The Shining Star Above The Heaven-Chapter 559: The Truth About the Past 3

"The moment we sensed your soul and your karma towards us, that was the moment we knew our duty here had come to an end. Apart from giving a part of our power to Your Majesty as a catalyst to awaken your strength, we also decided to sacrifice our bodies to draw out every bit of your energy within us," Feng Xuanyan said.

"It was as if we had to drain ourselves completely. Your energy was one of the factors that kept us alive until that time. Once we took it out, we knew that would be our end."

"After we drew out the energy and combined it, we placed that concentration of energy inside the throne hall of the palace. That was the full extent of your energy we carried within us. Although it may be nothing compared to what Your Majesty had in the past, I believe for this life, it is enough to give you an extra boost."

Aldrian’s heart trembled as it turned heavy again. They had remained alive until his birth, and once he was born, they chose to sacrifice themselves, giving up what remained inside them—for him. He finally understood what that second calling from within the palace might have been. It could be his energy, already separated from their bodies, now calling him—waiting to return to him.

Once again, he felt the urge to blame himself for leaving them to face his problem at that time. What kind of problem had he been facing that made him leave his loyal followers and allow all of this to happen? What was it?

Aldrian looked at Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan. He wanted to ask, but before he could speak, Feng Xuanyan had already responded.

"Your Majesty, ever since the universe was plunged into war, we have never once blamed you. We only lament that we were not strong enough to protect this universe—the one Your Majesty shaped into a prosperous realm," she said softly, trying to soothe him.

"Don’t ever blame yourself, even if you feel that way, Your Majesty. We have no regrets. None of us—your followers—regret what we’ve done. What matters is that Your Majesty has finally returned and can now find the answer you were searching for." Long Shentian added.

But Aldrian’s expression did not change. The pain in his eyes remained.

"How can I not blame myself for not being there when all of you had to face all of that? This is something I was also responsible for. I truly wonder why I had to reincarnate and leave you all behind. What was my problem? Do you know what it was? Did the Heavenly Demon tell you anything about it?" Aldrian asked.

"Well, the Heavenly Demon did tell us," Feng Xuanyan said. "But if we told Your Majesty about the problem now, it would become meaningless in the end. You wouldn’t gain what you have gained. So please be patient. You will come to know it yourself, and when that time comes, perhaps you will finally realize the answer you’ve been searching for."

"Although we can’t tell you what your past problem was, what we can say is this—at that time, for the first time, we realized there was something that made Your Majesty uncertain. You found no answer for it, and that became your problem. You chose to search for that answer yourself, and to do that, you entered the cycle of reincarnation."

"If it was Your Majesty’s will to solve that problem, even if it meant leaving us—your followers—then who were we to stop you? You already gave everything to us. So at the very least, we could give Your Majesty all of our support, hoping that in the end, you would succeed."

Aldrian sighed. He still didn’t know what the problem had been. He looked at the two figures before him—beings who were his direct creations. He couldn’t help but feel regret and guilt, knowing they could no longer accompany him. They were already divine beings, beyond the cycle of samsara, and as far as he knew, they had never comprehended the samsara laws.

They were truly gone—completely. Their souls had vanished from this reality.

The phoenix possessed a revival technique, but from the look of it, Feng Xuanyan had not used it. In the end, they had already left him—and he would never meet them again in their physical forms. For his path to be smooth, they had given up everything.

He bit down on his lip so hard that it began to bleed.

Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan were stunned by the sight. Without hesitation, they prostrated themselves before him.

"Your Majesty, please don’t hurt yourself," Feng Xuanyan said. "Seeing you like this truly breaks my heart."

"I know it might sound presumptuous for me to say this, but I want you to stop dwelling on the past. Instead, Your Majesty, please focus on the future," Long Shentian said. "If you continue to feel guilt over us—if you continue to blame yourself—then it’s no different from belittling our resolve. It’s no different from underestimating all of us."

