Chapter 1449: Humanity's Starshine Moment (Final) (Four-in-One)

Chapter 1452: When Humanity's Stars Shine (Finale) (Four-in-One)

Boom—!!!!

A thunderous shattering sound echoed in Chen Ling's ears!

The black coffin above the ruins of Ruoshui Realm was violently pierced by a spear from the East. Chen Ling's body fell out of the shattered ink, landing awkwardly onto the ground.

A broken, wailing cold wind brushed Chen Ling's cheek. He saw that he had been freed from the black coffin, yet there was no joy on his face. Instead, he was incredibly pale!

Why?

Why didn't Su Zhiwei match the secret code???

Chen Ling's mind went blank. He felt his worldview had been overturned once again. Countless contradictions surged in his mind, completely overloading his brain.

At the same time, Chen Ling's peripheral vision caught sight of the scattered ink fragments on the ground. They began to tremble slightly!

"Oh no, is Sizai still nearby?!" Chen Ling's heart tightened. He looked around but didn't see Sizai's figure for the moment. However, with the black coffin that sealed him broken, Sizai would surely sense it. It had taken great effort to seal him, so it likely wouldn't let him go so easily.

Chen Ling immediately got up from the ground and fled rapidly along the ruined streets!

Whoosh—

The shattered city blurred past Chen Ling's eyes. The cold wind swept across Chen Ling's face, gradually cooling his overloaded brain.

Su Zhiwei didn't match the secret code; could it be because she forgot? Or was she, like Ji Xuan, just trying to play a joke on him?

No... Absolutely impossible.

What kind of person was Su Zhiwei? Her research into string theory was so profound, and her intellect far surpassed ordinary people. Moreover, when Chen Ling and Su Zhiwei agreed on the code, she had said she would never forget it. As for joking, that was even more preposterous. Su Zhiwei wasn't the type to joke about serious matters.

So, Su Zhiwei really didn't match the secret code. Perhaps she didn't even know about it at all!

So... Everything that happened in the Era Archive was fake?

"No... Impossible! Absolutely impossible!!" Chen Ling muttered, his voice a little agitated. "Yang Xiao recognized me; he called me Director Chen in the Aurora Realm! Lu Xun recognized me; the stars he left in the Tianshu Realm guided my way! Ji Xuan recognized me; he would joke with me! Su Zhiwei also recognized me... she just called me 'Chen Ling'."

"Chu Changqing recognized me, he..."

"He..."

"They..."

"Why?! Why do they clearly recognize me, yet seem not to?"

If he thought back carefully, Chen Ling could actually sense that the Nine Lords of this era had subtle differences in their attitudes towards him. Especially Chu Changqing; his attitude wasn't just "subtle"—he openly showed hostility towards him!

Previously, Chen Ling had thought Chu Changqing's hostility was because he had forgotten his roots, betraying his trust. But with Su Zhiwei not matching the secret code, Chen Ling suddenly felt that things might not be that simple...

Chu Changqing... did he really know him?

Chen Ling's thoughts were completely in disarray. The last time he felt this way was when he was grappling with "who am I."

He pulled out the Era Archive from his pocket and angrily, painfully, spoke to the desolate realm:

"Damn it!!"

"Lord Ruoshui, what in the world did you create?!!!"

In the ruined Ruoshui Realm, no one could answer him. Only Chen Ling's bewildered voice echoed among the shattered walls.

Meanwhile, an ink-like black shadow rapidly materialized at the exact spot where Chen Ling had broken free from the seal!

"Cough, cough, cough, cough, cough, cough..."

The old, blood-soaked figure stumbled as he stood amidst the ink stains. He saw Chen Ling, now a rapidly disappearing black dot in the distance, sensing the lingering aura of the Red Dust Lord around him. His expression was grim.

"Running? Where do you think you can run?"

Sizai scoffed. His aged body transformed into countless fragmented ink strokes, which wobbled as they flew into the sky, pursuing Chen Ling.

