Chapter 550

:: xshuquge

An invisible influence spread through the void, in a way that couldn't even be called a ripple.

It constantly split and occasionally intertwined, weaving a net within history where fate could not perceive and time could not reach, until faint, hazy light and shadow converged into a single figure.

"Finally escaped."

Shang Yang arrived at a cliffside, where stars glittered brilliantly and occasional meteors streaked across the sky—this was a world not recorded in Tiancheng, yet once influenced by him.

It was like changing vehicles midway, but it seemed the Forbidden Ones had no interest in him.

"My final transaction is now concluded, Lady Yao Tian. Please pay the price of this deal."

Shang Yang shifted a few steps aside, yet after those steps, a figure draped in silken robes stood where he had just been:

"You gathered nearly all of Tiancheng's influence, yet failed at the most critical moment—and I need a vessel capable of affecting reality."

"I saved you, and as this vessel, you gave me the chance to trade away Tiancheng. Thus, this transaction leaves us even."

"But bringing you along when escaping that Forbidden Zone was an extra transaction. Therefore, as agreed, pay me the reward: the wish-force you possess."

Tiancheng, as the highest-weight entity, has been traded away; its residual influence has already been mostly refined by Yao Tian.

So what method remains to let him complete the final step?

"Wish Law. Influence Trade—I never imagined I'd encounter such a situation."

Shang Yang was deeply moved.

"I was too presumptuous. One such as you would never have only surface-level backups."

Yao Tian remained neither humble nor arrogant, yet the loneliness in her eyes made them appear hollowed out.

"How do you know it wasn't my deliberate influence that made you careless?"

Shang Yang smiled and said:

In Tiancheng, he could usually achieve control over the uncontrolled, guiding things invisibly—but this outcome was beyond his expectations.

"All wishes turn to emptiness; water-moon, flower-mirror."

Yao Tian raised her hand and condensed a dense mass of life-and-death karmic force—black and white, the yin-yang taiji spinning endlessly—transforming it into pure golden wish-light.

"Fortunately, your Wish Law can convert influence into wish-force, and I can treat the moment a wish is fulfilled as the effect of the transaction." Shang Yang stared at the wish-light for several seconds, then said:

"If I'd discovered this trick of your Great Wish Heaven years ago, I'd have hired you for sales."

"Setting up a new occupation called 'Ten Thousand Worlds Dream Fulfiller' in Tiancheng wouldn't have been impossible—too bad."

"I should let go of the past, stop chasing perfection, and try taking that step."

Shang Yang cupped the wish-light in both hands, smiled slightly, split it in two, and an immeasurable flood of wish-light surged into his silver-white eyes.

"Transaction complete." His expression relaxed as he tossed the other half back to Yao Tian.

Yao Tian did not understand his intent.

"No tax this time. Besides," Shang Yang looked apologetic, "you escaped—but not fully for you. So I take only half."

"In that universe, for a being nearly omniscient and omnipotent, true concealment is extremely difficult."

His physical form suddenly collapsed like a sand tower, dissolving into droplets of liquid that merged into nothingness.

Yao Tian suddenly turned toward the cliff's edge—thin Bai Guang rose, and a colorless, illusory boat glided across the starry void, where Su Lin sat at the rail, holding a fishing rod.

"Master, long time no see."

"Have you come to see me off on my final journey?"

Yao Tian's pupils contracted, then slowly relaxed, even calmer than before.

"I was just worried you'd been tricked by some old monster."

Su Lin sat cross-legged at the rail and asked: "After all we've shared as master and disciple, do you think I'd harm you?"

The Daoist light, black and white, descended around Yao Tian, drawing the wish-light back into her body: "I cannot take a disciple like you, nor do I have the qualifications."

She had failed—but she had also achieved unity with her future self-consciousness, spanning past and present.

In her long life, she had seen countless prodigies—but all had limits, including herself. To break those limits required effort beyond the ordinary.

Since Li Qiyi appeared in the lower-world sects, he had consistently surpassed all expectations in every trial—even when traveling with her, he displayed astonishing talent and perseverance across all realms.

"I once considered whether you had received some inheritance—or were a pawn of some celestial being."

"I deliberately granted you many things, many opportunities and favors—yet gained nothing."

"Only after sending you to Sui Ming World to steal fire did I learn your true identity—but by then, it was too late to retract."

Yao Tian spoke slowly, motionless, her eyes like autumn water reflecting a corner of this world's ebb and flow.

