Chapter 793: Necessary Sacrifice

Overwriting is a matter for another time.

But rewriting—that is, resurrecting those living beings, Worlds, and civilizations that perished at the hands of the Calamity monsters—is not, in its essence, resurrection; it is more like reading from a backup record.

It is simply using the original things to rewrite a copy.

Although these reappearing, resurrected people are no different from the originals and are indeed the original people, in Li Heng's perception, no matter how similar their forms, souls, or even True Spirits might be, it cannot change the fact that their essence is fundamentally different.

The dead are dead, after all.

Li Heng's gaze crossed the Void and fell upon the newly "resurrected" Xiaoyaozi, feeling a slight sense of emotion. Perhaps the original Xiaoyaozi had long since died; even the Xiaoyaozi he had encountered back then might have been...

One can only say that this name and this memory will continue to persist in this manner...

Of course, in a social sense, this does not count as being dead.

But from a personal perspective, to call it "not dead" is self-deception.

"Why do you..."

The old man exclaimed in shock.

He had assumed that even if Li Heng were not overwritten, he should have been expelled from this Reality and never able to enter again. How could he have vanished and reappeared in an instant?

"Why? Why was I not affected?"

Li Heng spoke, smiling slightly, interrupting what the old man was about to say. "Actually, it is not just me who was unaffected; even the living beings I protect were not affected."

"Snap."

He casually snapped his fingers, the crisp sound echoing in their ears, and then the two saw countless living beings suddenly appear around them. These were precisely the living beings of the Old History who had not died and had not been overwritten!

The two fell into silence.

Not only able to keep himself from being affected, but also able to protect so many living beings from being affected—what kind of existence is this person to possess such Supernatural Ability and monstrous combat power?

Now, things had truly spiraled out of control.

"This fellow Daoist..."

The old man hesitated, wanting to say something but not knowing what to say. After a long while, he prepared some phrasing and continued to speak.

"You should not have done this."

"Fellow Daoist, as a visitor from outside the domain, you do not belong to this Reality. Simply protecting yourself would not have caused much of an impact. But these living beings all belong to the Old History; they are things that ought to be overwritten. You should not have protected them."

The old man's words made Li Heng raise an eyebrow.

"Are you saying they deserve to die?"

"They deserve to die."

After a moment of silence, the sturdy man took over the conversation and said coldly.

"Then what did they do wrong? To deserve death?"

Li Heng asked.

"Their fault lies in being too weak, failing to resolve the Calamity monsters, to the point where all Worlds sank into ruin. We two were forced by necessity to choose to start over and overwrite everything."

The sturdy man answered indifferently.

The old man beside him also took over.

"This fellow Daoist, do not call us cold-blooded and heartless. In truth, we were also forced to act as we did. Among the overwritten beings, there was no lack of my own disciples and fellow Daoists, yet I still did it. It is precisely because this is a necessary sacrifice."

After the old man finished, the sturdy man spoke up.

"Everything belonging to the Old History ought to be buried like those Calamity monsters, transformed into the foundational nutrients for the New History. Only in this way can the New History grow strong and survive the Disaster."

"Furthermore, if things from the Old History appear in the New History, it is possible for those Calamity monsters buried in the Old History to catch their scent, find a Beacon, and eventually appear in the New History, causing boundless disaster. Therefore, fellow Daoist, you have truly done wrong."

Li Heng nodded after listening.

"I think I understand now. You stand high above, judging everything. I do have some questions, however, and I ask that the two of you answer them properly, if you would?"

The two were silent for a moment, then nodded.

There was no help for it; they had secretly communicated and estimated that even if the two of them joined forces, they might not be able to take this person down. Instead, it was highly likely they would stir up boundless destruction within the New History and trigger unpredictable consequences. It was better to show some courtesy and communicate first.

"I think I roughly understand what you mean by Old History and New History."

"This layer of Reality is something built upon the bones of the Old History, and I fear that beneath this, there is not just one layer of Old History, but countless layers, right?"

Li Heng asked.

"Fellow Daoist is wise; that is exactly so."

The old man was silent for a moment and nodded. He was extremely surprised in his heart. An outsider, and he had grasped the truth of this World so quickly? Or did this person have ulterior motives?

"Then the question arises: don't you think this is chronic suicide? Countless layers of Old History, equivalent to you having cycled through Reincarnation and rewriting countless times, yet you still haven't resolved the Calamity monsters."

"Why do you still think this method is useful?"

Li Heng smiled.

"Naturally, it is useful. The Old History is overwritten, and everything within it transforms into nutrients for the New History, including the Calamities and monsters buried within. It is not that we cannot resolve the ending monsters, it is just that there are not enough nutrients yet, but one day we will achieve Victory."

The old man said.

Li Heng shook his head and let out a cold laugh.

"Ridiculous to the extreme. Calamities and monsters are indestructible. You can use Calamities and monsters as stones to elevate yourselves, but do not think of using them as nutrients."

"I have already seen that in those countless layers of Old History, there are countless Calamities and monsters lurking, leaping upward, charging, passing through layer after layer of Old History, invading the current layer you call the New History. You are nursing a tiger to invite calamity!"

"Why must you be like this, fellow Daoist!?"

The old man was somewhat indignant after hearing this and his face sank.

Was this a denial of their countless efforts?

"Otherwise what? If I am not mistaken, although we become increasingly powerful in the foundation of these layers of history, the Calamities and monsters we encounter will also become increasingly strong, right?"

Li Heng said, narrowing his eyes.

The two felt a chill in their hearts and fell into silence.

They did not know how to answer.

To say this conclusion is absurd, lacks evidence, and generalizes from the particular? Yet, thinking back, the trend that has occurred countless times seems to confirm this person's statement?

"Besides, even if this model is useful, it does not mean the two of you are useful. Do you two think everything in the Old History is a necessary sacrifice? Is there a possibility that you two are people of the Old History, and having experienced countless Old Histories, your aura is extremely dense, constantly guiding those Disaster monsters to attack?"

Li Heng said mockingly.

He hated those who talked about necessary sacrifices at every turn, especially those who used one person's will to decide the Life and Death of countless others without asking for anyone else's opinion; this was undoubtedly the act of a despot.

If they like sacrificing themselves so much, they should go sacrifice themselves first.

Naturally, he could not say there was anything wrong with the two of them.

After all, when capabilities are limited, sacrifice is unavoidable.

But now, he had arrived.

He appeared, he manifested, he erupted, and he easily slaughtered that Terror monster, yet these two still stood there foolishly, not recognizing that a turning point had appeared, still carrying out their so-called plan, making their own arbitrary decisions for all living beings?

Then that was their mistake!

"You!"

The old man was instantly enraged, and the Order Power suddenly erupted...