After Sizai had just sealed Chen Ling, he wanted to find a place to properly repair his battered body. But before he could even start, he felt his seal had been broken.

He had only just managed to restrain Mockery Disaster, the biggest variable. Under no circumstances could he let Chen Ling escape like this. Otherwise, if Mockery Disaster were fully unleashed later for reckoning, he would almost certainly be unable to evade it.

He had to seal Chen Ling again. Fortunately, no matter how bad his current state was, catching up to and suppressing a Tier 7 Chen Ling would certainly not be a problem.

Feeling the terrifying aura sweeping from behind, Chen Ling's heart immediately sank...

Su Zhiwei was right. Even if she could help him break the seal, as long as Sizai hadn't fully left, he would still be in danger.

Furthermore, at this point in time, Su Zhiwei needed to guard the Tianshu Realm, Qi Muyun guarded the Cangyun Realm, and Wu Tongyuan guarded the Lingxu Realm. The only Nine Lord who might come to his rescue was Chu Changqing... But how could Chu Changqing possibly save him?

This time, there would be no reinforcements. How could he, alone, seize a glimmer of hope from Sizai's grasp?

The Red Star had already left Earth. Chen Ling could no longer release Mockery Disaster with the intention of mutual destruction. If he did that, he would be personally unleashing an uncontrollable, world-destroying madman upon this world.

"Is this the end of the road...?" Chen Ling silently clenched his fists, his heart filled with unwillingness and anger.

Just then, an illusory path extended from beneath his feet.

Eerie stars twinkled in the sky. Chen Ling found himself standing on that twisted divine path once again, he didn't know when. He was startled at first sight of this divine path, but quickly calmed down.

Chen Ling had already completed his Tier 6 to Tier 7 performance. The "lock" restricting his tier had been broken. At the same time, the Red Star wish power remaining in his body after destroying two Jiangtian Cult branch offices could finally take effect, causing his spiritual power to rapidly increase in a short period.

Propelled by this Red Star wish power from the Jiangtian Cult, Chen Ling had leaped from just reaching Tier 7 directly to the mid-stage of Tier 7...

Which meant the next performance was about to begin.

It was just that the timing of this performance was too inconvenient. Currently, Chen Ling was being hunted by Sizai. He was in no mood to complete a performance. Whether he would even survive until then was an unknown.

But even though Chen Ling was annoyed, he still lowered his gaze to his feet. A line of small text appeared before his eyes:

"On an unheeded stage, complete an impossible performance."

Chen Ling was slightly taken aback. After a brief moment of distraction, it was as if he suddenly thought of something. A sharp glint burst forth in his eyes!

Chen Ling looked back at the approaching Sizai, then looked into the distance. A resolute expression spread across his face...

"I'll take a gamble!"

He pushed his speed to the limit, dashing straight North!

Boom—!!!

A comet roared, tearing through the air, grazing past the rushing phantom. The next second, world-destroying power completely shattered the scarred ground of the Grey Realm!

Rolling dust billowed upwards. An almost weightless phantom darted out from within, approaching the Lingxu Realm at an astonishing speed!

At this moment, Delusion Disaster had already opened sixty eyes. And with its deliberate focus on the northwest, it was able to peel off and dodge between Wu Tongyuan's "skipping stone" bombardments. It moved like a Grey Realm hound deftly evading various stones, continuously advancing amidst the aftershocks of the comet impacts.

Ten "skipping stones" in a row had failed to hit. The distance between Delusion Disaster and the Lingxu Realm was now less than three hundred kilometers.

In front of the Lingxu Ancient Temple, Wu Tongyuan casually put a handful of pebbles he had just picked up into his pocket.

"This distance... it's about right." Wu Tongyuan spoke calmly, taking a step. His figure instantly vanished from Lingxu Mountain.

Three hundred kilometers...

Two hundred and fifty kilometers...