Su Lin clicked his tongue, yet with deep resignation: "Master, you've given me such a huge trouble—how should I handle you?"

"Do you plan to take me as your Forbidden Heir?" Yao Tian probed.

She could not now tell which Su Lin stood before her.

"Don't say such things lightly," Su Lin sat upright and shook his head.

He seemed to be the Su Lin she knew, not the entity from the Forbidden Zone—but what connection did he have with the multiple incarnations of creation laws within that Forbidden Zone?

They stared at each other for a long time. Su Lin sighed and smiled: "Go."

"." Thoughts surged in Yao Tian's eyes.

"That truly was an unforgettable time," Su Lin moored the boat beside the cliff, propping his chin as he gazed at Yao Tian:

"A beautiful master who treated me unconditionally well—who stood up for me when I was bullied, gave me resources when I lacked them, and never worried about other world's powerful ones targeting and erasing my existence…"

"Most importantly, you were too cautious, with your own plans—so you never got involved in Earth's affairs."

As he spoke, he gazed at the serene, beautiful scenery, his eyes filled with nostalgia.

"Even if I planned to kill you the moment you emerged from Sui Ming World?"

Yao Tian said coldly.

She was certain this Su Lin was the one she knew.

"There is no love without reason, and no hatred without cause."

Su Lin extended his hand as if to touch and caress that face, but his motion abruptly halted, and he withdrew it timidly, filled with a trace of regret:

"I truly once looked up to you, and hoped you were truly my good master."

"Until your very last moment, you truly were kind to me, weren't you? I knew it was fake, but I still can't forget it."

"Those twenty years were the most comfortable twenty years I've had since escaping Earth."

The small boat glowed with faint light, slowly drifting toward the outer horizon, radiating a serene calm that soothed the heart.

Yao Tian silently gazed at the gradually fading Wish Boat.

"Let us meet again across the myriad worlds," Su Lin turned his face aside and looked back at her: "Stop being so calculating, Master."

The other had already vanished; the Wish Boat had appeared to manifest the wish, and now that the wish was fulfilled, it naturally disappeared.

Yao Tian stood motionless in place, silent for a long time.

All wishes became influence; he existed in the passage of time, in destruction and birth, in the Dao, in space and time—and precisely because of this.

Everything lost all meaning to him.

"Did it succeed?"

Shang Yang snapped back to awareness, freed from the constraints of the myriad worlds; from this moment on, wish-power or influence meant nothing to him.

He had lost all sense of time, yet everything he had experienced was known to him within the span of his gaze.

Shang Yang gazed toward the location of the demonic god of the hooked sun and the realm of reincarnation: "."

A vast, dark profundity—an infinite expanse of space and time, countless universes—collapsed at the end of creation and destruction into primordial chaos, repeating like a looping film, leaving behind a colossal abyss in the void.

Blurry and indistinct.

"So it came from a place like this?"

Shang Yang paused in thought, but suddenly, he recalled a peculiar fragment from his past experiences.

"Damn, what the hell is this guy? Shit! My eyes!"

Su Lin's figure flashed before his eyes; the myriad worlds and their countless manifestations unfolded like a painting before him—then suddenly, he saw an blindingly brilliant light, a radiance so intense it seemed to drain all existence, shattering all barriers and striking straight into his eyes.

"Who the hell is this guy?! I'm not looking anymore."

That light ignited in the void; though it lasted but an instant on the timeline, for one of his realm, as long as he directed his gaze toward Su Lin, he could perceive that light piercing through all dimensions across boundless emptiness.

Thus he did not examine it closely, for if he delved deeper, he would surely be noticed by that instant of the other.

"The Multiverse Devourer... seems fake?"

Fuck, these bastards really know how to stir things up.

Shang Yang cursed under his breath as he walked through the void, his gaze transcending time and space, fixed upon that strange universe and the Tiancheng he had traded away.

From Tiancheng's founding to its being dragged into the realm, he perceived everything in a single thought, seeking to understand from every angle what this universe truly was, what made it unique.

The past, present, and future experiences of the successor who inherited Tiancheng.

Suddenly, a figure blocked his line of sight.

"Senior, have you come back to make a movie?"

A man covered in red fur stood in a corner of the void; his aura was profoundly ominous, and as black blood dripped from him, countless shattered worlds vanished into nothingness.

"By the way, I haven't thanked you yet, Senior, for the other path you gifted me in the past."

