93: Chapter 93 Choice

Chen Zhen stared at the huge dark red stone without speaking.

The voice in his mind rang out again, sounding as if it came from very far away, yet also right beside his ear: "Eighteen fragments, eighteen nodes. Aren't you curious why it is you?"

Chen Zhen opened his mouth: "Why is it me?"

"Because you are different."

The thing inside the stone was moving, contracting and expanding like a heart. With every contraction, the dark red light grew a fraction brighter.

"Everyone else is controlled by the pollution; only you can purify it. You possess something they do not."

Chen Zhen did not speak.

The thing continued: "You completed the Fusion of two fragments, yet did not lose control. You killed my Puppet, yet only spent half a day purifying the fragments. You stand here, facing me, without fear."

It paused.

"Are you not afraid of me?"

Chen Zhen thought about it.

"A little afraid."

The thing was stunned for a moment, then laughed.

The laughter was strange, like the sound of stones grinding against each other, but it was indeed laughter.

"A little afraid?" It repeated the words. "A little afraid, and you stand here? A little afraid, and you walked in?"

Chen Zhen looked at it.

"Because you cannot kill me."

The laughter stopped.

Silence.

A very, very long silence.

Then the thing spoke, its voice changed; it was no longer ethereal as before, but became grave: "How do you know?"

Chen Zhen did not answer.

He raised his right hand, and a mass of dark blue light ignited in his palm.

It was not ordinary Star Radiance; it was the Origin of the spiritual pearl in his Dantian after the Fusion of two fragments.

The light grew brighter and stronger, illuminating the entire underground space.

Where the light touched the huge dark red stone, it began to smoke.

The runes flickered wildly, as if they had been scorched.

The thing inside the stone let out a muffled groan.

"You... you have..."

It did not finish.

Chen Zhen finished for it: "I have two fragments. One from Dongshan, one from that Puppet. But that is not what you are talking about, right?"

There was no response from inside the stone.

Chen Zhen continued: "You are talking about me. There is something inside my body to begin with."

He stared at the stone.

"Do you know what that is?"

Silence.

A long silence.

Then the thing spoke, its voice much weaker: "Are you... a descendant of that person?"

That person?

"Which person?"

The thing inside the stone did not answer.

It merely muttered to itself, as if recalling something, or perhaps in fear: "Ten thousand years... I thought he was dead... How could his Bloodline still exist..."

Ten thousand years.

Bloodline.

Chen Zhen stood there, the light in his palm still burning.

"Speak clearly."

The thing was silent for a few seconds.

Then it said: "You carry his blood. The first person to achieve Fusion with the Star Core, the first to walk the Heavenly Road, the first to... place me under the Seal."

The first person to achieve Fusion with the Star Core.

The first person to walk the Heavenly Road.

The one who placed the Seal on it.

Chen Zhen looked down at his hands.

His Bloodline?

"What is his name?"

The thing shook its head, if that mass could shake its head.

"I do not know. He never said his name. He only said that he would return."

It paused.

"I waited here for ten thousand years, only to have his descendant come."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

Then he asked: "Do you still want to kill me now?"

The thing gave a bitter laugh.

"Kill you? I cannot even touch you. The Bloodline you carry naturally suppresses me."

Chen Zhen retracted the light in his palm.

"Then let me ask you, that source, the black light spot on Kunlun Mountain, was that a fake signal you set?"

"Yes."

"Why?"

"To lure away those who wanted to kill me," the thing said. "I am trapped here by the Seal and cannot leave, but my intent can influence the fragments outside. I placed a fake signal on Kunlun Mountain, and everyone thought I was there."

It paused.

"Until you came."

Chen Zhen looked at it.

"And now? Do you still want to continue polluting other fragments?"

The thing was silent.

Chen Zhen continued: "You have been under the Seal for ten thousand years, lonely for ten thousand years. You hate the person who put the Seal on you, you want to leave, you want revenge. But will killing those innocent fragment-holders really bring you release?"

