Myriad Rivers to the Sea

Lian crossed the room in a blur of elegant silk robes and stopped just a foot away from Li Yu. Her eyes wide as she took in his appearance. She scanned him from head to toe and was looking for missing limbs, lingering curses or the terrifying signs of temporal rot.

Seeing him physically whole and standing tall, the tension drained from her body. It left behind an agonizing guilt that she had been harboring over these last few years.

"Li Yu," Lian said softly with her voice trembling. "I am so sorry. It is all my fault. If I hadn't come to Silkwood to ask for your help, if I hadn't dragged you into this war... you would have never been trapped in that nightmare for all these years. I let you get into that kind of danger."

Li Yu offered her a warm and reassuring smile. He shook his head gently.

"There is nothing to apologize for, Lian," Li Yu said. "You didn't drag me into anything. You asked for my help and I chose to give it. I was simply trying to repay the favor you showed me back then. A favor is a favor and I knew the risks when I stepped onto that battlefield."

Lian looked down with her hands clasping tightly together. "But the Temporal Dao Stone... we thought you were lost forever. The suffering you must have endured..."

"I won't lie and say it was pleasant," Li Yu admitted. His eyes reflected a depth of wisdom that hadn't been there a few years ago. "It was all an incredibly eye opening experience. I saw things and lived through events that most cultivators couldn't even imagine. But even though I suffered, I also gained a massive amount."

Lian scanned over his body and slightly gasped. Her eyes widened. "Law Integration? You... you broke through that much? How is this possible?"

When she had last seen him, he had been in the middle of Divine Transformation. To jump across the Soul Transformation, Half-King, King, Law Seed and landing firmly in Law Integration within a few years was insanity.

Khaos looked at Li Yu and then shifted his gaze to the two blurred figures standing quietly nearby. Khaos possessed a calculating mind but beneath his aloof exterior, he also possessed a startling amount of emotional empathy. This increased more so after the message his father had sent him through time.

He could read the unspoken tension in the room. He could see the way the disguised parents hovered near the boy. They were radiating a desperate and suppressed longing. He knew exactly what this moment meant to them, even if Li Yu remained in the dark but had his own suspicions of who they were to him.

"Before we traverse the void and take you back to your quiet farm in Silkwood," Khaos said. "I recommend we sit down and share a meal. The five of us. It is not every day a being walks out of the Temporal Dao Stone alive. He should be the first. We should celebrate properly before we depart."

Behind their veils of light and shadow, Li Canghai and Zhan Tielan turned to look at Khaos. The gratitude welling up in their hearts was immense. They had thought their time with Li Yu was over the moment the escorts arrived. Khaos’s suggestion was a quiet gift to them. One last moment to simply be a family.

"I think that is a wonderful idea," Zhan Tielan said with her voice soft and eager. "I will have the kitchens prepare a feast immediately."

Li Canghai offered Khaos a subtle and respectful nod. 'Thank you,' he conveyed silently. Khaos merely blinked his dark eyes in response and took a seat at the low wooden table.

Within minutes, the pavilion was transformed. Attendants brought platters to the door and were taken in by the leaders. They were platters of exquisite spiritual delicacies: roasted dragon carp that shimmered with ambient Qi, jade bamboo shoots that smelled of the spring rain and bowls of glowing and restorative broth. A few other dishes were brought in..

The five of them sat around the table. It was an incredibly strange gathering on paper. A young man, an elegant emissary, an ancient being and two top military leaders of the cosmos. Yet as the meal began, a warm and sweet atmosphere settled over them. It felt less like a formal banquet and more like a simple family dinner.

As they ate, Li Yu explained the mechanics of the Temporal Dao Stone to Khaos and Lian, just as he had to the commanders earlier. He told them about the lives he had experienced and the mental weight of the stone’s archive.

Lian listened and was horrified by the psychological torture he had been subjected to. Khaos listened intently, nodding slowly as Li Yu described the inevitable deaths and the realization that fighting the current only led to premature ruin.

"To endure the shattered memories of the dead without losing your own sense of self," Khaos mused while taking a sip of wine. "Your soul is a fortress, Li Yu. Most would have forgotten their own name by the third lifetime."

"I was lucky" Li Yu smiled while thinking of the five Nascent Souls resting in his inner world. He hadn’t gotten the chance to process that his Human Soul had split in two and one half disappeared with the stone. It didn’t hurt him, at least he didn’t think it did. It had all happened so fast.

The conversation flowed and the mood remained light and comfortable. Li Yu looked at the two hosts who had treated him with such extraordinary kindness.

"I do not mean to overstep, Seniors," Li Yu began respectfully while setting his chopsticks down. "But we are in a private and heavily warded pavilion. The doors are sealed and there is no one here but us. Why do you continue to maintain the blurred forms? Must you keep your faces hidden even while sharing a meal?"

