The Decaying World

In the chaotic torrent of Disaster Energy, this world had long since fallen apart.

But Lin Hui and Qimei remained floating, motionless. For them, who had long been accepted by the Disaster Energy, the simple wash of Disaster Power was no threat. It was even nourishing.

"My good disciple... Although I never passed on our sect’s ultimate techniques to you, the fact that you could, after so many years, create a supreme technique of your own that resembles our foundation shows that you were born to be the heir to our Jiuxiao Sect’s lineage." A trace of genuine joy appeared on Qimei’s face.

"You cannot escape it, nor should you. This is your innate destiny. Just as it was no accident that you arrived in that other world."

"?? What do you mean?" Lin Hui’s expression hardened.

"Your body and soul are not native to that world. We are all the same—outsiders. Need I be any clearer?" Qimei smiled.

"..." Lin Hui fell silent. The secret he had always hidden in the depths of his heart had just been so easily exposed by Qimei.

In fact, if Qimei hadn’t brought it up now, he would have almost forgotten that he had awakened his past-life memories.

"Alright. For your sake, my disciple, I will not touch that Realm over there. I’ll leave it for you as sustenance to restore your sanity in the future. Now that I, your master, am free, I intend to return to our sect’s ancestral grounds. Rebuilding Jiuxiao is my life’s sole, cherished wish!"

Qimei sighed. After destroying countless living beings, his sanity had clearly recovered a great deal. The madness about him had lessened, and he seemed more human.

"Thank you, Teacher." Only then did the tightly wound string in Lin Hui’s heart slowly loosen.

In truth, he had been prepared to release the Celestial Father Seal at any moment and use the Celestial Father Eternal Life Sect Leader to suppress Qimei once more. This was his only trump card.

But this scenario depended first on whether the Celestial Father could be summoned again. Second, the last time the Celestial Father Seal was activated was before Qimei had fully emerged. This time, if he simply turned and left, what could Lin Hui do?

’Given his strength and speed, which are on a level I can hardly comprehend, I’d be utterly helpless if he truly decided to flee.’

"Well, now that this matter is settled, you should go deal with the problem you have." Qimei pointed to the spot on Lin Hui’s chest.

"You mean... the Underworld Aperture?" Lin Hui frowned. He had once used the Blood Seal to examine the black hole on his chest and knew some basic information about it.

"Correct. Your fate should have ended long ago, but some power is forcibly keeping your body alive. Essentially, for every day you continue to live in that other world, its structure becomes looser and more unstable. The chain reaction you’ve caused will completely shatter the very foundation of that world." When he wasn’t mad, Qimei truly resembled a proper mentor.

"At that point, it won’t just be our Wind Calamity. The other Source Calamities will also easily invade until everything is destroyed."

"..." Lin Hui was silent. ’I never imagined that I myself was the main cause of the Source Calamity’s invasion and the world’s instability.’

"Regardless, I’m leaving this world to you. How you choose to deal with it is your business. I, your master, will rebuild our mountain gate on the periphery and re-establish Jiuxiao."

Qimei stretched out his hand and tossed something. A streak of blue light shot out and precisely entered the outer side of Lin Hui’s right arm.

"When you deal with the Underworld Aperture, this mark will allow you to contact me if needed."

With those last words, Qimei gave a slight smile. His figure shot skyward and, in the blink of an eye, vanished into the vast, chaotic torrent.

Lin Hui raised his arm and saw a magnificent blue mark flash on its outer side, formed from the image of several overlapping flowers. At the center of the mark was an upright Longsword, and engraved on its blade was a tiny inscription: Jiuxiao.

The mark quickly faded and disappeared.

He focused on the feeling and could clearly sense that the mark seemed to be linked to a certain direction, a subtle thread extending from it into the extreme distance.

’That must be where Qimei is,’ he thought.

After one last look at the vast, blue torrent of the Wind Calamity around him, he sighed. Protecting his body with Star Power, he abruptly slashed his sword, cutting open a spatial rift. He flew inside and vanished.

The rift was quickly sealed behind him with a counter-flow of Star Power. The Wind Calamity’s Disaster Power, guided and controlled by Lin Hui’s Typhoon Swordsmanship, lost its target before it had a chance to surge through.

All that remained was a large swarm of blue, disembodied heads that had been drawn to the area, flying about and letting out strange hisses and roars.

*

*

*

「Above the Imperial City.」

A rift opened in an instant. A figure flashed out, and then it closed.

Lin Hui hovered high in the sky, sensing the thin wisps of the Wind Calamity’s Disaster Power drifting in the air. His expression changed slightly.

Before, this world had been adjacent to the Rotting Home Realm, so it had been permeated by a large amount of rotting energy. But now, its neighbor was a shattered world eroded and destroyed by the Wind Calamity. As a result, what seeped in now was a thin, inferior version of the Wind Calamity’s Disaster Power...

Releasing the Disaster Power from his hand, Lin Hui was about to leave when he suddenly stopped and turned to look at the sky not far away.

There, a familiar figure quickly materialized.

With white hair and white eyebrows, leaning on a staff, his face full of sorrow—it was Bai Lu, who had been missing for a long time.

"Daoist Master, please wait, please wait!"

As soon as Bai Lu appeared, he hurriedly sent his voice over a long distance.

"Is there something you need?" Lin Hui asked, glancing at him indifferently.

