154. A Thousand Years
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After Yin Xiaolong's death, Sky Realm expected their Emperor to act against Bailong's loyal family, friends, and followers.
This was especially since the Sky seal was now lifted, letting most of Bailong's loyal supporters back into Sky Realm, and most were boldly making their opinions known.
Even after watching the collection of memories, they were convinced that Bailong had been wronged, and they sent in endless petitions, some even blatantly requesting audience, asking Tianlong to at least clear Bailong's name.
"I never would have believed you were capable of such foolishness!!" Old man Bao had appeared right in the Throne room and boldly berated Tianlong.
By the time Immortal Jin and other High Grand Immortals arrived, Old man Bao merely shook his head and vanished.
"You will regret your actions someday!" His words echoed around the hall.
As for Immortal Kai Zhen, he appeared in the throne room as well, but simply sighed. "I would be lying if I say I'm not disappointed..."
Kai Zhen didn't say anything more, but vanished afterwards and no one ever saw him from that day.
One after the other, they registered their displeasure, or quietly disappeared in protest, leaving a few posts empty. This included Immortal Ye- former Fate Immortal, the weaver deity, the new Wood and River deities, and a few of the elder Immortals.
The War Immortal stayed, but only because as War Immortal, his position was far too sensitive, and he was much too loyal to Tianlong's father to simply let Sky Realm fall to ruin.
Yin Xing knelt in tears outside the Sky Palace for several days in open protest, simply repeating the request,
"Please clear the name of High Grand Immortal Yin! There's no way he did those things...!"
Everyone expected the Sky Emperor to act against all these individuals, or at the very least, punish Yan Liwei, the remaining Snake Clan members, and the other surviving Caoyang Immortals, all of whom had previously been accused of being demonized and being Yin Xiaolong's minions.
But Zhurong Tianlong simply let all the Yin Xiaolong 'Loyalists' do as they pleased.
As for Yan Liwei, he released her himself, going as far as sending forth another edict proclaiming her completely innocent.
And as for the surviving Snake Clan and Caoyang Immortals, he issued a pardon, simply sealing them off within the heart of Caoyang with a strange new formation.
These 'generous' actions gave rise to endless speculation across Sky Realm, and with some investigation, it was all traced back to the events in that throne room before Yin Xiaolong's capture...
Bailong's 'negotiation' that day had forced Tianlong and Fei Yun into a deal, and all three had sworn an Unbreakable Oath to seal it.
Bailong would surrender himself to whatever they wanted to do, and would hand Tianlong a more powerful formation- one which could seal the heart of Caoyang in a way where even he could never bypass.
This seal was also directly tied to his blood, "...so even if I'm 'possessed' and dare to escape, the force would yank me back to Caoyang and I'd never be able to leave..."
Meanwhile, Tianlong and Fei Yun swore that if Bailong did as he said, Yan Liwei, her family, Yin Xing, or anyone else close to Bailong could not be harmed in anyway,
and neither Tianlong nor Fei Yun could act against the Snake Clan or Caoyang immortals if they decided to leave Caoyang before it was sealed...
In the end, even the Shackle Circlet used to capture Bailong had been invented by him.
It was clear to all that the only reason Yin Xiaolong had been defeated, was that he himself had surrendered!
The Oaths were the reason Tianlong and Fei Yun had been so bitter even after capturing Bailong.
And they were the reason Tianlong and Fei Yun could only swallow their annoyance at present, as long as none of Bailong's 'Loyalists' went too far.
"Hao! What a 'great' Sky Emperor we have!" Some Immortals gossiped. "He's not even close to being the Demon King's match!"
"Shouldn't we be thankful for whatever madness made Yin Xiaolong surrender?!"
"When you think about it, what has our Sky Emperor ever achieved outside of Yin Xiaolong's shadow?"
"Heh! Even the matter of avenging his own father... Wasn't it Yin Xiaolong who killed the murderers back then...?"
All these reminded a grieving Tianlong of his own insecurities and were a fresh layer of insult to him, so he shut his ears and heart to whatever anyone said in favour of Bailong.
Fei Yun was worse...
It was as if in Zhurong Fen's absence, he needed something- - anything to hate! And in his heart, Bailong was already the target.
Both friends had gone too far down their own paths to simply turn back.
And so, it didn't matter what anyone said or did to convince Tianlong or Fei Yun.
They had decided Yin Xiaolong was guilty, and he remained known as the Demon King Incarnate...
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A thousand years passed...
Sky Realm was still Sky Realm.
Most had laid the Yin Xiaolong matter to rest.
But several could not forget.
Yin Xing never gave up, and he constantly knelt in protest outside the sky Palace, sometimes for more than a hundred days, till he collapsed from fatigue and hunger.
