Chapter 428 Fate and the Primeval Worlds (5000, Seeking Monthly Tickets~)

[Evil Soul of the Six Paths of Demonic Hordes]

[Because there is no freedom, there is no hatred; a heartless soul tainted by curses and resentment]

[Upon use, greatly increases spiritual power cap and enhances all-around spiritual power control]

[Through spiritual forging, it can be transformed into an attachment spirit of 'Unfettered Freedom of All Demons', attaching to all equipment and items]

[Using special techniques for forging, it can be cast into a soul sword of 'Six Paths · Tribulation of All Living Beings']

[Using special techniques for harmonization, upon consumption, one can obtain the inheritance of the 'Six Paths Tribulation True Method', greatly increasing the degree of 'Fate' erosion]

[Created by others, ordered by others; because of obeying the rules of others, they do what others require, walk the path guided by others, and achieve the results desired by others.]

[They are tools, they are servants; because of obedience, they are exploited, induced, and predestined.]

[This is the final outcome of fate: destroying others, or destroying oneself—hence they are called demons.]

"This evil soul..."

The sky was filled with black smoke, and endless volcanic ash mixed with rain, turning into slurry that permeated half of the Lianyi Sea.

In the distant seabed, golden-red lava emanated a scorching light in the dark seawater. Large amounts of lava, enough to engulf dozens of cities or even a small country, spewed out from the cracks in the tectonic plates, creating the prototype of an archipelago.

The sun, moon, and stars were obscured, and the burning earth was being born.

Amidst this cataclysmic change, a stream of cyan-purple light flew away from this scene, heading towards the northwest coast of the Qingqiu Continent. A young man flew in silence, with a scarlet spirit snake the length of a human arm coiled around his left arm, advancing with him.

Su Zhou gripped tightly with his right hand. The evil soul in his hand was black and without light, condensing the power of all the Tianmo (heavenly demon) souls within the Nine-tailed Sky Demon, releasing a pulsation like a heartbeat.

In rapid flight, he stared at this black soul core.

The evil soul of a Hegemon, a terrestrial immortal.

A silent 'monster' without its own thoughts, without even self-will, except for the final moment when Su Zhou enlightened it with the Wisdom Tree and then killed it with the power of myriad thoughts converged.

Of course, monsters die when they are killed, but then again, who doesn't?

Humans die even more easily than monsters. Before killing a monster, who knows how many humans will die... just like on Planet Qingqiu.

"Unless... humans become stronger than monsters. This matter may be more important than me passively hunting monsters like this."

Muttering to himself, the black evil soul in Su Zhou's hand gradually disappeared, sinking into his body—not being eaten, but being stored in his soul space.

Su Zhou did not choose to absorb the power of the evil soul immediately, not only because the inheritance of the 'Six Paths of Reincarnation Tribulation True Method,' which mainly focused on creating Tianmo (heavenly demon) puppets, was very disgusting and seriously conflicted with his true nature, but also because he had seen the thing called [Fate Erosion Degree] for the first time.

As the name suggests, if he really ate this thing, he would probably lose sAn and sanity like in various novels and TV dramas, and even hear the whispers of some existence, right?

Even, like being invaded by a Tianmo (heavenly demon), his own thoughts would be changed.

"Su Zhou, I didn't expect that during my slumber, you actually found a member of the 'Fate' clan..."

The snake spirit, much longer than before and unable to hide in Su Zhou's hair or clothing, coiled around his arm, its tone carrying obvious surprise: "Even if Fate hadn't intervened in the end, after a while, it would have spontaneously embarked on the path of sublimation... At that time, it would have been difficult to deal with. Even if you advanced to the Hegemon level, you couldn't defeat a truly sublimated Fate Great Demon."

"Let me say one thing first, Yala, your awakening is truly a relief... I didn't expect this either. Actually, before I really fought the Tianmo (heavenly demon), I thought the opponent I would face this time was an incarnation of 'Master of Soldiers' or something..."

