Breaking through the illusion of the mortal world

Chapter 116 Heaven and Hell: I have no right to choose, only the fate of being chosen.

The night at the edge of the world is permeated with an unyielding chill.

Lu Mingjing sat by the window of the side hall, staring blankly out the window.

Outside the window, smoke billowed like cotton, swirling and drifting over the sheer cliff, making the nine ancient seal characters on the cliff face, "Heaven has no hatred, but those who part have theirs," appear even more eerie and desolate.

The characters, deeply etched into the stone, concealed an eternal loneliness, intertwining with the tranquility within the hall to form an invisible net, trapping two people, each with their own secrets.

"What are you looking at?" a soft voice came from behind.

Lu Ming turned around and saw Ning Qingxue standing at the palace gate.

Her face was slightly pale, and a deep weariness lingered between her brows.

"Just look at this fog," Lu Ming said calmly, withdrawing his gaze. "It always seems to want to swallow everything up."

Ning Qingxue slowly walked to his side and looked out the window with him.

The wind blew from below the cliff, ruffling the stray hairs at her temples.

"It can't swallow up this Litian Cliff, just like I can't escape my identity as the young master." Her voice was soft, but the pressure behind her words was immense.

As night deepened, the fog grew thicker, completely obscuring the distant mountains.

Ning Qingxue remained silent for a long time, as if she had finally found an outlet to confide in; her voice was as soft as the wind:

"I grew up on Litian Cliff since I was a child. My father only cared about cultivation and hegemony. The rules of Litian Palace were colder than ice."

She raised her hand, her fingertips touching the coolness of the windowpane, her gaze drifting towards the distant past:

"The people in the palace are afraid of me and respect me, but no one is truly sincere to me."

"Only my mother would secretly take me to the secluded valley at the foot of the cliff to pick wildflowers and tell me stories of the human world."

She said that even the demonic path has its tenderness, it's just hidden deeper.

When she spoke the word "mother," her voice choked slightly:

"But she died at the hands of righteous cultivators while trying to save me. In that desperate situation, my mother always protected me and gave me all the resources she had, but she never woke up again in the darkness."

"My mother held me tightly in her arms, and I could clearly feel her body heat slowly fading away..."

Lu Ming listened quietly without interrupting.

He could sense the despair in her words, the feeling of being abandoned by the world, yet still having to force herself to be strong.

The deepest loneliness is being surrounded by people, yet having no one who understands your joys and sorrows.

Ning Qingxue's loneliness is etched into her very bones; it is the result of layers upon layers of the rules of the Heavenly Palace, her father's indifference, and her mother's passing.

"After my mother passed away, I felt that my father's gaze towards me changed." She lowered her eyes, her long eyelashes concealing the pain in them.

"He no longer looks at me or cares about me, as if I were the sinner who killed my mother."

"I can only desperately cultivate myself to become the young master that the Heavenly Palace needs, and gradually become ruthless and powerful."

"But the more I feel this way, the more I feel like a soulless puppet."

She turned to look at Lu Ming, her eyes filled with a hint of confusion and an unprecedented vulnerability:

"Until at the Tian Shu Ruins, you shielded me from the power of nothingness, protected me behind you, and even when I was about to give up, you told me that you were there for me."

Her voice trembled slightly:

"That was the first time I felt that there were still people who would protect me at all costs."

"I even thought that it would be nice if we just died in the ruins."

"At least at that moment, I was no longer the young master of the Heavenly Palace, no longer alone."

Lu Ming's heart tightened. He recalled Ning Qingxue huddled behind him in the darkness of the Tian Shu Ruins, her body trembling slightly.

At that time, he only saw her as a companion who needed protection, unaware that even this little bit of warmth was a luxury for her.

Ning Qingxue took a deep breath, suppressing her surging emotions, and changed the subject, softening her tone:

"In the ruins, when you were seriously injured and unconscious, you kept calling out the name Hu Zhen. Can you tell me about her?"

Lu Ming's body stiffened slightly, as if the softest and most untouchable corner of his heart had been touched.

He gazed at the cliff outside the window, his eyes drifting back to the Taoist temple from thirty years ago: "She was my childhood playmate. We studied together, cultivated together, and made a vow of spiritual practice together at the temple."

His voice carried a hint of nostalgia: "Back then, when she smiled, her eyes seemed to sparkle like stars; she was lively and radiant."

"I don't know when I started liking her, but every time I think of her, I feel anxious and insecure, but I've never dared to say it."

"She always had a very outstanding senior brother by her side, with high cultivation and a good family background. Everyone thought they were a match made in heaven."

He chuckled self-deprecatingly, "I'm just an ordinary disciple with mediocre cultivation. I feel ashamed even standing next to her, let alone liking her."

"I was thinking that once I returned from my training in the Immortal Relics Land and my cultivation had improved, I would muster up the courage to tell her."

"But I never expected that during that trial, I would fall into a void rift and disappear for thirty years."

"Thirty years..." Ning Qingxue repeated softly.

"Yes, thirty years." Lu Ming's gaze dimmed slightly.

"When I came out of the Immortal Ruins and contacted my senior brothers, I learned that she had already become a Daoist couple with that senior brother."

He paused for a moment, then his tone gradually softened: "When I first heard the news, I did feel a sense of emptiness, as if I had lost something important."

"But later I realized that what I couldn't let go of was perhaps never her as a person."

Ning Qingxue turned her head to look at him, her eyes focused.

"What I can't let go of are the carefree and happy times we spent together as children, the osmanthus cake she secretly slipped to me when we were reciting our lessons together, and the encouraging look in her eyes when I encountered difficulties in my spiritual practice."

"It's also about that version of myself who worked hard and wanted to become a better person because I liked her," Lu Ming said slowly, his voice filled with relief.

"Those early days of budding romance were so pure and beautiful, which is why they are so unforgettable. And she was the one who illuminated that period of my life."

"But at the same time, it was her who made me feel a deep loneliness even when I was in a crowd."

"Because of her, I will reflect on the meaning of life and the path of the future... and I will also strive to become a better person because of her."

Ning Qingxue nodded slightly, a hint of understanding flashing in her eyes:

"Loneliness is the beginning of a fulfilling life. Those regrets hidden in our hearts, those unspoken affections, are actually the marks of our growth."

"What you miss is simply the most authentic version of yourself from that time."

Her voice was soft, yet it was like a gentle key that unlocked the knot in Lu Ming's heart.

Lu Ming turned to look at her and found that her eyes were clear and transparent, as if she could see through people's hearts.

As they reminisced about the past, the atmosphere in the hall softened considerably, no longer as oppressive as before.

Ning Qingxue raised her hand and brushed away a thin layer of dust from the window frame, her tone regaining some of its calmness: "The Li Tian Palace has already sensed the aura of the Zhenwu Sect. It's quite imposing, and they're probably here for you and the Divine Continent Cauldron."

Lu Ming was startled: "Did you send the message?"