Chapter 957 - 369: An Unpredictable Future (Finale Part 1)

Si Jiuyou’s imagination soared when Fan Wubing described Earth to her.

Fan Wubing continued,

"Born on Earth, I knew nothing of the Great Thousand, cultivating immortality, destiny, or eternity... I was just a very ordinary person, studying, playing, eating, sleeping, then growing up and working... There are seven billion people like me on Earth. I never felt different from anyone else... Until one day, I died.

"When I opened my eyes again, I had returned to the Great Thousand World, born in the cradle carefully woven for me by my senior sister."

Si Jiuyou couldn’t snap out of it for a long time after hearing this,

"So that’s what you went through in the Infinite Sea... In reality, when Peach Blossoms severed the Path to Immortality in the Great Wilderness World, I realized you would come back. After you were born, I sadly discovered that the ending where you are crowned as king had never changed."

Fan Wubing asked,

"So, you chose to crown yourself as king?"

Si Jiuyou said,

"It was the only way."

"Why not choose to eliminate the essence of eternity?"

Si Jiuyou replied, "Because the essence of eternity has long been deeply bound to the Destiny Dao. Eliminating the essence of eternity would be eliminating the destinies of all things in the world."

Fan Wubing finally knew the truth.

From then on, Si Jiuyou’s fateful cycle was filled.

The two turned back into real life, standing on top of Everlasting Mountain.

The throne representing ultimate eternity still stood quietly in the center. Si Jiuyou’s feathered crown was placed on it, like time frozen, exuding eternal splendor.

Fan Wubing stared blankly at Si Jiuyou.

Si Jiuyou said,

"This Great Thousand World has already embarked on an irreversible path. There must be someone to crown as king, and I don’t want it to be you, so it can only be me."

She stood in front of the throne, turned to look at Fan Wubing with a gentle smile,

"Wubing, you are free now."

Fan Wubing suddenly understood why Si Jiuyou previously said Jiang Ran was a good person and should be cherished.

"So, you didn’t stop Jiang Ran from sacrificing herself because you had already planned this outcome? You went ahead alone and buried yourself in eternity just to grant me freedom?"

Si Jiuyou was struck by his incredibly intense emotions, and her heart couldn’t help but quiver. She tried her best to maintain her dignity as a senior sister and firmly said,

"I’ve never held any thoughts of sacrificing myself. I just always do what I want. And what I wanted was just to see you free."

Fan Wubing laughed at himself,

"Then you’re really selfish. Not even giving me the right to choose."

Si Jiuyou said,

"Just think of me as selfish."

Fan Wubing lowered his head, "But dear sister, have you ever thought about it? I indeed broke free from the control of the Destiny Dao and escaped the cage of fate... but now I’m locked in another cage by you."

Si Jiuyou was taken aback and quickly said,

"How is that possible! Once I step into ultimate eternity, I will no longer exist; how could I possibly confine you."

Fan Wubing’s face showed both a smile and sadness,

"But, dear sister, my most beloved sister. Freedom isn’t the freedom of just one or two people. A free world, free beings, free destiny—that’s the true freedom."

Si Jiuyou felt a sharp pain in her heart.

She didn’t want to continue speaking. Each moment she saw Fan Wubing’s expression, her pain grew,

"Wubing, such freedom doesn’t exist. If I don’t become eternity, then the moment you ascended Everlasting Mountain, you would be crowned as king. The Destiny Dao never left you any chance to ’let destiny exist only in the present.’ This is a harsh fact that neither of us can escape, a truth that has existed since the beginning of Chaos."

Si Jiuyou certainly understood Fan Wubing’s thoughts.

But such thoughts couldn’t be put into practice.

It’s an impossible choice, the only option.

Fan Wubing felt despair, yet he steadfastly refused to despair. He gritted his teeth and, with the fiercest, most turbulent emotions of his life, burst into the ultimate shout,

"If destiny cannot exist only in the present, then let desire surpass destiny! As long as the desires of all things rise above destiny, freedom belongs to all!"

He threw caution to the wind and dashed forward, knocking away the feathered crown Si Jiuyou was about to don again.