Turning his head, Su Zhou and the snake spirit smiled and nodded to each other. Speaking of this, he couldn't help but feel a little fortunate: "Fortunately, because of the warning from the Crimson Firmament Sword, we came as soon as possible. Otherwise, in a few months, if the Tianmo (heavenly demon) had really succeeded in eroding the Master of Soldiers, things would have become irreversible."

This was also thanks to those ice foxes on Qingqiu Four.

If those ice foxes hadn't taken away a part of the Master of Soldiers' true soul fragments, left Planet Qingqiu, and maintained the ritual generation after generation even after turning into foxes, supporting it until the Zhengguo (lit. Proper Country, referring to China) side, Su Zhou and others, came to the Qingqiu star system, the course of events would have been different.

To say nothing else, if those ice foxes had become extinct long ago, or if they had forgotten to maintain the Master of Soldiers' seal, then when Su Zhou and others re-sealed the Master of Soldiers' true soul on Qingqiu Four, they probably wouldn't have associated it with a 'Celestial Venerable' about to break free. In this way, without such a huge threat, for safety reasons, the Yuangwang (lit. Distant Hope, referring to the ship) would have stationed on Qingqiu Four and called for Zhengguo (lit. Proper Country, referring to China) support to come.

With this back and forth, another month or two would have passed, and Su Zhou wouldn't have chosen to adopt the most aggressive exploration strategy, leading to the Yuangwang (lit. Distant Hope, referring to the ship) being accidentally shot down by the Tianmo's (heavenly demon) counterattack, forcing it to land and explore Planet Qingqiu—in this way, without the interference of outsiders, the Tianmo (heavenly demon) rampage on Planet Qingqiu would inevitably have been more severe.

Therefore, in addition to being fortunate about Yala's surprise, Su Zhou also felt an unusual sense of confusion.

"Although I have already killed this devil, Yala, what kind of great existence is that 'Fate'? I know that you and it are very much at odds, and I do feel that that guy is extremely vile, almost as disgusting as Dusk... But does the Cycle of the Silent Lord seem to have some connection with it?"

Even though Su Zhou instinctively loathed Fate, even he had to admit that sometimes, the actions of a great existence's 'kin' had nothing to do with them. Just like the Silent Lord, he also had scum among his shepherd kin who devoured souls and tortured children, and those cultists of Yala's in the past were even scum who played with blood sacrifices, deserving to be blown to pieces by him with RPGs and grenades.

Many times, great existences only provide power and pathways, and a kind of 'belief' in what is right. But how to use that power, how to interpret that belief, is people's own behavior.

"No, you're wrong."

But Yala, who had just woken up, firmly denied it—Su Zhou even felt that the force with which the scarlet snake spirit coiled around his arm had increased a bit. This undisguised loathing and denial, for Yala, who was usually calm, indifferent, and even joked with the Divine Tree and the Silent Lord, seeming very unconcerned, was truly a rare and serious attitude: "Fate, the master of destiny, the reporter of prophecies, it is the cornerstone of determinism, the gears of repeated cycles—compared to this rigid playwright who dominates all things, this tyrant who rules by authority, its kin at least have a little 'involuntary' cuteness."

"Yes, I know what you're thinking—the Divine Tree has the Demon Emperor, the Silent Lord has the shepherd kin, even my followers and kin are full of evil devils, chaotic thugs, just like how all humans want to eat, drink, and live a peaceful and comfortable life, but in the end, there are some anti-life guys who want to watch the world burn. You can't deny that some people are just full and have nothing to do, don't lock themselves up when they get sick, and spread viruses everywhere."

Speaking of this, Yala emphasized her tone: "And Fate is another kind of extreme—its radicalism far surpasses the two moderate factions of the Silent Lord and the Twin Divine Trees, ranking among the top among all great existences. This guy's main goal is to exert absolute interference on everything through various methods."

Su Zhou understood Yala's meaning, and also understood why Yala and the other party were so much at odds.

Just as the Divine Tree, the Silent Lord, and Yala all have their own various reflections in the myths of the myriad worlds, Fate is naturally no exception, and its representation is exceptionally obvious.

