Chapter 406 - 168: Era Calamity, Dharma Eye Divine Techniques, 8 Trigrams Furnace

"According to the legends, the prelude to the Era Calamity is the shattering of the sun, the fall of the great moon, the descent of the stars, the collapse of the heavens and the sinking of the earth, the evaporation of the seas, and the annihilation of all Ten Thousand Spirits..."

Chen Shaoyou spoke slowly, revealing everything he knew in exhaustive detail.

He also spoke of the disparities between their two eras, as well as legends from other ages.

The only thing he left unsaid was what the future held for Cui Yanliang.

As he spoke, Chen Shaoyou’s heart grew heavy.

Once the Era Calamity descended, all Ten Thousand Spirits would be annihilated. Only a small handful of people would make it through safely.

The mere thought of such a scene was so crushing he could hardly breathe.

After all, humans aren’t made of stone. How could anyone be unfeeling?

Even the most wicked and cold-hearted person, when faced with a future where their entire species is wiped out in a single day, could not possibly remain completely unmoved.

Cui Yanliang and Ye Xiaoyu listened in silence, their minds reeling, unable to find calm for a long while.

"The legends say the prelude to the Era Calamity shouldn’t begin for another three hundred-odd years. The true destruction itself lasts only a single day..."

After a long time, Chen Shaoyou finally let out a breath, having finished his account.

The anxiety that had gripped him began to ease as he spoke.

’The Elder Celestial Master was such a righteous man. His teacher should be compassionate and benevolent, too...’

As for Su Bai’s utterly vicious sword strike from earlier, he seemed to have forgotten all about it.

"One calamity per era. In that case, the tenth era should only have had one Great Demon Ghost. But if a single Great Demon is already enough to destroy the world, why add another one each era?"

"There must be a reason for this."

Cui Yanliang looked at Su Bai and bowed slightly. "Teacher, what are your thoughts?"

He didn’t ask how Chen Shaoyou had arrived here, because it was pointless.

Compared to the future Era Calamity, everything else seemed trivial.

"For now, no one knows the reason why, nor is it of much significance."

"Since the Era Calamity may be related to the Seven Heroes and Three Li, we should simply seal them away completely, or kill them."

"Perhaps the matter will be resolved just like that."

Ye Xiaoyu spoke up.

Although she was skeptical about the so-called Era Calamity.

But even if there were only a one-in-ten-thousand chance of it being true, it would be a disaster that living beings could not bear.

"It’s useless."

Su Bai finally spoke, his words slow and deliberate.

"The Seven Heroes and Three Li are born from Yin Sha Resentment Qi. The closer the Era Calamity approaches, the more active they become. No Sealing can hold them forever."

"As for killing them..."

"That’s not necessary either."

He looked at the people before him, his thoughts diverging from theirs.

He already knew almost everything Chen Shaoyou had revealed, which only made him more puzzled.

’If Chen Shaoyou’s journey through time is related to "Heaven," why would It allow me to perceive these secrets so easily?’

Only Su Bai knew that the true disaster they faced was not these ten beast-hounds at all.

It was Heaven itself, or perhaps, an enemy from beyond the sky.

’Exterminate?’

At this thought, Cui Yanliang and Ye Xiaoyu both looked down at the same time, their gazes piercing the swirling mists to fall upon the dead, silent landscape of mountains and rivers below.

The sheer scale of the thing exerted an unprecedented, overwhelming pressure.

’How could they possibly exterminate such a Great Demon Ghost—a being said in legends to be immortal and indestructible?’

"I fear... that is an impossible task."

Cui Yanliang sighed.

If what Chen Shaoyou said was true, then in all the ages that had passed, since the birth of the first Great Demon Ghost up to the current Seven Heroes and Three Li, no one had ever been able to truly obliterate a single one.

’But then, what in this world is ever a guaranteed success?’

Su Bai shook his head slightly and looked at Ye Xiaoyu, whose expression was tinged with worry.

"Xiaoyu, what do you have to say?"

"Teacher, if this man really is from the twenty-first era, doesn’t that mean..."

"...that no matter how much we struggle, we ultimately cannot escape this Era Calamity?"

Ye Xiaoyu voiced her concern.

In her view, Chen Shaoyou’s very presence confirmed how future events would unfold, meaning they would very likely be unable to withstand this Era Calamity.

"The future is ethereal and unfixed. There is no predetermined outcome. What he experienced may not be false, but that future is not necessarily our future."

A flicker of light passed through Su Bai’s eyes.

The future held no certainties. No one knew this better than he.

The course of the future is influenced by the present. The more variables at play now, the more mutable the future becomes.

Ye Xiaoyu still seemed confused, but she asked no more questions.

"Even if the future truly cannot be changed, we must still try."

Cui Yanliang’s aura settled, his tone devoid of joy or sorrow.

"Indeed."

Su Bai chuckled softly.

WHOOSH!

The Cloud Ship suddenly tore through the sky, crossing hundreds of miles in an instant. After a few more flashes, it had already passed through the sonic boom clouds left in its wake.

Before long, the figures of Jin Yunfeng and Wang E descended from the sky, landing on the Cloud Ship.

Their flight speed was far slower than Cui Yanliang’s. If the Cloud Ship hadn’t gone to them, there was no telling when they would have arrived.

"Senior..."

Jin Yunfeng bowed slightly in a respectful salute.

"Rise."

Su Bai gestured for him to rise.

He then glanced into the distance at the Celestial Secret Sect Master and Monk Taixuan, who were approaching with grim expressions, clearly against their will.

Inside the Sealed Space, the two of them had nowhere to run and nowhere to hide.