Deep affection is short-lived, and regret comes too late.
The cave was deathly silent, save for the heavy, suppressed breathing of the two men. The dark fragment lay carelessly tossed on the ground, emanating an unsettling resentment, while the animal-hide scroll felt like a red-hot iron, so hot that Xie Yunzhi could barely hold it.
He kept his head down, his disheveled long hair obscuring his expression, but his clenched hands, knuckles white and trembling slightly, and the silent tears that slid down, mixed with blood and dirt, and fell into the dust, all revealed the earth-shattering impact he was experiencing.
Three hundred years of destiny, the tragic entrustment of the First Emperor, the sect's education, the pursuit of his fellow disciples, his own perseverance and sacrifices along the way... In the end, it was all a castle built on the sand. When the tide recedes, only absurdity and nothingness remain. He was not saving the world; he was preparing for the most ridiculous martyrdom for the unfinished conspiracy of a despicable thief.
"Heh... Hahaha..." He could no longer suppress it and let out a series of broken and desolate laughs, which echoed in the empty cave, carrying the smell of blood and tears. "What a Su Yan! What a calamity that overturns the Heavenly River! What a... destiny!"
Seeing him like this, Mo Xiaoyu felt an unbearable heartache. She reached out and gently placed her hand on the back of his violently trembling hand, wanting to send him some warmth, but found that her hand was just as cold.
"Yun Zhi..." her voice was hoarse, trembling with tears, "What...what should we do?"
Xie Yunzhi's laughter gradually subsided. He slowly raised his head, and in his eyes, which were once clear and cold like stars but were now filled with bloodshot veins, pain, anger, and confusion surged, eventually settling into a kind of heart-palpitating, stagnant calm.
"What should we do?" He repeated these three words, his gaze blankly fixed on the mottled marks on the top of the grotto. "The last will of the Ancestral Dragon is for us to gather the fragments and, at the source of the Heavenly River, use the power of the jade holder and the guardian of the formation to activate the Dream-Tracing Jade, and try to 'repair' the so-called 'crack', strengthen the seal, and prevent the 'flood' from descending."
He paused, a mocking smile curving his lips, a smile more painful than tears: "But now we know that it wasn't a rift at all, but a 'valve' for the 'return to nothingness' of heaven and earth, forcibly repairing it. Forcibly repairing it would be going against the will of heaven, and it's highly likely... to play right into Su Yan's hands, creating conditions for him to steal the 'Origin of the Realm'."
Mo Xiaoyu's heart sank. This meant that their goal all along, the mission for which they were prepared to pay with their lives, was wrong from the very beginning, and might even have been aiding and abetting evil.
"Are we... just supposed to watch 'Return to Nothingness' happen and all things perish?" she asked unwillingly. Even knowing the truth, she couldn't bear to watch billions of lives be lost.
Xie Yunzhi fell silent. He closed his eyes, and the vast, ethereal information within the Ancestral Dragon's inheritance—about the laws of heaven and earth, the circulation of energy, and the profound mysteries of the essence of formations—flowed and collided rapidly within his sea of consciousness. Combined with the information revealed in Su Yan's notes regarding the essence of "Return to the Void" and "World Origin," an extremely bold, almost insane, and perilous idea suddenly illuminated his thoughts like a flash of lightning in the darkness!
He suddenly opened his eyes, a strange light bursting forth from them, a light that was a mixture of desperate struggle, resolute gamble, and a sharp glimmer of... a glimmer of hope.
“No… perhaps there is a third way.” His voice was still hoarse, but it carried a resolute force.
Mo Xiaoyu held her breath and stared at him.
“What Su Yan wants to do is to take advantage of the moment when the ‘valve’ is forcibly opened and the power of ‘Return to the Void’ is at its most violent and chaotic, and steal the ‘Origin of the Realm’.” Xie Yunzhi’s speech quickened, and his thoughts became clearer and clearer. “What Zulong wants to do is to exhaust his power and forcibly weld the ‘valve’ shut, but this violates the laws of heaven and earth, is destined to fail, and may even lead to more terrible consequences.”
He stared intently at Mo Xiaoyu, his gaze so sharp it seemed to pierce her soul: "Perhaps we can... avoid these two paths. We won't 'repair' or 'steal.' We... will 'guide'."
