Gazing at the Endless Sky

Xu Yuan had rehearsed countless ways and scenarios in his mind for confronting Heaven's Will. A grand nuclear detonation pitting the creations of human intellect against this overlord of the old era. Or standing before an army array a million strong, under the watchful gaze of all beneath the heavens, speaking those words: "Raise the array, wage war on Heaven." Or perhaps, Battling Heaven's Will alone amidst the ruins of war with cultivation beyond the Saint Realm, deciding with that predecessor who would steer the future. Yet sadly, None of those futures had come to pass. Xu Yuan had never anticipated the ending before him now. Then again, who could have? That everything would draw to a close with the Eternal Night Calamity bearing the will of Heaven. Xu Yuan felt he had acted somewhat impulsively. Next, he would directly face possession by Heaven's Will. His experience of being possessed by Mu Nuo during the Western Desert incident had made it abundantly clear to him that the process of possession depended heavily on the cultivation of both parties. Overcoming the strong from a position of weakness was indeed not entirely impossible. Back then, relying on the Heavenly Yan divine soul, he had held a certain advantage when dealing with Mu Nuo. But now, he was about to face the creator of the Heavenly Yan divine soul... No matter how he looked at it, the disadvantage would be his. Not to mention the chasm-like difference in cultivation between them at this moment. Yet taking Tianye's place to bear Heaven's Will had truly been the optimal choice in that split second. Once Heaven's Will completely replaced Tianye, unless he chose to place his faith in the power of hope and believe the imperial faction would lend a hand, the tale would always end in defeat and ruin. All movement seemed to recede into the distance. Dao charm, time, consciousness, and even emotion felt frozen. When Xu Yuan regained awareness, what met his eyes was a stark white space—a fitting stage for a final curtain call. Xu Yuan lowered his gaze to inspect his body, feeling the presence of the life-death Dao charm. A flicker of complex emotions in his eyes dissolved into a wry sigh. Stall, then. As long as the life-death Dao charm remained, the other could not kill him. He would make his body a tomb, dragging this antique of an entity down with him in this space until the end of time. Yet unexpectedly, though Xu Yuan waited for a long time, Heaven's Will never appeared before him. The stark white space was so quiet it seemed to have lost all notion of time and space. By conventional cultivation wisdom, possession was a life-and-death struggle that persisted until one side vanished from the world completely and the other gained total control of the body. But the peace before him sowed a seed of doubt in Xu Yuan's heart— Could this predecessor, who had transformed his body into the Dao, overturn common knowledge, bypass the process of possession, and directly imprison another's spirit to seize control of the physical shell? Xu Yuan began to pace through the stark white space, attempting to find some clues, and the answer he sought came sooner than expected. This predecessor could not overturn common knowledge. At the far end of the stark white space, Xu Yuan spotted a black dot that resembled a human silhouette. His body's instinct told him that this was Heaven's Will incarnate in the mental space—the intruder seeking to extinguish his spirit. The battle was about to begin... Xu Yuan walked toward Heaven's Will. This space held none of the sounds of the real world; everything was terrifyingly still. Nor did it hold real physical distance; in practically an instant, Xu Yuan arrived before the figure. Then, Xu Yuan was struck with shock—at Its appearance. It was a festering, rotting, mutilated body that could barely be recognized as human. Its eyes were gouged out, Its right arm severed at the shoulder, the flesh of Its legs nearly entirely gone, and countless hollow cavities... pierced through Its chest and abdomen. The auras of countless supreme beings of the world drifted from these shocking wounds. Among them were Wen Xinyun, the Heavenly Gate Sword Immortal, Li Yaoxuan, and even his father... Xu Yinhe. But far, far more of the auras were ones Xu Yuan had never once sensed before. In the silence, This rotting corpse turned Its empty sockets toward the newcomer who had arrived before It, radiating boundless vitality. A silent exchange of gazes. With excruciating slowness, It raised Its remaining left arm toward the man before It. Specks of golden light gathered gradually at the tips of Its trembling, shriveled fingers. Very slow. Slow to an extreme, before erupting in silence. Watching this unfold, Xu Yuan did not dodge, for there was no need. The golden beam that had once claimed the lives of countless prodigies throughout the ages burst forth now with a pitiable weakness. It struck the newcomer's body, leaving only a wound on that vitality-brimming form that knitted closed in the blink of an eye... The grueling battle he had anticipated did not occur. The despair of making himself a prison did not occur, either. The grinding of ages, the endless agony of Dao charm erosion, and the countless pioneers who had charged forward to shatter the old order had long since turned this first idealist into a dead tombstone. Yet even on the brink of death, Even with the tide irrevocably turned, It still dragged this rotting, festering