Chapter 1787: Everlasting Embers (Part 3)

He won.

Yet he also lost everything.

He leaned on the Iron Sword that accompanied him for a lifetime, like a mourner, began to wander over the ruins.

Crossing the nooks and crannies of the ruins, he finally walked towards the underground city entrance known as the “Final Barrier.”

The huge alloy gate had long since twisted and deformed, revealing deep dark passages inside.

He stepped inside, his footsteps echoed in the empty deathly silent tunnel.

When he reached the underground, he saw the ruined Dream Weaving Hall.

The dome, which gathered the highest technical crystallization of the Dream Weaving Clan, had collapsed, rubble buried most of the area, only an Information Stone Tablet stood in front of the hall.

Compressed Spiritual Pattern information was etched upon it.

He reached out with his wrinkled hand, touching the cold tablet surface, trying to feel the residual warmth of civilization, yet only feeling the chill of the stone carving.

Looking around at the end of the Dream Weaving Civilization beneath his feet, Cang Xuan’s heart surged with sadness.

He once thought, the sword in his hand could guard everything.

Yet in the end, he discovered, at the end of the Sword Dao, he stood all alone.

He gazed at the Iron Sword in his hand and suddenly felt very tired.

Standing for a long time, he raised his hand, gently resting the Iron Sword against the stone tablet.

With a slight effort.

The Iron Sword, once indestructible in the flood of the Erosion Light Clan, snapped like an ordinary dry twig.

Half of the sword fell to the ground, making a crisp sound.

“No more practice.”

The voice was very light, as if speaking to someone, yet also like talking to himself.

As he turned to leave, his silhouette appeared exceptionally thin amid the ruins.

Those endless days and nights of swinging the sword, the Sword Momentum tempered with blood, the obsession believed to guard everything, all turned into a broken Iron Sword before the stone tablet.

The sword remained, but no one needed its protection anymore.

“It’s time to rest.”

He said softly, turning to walk deeper into the hall.

This world has countless Heavenly Treasures to extend his Life, as long as he wished, he could continue to live.

But prolonging Life is meant for continued experience.

And he had experienced all that should be experienced.

What was guarded had been lost.

What was fought for had ended.

The last reason worth wielding the sword had been buried along with civilization.

The answer for living had vanished.

Continuing to live itself had lost meaning.

The story had already written its final punctuation mark, forcibly turning the page would leave only pale and hollow repetition.

His choice was to let Life reach its conclusion amidst civilization’s ruins.

Writing his own epilogue.

Upon reaching the hall’s depth, Cang Xuan intended to sleep eternally here, yet discovered the space he was in suddenly rippled.

Countless lights and shadows surged like tides, weaving into a flowing scroll around him.

The long scroll of history gradually unfolded, recording every moment from the birth to the peak of the Dream Weaving Clan.

Technical tomes floated in mid-air, embodying the wisdom crystallization of countless generations, artistic masterpieces swirling within the lights and shadows… Cang Xuan stared blankly at this suddenly awakened ocean of knowledge.

He reached out to touch one of the floating Illusion Stones, discovering it contained the Dream Weaving Clan’s Spiritual Ability System framework.

He touched another one, inside recorded the peak techniques of genetic engineering.

Withered fingers brushed over one Illusion Stone after another, which recorded Spiritual Ability Secret Techniques, Cang Xuan’s eyes filled with confusion.

Not understanding why the clansmen left the wisdom crystallization of civilization here.

Just then, a phantom indistinguishable from his own figure slowly gathered from the depths of light and shadow.

The phantom wore the same simple hemp clothing, looking identical to him.

“Shadow?!”

The shadow smiled faintly, speaking in the same tone as him, yet more gentle:

“That’s right, I am the manager of this illusion… You have finally returned, Cang Xuan.”

“Why leave this illusion?” Cang Xuan went straight to the core, his gaze tightly locked onto the shadow:

“Civilization has perished, what is the point of preserving these?”

The shadow did not answer directly, raised his hand with a wave, and the surrounding lights and shadows suddenly shifted.

The light and shadow images showed the Dream Weaving Civilization’s struggle in the dire straits.

“My creation stems from the Dream Weaving System’s top scholar team’s decision at civilization’s end.”

“When the last barrier was about to be breached, we clearly realized, civilization had lost hope for continuation… We fell into unprecedented Suffering and confusion.”

Around them, the light and shadows shifted, revealing the scene of the Dream Weaving Clan before the apocalypse.

Scholars fiercely debated in underground shelters, some advocated destroying everything, others proposed to preserve core knowledge, awaiting the improbable Recovery.

“But ultimately, we chose another path, to preserve all Civilization Memories, sealing them in the form of gifts.”

“Gifts, for whom? The enemy?” Cang Xuan questioned hoarsely.

“Who is not important, it could be the enemy, or a passing traveler.”

The shadow nodded with a smile, with a wave of his hand, entirely different lights and shadows unfolded.

Displayed were the civilizational worlds of the Hometown World once conquered by the Dream Weaving Clan, recorded in history books.

“Before we conquered the Hometown World, the world map consisted of countless small civilizations, we conquered, also merged… Their poetry, their techniques, their understanding of the world… did not completely Annihilate with their clans’ extinction, but was absorbed by us, transforming into a part of our Dream Weaving Civilization’s legacy, like streams rushing into rivers.”

Another Illusion Stone lit up, displaying early Dream Weaving Clan learning in imitating the conquered civilization’s techniques.

“True legacy does not necessarily obsess over Bloodline continuity, or the survival of specific clans. We have witnessed the harshness of the Dream World, realizing these demands are difficult to achieve… The only feasible may be the inheritance of Civilization Memory, but as long as civilization’s seeds continue to drift, the Dream Weaving Civilization has never truly died… This is Immortal in the realm of spirit, different from flesh and Bloodline propagation.”