"Daoist Master, now that the Rotting Home Realm has been destroyed, your esteemed mentor... I wonder what his plans are?" Bai Lu asked cautiously.

"That’s none of your business." Lin Hui couldn’t be bothered to reply.

"Daoist Master, please calm your anger. It is not that this old man is being nosy, but while the Rotting Home Realm is gone, it does not mean everything is safe. You have also seen what permeates the air..." Bai Lu sighed, leaving his sentence unfinished.

At this rate of development, under the erosion of the Wind Calamity, this world wouldn’t last much longer before being completely disintegrated, even without Lin Hui accelerating the process.

"So? What are you trying to say?" Lin Hui said.

"The Daoist Master surely does not wish for everything to be destroyed, correct?" Bai Lu said. "If you are willing, the head of us Primal Great Gods, the Mother of Twilight who governs the order of heaven and earth, wishes to speak with you."

"This world no longer holds the people I cherish. The rest will likely vanish soon enough. What does the world’s destruction have to do with me?" Lin Hui said coldly.

"This..." Bai Lu’s expression turned bitter. If he had known earlier that Lin Hui would be the final victor, he absolutely would not have chosen to stand by and watch. Instead, he would have done everything in his power to help Lin Hui preserve the lives of his friends and family.

Unfortunately, there was no medicine for regret. The time had come to reap the bitter fruit.

Immediately, the gears in his mind turned rapidly.

"But this world still contains a few of your Disciples, followers, friends, and relatives. If everything is destroyed..."

"I will control it for the time being," Lin Hui replied.

"Daoist Master, don’t forget the Underworld Aperture on your body... The Mother of Twilight may have a way to help you deal with the trouble it causes." Bai Lu’s mind raced, and he came up with another reason.

He had come with a mission and had to figure out Lin Hui’s intentions. Only then could he prepare a targeted plan.

In truth, this meeting had not been his suggestion. It had been proposed by a lingering will of the Mother of Twilight.

Hearing this, Lin Hui fell silent for a moment.

"How do we communicate?"

"One moment, please." Bai Lu was overjoyed. He quickly tapped his staff, and a spray of faint green light particles instantly erupted in the Void.

The points of light spread out like ripples in water, quickly passing beneath Lin Hui’s feet.

The next moment, Lin Hui’s Heart and Spirit were pulled by a gentle force into a space shrouded in emerald green mist.

Within this space, an extremely colossal, translucent woman in a red dress was looking down at him, her gaze gentle and sorrowful.

The woman was the same Twilight Primal Great God he had seen twice before, the one who drew back the curtain of the sky.

Whenever this Primal Great God flew past, the sky would turn completely crimson, entering twilight.

’I just never expected her to be the Mother of Twilight...’

"Young friend Lin Hui... do you know the true nature of the Underworld Aperture?"

Compared to Lin Hui, the Mother of Twilight’s size was like that of a giant elephant to an ant. The difference was immense.

"It appears because someone who should have died is being kept barely alive, correct?" Lin Hui said indifferently.

"Yes. Then do you know the origin of the Rot’s nature?" the Mother of Twilight asked again.

"Tell me." Lin Hui’s brow furrowed slightly.

"The Rotting Home Realm, in the beginning, was not formed naturally... It was a small Realm neighboring the source of the Rot." The Mother of Twilight spoke softly. "Its purpose... we, the first generation of Primal Great Gods, were the ones who initially introduced it to this realm..."

"???" Lin Hui was stunned. ’What does she mean? The Primal Great Gods intentionally introduced the pollution of the Rot? To erode this realm?’

"In truth, the nature of the Rot is salvation," the Mother of Twilight sighed. "All immortal beings are tumors upon the world. The Source Calamities decompose them, turning them into the most primitive nourishment. Back then, to evade the Source Calamities, we came up with a method. Since immortality attracts the Source Calamities, we thought it better to first introduce the Rot, to first let ourselves be completely broken down and enter the cycle."

"..." Lin Hui was slightly taken aback. ’These Primal Great Gods are ruthless.’

"Afterward, over countless years, the Source Calamities devoured many other surrounding worlds, but they never actively eroded ours. Our goal was indeed achieved. If not for the abnormal changes that came later..." the Mother of Twilight continued.

"Abnormal?"

"Yes. The source of the Rot, for some unknown reason, underwent a special mutation. We originally brought this power in to evade the Source Calamities, but later, it turned on us, and its erosion became more and more severe..." The Mother of Twilight gave a bitter smile.

"So?" Lin Hui had a vague idea of why she was seeking him out.

"So, in the current situation, if we wish to prevent everything from being destroyed, we must find the deeper source of the Rot and discover the reason for what has gone wrong." She paused, then continued, "Originally, rot and rebirth were two sides of the same coin. But now... rebirth is indeed still happening, yet everything that is reborn is becoming increasingly bizarre. The world is sliding into some unknowable abyss."

"So what you’re saying is?" Lin Hui frowned.

"Daoist Master Lin, I am about to fade away. What becomes of the world’s essence will no longer have anything to do with us. But... if the Rot returns to its true nature, returns to normal, then rebirth will also return to normal. At that time, the Source Calamities will no longer erode this Realm, and you will be able to find the reincarnations of your friends, family, and Disciples among the newborn."

"All things leave a trace. All living beings cycle in peace. Therefore, may I ask the Daoist Master to investigate the true source of the Rot’s mutation?"

The Mother of Twilight’s expression was sincere as she softly made her request.

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