Chapter 255

"Failed?"

"Xue Xuan's failure not only left him feeling desperate; even Zhao Si was a bit dazed:"

"Not…… he already failed like this, what else can I do to turn his defeat into victory?"

"This isn't the time to rely on schemes; Luo Jun's failure to open heaven is clearly a hardware problem—what good would giving Xiao Heizi even more brilliant schemes do?"

"Luo Jun just won't work; he simply won't work!"

"System, how do you say this hard strength is stuck?"

"Zhao Si didn't understand:"

"You can't possibly give me a level that's impossible to pass, can you?"

"【Player thinks it's impossible to pass?】"

"Then what else?"

"Zhao Si scratched his head:"

"To reopen the primordial heavens and earth, you at least need Pangu's level; Hongjun's Heavenly Dao just can't do it……"

"【Player misunderstood; actually, compared to Pangu, the Heavenly Dao is not weak, and the failure to open heaven is not due to strength.】"

"Ah?"

"Zhao Si wore a doubtful expression; the failure to open heaven was obviously because Luo Jun wasn't as strong as Pangu, yet why does the system insist their strengths are no different? When in doubt, he checks the records; Zhao Si, who knows this game's nature inside out, immediately starts scrolling through historical info, his intuition telling him there must be something he overlooked……"

"As expected, several inconspicuous historical entries caught his eye: 【……The vast purple light rippled with divine power that shatters all laws; it seeks to destroy the endless Chaos, so as to bring the scattered matter back and condense it into a single, ultimate 'singularity'!】"

"【……】"

"【……The purple light successfully broke open Chaos; even 'nothing' cannot withstand Pangu's divine power that shatters laws, because 'nothing' is also a kind of 'law'……】"

"Zhao Si furrowed his brow:"

"If we go by this, reopening the heavens and earth actually requires two steps for the Heavenly Dao."

"One is to use Pangu's divine power of 'Shatter Law' to break open Chaos."

"The other is to bring back all the scattered matter."

"According to the historical records, this first step actually succeeded—the Heavenly Dao truly used Pangu's divine power to break open Chaos! 'So speaking purely in terms of hard strength, the Heavenly Dao is not inferior to Pangu…… the problem lies in the latter step.'"

"Zhao Si pondered: 'The Heavenly Dao can only break open Chaos, but it cannot retrieve the scattered matter…… Why is that?'"

"【Because the Heavenly Dao's nature differs from that of the primordial wilderness.】"

"'Nature?'"

"The frowning Zhao Si still didn't quite get it: 'You mean…… one is consciousness, the other is matter? Because consciousness cannot determine matter, so the Heavenly Dao fails to reunite heaven and earth?'"

"【The player gets it at once.】"

"【Get it? Get my ass!】 Zhao Si snapped: 'You're making the primordial world materialist…… what do you want me to do? Do I have to give Luo Jun a philosophy lecture? After listening, he's supposed to attain the Dao, right……'"

"Let me tell you, I don't understand all these principles…… I'll just ask you one thing: can the primordial world actually be reopened?"

"【Yes…… but the specifics, please explore them yourself, player.】"

"Shuffling!"

"It's just a matter of trying a few more times; Zhao Si didn't mind, as long as the system acknowledged that this level had a solution, that was enough! 【Should time be rewound, returning to the previous life choice?】"

"Yes!"

"【Time has already been rewound……】"

"【……You have slaughtered everyone in the primordial world, completely ruining the meticulously arranged 'Asura Heaven-Mending Mechanism' of the River of the Dead; you now have everything prepared to go into the starry void to meet the sage and attempt to bluff your way through, with only the final step left to success.】"

"【Under this immense psychological pressure, you decide to leave a save point; you choose: (?) 】"

"【A: Decisively try, the arrow is on the bow and must be released; even though failure's possibility always surrounds you, you fear nothing, just charge! It's done! B: Think before acting, don't rush!】"

"Choose B!"

"【You chose option B, think before acting, don't rush.】"

"【Upon opening your eyes, you have already returned to that save point before meeting the sage in heaven; nothing has happened yet.】"

"【The immeasurable souls and myriad subordinates you placed in the fragmentary world remain intact within the fragments; the primordial world has not yet begun to collapse, and the River of the Dead and Luo Jun still do not know your identity and purpose.】"

"【In theory, you still have plenty of room to maneuver!】"

"【But the memory of Luo Jun's desperate scene when he failed to open heaven reminds you: no matter how you act, it's useless; the world's destruction is already settled, the quantum superposition of 'Eternal Primordial' is also predetermined……】"

"【You despairingly lift your head, gazing at the boundless glittering starry sky, your heart turning ice-cold: No hope left!】"

"【Your best ending is merely to bring everyone together into hiding in the 'Eternal Primordial', then be judged a perfect ending, thereby losing your protagonist status…… until the primordial world perishes, and the 'Eternal Primordial' also falls into a quantum state anchored by the loss-of-observer effect……】"

"【"Do you want to go?"】"

"【You mutter to yourself.】"

"【Actually, you can also accept this ending, after all, even the canonical Golden Heaven Emperor ends this way; as fellow protagonists, what do you have to complain about?】"

"【Thus, leaving the sea of suffering of the primordial world together with everyone and entering the 'Eternal Primordial' to meet the grand ending is also not a bad choice……】"

"【……'It's that I'm too stubborn, always chasing an unrealistic perfection……'】"

"【You let out a bitter sigh, finally made up your mind, no longer thinking about reopening heaven and earth.】"

"【"Goal, let's set it as entering the Eternal Primordial……"】"