Shang Yang froze, then heard another voice.

"Friend, why not come join us for a gathering?"

Another man emerged from the darkness, holding a blood-red sword embryo; as he materialized, the space of countless worlds transformed into intricate runes upon his body.

"Maybe another time," Shang Yang hadn't expected he could still feel fear: "I still have things to do."

"At our level, time isn't urgent," the man with the blood-red sword embryo sincerely invited: "I'd also like to exchange insights on other paths."

"This—"

At that moment, Shang Yang looked again and saw the red-furred man had transformed into Ye Fan's appearance—no trace of his former ominous aura remained.

Before he could respond, the infinite space behind the blood-red sword embryo man shattered into ashes, and a bloodied hand clawed at the void, straining with all its strength.

Slowly, a man covered in blood, his gaze filled with despair, his face clearly that of a good-natured person, struggled out of the ashes.

He raised his trembling hand:

"Spare me... Senior over there... hurry..."

Whoosh—!

The void trembled; an invisible influence rippled across the cosmos and vanished, leaving not a single trace behind.

Watching Shang Yang disappear, the two turned their gazes toward the man who had crawled out.

"Come over... have some tea and rest."

The good-natured-faced man managed to finish his words as if taking a deep breath.

"Seniors, let me rest a bit before I start training—I really can't take any more."

Silence spread.

After a long while, the two each grabbed one of the man's legs and walked into the layered worlds reflected before them.

In the void, wails and pleas echoed endlessly.

"Thus and so, like this and that."

"Mm-hmm."

Su Lin set down the glowing core of the Wish Boat, interrupting Su Tuoni, who had been chattering like an old man: "Enough. You don't need to say any more."

"Didn't you want to hear about my experiences with Yao Tian?" Su Tuoni clicked his tongue.

"The name Yao Tian—I think it sounds beautiful, but when writing it, you must dip your brush in four parts twilight, three parts moonlight, two parts drowsy intoxication, and one part taboo," Su Lin shook his head, stepping onto the boat with disdain:

"I'm disappointed in you. You've spent twenty years and still haven't achieved the feat of rebelling against your master."

"A woman three hundred million years older than you is opening heaven and earth—you're wasting the talent this face was given."

Su Tuoni wanted to refute, but felt the other's words held some truth; after all, such talent was indeed being wasted.

"Come on, you're already fermented and still tipsy—only your face is good-looking; your personality's probably flawed too."

He shook his head, gazing enviously at the core in the other's hand, and asked: "Is that thing fun?"

"Not great—just about the level of a Holy Grail Max. You still need to gather wish energy." Su Lin squinted, thought for a moment, then glanced at Su Tuoni: "No need to thank me."

"Thank you for what?" Su Tuoni frowned.

No answer came, because Su Lin had already vanished from where he stood.

On Water Mirror Peak, gilded layers of emerald green, the phantom of a great Dao river flowed visibly.

Li Huowang held a primordial cosmic source, waving it in front of Yi Donglai's face as the latter lay sprawled on the ground.

Like teasing a cat.

"Just dried meat. Better give me a piece of Creation Gold instead."

Yi Donglai, fished out of the Wish Sea by Su Lin, spoke without expression:

"It's no different from the corpse of Fusheng Heaven—eating it only gives you a bit more strength."

"Oh." Li Huowang nodded, stood up, and left.

Yi Donglai called out: "I just need to regain some strength! Dried meat's fine too!"

A few pieces of "dried meat" slapped onto Yi Donglai's face. As Confused Siming and a member of Heaven's Dao, when Yi Donglai grew stronger, so would they.

"Big Brother Su, before we head into the Cycle Space for our next mission, can you clean out Hong Zhong's brain?" Li Huowang held up Hong Zhong, a single-eyed monocle covered entirely in talismans, and asked Su Lin, who held the Wish Boat Core.

"Also, Zhao Lei, Amon, and Aha are all gone."

"Forget about them for now." Su Lin walked toward Weigong Shilang, who was trying to cook with the primordial cosmic source.

"Su Lin." Weigong Shilang had assumed the other had come for him, and had just greeted him—when he saw Su Lin hand the Wish Boat Core to Yiliya beside him.

"Sign a contract with me. Become a Multiversal Holy Grail." Su Lin smiled. "Fate has decreed it."

Everyone turned to stare; the atmosphere froze instantly.

Only Kleine, wearing a top hat, seized Su Lin's wrist, his eyes pleading: "Let me go."