Chapter 86: Zuo Kete

In the desolate starry sky, planetary density was extremely low; only a few stars scattered across the universe’s frontier.

“How long have we known each other?” The man’s battle armor was riddled with cracks, shedding fragments that vanished into energy before they could hit the ground.

His eyes were weary, his unkept hair hanging beside his temples, his peripheral gaze resting on the sweet-looking girl beside him, around fifteen or sixteen years old.

The girl wore a black formal gown, like a vivid black rose; one hand hung limply, her jade-white skin marked with spiderweb-like traces.

“Six hundred and seven years,” she whispered. “Six hundred and seven years ago, during that Spring Festival, I first saw you—my distant cousin.”

“But we have no blood ties—your mother and my mother just got confused during idle chat.” The man pulled a slender purple sword from the shattered void; dark, profound energy surged wildly, and as this weapon, exiled in chaotic spacetime, emerged, cosmic anomalies of chaos descended across the entire universe.

“Never thought twelve years later we’d be so entangled… such is the unpredictability of fate…”

Swish swish swish

On his other side, hundreds of warriors from different races raised their weapons, gazing forward.

One hundred thousand light-years away

A colossal beast, vast as a star domain, continuously collapsed inward, surging with the power of Gui Xu’s world-ending force toward a barren star.

The man casually swung his arm—no visible change—but the beast split in two, exploding into two bursts of energy.

“Fala.”

A crimson figure responded, materializing from illusion into reality.

“How’s the Western Gate?”

“Destroyed.”

A tall girl with fiery red hair and a slanted fringe flipped through the pages of her book until one page overflowed with the meaning of destruction and collapse.

“You really don’t need me to record you?” Fala glanced at the man ahead. “Living as my collection isn’t so bad.”

“You could even have a child.”

“With me.”

A streak of emerald divine light shot toward Fala; before contact, it became the frontispiece of a book, slowly drifting to the ground.

“I’ve wanted to say this for a long time.”

The man took two steps forward:

“Luo Shengying, you’re too temperamental—just like those annoying little tropes from the anime a few centuries ago…”

“Oh, I remember—it’s like a tsundere little girl, even though you’re already six hundred and twenty-two years old.”

He ignored Luo Shengying’s sharpening gaze and turned to the other girl, Fala, with her fiery red hair:

“And you, Fala—you’ve wanted to collect me for five hundred and ninety-three years. You’re a hoarder, obsessed with collecting everything you like.”

“You used a forbidden spell on me the very first time we met—just for that fragment of a library I didn’t even know where you got!”

“Yandere’s outdated, sis—because of you two…”

“I’m six hundred and thirty! No, six hundred and thirty-seven! Still a virgin!”

The man’s eyes were hollow, his tone mournful—any listener would weep, any hearer would grieve.

Someone nearby let out a laugh.

A hand shattered space and gripped the neck of a handsome man with golden hair and green eyes.

“Mai Erke Qiao Nan Feng. Is that funny?” The man’s tone was hostile, brimming with lethal intent.

“Yes, my Supreme Commander,” the golden-haired, green-eyed man replied calmly. “I have seventeen wives—they all get along perfectly. Hahaha hahaha.”

“Giggle—”

The man squeezed hard, turning the golden-haired man’s laughter into a rooster’s crow.

The absurd scene slightly eased the deadly atmosphere.

The man hurled the golden-haired man flying; he crashed into a stone mountain ten kilometers away.

He retracted his hand from the rift and continued complaining to the two women:

“You two are too outstanding! I’ve lusted after your bodies—I admit it, I’m lowly.”

“But how long are you going to keep playing with me? Just stop already.”

“I don’t want to be part of this love triangle drama anymore.”

“For centuries, the moment I touch one, the other beats me up.”

“Of course,” he shifted tone, growing calm, “but none of this matters anymore. At my cultivation level, mortal desires aren’t significant.”

“What appeal does a flesh-and-blood shell over a skeleton really hold?”

“All things grow, perish, and return—only heaven, earth, and the universe endure.”

“Thus, the beauty of the soul is worthy of admiration.”

“Your souls, in my eyes, radiate light—like the most exquisite art in the world.” The man’s eyes shimmered with seven-colored light. “And against the backdrop of those rotting, deformed souls, you are utterly incomparable in beauty.”

“Look.” The man pointed his sword toward a direction ahead. “The beasts are coming.”

The endless dark starry sky had twisted, like a crumpled, uneven cloth.

After countless spirals in an instant, thirteen figures emerged from the fractured, warped regions of the universe.

One existed as formless chaos, its body grotesque, yet with every twitch, creation and destruction of worlds could be seen.

One bore twelve wings, half pitch-black, half pure white, divine and majestic—wherever its gaze fell, chaos turned to order.

One was an ancient elder in imperial robes, ethereal and Daoist, a precious gourd floating behind him, oscillating between illusion and reality, yin and yang energies coiling around him like a celestial king descending.

