Jing He followed the curve of the mountain range for a long time. He had no comparison as to how long it should take to travel a certain distance so he could only walk forward continuously, inwardly trying to reassure himself that this was simply how long it took and wasn’t indicative of him going the wrong way again or being lost.

His surroundings did not seem to change much, making him feel that he hardly made any progress. It didn’t help that he tired more easily now compared to when he had been searching for the top of the Tian Shan. It wasn’t like the immortal realms were sparse in spiritual energy but it simply couldn’t compare to the High Heavens and as someone who wasn’t used to traveling, he expended a lot more energy than he took in. Without anything to eat, he naturally had to stop and sleep but that sleep was always restless.

When he woke up on yet another morning, Jing He raised his head and stared at the sky in a daze, wondering if he would ever make it home. He had never experienced anything like this. Even during his trial when he had been out traveling, it had been under Qiu Ling’s protection for the most part. When they were separated, he had been rushing ahead like a headless fly as well but he was lucky in how he met others along the way who helped him find direction.

Now, he was all on his own. There was no one to see along the road, no direction to be given. He had to somehow find his way and also make sure that he did not make matters any worse. If he were to stray into the dragon realm at this time, it would still be alright. After all, even if he had broken up with Qiu Ling, he was sure that at this time, the other still held remaining feelings for him. His people wouldn’t treat him badly. If he were to somehow end up in the demon realm though … Who could say what would happen?

He thought of the letters Qiu Ling had written him before while he stayed in the High Heavens. He hadn’t mentioned the demons much in them but he had alluded to the changes in their realm several times. Apparently, the new demon king had his own ambitions and was about to cause large waves. This … could really mean a lot of different things and as he was not privy to more details, he’d rather not take any chances. He absolutely couldn’t end up in the demon realm.

Jing He took a deep breath and picked up An Xin who was still peacefully sleeping next to him as if it hadn’t realized what a troublesome situation they were in. He rubbed the furry head and got to his feet, looking around before following the previous direction.

“On the bright side, there is at least the mountain range to follow. Even if we are going in the wrong direction, we’d just end up on the wrong side which is in the dragon realm, wouldn’t we? So it’s not like in the High Heavens where we couldn’t find the way out at all. We have hope as long as we don’t stray too far from the mountains.” He spoke his thoughts out loud as if talking to An Xin. Of course, deep down, he knew that this wasn’t for the sake of the little flame heart which was still sleeping anyway. No, he just needed to reassure himself.

With each passing day, he became more anxious. And several days had already passed without him seeing even the shortest glimpse of the sea. Adding that onto the time wasted searching for the Tian Shan up in the High Heavens … he was slowly losing hope. Maybe he wouldn’t actually make it back home. And even though he felt that not returning wouldn’t make him miss out on much, the idea of wandering outside with nowhere to go scared him.

Jing He furrowed his brows, hung his head, and forced himself to walk further ahead. No matter what, he couldn’t stop now. He’d walk throughout the day, rest for the night, and continue tomorrow. No matter how many days it would take for him to reach the coast of the Great Ocean, he would make his way there. He just couldn’t give up.

Anyway, what else was there to do? If he diverged from his previous path, there was a chance of straying into the demons’ territory which might be deadly. Right now, Qiu Ling was still bound by the curse so he had to preserve his own life so Qiu Ling wouldn’t be pulled down by him. Thus, he couldn’t risk it. He had to follow this path. Even if it took a long time, that just meant less time spent in the Nine Heavens under his father’s close watch until Tian had organized everything for him to have that child. In a way, this might be a blessing in disguise.

Jing He bit his lower lip, silently repeating those words to himself. “It’s a blessing in disguise.” It might not be true but he had to believe that it was. He had to … to hold on. If not for his own sake, then for Qiu Ling’s. Until that child was born and the curse on his lover was lifted, he couldn’t give up on anything he had to do. He had to forge ahead somehow, no matter how difficult it felt.

Jing He continued in this way for a long time, losing track of the countless times the sun went down and rose again. He didn’t want to pay attention to the passage of time either. No, it was better to let it happen around him and not think about it, so he wouldn’t be discouraged by it.

As the sun was once again about to set and he found a place to lie down for the night, closely holding An Xin in his arms, the transmission stone that had stayed quiet since the day he saw the vision at the Spring of Fate suddenly lit up, pulsing with a faint light.