husk forward to safeguard Its original vision. Faint specks of golden light gathered once more at Its fingertips... Yet this time, Xu Yuan gave It no further opportunity. The figure that had stood for countless ages finally fell. Death manifested as a blade, clean and decisive, piercing through the skull of this old order and pinning It dead within this stark white space. Xu Yuan looked at It. It looked back at Xu Yuan. Then, A voice faint as a mosquito's hum rose from the rotting corpse of this old order, drifting into his mind. "That night, I heard your vision." Xu Yuan shook his head. "It is too late to say this now." "Not late. Devour me. Inherit me." "..." Xu Yuan stared at this old order and asked, "What should I call you?" "Forgotten." "I see." Xu Yuan sat down beside Its corpse and asked, "Across such long ages, when even your name has been forgotten, why have you persevered until now? For what?" "For an eternal order beneath the vast sky." "You established order, but what was there before that?" "Turmoil." "Yes, turmoil." Xu Yuan seemed able to imagine the era the other had lived through, murmuring softly, "That must have been a very dark age. But keeping this world stagnant out of fear of turmoil—is that not somewhat misguided?" Those gouged-out, hollow sockets resembled an abyss poised to devour men whole. "Newcomer, I sought stable progress. "The world has never stagnated. Cultivation arts, array patterns, military arrays—these emerging creations all developed steadily beneath my order. The future you desire is far too advanced for the present age. Even if you wish to persist, you should first inherit my order and await the proper time—wait until the various heavenly creations are sufficient to balance those beyond the Saint Realm, wait until the realm has adapted to the reforms brought by your father's generation. "When that time comes, "Someone will overthrow you, carrying the future you desire." Xu Yuan fell quiet for a moment, his eyes half-narrowed as he stared at the white expanse of the space, and asked, "And what if the era regresses?" "..." A moment of absolute silence. It could not comprehend. "Regress... I do not understand." Xu Yuan let out a sigh and said slowly, "Right now, the sparks of reform across the world have only just been ignited. In a world defined by individual supreme power, those above can snuff them out at any time if they so choose. You do not trust human nature, nor do I. I do not believe those in power will ever hand the 'great implements' that could threaten them over to the common people. "If I inherit you, once this war ends, the cultivation arts scattered across the world will most likely be reclaimed step by step, and the engineering feats capable of threatening those beyond the Saint Realm will almost certainly be suppressed. Everything will return to square one, repeating the cycle on and on." Xu Yuan glanced at the countless scars left upon It across the passing ages, whispering, "Senior, the collapse of the old order does not happen overnight. It takes countless people throwing themselves forward, one after another. Your passing already signifies that the world has reached a crossroads. Since I, Xu Changtian, have taken up the responsibility of carrying the torch forward, how could I become the one who prolongs your old order?" For a time, all fell silent. It seemed as if It were dead, yet the constantly dissipating ripples proved that this predecessor was merely thinking in earnest. After who knew how long, It finally spoke in a slow voice: "The equality in your vision is unrealistic. "Humans, demons, all living things—the disparities are laid bare the moment they enter this world. Talent, temperament, aptitude, appearance—these are matters beyond one's control. The future you desire cannot achieve equality. Spreading the Dao will only widen these fissures." These words left Xu Yuan in deep thought for a long while. "So what?" Its body was already on the verge of dispersing entirely. "I do not understand what you mean." "Senior, you are not wrong." Xu Yuan rubbed the space between his brows, sighed, and stood up, looking into the distance. "This world has never been fair from the start. I... never truly thought of absolute equality, either. After all, coming from someone who abuses privilege, speaking of such things would be nothing short of hypocritical. "Wherever there are people, there will be struggle, scheming, oppression, and exploitation. I cannot change those things. Seeking to enlighten the minds of the people and spread the Dao across the world was never driven by some grandiose ambition. I only want this world to keep moving forward. I want to give those with talent a chance to rise, and let those without talent live out their lives with the dignity of human beings..." "No." Looking at his back, It rejected his words once more: "That is a very grand vision." Xu Yuan turned his head in surprise, then smiled with relief. "Thank you. "And... thank you, Senior, for everything you have done for this world in the past. But now... it is time for you to rest." "..." The golden twilight gradually dissolved into specks of starlight. The stark white space began to collapse, slowly burying the remains of the old order like a tomb. Its consciousness began to fade. Watching the vibrant newcomer's back as he walked toward the unknown road ahead, Its final words were plain, yet sincere: "Newcomer, "Though I do not agree, please walk on. Do not look back."