230: Ten thousand year old ghost town, the afterimage of the venerable

Su Lei quickly returned to the bridge.

“Enter.”

The Lightless transformed into a streak of light, and beside the magnificent flagship frozen in time, it plunged unhesitatingly into the unknown gate leading to the civilization of the previous era.

The moment it rushed into the rift, the world was crammed into a bottle, then shaken frantically.

Up, down, left, right, time, space—all familiar concepts were torn to shreds.

After a violent jolt that felt like it would shatter the keel, everything suddenly went still.

A silence like death.

Outside the viewport was the eternal Void Realm, capable of sucking in light and hope.

In this Void Realm, floated the shattered corpse of an enormous city.

Broken sky bridges resembled the ribs of mythical Dragons; collapsed towers, each fragment larger than a modern city.

“This is Gui Xu?”

Chen Mo’s voice was dry and hoarse.

“No…”

Su Lei’s voice echoed in his mind: “This is the city wall, the outer perimeter of the tomb. The true core is there.”

Before he finished speaking, a translucent figure appeared out of thin air on a broken spire in the distance.

It wore ancient armor, carried a broken spear, and in its eye sockets, two pinpricks of red light glowed.

A chilling killing intent instantly crossed thousands of miles of Void Realm, precisely piercing the Lightless.

“The Souls of the fallen…”

Su Lei said concisely: “Physical attacks are ineffective; their prey are the Souls of living beings.”

The next second, the Soul had passed through the hull, appearing in the center of the bridge, raising its broken spear of resentment, and thrusting it directly at Chen Mo!

Chen Mo felt a cold hand gripping his consciousness, about to forcibly pull him out from the top of his head!

Just then, Su Lei, sitting in the captain’s chair, merely lifted his eyelids and glanced at the Soul.

“Hiss…”

A soft sound, like ice dropping into boiling oil.

The fierce Soul’s overwhelming resentment was instantly purified, rapidly dissipating.

In the dead silent city ruins, thousands of crimson light points lit up in unison, like a silent tide, surging forward.

“Damn…”

Chen Mo, who had just caught his breath, nearly choked again.

Su Lei stood up: “Lin Qianqian, set sail, target the central giant tower. I will clear the way for you.”

He closed his eyes, and an indescribable, warm yet majestic golden wave of light, with the Lightless as its center, erupted and spread!

Wherever the light wave passed, all the Souls stopped, the crimson flames in their eyes gradually extinguished, replaced by a sense of peaceful liberation.

They slowly performed an ancient and solemn military salute towards the Lightless, then transformed into countless golden light particles, embracing a rest that was ten thousand years overdue.

Su Lei’s face paled slightly.

The Lightless sped forward, and just as it was about to reach the base of the giant tower, a pressure a hundred times more terrifying than all the previous thousands of Souls combined, descended from the tower’s peak!

A figure, dressed in a magnificent white robe, with handsome features but eyes that were a dead, dark void, appeared at the top of the tower.

“The Tower Guardian, the remnant of a Venerable from the previous era.”

Su Lei’s voice became solemn: “His obsession has merged with the Law of the entire city.”

He stepped out of the bridge, suspended in the Void Realm, facing that terrifying existence directly.

“You go in, find the item. Then, survive.”

Lin Qianqian and Chen Mo rushed into the nebula vortex at the base of the tower, their consciousness instantly sucked into a brand new space, the interior of the Tower of Time.

An ancient and grand voice echoed in their Souls: “Enter the Sand of Time, guard yourself, and only then can you pass the trial.”

…Lin Qianqian smelled the familiar aroma of braised pork.

She opened her eyes, lying in her room from her maiden years.

Outside the door, her mother’s voice called: “Qianqian, dinner’s ready!”

Her heart was fiercely gripped. She rushed out of the room and saw her mother in an apron and her father reading the newspaper in the living room.

Everything was exactly the same as that afternoon ten years ago, before the beast tide arrived.

“Dad, Mom…”

Her voice trembled.

Warm, real, happy.

She was almost ready to succumb.

But as she prepared to embrace her mother, she saw that deep within those gentle eyes, there was no focus, like two beautiful glass beads.

A bucket of ice water poured over her head.

This is not my mom.

My mom’s eyes had light when she looked at me.

“My parents exchanged their lives for my present…”

She spoke each word, tears streaming down her face: “Not for me to be a deserter in a false haven of warmth!”

“Get lost!”

The roar from her Soul caused the warm home before her to shatter inch by inch…Chen Mo, on the other hand, stood at the pinnacle of power, enjoying the cheers of the masses, with everyone who had once looked down on him now fawning over him.

This feeling was incredibly exhilarating.

But just as he was feeling light-headed, he saw a figure in the corner below the stage, also applauding for him: Su Lei.

No, wasn’t Su Lei supposed to be on stage bestowing honors upon me?

A terrifying thought exploded: It’s all fake! The real Su Lei is currently outside the tower, fighting desperately against a Venerable-level monster for their sake!

And I, am I here enjoying a false dream?

“What am I?! Do I even deserve this?”

He slapped himself hard: “What I want is not this false crown, but the qualification to truly stand shoulder to shoulder with him one day! Wake up!”

The Hall of Glory, collapsed with a crash…Their consciousness returned.

The huge stone statue holding an hourglass inside the tower showed a hint of surprise in its eyes and slowly handed over the hourglass in its hand…Meanwhile, Su Lei’s trial was even more brutal.

Again and again, he stood in the center of Xinghui City, watching helplessly as that sky-obscuring giant claw easily wiped away everything he cherished.

In one Reincarnation, he transformed into a Divine Demon, fighting until his Divine Soul shattered.

In another Reincarnation, he chose to watch with cold eyes, but was swallowed by deeper pain.

In the next, he personally buried that world, leaving only boundless solitude.

His Dao Heart was on the verge of collapse.

“Give up, latecomer…”

The ancient voice sounded: “This is an irreversible destiny; your protection is meaningless.”

Just as his consciousness was about to sink, the heroic laugh of Zhao Wufeng before he charged into a certain death situation flashed in his mind.

Is the meaning of protection in the outcome?

No.

The meaning of protection lies in doing what must be done, even when knowing it’s impossible.

It lies in where you choose to stand when destruction is inevitable!

“I understand.”

Su Lei’s nearly extinguished flame of consciousness suddenly transformed into a raging inferno.

“Even if I reincarnate billions of times, my choice will always be only one. I am my Dao!”

Boom!!!!

The entire illusionary world completely shattered before this pure will!

Su Lei’s consciousness returned; he was still standing outside the tower.

The darkness in the Tower Guardian’s eyes was instantly replaced by unbelievable horror.

Su Lei looked at it, calmly extended his hand, and a ray of light touched the center of its brow.

“Your obsession, it’s time to let it go.”

The deathly stillness and horror in the Tower Guardian’s eyes dissipated together, turning into a smile of relief, and its body transformed into countless light particles.

Among them, a brilliant golden grain of Sand of Time slowly flew out and landed in Su Lei’s palm.

The first Civilization Cornerstone, the Sand of Time, was acquired.

The moment the Sand of Time touched his skin, it wasn’t a gentle warm current, but scorching, golden magma, as if from the heart of a star!

It forcefully branded through Su Lei’s flesh, frantically flowing upstream along the meridians of his arm. Wherever it passed, his limbs and bones seemed to groan under the unbearable strain, only to be reshaped at a higher level!

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