Chapter 666: Chapter 392: Grandmother Passes Away

Time flew by in a flash. Li Jiangxiao was now twenty years old, a gracefully poised young woman. She had grown to a height of one meter seventy-eight, even taller than her mother, and her Realm had reached Saint Tier Twenty-sixth.

The Taichu Saintess.

In the pale golden light of dawn, three moons still hung in the sky of Wilderness Star.

Li Jiangxiao gazed at the largest of them and smiled faintly. "Mother said that once I reach the Peak of Divine Tier, I can perform a Fusion with that moon and become a Moon Wheel Divine King Realm."

Over the years, her mother had taught her a great deal about Earth and the Cultivation Realm. Although Li Jiangxiao had never attended a proper school, having only been privately tutored by her mother, she was every bit a gifted and educated young woman.

This was because Luo Feifei’s Space Gem Ring also held a large collection of books, the culmination of several thousand years of Earth Human civilization.

With these books, they could uphold the tradition of a scholarly family. Even if their descendants didn’t go to school, they could become brilliant scholars as long as they were dedicated to their studies.

For a family like theirs, there was no requirement to attend school or get a job. They could absolutely get by without schooling or work.

The daily commute was drudgery for the masses.

She was very self-disciplined. She woke up early every day to cultivate, her bare feet treading across the dew-kissed Sword Grassland as she swept toward the distant plains.

The one-meter-seventy-eight-tall young woman was dressed in a moon-white battle robe with a flowing cloud pattern. The Luoshen Jade Pendant at her waist chimed in the morning breeze.

She had seen Li Xiang a few times; her mother had taken her to him. It hadn’t been often, only three times in total: once for her first birthday, once for her eighth, and once for her sixteenth.

It had been several years since she last saw her father. Fortunately, his appearance almost never changed, so there was no danger of her not recognizing him.

When she was little, she would get very excited and dance with joy whenever she saw her father. He had adored her too, kissing and hugging her. But during her sixteenth birthday visit, she had acted "very composed," and her father hadn’t come forward to hug her either. ’He probably thinks I’m grown up now, and there should be a proper distance between men and women.’

She could clearly sense the "guilt" in her father’s eyes. ’Perhaps he feels that because he was never around to accompany me as I grew up, we’ve become unusually distant now.’

Later, her mother comforted her, telling her not to take it to heart. "That’s just how your dad is. He has many other sons and daughters, and he’s just as uninvolved with all of them. He’s only responsible for having them, not for being there for them. But don’t blame him; he truly has no time. Our home, the Solar Element, is still overrun by countless Deep Space Exotic Beasts. Their forces number in the hundreds of billions. Your father is under immense pressure, constantly thinking about how to increase his power."

Li Jiangxiao felt a sliver of understanding and no longer blamed the man. She just asked curiously, "Why don’t they migrate to our star system?"

Luo Feifei explained, "The problem of mass transport via Teleportation Array hasn’t been solved yet. Your... Aunt Jiang is currently researching that topic."

"Who’s Aunt Jiang?"

Luo Feifei sighed helplessly and proceeded to introduce all of Li Jiangxiao’s "aunts." Afterward, she admonished her daughter, "In the future, you must never find a scumbag like that. You have to find someone who will be completely devoted to you."

"Hehe, of course. But I doubt I’ll ever find someone."

"Why is that?"

"I read in a book that marriages should be between social equals. With our family’s standing, where am I going to find a match that’s our equal?"

Luo Feifei grew worried. "..."

In truth, she was worrying too much. Times had changed. "Longevity" was no longer an unattainable dream. Many exceptionally talented individuals had no interest in romance whatsoever, and marriage was not a necessity.

If one could live forever, who would bother with trivial matters like love and romance?

This trend was already emerging on Earth. Some experts were even proposing a reboot of family planning policies. The human population was growing, but resources were finite; excessive population growth would lead to a decline in the per capita quality of life.

Years later, a "Prohibition of Childbirth" bill would even be enacted.

