Chapter 4: Dark Memories, Etched in the Bone

"A single Supreme Technique is enough to defeat all opponents; it is truly hard to believe."

"A Supreme, this is a true young Supreme. Our sect has hope for prosperity; crushing great sects like the Butian Sect and Jietian Sect is just a matter of time."

"Too strong. Such strength can be called invincible among peers. Even when facing opponents one realm higher, he surely has the power to fight."

"Such grace is comparable to a Heavenly God descending to the mortal world. In the future, he will surely be a brilliant star, illuminating the endless Heaven Domain, Earth Domain, and Yu Domain."

"In the future, we will likely only be able to see his back, hoping only that his radiance can cast a beam of light for our future."

……

At this moment, the many big figures of the Western Sect on the observation platform were shocked, their words astonishing.

Jinchanzi wore a beaming smile, his gaze toward Mengchen full of affection.

It was as if a father were seeing his own child transform into a dragon.

On the vast training ground, Mengchen's robes fluttered as he stood tall. With an extremely calm gaze, he swept across the defeated young monks and said lightly:

"Everyone, I concede the win!"

Hearing this, the many young monks cast shocked looks, their hearts churning:

"I must have been sick in the head to go and challenge him; it was simply too rash."

"I don't know which bastard took the lead just now, causing everyone to challenge this freak."

……

Amidst the horrified gazes of the crowd, Mengchen withdrew his stance. The ten Cave Heavens behind him retracted into his body, and his overbearing aura dissipated into nothingness.

As he turned, he flicked his sleeves back and stood with his hands behind his back, looking toward the observation platform with an extremely indifferent tone.

"Old baldies, the match is over. If there is nothing else, I am leaving."

As soon as these words were spoken, the entire venue was shocked!

The big figures who had been stunned were now instantly bulging with veins.

It was truly rebellious; as a disciple of the Western Sect, he dared to be so disrespectful, calling them 'old baldies'.

Although they were very indignant, they did not unleash thunderous means to discipline him.

Because the Sect Master, Jinchanzi, was right there.

After all, this kid was a disciple highly valued and personally taught by the Sect Master.

Contrary to everyone's expectations, Jinchanzi did not show a trace of anger; instead, his face was full of joy as he blurted out: "Alright, you little thief-baldy, get lost!"

"Bye-bye!" Mengchen turned gracefully, leaped up, jumped off the training ground, and walked toward the depths of the palace, showing not a hint of reluctance.

"Ah... could it be that the Sect Master and this kid have always called each other this in private?"

Watching the departing Mengchen and the expression on Jinchanzi's face, the monks on the observation platform looked awkward and stared at each other in silence.

But the only thing they could think of was that Mengchen's position in the Sect Master's heart had likely surpassed everything.

Otherwise, as the Sect Master of the Western Sect, how could he tolerate a disciple calling him an 'old baldy' without getting angry?

Outside the training ground, all the young monks were also horrified.

The Sect Master, whom they revered so much, was actually called an old baldy by Mengchen? And the Sect Master was not only not angry, but even called him a little thief-baldy.

It was truly hard to imagine what other jaw-dropping interactions the two of them had in private.

Following Mengchen's departure, under Jinchanzi's instruction, all the monks soon retreated.

On the vast training ground, it was suddenly empty.

……

Deep within the Western Sect's grounds, golden and magnificent palaces appeared one after another, grand and imposing, full of solemnity.

At this moment, on the roof of the highest palace, Mengchen, dressed in orange monk robes, lay flat on his back looking at the sky with a leisurely expression. He used his arms as a pillow and still had a piece of dogtail grass in his mouth.

Since leaving the training ground, he had come straight here.

From here, the beautiful scenery within a hundred miles could be seen at a glance.

Above, one could see all kinds of stars; below, one could take in a hundred miles of mountains and rivers. It was an excellent treasure land.

Because only here, looking at the stars and mountains, could he calmly reminisce about the past and sigh at the ages! In fact, in Mengchen's heart, there was an extremely obscure secret.