"【……】"

"【Resigned, you begin preparing for this: to perfectly enter the 'Eternal Primordial', there are two main difficulties—one is Xuan Du blocking the entrance with a quasi-saint level seal, the other is…… your father.】"

"【Xuan Du's seal is not hard to handle; just persuade the River of the Dead to break it open, and your father should also be willing to let you in.】"

"【But the problem is, just because you can go in doesn't mean the River of the Dead wants to; it obeys the Dao Ancestor, resolved to spare no cost to maintain the world!】"

"【Even if you let them in, it will keep producing more Asuras as fodder, continuing to sustain the primordial world……】【You need to think of a way to make it abandon its ideal!】"

"【The first idea quickly came to mind: in a previous side branch, you successfully used the 'protagonist trial' excuse to make the River of the Dead abandon its guardianship duty, ultimately causing the world to fall silent ahead of time.】"

"【This time, although you've already decided to achieve the 'Eternal Primordial' grand ending, you can still use this reason to get it to cooperate…… just trick it, pass off the ending as a 'trial', after all it has no way to verify!】"

【But you also felt a little doubtful about whether you could deceive a Sage…】

【After thinking it over, you still gave up this impractical con artist act.】

【Then the answer became obvious: your only viable option was to overthrow the River of the Underworld and then forcibly drag It into the "Eternal Primordial Wasteland".】

【Of course, you definitely wouldn't go head-to-head with the River of the Underworld… Your idea was to let Lao Jun act as the enforcer, go and wreck the River of the Underworld!】

【Although Lao Jun always gets beaten down by the River of the Underworld, his strength is absolutely not low; the reason he keeps getting cut in half each time is because the River of the Underworld has the aid of the Six Saints' Ultimate Treasures… So you need to think of a way to make Lao Jun no longer fear the Six Saints' Ultimate Treasures.】

【What method?】

【The simplest and most effective method is to give It a buff, to strengthen It!】

【As long as you can push the Primordial Wasteland to the brink of destruction in a short time, Lao Jun can immediately obtain greater Pangu's Divine Power, and as long as the power is strong enough, even the Six Saints' Ultimate Treasures won't be able to withstand it…】

【《Primordial Wasteland Destruction Plan》, officially launched!】

……

「So, you changed your mind? 」

At the foot of Mount Buzhou, Jin Bing stared in surprise at the increasingly silent Xue Xuan; clearly, just earlier you had planned to sneak into the "Eternal Primordial Wasteland", but in the blink of an eye you changed your mind again? "Hmm…."

Xue Xuan nodded silently.

Jin Bing froze for a moment, then reacted:

This junior must have already failed once…

「Do you have confidence this time? 」

As an elder senior, Jin Bing did not ask how he failed on that previous side branch, but only asked whether he could succeed this time.

「……」

Xue Xuan did not answer.

Jin Bing immediately understood: this kid also lacks confidence.

However, he didn't complain, but instead asked seriously:

「……How should we do this time? 」

「Thoroughly destroy the Primordial Wasteland. 」

Jin Bing: ……

If you can't get out, then it's destroy the world, right? You kid are even more extreme than I was back then! "…Okay!"

Jin Bing sighed: After being the protagonist for so long, now I finally get to taste what it's like to be a supporting character lacking self-determination…

【After reaching an agreement with Jin Bing, you ordered ten million Mystic Immortals to set up timed blasting techniques across the Primordial Wasteland: the blast power need not be strong, but the blast range must be huge!】

【Then, after spending a yuan hui, you all successfully placed blasting techniques throughout the Primordial Wasteland, awaiting only your command for a blast covering the entire Primordial Wasteland to occur!】

【After finishing these, you alone came to Mount Buzhou…】

【"Do I count as seeking my own death?"】

【You self-mockingly smiled, then took out the Primordial Wasteland Power that had accompanied you for countless ages.】

【The Seven-Colored Bird tilted its head to look at you, as if there truly were a living spirit inside.】

【You stroked its crystal-clear, translucent feathers; even after years together, you still felt amazed: just what method could seal that heaven‑shattering, earth‑destroying power within this most splendid artwork?】

【The Sage's methods are truly unimaginable…】

【"I'm leaving."】

【You whispered to it, although it truly had no genuine consciousness.】

【"I will meet a great ending no different from death, and you… should return to your true master's side after everything ends?"】

【"Thank you for accompanying me through three cycles of reincarnation; this time, this is the last time I will use you…"】

【You seemed both bitter and relieved.】

【"Goodbye."】

【You sighed, placed the Seven-Colored Bird on the ground, then silently turned and left…】

【You fled all the way, leading all your subordinates to the distant East Sea.】

【The resolute gazes of tens of thousands focused on you, while you also stared toward the direction of Mount Buzhou, now faded to invisibility.】

【"Go!"】

【You gave a solemn order, and soon everyone hid within the Fragmented Realm; they had long entrusted their lives to you, regardless of whether the road ahead was life or death, it didn't matter.】

【And you walked last; after everyone had entered, you too stepped into the Fragmented Realm.】

【On the calm East Sea, only a floating fragment of the Primordial Wasteland remained…】

【Suddenly, a fireball exploded from Central Province, carrying a destructive aura as it surged wildly in all directions!】

【And at the moment the fireball detonated, the Primordial Wasteland various places successively triggered chain‑like explosions; the already fragile heaven and earth, subjected to this repeated destruction, finally plunged into utter ruin amid a tremendous roar!】

【This time, its collapse speed is no longer something anyone can possibly save…】

……

(End of Chapter)