A distant wolf’s howl pierced the tranquility of the grasslands. The ice-blue mark on the Taichu Saintess’s forehead suddenly lit up. With a light tap of her toes, hundreds of thousands of grass blades instantly condensed into steps of ice, and in the blink of an eye, she had arrived at the source of the howl.

In her view, a pack of Shadow Wolf Kings was attacking a herd of antelope. Both were Extraordinary Creatures, but the antelope were clearly no match for the wolves, and many had already been killed.

The terrified antelope herd fled in a panic.

Li Jiangxiao descended like a Divine Maiden, killing the three Shadow Wolves at the head of the charge. She shouted coldly, "I warned you last time. Don’t bully the antelope."

"Saintess, spare us! We’ll never dare to do it again," the Shadow Wolf King pleaded, prostrating itself on the ground, trembling in fear.

In the end, Li Jiangxiao let them go.

However, after Li Jiangxiao was a good distance away, the Shadow Wolf King couldn’t help but complain, "For crying out loud, my lady! If you don’t let us eat antelope, are we supposed to starve to death?"

"What should we do, Your Majesty?"

"What do you mean, ’what should we do’?! All of you will become vegetarians! Go chew on some grass!" the Shadow Wolf King snapped. That was the daughter of the Planet Master; how could it possibly dare to offend her?

Even if she weren’t the daughter of the Planet Master, she was a mighty Tier Twenty-sixth expert. This wolf king, on the other hand, was barely Tier Nineteen. It was fated to be crushed.

"Your Majesty, I discovered a type of wild wheat that can be brewed into ale. It’s much more palatable than just eating grass."

"Why didn’t you say so sooner?"

This pack of Shadow Wolves was quite clever. They invented a primitive form of ale, and later, by adding a type of wildflower, they invented beer.

When Li Jiangxiao returned, she got a lecture from her mother. The gist of it was that wolves eating antelope was a crucial part of the food chain, and by interfering, she was disrupting the planet’s ecological balance.

Then, she told her the story of the Buddha cutting off his own flesh to feed an eagle.

"If you’re not willing to cut off your own flesh to feed the wolves, then don’t interfere. Nature has its own laws."

Although Li Jiangxiao wasn’t convinced, she took her mother’s words to heart.

...

Within the giant Fixed Star of the Taichu Element, Li Xiang’s Fusion progress with the Heart of the Beginning had reached 51%. This was only because he had used a massive amount of Achievement Points to shorten the progress bar; otherwise, it would have never been this fast.

On this day, as he was diligently advancing his Refinement of the Fixed Star, he was suddenly struck by a sense of unease.

As a Great Divine Power User, a sense of unease meant that something major was happening. He pinched his fingers to perform a quick calculation and vaguely determined that his grandmother was probably on her deathbed.

But for a moment, he found it hard to accept.

Just then, Luo Feifei arrived with their daughter for a visit, so Li Xiang asked her to perform a Divination.

Luo Feifei activated her Divine Techniques, and after a brief calculation, she quickly had an answer. "Brother Xiang, I think Granny is running out of time. You should probably hurry back, shouldn’t you?"

"Sigh." Li Xiang heaved a sigh. If Luo Feifei’s calculation said the same thing, then it was almost certainly true. He had to go back immediately.

He immediately stopped the Refinement process and stood up. He glanced at his daughter, who had blossomed into a beautiful young woman, and said, "Jiangxiao, you’ll come back with me too, to meet your great-grandmother."

Li Jiangxiao nodded eagerly. She had longed to see Earth for a long time. Her mother had told her she had many older brothers and sisters there, and a maternal grandmother as well.

On Earth, technology was highly advanced. There were Divine King Level Stellar Mother Ships and all sorts of fun electronic devices and games.

There were also things called movies and television shows. Her mother used to be an actress there, a top-tier Celestial Empress adored by countless fans.

With his grandmother fading, Li Xiang set off at once. He had come with Luo Feifei alone, but on his way back, he had an extra "tagalong"—and a twenty-year-old one at that.

Li Xiang felt that his grandmother would surely be very pleased to see she had gained such a grown-up great-granddaughter.

After rushing on their journey, Li Xiang, Luo Feifei, and Li Jiangxiao finally arrived on Earth, in City No. 03.

