Chapter 1469: Long Night Not Alone

Bone Dao Child...Bone Dao Child!These four words instantly awakened all memories.For a long time, Jiang Wang firmly believed he was the source of calamity, the core figure of the White Bone Cult, the Bone Dao Child who would welcome the descent of the evil god. He was perplexed, pained, struggled, and despaired because of this.Of course, later he even killed Zhuang Chengqian and faced the might of the White Bone Evil God, so he no longer harbored any fear towards the Bone Dao Child.However...Wang Changji is the Bone Dao Child of this generation?Jiang Wang felt a dizzying sense of错乱 (disorder/confusion), and then he suddenly recalled that the White Bone Holy Master he saw on the Qiyang battlefield back then seemed to have occupied Wang Changji's body. This was because Lu Yan at that time had said, "White Bone, you are fundamentally no longer Wang Changji."He was very confused then, and Zhuang Chengqian, disguised as Jiang Yan, vaguely brushed it aside.When he met the current Wang Changji in the State of Yong, the appearance of Zhang Linchuan he casually depicted was precisely the appearance of the White Bone Holy Master who had appeared on the battlefield at that time!It was just that Jiang Wang at that time had not connected the two, only faintly feeling a sense of familiarity. After all, Wang Changji was a stranger to him, and even if it was the same body, the change in temperament could be significant.White Bone Holy Master, White Bone Dao Child, White Bone Emissary...A tangled thread seemed to be getting messier, but Jiang Wang quickly unraveled it, touching upon the truth.After all, having personally experienced the struggle between Zhuang Chengqian and the White Bone Venerable God, he had gained a great degree of understanding of the White Bone Dao's information. He also had a sufficiently profound understanding of the Bone Dao Child as a vessel selected by the evil god for descent.The four words "Bone Dao Child" are themselves a designed sorrow.How powerless are humans before an evil god!Jiang Wang looked at the man before him, imagining the story he had lived through.In the disaster that befell Fenglin City, when his life ebbed away and his hair turned white as he gazed back at his homeland. There was someone else, in some other place, who was also watching everything in despair.They had felt similar pain, chewed on the same helplessness. In the terrifying power of the divine descent, they felt the world collapse.Their hometown was destroyed, their homes shattered, those they cherished crushed like ants.And all they could do was watch.Eyes wide, watching without missing a single scene."In the very beginning, they also said I was the Bone Dao Child," Jiang Wang said, his eyes on the sea.The reflection in the water mirror showed him what he had grown into over the years."They promised me a place in the White Bone Divine Kingdom in the future. They told me they would dedicate everything to me.""It seems you did not believe them." Wang Changji remained unperturbed."No, I believed them," Jiang Wang said. "I was easily deceived back then."Wang Changji did not speak.He thought, at that time, Wang Changxiang was also easily deceived.Believing his elder brother's issues were merely related to his Dao脉 (meridian/lineage) or physique, convinced that where there was a will, there was a way.Naively believing that he could resolve his elder brother's inability to cultivate through his own efforts.He had only just stepped into the world of cultivation himself, yet why... would he have such a delusion?He encouraged him to cultivate hoping he would leave Fenglin City early and never return. Yet he came back every few days, bringing all sorts of chaotic medicines.He treated him very coldly, yet that foolish him... seemed to see the pain beneath the heavy shell.He always walked into the courtyard with a gentle smile.Always, impossible to drive away..."I chose to tell this matter to my esteemed teacher," Jiang Wang continued. "The dean of Fenglin City Dao Academy, Dong A. When I was attacked by the White Bone Dao demon, he personally cleansed the poison for me and personally captured the demon. He patiently guided my cultivation issues, gave me his personal jade pendant, taught me the secret arts of controlling Dao Yuan... He did many things for the city Dao Academy."A trace of painful emotion fell in Wang Changji's detached eyes, making him appear more alive. It was as if he had re-established