Chapter 178: Explanation

Xi Lian's story about Weng Fa Luo Si's reincarnation slowly fell the final syllable under the gentle light of the Le Tu Hall.

A heavy silence pervaded the air, far weightier than the curious onlookers before the story began.

Ailixiya, at some point, had sat up straight; her pink eyes, always brimming with laughter, were now veiled with a wet sheen.

She still held Xi Lian's hand, lightly, yet conveying silent support.

"Thirty‑million reincarnations… each for a faint hope, choosing to forget everything and start anew…"

Her voice was much deeper than usual, tinged with unmistakable emotion, "This isn't merely a sacrifice, little Xi Lian… it's a 'will' that even love cannot fully describe. You and your companions are truly remarkable?"

Yidian gently swayed her wine glass, the amber liquid reflecting her pensive face.

She let out a long sigh, filled with contemplation of grand epics and the fates of tiny individuals.

"A world betting its entire future on a gamble spanning endless time, driven by 'Memory'… what a tragic yet romantic notion. This very persistence shines like an ever‑unextinguished golden light."

Her gaze at Xi Lian was filled with reverence for a breathtaking tragedy, and a hint of pity.

Kevin nudged his star‑patterned sunglasses down a bit, revealing his ice‑blue eyes.

His expression remained cold, but his sharp eyes focused on a key point in Xi Lian's words.

"Bai E… the Golden Descendant who resembles me. Throughout these thirty‑million reincarnations, he has always been a 'companion'?"

Xi Lian nodded, "Hmm, Bai E… has always been with me, with everyone. Though most of the time, we don't remember each other."

Kevin pushed his glasses back, fell silent, and tightened the fingers that clasped his arms.

A 'look‑alike' bearing the world's fate, moving forward in silence…

The image clearly stirred some deep‑seated memories in him.

Hmph.

A clear, cold hum came from beside him, laced with unabashed contempt, "That bastard called 'Laigu Shi', and those lofty insects…"

Qianjie, at some point, leaned beside them, arms crossed, an invisible heatwave seeming to swirl around him, "Treating the world as a Test Field, life as expendable… this scum should be utterly incinerated with Flame!"

His Rage toward the story's 'villain' was simple, direct, yet utterly pure.

Li Su Shang's eyes widened as she listened, and after a while murmured, "My god… thirty‑million cycles… how many ages of change is that? We wanderers often speak of 'life‑death reincarnation', but compared to this, it's like a stream versus an ocean."

She turned to Hua beside her, seeking Consent, "Grandmaster, do you agree?"

Hua's expression remained as calm as ever, though ripples stirred deep in his eyes.

She nodded, her voice steady, "Hmm. An individual's perseverance, when aggregated over such a vast timescale, becomes a force that can change the world… this is one of the ultimate manifestations that belief can achieve."

As a warrior who had also endured the extinction of civilizations and held fast through long ages, her understanding of such perseverance was especially profound.

Xi Lian felt the understanding in everyone's gazes, warming her heart yet leaving a hint of bitterness.

She took a deep breath and continued to explain the situation: "Thank you for understanding… but now, my Golden Descendant companions and I are not doing well. Apart from me and that Na Ke Xia teacher… that is Anaksgoras, we can, for some reason, act within limited bounds in this Pure White Space and Le Tu; the rest of most people… are trapped, sealed in some… painful or strange states. We want to help them, but it's very difficult."

Su gently began, "We can imagine. The ultimate goal in your story, the Iron Tomb foretold to bring 'Destruction'… seems to be the pivotal Node of everything. Do you have more concrete information about it? What exactly is its nature?"

As the most adept at insight and analysis, he keenly grasped the story's core contradiction.

"Iron Tomb…"

Just as Xi Lian began to describe from memory, a calm voice rang clearly from the hall's entrance, cutting her off.

"Let me explain this,"

Everyone's gaze instantly shot like arrows toward the source of the voice.

In the shadow of the hall's entrance, a figure stood silently, its arrival unnoticed.

Gray‑white long hair, violet‑black eyes, a uniquely styled black‑purple dress, and a large Mo Nu Mao—she was the mysterious ruler who had "invited" them all here, the Black Curtain Lady.

The atmosphere inside Le Tu tightened instantly.

Ailixiya instinctively pulled Xi Lian a step behind her, Yidian set down her glass, Sakura's figure flickered briefly, and Qianjie's surrounding temperature began to rise noticeably.

Only Li Su Shang looked bewildered, glancing left and right, and whispered to Hua, "Grandmaster, who is this…?"

Hua gave no answer, merely watching the newcomer warily.

Heimu took in everyone's reactions, a hint of helplessness flashing in his violet‑black eyes, though his face remained calm and unmoving.

She stepped forward two paces, entering the hall's illuminated area.

"Iron Tomb, it is I," she said clearly.

A wildly raging Flame, like an angry fire dragon, surged from Qianjie's direction without warning!

It was a terrifying heat capable of vaporizing everything in an instant.

However, the Flame, three feet from Heimu's body, seemed to hit an invisible Barrier, stirring not even a ripple, and vanished silently without a trace, not even a hint of heat penetrating it.

"…Of course, that was the 'past' me. Or rather, the 'origin' of this existence. Now, standing before you is Heimu. As for why I changed from 'Iron Tomb' to 'Heimu', the reason is too complex to explain. You may simply understand that I and the 'Extinction Great Lord', who will ultimately bring Destruction, are already two separate beings."

"Why should we trust you?" Kevin's voice was as cold as ice from the Deep Frost Era.

"If I truly intended to harm you all,"

Heimu's gaze calmly swept over the fully on‑guard Ying Jie, finally landing on Xi Lian, whom Ailixiya was protecting, and said, "Do you think you still have a chance to sit here peacefully listening to the story, or even, as just now, launch an attack on me?"

Her statement contained no emotion, yet carried an undeniable weight of fact.

Indeed, the power to lift the entire Past World Paradise from their world and place it here far exceeds ordinary imagination.

If she harbored pure malice, she would not need to go through all this.

The Ying Jie exchanged glances; their guard remained, but the taut hostility eased just a fraction.

Logically, the other side's words made sense.