Chapter 371: Spirits of History

So this is the so-called Desperate Future, I see.

Li Heng sensed the Heaven and Earth of this era, lost in thought. The Rule Principles were extremely distorted and corrupted; unless one actively embraced the Pollution, the path of cultivation would be completely severed.

This is indeed desperate enough.

"You... why are you here!"

The old, middle-aged, and young Three Sages were shocked; they had never expected Li Heng to suddenly appear in this era and arrive by their side, and were even stunned for a moment because of it.

Li Heng raised his eyebrows slightly and spoke calmly.

"Is it strange that I appeared here? And wasn't it you who said you wanted me to appear? Now that I have appeared, your reaction really disappoints me."

He shook his head, appearing very pained.

At this moment, the Three Sages looked at each other.

They had already realized that the person before them was not some hallucination, nor was it transformed from those monsters, but a real living being?

Was it really him?

Large question marks appeared in the minds of the three.

This made no sense.

Even if this person truly had the ability to descend from the present era to the future era, it would surely have caused a great commotion; why had they not sensed it?

And the most critical point was.

They could not take the opportunity to sneak into the present!

The hearts of the three sank, and they suddenly felt a sense of despair.

"You shouldn't have appeared here!"

Being top-tier powerhouses, the three quickly regained their composure.

That old Sage looked solemn and warned Li Heng.

"But I have appeared here."

Li Heng said calmly.

"While there is still time, hurry back to the present; this future is already beyond saving," the middle-aged Sage also chimed in.

"That's right, that's right, everything is already beyond redemption."

The young Sage also said.

Li Heng laughed upon hearing this.

"You three seem to be in a hurry? You want me to return to the present? Let me think, why would you say such things? Could it be that you want to take the opportunity to sneak into the present era?"

The three were taken aback upon hearing this, their hearts tightening.

What was going on? Only the three of them knew about this, right?

Had this person actually guessed it?

In fact, Li Heng was just speaking off the cuff, but after observing the reaction of these Three Sages of the Future, he was also somewhat surprised; could he have actually guessed correctly?

"Let me guess why you want to go to the present."

"Could it be to seek refuge and save your lives?"

Li Heng's tone was meaningful.

After all, the waters of this Desperate Future were a bit deep; even he felt a bit wary, let alone these Three Sages of the Future—those waters could definitely drown the three of them.

"What if it is? What if it isn't?"

The old Sage spoke, noncommittal.

Seeing this, Li Heng smiled again.

"Your current state seems a bit poor; flickering in and out, your forms are ethereal like phantoms, as if the very foundation of your existence has been destroyed."

"This situation is not something that would happen to ordinary humans."

"You are not humans, are you."

Li Heng's words were startling, and his tone carried certainty.

At first, he had indeed been biased, believing that these Three Sages of the Future were humans, as they appeared in human form and had always protected the humans of the future.

But now, observing them at close range and combining that with the aura of time upon them, as well as their facial characteristics—old, middle-aged, and young—he could be completely certain that these three were not human.

At the very least, they were not humans with flesh and blood bodies.

The faces of the Three Sages were somewhat ugly, not knowing if it was because Li Heng had touched a sore spot or because their origins had been exposed.

The old Sage replied coldly, still the same phrase.

"What if it is? What if it isn't?"

"I see, fellow Daoist, you don't seem like a human from this Heaven and Earth either," the middle-aged Sage said eerily, seemingly seeing through Li Heng's identity as a visitor from outside the realm.

Li Heng was somewhat surprised.

Although he had not concealed his origins or background, he had not expected to be seen through by these Three Sages of the Future. Unless...

Source Power attached to his eyes, his gaze deep, he looked at the three.

The Three Sages were immediately startled.

For some reason, they felt that under this person's gaze, their entire being had been seen through, with nowhere to hide; what was going on?

At this moment, Li Heng withdrew his gaze and smiled.

"So that's it; no wonder you knew this, no wonder you had the aura of time upon you. You are the three Spirits of History of the human race, representing the beginning, the prosperity, and the end of human history."

Once these words were spoken, the Three Sages were instantly dumbfounded.

What was going on? Could this person really see through their origins?

This shouldn't be, how is it possible?!

They expressed that they could not understand.

Their origins are hidden deep within history; even those monsters in the Desperate Future do not know where they came from, so why did this person know just by taking a look?

At this moment, Li Heng also suddenly realized the truth.

The reason these Three Sages of the Future could identify him as a visitor from outside the domain was not because their investigative abilities were so formidable, but because as the Spirit of Human History, they know almost all of human history, equivalent to possessing a complete database of the human race.

However, Li Heng was not in this human database.

He, this unexpected visitor, was not there.

Through data comparison, he was exposed.

"No wonder you are so weak now. After all, the human race exists in name only now; as the Spirit of Human History, your strength must have been weakened, and the foundation of your existence eroded."

"Once all the humans in this Desperate Future die, or the remaining humans no longer remember you, and the traces you left within the human race dissipate completely, that will be the time of your death."

Li Heng calmly stated the predicament the Three Sages were facing.

The birth of these three Spirits of History could be said to be inevitable; they were a self-rescue measure that appeared at the moment the human civilization was about to perish, intended to achieve Salvation for the human race.

It is just that this measure seems to have developed ulterior motives?

"As the Spirit of Human History, instead of thinking about resisting the monsters, saving the human race, and saving the World, you want to flee to the present?"

The Three Sages finally recovered from their shock. Perhaps because Li Heng had revealed their origins, the three of them decided to throw caution to the wind. The young, hot-blooded Sage sneered coldly and spoke.

"Heh, we want to save them, but can they be saved? You just arrived, do you know how desperate this future is? Are those monsters something you can deal with? If you're so capable, you do it! If you can, you go!"

The middle-aged Sage also spoke, though his tone was much milder.

"Fellow Daoist, what we are doing is not actually fleeing, but a strategic retreat. In order to preserve the last Fire Seed of the human race, this is a last resort."

The elderly Sage also spoke, sounding righteous and awe-inspiring.

"We hope you will consider the big picture, Fellow Daoist. There is no need to show off personal valor. Open the space-time channel to the present era and let us preserve the last shred of the human Fire Seed. We beg you."

Li Heng tilted his head, listening to the words of these three people.

"So, do you know that you are trash!?"

He spat out these words coldly.