Each of them was a Cosmic Sovereign—the supreme being of their respective worlds.

“Destroying the Gate has no meaning.”

A stunningly beautiful woman in ornate robes spoke with a cold voice; as she spoke, the sound of the Great Dao echoed.

“The last He Si Gate is gone—but this merely grants you a little more time to cling to life.”

“Even if you hadn’t broken through, six Cosmic Sovereigns couldn’t stop the tide.”

An elder chuckled. “Our fighting here is meaningless. Each death of a Cosmic Sovereign is merely a brief slumber.”

“We merely awaken again from the anchor points in the river of time, spending a little effort to return to now.”

“The fate of this world is to open the door ahead for us. Gentlemen, shall we sit down and talk? I’m sure you’re all deeply interested in what lies ahead.”

The man ignored the thirteen Cosmic Sovereigns above him—as if they were air—and continued speaking to the two women as before:

“So I think this youthful romance drama should end. If we count only the time of this world, I’m already six hundred and thirty-seven.”

“I’m truly tired of it.”

“You two don’t need to stay with me—and you,” he pointed to the hundred-plus warriors, “remember to look after the original Earth descendants. Their thoughts and actions I quite like—I’m willing to die for them.”

The man pointed his thumb toward the thirteen Cosmic Sovereigns floating in the cosmic void.

“That bunch of arrogant fools think I’m buying time to give the life in this universe a chance—but they don’t know I intend to kill them all.”

“I blew up the Gate because I was afraid I’d lose control and wipe out their worlds.”

After he spoke, all present fell silent—until a beast with three horns, pale blue scales, and a wolf-like form said: “We didn’t know any of this…”

“Aren’t we here to fight alongside you?”

“Rest,” the man sneered. “Leaving aside the other few who are cheating, the rest of you combined couldn’t even hold off one. Enough. I alone can handle the fighting.”

“By the way, when you head home, take Mai Erke Qiao Nan Feng with you—he’s over there.”

【Manifestation Points:】

If these fools hadn’t come to this world causing trouble, I could’ve used these points to cultivate—after one cosmic cycle, I might have transcended already.

Too late… To cut the roots completely, there’s only one way.

【Ultimate Transcendence】

【Manifestation Points: 0】

In an instant of decay and renewal, the cocoon breaks, becoming a butterfly.

All time, condensed into a single moment—a dazzling, primordial light.

All existence merged into this body, foundations turned to burning fuel.

Forsaking the possibility of Nirvana—Ultimate Transcendence!

No one knew when the battle ended—perhaps only ten minutes?

They had imagined countless times how brutal this battle would be, what victory would mean, what defeat would mean.

Since leaving their own worlds and tribes to join this hundred-member squad of the strongest, they had envisioned many outcomes.

But only…

This possibility…

Commander of the Twenty-Seven Alliance Forces, original Earth descendant, Su Lin.

He crushed the skull of the final enemy Cosmic Sovereign with one hand; the Sovereign’s soul turned to dust in his grasp.

“Sorry, Xiao Ying, Fala,” Su Lin’s body began to emit glowing particles; in the universe, the voice of the Great Dao echoed like music, continuous and unbroken.

“Let the story end here.”

“He’s returning to the Dao…”

“Where’s He Daozi?” A ragged man stepped through space, grabbing a middle-aged man in a long robe. “Give me your Zhong Miao Ling Dan!”

“It’s useless…”

“His Dao has burned out…”

He Daozi watched Su Lin, who was returning to the Dao, his heart complex.

Fala and Luo Shengying approached Su Lin; Fala tried to turn him into a book.

“Save your effort,” Su Lin smiled. “Nothing’s worth recording anymore.”

“Don’t cry, okay?”

Luo Shengying shoved a cold object into Su Lin’s hand. “Do you remember? This is what you gave me on the day Earth was destroyed.”

“It’s useless… I have no past.” Su Lin gazed at his river of time, where only faint traces remained.

But it was quite spectacular…

Just… too many regrets…

I thought I was the protagonist of a slice-of-life story—how did I end up like this?

“Even if I could restart, I wouldn’t claim everything of another version of myself. That’s just a false timeline.”

“Fala, don’t cry. You’ve never cried before. I love your icy expression—look at me with that aloof gaze again.”

Half of Su Lin’s body had already dissolved into the Dao. The spiritual energy in this universe surged violently, and future beings would walk the Dao path farther than ever before.

Snap

It was an ancient silver pocket watch. Luo Shengying opened it, gripped Su Lin’s last remaining hand, and a barrier flung Fala away.

Fala realized something was wrong, pulled out a book, and its pages scattered, transforming into bizarre scenes that attacked the barrier.

Unexpectedly, Luo Shengying, whose realm was inferior to hers, remained completely unaffected.