Several times, the Night Deity threatened to kick him out, despite him being one of the most promising disciples, but Yin Xing didn't care...
At least not until Old Man Bao personally intervened, reminding him that Bailong wouldn't want to see him in such a pitiful state, and that he would be more helpful if he rose to become Night Deity and unlocked the secrets hidden in the Stars.
"Shouldn't you rise and uncover what happened to the stars back then? Also, do you really believe your brother is dead?" Old man Bao sighed.
"Your master, the Night Immortal insists that Xiaobai's star is in the Fate Sea region, but I feel like I can sense him sometimes, and the Night Immortal looks nervous whenever I send someone to mention this..."
Old man Bao's words were enough to encourage Yin Xing, and he returned to Starry Pavilion, diligently pouring himself into his studies.
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Meanwhile, Yan Liwei existed in torment...
After being captured all those years ago, she had fallen unconscious for a few days, and by the time she opened her eyes again, she was back in the Yan Palace.
Apparently, her father had secretly been demoted from his position as Bird King, and was now ruling the Swallows again.
Through him and Linfeng, Liwei heard all that had happened and she instantly tried feeling for Bailong's aura.
There was no response, yet she refused to believe it... She simply refused to accept it!
She tried leaving to search for him, but her father tricked her and sealed her away.
"Forget it! Even the great Immortal Bao hasn't found any trace of him! The Sky Emperor handed you to me, but sent me telepathic words warning me to never let you cross his sight!"
He turned to leave. "You can hate me, but don't blame me... I lost your mother. I won't lose you as well!"
At first Liwei had cried and cried, going on hunger strikes and threatening to take her own life if her father didn't let her out.
But her father knew she wouldn't...
She held Bailong's precious pearl and would never end her life meaninglessly.
After the denial came a crazed acceptance, and torn between grief and guilt, Liwei wailed from morning to night, blaming herself for ever letting Fei Yun in that day.
'I Killed him!'
'I Killed him!'
'I Killed him!'
The words repeated themselves in her head over and over again
A thousand years passed, but Yan Li Wei was barely aware of the passage of time.
She spent the years in solitude, living like one already dead.
Stuck in endless mourning, she barely ate to the point where she appeared gaunt, and spent her time staring at the walls, or forcing herself to sleep so she could at least dream of him...
"Is this the life you saved?" She often asked.
"Because you gave me your dragon pearl... Because of your sacrifice, I can't even take my own life...
Wouldn't that kill the little bit of you that's left?!"
Tears ran down her face, as she repeated words she had spoken far too many times to count.
And she resigned herself to exist in eternal mourning.
But one chilling winter, she suddenly felt an extremely faint, but unmistakable trace of Bailong's aura.
Liwei assumed it was her imagination- perhaps the remnants of some dream...
But no-! It had been too definite, and she quickly latched onto it, refusing to let it go.
'A-Bai is alive...!' She concluded with more hope than she had felt in far too many years.
It was easy enough after that to lull her father into a false sense of security, and the instant he released the seal, she vanished from the Yan Clan at once.
After escaping the seal, she could feel Bailong's aura a bit better, which reinforced her belief that he was somehow alive!
But try as she might, she couldn't trace him.
'The Sky Emperor or central deities should know something...' Liwei thought, tapping into her experience from the past, all those years ago when she had been looking for Four-Petal garden...
Like back then, she began to investigate.
She was much stronger now, and it was almost too easy for her to slip into places, eventually uncovering something Sky Realm had kept a secret...
Bailong was indeed alive!
Back then, despite their enmity, Tianlong hadn't permitted the death penalty, despite Immortal Jin's suggestions.
Enraged, Immortal Jin had manipulated the War Hall to give Bailong one of the cruelest punishments possible, and that same night, Bailong had been sentenced to be crushed by a mountain for an eternity.
This was a cruel punishment where an Immortal was forced to bear the weight of an entire mountain, and to add insult to injury, Immortal Jin selected Caoyang as the chosen mountain.
Then using the ancient technique, Bailong had been bound beneath the mountain, with Immortal Jin and several others forming a circle to activate the seal.
This seal slowly ate away at Bailong's strength, while transferring the weight of the mountain onto him.
Tianlong and Fei Yun learned about this, but they only covered the entire thing up and released word that Yin Xiaolong was dead. This was because, if everyone believed Bailong was dead, then no one would look for him or try to rescue him.
The Ancient Seal was so powerful that it would require several High Grand Immortals to break it, but if Bailong was 'dead', then no one would even try!
'How cruel...!' Liwei cried, her heart hurting to learn that Bailong had spent a thousand years in such torment. "My poor A-Bai...!'
Still, she wiped her tears, a weak smile on her lips.
No matter what, she had found Bailong, and she felt more alive than she had been in the past thousand years...
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