Chapter 565: Master (End of Sacred Wood Universe)

Chapter 565: The Master (End of the Divine Wood Universe)

Wang Ku felt he had been reading this book so obsessively that he was hallucinating.

How could he see his own name in a book, and even the events of his dreams recorded within its pages?

This was somewhat terrifying and eerie.

He frowned, a sense of foreboding creeping over him.

He continued reading.

"Beneath the Black Sky's shroud, none but the fourth layer of the Yang God can withstand it."

"Though Qi Yuan has entered the 'Pseudo-Fourth Layer of the Yang God,' he is not truly at the fourth layer."

"In the first hundred million years, he lost his eyes, and could no longer see any substance in the world."

"In the middle hundreds of millions of years, he lost his ears, eyebrows, and nose; he could no longer hear the wind's voice or smell the fragrance of flowers and grass."

"In the last hundred million years, he lost his mouth; the things he lost kept increasing."

"One day, he will lose everything—his flesh, his consciousness, his true spirit—and step into the fourth layer of the Yang God, becoming another Black Sky."

Wang Ku looked at these words, his expression unreadable.

"So, you need to go see the heroine!" he very much wanted to say to the male lead.

But the male lead now didn't even have hearing; would shouting do any good?

At nightfall, Wang Ku once again fell into his dreams, and once more he saw that figure, covered in wounds.

That figure was slender, with shattered features, standing against the sky, alone in its struggle against the terrifying black bubbles.

Such a scene had persisted for who knows how many hundreds of millions of years.

"Hey, go see the heroine!" Wang Ku shouted with all his might.

Yet that figure stood motionless, as if it hadn't heard his voice.

"It's hopeless—he has no hearing, no sight… how can I tell him… to go see the heroine?" Wang Ku grew anxious, worried for the male lead in this book.

…

In the endless expanse of time and space, Qi Yuan's body was shattered, his features dissolved; now, his physical form was nearly gone, with only a wisp of true spirit still retaining consciousness.

"The Black Sky… cannot be resisted."

"Without the fourth layer of the Yang God, it cannot be stopped."

"Am I finally going to be defeated?"

Through so many games, this was the first time Qi Yuan had felt such a sense of powerlessness.

The Great Forgetfulness Heart Sutra, Do as You Please, and Absolute Adaptation—these were already strong enough.

But they could never let him cross the chasm from the third to the fourth layer of the Yang God.

Now, he barely counted as "Pseudo-Fourth Layer," which was why he could barely resist the Black Sky.

Yet, under the Black Sky, his consciousness, his body… all were dissolving.

"Step into the fourth layer of the Yang God?"

Qi Yuan fell silent.

After stepping into the fourth layer of the Yang God, he could truly resist the Black Sky, even devour it.

But with his power, after the fourth layer of the Yang God, he would become a monster even more terrifying than the Black Sky.

Now, he understood that the so-called fourth layer of the Yang God meant abandoning everything, pursuing only power, preserving the most primal essence.

This abandonment included the true spirit.

That meant, once he stepped into the fourth layer of the Yang God, he would immediately truly perish, and there would be no more Qi Yuan in the world.

He was unwilling to accept such an outcome.

"Is there really no way to break this deadlock?"

"Where… is the chance of life?"

Qi Yuan's consciousness grew murky.

Facing the terrifying Black Sky, he did not know how much longer he could resist.

If this continued, his true spirit would eventually be ground away—it was only a matter of time.

And then, suddenly, Qi Yuan paused; he seemed to see countless drops of vital blood falling from the sky.

"This is… my blood?"

He recalled that when the game had not yet loaded, and was about to crash, he had saved it with his blood.

"Where am I in time… my blood falls… will I descend again?"

"No, on any timeline, there is only the self in the world."

Through endless ages, Qi Yuan's consciousness was murky, with only a wisp of true spirit keeping him awake.

What he saw was no longer light.

What he smelled was no longer fragrance.

What he heard was no longer thunder.

If this continued, the true spirit would eventually be extinguished.

Either fall, or step into the fourth layer of the Yang God.

He already knew that he could skip the fourth layer and step into the fifth, so he was unwilling to enter the fourth.

"At least I can use my blood to observe this world, preserving a trace of my true spirit's vitality."

Qi Yuan felt it was very mysterious.

The past influences the present.

The future influences the past.

But he couldn't think too much; thinking more would grow a brain again, and it was very tiring.

In different times and spaces, he kept resisting the Black Sky, his features dissolving; fortunately, his blood, transformed into humans, took his place, constantly touching this world, feeling the wind's voice, enjoying the rain.

"But… it's a cycle."

Qi Yuan sighed softly.

He knew such days would not last long.

When the future came, all his blood would return to the self.

Then his blood could no longer perceive the world for him.

His true spirit… would truly perish.

"So tired. I hope some rich woman can see my stubbornness and strength."

Qi Yuan lamented.

He had already perceived that Shenlin had been besieged, framed, and fallen.

He had also perceived that the mortal-severed Qi Yuan had failed to break through to the Ancestral God, sitting alone and withered in the Kuijin Realm.