Two hundred kilometers!

Due to the Red Star's transit, the Grey Realm was now shattered. Vast tracts of land had been annihilated into nothingness or floated chaotically in the air. The phantom beast, covered in eyes, darted across the floating land like lightning. In the vision of those eyes, the faint outline of a city had already appeared on the horizon...

For Delusion Disaster, merely seeing the enemy was enough to declare victory.

As Delusion Disaster approached, the city's outline became clearer. It could even see the streets within and the residents casually walking about!

A cruel smile gleamed in Delusion Disaster's beast eyes.

All sixty beast eyes contracted simultaneously. The terrifying power of exploitation directly annihilated the surrounding floating Grey Realm land into dust. At the same time, the world-destroying aura swept directly towards the nearby Lingxu Realm!

However, the next second, Delusion Disaster froze in place.

At this point, all sixty of its eyes were open. Yet, under its world-destroying power of exploitation, the streets and buildings of the Lingxu Realm showed no change whatsoever. Even the pedestrians coming and going seemed completely unaware of Delusion Disaster's approach, still chatting and laughing.

Had its power failed?

Before Delusion Disaster's sluggish mind could process this, the next second, three terrifying comets streaked simultaneously from the East!!

Boom, boom, boom—!!!

Delusion Disaster hadn't expected the comets to change their trajectory this time. And with three appearing at once, it had no time to weaken them significantly. It was even directly engulfed by the light of the three comets!

Earth-shattering explosions roared through the Grey Realm. The already fragmented world was completely annihilated by the cumulative impacts. As the dust dispersed, this place seemed to no longer belong to Earth at all, but rather to some unknown, desolate planet in deep space.

A blood-soaked beast hide shot out from the ruins. Its aura indicated severe injury. Several of its beast eyes had been blinded by the impact. It looked incredibly battered...

Delusion Disaster's other eyes scanned its surroundings. Only then did it realize that the "Lingxu Realm" it had originally seen had gradually vanished without a trace.

As if it were merely a "mirage" created by light refracting in the air.

Then, a new "Lingxu Realm" materialized in another direction...

No one knew if that Lingxu Realm was real, because second, third, and fourth Lingxu Realms began to appear around Delusion Disaster.

At some unknown point, the laws of light refraction in this area had been modified. Delusion Disaster had deviated from the correct path toward the Lingxu Realm long ago. Like a beast that had blundered into a trap, it was completely lost.

"If you had kept hiding thousands of miles away, I truly wouldn't have had any other way to deal with you besides throwing stones..."

"But since you came to my doorstep..."

"Then I won't be polite."

Wu Tongyuan's voice came from above. Delusion Disaster abruptly looked up. He saw a figure with slightly curly hair standing atop the peaks of all the "Lingxu Realms," looking down at him indifferently.

Delusion Disaster tried to activate its abilities, but it couldn't inflict any harm on Wu Tongyuan. The Wu Tongyuan it saw was still an illusion created by light refraction.

Lingxu coefficients danced in Wu Tongyuan's palm, like the authority over the laws of this domain, tampering with the dimensions of light.

Not being able to see the enemy's true form meant Delusion Disaster's power would be greatly weakened.

This was Lord Lingxu's home ground!

And what Wu Tongyuan could do... extended far beyond this.

His palm slowly pressed down towards Delusion Disaster. Lingxu coefficients danced silently. The heat transfer formula was like beads played with by a god's fingertips. With a gentle squeeze, they chaotically tinkled and fell to the ground.

The air began to liquefy into nitrogen at a visible rate.

Solid crystals coalesced from the empty void.

The water within Delusion Disaster's hide froze into tiny ice blades, piercing its skin. Each of its beast eyes began to tremble silently!

It seemed to realize something. Beast-like roars erupted from its vocal cords. This human never intended to kill it with brute force from the start. He knew that would provoke a furious counterattack from it. Even if he eventually killed it, he likely wouldn't recover in the short term... Therefore, he adopted a more efficient method.

