Wang Lin strode forth, a palpable aura preceding him. Before him, the disciples of the Earth Sect, as if puppets controlled by an unseen force, scattered to either side, creating a path wide enough for him to stand beside the man called Qing.

“Senior?” The man stammered, bewildered by Wang Lin’s sudden appearance. The woman beside him mirrored his surprise, her eyes wide with apprehension. In their eyes, a man who walked with the Golden Honored Elder and the Sect Master at his side must be a being of immeasurable power!

This spectacle did not escape the notice of Zheng Tianlin, the Golden Honored Elder. He paused, a flicker of confusion crossing his face. He struggled to comprehend the situation, yet dared not act rashly.

Beside him, the Sect Master of the Earth Sect, emboldened by Wang Lin’s intimidating presence yet unable to discern the man’s true intent, seized what he perceived as an opportunity. Pointing a trembling finger at Qing, he snarled, “You dare defy the Sect! I shall expel you both before the Senior even lifts a hand!” He took a step forward, eager to prove his worth.

“Fool!” The Golden Honored Elder’s face contorted in fury. He whirled, his sleeve lashing out, intent on stopping the Sect Master’s impetuous actions.

But before he could intervene, Wang Lin spun around, the warmth in his eyes replaced by a chilling frost.

“Begone!”

The single word, “Begone,” crashed upon the Earth Sect like thunder, echoing through the halls, forming a wave of sound that slammed into the Sect Master. He gasped, blood erupting from his lips as he was flung backward, a broken figure hurtling into the distance.

A single word, a single sound, enough to grievously wound a cultivator in the late stage of the Void Tribulation! The Golden Honored Elder, Zheng Tianlin, his eyes narrowed with sudden understanding, bowed deeply towards Wang Lin.

“Senior, forgive my descendant’s recklessness! Though his talent is considerable, his cultivation is young, and he has been spoiled by my indulgence. I shall strip him of his position as Sect Master and place him at your mercy. Then, I shall appoint a successor to your liking!”

This abrupt turn of events left the thousands of Fifth Rank disciples stunned into silence, their eyes filled with a terror that defied description.

Qing himself staggered, his hand instinctively sought and grasped by the woman beside him. Their palms were slick with sweat.

“What is your name?” Wang Lin asked, gazing at Qing. In the man’s dazed expression, he glimpsed a flicker of the hero who had burned his body to protect the white-robed corpse, who had laughed madly as he offered the Ascension Crystal, who had fought with burning soul against overwhelming odds!

He saw, too, the sword spirit who had silently watched over the awakened and cold Qing Shuang for countless years, never abandoning her even in the Yellow Springs, even in her waking oblivion.

His love was awe-inspiring, his love earth-shattering!

The illusion of immortality could not hide the love of a thousand years.

“I am called Qing,” the man replied softly, a trace of the same icy resolve, from lifetimes past, clinging to him even as he faced Wang Lin.

“Qing… a single name? No courtesy name?” At the sound of the name, Wang Lin felt a sharp pang in his heart, born of the understanding of the man before him, born of witnessing his heartbreaking devotion.

“No. I am an orphan. I chose the name Qing for myself,” the man answered, his voice low. The woman beside him tightened her grip on his hand.

“Love that cannot be forgotten even through reincarnation… lifetimes of devotion, guarding a corpse for a thousand years, facing oblivion after awakening, countless years of waiting for her to remember him… obsession incarnate. He is now Qing, but the name is the “Qing” from “Qing Shuang”. Wang Lin gazed at the stern man, speechless for a long time.

That stern expression was a remnant of the past swordsman. His past as a sword spirit left him with an icy demeanor regardless of if love existed. Even though he reincarnated as someone else, that icy expression remains.

Wang Lin thought, “I was the one who changed his and Qing Shuang’s lives. I also forcefully changed Qing Shuang, even though she was her daughter!” Wang Lin looked at the woman with the man. She looked afraid and squeezed her lover’s hand, as if she was going to lose him. She was afraid of Wang Lin as well and she could not explain why.

“And what is your name?” Wang Lin asked, turning his gaze upon the woman.

The woman trembled, instinctively shrinking behind her lover, clutching his hand tightly, her face drained of color.

“She is called Zhou Yiting,” the man said, answering for her. He looked steadily at Wang Lin.

“Zhou Yiting…” Wang Lin murmured, his gaze lingering on the woman.

