Jiang Wenji's story left Jiang Wen in silence for a long time as he gazed at her familiar face, adorned only with a gentle smile. Her eyes held only the joy of their brief reunion, devoid of even a trace of regret.
"Was it worth it?" Jiang Wen asked.
"Perhaps not, but I don't regret it," Jiang Wenji said softly, her gaze drifting towards the distant, dilapidated Yuyun Capital.
"If I have any regrets, it's not spending more time with you back then. A human's life is too short; a hundred years is a lifetime for them. But my years are too long, tens of thousands of years existing only within that century. I am content to see you again today."
As Jiang Wenji spoke, her body gradually dissipated, like countless fragments of paper fluttering and scattering across the heavens and earth.
She turned to face Jiang Wen, a final tenderness gracing her beautiful face.
"You're still alive, that's wonderful..." The ashen remains vanished, transforming into countless particles that converged towards the distant, crystalline arm.
The blood mist in the heavens and earth was entirely absorbed by the arm, as if nothing had ever happened.
If not for the ruined Yuyun Capital still floating in the sky, if not for the enormous footprints left on the earth, perhaps no one would believe that an indescribable battle had taken place here, nor would anyone know that a supremely evil being, one who devoured billions of lives, had once existed in this place.
Jiang Wen stood above the sky, the fierce wind unable to stir his robes. His deep eyes fixed on the crystalline arm, he slowly extended his own hand.
The crystalline arm gently fell into his hand, its warm luster like jade, constantly radiating warmth in all directions.
"Wenji," Jiang Wen murmured, and the arm trembled slightly, emitting a milky white light.
He gently held the arm in his palm, gazing at it for a long time.
Behind him, the airship arrived, and the energetic voice of Jasmine Flower called out, "Hey!"
Jiang Wen looked at the damaged airship in the sky, bearing the marks of the impact from various forces. Four flying swords were protecting the airship, preventing it from being destroyed in the great battle.
He extended his palm, and the Four Symbols Flying Swords flew into his hand. Slowly walking onto the airship, he surveyed the chaotic scene on board.
"How is it?" Jiang Wen asked.
"It's alright, at least we managed to survive this calamity," Begonia Flower joked, her eyes searching behind Jiang Wen, as if looking for someone.
"Where is your friend?"
"She left first," Jiang Wen said with a smile, then fell silent, gazing into the distance. "Perhaps we'll meet again."
...
Begonia Flower's ship successfully landed in the sky above Mo City.
The massive ship, so grand when it set sail, was now dilapidated, like a shattered wooden bucket, with broken walls and ruins everywhere. The giant sails were torn, and the keel of the ship showed huge cracks.
If the ship's body hadn't been sturdy enough, Jiang Wen doubted that this airship would have been able to return to the port of Mo City.
Stepping off the ship, he saw Deng Luo waiting on the shore, a smile on her face as she looked at Jiang Wen and the others.
Once everyone had disembarked, Deng Luo, guarded by several mechanical puppets, approached Jiang Wen.
"I already know what happened in Yuyun Capital," Deng Luo said softly, her smile fading. "Although the evil demon escaped, it was no easy feat to protect this Sumeru Realm."
"Do you know the truth about the rebellion in Tianyuan City back then?" Jiang Wen asked curiously.
"Although I can guess some things now, I don't know what exactly happened back then. My father, Luo, and the elders of the Yuyun Clan always supported the Heavenly King. Then, Tianyuan City suddenly declared a lockdown, and my father drove a portion of the clan out of Tianyuan City. My father said there were traitors in the Yuyun Clan, and he had to quell the rebellion with the Heavenly King."
Deng Luo recalled the past, filled with emotion.
"I still remember that great battle to this day. The sky was stained red with blood, countless cultivators fell and died, and the once magnificent Tianyuan City was destroyed for the most part, leaving only a small, relatively intact portion. I was outside the city at the time, watching that earth-shattering battle. After everything was over, my father escaped with the Saint King's arm, and with his last breath, he told me what had happened. He told me to take the Saint King's body and leave Tianyuan City, to go to Buzhou Mountain, to go further away. So later, I became the patriarch of the Yuyun Clan, and I brought the clan here."
"There are also members of the Yuyun Clan in Yuyun Capital who betrayed the clan in the past and were cursed and expelled. I found traces of them in the Danqing records of the Mechanical City. It is said that after being expelled from the clan, they wandered outside, eventually finding this Sumeru Illusion. After being cursed by the remnants of the Saint King, they have been living in the mines below Yuyun Capital, even retaining some of the appearance and customs of the Yuyun Clan."
"I still wanted to see them, to lift the curse that has plagued them for hundreds of thousands of years. But I never imagined that the final result would be like this."
Deng Luo sighed deeply, a hint of sorrow in her eyes. But as the leader of the clan, she quickly adjusted her emotions.
"I'm sorry, I've made you laugh."
"Everyone has their own sad moments, you don't have to be so concerned," Jiang Wen comforted. "I'm preparing to leave here and go to the outside world, what are your plans?"
"I want to bring all the clan members whose souls are still present back to life, no longer living as mechanical puppets. After all, Yuyun Capital has been destroyed, and the Holy Spirit Stones used to make soul cores no longer exist. If we continue to live as mechanical puppets, perhaps no new machines will be born in the future. By the way, I also want to unite the remaining three capitals and let them know their origins and identities," Deng Luo said, describing her own plans, glancing at Jiang Wen from time to time. She had decided to stay in this Sumeru environment of machines, preparing to unify the entire machine world.
Jasmine Flower and Begonia Flower stated that they would do their best to assist the Mechanical Saint Mother and strive to leave their names on the Famous People List.
Jiang Wen stayed with them in Mo City for two days, preparing the talismans he would use after leaving.
He also found a few high-quality ores and used merit points to repair the damaged magical artifacts.
Watching the merit points drop rapidly, Jiang Wen felt a pang of heartache.
After experiencing the Sea of Blood and the Mountain of Flesh, his merit points had increased from four figures to six figures. But during the previous battle, he had used merit points to summon the Divine Lord, so his merit points had also decreased relatively linearly.
Now, refining and nurturing magical treasures naturally consumed a lot of merit points.
Fortunately, he had defeated the Heavenly Emperor of Reward and Punishment, preventing the entire machine world from descending into mutual slaughter. So the merit points he deserved would not be too few.
Although repairing and refining magical treasures was expensive, it was worth it.
"Perhaps I should consider refining my own natal magic weapon."
Jiang Wen thought, putting a mirror into his arms. Then he looked beyond this world and slowly walked out of this Sumeru land.
"It's time to leave."