He wanted to trap it to death before it reached the Lingxu Realm!

Delusion Disaster was still struggling wildly. Eye after eye opened on its hide. But even if it intensified its power of exploitation, it couldn't find a target to attack. It could only frantically weaken everything around it.

Delusion Disaster's struggles were not entirely ineffective. At least by the time it opened its eightieth eye, even the surrounding air had been exploited away by it, completely transforming the area into a vacuum.

And with the disappearance of the air, light refraction began to return to normal. One "Lingxu Realm" after another gradually faded away. The true Lingxu Realm came into its sight...

It was now less than ten kilometers from the Lingxu Realm. If it had chosen the correct direction earlier, it probably could have rushed into the realm.

But it was all too late.

As the temperature began to approach absolute zero, the movement of microscopic particles almost ceased, as if even time and space were frozen. The speed at which new eyes opened became slower and slower, until they finally froze as if time had stopped. The eighty-plus beast eyes that were already open on its surface still maintained their power of exploitation, but their eyeballs no longer rotated.

Within this heat death prison, Delusion Disaster maintained its berserk exploitation state, but from the outside, it was completely frozen in place...

Like a lifelike beast hide specimen displayed in a glass case.

Meanwhile, in another part of the Grey Realm.

Two figures, one after another, sped straight North.

Chen Ling's red-backed, black-patterned opera robe was covered in dust. His figure darted frantically between the floating fragments of land. Not far behind him, stroke after stroke, piercing through the void, clung on like grim reapers, refusing to let go.

"Do you really think desperately running away will give you a glimmer of hope?" The weakened Sizai scoffed from within his aged body. "If you're waiting for a miracle, for someone to come save you, then give up... Within a radius of over a thousand kilometers, there are no thoughts of any living beings, save for you and me. Even if you run to the ends of the earth, it won't change anything."

Chen Ling clenched his jaw, not responding.

With his current Tier 8 physical body and Cloud Step, his escape speed was not much slower than Sizai, a greatly weakened Tier 9 entity. They had covered an extremely long distance, fleeing and pursuing each other since leaving the ruins of the Ruoshui Realm. If one included Chen Ling's initial pursuit of Sizai, they were close to re-enacting the battle between the Silver King and the Grey King of yesteryear, fighting their way from the southernmost part of the human realm all the way to the northernmost.

The same pursuit and escape, the same role reversal. Who could have imagined that scenes from humanity's past would be replayed amidst the world-ending disasters?

Sizai wanted to delve into Chen Ling's thoughts to see what he was planning. But firstly, his current state was abysmal; every time he mobilized his own power, he was actively courting death. Secondly, Chen Ling also had a thought storm, granting him resistance to Sizai's abilities. So Sizai could only watch Chen Ling flee ahead, using the powers of the Book Divine Path to try and block him.

But as Chen Ling steadfastly moved North, Sizai sensed a hint of abnormality in his heart.

Why?

Why was he so determined to go North?

In that direction, there were no human thoughts to be sensed, not even disaster thoughts... It was, by all accounts, a forbidden zone for life.

The more abnormal it was, the more Sizai felt something was wrong. Yet, he couldn't find any potential danger. Naturally, he couldn't give up chasing Chen Ling. After a brief thought, he made a decision.

Whatever Chen Ling intended to do, he had to stop him as quickly as possible. In any case, as long as he wasn't killed instantly.

Sizai no longer cared for his dilapidated body. He forcibly mobilized the power of the Book Divine Path demigod once more, pointing a finger into the air towards Chen Ling's back!

The finger of the aged body seemed to directly transform into the character "一" (one). It shot forward. At that moment, the dim sky seemed to be torn open by an invisible sword, piercing straight North and South. This "one"-character sword, forged by sacrificing flesh and blood, caught up to Chen Ling in front in the blink of an eye!

