"This?" A flicker of surprise passed through Lin Lanyue's eyes.
"Take it," Li Yuan, having thought everything through, let go and said with a serene smile, "Just like you said, we are still friends, and it's not excessive for friends to exchange gifts."
"Alright." Lin Lanyue no longer refused, waving her hand to accept the set of battle armor.
"Lanyue, then I'll be leaving," said Li Yuan.
"Take care. Survival comes first when you're out there making your way," Lin Lanyue couldn't help saying.
Whoosh! Li Yuan took a step forward, and with the void trembling, he vanished at the edge of the heavens and earth.
"I..." Tears were hinted in Lin Lanyue's eyes as she murmured to herself, "Li Yuan, as you fight and battle within the Ming Xu Star Realm, I can't help you; as you sweep through the Second-Level Star Realm, I still can't aid you."
"In the battle of Feixing, you've stood at the peak of civilization, even stronger than the ancient ancestors. The enemies you'll face include demigods and divinities from a foreign civilization, yet I'm still just a Prime Warrior."
"Once, I thought that with effort, one day I could be close to you, and that we could be together just like my parents... The years at Seven Star Mountain made me feel like we were truly close to each other."
"But the truth proves that the gap between us is only growing."
"Now, the gap is so wide that it's irreparable, to the extent that I see no hope of catching up, not even coming close," tears streamed down from the corners of Lin Lanyue's eyes.
She was willing to accompany Li Yuan on his adventures, even to the legendary Divine Realm... but Lin Lanyue had realized something.
She and Li Yuan were destined to live in different worlds.
"Even if I followed him all the way, I would only be a hindrance, so why insist?" Lin Lanyue thought bitterly, "Even if I insisted, hundreds or thousands of years later, when my life reaches its end... The disparity in Life Level will still bring about separation by life and death."
It was because she'd come to this understanding that after the battle of Feixing, she decided to give up on this feeling willingly.
"Let's just wish each other well."
Liu Bing and Li Yuan were flying rapidly.
"Brother, are you really going to give up? I think Lin Lanyue is quite good," Liu Bing sent telepathically.
During those years at Seven Star Mountain, although Liu Bing didn't appear, she still observed the interactions between Li Yuan and Lin Lanyue in secret.
"Just as Lanyue said herself," Li Yuan spoke softly, "She doesn't want to live in fear, nor does she wish to wait anxiously each time... but I also can't give up the path of cultivation."
"This path, not only for the sake of civilization but also for myself," Li Yuan's eyes shone with a fighting spirit, "I too am eager to witness the vastness and wonders between heaven and earth, to reach the pinnacle of the Divine Realm, to see what lies at the end of the cultivation path."
"In the future, if you go to the Divine Realm, she can follow, right?" Liu Bing said carelessly.
"To do so would not be fair to her," Li Yuan shook his head, "Her parents, her loved ones are in the Seven Star Civilization, her family is also in the Seven Star Civilization... If she were to follow me to the Divine Realm, constantly battling and drifting about, would that truly be happiness?"
"If she doesn't accompany me to the Divine Realm, the separation could last for many years, how painful would that be?"
Of course, even as he said this, Li Yuan understood the core reason was that they couldn't reach a point where they could share life and death together.
Put simply, it wasn't enough love.
Ordinary people's love doesn't need to face the test of life and death all the time.
The gods, with their long lifespans, might have many offspring, but most don't have a partner they can absolutely trust and commit their lives to... The stronger the cultivator, the more self-centered they are, naturally the higher their expectations for a partner will be, and thus, the harder it is to find.
Like Dongfang Ji, who is extremely strict even with his own progeny.
"Happiness?" Liu Bing was speechless.
Although her insight and experience were remarkable, and she held vast inheritances of memories, she had little experience with matters of love and affection.
In her view, what's wrong with braving life and death together?
"It's alright, brother, if you don't have a partner, you still have me to accompany you," Liu Bing giggled.
"Let's see what makes the Nine Leaves World so special," Li Yuan said with a smile.
After flying for a long time, Li Yuan and Liu Bing reached the far southern region of Feixing, a place of mystery.
All around was darkness, and the vast waters below were completely black.
"Guided by the information provided by the principal."
"The entrance to the Nine Leaves World is right here," Li Yuan looked down at the dark waters, unfathomable.
Swoosh! The waters violently split open, and immediately following, a figure swathed in a golden robe emerged from the depths of the sea, charging towards Li Yuan at an alarming speed.
"This is?" Li Yuan was startled. He felt a deadly threat emanating from the golden figure.
A threat that could end his life.
"Brother, this guy is troublesome," Liu Bing also immediately noticed the opponent.
Instinctively, Li Yuan used the Divine Palace Inquiry: "[Target exceeds the limit of inquiry]."
Exceeds the limit? Is it at the Pseudo-God Level?
With Li Yuan's current strength in Origin Power, he could even detect a demigod of the Eight Stars.
Just as Li Yuan thought to retreat, the golden figure had already arrived in front of him but stopped abruptly, nodding slightly, "Vice Alliance Hierarch Li, hello, I am Dongfang Jia."
Dongfang Jia? Li Yuan was baffled.
"Li Yuan, he is one of the three Pseudo-God Puppets Master left behind," a deep voice suddenly resounded, and a stream of light took shape into a Phantom wearing a white garment.
"Master Yun," Li Yuan's face brightened.
"Master Yun," Liu Bing emerged from Li Yuan's sleeve, also nodding slightly in respect.