"So... I have lost?"

The only remaining shred of his true soul was incessantly dissolving.

As powerful as Qi Yuan was, with the Great Oblivion Sutra and doing as he pleased, he could not stop the dissolution of his true soul.

At this moment, Qi Yuan thought of many people.

He thought of Jinli, he thought of the Canary, he thought of Ning Tao, he also thought of his big-breasted junior sister Jiang Lingxu, and then he thought of his wife in this life, Shen Xuanling.

"Sure enough, I too am a mere mortal; in the final moments of life, I too resort to the art of recollection."

The true soul, like a candle flame, flickered continuously, ready to be extinguished at any moment.

"A new Shenlin is born."

"The mortal-severed Qi Yuan... has succeeded in his mortal severance."

"Is everything over?"

"No, why haven't I dissolved yet?"

Qi Yuan originally thought that when all the blood returned to the self and could no longer perceive the world on his behalf, that would be the moment of the complete annihilation of his true soul.

Yet... he was surprisingly not dead.

He was still alive.

"It is... the new Shenlin, still replacing me... perceiving this world." Qi Yuan realized something.

And just then, a voice echoed within Qi Yuan's mind.

"The Great Dao is fifty, Heaven derives forty-nine; all that is imperfect is the one that escaped.

I shall give it... a branch of Spring."

"Spring?"

"Chun!"

"So, the missing character on the stone tablet before the Sunset Cliff is Spring!"

"She gave Spring to me!"

"The correct version is..."

"In years past there was a Chun, standing silently in the profound darkness. Now I yearn for you, like a tree longing for spring. So faint, so subtle, do not seek me, my lord."

"The ancient Qi Chun tree!"

"So... it is Master!"

Qi Yuan seemed to understand something.

"She knew this ending, so she kept telling me to leave."

"When I obtained the Divine Wood Token, I once heard the word 'escape'."

"The stone tablet before the Sunset Cliff was also telling me... do not descend upon this world."

"Is Master the voiceless voice?"

"The Moon Goddess Yuanjun exists in the past, or in the future, but uniquely not in the present world."

"So... Master is also at the fourth layer of the Yang God."

"No, she is the consciousness generated through her interactions with me within the fourth layer of the Yang God... or perhaps a revived consciousness."

At this moment, Qi Yuan sorted out all of his thoughts.

The fourth layer of the Yang God possessed no consciousness.

His master, Ruan Yixi, was originally the Chun of the fourth layer of the Yang God.

And the superpower Qi Yuan had awakened, the one related to the mouth, was that speaking at will could be heard by the unknown, simultaneously causing bizarre and special changes.

Precisely because of this, the voiceless voice... finally birthed its own consciousness, evolving into the Divine Wood Universe from the fourth layer of the Yang God.

However, being at the fourth layer of the Yang God, she knew the past, the present, and the future, which was why she had always prevented Qi Yuan from coming.

"So, is she... the female protagonist that person spoke of?"

"Master... can I see you?" The smile on Qi Yuan's face was somewhat sorrowful.

The fourth layer of the Yang God did not exist in the present world. This meant that unless he also stepped into the fourth layer of the Yang God, he would be unable to see her.

Seeing Heitian had already exhausted all of his true soul.

To go and see Master again... could he see her?

Suddenly, Qi Yuan thought of something, and a joyful smile appeared in his eyes.

Master had also been... working hard to see him.

In the Abyss of the Divine Wood, that bygone dream of a misty curtain was not an illusion, but Master.

Within the Divine Light Sect... that graceful silhouette was also her.

And... many, many more.

"Master... I see you."

The smile in Qi Yuan's eyes was as brilliant as the stars.

At the same time, within the endless, long river of time.

The Canglan Realm.

A young, handsome man breathed the air of the foreign world, finding it quite sweet and fragrant.

He looked at the hazy, elegant silhouette ahead, curiosity gleaming in his eyes.

"Her name is Ruan Yixi. On the surface, she is your beautiful master, but in reality, she might be your wife."

"A wife granted right upon transmigration?" The handsome man was in a good mood.

"Master-wife?" he called out.

The woman wore a traditional robe with a curved lapel and deep hems, her wide sleeves trailing the ground, looking like an immortal.

Qi Yuan could not see her face; he could only see her back.

Yet judging by the back alone, she was already a peerless beauty.

"Why aren't you speaking? Are you mute?"

"Oh, maybe you're shy. Master, wait for me!"

"Since you aren't driving me away, it means you've accepted me as your disciple!"

"From now on, Qi Yuan is Ruan Yixi's disciple!"

Within the Divine Light Sect.

The young, handsome man stretched lazily, casually tossing a small dried fish snack into the mouth of the wooden cat puppet.

He lay on the bed, sleeping comfortably.

After waking, he washed up, walked out of the courtyard, and gazed at the palace in the clouds.

“Another day of missing Master.”

The clouds on the peak rippled and vanished in an instant.

A strange glint flickered in Qi Yuan’s eyes: “So… back then, was Master also saying she missed me?”