In the largest hospital in City No. 03, inside the most luxurious hospital room—a suite of at least a hundred square meters—a great many people had gathered. There were at least seventy or eighty people inside the room itself, and with no more space, many more filled the hallway outside, the hospital lobby... and beyond.

Although there had been no public announcement, an untold number of people had come to pay their last respects.

Those allowed into the hospital room were all close relations, especially Li Xiang’s wives and children.

Jiang Cai’Er, Yao Yao, Zhao Xueqing, Lei Xiaohui, Erin, Chiba Yuki, and the Twin Gouyu were there, each with their respective children. In addition, the old woman’s own children were present, such as Li Xiang’s three aunts, who were now also advanced in years.

Aside from his youngest aunt’s husband, his other two uncles-in-law had passed away long ago.

When Li Xiang walked in with Luo Feifei and Li Jiangxiao, everyone automatically parted to make way.

"Granny..." Li Xiang came to his grandmother’s bedside, held her withered hand, and called out softly, tears already welling in his eyes.

"Don’t cry... It’s just my time... I have so many children and grandchildren... I have no regrets..." Although his grandmother had been on the verge of death, having already lost her consciousness and ability to speak, the sight of Li Xiang seemed to give her a final burst of life. She was able to speak a few words intermittently, and a long-absent smile appeared on her face.

’It had to be Brother Xiang,’ Jiang Cai’Er thought.

She whispered to Li Xiang, "Granny refused to transfer her consciousness. There was nothing I could do."

Li Xiang nodded. He knew this was something his grandmother had always insisted on. It couldn’t be forced.

"After I’m gone, bury me next to your grandpa. Xiang’Er, seeing how well you’re all doing now... makes me happier than anything..."

Li Xiang slowly channeled his Spiritual Power into his grandmother’s body, hoping to prolong her life for a while. She sensed it and gently shook her head. "Xiang’Er, let me go naturally. Don’t interfere."

Li Xiang had no choice but to slowly withdraw his Spiritual Power. The moment his power completely left his grandmother’s body, she closed her eyes.

Her life returned to the final silence.

"Granny..." Li Xiang knelt by the bed, tears streaming down his face uncontrollably. He wept silently, his body trembling. Behind him, everyone else knelt down as well, seeing the old woman off on her final journey.

Li Jiangxiao couldn’t help but wipe away a tear. In truth, she didn’t have much of a connection to this great-grandmother; after all, this was the first time they had met, and she hadn’t even had a chance to speak with her. But she could feel her father’s grief.

Li Xiang had hardly been there for her as she grew up, but on this trip back, they had spent every day together with her mother. The bond between father and daughter had mended considerably, and they were no longer as distant as before.

Her father was the most powerful man on this planet, and if he was so overcome with grief, then she naturally felt it too.

After a three-day wake, the memorial and funeral were held in Li Family Village.

During these three days, Li Jiangxiao also met many of her older brothers and sisters. Some were indeed older than her, like Jiang Cai’Er’s two sons and one daughter, and Erin’s four children. But the others, despite being born before her, were only four or five years old now.

"This... this..." Li Jiangxiao was completely baffled as she played with a group of four- and five-year-olds whom she had to address as older brothers and sisters.

There was no helping it. By order of birth, she was indeed the youngest. The problem was that the flow of time in the Taichu Element was faster than in the Solar Element—about five times faster.

In other words, while she had spent twenty years in the Taichu Element, only a little over four years had passed in the Solar Element.

Although Granny Li Xiang’s funeral wasn’t a grand affair, the number of guests was immense. Many dignitaries had even rushed back from Mars, Ceres, four of Jupiter’s Moons, and three of Saturn’s Moons.

It was a grand funeral.

The grave was, of course, placed next to Li Xiang’s grandfather’s.

The surroundings were planted with pines, cypresses, and green bamboo. A small stream murmured nearby. It was a place of scenic beauty.

Today’s Earth, with countless Artificial Little Suns hanging in the sky, had an ecosystem that had recovered to become even more lush and vibrant than before the Apocalypse.

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