Chapter 753 - Old Friends Within the Deathless Tomb Begin to Wake, Regrets Resolved, Fading from the Mortal World - Part 2

Li Yuan raised the Yearscribe, fixing his gaze on the name Jen’gal Naran. With one swift stroke, he crossed out the

0

beside it and replaced it with

3,000

.

Three thousand years of life drained from Li Yuan’s body, but compared to what he had, compared to what he

was

, it was a mere drop in the ocean.

As the years returned to him, Naran's body began to recover at remarkable speed. The old internal injuries, long buried, now mended themselves one after another. In just a few breaths, he had reverted to his former self, a towering warlord, muscles coiled like steel cables, eyes sharp as stars, radiating sheer dominance with every breath.

𝒻𝑟𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝑛𝘰𝓋ℯ𝘭.𝘤𝘰𝘮

Seeing what was happening, he realized his father had more people to bring back and didn’t ask questions. Instead, he walked up to Xue Ning and greeted her with a simple, “Second Mother.”

Soon after, another figure emerged on the back of an azure bird.

This time, it was a graceful, dignified woman, a beauty of poised elegance. As Li Yuan looked at Xie Wei, something stirred deep in his memory. Long-buried scenes flickered to life again in his mind, unbidden. And before he realized it, his heart wavered. For the briefest moment, a sliver of old longing returned.

Without a word, he struck her original lifespan with the Yearscribe, and quietly added three thousand years in its place.

With a soft gasp, Xie Wei awoke.

Her gaze found Li Yuan, and in a voice trembling with emotion, she whispered, “You’ve been well...?”

Li Yuan gave her a smile. “The seas have turned, the mulberries changed to fields... But yes, I’m still here.”

Xie Wei smiled back, a complex expression, somewhere between sorrow, nostalgia, and something unspoken. She didn’t break down like Xue Ning had. She didn’t ask about Xie Yu. Instead, she simply dusted off the creases in her gown and moved silently to one side.

Naran, unfamiliar with this woman, still offered a hesitant, “Stepmother...”

Xie Wei looked at the tall young man and, recognizing who he must be, teased with a sly grin, “Not just your stepmother. I’m also the real mother of the Human Emperor.”

“What...?” Naran blinked.

He whipped his head toward Li Yuan, eyes wide like saucers.

Li Yuan cleared his throat and raised a hand awkwardly. “We’ll...talk about that later. Slowly. Very slowly.”

Quickly changing the subject, he turned toward the next arrival.

This one was an elderly woman.

She was none other than the mother of Li Dao, the founding emperor of the Great Tang Dynasty. Known to history as Empress Dowager Li Youning, she had once ruled from behind the curtain during the early years of the empire, wise, firm, and deeply respected.

Now, more than 250 years since the Great Tang was founded, the Empress Dowager was returning to the world of the living.

Li Yuan lifted the Yearscribe once more and rewrote her fate.

Her silver-white hair darkened into silky black. The cloudy dullness in her eyes sharpened and cleared, a youthful vigor returning to her gaze. Though she still wore the grand robes of a dowager empress, the figure beneath was strong and resilient. Her very stance radiated power, proud, upright, and unshakable.

Just as she came to a stop, a voice called out from nearby, light and amused.

“Well now!”

Li Yuan turned to see Xie Wei standing with arms crossed, an unmistakable smirk on her face. She was watching the newly revived Empress Dowager with the air of someone about to gossip over tea.

“Looks like we’re colleagues,” she chirped, eyes twinkling as they lingered on Li Youning’s imperial garb.

The Empress Dowager offered Li Yuan a respectful bow. “Your Majesty.”

Xie Wei raised her brows and chuckled mischievously. “

Your Majesty

, is it?”

“...” A cold sweat ran down Li Yuan’s neck.

Li Youning turned toward Xie Wei. She actually knew very little about Li Yuan, but before sending her to the Deathless Tomb, he’d given her a rough idea of who he was. So, seeing the teasing woman before her, she guessed the relationship and bowed politely.

“And may I ask, Elder Sister...who might you be?”

Xie Wei said with a wink, “We’ve both worn the crown of Empress Dowager. Let’s stay close from now on, shall we?”

Li Youning blinked in surprise, but then gave a gracious nod and walked over to her.

Both women were sharp of mind, rich in life experience, and had once ruled from behind the veil. Soon, they fell into easy conversation, voices warm, expressions composed. One could already tell they’d get along famously.

