Chapter 481: Aftermath in the Mortal Realm, Meeting Old Friends, Ghost Ship! Mysterious Great Realm

‘I still have some time. I should go see my old friends.’

Su Bai set down his wine cup and murmured to himself.

With that, he strode out of the tavern.

The streets of the Great Xia Imperial City were as bustling and lively as ever.

Children played noisily in the streets and alleyways. Young men recited poetry, sharing knowing smiles with talented women.

Over the past eight years, the Great Xia Dynasty had been flourishing. It seemed to undergo immense changes with each passing period.

It grew more prosperous and stronger with every day.

“Brother Su Bai! You’re here!”

A short while later, Su Bai arrived at a familiar place. He saw Zhang Wei, now in his thirties, holding his two-year-old son.

Zhang Wei, still as cheerful as ever, pulled Su Bai into the back room.

Eight years had passed. No matter how dense Zhang Wei might be, he had long since guessed Su Bai’s true identity.

But by a tacit understanding, neither of them ever brought it up. Their relationship remained as strong as it had been back in the prison.

The morning sun rose, and all of nature stirred to life.

The two of them leaned against a corner of the courtyard, watching the white clouds drift across the sky and admiring the blooming flowers as they reminisced about the past.

From their first meeting to the prison riots and the purge of the Evil Cult.

Everything they had experienced seemed to grow remarkably clear in their conversation.

And yet, it also felt impossibly distant, lost to time…

As they talked, a moment came when they both fell silent.

Zhang Wei seemed to notice Su Bai’s form growing somewhat blurry. He shuddered, his gaze wavering as he spoke.

“Brother Su Bai, you…”

But in the end, he didn’t say it. Instead, he fell silent for a moment, closed his eyes, and sighed.

“Brother Su Bai, will we have a chance to meet again?”

Su Bai smiled and spoke slowly.

“If fate wills it, we will meet again.”

After that, they returned to reminiscing about the past.

They talked until the sun set in the west.

Before leaving, Su Bai channeled a trace of his power, along with some inherited memories, into Zhang Wei’s body.

“This wisp of power should extend your life by a thousand years.”

“Farewell, Zhang Wei.”

Having done this, Su Bai patted Zhang Wei’s shoulder and said with a smile.

Just like the day they first met in their youth.

“Brother Su Bai…”

Zhang Wei’s body trembled. Before he could get the words out, Su Bai vanished before his eyes.

Gone without a trace.

…

Late that night, Su Bai arrived at Jiang Guanshui’s palace.

Jiang Guanshui was now the new emperor of Great Xia. Under Su Bai’s guidance, his Cultivation had also broken through to the Nine Tribulations Realm.

There, the two of them chatted freely about matters great and small in the mortal world.

Su Bai also shared some amusing stories he had heard, which made Jiang Guanshui roar with laughter time and again.

It was just like eight years ago in that underground palace, when they first met and idly exchanged interesting tales.

Before he left, Su Bai also left some inherited memories for Jiang Guanshui.

At the same time, he gave him a piece of advice.

“Guan Shui, you must remember…”

“The water that carries the boat can also capsize it.”

Jiang Guanshui nodded.

“I understand!”

“Brother Su Bai, you…”

He was about to say something more, but he found that the Su Bai before him had turned into a wisp of white smoke and dissipated on the spot.

In that final moment, Su Bai’s words echoed in his ears.

“Farewell.”

…

Over the following period, Su Bai went to see one old friend after another.

Finally, he came to the depths of the Great Xia Prison.

By this time, his body had grown much more illusory.

It was as if you could reach out to touch him but would find nothing solid.

‘The Demon Venerable’s finger bone…’

He frowned as he looked at the Demon Venerable’s finger bone in the depths of the cavern.

Over the past eight years, he had gathered a great deal of information about this Demon Venerable, both openly and secretly, and had investigated many places.

Yet he still hadn’t found the slightest trace of him.

It was as if the Demon Venerable had never been revived at all.

However, Su Bai could faintly sense that the Demon Venerable had already been reborn. He was just using some special technique or treasure to block all attempts at scrying.

And regarding the Demon Venerable, he had a few theories of his own.

‘This being might be a special creature created by the Celestial Dao of the Jin Yun Great World. Its purpose would be to corrupt this world’s Celestial Dao and Spiritual Qi.’

‘In other words, this Demon Venerable should be the source of the world’s toxic miasma!’

This being had an immense background; he would not be easy to deal with.

‘Fine. I’ll seal a wisp of my Divine Thoughts here then.’

‘If that hidden Demon Venerable ever makes a comeback, this will be enough to suppress him with the flip of a hand.’

At that thought, Su Bai’s already-illusory body became even fainter, turning almost completely transparent!

At the same time, a terrifying stream of Divine Thoughts, alternating between gold and purple, shot out from between his eyebrows and vanished into the prison’s depths.

It disappeared in the blink of an eye.

“COUGH! COUGH!”

Having lost most of his Divine Thoughts, this Divine Thought Incarnation of Su Bai’s coughed a few times, feeling an unprecedented weakness.

‘My work here is done.’

‘I have no regrets…’

In his final moments, he returned to Cell Jia-Zi, the prison cell where he had first arrived. He lay down on the bed, his senses gradually fading away.

A moment later.

This Divine Thought Incarnation completely dissipated, fading into the world.

And with that, every last trace of Su Bai’s aura vanished from this world.

…

Time, it seems, can erase all things.

Whether you possessed peerless beauty and grace, unparalleled talent, or were a Saint revered by all the world, none could resist the tides of history’s long river.

The years flowed by. In the blink of an eye, thirty years had passed.

The once earth-shattering battle seemed to have been forgotten by the world with the passage of time.

The sun set and the moon rose; the wind blew and the clouds drifted. There was nothing thrilling or dramatic, only a placid tranquility.

The sky was blue, the wind was gentle, and white clouds drifted over the river’s surface.