a connection with this world.He thought, Wang Changxiang's trust in him was even greater than Jiang Wang's in Dong A.How much pain must he have felt in his heart when the White Bone Holy Master controlled this body and killed Changxiang?In the last moments of his life, what was Changxiang... thinking?"The one who disappoints you is always the one who pains you more," Wang Changji said. "Because you... did not guard against him.""Later, I killed him." Jiang Wang's tone was inexplicable. "On New Year's Eve the year before last. That street was very long and deserted. It rained heavily that day."He looked at Wang Changji: "I've never told anyone about this, but I think you might understand."Wang Changji was silent for a while, then said: "From the day I was born, a pair of eyes watched me. Watched me without blinking. I didn't know until I was twelve years old.""At that time, I often had a desire to kill, a crazy urge to kill. Looking at my father's incessant mouth, I wanted to cut his throat. A maidservant just walked past me, and I wanted to pierce her back with a sword... I locked myself in my room, seeing no one.""I searched through all the ancient texts in the Wang family's collection, bought back all the classics of ancient sages available on the market, regardless of Buddhist, Daoist, Legalist, or Mohist schools, but couldn't find a way to save myself.""One night, I was reading a scripture under an oil lamp, and when I turned around, I saw those eyes."Wang Changji's tone was so calm.But the listener could feel the terror and the feeling of being driven mad even more strongly."It had no emotions, and it didn't communicate with me about anything.""No matter what I did, whether I cursed it or attacked it, it had no reaction.""I couldn't reveal its existence to anyone. As soon as I had such a thought, I couldn't open my mouth.""One can still transmit information without opening one's mouth. I thought for a long time and came up with a way to ask for help from Grandpa Song. He was a retainer of the Wang family, the strongest person I knew at the time... The next day, he died."Wang Changji slowly said: "They said he had a mishap during cultivation."Jiang Wang could almost imagine that kind of despair.The powerlessness of mortals facing a deity.No matter how they struggled or resisted, they could only watch themselves slide into the abyss step by step.Everything was useless.Even the more they struggled, the more people they implicated...How did a twelve-year-old boy endure those years?"I tried to commit suicide many times, but I couldn't die. With a knife, with poison, by hanging... Those eyes just kept watching me. Many times I thought I was dead, but when I woke up, nothing had changed."Wang Changji said: "I grew older day by day, and those eyes were always there, watching me. They looked the same as they did when I was twelve years old.""I was afraid for many years, tried many methods, but nothing worked. Later I thought, whatever the outcome, let it come quickly. I have given up.""If that is my fate, I can accept it."Wang Changji's eyes drooped slightly, looking at his hands: "I can accept it..."He could accept any ending.Except for Wang Changxiang dying before him.Jiang Wang composed himself and slowly said: "Meeting you in the Mountain and Sea Realm today, I am beginning to feel that perhaps it is a subtle form of destiny. I am not saying fate brought us together, nor do I believe there is some high and mighty will that is being kind to us. I mean, it is precisely because neither of us gave up that we have reached today, and the paths beneath our feet converge here."Wang Changji had not felt much emotion for a long time.Nor had he ever spoken to anyone about the past.But just as Jiang Wang said—"Perhaps you will understand."Humans spend their entire lives seeking a resonance.Everyone needs to be understood, but who can truly be understood?Who has experienced what I have experienced, felt what I have felt, suffered my pain?But at that time, he was huddled in a corner of his body, and that Jiang Wang, who fled with his sister as his life ebbed away and his hair turned white, had truly met eyes in their bitter destiny, albeit briefly.They had each journeyed thousands of miles, and now converged again in the Mountain and Sea Realm."In the State of Yong, I should have talked to you more," Wang Changji said softly."It's not too late now, because we still have a long way to go." Jiang Wang said: "After leaving