"Guide?" Mo Xiaoyu asked, puzzled.
“Yes! Guiding!” Xie Yunzhi’s eyes burned with an almost martyr’s light. “‘Return to the Void’ is a law, unstoppable, but its process is not necessarily destructive. Like a flood, it’s better to channel than to block. We can gather all the fragments of the Spirit Sealing Stele, using them as a base, the Dream-Tracing Jade as the core, and the two of us as the medium—not to block that ‘valve,’ but to construct a massive ‘channeling’ formation covering the entire source of the Heavenly River when it opens!”
He became more and more excited as he spoke, and an unnatural flush even appeared on his pale face: "Through the formation, we will transform and divert this violent power that is destined to be released and is capable of destroying heaven and earth, into a relatively gentle life force that can nourish all things and reshape mountains and rivers! Let this 'Return to the Void' be transformed from a catastrophe into... a rebirth!"
This idea was so shocking that Mo Xiaoyu was speechless for a long time. Guiding the power of the laws of heaven and earth? Bringing something back to life from the dead? What immense power and what exquisite control over the laws would that require? It was simply… like an ant trying to shake a mountain!
"Is...is this even possible?" Her voice trembled with disbelief. "How much power would it take? Can we...do it?"
The light in Xie Yunzhi's eyes dimmed for a moment, but then became even more resolute, a resoluteness that carried a heartbreaking sense of relief and peace.
“It’s very difficult. Almost impossible to succeed.” He admitted frankly, his voice lowering. “It requires the jade holder and the guardian to completely merge their soul, flesh, and everything else with the core of the formation, serving as a ‘channel’ and ‘container’ to guide the power. How violent is the power of ‘Return to the Void’? As the dominant jade holder, they will bear the brunt and suffer a devastating backlash, almost… certain death.”
He looked at Mo Xiaoyu, his gaze gentle and sorrowful, deep with unspeakable guilt and reluctance: "And the guardians... although not the main force, still need to share the pressure and stabilize the formation, just like... a life-or-death struggle."
Ten out of ten will die... nine out of ten will die...
These two words, like a final judgment, struck Mo Xiaoyu's heart heavily. She looked at Xie Yunzhi, at the undisguised worry for her safety in his eyes, and at the resolute determination hidden deep within, a determination that had already made its choice.
It turns out he had already foreseen the end of this road. The so-called "guidance" and "rebirth" required the two of them to pave the way with their lives.
She felt no fear, no hesitation. Instead, a strange peace rose within her. It seemed more acceptable to give everything for a truly hopeful new world than to sacrifice herself for a lie.
She met his gaze, her clear eyes filled not with fear, but with a steadfast determination and tenderness. She gripped his cold hand tightly, harder and harder.
"If this is the only way to ensure the survival of this land and future generations..." she said, each word distinct and her voice soft yet resolute, "then, Yunzhi, I will accompany you."
There were no grand pronouncements, no sorrowful lamentations. Just the simplest promise, the heaviest vow.
Xie Yunzhi was stunned. He looked at the woman before him; her face was still streaked with tears and weary, her clothes tattered and weathered, yet her eyes shone as if they held a sky full of stars. In their past life, Mo Lan sacrificed herself for him and for the common people; in this life, Mo Xiaoyu, knowing it was a dead end, still chose to walk with him.
Deep affection is short-lived, and extreme strength leads to humiliation. Their fate seems to always be accompanied by sacrifice.
He reached out his trembling hand and gently wiped away the lingering tears from the corners of her eyes, his fingertips lingering on her thin yet resolute cheek. A thousand words choked in his throat, ultimately transforming into a deep, sorrowful sigh, brimming with emotion, and a low, hoarse promise:
"Okay...this time, we'll...go together."
There was no turning back, no room for luck. Having witnessed the cruelest truth, they chose the most heroic, yet perhaps only, path that would bring true hope. Deep affection is often short-lived; this might be their inescapable fate. But this time, they were no longer pawns manipulated by destiny, but rather the players themselves. Even if their moves were irreversible, even if it meant their deaths and the end of their lives, they would fight for a future for all living beings in this seemingly hopeless situation.
Inside the grotto, the two huddled together, their figures appearing thin and resolute in the dim light. The dark fragment beside them silently exuded resentment, as if mocking their moth-to-a-flame courage.
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