Chapter 1468: Reunion and Reminiscence

Alas, the most crucial latter half of the sentence was drowned out by thunder, obstructed by the might of the heavens.

What truly happens after ascending to immortality?

Shi Hao wanted to know, but across from him, lightning intertwined, blindingly intense, severing the vast sky and shaking the ancient river of time.

*Bitten by a dog?*

Shi Hao almost laughed. Was this Cao Yusheng after countless ages? What had he gone through to still be chased and bitten by dogs?

Yet, judging by his demeanor, it didn’t seem like suffering—just an unforgettable experience.

At the same time, Shi Hao felt a pang of sorrow. In that fleeting moment, his emotions were overwhelmingly complex.

Because the chubby Taoist before him was no longer the little fatty from Emperor Pass. He was now an immortal who had endured endless years of hardship. It was hard to imagine the trials he must have faced.

From those simple words, Shi Hao already knew—Cao Yusheng had been buried nine times, each time undergoing corpse transformation, clawing his way out of ancient tombs to cultivate.

How cruel was that? A living man buried nine lifetimes underground, relying on his flesh to reanimate, accumulating experience life after life.

Each resurrection was a new beginning, forcing him to endure the myriad flavors of mortal existence—joy, sorrow, bitterness, and pain—experiencing all the world had to offer.

Emerging from the grave nine times, he seemed to have gained much. But who truly knew how much he had lost?

Every lifetime had its unforgettable moments, its soul-deep connections, things he couldn’t bear to part with. Yet, in the end, he had to forget them all, walking alone into the tomb to bury himself once more.

If one truly pondered it, this chubby Taoist had endured far too much. Though he had become an immortal, how many regrets still lingered in his heart? The lost, the departed—things he could never reclaim or remember.

Even if he stood at the pinnacle of glory, looking back, he would still feel sorrow, unable to mend the laughter and tears of the past.

Moreover, Cao Yusheng had buried himself nine times, resurrecting through corpse transformation—a twisted form of reincarnation. But was he still truly himself?

Perhaps even he didn’t want to face that question.

After all, his original soul had long since decayed. Only his flesh remained unchanged. The consciousness born anew from his powerful body, though it eventually regained the memories sealed in artifacts, was still fundamentally different.

Shi Hao sighed, a bitter taste in his mouth.

*”After millions of years, or even an entire epoch, what remains?”* he asked himself, staring at the figure across from him. Even this old friend was no longer his pure, original self.

Shi Hao didn’t know what had truly happened over the ages.

But he did know this—time eroded all. The friends and family of this lifetime might already be gone, having either withered with age or fallen in battle.

From Cao Yusheng’s words, he sensed something ominous. That day would come eventually.

*”Huang, my brother, I’m still me!”* Across the void, as the thunder ceased, the chubby Taoist’s immortal armor shattered. He shouted as if he could read Shi Hao’s thoughts.

*”This isn’t just corpse transformation! I’ve cultivated nine reincarnation marks! I’ve truly remembered the past! I’m still me!”* he roared.

Despite his unfathomable cultivation, he was utterly unrestrained now, his emotions surging even more violently than Shi Hao’s. After endless years, he was finally seeing an old friend again.

Especially this friend—Huang, the man who had left behind countless legends, a brilliance unmatched, yet who had never reappeared.

The previous epoch had been too bloody, too dark, too cruel—beyond description.

Cao Yusheng’s eyes reddened. Seeing someone from the past standing before him again, tears welled up as if he had returned to his youth, reminiscing about bygone days—the happy times, the sorrows, the lively little rabbit who loved feasting and drinking, the ever-belligerent Heavenly Horned Ant, the mighty Ten Crown King… In the end, he could only sigh. *All buried by time!*

Most of all, the man before him had once held back the darkness alone, charging into the distance until he vanished.

Cao Yusheng had wanted to help, but it was impossible. The world had been collapsing, gods and ghosts wailing in terror.

And then, he had been buried beneath the underworld, left with nothing but regret.

He truly didn’t know if anyone had stood beside Huang in battle. If not, it was unimaginable—too bitter, too much to bear alone.

Even if that dark era had been buried, leaving only untraceable rumors, he knew the horrors that came later were ten, a hundred times worse!

So when he saw Shi Hao—still so young—he couldn’t contain himself. He thought of all the trials this tender youth would one day face.

