Chapter 1850 - 1849: The Secret of the Main World

The countdown hanging in the sky began to beat violently at this moment, finally stabilizing at:

00:00

Then it completely shattered.

Would the God of Machinery wait patiently for the ruins to gradually approach, fully arriving, and wait until the natural end of the countdown?

Now, He Ao had his answer.

No.

Nobody’s a fool, the God of Machinery wouldn’t wait until the last hour passes, giving He Ao more time to prepare.

Or rather, that previous slow approach was all preparation for this moment’s ’sprint’, a ’sedative’ to lull the enemy.

He had already prepared everything, but was waiting for this moment, directly tearing through the void, opening a passage to the Main World.

And as He Ao gazed upwards, a gigantic Starlight Silhouette emerged behind the gray-white planet, seemingly composed of countless starlight, overshadowing the edges of the sky that the gray-white planet hadn’t covered.

The gigantic Starlight Silhouette lowered its head, its gaze sweeping across the land below.

Its expression was calm and natural, unchanged, like watching a nest of boiling ants heading towards ultimate destruction.

That was the Usurper God left behind at the ruins by the God of Machinery, ’Star Shadow’.

"It seems, Machinery is more anxious than we anticipated."

The white-clad youth below raised his head, looking at He Ao, his tone still calm and gentle, as if everything so far hadn’t surpassed his expectations.

"What are you going to do next? You have a very short window period to sacrifice a small portion of people, delaying the life of this world, but that window is very short."

He gazed at He Ao, like a teacher who controls everything, waiting for his ’student’ to deliver a satisfactory answer sheet.

The roar in the sky grew more intense, and the cracks in the Firmament were further torn. Through those rent gaps, the gigantic gray-white planet had already revealed a clear entity.

He Ao could feel a painful screech in his mind, the howl of the Main World’s barrier being torn.

The final moment seemed to have arrived.

——

Gobi Desert

In the Gobi Desert, He Ao’s true form opened his eyes. He raised his head, looking upwards at the torn Firmament, gazing at the massive gray-white planet manifesting above the Firmament.

The ruins had descended, but hadn’t fully arrived.

The space-time barriers of both worlds hadn’t been completely breached, and the passage connecting the two worlds hadn’t been fully established.

He Ao still had a gap he could operate within, though this gap might be very fleeting, very narrow.

Nonetheless, it was still an operable gap.

Meanwhile, a piece of information surfaced in the depths of his mind.

It felt like some kind of ’response’.

——

Mote City

"Are the runes here all drawn?" Yan Yue stood on the street, rapidly asking the World Tree staff in work clothes in front of her.

The afterglow of the sunset poured from the Firmament, covering her cheeks, spreading over everyone’s bodies.

Lin Chichi stood behind her, holding a sleek laptop, editing a document while raising her head to look over.

"Final step of the finishing touches," the World Tree staff looked at Yan Yue, quickly saying, "Just about done, Miss Yan Yue, you can wait a bit longer."

"We need to hurry," Yan Yue took a deep breath, rubbing her neck, "It’s almost six o’clock, and with the time difference, it’s about to be twelve o’clock Central Earth time. We still need to leave some time for checks."

"We’re already speeding up." The staff’s forehead was slightly sweaty.

"Don’t rush, don’t rush," Yan Yue looked at his expression, inhaling slightly again, "Though time is tight, we must ensure the engineering quality doesn’t suffer."

"Yes," the staff quickly nodded, moving forward to run, "That side should be finished, I’ll go check right away."

"Why do you sometimes urge people, and then tell them not to rush?" Lin Chichi looked at Yan Yue, smiling.

"Because I’m anxious," Yan Yue sighed, "Just lost control of my emotions; progress in the Western Lands is too slow, not sure if it’ll keep pace with Minister He’s plans."

Boom——

Midway through speaking, a thunderous explosion echoed from the sky.

Yan Yue rubbed her neck, instinctively raising her head to look at the sky above, and then her body froze.

