Chapter 422 - 173: The Source of the Calamity! So What if I Fight Two Heavens Alone?

Compared to an entire world, a single individual is insignificant, be they Feathered, a Spirit Immortal, or even one with the Celestial Mandate.

Interfering indirectly was the absolute limit. Deciding the outcome of the conflict was not something that could be achieved through simple cultivation.

Nor was it something a mere individual could do.

"Yes. A world naturally cannot contain two ’heavens.’"

Gu Tianyun was a little surprised, as if amazed that Su Bai knew, but he didn’t press the matter and continued to speak:

"The source of all these changes is no longer traceable. Perhaps it was erosion by the consciousness of the Heaven Beyond Heaven, or perhaps a technique casually deployed by some unimaginable existence."

"But if we take the first of the Seven Heroes and Three Li as the starting point, this catastrophe has already lasted for over a million years..."

"Ultimately, the source of all this is a war between two worlds. A pity that it’s a war where the disparity in strength is simply unimaginable!"

"In fact, it can’t even be called a war. No two warring sides have ever had such a vast disparity in strength..."

In the vast Star Sea, there is always mutual attraction.

If a world’s mass is great enough, it will attract and capture nearby meteorites, asteroids, and even stars.

It’s not even that the world has any real malice.

It is simply the meeting of planets, the convergence of universes, the drawing near of worlds.

The weak must die.

Su Bai couldn’t help but think of Blue Star.

It was hard to say if, one day, Blue Star might collide or overlap with another world, planet, or universe.

When that time comes, what will become of Blue Star?

Was the Spiritless Universe, Blue Star’s home, large or small compared to other universes and worlds?

At this moment, Su Bai couldn’t fathom the size of the universe, much less deduce the future course of the world.

But he knew full well that even if the Spiritless Universe, Blue Star’s home, was infinitely large and capable of absorbing all other universes, it would still not be good news for Blue Star.

Because a single mote of cosmic dust would be enough to crush Blue Star’s entire history and annihilate its billions of inhabitants.

Su Bai tapped the tabletop, his gaze fixed on Gu Tianyun.

"Back then, Sir, did you fail even after borrowing the power of this world?"

"In a collision of worlds, no matter how strong an individual is, they are ultimately too insignificant. They can only borrow power."

"Back then, when I borrowed power to fight, I had about a thirty percent chance of success, but the poison of nature’s spiritual energy was far beyond my imagination."

Gu Tianyun looked at Su Bai.

"All I sought back then was the survival of the Ten Thousand Spirits. I intervened only because I wanted to sever the connection between the two realms and thereby protect them..."

"Unfortunately, I was defeated in battle. I perished, my Dao extinguished, and this world’s heaven itself sank by nearly half. Now it is muddled and confused, and its power can no longer be easily borrowed."

"This is why I said you were one step too late."

In a collision between the heavens of two worlds, with no power to borrow, how could achieving one’s goal be easy?

Su Bai naturally understood this.

But his expression didn’t change in the slightest. He instead asked, "The Spiritual Qi in this world... it comes from that Great Realm, doesn’t it?"

A flash of surprise appeared in Gu Tianyun’s eyes, then he slowly nodded. "That’s right!"

"In that case, the Seven Heroes and Three Li also originate from that Great Realm?"

Su Bai, still harboring doubts, voiced his thoughts:

"Or do they come from this very heaven above our heads?"

"You should already have the answer, so why bother asking me?"

Gu Tianyun said calmly.

"You are a firsthand witness, Sir. Hearing it from you is different from my own speculation."

Su Bai’s expression was placid, but he already had the answer in his heart.

"The world has Five Poisons: Buddhism, Daoism, Demons, Ghosts, and Heresy... I call them the Five Poisons because, to this world, these five paths are a virulent poison!"

Gu Tianyun made no attempt to hide it, speaking with utmost frankness:

"To this world, these five types of energy, including Spiritual Qi itself, are all virulent poisons that erode it. I prefer to call them the Five Murderous Paths."

"These five energies are the tentacles that the Great Realm known as Jin Yun uses to ensnare and devour other worlds..."

"The birth of the Seven Heroes and Three Li, however, was the result of a strategic game between the two worlds’ heavens."

"Although this world’s heaven is nowhere near as powerful as the Great Realm’s, it still holds its own within its own domain."

A collision of worlds, a struggle between universes—victory is certainly not decided overnight.

