Beastmaster of the Ages

Chapter 2878 - No Regrets

Xiaodao and the others retreated when the enemy pushed, but immediately pushed back when the enemy wavered. They made sure to stick close to Meng Ying, not letting them go at all. As long as Meng Ying didn't eliminate them, they wouldn't be able to truly retreat.

After the Xenoworld gate opened, Xiaodao came charging like a raging bull, constantly harassing them with his gourd to keep them from escaping. It was far too shameless! But that was the precise thing that Meng Ying simply couldn't deal with despite how many misgivings they might have for it. The more time passed, the more they felt like their hearts were about to explode.

Meng Ying had never truly felt the desperation Shenxi Xingtian felt until now. It was all Xiaodao and Tianming's fault! They were going to lose to some mysterious trick that they knew nothing about, and everyone knew that those two had tons of such odd tricks! Meng Ying had only planned to take Li Fan to scope out the Sun for a bit, only to be completely trapped by Xiaodao, who had become a foundationeer out of nowhere!

The old couple felt like their brains were being poked with countless tiny needles as they were forced into a corner. They couldn't escape, yet they couldn't really defeat Xiaodao either! They had run out of options. Tianming was hiding in the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb, so there was no chance they could even take him as a hostage.

"You two, stop fighting in vain. Since you've come all the way, be nice and leave your lives behind, won't you?" Xiaodao said with a smirk.

"You have to stay! Who asked you to be so greedy as to come to us from so far away? You should've learned your lesson when the Dreamchild got so badly wrecked the last time, so you have nobody to blame!" Tianming blissfully said.

"Don't get too cocky too soon!" The wrinkles on the male child's face grew even deeper. His flesh still seemed vigorous, but his face was a combination of old and young.

"Myriadpath Valley and Intrepidus' elites will be here soon! They'll put you back into your place, you arrogant pricks!" cried the female child, her face just as horrifying as her male half’s.

"So what? Either way, you two old fucks won’t survive the day. It isn’t like you'll get to see what comes to pass, so what's the point?" Xiaodao mocked.

"You!" they cried in unison.

"Hahaha! It's wonderful to see you burst into a helpless rage," Xiaodao said.

The frogs were in the water, slowly being boiled but unable to escape no matter what. The astralscape was somewhere that had no terrain to run or hide in. Not to mention, there were divine astralships keeping an eye on them. But Meng Ying had no choice but to keep trying, alternating between running and attacking Xiaodao. Slowly, they were being worn down to complete exhaustion. f𝗿𝐞ewebno𝚟𝚎𝗹.𝗰𝐨m

At that moment, the old couple exchanged looks and finally came to understand the gravity of the situation: they might actually perish. It wasn't like they had been careless, either; their countless plans and precautions just simply couldn’t have predicted that Xiaodao would become a foundationeer that was powerful enough to stop them from escaping into the Xenoworld.

That exhausting moment saw them relive thousands of years of tribulations within a single instant. Then they stopped attacking Xiaodao and looked each other in the eyes, their gaze unwavering. Xiaodao's sword ki locked down their surroundings, not attacking them, but not letting them escape, either. What was even more terrifying was the sharp sound of the Infinitum Stele coming from Ebonia's direction. An artifact of its caliber had a unique presence that cast a terrifying shadow on Meng Ying long before it actually arrived. The closer Yi Daiyan was, the closer they were to death's door.

"We’ll fight to the death!" the male child said, grasping the female child's hand.

She nodded. "This is our final stand! If we die, we'll do it together!"

"Isn’t this the ideal destiny we yearned for? Living together and dying together, side-by-side through every single moment of our lives without a single betrayal! We’ve been exemplary divine wonderians, haven't we?" he said with a hoarse voice that was no longer that of a child, but an old man.

"Together in life and in death.... But we wasted all that effort over all these years just to extend our lives to this day.... And what was the point of it all? If we can be satisfied with dying together, wouldn't our efforts have all been in vain?!" she asked. They’d been alive for far too long and had thought that they could face death with a tranquil mind. But things had played out differently in reality. The closer they came to the actual moment, the more conflicted they began to feel.

"Then tell me, what other choice do we have?!" he roared, eyes bulging and bloodshot.

"There is one!" The female child bit her dried lips as she turned to Xiaodao and the Ninedragon Imperial Tomb. Hugging her partner, she whispered, "I'll stay behind and use my life to hold Lin Xiaodao back. You should leave!"

The male child was completely shaken. He stared at her in shock and immediately shook his head. "No. We’re connected in life and in death—what’s the point of me living after your death? Once the Starembryo Fiendart expires, I won't live long, either. I might as well die together with you!" Their current situation was a complete nightmare that had come before they were ready. Could they ever have been ready for this moment? Their hearts were bathing in an absolute tumult of emotions.

"There's a point! Tian Jiu! She's our only hope! As long as you can find her, you'll be able to survive even if you're alone and become the sole ruler of the divine wonderians! Have you forgotten? Tian Jiu’s also alone! If you really return to destroy everything here, avenge me! That's the only option we have! Our only hope!" she cried.

The male child froze. His hands were on her shoulders, frozen. "I...."

"Take care." She smiled and removed his hands. "After living this life with you, we feel like the same person and different people at the same time. I have no regrets."

"Tian Jiu...." He lowered his head in pain.

"Let’s find each other in the next life." She shook off his hands and charged toward Xiaodao with her eightpart apparition wonder.

"No!" he roared.

Once he did, however, the female child suddenly turned around, heartbroken and in tears. "So, everything was fake, after all...."

"What?" he asked blankly.

"If you really loved me.... If we really were exemplary divine wonderians.... When I brought up sacrificing myself for your safety, you should've immediately fought to take my place instead of playing the fool. You already knew the best way to survive was to sacrifice one of us, but you were waiting for me to speak up first," she said, almost bawling.

His expression seemed even more contorted. He tightly clenched his fists as his gaze turned to one of rage. Glaring at her, he barked, "Aren't you the same? You brought it up first and expected me to take your place! Is that unselfish of you?! How dare you bring up love?!"

Love was the key driver of all things divine wonderian, yet it was also a curse that they could never shake off for all eternity. They lived for love and died for love, constantly struggling with ideals and reality, doubting everything. Love, to them, was so similar to its negative counterpart that even they would be confused as to which was which. The look in their eyes at that moment was emblematic of their eternal struggle.

Eventually, the female child suddenly smiled, tears still flowing down her face. "At the end of the day, I'm not like you. Even after all I said, I still decided that I’ll die and leave our hopes in your hands." She turned around and joined her apparitions as a hateful white ghoul, charging toward Xiaodao.