Chapter 689: Walker of Ten Thousand Ages (Sixth Update)

Ren Yidao originally wanted to explain it in a sentimental way, but feeling that Dizi wouldn't understand, he had to change his phrasing.

"In my journey, there hasn't been so much bitterness and deep hatred, nor have I lost any beloved friends or family, but that doesn't mean I don't cherish everything I have now."

"It is not that one must lose something to fear losing it again; rather, it is precisely because one possesses it that one fears the loss."

Ren Yidao's smile was gentle as he thought of the many faces he had encountered in his life.

"I do not want to lose them."

"As for having to pay a price for this, for the sake of those people, what is ten thousand years?"

His smile was bright, without a trace of gloom, and he said lightly: "A few tens of thousands of years is merely the wheat ripening a few tens of thousands of times."

Wheat?

Before such a smile, Dizi fell completely silent.

Because he suddenly realized at this moment that he knew what "wheat" was, yet he didn't even know what "wheat" looked like.

He... knew nothing at all.

Mortals might not know who the Heavenly Emperor is, but they certainly know what wheat is, because that is what they rely on to survive.

To this world, he, the Heavenly Emperor, was actually never important.

Whether he existed or not, mortals lived on all the same.

A dignified Heavenly Emperor, actually inferior to wheat.

Dizi was somewhat dazed, but he steadied his mind and continued to ask: "I understand a bit of your thinking, but if you take the initiative to do this, are you not afraid of losing yourself?"

Tens of thousands of years of time, and to be curled up in this narrow space full of Evil and disaster—even he had nearly collapsed; what did Ren Yidao rely on to persist?

What confidence do you actually have?

"Because, I am the Walker of Ten Thousand Ages."

Ren Yidao restrained his smile, stood up, walked before Dizi, and said softly: "Regardless of the past, the present, or the future, wherever time exists, the Walker is there."

"The ages change but I do not; the years shift but I do not."

He said:

"I remain constant throughout."

This is the Walker of Ten Thousand Ages.

He is everywhere.

"..."

After a long while, Dizi nodded, did not continue to ask, and lowered his head to look at the Boundless Tribulation beneath his feet.

He was preparing to face the tribulation.

Just before setting off, however, Dizi suddenly raised his head and looked at Ren Yidao.

"You said you remain constant throughout."

"Yes."

Dizi's expression showed no abnormality as he suddenly asked: "In that case, will you remember me?"

"Me?" Ren Yidao was stunned for a moment, then waved his hand and smiled: "I will remember you."

"Then like this... heh." Dizi pondered for a moment and, for some unknown reason, let out a laugh.

Then, he never looked back and dove headfirst into the Boundless Tribulation.

Boom, boom, boom!!!

Thunderous roars exploded continuously from the depths of the Boundless Tribulation, shaking Ren Yidao's ears until they ached.

Hiss—

Soon, the Boundless Tribulation began to shrink at a speed visible to the naked eye.

Although he was a Heavenly Emperor, Dizi had no Merit upon him; what he achieved was entirely by relying on his own cultivation, using his Half-step Supreme strength to offset the Evil.

Just as he had promised, Dizi became the one to face the tribulation.

Using everything he had cultivated in his life to redeem the Evil he carried.

The Boundless Tribulation shook for a long time, and when it stopped, its volume had already shrunk by one-third.

This was the limit of a Half-step Supreme.

If there were no Supreme, then it would require three Half-step Supremes to sacrifice themselves to become the ones to face the tribulation.

"... Fellow Daoist, go in peace." Ren Yidao took out a pair of cups, filled one, and poured it onto the Boundless Tribulation. "I will certainly remember you."

And just as he was mourning Dizi, a petite figure appeared beside him.

【"Father... are you sad? Did Xinying cause his death?"】 Xinying was somewhat uneasy, clutching Ren Yidao's sleeve tightly.

Ren Yidao tilted his head and smiled, raised his hand to pat her head, and said softly: "It is not your fault; this is not your doing."

Sikong Yu's excitement upon discovering Xinying was not only because of the reason he stated, but because he had seen through her essence.

She was not just a deity born from a Divine Statue, but also a wisp of consciousness of the Dao Fruit.

A miracle?

Or the Dao Fruit's self-preservation?

No one knew the answer, and Ren Yidao did not intend to delve into it.

Things had reached this point; there was nothing to agonize over.

He only knew that the Dao Fruit was Xinying's true form.

This was also the reason why Ren Yidao dared to say that Dizi had never been favored by the Dao Fruit—because Xinying did not like him.

【"Father lied to him; although the Dao Fruit cannot allow a Half-step Supreme to become a Supreme, it can help a Half-step Supreme..."】

Xinying wanted to say something more, but Ren Yidao gently covered her mouth.

"I know, and he knew too."

【"Father, please eat Xinying."】

"I cannot let you be eaten by him, nor can I do it myself; I cannot bear to part with you."

Ren Yidao shook his head helplessly and smiled: "Just as I said before, I, after all, have my own selfish motives."

"I do not want to lose anyone I care about, and you are one of them."

Ren Yidao picked up Xinying and gently patted her head.

"Alright, sleep peacefully. By the time you wake up, Father will have already resolved everything."

【"Father..."】

Xinying still wanted to say something, but she remained unconscious and was sealed back into the Consciousness Sea by Ren Yidao.

"It has reached this point. Although I do not know why I am only a tiny bit away from the Supreme, things have come to this, and there is no more time to wait."

The Immeasurable Calamity has not yet fully formed; now is the best time to strike.

"It shall be today..."

With a shift of his thoughts, boundless golden light surged out from within Ren Yidao's body, illuminating the entire dark space.

The Merit accumulated while being a little fox at Xianhu Temple, the Merit from playing by knocking the Wooden Fish for tens of thousands of years, the Merit from saving the Demon Race from fire and water, the Merit from separating the immortals and mortals... it was countless, brilliant as the sun in Heaven.

A dazzling, radiant sun rose in the dead-silent space, scorching the shadows beneath his feet.

Hiss—

"I accumulated Merit precisely for this moment!"

Hiss, hiss, hiss!!!

Merit and Evil clashed; light and darkness fought.

At the beginning, everything was proceeding smoothly according to Ren Yidao's plan; under the melting power of the vast Merit, the volume of the Immeasurable Calamity shrank rapidly, leaving less than one-tenth remaining.

But just as Ren Yidao was about to resolve it completely in one go, a problem arose.

The Merit on his body was disappearing, but the Immeasurable Calamity stopped shrinking, maintaining a size of one-tenth.

Ren Yidao's Merit was finite, but the Evil of all living beings was infinite.

With one growing and the other waning, there would eventually come a moment when it was completely exhausted.

And what was worse was that Ren Yidao was gradually being eroded by the Immeasurable Calamity; he began to grow indifferent, his whole body filled with an aura of dead silence.

He even had a feeling that he was about to forget his own name and become a part of the Immeasurable Calamity.

And just as he was about to become completely lost, he suddenly sensed a gaze.

Who?

Who is spying on me?

Feeling the curiosity within that gaze, he suddenly froze.

He suddenly understood where that gaze came from.

That gaze came from the past.

Someone was crossing the River of Time, looking toward the future from the past.

That person—was himself!

That day, on Spirit Mountain, he saw his future self.

Then... he remembered who he was.

He is not the Immeasurable Calamity.

He is Ren Yidao.

He is... the Walker of Ten Thousand Ages!!!