Fenglin City? I imagine you've also been through a lot to get here."Wang Changji thought for a moment and then recounted: "Although the White Bone Evil God's descent plan in Fenglin City failed, and the White Bone True Core was seized by the Zhuang rulers and ministers, He still managed to escape and conceal Himself, controlling this Dao Child's body.Later, He plotted again thousands of miles away, refining the White Bone Holy Body on the Qiyang battlefield, hoping to restart the descent plan... However, all of this was within Zhang Linchuan's plan.""White Bone Emissary Zhang Linchuan?" Jiang Wang asked."Now the Patriarch of the Lifeless Cult." Wang Changji said: "The State of Yang was personally chosen by Zhang Linchuan as the place of descent for the White Bone Evil God, precisely to use the strong individuals of the State of Qi to obliterate the White Bone Evil God's will. He had long since cleared out all beings loyal to the White Bone Evil God within the White Bone Dao, and collaborated with Lu Yan and Bai Lian, acting when the White Bone Holy Master was weakened to seize the White Bone Holy Body. I also acted at that time, expelling the White Bone Evil God's will.""Afterwards... Zhang Linchuan occupied the White Bone Holy Body, and my spirit left my body and occupied his. So the me you see now is this appearance."Wang Changji narrated it very simply, bringing up the matter in a few words, and his tone was also calm.But Jiang Wang, who had a deep understanding of the White Bone Evil God, felt the waves within.Only today did he realize there was such a thrilling past!Zhang Linchuan once said that he often felt as if there was a knife poking him in the back, and every moment was pressing.He knew Zhang Linchuan's ambitions were not small.But he truly could not imagine that Zhang Linchuan's ambition had swelled to this extent, plotting against a god with a mortal body, craving to ascend to heaven in one step... And he actually succeeded!Externally, there were Zhuang Gaoxian, Du Ruhui, Dong A, the entire resisting force of Fenglin City, and even Chongxuan Chuliang on the Qiyang battlefield.Internally, the White Bone Dao had three great elders, one saintess, twelve bone faces, and even within the White Bone Holy Body, Wang Changji's will was hidden.He was just one of many high-level figures in the White Bone Dao, with limited cultivation and experience.Yet, he somehow managed to accomplish this, seizing the greatest benefit in such a chaotic situation. He leveraged various forces to seize the Holy Body, and everyone acted as a stepping stone for him.And Wang Changji?A mortal whose cultivation was directly restricted.In an era when the White Bone Evil God had changed its strategy due to Zhuang Chengqian and placed many restrictions on the Dao Child's body, he was still able to maintain his self and not be annihilated by the White Bone Evil God's will.Even more so, he managed to expel the White Bone Evil God's will with a mortal's will!This was a feat nothing short of a miracle!How spectacular was the process when these two individuals, who cooperated and contended, ultimately swapped bodies?It's hard to imagine, and truly astonishing!"I probably know why you were watched from birth... However, you should be the last Bone Dao Child," Jiang Wang said in a solemn tone. "The White Bone Evil God has already formed a Dao embryo and can be born into the present world at any time without being rejected. Perhaps He has already been born in a certain corner of the present world and is quietly growing."Wang Changji looked up at him, clearly taking this information very seriously: "How do you know?"Jiang Wang calmed his emotions and said: "I also experienced another resistance against the White Bone Evil God... a resistance that lasted for several hundred years."That was indeed a very difficult and magnificent battle.Especially the final劫争 (tribulation struggle), almost every step was on the edge of life and death.Thinking back on it now, he still feels a sense of dread.Even if he were to do it again, he might not have such a result...He said with some emotion: "I wonder if you are interested in hearing the story of the previous Bone Dao Child?""I am very interested in everything concerning the White Bone Evil God," Wang Changji looked at the spot next to him and said: "Sit."Jiang Wang walked a few steps forward and subconsciously glanced at the mechanical Mahoraga standing on the water.Wang Changji immediately said: "Don't worry, they