It is the loom of fate in the hands of the goddess, the ending that heroes know from birth, it is the tolling of prophecy, the elder who describes the future to the hero and the demon king, the diviner who wanders among mortals.

In European mythology, whether it is the Norse pantheon or the Mycenaean pantheon, there are three goddesses of fate, who weave the future, determine the process, and then decide the ending.

Even as the chief god, the sky father who controls lightning cannot disobey their arrangements. The authority of the goddesses of fate transcends everything; neither humans nor gods can disobey.

And in the East, there is also the concept of 'Heavenly Mandate,' which is, in the dark, the will of the Dao. And in the land of Zhutian (India), the concept of karma is, in essence, a combination of 'reincarnation' and 'fate,' just like the Six Paths Tribulation True Method used by the Tianmo (heavenly demon). In essence, fate is still more important.

Even if some myths do not have a concrete god of fate, various prophecies, seers, and stories of divination of the future, characters, and artifacts emerge in endlessly, just like the 'Loom of Fate' held by Europa, the prototype of Zhengguo's (lit. Proper Country, referring to China) 'Dao-One Celestial Pivot' controlled by the Yan Sage, the 'Luo River Chart' Whether it is glory or the final misery, or the mysterious, predestined curse, even in fairy tales, the witch's prophecies are all such things.

"The future and destiny, the predetermined path and result, fate is such a thing."

While Su Zhou was deep in thought, Yala turned her head with a sneer and looked at the new islands being formed amidst the booming of the massive volcano: "No matter what method you use to change it, even wanting to change that thing itself is part of fate. Fate will even use the most despised 'deus ex machina' as a last resort to bring everything back to square one, to the path it has set."

"But I will never allow it—if it sets it, I will definitely change it. As long as there is even a sliver of possibility, I will make 'unforeseen paths' appear in reality!"

"Yes, you're right, that's exactly right." To this, Su Zhou also nodded without hesitation, agreeing without arguing in the slightest: "This guy deserves to be sealed!"

Then, he frowned and said, "But I still don't understand—if this guy is so vile, then why does Fate sound like it has a good relationship with the Silent Lord? Moreover, Yala yourself also represent a kind of 'eternal cycle'... The three of you seem to be related to reincarnation and fate."

"There's a big difference. Fate emphasizes control, a unique destiny within infinite reincarnation; the Silent Lord emphasizes reincarnation itself, and the meaning beyond reincarnation; I emphasize that infinite cycles will give rise to countless different outcomes."

The snake spirit shook its head. It seemed that it had often been asked this question before, so it answered without thinking: "Fate and the Silent Lord do indeed have a good relationship. And my relationship with the Silent Lord isn't good, but it's not bad either."

"But the so-called likes and dislikes between great existences are very different from those of humans... Precisely because reincarnation has the shackles of fate, breaking reincarnation has meaning. Fate, to him, is a trial of love for his people."

"Understand? A, tri, al, of, love."

Listening to Yala's rather sarcastic tone, Su Zhou certainly understood, couldn't understand more.

Sure enough—these great existences, none of them are wronged for being sealed!

"In that case, how can we completely eradicate these problems?"

After being silent for a while, absorbing the information the snake spirit had said, Su Zhou slowly asked: "Yala, although I have already advanced to the Hegemon level, I still can't search the entire universe for the points of erosion of great existences... This time, because of the Crimson Firmament Sword, we discovered Qingqiu, but what about next time?"

"Or, like before, I extract the aura of great existences from evil souls, and then go to the worlds controlled by Fate and kill Fate's incarnations in the past... Can that stop it?"

There was silence for a time.

Yala was silent for a moment, examining Su Zhou, who looked grave and sincerely worried, after waking from her slumber.

She sensed that during her slumber, Su Zhou's mentality had begun to become somewhat anxious and uneasy, wavering between hope and fear, from his initial stability and confidence.

