Far away in the Great Tang of the Eastern Lands, in a random village, a somewhat sloppily-dressed painter was looking askance at a rich man who fawned over him with endless words.
“Immortal, sir, I beg of you to paint me. I’m willing to pay any price.”
“My paintings are very expensive,” was the response.
The rich man nodded enthusiastically, then waved to his retainers to carry over several large chests.
The old painter glanced at them out of the corner of his eye, then cleared his throat. “Well, it seems that the two of us are connected by destiny. Because of that, I’ll paint something for you.”
He was just about to begin painting when a frown appeared on his face.
“Something just came up,” he said. “I need to take a mental journey. Please wait for a moment.” With that, he sat down cross-legged and closed his eyes.
The rich man didn’t dare to disturb him, and simply stood there off to the side, waiting.
Back in the Southern Domain, in the Rebirth Cave, Da Nu looked off into the nothingness, lost in her memories.
She was a lily that had bloomed with seven colors. On the day of vicissitudes, she had reached Immortal Ascension. However, she mistakenly fell in love with her host. When she reached Immortal Ascension, she severed her goodness and buried it at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea.
On that day, her tears had merged into the Milky Way Sea, and she became… the Dawn Immortal.
As for her goodness, it remained at the bottom of the Milky Way Sea, the same Da Nu as before.
Many years later, she emerged from the coffin and entered into the body of the fish. When she splashed out from the water, she became a roc that flew toward the Rebirth Cave, emanating an intense aura of death. 1
That aura of death came from her dead heart.
In the Rebirth Cave, she had hoped to experience a baptism, a rebirth, to become new. But no matter how she searched, there was no rebirth to be found in the Rebirth Cave. It was then that she understood. The Rebirth Cave was nothing more than a fantasy.
She could not achieve rebirth, so she remained there, submerged in her memories. No one in the world could understand her pain. But then she saw Xu Qing, and when she did, she realized that Xu Qing was just like herself all those years ago.
She sighed. The memories flashing in her mind’s eye seemed to grow more beautiful. In contrast, her body was already more than half withered up, like a dying flower.
The hand that touched Meng Hao’s forehead was visibly draining as her boundless life force poured into his body. He was now completely recovered, and didn’t look old at all.
Inside of him, glowing motes of light appeared. They packed together densely, interlocking to form into the shape of an arched bridge.