Chapter 586 - 367: Master and Disciple Meet Again, Eternal Longevity is Not My Wish

Chapter 586: Chapter 367: Master and Disciple Meet Again, Eternal Longevity is Not My Wish

Before Yi Beidou could even begin to answer, Hong Datong had already launched into his story.

"My former self was born a thousand years ago, during the tumultuous era of the Five Dynasties and Ten Kingdoms. As a young man, he aspired to bring order to a chaotic world and help its people, but he repeatedly failed the imperial examinations. Coupled with the world’s corruption and the people’s terrible suffering, he grew disheartened. He retreated to the mountains to seek the Dao, discussing the methods of Cultivation with wise companions. He found success in fifteen years, and in twenty, he achieved Body Ascension. After a long period of tranquility, he yearned for activity. Looking into his own heart, he discovered the desire to help the world still lingered, so he descended the mountain and re-entered the mortal world."

"The Great Song Dynasty had just been founded. My former self offered his counsel and was even held in high regard by the Emperor of that era. He threw himself into the fray, experiencing the full breadth of the mortal world and witnessing all its suffering. Then one day, he had a sudden epiphany. Although the chaos had settled and the ruler was enlightened with virtuous officials, it was still just one family, one name, repeating the same old drama of dynastic cycles. When a dynasty rises, the people suffer; when it falls, the people suffer too. All the glory and prosperity ultimately amounted to nothing more than a Chapter in a history book, written with a pool of blood and tears."

"And so, my former self once again detached from the mortal world and returned to the mountains. He resolved to pursue the Longevity Dao. With single-minded focus, he progressed with great vigor. As his Cultivation grew, he gradually came into contact with the secrets that lay hidden beneath the mundane world, secrets stretching back for millennia."

"Secret factions, Ancient Ones, methods of reincarnation, alternative paths to eternal life... even astonishing secrets like the existence of ancient Earth Immortals. Only then did he realize how many prodigies from throughout the ages of humanity still survived in the world, secretly contending against one another. In their pursuit of the Longevity Dao, they would stop at nothing."

"However, after witnessing this magnificent yet dark side of the world, after learning of the existence of Earth Immortals, unlike the other Ancient Ones, my former self felt no excitement. Instead, his resolve to pursue Longevity wavered."

"The world yearns to become Earth Immortals, but they ignore one fact. No matter how powerful Earth Immortals were, they still perished in the forgotten annals of history, their very flesh devoured by others, their fates unknown to the world. What, then, is immortality? Who in this world can escape death? What, ultimately, *is* the Great Dao?"

"So my former self went into seclusion once more. He spent his days doing only two things. The first was to fall into long, deep slumbers, sometimes sleeping for a hundred days at a time. He would immerse himself in a dreamscape where every fantasy was real, a place where he could construct a perfect world. For this, people came to call him the ’Sleeping Immortal’."

"The second thing was performing divination. My former self tried to divine the future, to find the location of the Great Dao. However, destiny is nebulous, and human effort has its limits. That is, until one day, when he had an epiphany in a dream. He created the prototype of the Free Heart Technique and, performing his divination within the dream, received four words."

"Await those who come after."

"Thus, when his first life came to an end, my former self embarked on the path of reincarnation. However, unlike other Ancient Ones, what he pursued was the Great Dao, not Longevity. Therefore, in each lifetime, before wandering afar, he would always ensure his parents were cared for, bring fortune to his clan, and settle the karmic ties of that life. Over a thousand years, even when he had the chance to obtain Earth Immortal Flesh and Blood, he never once devoured and assimilated it."

"For eternal Longevity was never his desire."

Hong Datong spoke as if he were telling another person’s story.

And in fact, that was the case. From the moment Fu Yaozi abandoned his past lives to live only in the present, he was no longer the man he used to be.

It was as if a man of the present had inherited the complete memories of an ancient existence.

Yi Beidou did not interrupt, but simply listened in silence.

"A thousand years passed. Then, just over a century ago, human society underwent rapid development in the span of a few hundred years. The Great Trend of the world was completely transformed: the East declined as the West grew strong, and the smoke of war filled the world. And within that unprecedented wave of human history, something new was being born."

"My ninth incarnation—me—was born in that era. My former self encountered a new current of thought. Amidst that desperate crisis of survival, he witnessed the rise of an unprecedented movement. They harbored the noblest ideals of humankind: to create a new, perfect world and bring about the next evolution of human society."

"My former self felt that the divination from a millennium ago had come to pass. Thus, after nine lifetimes of Cultivation, I, Hong Datong, came to be. How could eternal Longevity possibly be grander than achieving a great leap forward for human civilization? *That* is true immortality!"

"I joined that movement, never once revealing my identity or my abilities. I charged onto the front lines of battle and secretly acted as a guardian for certain budding talents on the verge of the Saint Realm. But in open warfare, I never used that power which transcends the mortal world, not even when my closest comrades fell at my side."

"I believed then that creating a new world could not be done through individual might. Only by uniting everyone’s will as one, forging the collective consciousness of the people through blood, sacrifice, and hardship, could we pave a road to that new world."

"Everything seemed to be moving in the right direction. But perhaps it was the limitations of the era, or perhaps I had underestimated human nature. The great fire that had once set the world ablaze, though its Fire Seed was preserved, was still forced to compromise with reality and human nature. It slowly died down, flickering precariously."

As he spoke, a pained expression flickered across Hong Datong’s face.

Yi Beidou remained silent.

"So I withdrew from the mundane world once more. I realized that as long as we are bound within the cage of our era, we cannot reach the new world by relying solely on the spontaneous awakening of the masses. Someone needed to step forward and radically change the very foundations of the age."

"I turned my gaze toward the boundless Sky, toward the collective will of all people suspended high in that vast expanse..."

A sharp glint shone in Hong Datong’s eyes as he looked down at the illusory river beneath them, a river that surged without end.