Another day, Qi Yuan held up a first-grade foundation-building spiritual object, the Yellow Flower Fruit: “Master, your disciple Qi Yuan has brought the betrothal gift!”

The clouds in the sky gathered, a magnificent sight.

“It seems Master is very happy?” Qi Yuan said.

At the fourth layer of the Yang God, there was no consciousness. Even if Master had awakened or revived her consciousness because of him, she might have remained in a daze, only occasionally lucid.

Above the Arching Star.

Robot Zero-One looked at Qi Yuan: “Master, the three of us have never taken a group photo. Want to take one together?”

“Oh, a group photo? No problem,” said the blood-robed man.

The sky was pitch black, the starlight dim. He stood on the lawn, Zero-One holding Xie Xinsu, the three of them wearing their signature group-photo smiles.

Just then, a gentle, cool moonlight spilled down, falling upon Qi Yuan’s blood robe.

The photo froze.

Qi Yuan held the photo, lost in thought: “The moonlight falls on my shoulder—that counts as our group photo too.”

Countless images appeared, then shattered in that moment.

“Little Bride,” Qi Yuan called softly.

Instantly, a small, exquisite wedding dress appeared.

She stood beside Qi Yuan, timid, though without a face, a delicate body, or jade feet, she seemed like the most beautiful woman in the world.

He took Little Bride’s cold little hand, a smile spreading across his face: “So you’ve been here all along.”

“Before, it was always you turning into a blood armor to protect me, to shelter me. Now… it’s my turn to protect…”

He looked at Little Bride, though she had no eyes, they held countless tenderness and deep affection.

“This time… it’s my turn to bury myself underground.”

…

“My name is Ruan Yixi.”

“Who I am, I don’t know either.”

“I only know that I cannot see light, cannot hear thunder, cannot smell the fragrance of flowers. The world is void, barren, unchanging.”

“One day, there was a very noisy person who kept talking.”

“He was so, so noisy. I wished he would shut up.”

“Well… actually, talking more is not so bad.”

“I like listening to those stories.”

“Chaos opens seven orifices?”

“If I opened seven orifices, would I be able to…”

“I failed, and blood rained from the sky.”

…

“My name is Ruan Yixi. Who I am, I don’t know either.”

“I have lived in the Divine Tree Abyss since childhood, always alone.”

“Hey, I just sneaked out once and fell asleep in the dirt. Why was I dug up by a blood robe?”

“The thing is, he tied me up and married me by force with a five-carried sedan chair!”

“I have a husband now, so I have a family? Well, except this husband… is a piece of clothing.”

“He couldn’t speak, so I made him eight wooden plaques.”

“One meant cuddling, one meant happiness.”

“It’s so good to have my husband with me.”

“Husband… is gone.”

…

“My name is Ruan Yixi. Who I am—I remember now.”

“I am blind, deaf, mute…”

“My eyes were given to me by my husband.”

“My ears were given to me by my husband.”

“I don’t want… him to give me these!”

…

“My name is Ruan Yixi, a failure who has failed countless times.”

“I finally became a true human.”

“But my husband became a true blood robe.”

“This time, I will listen to my husband.”

…

In the Divine Tree Abyss.

The blood-colored robe was refined by countless people.

Shen Lingxuan’s eyes held pain and reluctance.

“Qi Yuan is water, the eighth primordial rule of the Divine Tree Universe.”

“He is the eighth Human-Enlightened Light!”

“Only by creating eight Human-Enlightened Lights will the primordial consciousness of the Divine Tree Universe revive for a single breath.”

“She will carry the eight Human-Enlightened Lights, wearing the eighth, the most powerful one… to slay the Black Heaven!” said Sheng Nü calmly.

“What will happen to him?”

“He is already dead!”

Three years later.

Within the Divine Tree Universe.

A majestic aura suddenly appeared.

A radiant, unparalleled, sacred and beautiful goddess appeared, clad in a blood-red battle armor, her whole body emitting a blazing, luminous light.

As the blazing light appeared, the black bubbles instantly melted.

The goddess's figure and the black bubbles vanished in an instant.

The black sky... dissolved.

The universe rejoiced.

The Book of the Divine Tree records: the goddess revived, bearing eight artifacts to bring light, dispelling the black sky, and the world saw light.

...

In the abyss of the Divine Tree.

A shadow lingered.

“My name is Ruan Yixi.”

“This is my past.”

A distant nursery rhyme echoed through the empty abyss of the Divine Tree.

“On the mountain grows the toon tree, in the clouds drifts the rain. The rain falls silent, not for my ears. Having heard the noble one, my heart is no longer lost.

On the mountain grows the toon tree, in the wilds lies the yellow herb. The herb stands solitary, not for my sharing. Having known the noble one, my heart is no longer adrift.

On the mountain grows the toon tree, in the sky roars the thunder serpent. The thunder serpent is silent, not for my speaking. Having spoken with the noble one, my heart is no longer sad.

On the mountain grows the toon tree, in the marsh spreads the lush green. The lush green hides away, not for my enjoyment. If I see the noble one, my heart will soar.”

(End of this chapter)