked at the souls inside the beads with curious eyes. From the looks of it, those souls were in great pain as they were being burned by a yellowish-brown flame.

"This is the Great Emperor I was talking about." Xiang Chen said, pointing towards the bead on his right side. The Soul inside that bead was that of a man who looked in his mid-thirties. "Following it is his wife, his son and his daughter. Their souls have been burning in special flames I developed to torture their souls. The pain is enough for even a Great Emperor to go insane but I make sure that they will never go insane by giving them some soul-nourishing resources now and then. They can neither get used to the pain nor die."

"... How long have they been like this?" The Phoenix Empress asked.

"Not long enough to make up for his sins. But now that I think about it, I should've taken his wife and daughter in front of him before killing him." Xiang Chen replied with a smile. "Alas, there is no medicine for regret, no matter how insignificant they are. I'll make sure to do that if I ever need to take revenge on someone else."

"See, I told you he's crazy." The Dragon Emperor said, looking at the Phoenix Empress while pointing towards Xiang Chen before turning towards the latter. "What did you do after that?"

"After that? I honestly had nothing much to do. I never planned on what I'd even do after my revenge was over, so I started messing around everywhere I went, and a few thousand years went by with me Dual Cultivating with basically any beautiful maiden I could find while practising my sword. It was during that time when I ran into you at the random Universe World I was living in." Xiang Chen replied, his voice filled with nostalgia.

"Then what about your oath?" The Dragon Emperor asked, not caring about the tortured souls. Since his revenge was already complete, he didn't understand why Xiang Chen would still oblige to his oath about swords.

"It's more of a habit now rather than an oath, but I still oblige to it nonetheless. When in my hands, a sword is a weapon to kill, nothing more, nothing less." Xiang Chen replied as the beads disappeared.

"Haha." The Dragon Emperor scoffed, looking at Xiang Chen's confidence. "With that kind of resolve, no wonder I never saw your sword falter in front of an enemy."

"My sword never falters as long as I decide to pick it up against someone. In all honesty, the only ones I won't pick a sword against are you guys." Xiang Chen said in a casual tone, but everyone present knew he was serious about this.

Hearing his words, both the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress felt the feeling of guilt, but there was nothing they could do about it.

Just as they were about to ask another question, Xiang Chen disappeared from his place, appearing a few meters away from them as an orange bow made of Sword Qi appeared in his left hand along with two arrows appearing in his right.

'How did he realise?' The Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress thought the same thing as they saw two arrows coming towards them, aimed at their chest. No, they were aimed at their Divine Spirit Sources.

Just as the arrows were about to hit them, a thin golden barrier appeared around them. The moment those orange arrows collided with it, they disintegrated.

"Man, you're as sharp as ever. But you shouldn't hold back against us. There was no killing intent in your strike." The Dragon Emperor said, getting up from the chair he was sitting on along with the Phoenix Empress.

"How did you figure it out?" The Phoenix Empress asked, not bothering to put up the act anymore.

"Did you really believe I wouldn't notice the disturbance in Time Principles here?" Xiang Chen asked with narrowed eyes, the bow in his left hand disappearing. That arrow was strong enough to kill a peak 7th Rank Open Heaven Realm Cultivator, but of course, it wouldn't work against those two. What surprised Xiang Chen was how the arrow disintegrated after touching that light barrier.

"The Dragon Crystal Palace." Suddenly, his eyes widened as he looked at the small palace that appeared in the Dragon Emperor's hand.

The Dragon Crystal Palace. The most mysterious and sacred treasure of the Dragon Clan. It was something that only a Dragon Emperor was allowed to see, but to be able to bring it here coupled with the regretful expressions on their faces, Xiang Chen was still unable to understand what happened during the time he was asleep.

Xiang Chen had once seen the Dragon Crystal Palace before after he won a bet against the Dragon Emperor. The bet was simple, he needed to seduce 30 female Ancient Dragons within a thousand years.

"We are sorry, Xiang Chen, but this is the only option we have left. Knowing you, you will definitely follow us even if it meant your death." The Phoenix Empress said, raising her hand as Xiang Chen realised something.

"The Phoenix Clan's Indestructible Parasol Tree." Xiang Chen muttered, unable to hide his surprise. It was the best Sacred Treasure to seal something, coupled with the power boost it got from the Dragon Crystal Palace, Xiang Chen was unable to even summon his Sword Qi, much less access his Small Universe.

"Give up, Xiang Chen. We came up with this sealing method to seal 'that' thing, you can't escape until it naturally disappears after a few hundred years." The Dragon Emperor said, walking towards Xiang Chen before placing his index finger on the latter's forehead and imprinting some memories onto his soul.

