Chapter 1242: I Was the One Who Killed Epoch
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy floated out from within Lu Yang, beaming as she waved. “Qilin, long time no see!”
The Qilin Immortal was equally overjoyed to see his old friend finally resurrected after four hundred thousand years.
However, when he took in the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s condition, his expression grew puzzled. “Everlasting, why do you only have your soul left?”
This is different from what I expected. I thought Everlasting would be like myself, hiding in some small world carried around by Young Friend Lu Yang.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy coughed twice, her complexion pale as she feigned nonchalance, unwilling to let her old friend worry. “It’s no big deal. Just a few injuries from an earlier battle that are slow to heal.”
“Immortal Fairy, are you alright?” Lu Yang immediately asked in concern.
The Everlasting Immortal Fairy waved her hand. “It’s nothing. I’m just feeling a bit weak. I’ll be fine with some rest. It’s not right for me to keep imposing on you. I’ll recover my strength as soon as I can.”
“No, no, no. You can stay in my mental space as long as you like, Immortal Fairy.”
The Qilin Immortal was taken aback. Are these words really coming from Everlasting?
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord stared at the Everlasting Immortal Fairy in bewilderment, his thoughts churning. The Qilin Immortal called her “Everlasting?”
He combed through his memory of all matters regarding immortals since ancient times. There had never been a female cultivator who achieved immortality, much less one with the immortal name “Everlasting.”
Who is she? An immortal from the ancient era?
And there’s Yun Zhi, also a female immortal, yet I’ve never heard of her existence.
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord suspected that Yun Zhi had attained immortality during the hundred thousand years he was sealed away in the Great Yu Dynasty, which would explain his complete lack of knowledge about her.
The so-called “Big Senior Sister of the Dao-Seeking Sect” must be a fabricated identity to conceal her true identity.
“Qilin, why did you only show up now? Little Ling and Lianyi searched for you for ages but never found you.” The Everlasting Immortal Fairy was indignant on behalf of Ao Ling, Jiang Lianyi, and Jin Caiwei. The three of them had scoured the world looking for the Qilin Immortal, and it had cut into their playtime with me. Yet the Qilin Immortal had stayed hidden all this time.
Lu Yang was also baffled. If the Qilin Immortal had been worried about being hunted by Hui Doudou, the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s appearance during my tribulation at the Void Refinement Stage should have been a signal in itself—a message to those in the know that Hui Doudou was no longer a threat.
The Nine-Layers Immortal’s case is easy to explain—the Extreme North is notoriously isolated from the rest of the world. But the same problem doesn’t apply to the Qilin Immortal.
The Qilin Immortal had been hiding within the Great Qian faction, which had been relentlessly pursuing leads on the Four Ancient Immortals. They would certainly have been aware that the Heaven Mandate Immortal had shown himself.
“Indeed. I knew that Lianyi and Little Ling had awakened one after another. I knew they were searching for me. I also knew that the Heaven Mandate Immortal’s appearance indicated that the Silent Annihilation Immortal had perished. And I even guessed that you had been resurrected.”
Lu Yang could no longer hold himself back from asking, “Then why exactly...”
The Qilin Immortal’s expression was conflicted, his countenance shifting through myriad emotions before he finally closed his eyes in pain and let out a long sigh toward the heavens. “If it weren’t for the matter of the Reincarnation Incipient Dao Fruit, I likely would never have shown myself before all of you in this lifetime. I... I am a bastard. I don’t have the face to see you.”
“Ah? Why?”
“All of you have probably seen Epoch’s remains at the Five-Elements Sect and learned that he was assassinated toward the end of the Ember Legacy Dynasty.
“I was the one who killed Epoch.”
“You?!”
Both Lu Yang and the Everlasting Immortal Fairy were flabbergasted. According to the Epoch Immortal’s account, the four immortals had been connected by an array that prevented the mastermind from striking him directly, so the mastermind must have taken over one of their bodies and assassinated him.
