52 A grand mausoleum. (2/2)

They were Demonic beasts that had incredibly might, they had their own pride and dignity. They had completely submitted to Zhao Feng and the others, so they would never follow anyone else. They respected Li Yang for his past might, but that did not mean that they would be willing to follow him. Seeing them like this, Li Yang could only let out a slightly regretful sigh, but his lips quickly curled into a warm smile.

”I see, that's a shame. Then let's hope that they managed to reincarnate, that way we can all go and drink some good wine together, just like in the old days.”

Lin Zhu and the others replied with bright smiles of their own, nodding their heads. If they could all gather once more, simply drinking peacefully, that would truly be bliss. After a short moment of silence, Zizai stepped forward, his body turning into a wind that surrounded Li Yang and Jinwu.

”Lord Li Yang, let me take you to the memorial.”

With Zizai surrounding his entire body, Li Yang's body shot through the air. When he was wondering how Zizai would bring him out of the mountain, the ceiling above them split open, a passage to the outside appearing. With Zizai bringing him away at full speed, Li Yang's vision blurred so badly he was unable to tell what anything was.

But despite their speed, they still had to fly for a few minutes before they managed to reach the Thunder Flower Memorial. Zizai brought Li Yang down in front of the Thunder Flower Memorial, which was a large city covered in a light layer of white snow. The sky was covered in dark clouds, snow continuously falling from the sky. Yet despite the continuous snowfall, the layer of snow covering the city did not grow any larger. Looking at the city ahead of him, Li Yang could not help but let out a slight murmur, his voice heavy with reminiscence.

”So this is the place huh? They really went all in.”

The part of the city he could see in front of him was a perfect recreation of a city that the six of them often visited in the past, or it might even be the actual city. Li Yang was unable to see the center of the city, but he could feel that there was a terrifying power gathering at the very center of the city. Zizai formed his body in front of Li Yang, giving him a slight bow as he spoke.

”This is as far as I can take you. As we are the guardians of the four trials, we cannot be gone for too long, lest the arrays that support the trials crumble without our support.”

Li Yang gave a slight nod of his head, bidding Zizai farewell. Zizai's body quickly turned into wind, vanishing into the distance as he returned to the trial that his master had told him to keep an eye on. Li Yang watched Zizai leave, and then turned towards the city in front of him, staring at it in silence for a moment.

He took a deep breath, and then stepped forward, entering the city. The emblem in his chest released a faint heat after he stepped into the city, so it seemed like it had activated, preventing the arrays in the city from activating. Li Yang walked at a slow pace through the city, his gaze carefully sweeping the surroundings, sometimes stopping on a few buildings as he reminisced about the past, a past he would never be able to return to.

Jinwu could sense his somewhat melancholic state, so he pressed up closely to Li Yang's neck, comforting him. Seeing Jinwu acting like this, Li Yang's lips curled into a faint smile. His eyes landed on a small building not far from them, a small balcony adorning the front of the building. Li Yang raised his arm to point at the building, a warm smile on his face as he spoke.

”It's a city full of familiar places. Do you see that building there? It used to be a restaurant, I had my first proper date with Fang Ying there. That building was where I and Fang Ying first became one.”

After he pointed at the restaurant, he moved his arm and pointed at a tall pagoda located a small distance to their right. The pagoda used to be a hotel that charged a truly exorbitant sum for even a single night's stay. The two continued to slowly make their way through the city, Li Yang occasionally pointing out a few places that were noteworthy.

When they got deeper into the city, the buildings slowly gave way to larger stretches of land that did not belong to the city. Li Yang could see a small lake covered in lotus flowers in the distance, a single weeping willow standing at the bank of the lake. He could not help but stop when he saw the lake, the smile on his face growing even warmer.

”That small lake over there, beneath that weeping willow is where I and Fang Ying shared our vows. It was a small ceremony, only Zhao Feng and the others serving as witnesses, but it meant the world to us.”

Li Yang stood still and looked at the lake for a bit, his mind lost in the past. In the end, he closed his eyes and took another deep breath, taking his eyes away from the lake, continuing deeper into the city. As they got closer to the center of the city, the terrifying power slowly grew more oppressive, so it was clear that they were quickly approaching it.

After he spent around three more hours walking, the two of them finally reached the center of the city, a magnificent sight appearing in front of them. At the very center of the city stood a small hill that looked completely unremarkable, but atop that unremarkable hill stood a grand mausoleum. The mausoleum was a deep azure in color, and Li Yang could tell that it was built out of a single Demon crystal.

Li Yang did not even have to guess at what Divine beast had been slain to acquire such a large Demon Crystal, as the skeletons of two dragons adorned the mausoleum, their bodies positioned so that they coiled around each other and roared at the sky. The terrifying power that Li Yang had felt came from these two skeletons, a testament to their might when they were still alive. At the bottom of the hill stood a small marker, a few words engraved on it. Upon reading the words, Li Yang could not help but laugh out.

”So this is where you built the memorial, huh? A nameless hill turning into the world's greatest memorial? Dai Shu, you always had such a flair for the dramatic, didn't you?”

How could Li Yang not recognize that small and unremarkable hill? It was the place where he and Fang Ying had died, the place where they shared their last kiss, and the place where he swore that death was not enough to stop him from chasing her. Li Yang took his eyes away from the marker, locking his gaze onto the mausoleum as he stepped forward.

”Well then, shall we go and see what they hid away for me in such a grand mausoleum?”