Chapter 1294: Defeat Without a Fight

Ning Zheng remained silent.

In an instant, she didn’t know how to narrate the events that occurred in the [future].

From [past] to [present], they traversed great distances, enduring near-death experiences to cross the border. When they saw the other side, Immortal Venerable Changzhen was filled with despair.

But from [present] to [future], conveying the visions of the future on the other side, isn’t it another story steeped in greater despair?

The future is not as wonderful as imagined, nor is it any kind of paradise.

Because in the future, we must become the Destruction God.

The [future] you must become the person you once hated the most.

Ning Zheng suddenly felt an unstoppable oppression and despair, not knowing how to explain to him.

This universe is too oppressive… too despairing.

“Tell me,” Immortal Venerable Changzhen suddenly said.

Ning Zheng reached out her hand, memories merging into her mind.

Immortal Venerable Changzhen’s face grew increasingly pale and weak, as if he had aged countless years in an instant, exuding a heavy duskiness, seemingly on the brink of death.

“History is a spiraling closed loop; we are all walking the same path.”

“In the past, I yearned to be a hero, to hack through thorns and kill the Evil Dragon called the Destruction God.”

“Now, I’ve reached the pinnacle, becoming the Immortal Venerable Wuchang with the ability to realize my aspirations.”

“In the future, I killed the Evil Dragon, eradicated the Immortal Nether, annihilated decay. The Dragon Slayer, however, became the new Destruction God.”

He murmured, gazing at the bustling streets below, his tone difficult, and suddenly his heart emptied, “It’s so painful, what are we pursuing?”

Past, present, future… As “Ning Zheng” walks the timeline, it is much like the life journey of most protagonists throughout the ages.

Childhood, growth, pinnacle.

From weak to strong, from new to decayed, from hero to dragon.

Holy Spirit Immortal Venerate is like this, the painter is like this, and so am I.

Ning Zheng suddenly recalled the sighs spoken by Holy Spirit Immortal Venerate, as if a breeze echoed in her heart:

Born here, raised here, died here, you and I are no exceptions unless one transcends ultimate detachment.

“Do you want to fight with me?”

Ning Zheng suddenly said, “You just wanted to kill me, didn’t you? Then realize your aspirations, save your former companions. You bear too much.”

Even Jiumu Qing slaughter one another, let alone oneself from different parallel worlds and different growth experiences?

Slaughter.

Only one self is the victor.

Ning Zheng had long anticipated it, and Immortal Venerable Changzhen was well prepared.

This was the inevitable decisive battle between them, gathering all the Venerable Positions: Auspicious, Calamity, Wuchang. The three aspects become one, proving destiny.

“Originally, I wanted to fight, but such a world… forget it.”

He suddenly fell silent, feeling at a loss, and suddenly said, “In the [future], are there young heroes like us who resist the Destruction God, similar to various civilization organizations of the [Round Table]?”

“Many.”

“Did you kill them?”

“Killed them.”

“Killed them casually?”

“I did not; it was the painter who killed them casually.”

“What were they shouting?”

“Dreams? Ideals? Then they charged forward, all unafraid of death, speaking of brotherhood, crying with friends, carrying companions forward. They lived for freedom, revealing all their sharpness and vigor.”

“Very young and full of energy?”

“Just like the group of Round Table comrades supporting each other in the memories you gave me.”

Watching the people coming and going below the tall building, Ning Zheng and the other self chatted idly.

Immortal Venerable Changzhen spoke of his most painful past, recounting the names and identities of each fallen companion, their ideals, their love for certain foods.

Gradually, this black-clad, battle-spirited Ning Zheng, with the recounting, seemed deflated like a balloon, aging with wrinkles covering his gaunt frame, his face full of tiny age spots.

Immortal Venerable Changzhen was stunned, “I—what exactly am I expecting? Escaping from [past] to [present], and from [present] to [future], every encounter becoming more despairing.”

“In such a world like ours, it truly is painful… Perhaps when we are born, it is meant for suffering, to endure the cyclical repetition of history.”

“We cannot break free.”

The air suddenly fell silent, all creatures silent, the world without a sound.

With the sun setting like blood, streets filled with Blue Star’s pedestrians, their noisy chatter suddenly emerged.

They swiped their phones, occasionally laughing among couples; they talked about tomorrow’s work, complained about their bosses’ capitalist behavior, discussed life’s big and small issues.

Because of ignorance, there is happiness.

After being silent for a long time, he suddenly laughed freely,

“I won’t compete with you anymore; it’s all meaningless. What if I win against you? To become the supreme of destiny, revive them? Change their fate of death?”

He showed a trace of mockery, murmuring, “Then, rot with them, becoming the Destruction God, becoming the person we despise the most, batch after batch sitting high, killing the young, hot-blooded heroes trying to overthrow us?”

He sighed, gaze hinting at nostalgia and yearning, “No, rather than that, please leave them in my memories, becoming an eternal portrait of young heroes.”

“Let them eternally imprint in my heart, rather than reviving and rotting with me.”

“Destiny is unpredictable, destiny is unpredictable…” This old man lost his fighting spirit, lost his Essence, Qi, and Spirit, left his last words in a deep tone, disappearing into the world.

“Go, another me, go do what you want to do.”

“Become destiny, master destiny, then transcend destiny.”

His final voice echoed in the air, Ning Zheng just remained silent, feeling his endless loneliness and pain, as if hearing the sound of shattering as his figure disappeared.

That is the sound of dreams breaking.

“I originally thought, you and I must have a battle…” Ning Zheng softly whispered.

Ning Zheng was already prepared; he had no assurance of victory.

Because this person is too strong.

Despair didn’t kill him.

Suffering made him stronger.

But now, the killer of this strong individual who struggled for over fifteen million years… is not Ning Zheng, but destiny, this universe’s despair.

At this moment, watching another self disappear, Ning Zheng could only remain silent, silent, endless silence.

No mortal can escape the fate of birth, aging, illness, and death.

Just as no powerhouse can escape the cycle from youth to old age to decay.

The world is a circle; the Dragon Slayer must become the Evil Dragon.

Crash.

The next second, Ning Zheng suddenly clasped his hands together.

Auspicious, Calamity, Wuchang.

The three aspects become one, the ultimate destiny of the Supreme Immortal Venerable is thus born.

The world suddenly shook, all existence felt the last puzzle of the whole world being thoroughly completed, the seat of the universe filled, the great path whole.

The ultimate era has already been born.