“Zhou Yi called the original Qing Shuang, Ting’er. This ‘Yi’ is also a tribute to this man’s past life… she will never regain her memories… “. Wang Lin closed his eyes. There was something he did in the past.

He should have not done this and allowed her to keep her memories. Regardless, Wang Lin still erased her memories when Qing Shuang reincarnated.

It wasn’t a seal but erasure. The pain of the erasure still plagued her and that was the reason she was afraid of Wang Lin.

“I don’t believe that you did not recover memories of Zhou Yi, but you ultimately chose to remain cold, so I will help you by erasing your memories!”
From that moment forth, your reincarnation would know naught of its previous lives, only the present! These were the words that echoed within Wang Lin’s heart as he severed Qing Shuang’s memories.

He spoke them to no one, nor did any perceive this was his own undertaking, a secret benevolence granted to Zhou Yi!

“Venerable One,” the man, hand clasped tightly with his beloved, hesitated, his voice a hushed whisper. “Your cultivation is profound. Might you unravel a bewilderment for me?”

At his words, the woman beside him gripped his hand with desperate strength, as if to meld their very beings, never to be parted. Her face bore a mask of apprehension and sorrow, even eclipsing her fear of Wang Lin.

“Qing, it was a dream… only a dream!”

Wang Lin opened his eyes, his gaze settling upon the hesitant man.

The man looked at his beloved, and murmured softly, “I simply seek an answer.”

“Since I began my cultivation, my progress feels strangely familiar, as if I have walked this path before, swiftly reaching my current state. For centuries now, I have been haunted by a recurring dream. Each time, it remains the same…

“Within that dream, there is a woman. I only ever see her back, clad in a white gown. She evokes a sense of familiarity, yet also a deep sorrow and coldness. I yearn to see her face, to know who she is.

“I have a faint feeling that she was my wife in a past life… if I had such a thing. It seems my very purpose in this life is for her, to wait for her to turn around and look at me…” The man spoke softly, his eyes filled with a profound bewilderment, not unlike Wang Lin’s friend Zhou Yi.

Silence fell upon them, broken only by the man’s echoing words. The Golden Honored Elder observed the scene, glancing at Wang Lin with dawning comprehension, and remained taciturn.

Wang Lin gazed upon the man, his silence stretching for an age. He could erase Qing Shuang’s memories, but he would not tamper with the memories of this man, for he was his friend, his benefactor.

He would allow him to choose his own path, to live the life he deemed righteous.

“Once, in the spring of a forgotten year, I walked beneath a tree and beheld a single leaf that captivated me. When autumn arrived, I returned to that tree amidst the falling leaves, yet I could not find the leaf I had cherished. I believed it was lost forever.

“But I did not know that it was still there, merely transformed. As I turned away in sorrow, a withered leaf, swept up by the autumnal winds, danced around me, accompanying me on my journey. Yet, lost in my longing for the verdant leaf of yesteryear, I did not realize that what I sought, what I yearned for, was already by my side…

“This is the answer I offer you,” Wang Lin said, his voice soft with reminiscence.

“If, one day, you believe my answer to be true, then consume this elixir. It will forever banish that dream.” Wang Lin turned and walked towards the head of the dragon floating in the sky, leaving behind a withered, yellowish pill, resembling an autumn leaf, hovering before the bewildered man.

“Zheng Tianlin, these two are reincarnated forms of dear friends from my past. That they are now within your Earth Gate is a blessing upon you. I shall grant your Earth Gate my aid thrice! Should any harm befall them, I shall hold you accountable!” Wang Lin’s voice echoed within the Golden Honored Elder’s mind. At the same time, a jade slip, bearing Wang Lin’s mark, flew forth from the sea dragon, directly towards the elder.

“Thank you, Celestial Venerable!” The Golden Honored Elder trembled, bowing deeply towards Wang Lin. This was a great boon indeed!

A gust of wind arose, lifting the hair of both the man and the woman. The errant strands intertwined in the wind, dancing together like butterflies in a joyous embrace.

Wang Lin did not break the man’s memory seal. Instead, he granted him a choice. Casting one final, profound glance downwards, Wang Lin averted his gaze. With a mighty roar, the sea dragon beneath him surged into the heavens, carrying him away in a flash.

“Zhou Yi, Brother Zhou, forget me, forget the cave, forget all of your past life. In this life, cherish those around you. She is the dream, the form you waited a lifetime for, the one you longed to see turn and look at you.” Wang Lin sighed softly.