This was not strange—her covenantor was just a young man in his twenties, he was indeed talented, but that did not mean his heart was as hard as stone. Moreover, her slumber occurred after the confrontation with the Pioneer. That guy's awakening stirred the entire Ice Condensation Void, and Su Zhou's seeing the scene of countless worlds being changed would naturally make him feel worried.

And now, Su Zhou had once again encountered 'Fate.' Although he was not like her, who had been mortal enemies with Fate since birth, he did indeed loathe the other party extremely.

An unstable environment and powerful mortal enemies. In this situation, anyone would feel anxious.

Now, it was time for her to tell him part of the truth about this multiverse.

"Su Zhou, you are already a Hegemon, a terrestrial immortal."

Saying so, Yala looked straight ahead at the clouds and the shadows of the continent, her tone becoming solemn and grave: "In any system, this strength can be considered the upper class."

And hearing Yala's rare solemn tone, Su Zhou immediately stopped flying, suspended in mid-air, raised his hand, and looked at Yala, listening earnestly to the other party's words.

"No matter what world, Hegemons are powerful existences, members of the upper class. Even in many high-magic, high-spiritual worlds, there are not many Hegemons—this is mainly related to inheritance, not to the world environment. A high-spiritual environment just makes enlightenment simple, but to cultivate to a higher level, you need to constantly improve and work hard."

"That's indeed the case." Su Zhou nodded seriously. Only after he himself advanced to the Hegemon level did he know that the Hegemon realm was far from as simple as he had imagined before.

Even he, with the inheritance of a great existence, excellent talent, countless battles, and a great divine power like the Devouring Demon Lord comparable to the supernatural powers of immortals and gods, had spent a full three years—counting the time in other worlds, probably close to four years.

Although it sounded like three or four years wasn't long, Su Zhou's combat frequency and cultivation speed were simply not comparable to those cultivators who seemed to have cultivated for hundreds of years, but had never had a real battle, never experienced a life-or-death crisis, and had only been in secluded cultivation.

To put it simply, Su Zhou's cultivation density was far greater than that of ordinary cultivators.

Speaking of this, Yala's tone suddenly changed, and the snake spirit's tone became intriguing: "So, do you know the real truth about the severance of spiritual energy?"

"Ah?"

Su Zhou was slightly stunned, he was a little puzzled: "Of course I know—because the Great Seal had a problem, all the spiritual energy flow..."

"No."

Yala shook her head, even her tail was shaking: "That's just the simplest manifestation."

"The real reason for the severance of spiritual energy is because of 'breathing.'"

"Breathing?"

"Yes, breathing."

Repeating this, Yala raised her head and looked at the sky of Planet Qingqiu—because of the volcanic eruption, the clouds were shaking at this moment, and between the opening and closing of the cracks in the clouds, the cosmic vacuum could be seen, as well as those great seal cracks hidden in the depths of the darkness, barely visible.

Then, she lowered her head and looked at Su Zhou: "All the severely injured great existences, because they began to gradually recover, their sealed worlds therefore produced anomalies and underwent huge changes."

"Then, they began to breathe—drawing all the infinite spiritual energy of the entire multiverse towards those sealed worlds."

"Infinite? If spiritual energy is really infinite, how could it be drained..."

At first, Su Zhou was a little confused and wanted to refute, but halfway through, his own voice became smaller.

Yes, which great existence is not an existence that transcends infinity?

Yala noticed Su Zhou's silence, nodded, acknowledged the other party's thoughts at this time, and then continued: "Su Zhou, you are already a Hegemon, a terrestrial immortal, the same in any world—even in the heyday when spiritual energy had not been severed, you are now a true immortal god."

"You have become an 'immortal god', broken away from the initial growth stage, have the initial capital, and your myth is also circulating in the myriad worlds... In that case, we can consider taking some further actions."

At this point, Yala's tone became heavy and solemn.

She said word by word to Su Zhou, whose expression was equally solemn: "For example, going to the core that disturbs the multiverse."

"Those 'Primeval Worlds' that have never experienced the severance of spiritual energy, maintained complete inheritance, and are influenced by great existences!"

Recovering... seeking a monthly ticket~