Poof—!!!

The sword was too fast. Before Chen Ling could react, half of his body was directly pulverized into a blood mist and exploded!

One must know, ordinary attacks could hardly harm Chen Ling, who possessed a Tier 8 disaster body. With this sword, Sizai had unleashed true demigod power, and it was activated at the cost of his own flesh and blood. Chen Ling had almost no chance to dodge it.

The fragmented Chen Ling instantly lost all support and plummeted headfirst towards the ground...

But he did not give up. His bloodshot eyes suddenly widened. His spiritual power rapidly depleted as he suddenly shouted:

"—Cut!!"

Chen Ling's domain suddenly opened. He, whose body had just been pierced by the sword, astonishingly reverted to his perfectly intact flying state, as if rewound. The "one"-character sword that had shot out recoiled, and the pierced sky returned to its original state...

A look of astonishment appeared on Sizai's face.

Whoosh—

The "one"-character sword struck out again. But this time, Chen Ling seemed to have anticipated the attack. He abruptly twisted his body, narrowly avoiding the sword!

Chen Ling, now having reached Tier 7, had his spiritual power at a new level. This domain, once highly taxing for him, could finally unleash some true power.

Missing the hit, Sizai was somewhat annoyed. As if giving up, he flung out another "one"-character sword!

Chen Ling in the distance again exploded into a bloody mist!

"—Cut!!"

"—Cut!!"

"—Cut!!!"

The "one"-character sword, a technique that even a demigod of the Book Divine Path would be reluctant to use due to its cost of sacrificing one's body, was being flung out by Sizai as if he were reckless and suicidal. Each hit inflicted considerable damage on the world-ending disaster...

But precisely then, he encountered Chen Ling, a madman who, once his domain was active, could use his own life as a consumable!

Scarlet blood flowed from Chen Ling's seven orifices.

Enduring four or five demigod attacks consecutively, even he couldn't withstand it any longer. If it weren't for the significant increase in his spiritual power after reaching Tier 7, combined with the resilient durability of his Tier 8 disaster body, which could bear the side effects of activating his domain, he would likely have already truly exploded into a bloody mist.

But at this moment, Chen Ling's consciousness was already fading, and his figure swayed as he fell towards the ground...

Not far to the North, a desolate realm, long covered in ice and snow, came into view.

It was a life-forbidden zone of extreme cold, the territory of the former Forbidden Sea, and once humanity's coldest yet most prosperous city in the North... Aurora City.

Chen Ling's heavy body streaked across the sky, slamming heavily into the frost-covered ground. Ice shards mixed with dust flew up. He lay battered on the ground. In his hazy vision, ribbons of light seemed to flutter across the sky...

Even though this realm had been reduced to ruins, even though no living beings remained here, even though it had long become one of the forgotten territories on humanity's map.

But the dazzling aurora, spanning the sky, still flowed silently, just as it had for over three hundred years.

Chen Ling had returned.

He lay on the ground, covered in blood. His chest heaved violently. He looked at the eternal sea of aurora above him, feeling a momentary daze...

He had never imagined he would return here, nor that it would be in such a manner.

"On an unheeded stage, complete a finale marked by applause."

This was the last performance Chen Ling completed before leaving the Aurora Realm, and one of the most memorable performances for him. And now, a new performance had guided him back here.

That familiar, "unheeded" stage.

"On an unheeded stage, complete an impossible performance..." Could an impossible performance truly be completed here?

Chen Ling didn't know. But he had no choice now.

The aged figure slowly descended from the sky. Sizai's gaze swept over Chen Ling, who was at his limit, looking towards the desolate realm shrouded in aurora. His eyes narrowed slightly.

"I thought you'd have some desperate counterattack..."

"Turns out you just found yourself a new graveyard?"

Chen Ling, covered in blood, stumbled to his feet.

"You're wrong... This won't be my graveyard... it will be yours."

