Chapter 828: Holding One's Own Fate (2)

'Is he...' I suddenly realized what Black Robe was trying to do. He planned to offer himself as a blood sacrifice for that Mahayana Talisman to complete the final step!

The altar activated, and countless black chains forged a ladder to the heavens. Black Robe walked up it, step by step, heading straight for the tear in the sky.

Blood continuously seeped from the knife plunged into his heart, dripping onto his robe and the path he walked.

Every step was dyed in blood. Black Robe walked agonizingly slowly, stopping only when he reached the boundary between the two worlds. From inside his robe, he carefully cupped a ball of light.

Dazzlingly brilliant, Black Robe held it as if he were holding his entire existence.

Blood pattered against the ground. He stripped off his black robe, revealing a body covered in scars—and that distinctive face!

Half of it was scorched by fire, while the other half was painted with the divine tattoos of Suolong Village. It was just like Lu Xing on the dam, and Lu Shan in the Yin-Yang Boundary.

"Ever since I was a child, my parents and relatives drilled one idea into my head—Everything is Fate, Nothing is up to Man. Our destinies are preordained, and we only need to follow Heaven's arrangements and live our lives. But..." Black Robe murmured to the light in his hands. "Later, they all died. I was the only one left in the entire village."

Black Robe slowly raised his head and gazed up at the sky of the real world. Voice brimming with agony, he demanded, "They revered you as a god, yet you treated them like ants and chess pieces. Do you even deserve to be Heaven?!"

The crimson clouds churned, and boundless Karmic Fire surged toward Black Robe. It was as if Heaven had heard his accusation and flown into a humiliated rage.

A billowing sea of flames swallowed Black Robe. Karmic Fire ravaged his body, slowly melting away his hideous scars. Just when everyone thought he would be burned to ashes...

A charred arm thrust out of the inferno. Holding up that scorching light, he stood at the intersection of the two worlds and forcefully tore out his own heart.

Blood sprayed across the edge of the Dream Realm and splattered against the night sky of reality. Black Robe forced his heart and the ball of light together.

"Today, I spill my blood across the heavens! May all living beings, from this day forth, hold their own fate in their hands—Every Person Like a Dragon!"

When his heart and the light completely fused, Black Robe's body disintegrated into ash. But that Mahayana Talisman, carrying his will, struck toward the heavens!

Piercing the sea of fire, the light surged forward with unstoppable momentum and stabbed right into the sky of the real world.

The crimson clouds dissipated. The golden chains hidden behind them—symbols of order—were shattered to pieces, sending a torrential golden rainstorm sweeping across Jinghai.

Inside the Deep Dream Layer, everyone broke out in a cold sweat. My mind trembled even more as I gritted my teeth and stared fixedly at the light.

Without the peerless killing intent of the Butcher and the Blood Fox as a sacrifice, I didn't know if Black Robe's will alone was enough to pierce the sky sealed by those golden chains.

The dense web of golden chains had shrouded this land for who knew how many eras. But today, they had finally been shaken!

Boom!

The Heaven-Slaughtering Kill Talisman smashed through nine golden locks in a row!

It soared through the clouds, allowing all living beings to finally see the true sky above their heads!

It was an infinitely massive leaf. The golden chains were merely its veins. The Mahayana Talisman had severed a tenth of this single leaf.

Looking out through that severed gap, Destiny's true body resembled an ancient tree of incomprehensible proportions. What had blocked out the sky of the mortal realm was nothing more than a single leaf.

"This is Destiny?"

The sky was dyed in blood, yet the earth radiated a unique vitality. In that instant, every living creature felt an unseen pressure lift from their hearts, leaving them noticeably lighter.

"He actually did it. He wounded Destiny!"

Black Robe got his dying wish, and in doing so, he proved one thing to all of us: Destiny was not invincible!

With its veins severed, the detached tenth of the leaf broke apart into streams of light that showered down onto Jinghai.

Using my Judging Eye, I clearly saw those halos of light actively latch onto the bodies of certain humans and ghosts—Lu Xing and the Ghost Mother among them.

And the largest halo of them all plunged into the Deep Dream Layer, hurtling straight toward me.

I had no time to dodge. The halo reached me and drilled straight into my Ghost Ring, seemingly attaching itself to Wang Shi.

"The Heaven-Slaughtering Talisman should have shattered Heaven's Will. So why are these halos latching onto the living? Is Heaven's Will looking for a new master?" Now wasn't the time to investigate. I gazed up at the sky. A massive, irreparable wound had appeared in the firmament once sealed by the golden chains. Destiny had undeniably been injured, but compared to the sheer size of the ancient tree, it was nothing more than a superficial scratch.

The sky full of Karmic Fire seemed to receive a silent command. It surged back toward the mortal realm, filling the newly formed gap. At the same time, I saw the branches and leaves of the giant tree tremble slightly.

If Destiny's true body was indeed that ancient tree, then it must have been deep in slumber all this time. But now, it was showing signs of waking up!

With the Karmic Fire retreating on its own, the Deep Dream Layer was largely spared from further destruction. Even so, everyone present wore a grim expression.

"Turns out the enemy we're up against isn't even on the same level as us." The Man in the Colorful Robe forced a stiff grin.

"Are you scared?" Xiao A's voice was as cold and haughty as ever.

"Scared? From the moment I became a live show streamer, I forgot the meaning of the word." The Man in the Colorful Robe directed the nightmare and the Nightmare to slaughter the shadowy spiders. His gaze swept past me and the Butcher before landing on Xiao A. "What are your plans? Still planning to fight Destiny to the bitter end?"

"Would you be satisfied backing out now?" Xiao A replied indifferently. "Besides, I have my own reasons for destroying Destiny."

She walked over and stood before me. In her high heels, we were at eye level. Beneath her mask, a rare softness flashed in her eyes. "Do you remember telling me that once your memory returned, you would promise me one thing?"

She stood before me. Behind her lay the twisted city, and above us hung the shattered sky.

"What was it?" I honestly couldn't remember.

"You said you would marry me." Xiao A's words left not just me, but even the Butcher and the Man in the Colorful Robe completely stunned.

"What?!" My voice cracked. I was genuinely startled.

"I was joking. I just wanted to see if your memory had actually returned." Xiao A's voice instantly reverted to its usual icy tone. She walked away, taking a few steps toward the outskirts of the city, before suddenly glancing back at me. "Gao Jian, someone like you is destined to be alone for the rest of your life!"

As I watched Xiao A standing there, a sudden wave of familiarity washed over me. I had an overwhelming urge to pull off her mask.

I raised my hand, but my thoughts involuntarily swept past the four Dragon-Locking Pillars in my sea of consciousness. They sealed away the dust-covered memories of my 2.6 billion reincarnations.

I opened my mouth, but in the end, I swallowed the words I had truly wanted to say. "Aside from loneliness, who else would keep me company?"

"Excuse me, are you two fighting?" The Man in the Colorful Robe coughed dryly, pointing up at the real-world sky above. "What I mean is, perhaps the four of us should sit down and have a chat. A controls the flow of time in the Deep Dream Layer, and I control its memories. In here, we are absolute kings. Now that Destiny's pawns have been exposed, the Deep Dream Layer can serve as our safest and most impenetrable fortress against Destiny."