are just asleep.""That's for the best." Jiang Wang breathed a sigh of relief, walked over, and sat down beside him: "They are my friends."If Zuo Guangshu had suffered some irreversible injury, he truly wouldn't know how to get along with Wang Changji.This consideration, of course, was also out of goodwill towards Wang Changji.Wang Changji thought for a moment and said: "This woman is actually very strong, but her spirit has a significant flaw."He didn't mention Zuo Guangshu, perhaps because Zuo Guangshu wasn't considered strong in his eyes, or perhaps when they fought, Zuo Guangshu hadn't recovered yet and couldn't display his full strength.Or perhaps... he subconsciously thought that the person Jiang Wang would value so much should be the female Yue Tiannu, even if she was a puppet.Jiang Wang didn't actually have much of a relationship with Yue Tiannu, and he couldn't really say he was very concerned about her. But after thinking for a moment, he still asked: "Does Brother Wang have any suggestions?"Wang Changji said: "She actually doesn't need my suggestions. If I must say something... just tell her, 'Self-understand the precious nature, the true body is the spirit boat.'""Self-understand the precious nature, the true body is the spirit boat..." Jiang Wang repeated, and couldn't help but ask: "What does that mean?""If you tell her, she will know," Wang Changji said. "Now, let me hear your story."Jiang Wang then did not dwell on it, thought for a moment, and began to speak: "This story begins with Zhuang Chengqian's division of land and establishment of a state..."Thereupon, he meticulously narrated the several centuries of tribulation between Zhuang Chengqian and the White Bone Evil God, describing the thrilling battle in the ancient demonic lair, until the Mountain and Sea Realm entered night again.A faint golden light flowed on the mechanical Mahoraga, as if illuminating the two conversing individuals.One with his hair tied up, one with hair loose, one calm and one aloof, the rippling waves shimmered in the water.The long story finally came to an end.When Jiang Wang spoke of finally severing Zhuang Chengqian's lingering spirit, Wang Changji couldn't help but praise: "What a wonderful story."Then he added: "Truly wonderful!"Given his character, this was an extremely rare expression."Yes," Jiang Wang also sighed. "Even now, when I think of Zhuang Chengqian, I still feel a sense of being suffocated. And I have realized more than once how terrifying the Netherworld deities truly are. We absolutely have no right to be careless."Wang Changji said: "I was saying you, are truly wonderful."Jiang Wang subconsciously wanted to respond humbly, but for some reason, facing Wang Changji at this moment, humility seemed also a form of hypocrisy.He thought for a moment and said seriously: "I do have to thank myself, for not giving up in any situation. I have to thank all my past efforts that allow me to walk towards the future so firmly."The golden light on the mechanical Mahoraga had reached a considerable distance from here.But Jiang Wang was still as if bathed in light.It was a radiance from within. This intention, this heart, was unlike that of ordinary people."Have you thought about what kind of future that will be?" Wang Changji asked softly."I actually haven't thought about it," Jiang Wang said.How could a person not think about the future?Unless... it was too distant. So distant that even he, who was already renowned throughout the world, felt it was out of reach.Wang Changji fully understood this sentence, but he still said: "Why not imagine it?"So Jiang Wang thought about it seriously, and then said: "If I think about it now, I still don't know what the future will be like. But I think, in that future, which I don't know if it will come, there will definitely be no Du Ruhui, no Zhuang Gaoxian, no Zhang Linchuan, and no White Bone Evil God."Wang Changji said: "You will see that day."He looked up at the sky, and there was infinite longing and melancholy in his voice: "We will all see that day."Jiang Wang felt a subtle sense of emotion in his heart.He wasn't actually very familiar with Wang Changji, having had no interactions in Fenglin City. After leaving Fenglin City until now, they had only interacted a few times in total.But at this moment, here in the Mountain and Sea Realm, sitting next to Wang Changji, he felt inexplicably less lonely.It was like traveling through a long night, holding a torch alone in the