"Heh heh." Sizai scoffed. He closed his eyes and sensed the area once more, then slowly replied, "If you're trying to bluff, you might as well give up now... I've confirmed it many times over; there's no one here."

"...Are you sure there's no one?"

"No."

Chen Ling smiled faintly. "Then why... did I once hear thunderous applause here?"

Sizai froze. He frowned, looking at Chen Ling. He had no idea what trick he was playing... But the more mysterious it was, the more uneasy he felt.

Sizai had to admit, if Chen Ling was bluffing with an empty fort strategy, he had indeed succeeded. Although Sizai had confirmed it countless times, he was still somewhat flustered now. He subconsciously took a step back. His gaze finally fixed on the surging aurora above...

The aurora? Was this Chen Ling's final trump card?

Sizai's thoughts raced. The sense of crisis in his heart grew stronger. He didn't know if the aurora held some secret, but his current vigilance and instincts were urging him to leave as soon as possible!

Sizai gritted his teeth. In the end, he abandoned the idea of finishing off Chen Ling, and turned to retreat into the distance!!

Chen Ling hadn't expected Sizai to react so quickly, or to be so perceptive about danger. But even if Sizai had reacted, it was too late now...

Chen Ling silently clenched the Era Archive in his hand.

Whether the events recorded in the Era Archive truly existed, he didn't know... What his relationship with the Nine Lords in this era truly was, he also didn't know...

But there was at least one thing he was certain of.

When the Aurora Realm was on the brink of destruction, the look Yang Xiao gave him when they sat in the coffee shop, was definitely not that of someone looking at a stranger. It contained admiration and expectation... Disregarding all the messy deductions and doubts, now, only one certain conclusion emerged in Chen Ling's mind!

He could always trust Lord Aurora.

He took a deep breath, using all his strength to ignite a thought storm, rushing towards the surging aurora in the sky!

"Yang Xiao!!!!" Chen Ling called out to the sprawling aurora.

The next second, the vast aurora erupted with brilliant white light!

The aurora above Aurora City was never merely a natural magnetic field. It was the power Yang Xiao used to protect this realm, and the souls of the people who had died within this realm over the past three hundred years. When the realm was destroyed, millions of residents' souls rose. All were captured by Yang Xiao's magnetic field, recorded into a soul record that carried everything.

They had witnessed the birth of this realm, witnessed its development, and witnessed its demise...

They had once cheered and applauded Chen Ling on stage.

And now, they heard Chen Ling's call.

This soul record, personally etched by Yang Xiao, unleashed an unprecedented power at this moment. The aurora, vast as a sea, swallowed the sky. A pair of illusory aurora eyes slowly opened in the sky!!

Those were Yang Xiao's eyes.

The Aurora Realm had long been destroyed, but the aurora protecting it had never faded.

At this moment, a sword of aurora, forged from millions of souls, pierced out from the frozen, desolate realm. The sky-filling aurora poured down, rushing straight towards the fleeing Sizai!

That was not a material sword that could harm people... Its dimension of lethality lay in the soul itself.

The hair on the aged body stood up in horror. Sizai had never expected that within this long-abandoned realm's ruins, there would still be power left by Lord Aurora. If it were in its prime, it naturally wouldn't have given this wisp of lingering thought any mind...

But the problem was, he was now at the end of his rope.

"No!!!!"

He let out a low growl, abandoning all hope of luck. He transformed all his remaining power into a thought storm, attempting to withstand the diving sword of aurora. But amidst the surging torrent of aurora, the roars of millions of souls' thoughts forcibly tore a gaping, hideous rift in the thought storm!

Anger, fear, despair—millions of thoughts surged into the aged body's mind in an instant, crushing a brain already on the verge of collapse!

Sizai's soul was obliterated piece by piece. His last spark of life, like a candle flame in the wind, was gently extinguished by a frost from the far North...

and returned to silence.

At this moment, the aurora pulsed, and all sounds fell silent.