Chapter 1817: Jingzhe Returns

Wild weeds sprouted rampantly on the desolate mountaintop. Li Luo had sat there like a stone for a year. His grayish-white short hair had grown so long that it touched the ground, mixing with the mud and grass. The man who was once renowned as the youngest Heavenly Emperor had lost all of his former glory.

His aura had receded and his resonant power undulations had declined day by day. He once had six palaces and twelve resonances, making him an unmatched genius. Without the Absolute Resonance Seed, however, his twelve resonances were dissipating, as it was the reason they had been born in the first place. All of his acquired resonances were now akin to rootless plants, doomed to vanish in time. There was nothing he could do about it.

As Li Luo's resonances dissipated, his strength had regressed along with them. As of this point, half of his resonances were gone, with only six remaining. On top of that, his Divine Fruit had long shattered. Suffering mental blow after mental blow had caused his mental state and body to plunge to their lowest point.

Yu Lang, Xin Fu, Li Fengyi, Li Jingtao, and the rest had paid him visits throughout the year. They had attempted to rouse him from his depression, but to no avail. He was like a stiff rock, his heart and mind sealed away from everyone else. Therefore, they could only leave in disappointment. This was a trial he had to overcome himself.

Spring came by and autumn arrived, marking the passage of yet another year. One day, an elderly man slowly ascended the mountain and sat beside Li Luo.

Sensing the familiar presence, Li Luo's dead eyes began to ripple with life as he turned his head to look at the old man. The once stern and cold chief of the Dragon's Fang Lineage, capable of silencing everyone with his very presence, had become a lot warmer and gentler than before.

It was Li Jingzhe.

Li Luo's lips quivered as his voice croaked hoarsely. "Gran... Grandpa..."

Li Jingzhe looked at Li Luo with eyes full of tenderness. His grandson had always been lively and confident, facing every situation with a radiant smile. However, the youth before him today had been greatly hurt and mired in depression.

Li Jingzhe warmly explained, "Just a while ago, Heavenly Emperor Jiang and the rest rescued me from the seal. Although I lost some of my source origin, my life was left unharmed. I found out about what happened to you and thus came over as soon as I could."

The old man who usually acted swiftly and decisively was suddenly rambling. "You guys were truly impressive. Even when defeat was inevitable, you managed to eke out a miraculous result. Taixuan, Ah Lan, Qing'e, and you. All of you performed perfectly. You're so much stronger than me. I never would have thought that you would reach such heights. I'm so proud of you."

Li Luo's eyes turned red as he replied in a low voice, "But all of them are gone."

Li Jingzhe shook his head. "They are all still alive. However, you have a heavy responsibility on your shoulders. For their sake, you cannot give up."

He then raised his head and looked at the Acheronian Sun and Blood Moon that never set. The majestic temples could be seen even from here.

"Especially for Qing'e's sake. She's done everything she could to buy you ten more years, only because you're the person she trusts above all else. She thought that by the time the seal is removed and she is in a state of unprecedented weakness, you will be able to stand before her and shield her from the oncoming storm."

Li Luo continued to gaze at the temples on the Acheronian Sun and Blood Moon with a heavy heart. He knew that Jiang Qing'e's trust in him was unequivocal. However, the opponent was the Dark Sect Master, a true tenth-grade combatant. Without his Absolute Resonance Seed, he had fallen to his lowest point. Just how could he repay her trust in him? This wasn't something that blind self-confidence could resolve.

No solutions had come to mind ever since he and Jiang Qing'e had parted ways. That said, Li Jingzhe's return had mended a small part of his weary heart, causing him to feel a trace of warmth. It was the spark he needed. There was something he still had to do.

He then reached out and grabbed Li Jingzhe's withered hand as he softly said, "Grandpa, I won't give up. It's as you said, Sister Qing'e has wholeheartedly done her best to earn me ten years of time. When she finally unseals herself, I need to protect her."

Li Jingzhe nodded with an appreciative smile.

Li Luo finally stood up, freeing his long, grayish-white hair from the soil. It reached his waist now. He casually tied it up, and the fatigue in his eyes faded away as he did so, replaced with a growing brightness. Unlike before, his eyes contained an element of profundity. He had experienced the vicissitudes of life and would now emerge from this stronger than before.

He lowered his head and stared at his palm. His power was far from its peak, as only four of his twelve resonances remained. In the beginning, he had strained his mind to come up with a method to stop or delay the dissipation of his resonances. Later on, he discovered that nothing he did worked, because the resonances never belonged to him. Thus, losing the Absolute Resonance Seed meant losing his resonances.

As Li Luo grew more and more tired, he let them go, no longer trying to halt the inevitable process. Over time, he came to the understanding that losing his resonances was perhaps a good thing, despite all the blood, sweat, and tears that he had put into forging and upgrading them. Thus, being inactive for two years was not completely due to his weariness, but also because he wished to see what would happen when all of the resonances dissipated.

At this moment, laughter rang out from the void. Heavenly Emperor Jiang appeared, beaming warmly towards Li Luo. "Congratulations, Heavenly Emperor Luo, on breaking free of the shackles of your mind. I'm sure you are destined for greater achievements in the future."

Li Luo clasped his hands respectfully towards him and asked, "Heavenly Emperor Jiang, have you found any clues regarding the ruins of the Sacred Void Resonance Sect's headquarters?"

Heavenly Emperor Jiang's smile receded as he shook his head and helplessly replied, "The Heavenly Emperors have spent the last two years combing through every single inch of the divine continents, even trawling through layers of the void. Unfortunately, we have not managed to discover anything."

Li Luo frowned upon hearing those words. Before Jiang Qing'e had transformed into the temples to seal the Dark Sect Master, she had clearly stated that he had to find the ruins to obtain the answers he needed. Alas, the difficulty of locating them was simply too great. Even with all of the Heavenly Emperors hard at work, they hadn't managed to find even a single clue. That said, this was not something that could be rushed. The only option was to quietly wait for the right opportunity.

Heavenly Emperor Jiang then smiled and said, "Even though we didn't manage to find traces of the headquarters, we did make some unexpected and positive discoveries."

"Oh?" Li Luo looked at him curiously.

Choosing not to beat around the bush, Heavenly Emperor Jiang directly explained, "We've found traces of Heavenly Emperors Xuan and Lan in the depths of the void. I've already informed the other Heavenly Emperors to form a void formation so we can attempt to retrieve them."

This pleasant news left Li Luo and Li Jingzhe dazed for a few moments before they turned to face another with faces filled with joy.

Li Luo pursed his lips as he raised his head and looked towards the temples in the sky.

"Sister Qing'e, do you see this? Father and Mother are going to come home."