"What’s wrong?" Lin Chichi, seeing her movements, blinked and also raised her head to look at the sky.

The Firmament filled with sunset hues was now pierced by a crack running across the sky, and inside that crack, a gigantic gray-white planet faintly showed its form.

A massive Starlight Silhouette seemed to float, suspended above the planet.

"Is that the ruins?"

Lin Chichi slightly opened her mouth, her gaze somewhat dazed.

The street workers, scattered passersby, were drawn by the thunderous explosion, raising their heads to look at the Firmament.

At this moment, the world seemed to fall silent, the terrifying change in the Firmament seemingly shook everyone’s understanding, rendering them momentarily speechless.

"Is this what Minister He made us prepare for?"

Yan Yue also slightly opened her mouth, speaking somewhat confusedly.

"It’s lit—It’s lit—"

And just then, an exclamation came from beside her.

Beside her, the engraved patterns were rapidly lighting up at a speed visible to the meat eyes, sketching out a shining array.

——

Ningta City

"Are you still hesitating?" The young man in white lifted his head, looking at He Ao sitting on the stone seat, and smiled, "This doesn’t seem like your character."

His speech was extremely fast, so fast that ordinary people couldn’t catch the dense syllables.

"What should my character be?" He Ao lowered his head, looked at him, and asked with the same tempo and smile.

"Using good adjectives in your language, wise, decisive, intelligent," the young man in white smiled, "Using bad adjectives, cunning, ruthless, unscrupulous."

He gazed at He Ao, "But if I had to give a specific description, I think you resemble a mad gambler, holding this frail world in your hand, walking on a very thin tightrope, each of your steps is a gamble risking everything."

He smiled as he raised his hand, a faint grey light converged in his palm, "The reason this world can maintain till now is only because you’ve won meager stakes in these bloody gambles, barely sustaining a balanced existence."

"But you know very well that gambling can only deal with things that can be dealt with, but cannot tackle things that cannot be dealt with,"

As his fingers gently pinched, a crisp sound, like the snapping of a steel wire, echoed beneath the night sky, "For example, the tightrope you tread upon, being directly snapped by an irresistible force."

"It seems you are preparing to pitch something to me?" He Ao raised an eyebrow slightly.

"What I want to give you, I’ve already given," the young man in white smiled, "I am much more merciful than machinery, I will leave you a way out, but machinery will not, I know what you’re struggling with."

He looked at He Ao, "You fear death, fear harm, fear sacrifice, but you should also understand, in this world, there has never been a perfect situation, paying a price to exchange for grace, sacrificing the few to save the many, this is already the best outcome."

"If a few are always sacrificed, then is the remaining majority still a majority?" He Ao looked at him, suddenly asked contemplatively.

"So now," the young man in white smiled at him, "are you prepared to give me an indecisive answer?"

"I just want to know," He Ao stood up slightly, gazing at the young man in white below, stepping down the stone seat step by step, "What exactly does this world possess? To make both you and the God of Machinery care so much, to want to obtain this world?"

"Achieving Martial Arts Unity Realm at eighteen, your talent even in the universe is rare,"

The young man in white merely smiled at He Ao, "Yet, rare does not mean nonexistent, heroes have emerged throughout long history, I’ve seen many young and capable children like you, but most of them died due to the arrogance their talent brought."

He gazed at He Ao with some sentiment in his eyes, "They always thought they could solve everything, thought themselves as the child of destiny chosen by fate."

He looked at He Ao, continuing to smile, "But we all know, the mystery of the universe, once known, will lead to entanglement. Some secrets, if unknown, leave you the choice to live, but known, you will be drawn into an inescapable fate, leading to destruction."

"Can even divine beings not escape?" He Ao looked at him, suddenly asked with interest.

"Do you want the answer?" The young man in white smiled at him, appreciating him like an excellent yet somewhat rebellious student, "This answer itself implies fate’s entanglement, are you willing to bear this fate?"

"I already know the answer," He Ao continued down the stone steps, "If divine beings could completely transcend fate, this question would have no entanglements."

