The ancient powerful figure’s eyes were filled with regret, sorrow, and unwillingness.

Chen Qingyuan’s consciousness seemed to traverse endless years, witnessing Xiang Qiyou standing on a broken bridge.

This bridge was outlined by myriad laws, with a large section missing in the middle, and below it was an abyss with no visible end.

Xiang Qiyou stood at the broken part of the bridge, unable to cross it despite exhausting his life’s strength.

He withdrew his gaze, turned to look ahead of the broken bridge, his eyes deep and profound, like the endless night, or the terrifying deep sea.

His lifespan was nearing its end; this was his last chance.

Clang!

The sound of the Great Dao emanated from Xiang Qiyou’s body, layers of faint golden light attached to his body, a point of azure light at his brow. With a lift of his hand, he could control the laws of the world, making them move in a special trajectory, thereby condensing a Dao seal in front of him, and pointed it forward.

“Boom”

The Dao seal crossed the broken bridge, drifting in the void, resisting the unknown power of the Great Dao, moving forward.

That glimmer of hope came from the depths of Xiang Qiyou’s eyes.

In the endless darkness, it seemed there was a bit of light.

But, could this faint glimmer of light really dispel the darkness between heaven and earth?

The Dao seal transformed into a lotus flower, above it was a web of countless intertwined laws, and below was the pitch-black abyss.

“Go!”

Xiang Qiyou split a part of his life essence, instantly reaching the lotus flower.

The essence avatar stood on the lotus, left hand behind his back, right hand gently manipulating the unknown laws in front of him, as if parting the clouds.

At first, everything went smoothly.

But as he went deeper, the Dao lotus began to tremble, unable to withstand the upcoming power of the Great Dao.

This was his last chance, Xiang Qiyou was unwilling to give up.

Betting everything, he continued forward.

After a stick of incense, “Boom,” a corner of the lotus exploded.

“Hiss—”

A part of the Dao lotus shattered, terrifying power swept over Xiang Qiyou’s essence avatar, instantly creating several ghastly wounds on his body.

Even as blood gushed out, Xiang Qiyou did not lower his head, always looking forward, his gaze firm.

To him, pursuing the Great Dao was the reason for living.

Matters of love, power struggles, all were unimportant.

“Boom”

Another corner of the Dao lotus shattered, teetering on the edge.

Xiang Qiyou used all his strength to stabilize the Dao lotus.

“Just a bit more…”

The end of the broken bridge led to an unknown place, obstructed by the laws of the Great Dao and unknown forces, no power could spy on it. Only by approaching that place could one see it with the naked eye.

After a while, the Dao lotus could no longer hold on, “Boom,” it completely shattered.

Xiang Qiyou’s essence avatar sank downward, almost falling into the endless abyss, being swallowed by darkness.

Hold on!

Resisting the terrifying laws with his essence avatar consumed the strength of his main body.

Despite the unimaginable cost, Xiang Qiyou refused to stop.

“Tap, tap, tap…”

Each step was extremely heavy.

Like this, Xiang Qiyou walked for another hour.

The legs of the essence avatar were all white bones, no flesh left. His cheeks were sunken, eyes bulging, hair cut by the law’s power, very disheveled.

“That is…”

Xiang Qiyou seemed to see a bit of white light.

He stretched out his right hand.

His palm had been corroded at some point, with only a few pieces of flesh hanging on his arm, all white bones, shocking to see.

As for his left hand, it had long been severed, swallowed by the darkness below.

Using his last bit of strength, the essence avatar took another half step forward, allowing his blood-stained eyes to see more clearly.

“Is that… the other shore?”

With a “thud,” the essence avatar held on until the last moment, the legs of white bones shattered, and the body began to rapidly sink.

At the moment of falling, Xiang Qiyou seemed to see the scene of white light ahead.

It was a place where hundreds of flowers bloomed, nurturing countless ancient Dao marks.

Its beauty and brilliance were beyond words.

Future Quasi-Emperors called that place—the other shore.

Some said, one day in the future, when the broken bridge is rebuilt, and flowers bloom on the other shore, it would be a new golden age.

Unfortunately, Xiang Qiyou could not wait for that day.

The darkness devoured his essence avatar completely.

Standing at the broken bridge, Xiang Qiyou’s main body also suffered severe backlash, thick blood oozed from his mouth, his body made a slight cracking sound, and his remaining black hair turned white in an instant, aging significantly.

“If heaven grants me a thousand years, I will surely reach the other shore and witness the blooming flowers.”

A long sigh, two lines of clear tears.

At that moment, he was no longer the invincible existence, but an old man full of regrets.

Exhausting his life’s strength, he ultimately failed!

After standing for several days, Xiang Qiyou turned and left.

Then, he appeared on a lonely mountain, sitting by the cliff, playing a tune on his zither, bidding himself farewell.

We are in a sea of suffering, never having seen the other shore.

Who broke the bridge of the Great Dao?

And who wrote the ancient Dao scriptures of the other shore and the sea of suffering, giving future evildoers a clear goal?

In the future, who can rebuild the broken bridge and reach the other shore?

With endless regret and many questions, Xiang Qiyou passed away.

Before dying, he left behind all his life’s knowledge, hoping the inheritance would not be cut off. If one day someone could use the Dao techniques he taught to cross the broken bridge and reach the other shore, it would be a fortunate thing!

This glance allowed Chen Qingyuan to see Xiang Qiyou’s last attempt to cross the bridge, feeling the sorrow of Xiang Qiyou awaiting death.

Unknowingly, his eyes filled with tears, as if he had experienced it himself.

Those feelings of unwillingness, helplessness, sorrow, and regret intertwined deep in Chen Qingyuan’s heart.

“He… lost to time.”

Chen Qingyuan murmured.

If Xiang Qiyou had a few more years, he would surely take that last step and reach the other shore.

Unfortunately, there are not many perfect things in this world, leaving many regrets.

Xiang Qiyou was not the first to step on the broken bridge, nor would he be the last.

However, he might have been the closest to the other shore. If not for his lifespan running out, he might have succeeded, breaking the shackles of the Great Dao, cutting off the chains, and ascending to the position of Great Emperor that no one had succeeded in for countless years!

To this day, common people do not know the Great Emperor, only saying that the Great Vehicle is the end of the cultivation path.

After a long silence, Chen Qingyuan bowed deeply to the stone tablet with a heart full of reverence.

Understanding Xiang Qiyou’s past, Chen Qingyuan realized how great he was.

Although Xiang Qiyou failed, his will would always remain in the world, guiding future generations forward.

At this moment, the hall doors opened.

The Heaven’s Pride who had entered were being driven out one by one.

Among them was Song Ningyan. When she saw Chen Qingyuan standing in front of the stone tablet, she quickly approached, her face full of joy, “Senior Brother!”