Chapter 377.1: I Will Save My World

Moonlight illuminated the land.

Qi Yuan gazed up at the sky with a complicated expression. Only three years left?

His comprehension of the myriad dao had barely reached three percent. Three years was nowhere near enough to reach completion.

"Master..." Zero-One seemed about to say something, then thought better of it.

He asked absently, "Hm? What is it?"

Zero-One's voice remained as cold as ever, like an emotionless machine. "No, it's nothing."

Qi Yuan stretched lazily. "Zero-One, you've changed since you evolved."

The robot performed a mechanical bow. "I have not. I remain your most loyal servant, Master. To spare you from worry is my first principle."

He closed his eyes again and resumed contemplating the myriad dao. "Mhm. Good."

Having journeyed through the Mountain-Sea Scroll and visited so many worlds, his grasp of the myriad dao advanced faster than most could dream of. But there were still limits as to how fast he could go.

Moonlight fell and pooled on Zero-One’s arm. She stood at the river's edge, watching her own reflection in the clear water below, voice barely a murmur, “Is everything really coming to an end?”

***

Within the Eastern Alliance in the Origin Land, dozens of Titled Martial Lords had gathered together. Their expressions were grave.

The woman at their head said, "The worlds are about to converge. It is time for those of us old ones to act. We will heed Dong Jun's command and let the worlds unite into one. We will revive the Demon Ancestor Lord and give Dong Jun our assistance."

The other Martial Lords nodded in agreement. "Yes, it is time for us to move."

"The memory fragments have already been refined. All that remains is to assemble them, and the Demon Ancestor Lord will be created."

"The one who represents destiny must also be harvested."

These Titled Martial Lords sat together discussing the details.

Then, Black Deer interjected, "The Heavenly Sovereign seems to have some connection to those memory fragments. Will he try to stop us?"

So long as six out of ten fabricated worlds followed their original trajectories, the plan would be more than halfway done. All that was left was to kill and devour. In the end, all the false ones would die, and only a single person would survive: the Demon Ancestor Lord. All the rebooters would be hunted down, their fates concentrated upon the Demon Ancestor Lord. Only then would she recover with full power.

One Titled Martial Lord said, "I trust the Heavenly Sovereign will consider the greater picture."

"Dong Jun created them. They are false. It is their destiny to fulfill their purpose, sacrifice themselves, and bring forth the one."

"To sacrifice themselves is the true meaning of their existence!"

"Without Dong Jun, they wouldn't even have been born! Their lives began with Dong Jun!"

"They were always destined to die. Now, only the hand guiding them from the Great Catastrophe to us has changed."

"The world's destruction is inevitable. The Dawn Chime draws near. The time has come to make a choice."

"All for the sake of the world!"

"Even if we fall, we will protect the world!"

"Anyone who dares to stand in the way will be shown no mercy!"

"A million lives to save the world. Worth it!"

***

Within the sacred land of the Third Heaven, an old man sat at a fishing platform, his line cast into the heavens.

Someone’s voice reached him. "A Yang Spirit has descended into that strange land."

The old man was surprised. "Oh? Who?"

"His name is Qi Yuan."

The old man shook his head. "I have never heard of him. Even so, the sheer audacity to set his sights on a strange land..."

"He appears to have some connection to the Divine Moon Palace."

"The Divine Moon Palace?" He paused briefly. "If the Divine Moon Palace is involved, that would explain things. Their situation is not good right now. If they do not find a way to break out of it soon, they will likely fall from the Sixth Heaven. What a pity their luck is so poor that they would set their eyes on that strange land."

"Just what is so special about that strange land? I have heard of it, but it seems many Yang Spirits avoid it at all costs."

"There is a Saint Light Clan member in that sacred land."

"What?! The legendary Saint Light Clan?!"

As a Yang Spirit who sat above the Nine Heavens, very few things in this world could stir his composure. Yet now, he was genuinely shaken. The Saint Light Clan was a taboo among Yang Spirits.

"No wonder. With a Saint Light Clan member around, whatever that Yang Spirit was planning will come to nothing."

Bearing extraordinary origins, the Saint Light Clan most often appeared in strange lands. They had an affinity for extraordinarily powerful divine techniques known as Saint Light Words. All who heard their words would believe them without question.

Once, a Yang Spirit who had just entered the Principle realm ventured into a strange land and encountered a member of the Saint Light Clan. That clan member said, “I am your father.” And the Yang Spirit believed him completely. Such was the sheer dominance of the Saint Light Words.

Thus, it became common practice for Yang Spirits to avoid any strange land inhabited by a member of the Saint Light Clan. Otherwise, they would very likely fall and become nourishment for the Saint Light Clan.

The fishing old man shook his head with a rueful sigh. "The Saint Light Clan can not be countered. Unless your cultivation is an entire major realm above theirs, you will certainly be deceived. Even then, there is still a chance of being deceived."

Another Yang Spirit said, "The Saint Light Words ability is on par with the supreme principles of the Nine Heavens. It simply cannot be resisted."

After thinking it over, the old man decided. "I have some ties with the Divine Moon Palace. This news about the Saint Light Clan ought to be passed along to them."

Perhaps the Divine Moon Palace simply did not know this, which was why a Yang Spirit had descended to the lower world and set their sights on that strange land.

"Alas, even if we tell them now, it is too late. That strange land lies in the lower world. Once a Yang Spirit descends, if they fail to capture the strange land and assimilate it into their own star, there is simply no way back to the upper world."

"Haa... The Divine Moon Palace loses yet another Yang Spirit. How tragic. Could it be that we are about to witness a sacred land's fall?"

Murmurs drifted through the great hall.