Chapter 140: We’ll Die and Share a Grave—You’ll Have to Take Responsibility, Part Three

Wang Li and Jiang Yuesheng parting in life and reuniting in death could be considered picking up their former affinity in another lifetime.

Chatting idly in the tomb chamber while absorbing the collective will of all living beings, they found their recovery period far from tedious.

However, a young woman outside the tomb was far from pleased.

Jiang Yu knew that Wang Li was not dead, but she had no idea that Jiang Yue was still alive. From the day they were buried, she had come to sweep Wang Li's grave every single year.

Yes, she came strictly to sweep Wang Li's grave, giving no thought whatsoever to sweeping Jiang Yue's.

To sweep the grave of someone who was not dead while completely ignoring the truly departed sounded rather eerie, but a woman's heart is as deep as the ocean, and it was truly difficult to evaluate such behavior of hers.

Every time she swept the grave, she would try to communicate with Wang Li's consciousness, but Wang Li had never replied to her once, leaving her deeply disappointed.

"You said you would give me an explanation. Remember not to forget it."

Once again, on the anniversary of Wang Li's death, Jiang Yu left these words with a face full of lingering resentment and turned to leave.

She no longer expected a reply from Wang Li; she only hoped that he would honor his past promise and lift the shackles binding her.

Yet just as she turned around, Wang Li's voice resounded directly within her sea of consciousness.

"I have taken up Wang Li's cause and effect. A hundred years from now, I will come to the Pure Sun Secret Realm to help you lift your Dao oath. Go and keep Wang Li's parents company, and by the way, tell them that Wang Li is doing very well so they need not worry."

Jiang Yu was startled, and then a surge of joy washed over her: "Thank you, Senior. This disciple will return to the Pure Sun Secret Realm right away."

Her intentions were simple. If she could lift the Dao oath seal on her body, she would be like a bird freed in the vast sky. Without overthinking it, she immediately agreed to Wang Li's request.

Yet on her way down the mountain, the more she thought about it, the stranger it felt.

What did "Wang Li is doing very well" even mean?

Could it be that Wang Li was never possessed?

"Impossible! I've never heard of anyone who was possessed managing to survive; their souls and divine senses always end up completely annihilated!"

She shook her head, refusing to believe Wang Li's words.

That remark must have been meant to comfort the Wang family—nothing more than a consoling lie.

She was merely a messenger; why waste her energy thinking so much about it?

With a stirring heart, Jiang Yu returned to the Pure Sun Temple and reported the news of Wang Li's return a century later to Master Nirvana.

Master Nirvana immediately came to Wang Li's tomb to inquire about the situation.

"Abbess, given the current amount of soul-will power, I indeed only need a hundred years to fully recover my divine soul, though it will take a bit more time for me to walk out of this tomb on my own."

Wang Li said, "I know you are all anxious, but this is my first time practicing through the power of collective will, and the corresponding techniques must be figured out step by step. Still, I can guarantee that at the slowest it will take a millennium, and at the fastest a century, I will pass the cultivation method of collective will on to you."

Master Nirvana did not actually care much about the cultivation method of collective will. Wang Li had made it very clear: collective will was merely an auxiliary power; cultivators still had to rely on their own arduous training and accumulation.

She believed Wang Li was not deceiving her.

Before ascending, her master had told both her and her senior brother that Wang Li was an existence worthy of trust.

If Wang Li said he could do it, he would. Right now, she was much more concerned about Wang Li's actual condition.

"How is Senior's recovery going? Is there anything else we need to do?"

Wang Li replied, "No need, my recovery is going very well, and you don't need to bring any offerings. However, there is one thing I hope you will tell Liuguang."

Master Nirvana asked, "What is it?"

"It's about Jiang Yue," Wang Li said. "Jiang Yue did not perish under the Immortal Tribulation; she successfully crossed it. The reason she turned into her current state is because she possesses the Natural Nirvana Constitution, which requires her mortal soul to shed its ordinary nature before she can truly become an immortal. Since you have practiced the Nirvana Dao, you should know what this represents. The power of collective will can help Jiang Yue accelerate her completion of the nirvana process. Tell Liuguang he no longer needs to dwell on her."