Did the mastermind take over the Qilin Immortal’s body? His reaction doesn’t fit, though.
The Qilin Immortal hung his head in guilt, unable to face the Everlasting Immortal Fairy and observe her reaction. “Back then, the mastermind threatened me with Little Ling’s and Lianyi’s lives. He said if I didn’t kill Epoch, he would kill Little Ling and Lianyi instead.”
His expression twisted with agony, but with his head lowered, no one could see his face.
“I had no other choice. I could only kill Epoch.”
Although Ao Ling and Jiang Lianyi had been in the play-dead state at the time, the mastermind was capable of erasing even the Everlasting Immortal Fairy’s existence. His methods were beyond comprehension. If he had made a move, his wives would surely not have survived.
After killing the Epoch Immortal, the Qilin Immortal was consumed by regret. He had fallen to his knees and wept bitterly, asking himself, What have I done? Who have I disappointed? Who can I face?
The Midheaven Emperor-Lord was befuddled as he listened from the side. Although the atmosphere didn’t seem suitable for questions, he simply couldn’t contain himself.
“What is the Ember Legacy Dynasty? Why have I never heard of such a faction?”
From what I’m hearing, the Great Qian Dynasty I painstakingly built isn’t the number one dynasty?
I’d prided myself on this for three hundred thousand years.
Was all that pride for nothing?
“The Epoch Immortal perished? Then who has been performing all those time reversals all this time?”
The Qilin Immortal continued to sigh. “Although it may be unfair to the Epoch Immortal to say this, as the number one among the Four Ancient Immortals, I have confidence in my own strength. As long as I made a move, Epoch certainly wouldn’t have survived.
“Given how frequent the time reversals have been, someone must have obtained the Epoch Dao Fruit and has been repeatedly rewinding time to study the Dao Fruit.”
Lu Yang. “...”
I’ve finally realized. All of you Four Ancient Immortals are tied for first place, and every single one of you dares to call yourself the number one among the Four Ancient Immortals.
“But Epoch is still alive. He’s the one behind all those time reversals,” the Everlasting Immortal Fairy interjected.
“What?! He’s still alive?!” The Qilin Immortal’s head shot up. He momentarily lost control of his human form, and his head reverted to his Qilin head, giving Lu Yang quite the fright.
It was then that Lu Yang noticed that the Qilin Immortal’s eyes were slightly moist.
“That’s right. Back then, he abandoned his body, fled west with his soul, founded the Buddhist Kingdom, and used the power of faith to forge himself an immortal body.”
“Epoch is alive! Epoch is alive! He’s still alive!” The Qilin Immortal seized Lu Yang’s shoulder in excitement. “Epoch is truly still alive?”
Lu Yang winced in agony, feeling as though his bones were about to crumble to dust. He could only nod in response to the Qilin Immortal.
The Qilin Immortal was over the moon. For three hundred thousand years, he had lived in self-reproach and guilt, going through the motions like a walking corpse. He had even entertained thoughts of ending his own existence more than once.
“Oh my, oh my! I knew he was still alive!” The Qilin Immortal was so overcome with emotions that he reverted to his true form and bounded through the sky, using his horns to toss the Midheaven Emperor-Lord about.
“As I thought, that stubborn old piece of wood wouldn’t die that easily!”
After celebrating for a while, the Qilin Immortal finally realized that he had lost his composure and hastily reverted to human form, pretending nothing had happened.
“Ahem, I got a little carried away just now.” The Qilin Immortal couldn’t stop the corners of his mouth from twitching upward. He was so elated that he hardly knew what to say and couldn’t help asking once more. “He really is alive, right?”
Lu Yang nodded.
“Where was I just now?”
Lu Yang hesitated. They had just been talking about the Epoch Immortal’s death, but judging by the Qilin Immortal’s reaction, he decided it was better to drop the subject.
He steered the conversation elsewhere. “When you first saw me, you called me the Immortal Fairy’s destined one. You didn’t seem at all surprised by my presence.”