Chapter 762: War Begins

"Then will you resist?"

Li Heng asked.

"It depends on the situation," the sick old man replied.

"Then what benefit is there in that for me? To kill you, and then become a pathetic person just like you?"

Li Heng shook his head and asked in return.

"That I am pathetic is my own choice. After you kill me, you can choose not to stay here and walk the world as you please."

The sick old man said slowly.

"The price being that the War Calamity is unleashed once more?"

Li Heng said.

"That is correct."

The sick old man nodded in reply.

"Then it seems you are certain that I will not let the War Calamity be unleashed, but will instead choose to be like you, trapped here, and consigned to Eternal Silence."

Li Heng said calmly.

If he and the sick old man started a war here and achieved Victory, then on the surface, it would be equivalent to him slaying the sick old man, the War Agent.

But that was only on the surface.

After all, whoever wins the war becomes the new War Agent.

The so-called dragon-slaying warrior will eventually become a dragon.

This was an unsolvable situation.

"I am not that certain. You are very mysterious; I cannot see through you, so how could I possibly know the thoughts in your heart? But it does not matter to me; I do not wish to concern myself with whether you are a good person or a villain."

"I only wish to obtain release."

The sick old man said.

He paused in his speech, thought for a moment, and then added, "When that Fate came here in the past, I originally thought he wanted to find an old friend to reminisce, but he mocked me fiercely, saying this was my pathetic fate."

"At that time, I cursed loudly, asking what kind of bullshit this was!"

"It is just that, looking at it now, even if I do not want to admit it, this sorrowful mission has indeed trapped me in an endless abyss..."

Li Heng continued to shake his head.

"If you want release, then walk out. Although the flames of those two candles of yours are tiny and flicker incessantly, as if they will extinguish the next moment, you know very well that if you want to leave, these flames will burn for Eternity, illuminating the Void."

"What, do you want me to play the villain?"

His words struck the sick old man's vital point.

"Villain? Why do you think that?"

"This should be said to be you helping me make a choice. The previous me died, and the current me inherited the mission of the previous me, requiring me to guard here forever, and to be consigned to Eternal Silence with this war and Calamity."

"But this is extremely lonely..."

The sick old man said, his eyelids drooping slightly, his expression filled with emotion.

"I should have known. How could that fellow Cunxu have been defeated so easily? Thinking about it, he must have encountered this current situation, which is why he died beforehand like a coward."

"I must say, that coward was truly clever."

Li Heng could not be bothered to pay attention to these lamentations.

"I only do what I want to do; don't think about forcing your mission onto me. If you want a complete release, you can just learn from your former self and evolve a new you once again. Just keep reincarnating and replacing yourself like this; you could even avoid some potential risks, such as being twisted and alienated by the War Calamity."

The sick old man gave a bitter smile.

"Fellow Daoist Li, since you are so clever, why pretend to be ignorant? Can you not foresee such an obvious method? It is simply that the matter cannot be helped."

"The method of creating a new self seems feasible, and as long as the method is appropriate and the intensity is right, it will not diminish one's own power. But you should have sensed it too: I am no longer a true Dao Lord; my status has long since fallen. What do you think?"

Li Heng nodded.

"Power is retained, but the status has inevitably fallen."

"Correct. With my remaining status, I can only barely ensure that I am not twisted and alienated by the War Calamity. If the drama of the old self perishing and the new self being born were to happen again, the status would only fall further, and it would no longer be able to withstand the twisting and alienation of the War Calamity, becoming a pure War Agent."

"At that time, the Great Void will suffer a great Disaster."

The sick old man explained.

Li Heng nodded, indicating he understood very well, but would not accept it.

"Since that is the case, I am even more curious. If even your remaining Dao Lord status can only ensure you are not twisted and alienated, then why do you think that I, a 'tiny ant' who is not even a Dao Lord, would not be twisted and alienated?"

He looked at the sick old man with a half-smile.

"Indeed, Fellow Daoist Li, what you say is very correct."

"I truly cannot guarantee that point, which is why I said whether or not I would resist depends on the situation. If you have the qualifications to kill me, I naturally will not resist. But if you do not, then I will resist and let you turn into bones on the Zhanchang."

The sick old man said indifferently.

"However, do not be angry just yet. I have no hostility toward you; after all, judging by the fact that you know the name Changqing, you indeed have a good relationship with the End."

"But who told you to step onto this Zhanchang?"

"Stepping onto the Zhanchang means entering the war, and there are not a few people who have come to this Zhanchang, so the war has begun, and that Calamity is gradually awakening."

"No matter what, you will have such a battle with me."

"Just like the battle between me and Cunxu back then."

After he finished speaking, his expression revealed a sense of pity.

Li Heng was lost in thought.

"So that is how it is? No wonder I sensed that this Zhanchang held a terrifyingly great danger, yet what is currently displayed is such a tepid resurrection of corpses."

Hearing this, the sick old man was stunned, then laughed in spite of himself.

"Tepid? Perhaps. For someone of your realm and strength, everything below the Dao Lord is hard-pressed to trouble you. But do not forget, the vast majority of living beings are weaker than you."

"For those living beings, this tepidness is hell, a purgatory, a natural Disaster they cannot block; no matter how they struggle, they will be ruthlessly crushed and ground to dust."

"Is this your realization regarding the arrival of the Calamity monsters?"

Li Heng asked with a smile.

"You can certainly think so. After all, why do those Calamities and monsters come, and what is their essence? Why are they so powerful? We know none of it, just like a natural Disaster."

The old man who was ill sighed with emotion, paused, and continued to speak.

"However, I would like to remind you of one thing: sometimes a high and lofty perspective does not mean you can truly see everything. Lower this paper a bit, and look at the transcendent from the perspective of a mortal."

"Perhaps you will have a different realization?"

He looked at Li Heng and said uncertainly.

Li Heng nodded.

"I will remember everything you have said. Now I have one last question: where is that fated person you mentioned now, and did he leave anything behind on this Zhanchang?"

The old man who was ill shook his head.

"The war has already begun. If you want to know, then win the war, kill me, and at that time you will know exactly what he left behind."

His hunched body slowly straightened, making a creaking sound that made one wonder if his spine would shatter the next moment, but in the end, it straightened successfully, and his aura erupted.

"Come, kill me, or I will kill you!"