He might be a person of the present age, or from the future, or perhaps a combination of the present and the future.

The long scroll of history in his mind was like yesterday revisited, vivid before his eyes.

That memory felt as if he had experienced it himself, yet it was unreachable, as if it did not belong to those eras, but he had witnessed everything. That! It was absolutely one dark era after another!

It was like a reincarnation, a cycle, unchangeable.

In his memory, at the beginning of every era, there would be a renewal of all things and the prosperity of all races.

Supreme beings capable of shattering billions of galaxies with a wave of their hands could be seen everywhere.

The scenes in his memory made him both shocked and afraid...

The memory began with him standing in a vast, boundless long river.

This long river was like a reflection of reality; being in it was like living in reality.

As the long river flowed, incredibly realistic scenes appeared: before the beginning, it was chaos! After the beginning, it was like the opening of heaven and earth, set in motion!

On the vast and boundless territory, all things began to update and iterate, and billions of suns, moons, and stars were arrayed in the starry sky.

Humans and countless other races and billions of living beings multiplied endlessly! Among them were many soul-stirring, transcendent existences. Their bodies were astonishingly huge; flying over the top of one's head, they blotted out the sky and sun, as if separated by a lifetime, living in darkness.

Their magnificent and heroic postures were shocking; if Mengchen hadn't seemed to witness them with his own eyes, he simply wouldn't have believed it.

There were Jiuyou Ao, True Dragon, Kunpeng, Zhenhuang, and transcendent giant beasts like Qilin. There were even thousands of strange and ferocious beasts.

There were also spiritual mountains, immortal gold, and all kinds of unheard-of things.

In the scenes, there were countless instances of mountains, towering ancient trees, and the like flying past.

Besides their terrifying appearances and postures, they also possessed unimaginable, powerful strength.

A single casual movement would cause the heaven and earth to lose color and the mountains and rivers to collapse.

With a long roar toward the Heaven Domain, one could cause the sun, moon, and stars to shatter into endless dust.

In short, everything seen was beyond imagination.

Under their generation-after-generation of inheritance and reproduction, time passed in the blink of an eye.

Until, in the endless depths of this region, dense dark matter spread forth.

Wherever the dark matter passed, not a blade of grass grew, and all living beings contaminated by the dark matter lost their former subjective rationality, degenerating into an extremely cruel, bloodthirsty existence.

In the vision, Mengchen saw that those dark matters originated from a boundless sea.

Darkness permeated above the sea, and no scenery could be seen.

As the dark matter deeply invaded, the powerful living beings residing in that region rose up to resist.

During the resistance, hundreds of millions of living beings were slaughtered, and the inheritance accumulated over generation after generation was annihilated.

It was not until an unknown number of years later that the dark matter began to recede on its own, finally allowing this region to return to peace.

But it also caused this boundless region to become a hell, the tragic state of which was beyond words.

The memory experience reached this point, seemingly representing the end of an era, and everything around him returned to chaos.

But as the long river flowed, the scenes around him were opened once again.

What appeared was still a state of all things renewing themselves.

Following generation after generation of inheritance, once it flourished to its peak, the dark matter would come back again from the depths of that sea.

Causing this region to once again be plunged into darkness.

The inheritance accumulated over endless time was looted time and time again, living beings were slaughtered, and it became a scene of dead silence.

Just like this, this cyclical dark invasion seemed to have never stopped, returning every once in a while.

One era after another was annihilated in this way.

This is fate; the living beings residing in this region were destined to head toward annihilation from the very beginning.

……

"Hoo..."

Recalling these unforgettable scenes at this moment, Mengchen exhaled a long breath with a face full of worry.

"Where exactly did such profound memories come from?" he asked himself in a low voice within his heart.

He had asked himself this question countless times in the depths of his heart, but he had never found an answer.

"Living in the current era, will I also face that endless darkness in the future?"

"Will that day really come?"

(End of this chapter)