Chapter 804: A Bond Without Taint

The bell tolled with a clear and melodious resonance, echoing across mountains and rivers!

Ripple after ripple formed from the bell’s waves, lingering in the air, imbued with the power of time and the brilliance of ancient eras.

Listening to the distant chime and gazing at Huo Ling’er—dressed in coarse linen, her face streaked with tears—Shi Hao’s heart surged with emotion. He reached out to wipe her tears away.

Huo Ling’er’s eyes were misty, a bittersweet smile on her lips. Reuniting with an old friend today felt like a fleeting dream, yet they had to part again so soon.

The bell had rung, shaking the land. It was the signal for the gathering of talents, the beginning of the great battle. She knew that at this moment, all three thousand provinces must be trembling in response.

“You will come back, won’t you?” Huo Ling’er asked softly, tears streaming down her jade-like face, her eyes shimmering with unshed sorrow.

“I will. I *will* come back!” Shi Hao declared. Though they had just reunited, the war bell had already sounded, summoning all who sought the path of immortality to the coming battle.

“Why do you have to leave again?” The little wolf grumbled, looking up at Huo Ling’er and then at Shi Hao before tugging at his pant leg. “Don’t go. Ling’er hasn’t been happy these past years, always hoping you’d return alive.”

Warmth filled Shi Hao’s chest, but his nose stung with unshed tears. The once lively and fiery girl before him had grown so quiet, so changed.

Huo Ling’er lowered her head, stroking the little wolf’s fur. “Little Wolf, don’t say such things. The gathering of talents from three thousand provinces—this is the last chance of this era. It’s too important. Shi Hao must go.”

As she spoke, a few crystalline drops fell onto her clothes and the ground, her voice trembling faintly.

A pang of reluctance struck her. Would they ever meet again after this parting? No one could say. Time could change so much.

Shi Hao opened his mouth but found no words. He truly wished to join the battle.

“Be careful,” Huo Ling’er said, cutting him off. “No glory or fortune is worth reckless risks. Protect yourself.”

Shi Hao nodded silently, warmth and sorrow mingling in his chest. Her simple words moved him deeply.

He stared at Huo Ling’er, then at the burial mound of his old battle garments, feeling strangely numb, unable to form coherent thoughts.

Once, there had been a woman who grieved alone, standing in silence, gazing into the distance.

So genuine, so pure—like crystal-clear seawater, like flawless jade. A precious simplicity.

Shi Hao felt a chord in his heart tremble, different from before. Beyond gratitude, there was reluctance, and something else—indescribable.

He had once been bold, even reckless, boasting about carrying the most beautiful “plump girls” back to Stone Village—a habit influenced by the village elders.

He had fought “plump girls,” planned to drag them home, and even mingled with fairies and noble maidens. Yet none had stirred his heart like this.

He didn’t know the future, but now, he cared deeply. The feeling left him dazed.

Perhaps it was the purity of her waiting, her selfless remembrance, that made it so beautiful, so moving.

His heart and spirit were stirred—not by beauty or desire, but by something purer.

“How many ‘plump girls’ have you carried back to Stone Village?” Huo Ling’er suddenly asked, wiping her tears with a smile.

“One, two, three…” Shi Hao counted on his fingers, feigning seriousness.

“So many?!” She pinched his ear lightly, her old playful spirit flickering through her tears.

“But they all ran away. I’ll have to catch them again,” he said, laughing.

“No heart,” the little wolf grumbled, tugging at his pants with a growl. Shi Hao blinked—was this a wolf or a mastiff?

“You… just come back alive,” Huo Ling’er whispered. Reuniting here made the world feel brighter.

The fiery mulberry trees cast a warm, serene glow, filling the air with tranquility.

Huo Ling’er’s smile was pure, her eyes still glistening. Shi Hao gazed at her—those large, spirited eyes, always veiled in mist.

Without thinking, he wrapped his arms around her in a firm embrace. “Thank you,” he murmured by her ear.

She said nothing. The quiet surrounded them—a simple grave, a gray wolf at their feet, two figures standing together in peace.

So silent, they could even hear the silkworms nibbling mulberry leaves.

*Dang—*

The bell tolled again, shaking the world.

Now, across the three thousand provinces, all young champions with dreams of supremacy would be stirring, their battle blood aflame.

“You should go,” Huo Ling’er said softly.

The calm shattered. Shi Hao had to leave.

“Not yet. This is just the selection for the ‘Ancient Immortal Realm.’ There’s still time,” he said, seeing the reluctance and worry in her eyes.

Indeed, Huo Ling’er feared that once he left, he might never return.

In the great battle of talents, who could claim absolute victory?

Through the ages, too many had fallen—even those once hailed as “the strongest.” Some ancient freaks, crowned three or four times, had met their end upon re-emerging.

Now, the survivors—those hidden for generations—were few, but they were the mightiest of all.

Shi Hao stayed a little longer, helping Huo Ling’er plant two young fiery mulberry trees and a bed of bright flowers.

“When you return, years from now, these trees will be tall, and this garden full of blossoms,” she said.

This parting might span decades—or centuries. The Ancient Immortal Realm’s final opening was unpredictable.

“I hope you’ll still smile like this when I return,” Shi Hao said, his heart heavy.

He wasn’t afraid for himself—only that time might change everything.

“Just come back safe,” Huo Ling’er replied.

“I will rise to the pinnacle, then return to show you the world’s splendor,” he vowed, his eyes blazing with ambition.

“Time changes all things. Just come back alive,” she said, her smile tinged with sorrow.

“What happened after you came to the Upper Realm?” Shi Hao asked.

Once a princess, now washing clothes by the river—what had befallen her these years?

“This isn’t the Lower Realm anymore,” Huo Ling’er said.

A Lower Realm emperor couldn’t command the same respect among Upper Realm deities and experts. They had to start anew.

At first, she and her father—descendants of the Upper Realm’s Fire Clan—were treated well, given royal estates.

But when their transplanted spirit herbs evolved into sacred medicines, trouble arose.

Her father, wise and decisive, surrendered the medicines and left quietly with Huo Ling’er.

Now, they lived simply.

“I’ve known wealth and glory. This simplicity feels right,” she said.

Shi Hao nodded. True contentment lay in the heart.

“And your father?”

“He’s been traveling for over a year,” she said, worry flickering. “You *must* come back.”

“He’s wise. He’ll return,” Shi Hao reassured her, promising to rise to greatness before coming back.

Leaving her with Thunder Tribulation Elixir, he finally departed.

“Goodbye—until we meet again!” Shi Hao turned and strode away.

Even from afar, he could see her figure at the edge of the fiery mulberry grove, waving, her eyes blurred with tears.

“How many years will this parting last? A century? A millennium?” Shi Hao wondered, his own vision growing misty.

“Take care. I *will* return!” he shouted, then soared into the sky, vanishing into the horizon.