"Old Zhang, could you cut something like this with a single stroke?"
Yu Xian gazed at the mist ahead, asking Zhang Shou beside him.
The mist stretched endlessly. Looking to the left, there was no end in sight; looking to the right, there was still no end. As for exactly how vast a span had been severed, Yu Xian could hardly put it into words, for even a universe seemed utterly insignificant before such a distance.
Earlier aboard the Aska, it hadn't seemed all that astonishing, but standing here in person, one could truly appreciate just how terrifyingly powerful Quan Juehua's slash had been.
"I can't," Zhang Shou replied truthfully, giving a slight shake of his head.
He drew his saber, attempting to cut at the Tree Universe, but once the blade was bared, he felt somewhat at a loss.
The Tree Universe was right before his eyes—indeed, he was right inside it—yet he had no idea how to strike, or what to cut.
It was a bit like an ordinary person holding a knife wanting to slash the air: air was everywhere, so how could one ever slice air into pieces?
Zhang Shou sheathed his saber dejectedly and offered a wry smile. "I can't comprehend Quan Juehua's slash. At my current realm, I can't even grasp the mysteries behind it."
"Remember, you two: if either of you encounters Quan Juehua alone, use your Admin Dog Ring immediately to protect yourselves," Yu Xian said to Zhang Shou and Little Nora after hearing this.
Little Nora and Zhang Shou both nodded in understanding. With the three of them together, even if Quan Juehua was far stronger than any one of them, they could cooperate and beat him black and blue.
But in a one-on-one fight, the outcome would likely be very different.
In fact, Yu Xian sensed that Quan Juehua hadn't even gone all out just now. The man was extremely dangerous and his motives were completely unknown. Having failed to kill him this time, it would be much harder next time.
In particular, Quan Juehua excelled at manipulating puppets and had his eye on Little Nora. From now on, any strangers—or even old acquaintances—approaching Little Nora would have to be scrutinized with utmost caution.
***
Everlasting Silence Prison Tower.
Yu Xian hadn't been here in a long time.
At this moment, he appeared before Luomo's cell, looking at Luomo inside.
Thanks to Yu Xian's corner-cutting, the cells of the Everlasting Silence Prison Tower were extremely cramped, roughly the size of a toilet.
Not an entire restroom, but the size of a single stall in a public restroom, barely fitting one person, where one couldn't even stretch out both arms.
Luomo sat cross-legged in the cell. When Yu Xian appeared, his eyes initially showed no emotion, but soon he began to realize something, staring at Yu Xian with growing shock.
How much time had passed, and Yu Xian had already become a Mighty One?
Yu Xian asked, "Luomo, what kind of person do you think your master was?"
In truth, Yu Xian had seen Quan Juehua in Luomo's memories, though back then Quan Juehua hadn't gone by that name. Furthermore, according to Luomo's memories, the two had ended up attempting to devour each other; Luomo had proven the superior master, ultimately claiming everything, while his master, Quan Juehua, had perished completely, his Dao obliterated.
It was precisely because Luomo's memories showed his master was a dead man that Yu Xian had never suspected this whole affair had anything to do with Luomo's master. He hadn't even suspected Luomo himself much; after all, Luomo had been imprisoned for a long time, and his legend had long faded from the world.
"My master?"
Luomo had assumed Yu Xian had only come to flaunt his breakthrough to Mighty One.
Yet Yu Xian had suddenly asked about his master, making Luomo knit his brows slightly, unable to fathom what Yu Xian was thinking.
Still, he answered truthfully: "That man... was obstinate and opinionated, greedy by nature, hyper-sensitive and suspicious, fickle and temperamental. On top of that, he was shortsighted, devoid of ambition, and stupid without even knowing it. If I had to sum him up with one word, it would be... an idiot."
"..."
Hearing Luomo's words, Yu Xian fell completely silent.
Good grief. Every single one was derogatory; it was quite a feat for Luomo to rattle off so many idioms in one breath.
The problem was that Yu Xian couldn't understand Quan Juehua's motive: Why had he taken Luomo as a disciple in the first place?
From Luomo's memories, Yu Xian knew that Quan Juehua had genuinely taught him, imparting real skills. In the end, he had even faked his death to escape, using his own demise to forge Luomo's invincible mindset.
First, one could rule out the possibility that Quan Juehua was Luomo's father; second, one could rule out the possibility that Quan Juehua wanted to gain anything from Luomo.
Could it really have been love without rhyme or reason?
Utterly bizarre.
Yu Xian felt he needed more clues to figure out what Quan Juehua was actually plotting. Only by knowing yourself and knowing your enemy could you win a hundred battles.
***
A branch drifted amidst countless black and white specks.
This branch was slowly dissipating and would eventually be completely assimilated by those black and white specks.
Yet before it completely dissipated, the branch still served as a safe haven. Quan Juehua sat cross-legged atop the world barrier of one of the worlds within it. The living beings inside this world had gradually lost the capacity for love, turning selfish, lazy, and gluttonous, beginning to accuse, curse, and slaughter one another.
Quan Juehua paid no mind to the world beneath him. Resting his cheek in one hand with his eyes closed, he was waiting for the opportune moment to escape.
This branch could drift for roughly a trillion years. Based on the angle of his saber strike, in about twenty million years it would brush past another branch of the Tree Universe; that would be his chance to leave this branch.
As for the remaining eighty octillion worlds within this branch, they would perish completely alongside it.
Quan Juehua felt no excess emotion regarding this. It was much like an anthill being inundated by a flood: no one cared what happened to the ants in the nest, and Quan Juehua didn't care what happened to the living beings in those worlds.
"My Lord, I beg of you, please allow me to follow you."
"No can do. You're not interesting in the slightest."
In a daze, Quan Juehua's thoughts drifted back to an extremely distant era.
He had originally been a slave, one destined for a sacrificial offering, but a powerhouse had saved him, sparing him from death.
At that time, he had felt only the shifting of stars and sky before finding himself atop a mountain peak. There, he had prostrated himself, his heart surging with boundless excitement, yearning to follow that person and serve them through thick and thin.
Yet never had he imagined the person would refuse, then leave without a backward glance, leaving him all alone on the summit.
When he met the person a second time, he had already become a Transcendent with modest cultivation achievements, while that figure remained unfathomable. Full of confidence, he had knelt upon the ground, intending to take them as his master.
To his surprise, he was refused once more.
And the answer was identical to the first: "No can do. You're not interesting in the slightest."
Not interesting?
What did that mean?
Quan Juehua couldn't understand, so he cultivated even harder.
The third meeting occurred several cosmic annihilation epochs later. By then, he had become a Mighty One, yet that figure remained unfathomable.
Setting aside his dignity, he prostrated himself on the ground and asked, "My Lord, is it possible for me to achieve transcendence?"
The person replied, "No can do. You're not interesting in the slightest."
Crack!
At that moment, Quan Juehua's Dao heart shattered.
Chapter 628