Li Yuan quietly let out a breath of relief.

Then, one by one, he continued to revive the others, Snow, Cui Huayin, Jing Shuixiang, Yao Jue, and Zhen’er.

After that, he took his time, patiently explaining to them all what had transpired in the world over the past five centuries. Together, they began to settle into this new age.

Xue Ning opened a restaurant, not the old Ginger Tavern, but a new place named Yellow Crane.

Snow managed the household.

Cui Huayin, Jing Shuixiang, and Yao Jue all resumed their cultivation practices.

As for Xie Wei, she took Zhen’er with her to the Sword Sect and joined Xie Yu in training. There, mother and daughter were finally reunited. With a heart full of guilt over what she'd missed in her past life, Xie Yu threw herself into making up for lost time. She dragged Li Yuan over to examine their daughter’s condition in detail.

They discovered that Zhen’er, like many of Li Yuan’s later children, carried a wound in her soul. But unlike the others, she was teetering on the edge. She was close to being injured, but not yet over the brink. If not for that flaw, she might have become the most terrifyingly gifted cultivator of her generation. But fate, as always, had other plans. And in the end, she too slid toward the wounded side.

Meanwhile, Li Youning helped Snow run the Yellow Crane. From behind the scenes, she quietly observed the flourishing empire of Great Tang, her empire...without lifting a finger to intervene.

Naran was taken by Li Yuan to the summit of Mount Tai, near the entrance to the Underworld. There, in the heavy breath of Yin energy, he resumed his training in the cultivation of the Earth Soul.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Several days late.

Li Yuan returned to the top of Mount Tai with Yan Yu’s soul fragment by his side. Pointing to his second son, he said, “That’s him. What do you think?”

Then, glancing at his son, he added, “Call her Eldest Mother.”

Naran was stunned. He’d heard of Eldest Mother before during his time as the Khagan. Now that he knew firsthand how terrifyingly powerful she truly was, he didn’t dare hesitate. He dropped to one knee and bowed deeply in the manner of a junior.

“Eldest Mother.”

Yan Yu’s soul fragment responded playfully, “Yes, dear.”

Naran had no idea why the empress of the Underworld would act so...cheeky. But he certainly wasn’t about to ask.

Yan Yu circled him slowly, studying him. And in her eyes, his entire past life played out like a silent film.

After a long pause, she said, “A heroic figure, to be sure. But...not quite enough merit to his name. Still, since he’s

your

son, I suppose he’ll do.”

Li Yuan clapped his son on the shoulder. “Well? Aren’t you going to thank her?”

Even if he didn’t fully understand the cryptic exchange, Naran bowed once more. “Thank you, Eldest Mother.”

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

Another few days passed.

A stone tablet was delivered into Naran’s hands. It wasn’t just any tablet. It was a secret art stele.

Once one's strength reached the third rank or higher, such a stone would reveal itself, engraved with forbidden techniques of tremendous power.

Li Yuan said, “This is the Earth Tome. Your Eldest Mother created it. Study it well.”

Naran gave a solemn nod.

Li Yuan smiled. “You also have a senior brother. With any luck, the two of you will meet someday. You should get along. No bickering between disciples.”

“I understand, Father,” Naran replied seriously. “Brotherhood between disciples. I won’t forget that.”

Li Yuan gave a satisfied nod and turned to leave.

The Earth Tome, written by Yan Yu, held the path to cultivating the Earth Soul all the way to the second rank. Since Naran had chosen the Earth Soul path, Li Yuan couldn’t help but show some favoritism. He’d done everything he could to convince Yan Yu to pass that rare technique on to his son.

As for Naran’s senior brother, he was none other than Ji Hu.

Ji Hu, the very first judge of the Underworld, had long since gained the favor of the Primordial Earth Mother for his integrity and character. It was she who had already passed the Earth Tome to him.

˙·٠✧🐗➶➴🏹✧٠·˙

And just like that, sixteen years passed.

Everyone had found their place in this new world.

But Li Yuan still carried a trace of regret in his heart.

He once thought he needed the heart of a god, aloof, unshakable, and above it all. But after reuniting with his family, he realized...he could never truly let go.

He wasn’t a saint. He was a man, a sentimental man.

