Chapter 342: After the Sunset
Yu Nianzhen gritted his teeth and endured.
He forcibly suppressed the fear in his heart and took another step forward.
One step led to another and before he knew it, he was already on the one hundredth and seventh step.
However, Yu Nianzhen was not doing well.
His whole body had withered, his hair was whiter than snow, his bones were creaking, and there was no supple skin on his body.
Most importantly, he could feel that he was at the end of his rope.
If he took one more step, all his vitality would disappear and he would most certainly die.
"XiaoYue..." He muttered.
His voice was old and hoarse but it carried a heart-breaking nostalgia.
When climbing the first half of the staircase, Yu Nianzhen could still keep track of time.
However, the more he climbed, the more time slipped away from him.
He felt like he had been climbing forever and experiencing a thousand vicissitudes.
The story of his life played in his mind and he watched it with both nostalgia and detachment.
At this point, Yu Nianzhen had already forgotten that he was participating in a trial.
He was convinced he was an ordinary mortal whose life was coming to an end.
"XiaoYue, I wanted to accompany you longer." He muttered and a self-mocking smile curled his lips.
His turbid eyes fell on his withered hands and sadness filled his eyes.
"XiaoYue, these hands can’t rub your hair or pull you for a hug."
"XiaoYue, I haven’t seen you for a long time. I miss you so much. Do you miss me?"
"XiaoYue, do you remember Black Wind City? We sat at a stone table and watched the setting sun. You actually quoted Li Shangyin!"
At this, Yu Nianzhen chuckled, his eyes filled with nostalgia, and unwilling tears streamed from his eyes.
"It is almost dusk and the gloom in my heart blooms;
To the old plateau, up, in a carriage, I go.
The setting sun’s infinitely endearing;
Alas, the daylight is fast disappearing!"
"At that time, I told you not to worry. Although the sun was setting, it would rise the next day."
"XiaoYue, I am afraid the sun will rise tomorrow but I won’t be there to see it."
"XiaoYue, my only regret is that I can’t see you one last time."
At a loss, his tears streamed faster.
Yu Nianzhen couldn’t remember where his lover went and why they couldn’t see each other.
The only thing on his mind was the regret of not seeing each other.
"XiaoYue, we promised to meet and be together in every lifetime. I am leaving now but I will see you soon."
With that, Yu Nianzhen took the last step and the last of his vitality dissipated.
When he woke up, he was at the base of the tower of time.
"Nianzhen." A voice called and Yu Nianzhen turned to see Yang Xu.
"Master." He called and Yang Xu sighed.
"It’s good that you made it out." Yang Xu said and sighed again.
While waiting at the base of the tower of time, he watched many cultivators climbing the stairs.
Until halfway up, no one realised what was going on.
When they realised, most were terrified and couldn’t continue climbing.
Those cultivators were thrown out of the staircase and couldn’t retake the test.
"What about XiaoYue?" Yu Nianzhen asked urgently.
"He is there." Yang Xu pointed and Yu Nianzhen followed to see Jiang Yue.
"The last step is the most difficult." Yang Xu said.
In his long life, he faced many life-and-death situations.
However, even for him, it wasn’t easy to calmly face death.
"The key is to walk forward even when the heart is filled with fear." Yu Nianzhen said and clenched his hands.
His eyes were glued to Jiang Yue and his heart ached when he saw the sadness on the other’s face.
He knew Jiang Yue was thinking about him.
Missing him and wanting to see him with all his heart.
’XiaoYue, hurry and come to me.’ He thought and his mood became a little agitated.
In this way, one hour passed and Jiang Yue finally took a step forward.
Right after, he fell unconscious and his body was wrapped in golden light.
"Don’t worry, he has passed." Yang Xu assured his disciple.
"Master, what happens if you don’t pass?"
"Those who don’t pass are thrown out of the staircase and can’t retake the test. Also..."
"Also?"
