Chapter 1548: Negotiation Failed

Negotiation Failed

Looking at the Lord of Wuji before him, Chen Ling fell silent.

He understood what the Lord of Wuji was thinking...

Rebooting the World meant that everything would return to the origin point after the Red Star descended. Even if the Lord of Wuji left Earth with the Eternal Domain, they would still be forcibly returned. After all, they were originally part of this "era."

In the eyes of the Lord of Wuji, this was equivalent to him painstakingly twisting a rope to escape from the bottom of a well, only to have Chen Ling snip the other end of the rope with scissors right when he had just climbed up a bit...

The prerequisite for Eternity was not being forcibly rebooted.

The current Eternal Domain was like a kite intending to soar straight up into the sky, but the kite string was grasped in Chen Ling's hand. They didn't want to be dragged back down to the earth by Chen Ling, so they could only beg him to completely let go of the kite string from now on.

But could Chen Ling let go?

Letting go of the kite string and not Rebooting the World was equivalent to betting all of humanity's hopes on the Lord of Wuji and the Eternal Domain...

"I'm sorry," Chen Ling shook his head.

"I cannot give you any guarantees... If the humanity of this world fails, I will still Reboot the World."

"Who judges failure? Who defines success? You? What is your basis?" The Lord of Wuji stared intently at Chen Ling. His continuous questioning seemed to want to see through Chen Ling's heart,

"Chen Ling, on what basis... do you get to be the one who finally tolls the death knell for humanity?"

The Lord of Wuji's questioning wasn't venting his emotions, but rather genuinely asking a serious question.

If the three major domains were gone and everyone died, did that mean humanity failed? The Eternal Domain might just be the "ship" carrying humanity's final hope; it was just that whether it succeeded or not required a massive amount of time to verify...

Chen Ling could understand the Lord of Wuji's doubts. The Dusk Society holding the key to Rebooting the World was like the button for nuclear weapons before the Great Cataclysm. Whether to press it or not, and when to press it, were all crucial issues involving the survival of humanity... And the one possessing this button wasn't the Nine Monarchs, or even a human Demigod...

But a World-Ending Calamity.

"I don't need to explain to you," Chen Ling answered calmly. "Rebooting the World is inherently the Dusk Society's job, and I am the sixth generation Red King of the Dusk Society... I naturally have my own judgment."

The passion in the Lord of Wuji's eyes gradually receded, replaced by a dim profoundness.

He gently leaned against the back of his chair and closed his eyes:

"So... compared to my Eternal, you still choose to bet on that coward, right?"

Chen Ling had already clearly expressed that he didn't believe the Eternal Domain could achieve Eternity, so what he was waiting for was actually only the three human domains on the surface... And the core of those three domains was the Lord of Spirit Void, Wu Tongyuan.

"You are both part of the Nine Monarchs, and you clearly possess Creator-like power. Why don't you go help your colleague complete the Akashic Tower?" Chen Ling asked a question he had wanted to ask for a long time.

"I can't build the Akashic Tower he wants."

"Why?"

"What he wants is not a soulless building... What he wants is a mathematical 'divine statue' imbued with spiritual civilization and spiritual Faith," the Lord of Wuji responded indifferently.

"As humanity's material civilization regresses, spiritual civilization has become the last hope to arm humanity... The so-called Divine Pathways are the product of spiritual civilization."

"And the coward wanting to communicate with the Akashic Records doesn't need any help with its 'form'. In other words, the 'form' of that tower is only a carrier. What he wants is the convergence of spiritual civilization. Only this kind of power, invisible to the naked eye, is the key to tampering with the incredibly mysterious probabilities and communicating with the Akashic Records."

Chen Ling stared at him blankly for a long time, unable to process this for quite a while.

Chen Ling originally thought that the Lord of Wuji had put all his energy into the Eternal Domain, so he didn't care about matters on the surface at all... Or rather, he fundamentally didn't approve of Wu Tongyuan, so he was unwilling to help.

But looking at it now, the Lord of Wuji had actually always been paying attention to the situation of the three major domains. Moreover, Chen Ling didn't think the Lord of Wuji, a PhD in material science, could have such a deep understanding of the construction requirements of the Akashic Tower... This indicated that perhaps when the world was unaware, the Lord of Wuji had already proactively sought out Wu Tongyuan and asked him if he needed help.

It was just that Wu Tongyuan tactfully declined his help and explained the reason.

The Lord of Wuji had never been an extreme paranoid pursuing Eternity; his standpoint had always been humanity itself... And his choice of Eternity was also because Eternity was the path closest to him and the most suitable for him.

At this moment, Chen Ling had to admit that he used to view the Lord of Wuji too narrowly...

"Then do you think he can succeed?" Chen Ling asked in return.

"Whether he succeeds or not has nothing to do with me." The Lord of Wuji responded coldly, "He and I are on two entirely different paths that do not affect each other."

The Lord of Wuji seemingly didn't plan to continue discussing Wu Tongyuan. He stood up and walked straight towards the doors of the Palace of Eternity.

"It's getting late. You guys should rest early."

"No need." Chen Ling also stood up. "We've already talked about what we needed to talk about... If you don't have anything else, it's time for us to leave."

"No..."

The Lord of Wuji slowly crossed the doors of the Palace of Eternity. Standing under the hazy starlight, he looked back here and pointed at Mo Yao, "He can go back... but you, cannot."

Mo Yao was stunned.

Chen Ling's eyes narrowed slightly, "What do you mean?"

"This is the one and only chance humanity has to get closest to Eternity. I cannot let you just Reboot the World like this." The Lord of Wuji spoke slowly, "Anyway, like me, your lifespan is almost endless... Since that's the case, why don't you witness Eternity together with me?"

"You want to place me under house arrest?"

"I just want you to give me, and the Eternal Domain, a chance." The Lord of Wuji looked at Chen Ling,

"Even if you aren't around, those society members under you will still systematically help you prepare the things needed for the reboot. Once the three major domains are annihilated, they will also definitely go retrieve the corpses of the other Nine Monarchs..."

"When the time comes, I will send people to receive all of them into the Eternal Domain. I will take the Eternal Domain and drift toward the universe. The residents here will grow, reproduce, and die over a long period of time..."

"And you, you can still play the role of humanity's bell-toller. If a problem truly occurs in the Eternal Domain and humanity is about to perish, the last rule on my crown will be triggered..."

"I, will commit suicide before you."

The Lord of Wuji stood under the hazy starlight, yet those eyes were brighter than any star or candlelight. It was as if he had already arranged everything in his heart long ago, slowly taking his time to say the last sentence:

"At that time... you will be able to Reboot the World at any time."