He had stopped watching the mortal world not because he’d severed all attachments, but because he finally understood what Yan Yu, Ji Hu, and Li Dao had been telling him all along. The world no longer needed him in that role. It had emperors to enforce law, sects to teach virtue, and the Underworld to uphold justice and reincarnation. What more did he need to meddle in?

He would do good, but not as some mythical sage creating miracles. He’d do good as a wealthy old man living in the capital of the Great Tang. And the Yellow Crane teahouse run by Xue Ning was already doing plenty of good in his name.

Only after recognizing this truth did he come to realize that the girl named Luo Lietong had become his one unresolved regret.

For Luo Lietong, her story had ended in fulfillment.

But for Li Yuan? It hadn’t. Not even close. In fact, it left a scar.

He’d tried to let go, believing that severing that last thread of human emotion would prepare him to sail the stars, to gaze into the cosmos without feeling lonely.

He was wrong.

But it was too late. Luo Lietong was gone.

On this particular day, Li Yuan sat in quiet contemplation, hunched over his desk, brush in hand, writing.

Ever since his last lecture in the imperial capital all those centuries ago, he’d grown in insight and understanding. Now, he was attempting to compose a

Human Tome

, a text he could pass on to someone truly worthy.

He wrote slowly, letting thoughts settle before they took shape in ink.

The faint scent of incense curled upward from a burner nearby.

Then suddenly, his heart stirred. It was a flicker of intuition, or a

summon

. Someone nearby was calling for him.

His senses spread outward in an instant, searching.

And he found it right at the entrance to Ink Square.

There, at the gate, a young girl in riding boots had gathered her courage and was shouting, “Lu Bu! Lu Bu!”

The girl’s appearance made it clear. She was the daughter of some noble household in the capital.

But right now, the maid accompanying her was pale with panic. Another maid had already jumped down from the carriage, tugging desperately at the girl's sleeve while casting fearful glances at the puppet guards stationed at the entrance.

Her voice trembled, nearly in tears. “Miss, this isn’t somewhere we can just show up. Not even the master dares to come here. P-please, let’s just go back, alright?”

The girl didn’t budge. Though visibly nervous, she seemed to have been instructed or guided. Gritting her teeth, she continued to shout, “Lu Bu! Lu Bu, are you there? Come out! Did you forget about...”

Before she could finish, a figure appeared in front of her.

He seemed to step out of thin air.

The moment he emerged, an indescribable pressure swept over the world like a crashing wave.

And that was with him trying to suppress it.

He’d arrived in too much of a rush to fully conceal his aura.

The moment that pressure hit, the maids collapsed to the ground, as if ants had suddenly been noticed by a dragon, so terrified their very souls seemed ready to scatter.

Even the girl turned white, knees buckling beneath her.

But she didn’t fall.

A warm, steady force lifted her up and held her there.

Li Yuan had fully suppressed his presence now, standing before her. With a wave of his hand, the surrounding world was sealed off from sight and sound. Only he and the girl remained in the isolated space.

Then he asked, “And who are you to Lu Bu?”

The girl was clearly terrified, yet she still managed to speak.

“I’m...” She took several gasping breaths, then blurted out, “You might not believe me, but I was his wife in our past life. I was reincarnated...and my memories came back. I've been trying to find him ever since. Someone told me that if I came to Ink Square and called out, I’d find him here.”

She glanced up at the man before her, this towering, incomprehensibly powerful figure who seemed more like a force of nature than a person, and murmured softly, “I’m not lying. I swear, I’m not lying...”

And suddenly, Li Yuan understood everything. It was Yan Yu. She had seen through him long ago.

So after giving Luo Lietong the memory-erasing soup...she had also quietly given her the antidote.

And more than that, she’d allowed her a rare blessing, to reincarnate with memory intact.

Those memories, once buried deep, had begun to resurface as Luo Lietong grew older.

And the moment they returned...she had started looking for Lu Bu.

And now, she had found him.

This time, Li Yuan didn’t lie. His flesh and blood reshaped itself. His face, voice, and presence all transformed into the man she remembered.

“I’m sorry,” he said softly, looking into her eyes. Then he held out his hand. “Will you still be my wife?”

Luo Lietong stared at him in shock, stunned silent for a long moment.

“You... You’re not joking? Lu Bu was never this powerful. I can

feel

it.”

But Li Yuan had already pulled her into his arms, holding her tightly.

“I’m sorry,” he whispered again.

And in that moment, the long-unhealed scar in his human heart...finally began to mend.