He roared in anger,

"Fu Ming! I tell you! In my eyes, you are not Si Jiuyou, nor have you ever been so-called eternity! You are Fu Ming, my senior sister! Last time at the Divine Phoenix Hall, I let you escape; this time, I won’t let you escape no matter what! Listen to me, listen!"

Si Jiuyou stared blankly at Fan Wubing. She had never seen such a junior brother.

Fan Wubing took a deep breath and said earnestly,

"Let desire be above destiny! We still have this one road left! So it’s not a dead end. I won’t allow you to make such a self-sacrificing decision on your own. Last time Jiang Ran did this, I couldn’t stop it in time, but this time, I won’t let the same thing happen again!"

"Desire... what exactly do you mean by that?"

Fan Wubing’s eyes shone with intense light,

"I’ve answered two-thirds of it! The remaining one-third is still in the Infinite Sea!"

"You mean, you’re going to the Infinite Sea?"

"Yes! Trust me, I will complete it! Absolutely! I promise you!" Fan Wubing never easily promised anything unless he had absolute confidence because it was irresponsible to others, but at this moment, what supported him was not absolute confidence, but faith.

Fan Wubing had never been stronger than Si Jiuyou at any moment. This was Si Jiuyou’s absolute confidence in maintaining her dignity as a senior sister all along.

But now, his presence almost completely overwhelmed Si Jiuyou. Si Jiuyou found she could no longer use her senior sister’s identity to make Fan Wubing listen.

Fan Wubing gritted his teeth and said,

"I will never step into the cage you’ve woven for me!"

Si Jiuyou, having lost her firmness as a senior sister, immediately became like a startled fawn,

"But... this entire Great Thousand is already about to enter ultimate eternity with me. I don’t know how to stop it."

Fan Wubing wrapped Si Jiuyou’s hands in his,

"Senior sister has done too much for me. This time, let me do something for my senior sister."

With that, a platinum flame suddenly rose from his body, each tongue of fire like a spinning dragon.

Si Jiuyou’s eyes widened,

"Wubing, what are you going to do!"

Fan Wubing closed his eyes and chanted,

"My body is like the Great Wilderness, my heart is like the Cyan Dragon. My years pass like morning and evening, my destiny crosses the heavenly chasm."

Then, he suddenly opened his eyes and shouted,

"I am the lord of all beings; I have the bones of time! Let all beings under heaven return to my body; let thousands of years be hidden in my heart!"

Such words echoed through the Eternal Sea and the Great Wilderness World.

A stream of light shot from his brow, condensing into a point of light centered on Everlasting Mountain. This point of light instantly warped the surrounding space-time, forming a black hole. The entire Great Thousand World began falling into this black hole.

This was not devouring, but gathering!

Si Jiuyou immediately realized what he intended to do,

"Wubing! Stop, stop quickly!"

But everything was already out of her control.

From the appearance of the accretion black hole to the complete "devouring" of the entire Great Thousand, it took less than two breaths.

Fan Wubing’s body, soul, and will were also completely consumed.

He chose the path Si Jiuyou least wanted to see—to become the Great Wilderness Cyan Dragon.

The entire Great Thousand World transformed into the new Great Wilderness Cyan Dragon.

The platinum scales glimmered in the Void Realm. The sacred true dragon’s will burned fiercely like flames.

It surged its magnificent body, eyes constantly surveying, as if searching for something.

Suddenly,

it saw a delicate wooden box, fixed in a place within the Void Realm.

Then, it twisted its body and flew towards the box.

When it arrived, the box opened automatically, and a beam of light emerged. Its magnificent body was completely covered by a palm-sized beam of light. It plunged fearlessly into the box.

The box closed immediately, and the Void Realm returned to silence.

In the upper left corner on the box’s front, a line is inscribed—

"A Universe in a Box."

The lower right corner contains another line—

"Guidance of Mentor Fan Wubing, crafted by Zhuge Hong."

On the box’s front, there is also a slightly playful phrase—

"Haha, Master, didn’t I make you proud as your apprentice! You must definitely reward me well by then! Cook me a great feast, and there should be endless cola and snacks!"