He chuckled lightly, "I thought divine beings were fate itself."

"Divine beings are fate," the young man in white gazed at He Ao, full of admiration and praise in his brows, he shook his head slightly, "yet also live within fate."

"So transcending fate," He Ao gazed down at the young man in white, "Is it something even divine beings desire?"

A faint grey-purple light covered his pupils, he looked at the young man in white with a calm yet slightly smiling face, "This world hides something that can let divine beings transcend fate?"

Upon hearing his words, the young man in white slightly raised his brows, he looked at He Ao, admiration mixed with some regret in his brows, he laughed, "Did you know, the longest living people in the universe are often the ignorant ones, because too smart children always whirl themselves into inescapable vortices."

He Ao fully descended the steps, heading toward the young man in white, "That’s why I hate talking with priests, always going around and unwilling to give any effective information."

"Do you know whom you’re provoking?" The young man in white looked at He Ao, smiling with some helplessness.

"Provoking someone who doesn’t dare confront the God of Machinery directly, only makes maneuvers behind the scenes," He Ao shrugged, said casually.

"Why do you think I’m unwilling to confront machinery directly?" The young man in white asked with interest.

"Because another existence openly killed the God of Machinery’s subordinate." He Ao also raised an eyebrow, smiling.

"You mean the Tuning Master who was pitted to death by you, dying at the hands of Truth? That indeed was a pitiful fellow," The young man in white shook his head, smiling, "If you’re comparing me with Truth, then yes, I am indeed a weak existence."

"You actually admitted it upon finding a step down, the old geezer indeed has thick enough skin." He Ao laughed.

"I see no need to deny a fact, Truth’s power is well-known," The young man in white slowly smiled, "Through long years, experiences of countless life and death, child, you will gradually understand, face is one of the least important things in this world."

"Sounds like you’re quite familiar with the God of Knowledge?" He Ao smiled at him, "Judging by your personality, have you ever pretended to be him before?"

The atmosphere in the entire hall instantly cooled down, even the surrounding lights seemed to contract their rays, becoming dim and narrow.

"Accusing an existence of pretending to be Truth is a very dangerous act," The young man in white’s smile unchanged, "Child, I wouldn’t recommend you say such things."

"Seems you appear quite tense?" He Ao calmly spoke, stepping forward once more.

"If you were me, you wouldn’t want to provoke a powerful enemy either," The young man in white smiled, "That would add many setbacks out of thin air to your life."

"Yet your behavior makes me very suspicious of you." He Ao gazed at the young man in white, his footsteps still sounding softly.

"Alas," The young man in white sighed lightly, gazing at He Ao, "Child, just behind this city, lies a Gobi Desert, that’s where your true form resides, isn’t it?"

"You’ve found me?" He Ao smiled at him, and asked with a smile, "What did you use, was it what you taught me, using the array I set up? Did you bypass me and activate this array?"

Behind the young man in white, outside the open doors of the hall, streaks of grey light suddenly lit up, the surging light converged to form a pillar reaching the sky.

It was the array depicted in this city.

The young man in white gazed at He Ao, smiled calmly, "I just sensed your indecision and helped you decide ahead of time."

"What if I don’t like your decision?" He Ao smiled.

"Regrettably," The young man in white shook his head, the grey light behind him burst into dazzling brilliance, "Frail beings lack the power of choice."

He smiled at He Ao, "You shouldn’t think of destroying the array, only high-level power can destroy such pre-established arrays, mere Martial Arts Angel’s natural manipulation couldn’t shake this array, you ought to feel lucky that the sacrifice of these hundred million lives was worth it, they preserved your entire civilization."

"Is that so?" He Ao stopped, gazing at the young man in white, he raised his hand slightly, grasping the void.

Boom——

A loud explosion resounded behind the young man in white, the soaring grey light was abruptly snapped at this moment.

A powerful and intangible ripple swept across the stone castle of this palace, sweeping everything beneath the firmament.