The means and methods involved are not like a mere contest of Divine Techniques between Cultivators. The machinations are far, far more complex.

The recurring epochal calamities over the past million years are perhaps the result of this collision.

Su Bai listened to Gu Tianyun’s recounting of the world’s secrets, lost in thought.

A thousand thoughts spun in his mind as he gradually came to a realization:

"So you’re saying, the fact that the Seven Heroes and Three Li hunger for the souls and flesh of Cultivators... that is the will of this world’s heaven?"

"And their attempts to destroy the world are the same?"

"That’s right."

Gu Tianyun nodded with a hint of approval. He found talking with Su Bai to be quite gratifying.

They could both easily grasp what the other was trying to say.

"The true enemy is not the Seven Heroes and Three Li, but the Five Poisons of the world: Buddhism, Daoism, Demons, Ghosts, and Heresy."

"’Heaven’s’ world-ending calamities are merely to eradicate the Five Poisons and slow the pace of this world’s defeat."

"If not for these repeated world-ending cleansings over the past million years, this world would have long ago been completely captured by the Jin Yun Great World..."

As Gu Tianyun spoke, he watched Su Bai’s expression closely.

The shock he had felt back when he uncovered these secrets step-by-step had been immense!

And after learning the truth, he did many things.

He even went so far as to sacrifice his own Inner Heaven and Earth to devour ninety percent of the world’s Yin Sha Resentment Qi.

But even he could not truly eliminate this Yin Sha Resentment Qi.

Because the Spiritual Qi sown by the Jin Yun Great World, which filled this realm, acted like tentacles, holding it fast.

It had become an indispensable, irremovable part of this world.

Like a drop of water—no matter how you try to destroy it, it will simply change form and continue to exist within the world.

"World-destruction is also self-preservation..."

"To stop all this is, conversely, to truly destroy the world!"

Su Bai was truly shaken, and his expression couldn’t help but shift.

"I see... so that’s how it is!"

’Heaven’s world-ending calamity is an act of self-preservation, while the Cultivators who resist it are the true cancers of the world, the original sin that will bring about its destruction?’

Reaching this conclusion, Su Bai felt an urge to laugh, but also a deep sense of sorrow.

’How pathetic, to have a world forced to repeatedly cleanse itself of toxins with world-ending calamities.’

’And the living beings purged in the process... how tragic is their fate?’

No wonder Gu Tianyun ultimately chose the path of warring against heaven!

Because he had no other choice.

Gu Tianyun watched Su Bai quietly, waiting for him to compose himself.

He himself had been unable to find peace for a long time after learning the truth back then.

A long time seemed to pass. Only when the red glow around Su Bai’s body had dimmed did Gu Tianyun finally speak:

"Whether you kill the Seven Heroes and Three Li or not, the world-ending calamity will come regardless. Anyone touched by Spiritual Qi will die. Not one will survive, unless they can break through this world’s limits and ascend to the heavens!"

"You cannot save everyone."

Within the dim red light, Su Bai’s Divine Intent wavered slightly.

Hearing Gu Tianyun’s words, he slowly raised a brow:

"What if I insist on trying?"

"If you insist, then besides the Ninefold Immortal Punishment from the Jin Yun Great World, you will also have to face the thunderous wrath of this world’s heaven!"

Gu Tianyun’s gaze wavered.

"You... would you contend with the heavens of two worlds at once?"

"I have never been a good person, and I don’t want to be some Saint. It’s just..."

Su Bai slowly stood up, the red light around his body growing dimmer.

Gu Tianyun quietly watched him, waiting for what came next.

"I have known despair, and I have seen the dawn..."

Su Bai stood tall. Within the nearly transparent red light, the incarnation of his Divine Intent seemed on the verge of disappearing.

A clear, resonant voice issued from his lips:

"So I am willing to be that glimmer of dawn for others in their despair!"

Having lived two lives, he too had known helplessness, had struggled between life and death, had been lost in a darkness without a single ray of hope or light.

In his despair, he too had yearned for someone to save him from his plight.

It was only a fortuitous encounter that led to his current achievements.

’So what’s the harm in being that glimmer of dawn for others in their despair?’

WHOOSH!

As the red light scattered, this wisp of Su Bai’s Divine Intent gradually faded away.

In his final moments, he slowly spoke:

"In that case."

"What does it matter if I must fight two heavens alone?"