“No!”
“I have to pull myself together.”
“Everyone must still be waiting for me to go back!”
The moment Yu Xian thought of his family and friends waiting for his return, his drive surged right back.
He shot Zhenwo Changjing ahead of him a look, gritted his teeth, and flew forward at top speed. At the same time, his ten fingers fired spatial bubbles in ten different directions.
In the blink of an eye, the spatial bubbles scattered like fireworks, shooting off into separate paths.
After flying some distance, Yu Xian instantly teleported from one spatial bubble to another.
The scenery around him shifted, revealing a dried-up lake bed. Yet there stood Zhenwo Changjing right in the center of the lake, looking at his dumbfounded expression with utter composure.
“I don't buy this.”
Gritting his teeth, Yu Xian teleported into yet another bubble.
This time, Zhenwo Changjing went even further—she was standing right in front of him, the expression on her face completely unchanged.
“Again!”
Looking at Zhenwo Changjing right before his eyes, Yu Xian's pupils constricted slightly. A second later, he teleported away once more.
Over the next while, he exhausted every trick in the book trying to shake off Zhenwo Changjing. Yet no matter whether he ascended to the heavens or burrowed into the earth, she stuck to him like a dog-skin plaster that refused to peel away, remaining right by his side the entire time.
Half an hour later, Yu Xian was thoroughly exhausted mentally.
Plumping himself down inside a bubble, he slumped in resignation, looked at Zhenwo Changjing before him, and said, “Auntie, why do you insist on following me? Can't the road be wide enough for each of us to go our own way?”
“If you were walking down the street to shop at a supermarket, and a passerby happened to be heading to the exact same supermarket as you, would you think they were following you just because you were walking in front?” Zhenwo Changjing looked at Yu Xian and countered calmly.
Yu Xian was left speechless. “That's completely different!”
“How is it different? You and I simply happen to be going to the same place,” Zhenwo Changjing said with a faint smile.
Yu Xian stared at her with deep skepticism and retorted, “The problem is that I don't even know where I'm supposed to go! How could I possibly be going to the same place as you? Im-pos-si-ble!”
He had never wanted to come to this world in the first place.
If the Extreme Dragon hadn't targeted him, who in their right mind would have fled to this godforsaken dump?
Zhenwo Changjing gazed calmly at Yu Xian and explained, “Everyone's destiny is like a river; the waters flow in different directions, arriving at different endings. It just so happens that your flow aligns with mine. This is a rare karmic connection. If you find me in the way, you may treat me as nonexistent and simply do whatever you wish.”
“So, Auntie… you mean my current fate is identical to yours?” Yu Xian asked with a frown, looking at Zhenwo Changjing.
Fortunately, he possessed Super Brain.
Though Zhenwo Changjing spoke in airy, nebulous terms, he could still grasp a bit of what she meant.
The 'same place' she spoke of clearly was not an actual physical destination, but an ethereal concept—though Yu Xian still couldn't fathom why she insisted on following him.
“Precisely so,” Zhenwo Changjing confirmed, looking at Yu Xian with a nod.
At that moment, Yu Xian had a vague inkling that Zhenwo Changjing answered every question put to her and seemed incapable of lying.
He looked at her and asked, “Even if the flow of our destinies currently aligns, why do you have to follow me?”
“A very, very long time ago, there was a being named Zhenwo Wuchang. They were born possessing both sexes—what you would understand as a hermaphrodite. They were a true genius in every sense of the word, mastering anything they learned in an instant and perfecting any ability with a single use. In merely one cosmic annihilation epoch—the span from a universe's birth to its destruction—they attained virtually invincible power. To take a step further, they split themselves into a male and a female, one evil and one good. Whether the male devoured the female or the female devoured the male, their strength would become even greater. But if the male devoured the female, their nature would turn far more wicked, plunging countless worlds into misery and devastation,” Zhenwo Changjing said in an unhurried tone, looking at Yu Xian.
Yu Xian stared at Zhenwo Changjing and caught on immediately. “So you're the benevolent half split from Zhenwo Wuchang?”
“Precisely so. The malevolent half split from Zhenwo Wuchang is named Zhenwo Changle. He is currently searching for my whereabouts. Because my strength falls slightly short of his, only by traveling with you can I conceal my existence,” Zhenwo Changjing said, looking at him.
Yu Xian said helplessly, “You mean using my destiny to mask yours so he won't be able to find you?”
“Precisely so,” Zhenwo Changjing nodded.
Yu Xian voiced his concern: “Then wouldn't I be in danger? Are you certain he won't find you this way?”
“This is the Art of Extinction and Eternal Peace. You are the surface, and I am the interior. Across the myriad worlds, none below a Transcender can perceive it,” Zhenwo Changjing stated truthfully.
Yu Xian frowned. “What if he is a Transcender?”
“…”
Zhenwo Changjing looked at Yu Xian, smiling without a word.
However, Yu Xian could tell she was holding back laughter. Disgruntled, he asked, “What's so funny? Aren't you afraid he's already become a Transcender and will track you down?”
“Do you know what the concept of a Transcender means?” Zhenwo Changjing asked in return.
Yu Xian shook his head. “No idea. Probably some… really formidable profession?”
“If true gods exist in this world, then Transcenders are genuine gods in the truest sense—omniscient and omnipotent. That is the ultimate pursuit of all cultivators across the myriad worlds. If Zhenwo Changle had already become a Transcender, he would have no need to devour me, because he would already be invincible in the truest sense,” Zhenwo Changjing explained.
Yu Xian asked in astonishment, “Do Transcenders really exist, then?”
“I do not know. There are numerous ancient records of Transcenders existing, but I have never seen one, so I cannot confirm whether Transcenders truly exist,” Zhenwo Changjing replied.
Yu Xian pressed on, “Do you know how to become a Transcender?”
“I do not know. Zhenwo Wuchang deduced that uniting yin and yang would bring them one step closer to transcendence, but whether that is true can only be known once the final outcome arrives,” Zhenwo Changjing replied.
The final outcome, naturally, would only be unveiled once she devoured Zhenwo Changle or Zhenwo Changle devoured her.
After hearing Zhenwo Changjing out, Yu Xian suddenly realized something: since Zhenwo Wuchang had been so immensely powerful, Zhenwo Changjing, as one of the halves, had to be super powerful as well—after all, Zhenwo Changle was pursuing transcendence.
He looked at Zhenwo Changjing and asked, “Then… can you beat the Extreme Dragon?”
“The dragon among dragons? No, I cannot.”
To his surprise, the moment Zhenwo Changjing heard the name Extreme Dragon, she shook her head without hesitation.
Yu Xian stared at her, utterly speechless. She had just bragged about how ridiculously strong Zhenwo Wuchang was. Even split fifty-fifty, Zhenwo Changjing should still be formidable.
Yet she couldn't even beat the Extreme Dragon? That was way too weak!
“Then what do I get out of you following me?”
Yu Xian sighed, looked at Zhenwo Changjing, and asked once more.
He couldn't very well take on such a massive risk without receiving any benefits at all. After all, with Zhenwo Changjing clinging to him, he would certainly be doomed if Zhenwo Changle came knocking on his door.
Of course, the main reason he dared to demand benefits from Zhenwo Changjing was simply… she was good!
Chapter 141