Master Nirvana nodded and said, "Indeed, nirvana and the shedding of mortal form require the physical body and the divine soul to undergo transformation simultaneously. I never expected little Yueer to possess the nirvana constitution; it was an oversight on our part."

"It must have been hard on Senior Brother, going into seclusion of death and attempting to use the Reincarnation Dao to save little Yueer. I will go right back and invite Senior Brother to come out of seclusion."

Wang Li said, "You only need to inform him of Jiang Yue's situation; do nothing else. Liuguang has his own fortune in studying the Reincarnation Dao; letting go of the obsession in his heart will make it easier for him to achieve greatness."

"Very well, I understand."

"I have already instructed Jiang Yu not to spread Senior's words just yet."

Master Nirvana was asking for Wang Li's opinion.

Wang Li said, "Do as you please. However, times have changed; the mindset of small, isolated sects is no longer suited for the world of the future. You must keep that in mind."

"I understand."

Master Nirvana departed, and the daily chatting resumed inside the tomb chamber.

Jiang Yue asked, "What are your thoughts regarding Jiang Yu? Since that great senior isn't here, do you even have the ability to lift her Dao oath?"

"I see you're just coveting her beauty. Once the two of you are married, the Dao oath will naturally dissolve. After all, you are Wang Li."

Wang Li immediately issued a triple denial, refusing to admit that Jiang Yue had guessed his true intentions.

He had been bluffing; without Senior Sheng around to help, the only way he could lift the Dao oath was to fulfill the marriage contract between them.

He was gambling—gambling that Senior Sheng was also absorbing the collective will of the Tianxuan World.

According to Senior Sheng, once the plan of the sacrificial halls was completed, the generated collective will would only take ten years to free him from his predicament. Yet Wang Li could sense that at the current progress, it would take him at least a hundred years to restore his divine soul. Even if Jiang Yue absorbed nearly sixty percent of the collective will, it would at most take him thirty to fifty years to recover. Where was the excess collective will going?

Based on his understanding of Senior Sheng, Wang Li even suspected that the collective will he and Jiang Yue were absorbing was merely the leftover scraps left behind by Senior Sheng!

This suspicion was not without reason.

Among the knowledge Senior Sheng had imparted to him was a fundamental law that held true in any world:

The Law of Conservation of Energy.

Energy neither comes into being out of nowhere, nor vanishes into thin air.

As a saint's remnant soul, Senior Sheng had suffered through multiple large-scale energy consumptions, which was what led to his deep slumber.

Therefore, he too needed to replenish energy in order to recover.

Then where did the energy come from?

Spiritual Qi and the primordial energy of heaven and earth were abundant in quantity, but given Senior Sheng's cautious nature, he certainly wouldn't absorb them in massive amounts for fear of letting the World Will catch his traces. On the other hand, the collective will of all living beings was a power the creatures of the Tianxuan World had never utilized before, and its accumulated quantity was more than sufficient. If he secretly absorbed some through the Heaven's Pride Ranking and the Chosen Ranking—which were closely connected to the World Will—even that dim-witted World Will probably wouldn't notice.

Wang Li silently thought to himself: "Senior Sheng, it feels like I've discovered the truth! Hehe!"

"Hehe your head! Senior Sheng was just asleep, simply asleep!"

The long-absent voice rang out, making Wang Li feel an unusual sense of warmth.

"Asleep then asleep!"
Wang Li chuckled and said, "At your age, you really can't take a joke."

"You brat really need a beating every three days just to keep you from tearing down the tiles off the roof. Do you believe Senior Sheng will smack you a few times?"

"Don't, don't, don't! In my current state, I couldn't possibly withstand a single slap from your esteemed self."

The joyful daily banter had returned, leaving Wang Li feeling utterly... conflicted.

Apart from having somewhat bad luck with her hands, Jiang Yu was actually... quite pretty. What a pity.