The table went slightly quiet. Lian looked down at her bowl while Khaos took a very slow and deliberate drink from his cup.

Li Canghai looked at his son. He wanted nothing more than to drop the veil, to let Li Yu see his father's face and to smile at him openly. But the weight of the cosmos was a heavy chain.

"There are secrets that must be protected, young man," Li Canghai answered, His deep voice carrying a solemn and unyielding truth.

"In the positions we hold, enemies have eyes everywhere. Divination arts, karmic tracking and soul-scrying just to name a few. Our enemies employ them all. We obscure our identities not because we do not trust you but for the good of the realms. Some truths, once revealed, cannot be contained and they bring unimaginable danger to everyone involved. Just in case."

Li Yu studied the blurred figure for a moment and then nodded slowly in understanding.

'These people are incredibly important,' Li Yu thought to himself. 'They dictate the survival of billions. Perhaps their identities are kept entirely secret to keep their own families safe. If their enemies knew what they looked like, they might be able to track down their loved ones. Perhaps their very names are not real at all and are made up. I cannot fault a person for wanting to protect their family.'

"I understand completely, Commander," Li Yu said as he offered a smile. "I respect your boundaries. You have shown me nothing but hospitality and grace. A blurred face does not diminish the warmth of the meal."

Zhan Tielan felt a lump form in her throat. She smiled behind the veil with her heart swelling with pride at how mature and understanding her son had become. He wasn’t like this before when they were in their little village. He had certainly grown.

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The rest of the dinner was filled with lighthearted conversation. Khaos actually shared a rare and dry joke about the absurdity of cosmic beasts, which drew a genuine laugh from Li Canghai.

Lian made sure Li Yu’s plate was never empty and was acting like a doting older sister. For that brief hour, the war outside did not exist. There was only the food, the quiet bamboo illusion projected on the windows and the warmth of the company.

But all meals eventually come to an end. As the plates were cleared, Khaos stood up and signaled that it was time to leave. Li Canghai and Zhan Tielan stood up as well.

"Before you depart, Li Yu," Li Canghai said as he stepped forward. From his inner world, he produced a long and rectangular box made of dark and polished wood.

"We wish to give you some farewell gifts. It is our way of saying thank you. You risked everything to free me and my army. The realms owe you a debt we can never fully repay but we hope you will accept these tokens."

Li Yu stood up and bowed. "You really do not have to give me anything, Commander. I am just happy to be able to do my part and help."

"Indulge an old soldier," Li Canghai insisted as he handed the box to Li Yu.

Li Yu opened it. Inside, resting on a bed of velvet, was a sword. It was breathtakingly beautiful. It was highly ornate with a hilt wrapped in golden silk and a scabbard inscribed with flowing, decorative runes. It looked like a piece of high art rather than a weapon of war.

"It is a ceremonial sword from my clan," Li Canghai explained and his tone was completely casual. "It is a symbol of great honor and gratitude. However, I must warn you, it is not a strong sword. Do not use it in actual battle against people or the blade will surely break. Keep it as a keepsake."

Li Yu admired the craftsmanship. "It is beautiful. Thank you, Commander. I will treasure it and not use it in combat."

"There is one condition," Li Canghai added and his voice lowered a fraction. It carried a subtle and unbreakable weight. "Because it is a gift from my clan, you cannot give it away to anyone else. You must bind it with your blood before you leave. Once you do, it is yours and yours alone."

"I promise," Li Yu said solemnly. He bit his thumb and let a single drop of his blood fall onto the hilt. The sword hummed with a quiet and invisible resonance, binding itself to his soul.

Li Yu had absolutely no idea that he had just bound one of the Ten Great Swords of the Li Clan. Its name was Gilded Calamity, a weapon of apocalyptic power that was sealed by a dozen sealing arrays. The only thing that was original about it was its appearance. Li Canghai could have changed it but he wanted his son to have the sword as it has always looked.

While this could cause issues down the road, such as people recognizing this sword, Li Canghai didn’t seem to care. A small mental shift had occurred within the parents during this time. Their child had suffered and they were powerless to help him. A small selfish part of Li Canghai even wanted Li Yu to be discovered. They would deal with it as it came, he wanted his child to at least have something from his heritage.

It was as Li Canghai had said though, it was completely useless in battle and wouldn’t even protect Li Yu if he encountered danger. Its current state was just that of an ornamental sword.

It was merely a symbol now rather than the destructive weapon that it actually was in Li Canghai’s hands. Li Yu would have to unseal the sword, learn the different chants and techniques of the Li family before he could ever use the sword as it was meant to be. But Li Canghai never wanted Li Yu to ever have to use the sword as a real weapon and hoped he would never have to.

It was the sword that Li Canghai was first given by the clan when he became one of their pillars. He also has a second sword of the Ten Great Swords of the Li Clan as well. That was the weapon he was currently using. Showing how much authority and weight he truly commanded within the clan.

