Ignoring the gazes of many, Wu Tao looked at the place he once lived, touching the familiar soil, a hint of nostalgia and emotion in his eyes.
In this moment, he seemed to see a youth hundreds of years ago, practicing martial arts day and night on the peak!
Hundreds of years had passed, and so many things had changed.
Time, truly, was the enemy of all, and no one could escape it…
Wu Tao was no longer the Wu Tao of the past, and his former friends were no longer his former friends.
For most of them had been buried by time. Even if a few sparse friends remained, how much of their past affection could still be found…
If life were but a grand dream, perhaps being a mortal would be better than being an immortal…
Before leaving the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Wu Tao personally eliminated those who had schemed against and betrayed him.
In the past, the Wu Tao of that time couldn't see clearly, which was why he had fled Kyushu in a sorry state, heading to foreign lands to embark on his legendary journey.
But after centuries of experience, Wu Tao had long since understood the truth behind those past events.
After leaving the Taiyi Immortal Sect, Wu Tao first visited the Xu family, delivering some gifts and settling some matters.
Then, he turned back and, with a single sword, charged towards the heavily guarded Heavenly Demon Sect.
With one sword strike, he shattered the Heavenly Demon Grand Formation. Amidst the siege of tens of thousands, Wu Tao defeated Shangguan Jinghong, the ancestor of the Heavenly Demon Sect, and killed Zheng Qianqiu and others.
In this great battle, Wu Tao also saw Zhang Wan'er, a former rival. She had now advanced to the early Nascent Soul stage, her peerlessly beautiful face filled with astonishment!
Seeing this, Wu Tao slightly turned his head, offering her a faint smile. Under Zhang Wan'er's complex expression, he then gracefully departed.
Recalling the grievances and grudges of the past, Zhang Wan'er’s red lips parted slightly, about to say something, when she saw Wu Tao’s already vanished back. With a sigh, she murmured…
Wu Tao, with a single sword, suppressed an entire dominant force and retreated unharmed. This miraculous feat, once again, spread throughout Kyushu!
Many young cultivators, upon hearing this, flocked to worship Wu Tao, taking him as their lifelong pursuit.
Looking at these vibrant young cultivators, Wu Tao seemed to see his own reflection in them. Instead of driving them away, he offered them a gentle smile.
At over five hundred years old, he was at his peak, still on an upward trajectory. Alas, most of his familiar old acquaintances were no longer around. Even the few remaining ones had little time left.
Wu Tao decided to travel across Kyushu to see his old friends, as this might be the last time he would see them in this life.
Shangguan Yujie, who traveled extensively and rarely returned, was not present at the Taiyi Immortal Sect, so Wu Tao did not see his master.
Encountering Shangguan Yujie in Yangzhou was an unexpected joy.
…
"Master, it's been a long time."
Even now, standing at the pinnacle of the cultivation world, Wu Tao remained respectful towards Shangguan Yujie. This was because, in their master-disciple relationship, neither had ever schemed against the other, and both had acted with clear consciences from beginning to end.
Shangguan Yujie was over a hundred years older than Wu Tao. Considering the lifespan of a Nascent Soul cultivator was a thousand years, her remaining years were not many, and her chances of advancing to the Violet Mansion stage were extremely slim.
This meeting might be the last for the master and disciple. Shangguan Yujie and Wu Tao talked for a very, very long time…
Finally, Wu Tao let out a soft sigh, stood up, bid farewell to Shangguan Yujie, and departed.
There is no eternal feast. As long as one is true to their heart, that is enough!
…
Upon arriving in Yanzhou, Wu Tao casually dealt with the Cui family, who had betrayed him by selling information.
Watching the ancient mansion, burning in a blaze, Wu Tao felt neither hatred nor anger, only a slight shake of his head.
Those who owed him in this life must pay the price. No matter how much time has passed, what is owed must be repaid with interest…
Continuing south, when Wu Tao reached Xuzhou, he encountered his best friend, Long Ao Potian.
Hundreds of years had passed, yet Long Ao Potian remained as young, overbearing, and arrogant as ever.
Behold, Long Ao Potian, wielding a celestial spear, was hunting an adult true dragon. His spear light was like snow, his spear's might unparalleled. With a single thrust, the true dragon's head was severed!
Bathed in the blood of the true dragon, Long Ao Potian's eyes turned red upon seeing Wu Tao, and he let out a hearty laugh, delivering a punch to Wu Tao.
The camaraderie between men sometimes requires no words, a single action, a single glance, is enough to convey everything.
Following this, Wu Tao and Long Ao Potian traveled together, one seeking to see familiar old acquaintances, the other searching for celestial artifacts that could revive the dead.
To this end, they even traversed Liangzhou and entered a cultivation realm known as the Buddhist Kingdom.
Legend had it that the Buddhist Kingdom possessed the Samsara Grass of Three Lives, capable of bringing the dead back to life. However, after a long search, they still hadn't found it.
At Wu Tao's current level, there were not many things he couldn't accomplish. However, bringing the dead back to life was something that, no matter how powerful he was, he ultimately couldn't achieve.
The Wheel of Reincarnation, the Fruit of Reversal of Life and Death, the Divine Tree of the Other Shore, the Yellow Spring Regenerative Water, and other legendary resurrection artifacts – although Wu Tao didn't find them all, he found two or three.
However, after painstakingly searching, he discovered that these few legendary artifacts, rumored to be able to revive people, were all hoaxes.
While these artifacts possessed various wondrous uses, they were fundamentally incapable of resurrecting individuals.
To Wu Tao, these artifacts were of no value if they couldn't bring the dead back to life.
In his quest for treasures that could revive the dead, Wu Tao even directly stormed the ancestral grounds of the Buddhist Kingdom, slaying countless monks and dismantling the golden statues of Buddhas. Yet, in the end, he returned empty-handed and disheartened.
After this ordeal, Wu Tao realized that even Buddhas could deceive…
What reincarnation? What reborn Buddhas? They were all lies!
Xuzhou, Jizhou, Yanzhou, Qingzhou, Yangzhou, Jingzhou, Liangzhou, Yongzhou, Yuzhou – across the entire Kyushu, Wu Tao and Long Ao Potian traveled everywhere. They even ventured into neighboring cultivation realms, but ultimately returned with regret.
After years of wandering, Wu Tao and Long Ao Potian parted ways. Long Potian continued his cultivation journey, while Wu Tao returned to the Taiyi Immortal Sect.
"I'm sorry, I haven't found a way to revive you."
Wu Tao sat somberly before the graves, speaking apologetically to Xu Sheng in the tomb, and to Lü Yuehua, who was in the ice coffin within his storage bag.
In the past, he believed that as long as he was strong enough and had enough subordinates, he could revive them. Yet, after so many years, he had achieved nothing.
The longer the time dragged on, the smaller the possibility of resurrection became…
The more his own strength grew, the more he knew, the more he understood, the more helpless he felt…
"If only time could turn back, perhaps everything would be different…"
"That's right, if we could go back to the past, all these things could be changed!"
For some unknown reason, this thought suddenly popped into Wu Tao's mind.
If it were impossible for a mortal to travel back in time, then for cultivators, traveling back was not an entirely impossible fantasy.
Especially for cultivators like Wu Tao, who had comprehended the laws of time, this matter held a degree of controllability.
At least at this moment, Wu Tao felt that traveling back in time was more reliable than reviving two people.