Chapter 1745: May You and I Be Worriless

“Hahaha... You flatter me, flatter me!”

The Earthly Sovereign guffawed before Ye Qing could respond.

The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent cast him a look. “I’m praising them, not you. The hell are you throwing a fit about?”

The Earthly Sovereign said matter-of-factly, “One of them is my disciple, and the other my disciple’s friend. By praising them, you are praising me, are you not?”

The convoluted logic stunned the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent for a second. Then, he said disdainfully, “Your face is thicker than a mountain, old fart!”

The Earthly Sovereign beamed at him and repeated, “You flatter me, flatter me!”

The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent could not say anything. In terms of shamelessness, who could compete against the Earthly Sovereign?

The Earthly Sovereign ignored the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent and looked at Feng Qingyou smilingly. “Qingyou, right? What is your relationship with my disciple?”

Feng Qingyou answered, “We are friends. Friends who share the same life, death, and ideals.”

“Well said! Well said!”

The Earthly Sovereign beamed. “In life, it is not easy to find a friend who shares the same ideals as them, and a friend who is willing to live and die for them. To find both in the same person is even rarer. Such a person can only be called a soul mate.”

“You must cherish her, Joyless!”

Ye Qing declared without hesitation, “I will.”

“I pray that you will forever be unwavering and supportive of each other. I pray that you will climb the pinnacle of the Great Way together,” said the Earthly Sovereign as he looked at Feng Qingyou once more.

Feng Qingyou saluted him and said seriously, “That is my wish as well.”

“Good. Good.” The Earthly Sovereign smiled and touched her head gently.

A celestial touches my crown, making my hair and teaching me immortality.

The next moment, Feng Qingyou felt a surge of power entering her body.

The power was neither vast nor grandiose. However, it contained the mysterious air of divinity of the Dao and the indescribable power of Nature. As soon as the power entered her, she felt the flaws and chinks in her cultivation disappearing into nothing. Her body was evolving to become flawless, her mind was changing to become perfect, and her will was growing to become whole.

Originally, Feng Qingyou was still a ways away from creating her own Martial Domain and entering the second level of the Sage-stage. But now, all of the prerequisites had been met. If she wanted to, she could enter the second level of the Sage-stage instantly.

“Senior... this is...”

Feng Qingyou looked at the Earthly Sovereign, astonished.

“You are Joyless’ friend. As his senior and your elder, it is only right that I give you a meeting gift!” The Earthly Sovereign said smilingly.

Feng Qingyou looked troubled. “I feel that this is too precious a gift, senior.”

The Earthly Sovereign waved her off. “It’s just an air of divinity of the Great Way. It is nothing special. I only pray that my gift lives up to your expectations.”

“Of course, it doesn’t matter even if it doesn’t. It’s not like I have anything else to give.”

The Earthly Sovereign even cracked a joke.

“Your gift is greatly beneficial to this junior. I cannot even begin to express my gratitude for you, so why on earth would I disdain your gift?” Feng Qingyou replied from the bottom of her heart.

“Hahaha! I’m glad that you’re pleased.”

The Earthly Sovereign let out a bark of laughter before scanning the group. “Alright, I’ve done all that needs to be done, so it’s time for me to go.”

“Where are you going, old fart?” asked the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent with raised eyebrows. That was what he said, but he really knew the answer already. He just wasn’t willing to admit it.

“To my death, of course,” The Earthly Sovereign said frankly. “This wisp of consciousness of mine has fulfilled its duty, and its power will soon run out. Naturally, it is time for me to leave.”

Even as he spoke, his silhouette was growing transparent.

“Old fart!”

“Master!”

“Senior...”

All three people felt deeply saddened and reluctant when they heard his words and saw his state.

“Hahaha... there’s no need to be like this, really. I’ve been dead a long time ago; this is just my consciousness disappearing. There is nothing to be sad about.”

The Earthly Sovereign looked at the group with a kind chuckle. “Being able to meet you all, knowing that my legacy will be continued by worthy successors, and knowing that you are all safe and sound is enough to put me at peace. I have neither worries nor regrets.”

“The storm may approach, but my smile will not fade. I pray that you and I will all be worriless one day. My disciple, little serpent, Miss Feng, take care. I’m going now.”

The Earthly Sovereign laughed loudly as his figure abruptly disappeared like a bubble. Only his bright laughter remained in the world.

When the Earthly Sovereign disappeared, the painting on the wall burst into flames without warning and burned into ash.

“Goodbye, master.”

Ye Qing’s feelings were complicated to say the least as the painting on the wall disappeared in a small pile of fire. Although the Earthly Sovereign was long dead, and the one before him was just a wisp of his consciousness, his words were true, and his emotions were pure. How was he any different from the original?

And how could he remain unmoved?

“Damn you, old fart! Damn you, damn you...”

It was at this moment the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent suddenly launched into a tirade of curses. As angry as he sounded, Ye Qing could clearly sense that his sadness was on par with his, if not greater.

After all, the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent must share a deeper relationship with the Earthly Sovereign than him.

Ye Qing offered him a word of consolation, “Master has passed, but please do not be too sad, senior.”

The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent grunted, “Which one of your eyes saw that I’m sad. I’m just angry that I didn’t get to beat up the old fart before he escaped to the afterlife. That bastard!”

Instead of answering, Ye Qing spoke up as if he was talking to himself or sharing a secret with the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent, “Master told me that he wronged you and owed you a ton. He really cared about you a lot.”

The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent remained stubborn. “Like I give a shit about his concern!”

“That is why master gave me a mission. He commanded me to aid you in fully suppressing this Nine Nethers Rift and return you your freedom after I’ve slain the Four Evils!”

Ye Qing continued to speak as if he couldn’t hear the Stranger, “This is master’s last will and my promise to you. When the time is right, I will free you from this place and absolve you of your duty once and for all.”

“And here I thought he forgot all about me after finding his successor. I guess he’s not completely heartless after all.” The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent’s tone was scornful, but Ye Qing could also hear hints of delight.

Ye Qing immediately paid him a compliment, “Master would never forget about you, senior. My relationship with the Earthly Sovereign can never compare to the bond the two of you share either.”

The Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent looked even happier. “Naturally!”

The corners of Ye Qing’s lips curled up a little. The reason he was saying this was both to console the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent and to appease whatever grievances he might have had toward the Earthly Sovereign, and to ensure that the Stranger would not grow so aggrieved that he would say fuck it and ditch the Nine Nethers Rift. For obvious reasons, it would be bad if that happened.

In other words, comforting the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent was a necessary measure to ensure the continued stability of the Ghastly Abyss of the Lost.

He knew that it was kinda scummy and inappropriate of him to do this. He also knew that he was probably being unfair to the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent. It was perfectly possible that the Stranger never thought of abandoning his duty.

However, it was better to be safe than sorry.

But of course, petty scheming aside, he was telling the truth.

Once he had slain the Four Evils, and when the time was right, he would definitely help the Thousand-headed Demonic Serpent seal the Nine Nethers Rift completely and return him his freedom.