He wanted to know, but he couldn’t.

As his disciple had said, he had been buried, interred in the river of time, unaware of the most critical events of that ancient history.

Seeing his long-lost friend before him again, still youthful, Cao Yusheng’s heart ached. Though he knew Huang was optimistic, he couldn’t help but fear—would this young man always smile? Or would he one day bear the heavens on his shoulders and fight?

But he remembered—at least before he left, Huang had still been laughing, if only wearily.

*”In the battle against the heavens, I believe you were the strongest of that era! You survived! But… why did you vanish?”* Thinking of how Huang had never reappeared, he couldn’t help but roar.

Seeing Huang from his youth filled Cao Yusheng with melancholy. He yearned to cross the river of time, sit with him, and talk everything through over wine.

But he couldn’t. No one could.

And knowing that in later ages, Huang had disappeared without a trace only made his heart heavier.

*”The world is vast. There’s always a place for me. I won’t die!”*

Though still young, Shi Hao had glimpsed a fragment of the future. He understood Cao Yusheng’s loneliness and sought to comfort him.

*”Right! You won’t! You’ll return! Haha… I’ll wait for you!”* Cao Yusheng laughed, though his nose stung and tears threatened to fall. A man who once roamed the mortal world with ease now found himself choked with emotion.

**BOOM!**

Thunder surged, carrying immortal mist and chaotic light—longevity lightning that struck Cao Yusheng relentlessly.

Even though their conversation hadn’t touched on forbidden secrets, hadn’t revealed events that could alter past and present, they were still punished by heavenly wrath.

This was power that could annihilate all things, slay supreme experts.

*”Why… am I not being punished?”* Shi Hao wondered.

*”Because that man forcibly drew the heavenly wrath onto himself, bearing it all alone,”* the female burial knight murmured, shaken.

What she had witnessed today was unprecedented, an event that might never recur even if one searched through all of time.

She had seen the heavens change—a secret history in the making.

Soon, the lightning faded. Cao Yusheng grimaced, cursing loudly, alternating between calling himself *”this Taoist master”* and *”this damned heavens,”* reverting to his old self.

*”What about… the others?”* Shi Hao asked, though he knew he shouldn’t.

Yet his heart trembled. He needed to know what had become of them.

Cao Yusheng understood. He was asking about that era, those familiar faces, those lands—seeking an answer.

But Cao Yusheng hesitated. Some things, even he didn’t know.

*”When I was buried, they…”*

Before he could finish, a bolt of lightning tore through his body, so terrifyingly bright that his flesh split apart, facing annihilation.

The heavens’ wrath was unpredictable, bent on destroying him.

Shi Hao’s face paled. Regret and guilt flooded him. He shouldn’t have pressed.

Clearly, the chubby Taoist had known this would happen, yet he answered anyway, fearless of death.

*”They… were with you!”* Cao Yusheng roared, forcing out those words even as the lightning nearly obliterated him.

But his power was immense. *”Tribulation Transcendence Art!”* he shouted, reforming his body at the last moment.

These words hadn’t violated major causality, so he survived. Otherwise, he wouldn’t have been able to speak at all.

Shi Hao’s heart lightened. There was hope. The path ahead wasn’t entirely dark—things could still change!

Yet Cao Yusheng’s own heart grew heavy. In the endless years to come, only Huang’s name remained. None of their other old friends were remembered. That likely foretold something grim.

He too wondered—what was the truth of that era? Why did it seem entirely sealed away?

Later generations studied that ancient history, yet only Huang’s name endured—the man who severed eternity with a single swordstroke, cutting off time itself.

Though Huang had vanished, Cao Yusheng knew that era had reached an end. After the final reckoning, an unnatural calm had settled, unbroken for ages.

*”I searched for you for years, but you were nowhere to be found. I scoured every realm, yet you never appeared again. Seeing you today… I’m overjoyed. Truly, I have no regrets now. It’s been so long since I’ve felt like crying.”*

Cao Yusheng did want to cry, but he laughed instead—though it looked more painful than tears.

He clenched his fists, took a deep breath, and forced himself to calm down, his expression turning solemn.

There were things he needed to tell Shi Hao, even if it meant divine retribution, even if it cost him his life. The young Huang had to know—the stakes were too high.