"This is our resolve. We chose this path ourselves—so that Your Majesty could live the life you desire, find the answer you seek, and return to the place where you once stood. All our efforts, all our sacrifices, were made in the hope that you would make full use of them—so you could regain your past power, so you could live freely once more."

"Our sacrifices were never meant to make Your Majesty feel guilty, or to blame yourself for them. We don’t want you to carry those feelings. You may remember us, but you must not drown in the past. We want you to keep moving forward, free from guilt or self-blame." freewebnøvel.coɱ

"Move forward, and let us—your followers—clear the path ahead. Your Majesty only needs to focus on reclaiming the power that once belonged to you."

He finally fell silent as he and Feng Xuanyan straightened their bodies, their gazes locked on Aldrian with solemn expressions.

Aldrian looked at the two of them, and also thought of the others he had met along his journey. He never doubted their resolve—and Long Shentian was right. If he kept blaming himself even after their repeated pleas, then it meant he failed to appreciate their sacrifice. What they wanted from him was not guilt or sorrow, but for him to return to his rightful place—his high place.

He took a deep breath and gave a small nod, which brought smiles back to their faces.

"Alright. I’m sorry for feeling that way... and thank you, all of you, for what you’ve done," Aldrian said.

Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan were slightly stunned at first, but then their expressions softened into brilliant smiles.

"That’s it, Your Majesty. Instead of blaming yourself, appreciate the efforts and sacrifices of your followers. That will make us feel truly grateful and truly seen," Long Shentian said.

Aldrian finally smiled, but then let out a sigh.

"But it seems that Tarius went to the extreme. He wanted to descend to this continent and destroy it... but now I realize his real target was the two of you, wasn’t it?" Aldrian asked.

Long Shentian nodded.

"Yes, we are actually his main target," Long Shentian said. "Those invaders are obsessed with hunting each of us—the gods of this universe—and even our followers. Your Majesty, do you know why those invaders attacked us in the first place?"

"From what I heard from Tianlian, they seem to be searching for something that can bring them to a much higher stage of cultivation—far beyond anything they currently possess," Aldrian answered, narrowing his eyes. "Is this also connected to why they kill the gods of this universe?"

Long Shentian and Feng Xuanyan nodded.

"We don’t know the full details of what those bastards are thinking, but during our escape at that time, we overheard something interesting," Long Shentian said. "They’re trying to find an ’object’ that they believe can elevate them to a higher cultivation realm. To do that, they want to kill every single god in this universe and bring this entire universe under their control."

"Although we don’t know exactly what this object is, we suspect it has something to do with you, Your Majesty," Feng Xuanyan added.

Aldrian was stunned to hear this. It has something to do with him?

"You are a singular existence—there is no peer of yours in any other universe. Your strength and power surpass even us, beings considered among the strongest across many universes. We could be called masters of the universe ourselves, yet we still cannot fully grasp the extent of Your Majesty’s power."

"That’s why, after careful thought, we concluded that what they seek is in fact related to you. For example—"

"My energy?" Aldrian cut off Feng Xuanyan’s words, and she nodded in response.

"Again, it’s just our guess, so we don’t truly know the truth. But I believe this might be one of the possibilities," she said, causing Aldrian to frown.

Long Shentian looked at Aldrian, but his mind was occupied with another conclusion about this matter. He thought about Aldrian and his past—or more precisely, his true origin.

No one truly knew Aldrian’s origin, and as far as they remembered, they already knew Aldrian as he was: the almighty Great Emperor of all heavens who developed this universe and had power beyond their comprehension.

They did not know who Aldrian truly was in the distant past or how he came to possess his power. Even when they asked their emperor about it, he seemed to brush it off and refused to talk about it.

At one point, Long Shentian came up with a guess—one he thought was quite absurd but still possible.

He guessed that their emperor might have a direct connection to the point of the beginning.

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