Xiao Wen looked out at the vast sky through the window as he prepared for his ascension. He had made sure that his fateful companions guarded him to prevent any unwanted accidents, but he had forgotten the identity of one of his companion, and underestimated her attachment to him.

Ye Li had been his partner for several decades and, unlike his other companions, was a mortal. She had lost her beauty over the years, but Xiao Wen kept her by his side as thanks for having faith in him despite all the hardships he suffered. The night before his ascension to a higher realm, Xiao Wen gave her a potion of youth and finally consummated their marriage.

After taking her virginity, Xiao Wen was sure he had no regrets left in the world and was thus ready to ascend. There was just one tiny problem. Xiao Wen did not tell her he was leaving the world the next day.

Which is why, at that very moment, Ye Li was crying and begging him to stay.

“Xiao Wen, please stay! There’s no need to go to the higher realms when you’re already the strongest cultivator in the world, think about all that you’ll lose, think about me! Please?”

Xiao Wen angrily shook off her arm and pulled her away from himself with his Qi. “Why is it always about you! Can’t you think of me for once? I thought you understood me when we were younger, but it seems I thought wrong. I want to be free, completely and truly free.”

While continuing on his tirade, Xiao Wen used his Qi to bind her down and seal her mouth so she won’t interfere with the ascension. “How can I do that, if you’re pulling me down. If I, the great and mighty, Xiao Wen, can’t even escape your control, I can just forget about destroying the shackles Heaven has chained on my soul.”

Ye Li’s hopeful blue eyes widened in shock before closing in resignation as more tears leaked out. She supported her love this far, and so decided that if she could not stop him; she would let him do as he wished.

As the legendary cultivator’s body started to glow, a dazzling light appeared from his body, melting away the restraints on Ye Li. Rather than taking advantage of this and stopping her beloved, she instead cried out all her frustrations in her heart.

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“Xiao Wen, have you ever wondered why there’s so many stars in the sky yet none of them ever seem to meet? You can shine as bright as them, but you’ll pay the same price, a life of loneliness!”

At this moment, the light disappeared and for a second Ye Li could see Xiao Wen’s back. She hoped that he would at least look back before he left, but her expectations were doomed to failure as Xiao Wen body disappeared without so much as a glance at her.

She collapsed on her knees and silently wept. As time passed, she realised none of her friends entered the room nor did she hear even a slight noise outside. Ye Li hurriedly pushed open the doors only to find the people guarding the door missing.

Every corridor, every room, was empty. Her supposed friends were all gone. She suddenly recalled the cultivation level her friends were at and after seeing the same spell formation that her husband had just used drawn on the floor, Ye Li had came to a conclusion: They had ascended as well.

Why? Was it something I did? No, it’s because I can’t cultivate, and thus can’t ascend. That’s why they left me behind.

Ye Li had never felt more hopeless and lonely in her life. She left everything behind to keep up with him, and when she finally had nothing left, she could not keep up.

She touched her flat belly and sighed. Ye Li had asked her ex-best friend to check if she was pregnant and had gotten a positive answer. That morning, she had rose as high as the clouds only to, come noon, fall back down.

I still have you two, don’t I? I’ll teach you both to be responsible adults.. No, I’ll do more. I’ll find a way to become a cultivator, then I’ll bring you all with me to meet your horrible father! Then, we’ll rise higher than him and be the strongest family in the world!

“Ho ho ho!” Ye Li suddenly realised she laughed out loud and covered her mouth in embarrassment, only to remember no one was there to watch her; so she let loose. “I’ll shall name you two, Ye Yin and Ye Yang! Hohoho, light and dark, together you shall bring balance to our family! When we gain power, you two shall thank me for such brilliant names! Muahaha!”

A lovely laughter spread throughout the silent night, or so Ye Li liked to believe. In truth, her voice was still hoarse from all her crying so it sounded more like a witch cackling!

This scared a few superstitious old men hoping to scavenge whatever the immortals had leftover, years later starting a scary tale parents used to frighten children into not wandering off into the woods by themselves.

Ye Li stole as much as she could carry before leaving. After all, even if she had unknowingly scared off a few old men, high level cultivators would also come after the treasures left behind.

As she walked down, her left hand hoisting a large bag over her shoulder and her right hand holding a sword, Ye Li started to plan out her future.