What Xiang Chen saw was enough to send shivers down one's spine. A Giant Spiritual God massacring countless Divine Spirits. A Giant Spiritual God was an existence far beyond a 9th Rank Open Heaven, hell, even if all the 9th Rank Open Heaven Cultivators were to gang up on one, they'd all still die. But there was a very familiar feeling he got from this Giant Spiritual God.

"A Black Ink Giant Spiritual God." The Dragon Emperor muttered, retreating his finger.

"What do you guys think you're doing? No one alive right now can defeat that thing except for the Sun and Moon siblings or another Giant Spiritual God." Xiang Chen said, understanding what these two were up to.

"We are just doing what we should as the leaders of Divine Spirits." The Phoenix Empress said, pressing her finger on Xiang Chen's forehead and imprinting some other memories on his soul.

"There is no need for you to get involved in this, so just wait here." The Dragon Emperor said.

"You fuc-" Before Xiang Chen could say anything more, the Phoenix Empress completely sealed all his movements.

"I doubt we'll make it back alive, but that doesn't mean you should throw your life away like this. After all, aren't you the human who will break the 2 Rank restriction in the Open Heaven Cultivation System? No point in foolishly giving up on your dreams." The Dragon Emperor said, ignoring the anger and sadness on Xiang Chen's face.

"Don't do anything stupid after we are gone, okay?" The Phoenix Empress said, a single tear falling down her eye.

"And I was serious about you inheriting my Source. You're the only one worthy enough for this King's Source, my friend." The Dragon Emperor said with a heartfelt laugh.

"Even if you get other friends, don't forget about us."

"Make sure to not accidentally die of oversleeping."

"Don't seduce a 9th Rank's wife this time, we won't be here to look after you."

"Both of us have left some techniques related to our sources. Find a nice girl to inherit my source, okay?"

There was a deep silence for a few minutes as both the Dragon Emperor and Phoenix Empress smiled.

"Although it might be a little selfish to ask you this; please live a long, happy life, for our sakes as well." With those words, the Phoenix Empress sealed Xiang Chen's consciousness for the next few centuries.

---

"Live a long, happy life? You hypocrites, is that something you say before committing suicide? That's why I hate self-sacrificing idiots." Su Mu said, lying on the ground with his face towards the ceiling.

"WHO GAVE YOU THE RIGHT TO TELL ME THAT, HUH? WHY DIDN'T YOU TAKE ME WITH YOU? YOU THINK I AM SCARED OF SOME DAMN SPIRITUAL GOD, HUH? I WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE DYING ALONG WITH YOU GUYS, THE HELL WITH BREAKING OPEN HEAVEN RESTRICTION, THE HELL WITH THE WORLD." The emotions that have been piling up inside his heart for millions of years were at a point where Su Mu couldn't help but shout out loud while hitting the floor with his fist, leaving a few cracks.

Another day passed in silence as Su Mu kept recalling the memories of his past as he calmed down after venting his emotions.

"You know, I couldn't find your bodies even after looking for a few decades, much less your sources. I thought I will never see you again until miraculously, the person who inherited your Source appeared in the 3000 Worlds, I didn't really pay much mind to it since I knew it'll be a different person from you. But even after all that, who would've thought that I will end up fighting your inheritor in a life-and-death battle?" Su Mu laughed a bit. "For the first time in my life, I didn't use my sword, the strongest weapon I cultivated my entire life, in a life-and-death battle, and ended up dying without even using my full strength. Can you believe it?"

"But I don't regret it. Picking a sword against your inheritor would've been an insult to our friendship, although I doubt you'd mind. But still, the battle against him was fun even though I lost." Su Mu looked at the Golden Dragon and Ice Phoenix from the corner of his eyes.

Su Mu got up as he felt a familiar presence approaching the hall before he turned towards the Golden Dragon and Ice Phoenix. "Although it's too late now, I'll still say it. Rest in peace, my friends. I will take your advice and live a long, happy life, alright? So don't worry about me."

'Well, I guess it's time to completely move on from my life as Xiang Cheng and embrace my life as Su Mu.'

Turning towards the entrance with a smile on his face, Su Mu saw Su Yan enter the hall with a calm and peaceful expression, but she couldn't hide the surprise on her face after she saw Su Mu already sitting in front of the energy ball that was levitating mid-air.

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A/N-

Alright, that's all for the backstory right now. The next ch will be from the present again.

As for a plot inquiry. Should Su Mu kill Yang Kai the moment he gets the Soul Warming Lotus, or keep him alive and go after his mother, cucking Yang Kai's father and ruining his life in front of his eyes before finally killing him?

Su Yan Lemon soon. MUAHAHAHA.