The Bright Moon Hangs High, Yet Shines Not on Me

The soul that had been sealed inside the device dissolved into specks of light and drifted slowly out into the air. Yu Xian raised his hand, and the motes settled upon the tip of his index finger. Closing his eyes, he spoke softly. "You have fought so hard. Now... rest well." As he spoke, the light coalesced into the phantom shape of a youth. The boy bowed deeply toward Yu Xian, then dissolved once more into specks of light that drifted off toward the Zhen Realm. "That was..." Li Xinghai asked, shaken to his core. Yu Xian replied, "Seeing it with your own eyes, does it suddenly leave a bitter taste in your mouth?" "..." Li Xinghai fell silent. He had always known that the communication devices were crafted from the souls of nine sets of twins, and he had even heard that it was voluntary. But only upon seeing that soul in person did he truly realize what a monstrous, evil invention it was. "Any other questions?" Yu Xian asked, looking toward the rest of the crew. Under normal circumstances, had they been prepared, everyone present would have had countless questions to ask. But Yu Xian had appeared without warning, leaving them entirely unready. They exchanged glances, and in the end, shook their heads one after another. Li Xinghai was the most rational among them. After a moment's thought, he asked, "May I ask... what realm are you in?" At present, the highest realm he knew of was that of a Mighty One. The trouble was, that Mighty One had gone mad, babbling that all was lost and beyond hope before taking his leave. "My realm... is naturally that of a Mighty One," Yu Xian answered with a gentle smile. With that, he cast a glance over the others. Seeing no further inquiries, he nodded. "Since no one has any more questions, then... farewell." The next instant, one Yu Xian after another vanished into thin air. If Li Xinghai and his crew had possessed the ability to observe the outer boundary of this cosmic branch, they would have seen countless manifestations of Yu Xian marching steadily outward into the void. Some were obliterated in an instant, while others merged with the Omni-Being particles, taking measured strides deeper into Between Being and Non-Being. *** Inside the Zhen Realm, within the small dark room. Yu Xian's true body did not move in the slightest, yet one "I" after another stepped out from his physical form, departing in endless succession. With the death of every departing "I," Yu Xian's power swelled. The process had been agonizingly slow at first, but it grew steadily faster until it looked as though his soul were continuously projecting outward, blurring the contours of his face into an indistinct haze. *** Within the Tree Universe, in a certain world. After vast stretches of time, Quan Juehua slowly opened his eyes. His wounds had finally healed. He cast his gaze across the Tree Universe, sweeping his sight over countless worlds at a single glance. Finding no trace of the Aska, he let out a quiet sigh of relief. This was for the best. He could gather more Calamity Origin in peace. Yet as he scanned for prospective targets, his attention was suddenly drawn to a certain young man, and a faint smile crept across his weathered face. *** In a different world, Luo Jiu, clad in a feather robe, shot into the sky. The very next moment, a terrifying surge of dark miasma erupted from that world. Billowing black fumes coalesced into an enormous gaping skull that instantly devoured every soul attempting to flee. With a beckoning wave of his hand, Luo Jiu drew the roiling fumes into his palm, condensing them into a polished bead in the blink of an eye. After hundreds of millions of years of cultivation, he had reclaimed the realm of a Mighty One as easily as following a well-trodden path. What surprised him even more was his extraordinary luck in chancing upon an opportunity for Origin Return. If one did not seize such an opportunity, how could one ever attain unfettered transcendence? Thus, Luo Jiu had plunged into the struggle for Calamity Origin without the slightest hesitation. As an ancient monster from prehistoric times who had crawled back from death itself, his cultivation might have lagged marginally behind other Mighty Ones, but his battle experience completely outclassed them. By now, he was recognized as one of the figures among the Mighty Ones whom no one dared provoke. The others avoided him as much as possible, leaving him no choice but to engineer catastrophes himself, slowly refining Calamity Origin on his own in the hope of condensing an Origin Seed as soon as possible. Yet just as he was about to tally his latest harvest, a shadow fell over his head. Looking up, he was met with an aged yet thoroughly familiar face. His pupils contracted violently. "Master!" "Xiao Jiu, long time no see!" Quan Juehua wiped a hand lightly across his face, returning to his former likeness as he addressed Luo Jiu. Luo Jiu stared at Quan Juehua in disbelief, a seed of suspicion instantly taking root in his mind. But Quan Juehua immediately dispelled every doubt with action. "Are you wondering whether some Mighty One read your memories and merely wears your master's guise?" Quan Juehua asked with a faint, knowing smirk. Slowly, he drew forth the Malevolent Blade—Dream's End from within his body, continuing, "Then take a look at this strike. Perhaps it will jog your memory of those days of filial devotion between master and disciple." An indescribable presence slowly rose from his being. Was it sorrow? No—it was raw resentment! Despair? It was a hatred that cursed heaven, cursed earth, and cursed destiny itself. Quan Juehua leveled the blade toward the distant void and intoned, "Malevolent Blade—The Bright Moon Hangs High, Yet Shines Not on Me!" The exaggeration of the strike defied all description. The Tree Universe fractured along a colossal fault line under its wake, and countless worlds were reduced to ash in an instant. The very second the slash was unleashed, Luo Jiu fell to his knees, prostrating himself before Quan Juehua in feverish excitement. "Master! I missed you so dearly! How wonderful... it is truly wonderful that you are unharmed!" "Hehehehe, hehehehe... Good disciple, stand up!" Quan Juehua chuckled in a low, resonant rattle as he looked down at Luo Jiu. Once Luo Jiu rose to his feet, Quan Juehua adopted a genial, benevolent tone. "My good disciple, your master intends to seize this opportunity to return to Origin in a single leap. Do you believe your master can reach the other shore?" Luo Jiu's expression did not waver for an instant, but his thoughts twisted through several calculations. In the end, he bowed his head in resignation, speaking with utmost deference. "Master will surely succeed! This disciple's talents are modest, but I happen to have collected a modest quantity of Calamity Origin. I wish to offer it all to Master, that it might lend a humble measure of strength to your endeavor." "Hehehehe! You are truly your master's good disciple. With heaven's timing, earth's advantage, and human harmony on our side, how could Origin Return elude me?" Quan Juehua laughed heartily. Naturally, he showed no hesitation whatsoever in claiming the Calamity Origin, swallowing the fruits of Luo Jiu's centuries of painstaking labor in a single gulp. "From this day forth, master and disciple shall act with one heart, sharp enough to cut through metal. You shall gather origin over there, and your master shall gather origin over here. How does that sound?" Quan Juehua suggested with a jovial chuckle once the origin was safely in his grasp. Looking at Quan Juehua's smiling face, Luo Jiu felt goosebumps prickle across his back. He knew with absolute certainty that the moment he dared refuse, he would die the very next second—and his death would be clean, swift, and absolute. The only reason he was allowed to draw breath was that he could still harvest Calamity Origin for Quan Juehua; he still held that tiny sliver of utility. Once that usefulness ran out, he would be cast aside as less than a stone on the roadside. In the end, he yielded. He had no choice. That single strike from Quan Juehua had been far too terrifying—it had carved a permanent scar across the main trunk of the Tree Universe. A scar that would likely never fade, not in the next era, nor even in the era that followed.