Chapter 423 - 174: Barren Land, Little Demon Patrols the Mountain, Invoking Gods

As the voice drifted, a red light flared and vanished, sweeping away Su Bai’s wisp of Divine Intent and disappearing from the peculiar space.

At the very last moment, Gu Tianyun uttered a warning:

"The Seven Heroes and Three Li must never be killed!"

’Hmm!?’

Su Bai was jolted.

Glancing back in that final instant, he saw the space flicker once in the endless darkness before vanishing completely.

But in that same instant, he saw the pale-faced boy inside the tavern—the one who had been silent and almost illusory from start to finish—suddenly raise his head.

’Was that... Bai You?’

...

In the endless darkness, the small space flickered like a firefly, on the verge of being extinguished.

Inside the tavern.

"Fighting two heavens alone? And so what if I did?"

Gu Tianyun stood tall, his gaze fixed on the boundless darkness around him as if watching Su Bai depart.

Or perhaps, he was seeing a reflection of his former self.

WHOOSH!

And beside him, the fair-faced youth, who looked no older than his early teens, slowly raised his head.

In that instant, he seemed to shift from illusory to real. He forced out in a raspy voice:

"Venerable Lord..."

"Xiaobai."

Gu Tianyun gently stroked the boy’s long hair, his gaze softening.

"Go on and ascend."

"For ten thousand years, I have listened to you in all things..."

The boy looked up at Gu Tianyun, his eyes filled with a deep, nostalgic longing. "But on this matter alone, I cannot."

"My soul has scattered, my Dao has perished. I am already dead."

"All that remains is this lingering obsession."

Gu Tianyun sighed. "Life is a long journey. Aside from oneself, everyone else is just a passerby."

"Our bond has lasted ten thousand years. That’s more than countless people in this world could ever hope for."

"Since our fated connection has run its course, why try to force it?"

The boy lowered his head, seemingly afraid to meet his gaze, but his expression was exceptionally resolute, his tone as unshakeable as a mountain.

"Then I will force it!"

"Some things can’t be forced, no matter how much you want them to be."

Gu Tianyun shook his head gently. "I left my only remaining trace here for the sole purpose of seeing him."

"Now that I have, I have no more regrets. I am dead, and that is that. Why must you drag yourself down?"

"You’ve already done more than enough."

"I could ascend in the blink of an eye if I wanted to. However, ascending alone is not what I desire!"

The boy gripped the wine cup on the table, staring at the faint ripple spreading across its surface.

A ferocious glint appeared in his eyes as he spoke:

"If anything stands in my way..."

"I will slay any god or Buddha in my path. Demon Ghosts can be slain, and so can men."

"And if the heavens themselves try to stop me, then I will slaughter the heavens!"

...

WHOOSH! WHOOSH!

A deathly aura billowed as poisonous fumes drifted through the air.

Bathed in the red light, the altar looked all the more sinister.

WHOOSH!

Directly before the altar, Su Bai slowly opened his eyes. Deep within them, the wisp of his Divine Intent returned, and his gaze grew calm.

’Gu Tianyun...’

He had gained a great deal from this meeting.

He had come to understand many of this world’s hidden secrets.

The source of all calamities was a collision between the "heavens" of two worlds.

Over a million years ago, a wisp of mysterious Spiritual Qi descended from the Jin Yun Great World into this one, secretly destroying its original Cultivation System.

Thus began a struggle that has lasted for a million years.

The Seven Heroes and Three Li loved to devour Cultivators, and the heavens sent down world-ending calamities in a repeating cycle. This has continued for over a million years, right up to the present day.

And if Chen Shaoyou’s memories were true, then on the original timeline, this struggle was destined to continue far into the future.

...until this world was reduced to nothing more than a vassal of the Jin Yun Great World.

As for the living beings caught in the middle, neither side cared about them in the slightest. They were like crops, reaped and replanted, generation after generation.

Destroyed only to be reborn, reborn only to be destroyed.

The heavens’ world-ending calamity was an act of self-preservation, which seemed logical on the surface.

However, he was not one of the heavens, and it was difficult for him to adopt such a lofty perspective and view the world’s affairs from their height.

From a human perspective, the living beings of this world had already suffered far too much.

The heavens give birth to all things, a grace impossible to repay, but that didn’t mean living beings couldn’t even fight for their own lives and survival.

Unfortunately, Gu Tianyun had long since vanished from this world without a trace. His only remaining imprint was confined to that peculiar space within the Yinfu Store.

Otherwise, he might have been able to learn more from him.

And he had never been one to trust others easily.

Gu Tianyun might not lie, but that didn’t necessarily mean he would reveal the whole truth.

And sometimes, the slightest discrepancy could lead to a massive error.

The slightest omission could prove to be the most fatal of flaws.

Gu Tianyun had spoken with Su Bai at length, resolving many of his questions.

And yet, new questions lingered in his heart.

If the heaven of this world so deeply detested the Ten Thousand Spirits and the Five Poisons, and felt an even deeper revulsion for Cultivators steeped in Spiritual Qi...

...then why would It cooperate with Gu Tianyun, a man so obviously and deeply corroded by that same Spiritual Qi?

’Why... was that?’

’What exactly are you hiding...’

Su Bai mused to himself as he gazed at the distant sky.

His mind was like a Bright Mirror, exceptionally sharp, and he could vaguely sense that Gu Tianyun had left things unsaid, that he was hiding something.

’Was he hiding it on purpose?’

But a man with Gu Tianyun’s insight and experience would know that such a blatant omission wouldn’t fool him. If he had truly wanted to hide something, there were far better methods.

Telling only half the story was the crudest of tactics.

’Then, there was only one other possibility.’

’Was he unable to say it?’

’Would It hear him?’

’Netherworld Venerable Master, Bai You, the heavens...’

After standing still for a long time, Su Bai finally banished the distracting thoughts from his mind, which became as pristine and clear as a Bright Mirror once more.

He turned to look at the old toad, which, amidst the swirling deathly aura, had already regrown its body of fleshy tumors.