Epilogue

The Tree Universe. Many people might have assumed that Quan Juehua caused catastrophic damage to the Tree Universe. In reality, the area he affected amounted to less than one percent of the Tree Universe as a whole. While that was already an astronomical number, everything quickly returned to the way it had been once the calamity passed. When old worlds were destroyed, new worlds were born. After enduring the passage of endless years, the spiritual sparks of the beings who had perished reincarnated one after another, taking form as living souls with different identities and distinct personalities. Of course, there were still lingering effects. After the Slay-Quan Alliance disbanded, a Longjing tea tree appeared in a certain world. Legend had it that anyone who knelt and prayed to it with sincere devotion could receive its tea leaves, suddenly comprehending the supreme principles of heaven and earth, or even ascending to immortalhood in broad daylight. Many Mighty Ones who had once treated human lives as worthless trifles and worlds as insignificant dust also learned to cherish life, gradually taking the initiative to maintain order throughout the myriad realms. Naturally, part of that might have been out of fear of being beaten to death by a certain someone. …… …… Under the blazing summer heat. Salty Fish Studio remained as leisurely and tranquil as ever. Yu Xian lay in a small pavilion, lazily paddling one hand through the water. He kept his eyes closed, the corners of his mouth curved in a faint smile, exuding a carefree ease. Suddenly, the water churned noisily not far away. "Hahahaha, got a bite!" Chi Feihong gripped his fishing rod tightly and laughed with boisterous excitement. At this point, however, Chi Feihong looked starkly different from how he once had. Not only did he have ox horns sprouting from his head, but he was also over five meters tall, his body covered in numerous scars. This was his appearance after reincarnation. Born as an ox demon, he had been personally sought out by Yu Xian, who enlightened him and guided his cultivation over a long period. In the end, he recovered his past memories upon breaking through to the realm of a Mighty One. Yet in this lifetime, his cultivation was exceptionally solid, far stronger than the power he had derived from a game in his previous life. He could walk very, very far on the path ahead. Even if he could not achieve transcendence in this life, he would accumulate a wealth of experience for transcendence in his next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next, next life. Because the ox demon had never had a name of its own, he still went by the name Chi Feihong. After regaining his memories, he had once again become obsessed with fishing. Now, wherever there was water, he could not resist casting a line to see what he could catch. …… …… In a certain biohazard world. On the second floor of a shopping mall, Lin Weiwei took out the food she had scavenged. Even though she was famished, she still opened the canned food, divided it into three portions, and smiled warmly. "All right, come and eat." A boy of around seven or eight who was missing a leg and a girl who was blind in one eye stepped forward, looking at Lin Weiwei with hesitation. "Sister Weiwei, maybe you shouldn't bother with me and Xiaowei anymore. We'll only drag you down," the little girl said sorrowfully. Food was becoming harder and harder to find. Although most of the zombies had chased after people looking for food and left the area, the problem was that they did not dare step foot outside the mall either. Who knew whether a zombie was lurking in some obscure nook or cranny outside? These zombies did not rot. When they did not sense a target, they stood dead still, and when the sun came up, they instinctively hid in the shadows. Consequently, many zombies ended up lingering in extremely inconspicuous spots. If people failed to spot them in time, they had no chance of escaping once an attack began. Lin Weiwei had no idea where the zombies had come from. She had originally lived near the mall, and it was only after watching the horde chase a crowd away that she had cautiously slipped inside. To her surprise, two survivors were still in the mall. Lin Weiwei knew perfectly well that these two children were burdens who would drastically lower her chances of survival. But with them right before her eyes, she simply could not bring herself to abandon them. "Don't worry. I'll go check next door tomorrow. There's bound to be more food," Lin Weiwei said, suppressing the anxiety in her heart as she offered them a reassuring smile. She was the adult now. She lowered her head, the smile lingering at the corners of her mouth just like the grandmother who had raised her. Although she was an orphan, she had never really felt like one because she had a grandmother who loved her. Her grandmother had taught her how to love others and how to love this world. No matter how cruel the world became, the light of her childhood would always illuminate a path for her, keeping her from fear even in the face of death. Just as she was calculating what might be found in the shops beside the mall, a song suddenly drifted in from outside: "I'm a little duckie, quack, quack, quack, quack, quack..." "Oh no, that's going to draw the zombies!" the little girl cried out in terror. Lin Weiwei stood up and hurried to the edge of the window, peering cautiously in the direction of the sound. There, she saw a chubby little yellow duck. The little duck was holding an ice pop, hopping along and singing while eating. Lin Weiwei's expression turned bizarre. She rubbed her eyes and looked again, but it was still an unfairly adorable little yellow duck. A massive sense of dissonance washed over her—the art style here felt completely wrong. "Found you, Sister Niman!" Suddenly, the little duck seemed to notice Lin Weiwei's gaze. It looked up toward the second floor, locking eyes with Lin Weiwei, and broke into a radiant smile. Lin Weiwei tried to hide, but it was already too late. In the next instant, the little yellow duck leaped right through the window. Lin Weiwei tried to run, suspecting it might be some new breed of zombie, but the duck caught her in a tight hug. "Sister Niman, Little Nora is here!" Little Nora looked up at Lin Weiwei, grinning happily. Lin Weiwei backed into a corner. Looking down at Little Nora, who was outrageously cute and seemed to bear no ill intent whatsoever, she said helplessly, "I'm sorry, my name is Lin Weiwei. I'm not the Sister Niman you're talking about." "That doesn't matter. I came to find Sister Niman," Little Nora said, nodding. Lin Weiwei didn't know whether to laugh or cry. "But my name isn't Niman." "Sister Niman, do you want some cake?" Little Nora took out a small cake and asked cheerfully. Looking at the cake in Little Nora's hands, Lin Weiwei swallowed hard in spite of herself. All of a sudden, she thought that maybe she could be this Sister Niman after all. …… …… In a certain magic-free world. Inside an octagonal pavilion in an ordinary park. A slightly chubby young man sat listening to an outrageously handsome youth spin an elaborate tale about vampires. Once the youth finished speaking, the young man asked, "So this is seriously a vampire story? What the hell did the rest of it have to do with vampires?" "The beginning is the beginning, and the ending is the ending. Don't take it so seriously," the youth chuckled playfully. The chubby young man nodded. "Fine, it's just for fun anyway. But that's the end? What happens next? Did the protagonist's three murdered friends ever get resurrected?" "Nope. They all reincarnated," the youth replied. The chubby young man picked up his phone from the table and stood up. "All right, decent story. I'll treat you to Mixue next time." "Wait, I talked for so long, and you can't even buy me Mixue right now?" the youth protested, caught off guard. The chubby young man retorted, "None of the three friends got resurrected, and you still want Mixue? Dream on." "Actually, you're Zhang Shou, and I'm Yu Xian! I've got plenty of supreme divine manuals—take your pick!" the youth quickly called out, trying to keep him from leaving. The chubby young man walked out of the pavilion, glanced back over his shoulder to flip him off, and scoffed, "Transfer me fifty bucks on WeChat, and I'd even believe you're Qin Shi Huang! I'm out!" Sunlight filtered through the trees, scattering across the park ground. Watching the slightly chubby youth walk farther and farther away with his phone, a brilliant smile suddenly broke across the youth's face, and he could not help but burst into hearty laughter. Everyone had their own road to travel, but as long as the friendship in their hearts never faded, friends would always meet again one day. (The End)