darkness. Although brave and fearless, although forging ahead, although constantly telling yourself that you can reach the end of the long night alone.But when you suddenly discover another torch, moving in the same direction as you, burning in the long night just like yours...You will feel warmth.Only another flame can light a flame.This night shall shine brightly."I think so too," Jiang Wang said."Oh, right," Jiang Wang said seriously. "You said earlier that you were waiting here for the Nine Chapter Jade Discs. If you need them, I have two here and can give you one.""How can I simply take something you fought for with your sword?" Wang Changji held the fishing rod and said indifferently: "Keep it yourself, I don't actually need it much. Besides, I can take it from others."Jiang Wang thought about the methods he used to silently deal with Yue Tiannu and Zuo Guangshu, and didn't say anything further.He merely said: "Actually, I don't know what the use is of contending for many Nine Chapter Jade Discs. They are merely keys, isn't it enough to be able to come and go?""What if there is more than one lock?" Seeing Jiang Wang looking somewhat stunned, Wang Changji added: "I'm just saying, after all, I don't understand this place either.""But you make a lot of sense," Jiang Wang said.Wang Changji gently shook his head: "There are some problems with this world. I sense that the Nine Chapter Jade Discs might represent some kind of rule, and the more you possess, the better you can protect yourself..."At this point, he changed the subject: "If possible, I would like to ask for a favor later."Jiang Wang did not immediately agree, but first asked: "May I know what it is?"For someone like Jiang Wang, no one would think he was being evasive. Those who keep their promises do not make promises lightly; he would not promise something he could not do.Wang Changji also did not fuss, stating directly: "This body is not very good, I need to make more preparations. I see an opportunity in the Mountain and Sea Realm."Being able to retreat unscathed from the pursuit of the Kui Niu, and yet this body is not very good?Jiang Wang was stunned for a moment before realizing that Wang Changji might be talking about his aptitude.After all, Zhang Linchuan meticulously plotted, abandoning this body to take the White Bone Holy Body, which also showed the difference in aptitude between the two bodies."If I can help you, I would be very happy to," Jiang Wang said.Wang Changji said: "If the opportunity arises, I will contact you. If there are no good opportunities, then I wish you good luck.""Okay," Jiang Wang nodded, looking at his actions, and finally couldn't help but ask: "What are you fishing for?"Wang Changji looked at the fishing line submerged in the deep sea, his tone still very calm: "I'm not fishing for anything, I'm fighting for the right to fish."Jiang Wang became even more bewildered: "Fighting for the right to fish? With whom?""You will understand later," Wang Changji said, handing over the fishing rod in his hand: "It's yours now."Jiang Wang took the fishing rod somewhat blankly, feeling its smoothness and warmth.Other than that, he felt nothing."If they sleep any longer, it will be difficult for them to wake up... Let's stop here for today," Wang Changji looked at him deeply and said: "It was good to see you.""With a comrade by my side, the long road is not lonely," Jiang Wang said seriously.Then, right before his eyes, Wang Changji suddenly disappeared.To say he disappeared suddenly is not entirely accurate, as his disappearance was not abrupt, but rather natural and calm.Like a meticulously drawn landscape painting, a leaf or a blade of grass silently disappeared, and the composition of the entire painting did not show any flaw.What difference does it make if there is one more or one less leaf?The night was dark, and the mechanical Mahoraga stood in the night.Jiang Wang sat alone on the water.Everything he had just experienced, everything they had talked about, seemed like an illusion.How could it be an illusion?Jiang Wang held the long fishing rod in his hand, feeling that the fishing line had not hooked onto anything. He gently lifted the rod, and ripples appeared on the surface of the sea, as if something had been broken...The fishing rod in his hand also disappeared.The entire world seemed to be calling for a ripple.The mechanical Mahoraga stopped not far away, its serpent eyes rotating.Click, click.The night began to flow again.