In fact, while Zhu Chen was away, another incident had taken place in Stone Village.
Shi Hao, who had previously gone to the Second Ancestral Land, had returned, bringing back with him a young man of similar age from the Stone Clan.
This Shi Hao was extremely stubborn.
Zhu Chen had already told him that his parents were in the Immortal Mountain, and he later confirmed this information with the Willow Goddess herself.
Yet despite that, Shi Hao still insisted on traveling to the Second Ancestral Land.
That said, his journey was not without gains.
Not only did he rescue the unfortunate Shi Qingfeng, but he also learned an important truth—
the Rain Clan was actively hunting him.
In addition, during his travels, he hunted many ancient remnants, greatly increasing his cultivation. Not long after returning to Stone Village, he broke through to the Cave Heaven Realm, opening three Cave Heavens at once, astonishing everyone in the village.
Later, with the Willow Goddess's help, he entered the Void God Realm, breaking records and establishing a fearsome reputation.
Unfortunately, this kid was far too reckless.
Because he shattered the Void God Realm's stone tablet, he was ultimately banned from the Void God Realm for two years.
…
Although Zhu Chen already possessed two of the Ten Fierce Treasure Techniques, no one would ever complain about having too many powerful techniques.
Thus, a trip to the Heaven-Mending Pavilion was unavoidable.
As for the Hundred Broken Mountains, they contained abundant resources, and Zhu Chen naturally had no intention of letting such an opportunity slip by.
"Willow Goddess, I'm leaving."
Zhu Chen withdrew his gaze from the letter and looked up at the Willow Goddess.
The Willow Goddess nodded slightly, her ethereal voice echoing softly.
"There are also many opportunities within the Hundred Broken Mountains. With your current strength, you will surely gain something from this journey."
Zhu Chen looked at the Willow Goddess's breathtaking figure, and his heart stirred.
He hesitated briefly, but in the end, he still asked the question that had lingered in his heart for a long time.
"Willow Goddess… in these endless years, has anyone ever walked alongside you?"
The Willow Goddess was clearly startled by this question.
For a moment, she did not know how to respond.
Many memories within her sea of consciousness had yet to fully recover—
especially those related to the Immortal Ancient Era, which remained vague and indistinct.
She only knew that she had once had many companions who shared her ideals.
But in the end, those people all died.
They did not reincarnate.
They were not reborn.
They truly vanished within the long river of time.
It was a painful memory, filled with darkness. Every time she thought of it, sorrow would flood her endlessly.
"My memories have not fully recovered… so I cannot answer your question."
The Willow Goddess spoke slowly, her voice tinged with a quiet sadness.
"I see."
Zhu Chen nodded lightly.
"Then focus on recovering well. I'll be leaving now. When I stand high above the nine heavens—when I am truly qualified to walk alongside you—I will return and ask you this question again."
The Willow Goddess's answer had been within Zhu Chen's expectations.
He said nothing more.
After leaving these words behind, he directly took out the Heavenly Horse Chariot from his cave heaven and departed from Stone Village.
"Walk… alongside me?"
Liu Shen stood quietly outside, gazing in the direction Zhu Chen had left.
For the first time, a faint emotional ripple appeared on her usually cold and detached face.
Zhu Chen had repeatedly spoken the words "walk alongside," and she understood his meaning perfectly.
In her memories, no one had ever said such words to her before.
She felt surprised, shaken—
and yet, more than anything, deeply sorrowful.
What was the point of standing high in the heavens?
What meaning was there in walking alongside her?
If one could not cross to the other side of the Boundary Sea, then no matter how brilliant they were, they would eventually turn to dust within the endless river of time, forever lost in darkness.
Zhu Chen was naturally unaware of Liu Shen's inner thoughts.
After leaving Stone Village, he headed toward the Heaven-Mending Pavilion, following the map left by the Fire Emperor in his letter.
Stone Village and the Heaven-Mending Pavilion were both located in the Desolate Region, but they were separated by more than a million miles.
At the Heavenly Horse's speed, it would take roughly ten days to reach the destination.
Of course, Zhu Chen could have shortened the journey significantly by traveling to a nearby city and using a teleportation array.
But he chose not to.
Instead, he planned to use this journey to carefully study the precious techniques and the Grass Character Sword Technique that the Willow Goddess had given him.
The Willow God Technique,
the True Phoenix Treasure Technique,
the Grass Character Sword Technique,
and the Six Paths Reincarnation Heavenly Art
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