"Their vitality is damaged." Yang Xu said and Yu Nianzhen shuddered.
"The golden light around Jiang Yue’s body is replenishing and increasing his vitality. The vitality of those who don’t get to this point won’t be returned when they are thrown out of the staircase."
"The dao of time has always been one of the most ruthless." Yang Xu continued and Yu Nianzhen couldn’t help but agree.
"What about the mistress and others?"
Now that Jiang Yue was out of danger, Yu Nianzhen was in the mood to care about others.
"They are still holding on."
While waiting for Jiang Yue to finish his baptism, Yu Nianzhen located the others.
Li Futian was on the one-hundredth and fifth step, Bing Lan was on the one-hundredth step, and Xuan Ke was only a step behind her.
"They will make it." He said and Yang Xu nodded.
He was worried about his wife and didn’t want to see her vitality damaged.
However, there was nothing he could do to help her. The only thing he could do was trust her and wait for her patiently.
Another hour later, the golden light around Jiang Yue dissipated and his body was flung to the base of the tower.
Without delay, Yu Nianzhen leapt and caught him, preventing him from falling to the ground.
"Azhen." Jiang Yue called and tears streamed from his eyes.
"Don’t cry. Everything is over. I am here with you." Yu Nianzhen assured and hugged his husband tightly.
"I miss you so much."
"I know, I miss you too."
The two hugged for a long time but Yang Xu didn’t disturb them.
After all, he also understood what they were feeling.
"XiaoYue, let’s sit with master to wait for the others."
"Good."
With that, the three sat quietly and waited.
Time passed and more people arrived at the base of the tower.
However, everyone was tacit in their silence.
No one wanted to discuss the experience of climbing the stairs so they sat quietly and waited for time to pass.
Six hours before the deadline, Li Futian passed.
Three hours later, the remaining two passed one after the other and the group heaved a sigh of relief.
[Although the leaves of the Tree of Life can replenish vitality, it’s best if no one is injured.] Jiang Yue transmitted to Yu Nianzhen.
[Mmmm.] Yu Nianzhen agreed.
He had previously taken out some leaves of the tree of life to help everyone recover from the effect of the essence-stealing array.
Although he had many leaves, Yu Nianzhen didn’t plan to take them out often.
After all, the Tree of Life was his biggest secret and he didn’t want to carelessly expose it.
"Adjust your condition and prepare to enter the tower of time." Yang Xu suddenly said.
There were only a few hours left before the tower opened.
After experiencing the stairs, he worried they would encounter a lot of difficulties within the tower.
"The time dao is not easy to mess with. We can’t be careless." He reminded and everyone nodded.
After saying a few more words, everyone sat cross-legged to adjust their condition.
Two hours later, the air began to vibrate and the six opened their eyes.
"What’s happening?" Xuan Ke asked.
"The stairs are retracting." Jiang Yue said and everyone turned to see.
As Jiang Yue said, the staircases were retracting into the tower which meant that the trial had ended.
"There are about three thousand cultivators who passed the test." Bing Lan observed.
"It’s not a bad number." Yang Xu said.
[XiaoYue, we should prepare in case we are separated.] Yu Nianzhen said and Jiang Yue nodded.
[Your clear heart flower and the seven emotions and six desires flower are in my jade box. I will give them to you now.]
[Okay.]
After that, the two divided the things in their hands.
At the same time, Yu Nianzhen pulled everyone to talk about and divide the space treasures and other common treasures.
When that was done, it was almost time for the tower to open and the six stood up.
"Use your time well to improve your strength." Yang Xu nagged and Jiang Yue couldn’t help but chuckle.
"We know." He said.
"It’s good if you know."
Soon after, a portal appeared at the base of the tower.
The portal radiated a golden light and a trace of ancient qi escaped from within.
"Let’s go in." Bing Lan said and everyone walked towards the portal.
With a last look at each other, they jumped into the portal and soon appeared in front of a waterfall that was flowing upwards.