Luo Shengying’s aura continued to climb; black lightning raged through the void.

“...” He Daozi pulled out a cloud-patterned pill. “At least we can save Luo Shengying—if she’s willing to live.”

“Little Ying...”

Luo Shengying pulled Su Lin into her arms, pressed their thumbs together onto the stopwatch, and fixed her gaze on his eyes: “You’re mine!”

Her tone was calm, her voice light and clear.

Luo Shengying stuck out her tongue at Fala in a playful grimace and pressed the watch’s button.

“Six hundred and seven years ago! January 1st!”

——————————

January 1, 2023 AD

Luo Shengying woke up in a dinosaur pajama suit, her smooth black hair falling over her shoulders.

She glanced around, dazed, then remembered—this was her old room.

She looked at the pocket watch clutched in her palm—it was spinning counterclockwise.

The room was filled with her favorite toys: Doraemon, Winnie the Pooh, Donald Duck.

Warm-toned wallpaper, a classic girl’s bedroom.

Some toys sat beside the bed, others on shelves; in the corner near the bookshelf stood a brand-new desktop computer on the desk.

This was her first semester of high school—she’d ranked first in the final exams, and her parents had promised her this as a reward.

A brand-new computer, powerful enough to run big games.

Back then, her family’s financial situation was still decent.

A weak body.

That was Luo Shengying’s assessment of her current state.

She couldn’t even break a concrete-and-steel building.

Su Lin hadn’t lied her. Back when Earth had just been destroyed centuries ago, she’d thought it was just a trick to soothe a little girl.

“If you want to escape, then escape. Go back to the past, be your destined heroine—but everything in this timeline has nothing to do with you.”

On the orbit of the original Earth, Su Lin stood atop a floating tower in space, handing her this pocket watch.

The pocket watch truly could send her back to the past.

She adjusted to her new body, got out of bed, slipped on cotton slippers, and a faint blush colored her cute face.

She’d been in the air-conditioned room too long—her cheeks were flushed.

Standing before the door, she felt uneasy…

Dad… Mom…

A single tear traced down her cheek.

Her heart fluttered with excitement—she would see her parents again, after centuries.

But what of Su Lin…?

Had he returned?

Nervousness and excitement tangled in her toes; Luo Shengying bit her lip.

She stood there in front of the door for over ten minutes.

“...”

Wiping her tears, Luo Shengying smiled faintly, gripped the doorknob, and opened the door.

If worst comes to worst, I’ll return to the future after seeing my parents—and stay with him as he dissolves into the Dao.

Leaving with him would be fine too.

Her parents were watching TV—a soccer match was playing; a plate of peanuts and dried squid sat on the coffee table.

“Dad… Mom…”

Those two words felt both foreign and familiar—she’d nearly forgotten how to pronounce them.

“Oh!”

Luo Shengying’s mother, Su Bizhu, jumped up immediately.

“Baby, why are your eyes red?”

She rushed over, touched Luo Shengying’s face, and asked anxiously: “Who bullied you? Tell Mommy—what happened?”

“Mmm… Wu …”

Emotions overwhelmed her again. She wasn’t the peak-level Zhouwang Luo Shengying anymore—she couldn’t even control her own feelings.

“Mommy!”

She clung to her mother, sobbing bitterly. Her father, Luo Chenglin, leapt up from the sofa.

After several minutes of crying, Luo Shengying finally stopped sobbing in her mother’s arms.

“It’s nothing… really…” she choked out.

“Are you sure?” Luo Chenglin worried. “Sweetheart, tell Dad anything—you don’t have to be afraid.”

“Dad, Mom, are we going back to our hometown for the New Year?”

“Yes, we haven’t gone back in five years.” Su Bizhu assumed her daughter didn’t want to go. “If you don’t want to, we can stay in Suzhou.”

Luo Chenglin opened his mouth to speak, but his wife shot him a look—he fell silent.

“Dad, can you ask something for me? Your cousin’s sister-in-law has an aunt, and that aunt has a daughter named Liu Yumei. Can you ask what her son’s name is?”

Luo Chenglin and his wife exchanged glances. It wasn’t too late, so he made a call.

“Alright, uh-huh, no problem, no problem, uh-huh.”

“Alright, goodbye, cousin-in-law. See you for mahjong during the New Year.”

Luo Chenglin hung up and told his daughter: “He says his name is Su Lin. He graduated from university six months ago.”

“What’s wrong, daughter? Do you know him?”

Hearing this, Luo Shengying’s face lit up. “Thank you, Mom and Dad! I’m going to bed!”

She ran back to her room, hugged her Doraemon toy, and smiled.

“What’s so happy?”

A familiar voice sounded beside her ear.

Without thinking, she replied: “Su Lin is still alive.”

“Of course I’m alive. What nonsense are you talking?”

“...”

“...”

She turned her head—and saw a translucent figure watching her.