Ning Bei felt a sense of familiarity from the woman's appearance. He was certain this was someone very important to him, but no matter how hard he tried, he couldn't remember who she was.
"A Bei, I finally found you."
"A Bei? Are you calling me? Who am I?"
Ning Bei's eyes were filled with confusion. He didn't know his own origins, nor was he sure if the woman in front of him was calling out to him.
But this didn't stop the woman from feeling genuine happiness upon seeing him. She then desperately ran towards him, opening her arms midway like a young swallow returning to its nest, pouncing towards him.
Ning Bei also subconsciously opened his arms, intending to embrace the woman, as if all of this was natural, as if it had become his muscle memory.
But the next moment, an unexpected event quietly occurred. As the woman ran towards him, her eyes suddenly became unfocused, wrinkles appeared on her cheeks, her hair gradually turned white, and her slender legs lost their strength, causing her to slowly fall to the ground.
"A hundred years have passed, and I finally found you, A Bei. It's so good to see you one last time before the end!"
Ning Bei's eyes widened, as if he couldn't believe what was happening before him. How could the young woman from just a moment ago have aged into this appearance in such a short time?
And at this moment, Ning Bei finally remembered his past with Dugu Yan. And what was he doing?
"Has it been this long since I entered the Road to Godhood?"
Quickly arriving by Dugu Yan's side, Ning Bei slowly held the aging Dugu Yan tightly, his arms trembling with emotion.
"Yanzi, I'm sorry, I couldn't keep my promise to you."
"It's... it's okay. I never blamed you. It's enough to see you one last time before I go."
A wrinkled hand slowly stroked his face, and the next moment it suddenly dropped, falling heavily to the ground. And Dugu Yan in his arms no longer had any signs of life.
Tears like crystal beads slowly dripped onto the old face that was closed in a smile. Ning Bei felt as if a heavy stone was pressing on his heart, unable to be moved.
His hands still tightly held the body in his arms, unwilling to let go, until the old woman slowly turned into specks of starlight and dissipated between heaven and earth in his embrace. Ning Bei still hadn't recovered.
Just as Ning Bei stood there in a daze, a hand rested on his shoulder, and words filled with both doting and a hint of reproach slowly entered his ears.
"You child, why didn't you come back to the Sect to see me? Have you been well all these years?"
Hearing this familiar voice, Ning Bei's unfocused pupils instantly focused. He mechanically turned his head and saw Huo Linglong's smiling face.
"Mother?"
"Hmph, I don't have a son who never comes home."
Her tsundere appearance slowly overlapped with the beautiful face of Huo Linglong in his memory. Overjoyed, Ning Bei immediately wanted to get up and give her a hug.
But the next second, Huo Linglong slowly aged before Ning Bei's horrified eyes, until she could no longer stand steadily and fell to the ground.
"It's been over a hundred years, how could Mother still have the strength to catch you? You must take good care of yourself, understand?"
After saying that, Huo Linglong, who had aged beyond recognition, also slowly turned into starlight and dissipated between heaven and earth, just like Dugu Yan.
Ning Bei immediately stepped forward, wanting to embrace his mother, but he grabbed nothing.
And behind him, familiar voices sounded again, those of Chen Xin and Gu Rong, as well as his Big Brother Ning Fan, and Ning Fengzhi in the distance who said nothing but only sighed with his head down. Without exception, after bidding farewell to Ning Bei, they all aged until they turned into specks of starlight and dissipated between heaven and earth.
"I'm sorry, I'm sorry... I thought the God Test would be completed quickly, that way everyone wouldn't..."
Ning Bei's heart was filled with self-blame at this moment. He hadn't expected the God Test to last for nearly a hundred years, so long that the people he cared about couldn't wait and turned into a handful of yellow earth.
Just as he was feeling utterly desolate, several playful voices interrupted his thoughts.
"Brother!"
"Big Brother Ning Bei!"
Turning his head, Ning Bei saw his younger sister standing with Xiao Wu and Zhu Zhuqing, smiling and waving at him.
Seeing the three of them, a surge of wild joy immediately welled up in Ning Bei's heart. He strode forward and pulled them all into his embrace.
"This is great, you've become gods too, right? You won't leave me anymore."
His joy didn't last long before it was interrupted by several aged voices. Ning Bei's body stiffened, and he mechanically lowered his head to look into his arms.
He saw that the three sisters, who had just been youthful and beautiful, had instantly turned into withered, old wood.
"Brother... what are you saying? We're still waiting for you to find us god positions. We don't have that kind of ability ourselves."
"Don't... don't be afraid, I'll go find them for you right now, you have to hold on."
Seeing the terrifying scene about to unfold before his eyes again, Ning Bei immediately panicked. Regardless of where this was, he was about to turn around to find god positions for the three of them.
"No need, Brother, it's already too late. We just held on because we wanted to see you one last time."
"No!"
Ning Bei looked back at the three with a pained expression. And just like everyone before them, the three smiled, closed their eyes, and turned into specks of starlight, dissipating from his world.
"Ah!!"
From desolation to rage, it only took Ning Bei a brief second. Feeling that everything was his fault, he began to violently pound the ground, venting the anger in his heart.
If he hadn't spent so much time on this damned God Test, everyone wouldn't have had to experience birth, aging, sickness, and death. Now, even if he became a god, what was the point?
His furious pounding caused ripples to spread across the pure white ground like water, eventually returning to calm. But how could the indignation of losing everyone he cared about be quelled?
"Heh, that's quite a pathetic sight."
"Hmm?"
Another familiar voice entered his ears, instantly pulling Ning Bei back from his furious emotions. Turning his head, he saw it was the Little Angel who had gone home to accept her God Test when they separated.
"Snow'er!"
An unprecedented surprise erupted in Ning Bei's eyes. He instantly stepped forward and pulled the delicate body into his embrace, continuously kissing her golden hair.
"Snow'er, you won't disappear, right?"
The Little Angel in his arms seemed to be in low spirits. She nodded and pushed him away.
"Naturally, I won't grow old and die like those mortals. I am the Angel God!"
"That's great, finally..."
"Great? I am the Angel God, but you are still just a mere mortal. And it's all because of you that your grandfather left me. You don't still naively think I'll stay here with you, do you?"
"Snow... Snow'er..."
The joy on Ning Bei's face instantly froze, and a bitter feeling rose in his heart.
"Yes, I couldn't complete what I promised the Old Man, so I have no face to see you."
"It's good you know. I'm just here to say goodbye this time. I'm going to the God Realm."
"Is... is that so?"
Ning Bei wanted to make her stay, wanted to tell her not to leave him alone, but the words were stuck in his throat. And the Little Angel seemed to have noticed his thoughts, a cold smile playing on her lips.
A faint light bloomed in her hand, peeling a Lovesick Heartbreak Red from Ning Bei's Soul Tool.
The Immortal Herb, guided by the Angel God's power, slowly floated into Qian Renxue's hand.
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