Next, Zhan Tielan stepped forward. Unlike her husband, she did not have a neat and polished box. With a dull thud that actually made the pavilion's reinforced floor shudder, she pulled a weapon from her inner world and placed it in front of him.

It was a war hammer.

It was massive, brutal and entirely devoid of elegance. The head was a block of dark, pitted metal the size of a boulder and it was attached to a thick and unyielding haft. Everyone in the room stared at it in stunned silence. The contrast between the elegant ceremonial sword and this brutish chunk of metal was comical.

"This is from me," Zhan Tielan said as her blurred form radiated a distinct sense of amusement. "A front line fighter needs a heavy hand."

Li Yu reached out and was smiling politely. Internally he thought that this hammer was a bit too much, even for his own somewhat brutish fighting style. He grasped the haft of the hammer with one hand and was fully expecting his Law Integration strength and his Devouring Abyssal Leviathan Physique to lift it as easily as a twig.

He pulled. The hammer didn't budge.

Li Yu blinked. He planted his feet and gripped the haft with both hands. His muscles bulged, his bones creaked and he gave a mighty heave. The hammer moved exactly two inches off the floor before it slammed it back down with a resounding CRACK. The impact from the fall had fractured the tiles beneath it.

Li Yu stood there and was panting slightly. His face was flushing with deep embarrassment. He literally couldn't lift it.

"My goodness," Zhan Tielan teased with a warm and maternal laugh escaping her lips. "You really should work on your strength, child. It is a bit embarrassing that a young man like you couldn't even lift such a simple and everyday thing."

Lian covered her mouth to hide a smile while Khaos simply shook his head in amusement.

"I... I will definitely work on that, Senior," Li Yu stammered as his face continued burning. He couldn't even fathom what kind of material that hammer was forged from. "I graciously accept it. Could you help me to put it away?"

"Allow me to help you then," Tielan said smoothly. She reached out and lifted the absurdly heavy war hammer with one single and effortless hand. She was casually holding it in the air.

Li Yu immediately sucked it into his inner world's Koi Sanctuary.

Inside the sanctuary, the hammer dropped from the portal. It plummeted like a meteor, smashing directly into a pile of random weapons and minor spirit stones Li Yu had collected from his earlier adventures. The hammer crushed the lesser loot into fine dust before settling into its eternal spot, completely immovable for the foreseeable future.

As with Li Canghai, this hammer was purely decorational. It was also a weapon from the Zhan clan but wasn’t some named or amazing weapon. The Zhan valued their bodies over any sort of weapon. It was more of just a keepsake than anything else. Perhaps if Li Yu could lift it, he could set it on someone and crush them with its immense weight.

With the gifts exchanged, the time for goodbyes had finally arrived.

Lian stepped forward and her hands weaved a complex sequence of spatial seals. Li Canghai manipulated the arrays within the fortress to allow Lian to create a rift here. The air in the pavilion distorted and tore open a stable portal that led directly back to the skies above Silkwood.

Li Yu turned back to the two commanders. He bowed deeply to them.

"Thank you, for everything," Li Yu said as his voice echoed with gratitude. "For the hospitality, for the protection and for the gifts. May the Dao guide your armies to victory and safety."

"May the Dao guide your path, Li Yu," Li Canghai replied softly.

"Stay safe, child," Zhan Tielan whispered with her hands clenching at her sides to keep from reaching out.

Li Yu turned and stepped through the portal. Lian followed right behind him and Khaos stood where he was. Before leaving, he casted one final and knowing look back at the two disguised parents before he took his own spatial tear.

The pavilion was suddenly empty.

Li Canghai and Zhan Tielan stood in silence for a long time. With a thought, the obscuring auras of light and shadow faded away and revealed their true faces. Tielan’s eyes were shimmering with unshed tears but a soft smile graced her lips. Canghai’s golden eyes were bright and his jaw set with renewed determination.

They felt a great and painfully aching sense of loss at his departure. The room felt infinitely colder without his presence. But beneath the sorrow, a powerful and uplifting warmth took root in their hearts.

“He has grown up to be such a fine young man.”Tielan said to her husband as she wiped a tear from her cheek. “He is kind, he is strong and most importantly he is alive.”

Li Canghai placed his arm around his wife and pulled her close. They looked at the empty space where their son had just stood. The endless cosmic war, the blood, the politics, the overwhelming burden of defending the realms, all of it had weighed on their souls. From well before they met each other, had Li Yu and then had to return back to it.

But today, knowing that their son was out there and walking his own path that he himself chose and his own unimaginable potential, their spirit to shoulder that heavy burden surged. The war was horrific but the universe was worth protecting. Because he was in it.

They turned to leave the pavilion and the burden on their shoulders felt just that bit lighter. Their spirits that bit stronger. Their resolve that much more firm.