The area where Ji Mo was located was annihilated after the terrifying energy surge, leaving nothing behind.
The giant eyeball slowly closed and disappeared into the endless darkness.
In the boundless starry sky, a pinpoint of light kept leaping, traversing the universe with great divine ability.
Li Er, holding the Tai Chi Diagram, rushed over in a panic.
He arrived at the scene, but it was ultimately too late.
"My Mo Bao, I'm late."
Li Er's aged face was filled with grief.
Things had happened too suddenly; he never expected "that person" to make a move against Ji Mo.
The Tai Chi Diagram glowed, flowing with Yin and Yang energies, scanning the surroundings, searching this star domain for any trace of Ji Mo.
As long as he could find a drop of blood, a wisp of soul, or a piece of bone, Li Er would have a way to revive Ji Mo.
However, nothing was found nearby.
Li Er was extremely anxious, forming hand seals and using the Innate Eight Trigrams technique to deduce with all his might.
Nothing. Absolutely nothing. Everything about Ji Mo had completely vanished, as if the person had never existed.
"Holy shit..."
Even with his highest moral cultivation, he couldn't help but curse.
It was one thing for a max-level player to slaughter a beginner, but to delete their account as well? That was going too far.
Li Er's hair stood on end with rage, wishing he could kill his way to the ends of the universe and fight that fellow.
But reason compelled him not to act impulsively. In his current physical state, going would be futile.
He wasn't afraid of death, but he had important matters to attend to.
If darkness was unstoppable and the era was heading towards its end, he had to make arrangements for the future, finding a way to leave behind a legacy for humanity.
"I lost Kong Xu back then, and now I couldn't save Ji Mo. My only hope is gone."
Li Er's eyes welled up with tears, his expression dejected, his state suddenly appearing hundreds of years older.
It was too heartbreaking. What a pitiful child. When he was barely half-grown, Li Er had sent him to the Xuan Ling Realm, forcing him to leave home and live alone in hardship.
This child hadn't even had a chance to enjoy a good life before perishing like this, leaving nothing behind.
Li Er was still unwilling to give up, continuing his search in the nearby starry sky. He then entered the Xian Ling Realm, the Demon Realm, and the Xuan Ling Realm to search for any residual aura of Ji Mo.
In the end, his expression dimmed, and he departed with a sense of desolation.
...
Blue Star.
Spring Blossom Orphanage.
This was where Ji Mo had grown up, a place once filled with laughter, birdsong, and vibrant energy.
But now, it was a different place, vastly changed.
The Spring Blossom Orphanage had been closed for several years and had long since fallen into disrepair.
The buildings were dilapidated, overgrown with wild grass, and the original flowers and trees had withered due to neglect.
It was a desolate place, yet today, a figure appeared.
It was a woman, a fresh, refined, and beautifully elegant young lady.
Her eyebrows were like kingfisher feathers, her skin like white snow, her eyes bright, her teeth white, and her hair cascaded down to her waist. She wore a floral dress, like a fairy emerging from a painting, walking through the Spring Blossom Orphanage.
Clearly, she was very familiar with the surroundings, able to find old paths even in the overgrown wilderness. Revisiting the place, she traversed every corner of the orphanage.
Finally, she arrived beneath a tall Acacia tree.
The Acacia tree had withered, its branches bare, with only a few yellow leaves remaining.
The woman extended her slender, white fingers, caressing the trunk, and an unforgettable scene surfaced in her mind.
The sun was bright, and the flowers and grass exuded fragrance.
Beneath the lush green Acacia tree, a pair of innocent children were playing.
The little girl had rosy lips and white teeth, with large, blinking eyes. The little boy had a bowl cut and a simple, honest look.
"Mo Mo, do you know Wang Wei's 'Acacia'?"
"I do! I can recite it. 'Red beans grow in the southern land, how many branches sprout in spring? I urge you to pick more, this thing most evokes longing.'"
"So good, sister will reward you with a red bean."
The girl searched through the fallen leaves, picked up the largest and reddest acacia bean, and solemnly placed it into the boy's palm.
"Sister Bao'er, you're so stingy. Pick more! I want Auntie to cook me red bean soup."
"What? You stinky Mo Mo, you big dummy, you dare to cook the red bean I gave you? You're asking for a beating, aren't you? Watch me beat you to death."
"Sister Bao'er, you're so fierce, no one will want you when you grow up, you'll never get married... Oh no, don't hit my face..."
Memories always bring tears; being alone is too lonely.
The woman withdrew her thoughts, her eyes turning red, filled with endless sadness.
The sounds of pleading seemed to still echo in her ears, but that person had been gone for over ten years.
"Mo Mo, everyone told me you were dead and advised me to let go. Even recently, I almost forgot everything about you, as if you were just my most beautiful dream."
Two lines of clear tears slowly traced down the woman's fair cheeks.
At that time, she had felt so despairing, so utterly hopeless.
Fortunately, those beautiful memories were not lost in the end, and that figure was still deeply imprinted in her mind.
"Mo Mo, you're not dead, are you? You must have gone to some place I don't know, to do great things. You said when you were little that you wanted to protect the whole world when you grew up. You must have been hiding, working hard to become strong, to protect all of us."
The woman murmured to herself, confiding in the Acacia tree.
She harbored so much longing in her heart, and for years, she had never given up searching for Ji Mo.
But for over a decade, she had never received any news from Ji Mo.
"Come back, please come back quickly. I... I really, really miss you."
The woman finally couldn't hold back, hugging the Acacia tree and crying out loud.
A gust of wind blew, the Acacia tree swayed, making rustling sounds, as if comforting the woman, or perhaps responding to her.
*Snap...*
A sound echoed.
A small, bright red object fell, rolling down the trunk, and landed precisely in the woman's fair palm.
"A red bean?!"
The woman was both surprised and delighted. She looked up at the bare branches, unable to comprehend how a withered Acacia tree could still bear fruit.
She examined it carefully; it wasn't an illusion, it was indeed an acacia bean.
It was as fiery red as a flame, large and round, just like the one she had given Ji Mo in his palm.
How it came to be was no longer important.
The woman clutched the red bean tightly, wiped away her tears, and hope rekindled in her eyes.
She suppressed all her sorrow, buried the softness in her heart, and became strong again, regaining her usual aloof and unapproachable demeanor.
"Mo Mo, some time ago, an old Taoist priest found me and said my bones were extraordinary, my talent exceptional, that I was a rare genius. He was willing to teach me cultivation. At first, I didn't believe him, thinking the old Taoist was just a骗子, much like the old man who sold goldfish at the orphanage when we were kids."
"But later, I realized he wasn't a charlatan; he truly possessed some skill. Now, with the spiritual energy awakening and the age of myths descending, perhaps I can learn from him and gain the ability to find you."
"Mo Mo, wait for me. I will definitely find you and personally place this red bean into your hand..."