Chapter 853 - 534: Reunion with Li Jinyu, a World-Shattering Future! (Double-Length)

Chapter 853: Chapter 534: Reunion with Li Jinyu, a World-Shattering Future! (Double-Length)

Song Changming observed Li Jinyu’s residence on the mountainside. Although the house had a front hall and a back courtyard and was not small, both the inside and outside were simply furnished with stone and wood furniture and objects, reflecting a closeness to nature.

He noticed the other disciples’ attitude towards Li Jinyu and realized his status in the Celestial Tao Academy was not low. It seemed that Li Jinyu himself had little demand for his living space and did not yearn for those lavish palaces.

Li Jinyu took a sip of the spirit wine Song Changming carried with him, and his face flushed with delight.

"Such fine wine, drinking too much here would be somewhat wasted," Li Jinyu said as he pulled Song Changming along to a hill behind the house.

This place was on the edge of a cliff, offering a view of the Yunhai, a spectacle of the sun and moon.

Beside them, a mountain spring cascaded down like a silver dragon, leaping into the Yunhai, stirring layers of spiritual mist.

Song Changming thought to himself that such a beautiful scene was indeed rare, no wonder Li Jinyu wished to drink here.

The two sat on the ground, Su Qingqing also sitting nearby.

The three were not strangers to each other, thus many formalities were dismissed as they directly drank and chatted.

"Brother Li, aware of your capabilities, I’ll be direct; this journey is for a sealing array," Song Changming said after downing two cups of wine, getting straight to the point.

"I know, level Ten Rune Array, Sealed Star," Li Jinyu took a sip of spirit wine and smiled.

Song Changming, hearing this, had a flash in his eyes and suddenly asked, "Could Brother Li possibly have known back then, what disaster capable of annihilating the world is sealed within the Bottomless Abyss we crossed over?"

Li Jinyu was taken aback, then shook his head and denied it flatly.

"The endless mist in the Land of Mist can obscure the heavenly mysteries, even now I cannot glean anything about it. The matters concerning the Star Devouring Dragon and this seal were things I learned after coming to the Celestial Tao Academy, not something I deduced..."

Pausing briefly, he continued, "However, three months ago, I did glimpse a fragment of the heavenly mystery."

Upon hearing this, Song Changming picked up the wine jug to pour for Li Jinyu, quietly awaiting his continuation.

"The divination and calculation of heavenly mysteries are never without signs, something must have occurred to trigger changes in celestial phenomena and fate. What I saw wasn’t much, only a glimpse; in the future, the Nine Provinces shall be overturned!"

Li Jinyu shook his head and continued speaking.

"Changming, in that distant future, I am not there, but you are."

Song Changming felt a moment of silence upon hearing this.

"I don’t know what will happen in the future; it might be an unavoidable apocalyptic catastrophe, or perhaps other variables, maybe decades from now, maybe several hundred to a thousand years later.

Too many unknowns, so I can’t be bothered to think about it, anyway, I am powerless..."

Li Jinyu stretched lazily, an empty wine cup in his mouth, resting his head on his hands, muttering to himself.

Su Qingqing curiously glanced at Li Jinyu a couple of times.

They were familiar with each other, but she felt that upon seeing Li Jinyu today, both inside and out he had changed significantly.

In the past, full of youth, Li Jinyu arrived in Ancient Abyss Country like a boy on a quest for treasure, carrying many dreams, believing the future held infinite possibilities.

But now Li Jinyu’s lazy demeanor betrayed a weariness toward everything in his words, lacking the optimism and vigor of before.

Now, "letting go" and "lying flat" were more suitable terms to describe Li Jinyu.

Not descending the mountain or entering the world for decades, this was also a kind of avoidance.

"Is the future trend unfavorable?" Song Changming picked up Li Jinyu’s tone of self-deprecation, prompting him to ask.

"Yes." Li Jinyu remained silent for a long time before softly acknowledging.

"How unfavorable?" Song Changming pressed further.

Li Jinyu closed his eyes, listened to the clear sound of mountain streams, and finally spoke slowly.

"Changming, when I say in the distant future, there’s only you, not me..."

"In reality, there’s no one else..."

Upon hearing this, Song Changming’s brow furrowed, sensing the underlying meaning in Li Jinyu’s words.

"Are you saying the Human Race is gone?" Song Changming asked directly, steering clear of ambiguity.

"Maybe, the future is murky and indistinct, like a pool of stagnant water. I have seen it countless times, and each successful attempt, without exception, I can’t see anyone else, except you!" Li Jinyu mumbled.

Such a prospect was difficult for him to accept, yet the result had been witnessed too many times.

From initial disbelief and heavy, oppressive feelings to later numbness.

"What on earth happens during this period?" As Song Changming listened, his expression grew increasingly solemn.

"I don’t know." Li Jinyu shook his head.

He too couldn’t grasp any trace of the sequence regardless of how much he deduced, the outcome remained unchanged.

That the Nine Provinces would have no one left.

The only glimmer of life would stem from the final silhouette of Song Changming.

Listening to Li Jinyu’s cryptic secret, Song Changming for a moment couldn’t find words.

According to Li Jinyu’s predictions, there occurred a significant upheaval, wiping out the Human Race and all beings across the Nine Provinces.

Only Song Changming would live to the end...

Following this outcome to discern the main cause already hinted at an enormous crisis, Song Changming could only think of the Star Devouring Dragon sealed beneath the Abyss.

Could it be that in the future, the Star Devouring Dragon breaks free again, summoning the deceitful beast from the mist in the Outer Domain, triggering a third apocalypse?

Li Jinyu was evidently of the same opinion.

After Song Changming heard the hidden burdens Li Jinyu held, he relaxed his brow and took the empty cup from Li Jinyu’s mouth, refilling it with wine.

"Brother Li, I recall you once mentioned that an unfurling future is not a settled fact, actions influence fate, and destiny can still change. Why lament prematurely?"