There was no response from inside the stone.

Chen Zhen waited a few seconds, seeing it did not speak, he turned and walked out.

After taking a few steps, the thing suddenly spoke.

"Wait."

Chen Zhen stopped.

The thing was silent for a long time.

Then it said: "Are you willing to... help me?"

Chen Zhen turned back to look at it.

"Help you with what?"

"Help me find release," the thing said. "I have been trapped here for ten thousand years, it has been enough. I do not want to pollute anyone anymore, I do not want to kill anyone anymore, I just want to... vanish."

Chen Zhen stared at it for a long time.

"How can I believe you?"

The thing gave a bitter laugh.

"You carry his blood. You can naturally see through my truth and falsehood. Sense it yourself, and you will know if what I said is true."

Chen Zhen closed his eyes and activated [Star Core: Second Layer].

The spiritual pearl in his Dantian spun wildly, and Stellar Energy poured into the huge stone.

In his perception, he "saw" the true form of that thing.

It was not a demon, not a monster.

It was a person.

An aged person sealed inside the stone, on the verge of dissipating.

He wore clothes from ten thousand years ago, eyes closed, curled up in the deepest part of the stone. His body was already translucent, as if he could disappear at any moment.

There was a tear at the corner of his eye.

Chen Zhen opened his eyes.

"You... are human?"

The thing gave a bitter laugh.

"I once was. The first person to achieve Fusion with the Star Core, the first to walk the Heavenly Road, the first to... be placed under the Seal by me."

It paused.

"I placed the Seal on him, and I could not leave either. Ten thousand years, we have been trapped here together."

Chen Zhen was silent for a long time.

Then he asked: "How can I help you?"

The thing—no, the person—opened his eyes.

His eyes were pale gold, very bright and clear.

"Use the Bloodline you carry," he said. "You are the only person I can touch. Only you can kill me."

Chen Zhen looked at him.

"If I kill you, will you be released?"

He nodded.

"Ten thousand years is enough."

Chen Zhen was silent for a few seconds.

Then he raised his right hand, and the mass of dark blue light ignited again in his palm.

He walked to the huge stone, reached out, and pressed his hand against the surface.

The light grew brighter and stronger.

The stone began to crack, the runes shattered one by one, and the dark red light dissipated bit by bit.

Cracks spread from Chen Zhen's palm, spreading to the entire stone.

Ten seconds later, the stone shattered.

It turned into countless tiny specks of light, dissipating into the air.

The person fell out of the stone and lay on the ground.

He opened his eyes and looked at Chen Zhen.

He smiled.

"Thank you."

His body began to dissipate, starting from his feet, turning into specks of light bit by bit.

Chen Zhen crouched down and looked at him.

"What is your name?"

He thought for a moment.

"It has been a long time... since anyone asked me that." He smiled slightly. "Call me... Nameless."

The specks of light spread to his chest.

He looked at Chen Zhen, his gaze very gentle.

"You carry his Bloodline, and also his kindness," he said. "The Heavenly Road will open soon. You have almost collected all eighteen fragments. When that time comes, you will see him."

"Who?"

"My Original Body," he said. "The first person to achieve Fusion with the Star Core, the first to walk the Heavenly Road. He is on the other side, waiting for you."

The specks of light spread to his neck.

He said one last sentence.

"Tell him... I do not blame him anymore."

Then he dissipated completely, turning into countless specks of light that drifted upward.

Chen Zhen stood where he was, watching those specks of light disappear into the cave ceiling.

The underground space fell silent.

The huge stone was gone, and the person who had been trapped under the Seal for ten thousand years was gone too.

Only he remained.

He stood there, silent for a long time.

Then he turned around and walked out.

When he reached the cave entrance, Yun Xi was waiting there.

She looked at him, her expression complex.

"Did you... kill him?"

Chen Zhen nodded.

Yun Xi was silent for a few seconds.

"What... was he?"

Chen Zhen thought for a moment.

"A person who waited for ten thousand years."