268: Chapter 268 Ripples

With the descent of Cthulhu, the main world of Blue Star was in a state of total collapse.

The Spirit Vein Small World finally could no longer withstand this terrifying chain reaction and began a destructive disintegration.

Once the Spirit Vein Small World completely collapsed, the destruction speed of the main Blue Star world, which had lost its spirit vein support...

...would instantly accelerate by thousands of times.

By then, it wouldn't just be those defenseless mortals who would suffer.

It would be the complete collapse of the entire space.

Even Fourteenth Stage Transcendent Heroic Spirits like Zhuge Jinyu and Ye Jingjun...

...and even Su Chen, whom they were desperately protecting behind them... would all die!

"I must go back."

"Bai Suzhen, you must go back and reconnect the Spirit River."

"Last time, it was also..."

Bai Suzhen's voice was so weak it seemed it might cut off at any moment.

Listening to her sister's murmurs, Xiao Qing felt like a knife was twisting in her heart; the pain was so intense she could barely breathe.

How could she not know the price of reconnecting the Spirit River?

That world was already riddled with holes.

And as a xianxia small world...

...even for those titan sects at the source of the Spirit River...

...producing an ancestor who could barely break through to the Thirteenth Stage was already the limit.

To repair the severed Spirit River...

...the only way...

...was for her sister, Bai Suzhen, to use her own Fourteenth Stage Transcendence Realm origin soul to fill it.

With the powerful spiritual energy in Bai Suzhen's body filling it, the flow of the entire Spirit River would be temporarily restored for a period of time.

Although it was only a stopgap measure, it was better than immediate total destruction.

But...

...given Bai Suzhen's current physical condition...

...the very moment the repair ended and the Spirit River was reshaped...

...would be the moment Bai Suzhen's soul perished and she was completely erased from this universe.

"Why?"

"Why does it have to be you again!"

Xiao Qing wailed in collapse.

Not just for Bai Suzhen, but for herself as well.

If Bai Suzhen sacrificed herself, she would be next, leading the White Snake Cult to follow in her sister's footsteps and become part of the Spirit River's waters at any moment.

"In the first life, he was a dragon prince that everyone wanted to kill; you were his master and sacrificed all your cultivation for him."

"In the second life, you were his lawfully wedded wife, staying by his side through thick and thin, and even bore him a son."

"Now that Blue Star is about to be destroyed, those three vixens are down there holding him in a passionate embrace; why should you be the one to go and die for them?"

"Sister, let's go back, okay?"

"Let's go find Young Master Su. With his vast divine powers, he might be able to find a way to save you."

"Silly girl..."

With great effort, Bai Suzhen raised a hand and tremblingly touched Xiao Qing's tear-stained cheek.

In those clear and beautiful eyes, there was no resentment, no unwillingness.

She smiled gently.

"That's why I say you've always been so naive; no matter how long you live, you're like a child who hasn't grown up."

"Fate is just like this."

"In this world, there aren't that many 'whys.'"

"Xiao Qing, you don't understand love."

"You think you've 'fallen' for Su Chen, but in the end, you're just captivated by his appearance and bearing."

"This is not true love."

"In the eyes of humans, snakes and foxes are animals that are extremely good at seduction and are fickle."

"But only we know..."

...that in our entire lives, we will only ever choose one partner."

"To love someone isn't about wanting to possess all of them, but being willing to... give everything for them."

"He is my husband."

"He wants to protect the common people of this world, so I will guard the foundation of this world for him."

"If he wanted to destroy the common people of this world, then I would become the sharpest blade in his hand."

"As long as he can live well, who he is with... what does it matter?"

The travel speed of a Fourteenth Stage was terrifying, shrinking the earth to inches.

In the time it took to speak a few sentences, the two figures had already crossed thousands of mountains and rivers.

They arrived in the interior of Great Xia, in the sky above Yuhang City.

Buzz—!

In the sky above West Lake.

An ancient formation passage connecting to the Spirit Vein Small World was flickering faintly in the mist.

That was their way home, and also the final destination where Bai Suzhen would walk toward her death.

Just as she was about to step into the passage...

...a second before completely leaving the main world of Blue Star...

Bai Suzhen suddenly stopped.

The wild wind blew against her snow-white clothes.

She slowly lowered her head, taking one last look at the city below shrouded in misty rain.

Qiantang.

This city was not only connected by aura to the Spirit Vein Small World she belonged to and was the path she had to take to go home...

...it was also exactly the same as the city she had lived in for a lifetime in that parallel world.

To preserve the original appearance of the West Lake scenic area, the Great Xia officials forbade the construction of high-rise buildings around the lake.

The entire area around West Lake perfectly preserved its ancient charm.

Broken Bridge.

Lingering Snow.

Leifeng Pagoda.

And the shimmering lake water.

It was a complete one-to-one replica.

At the moment she looked down...

...countless memories sealed deep in her soul flashed wildly through Bai Suzhen's mind like a revolving lantern.

The reunion by West Lake, the brief glimpse under the oil-paper umbrella.

The wedding night with flickering red candles, and those eyes so gentle they could melt water when he lifted her red bridal veil.

When she endured bone-eroding pain, drenched in sweat to give birth to his child...

...he held her hand tightly and swore to protect her for all eternity.

"Disciple..."

"Young Master Su..."

"My lord..."

"Husband..."

"Su Chen..."

Each name she had once called him, whispers she only dared to utter a thousand times in her dreams...

...finally turned into a single hot, clear tear.

It slid down from the corner of her beautiful eye.

With a "plink," it smashed onto the calm surface of West Lake.

It created a ripple that no one would ever know about.

She had used her short yet long life to love a man as dazzling as a comet.

In the end, she couldn't even say a proper goodbye.

"Forget it..."

Bai Suzhen took one last deep look in the direction of the East Sea.

Then, she shook her head sorrowfully.

Without another moment of hesitation or looking back...

"Let's go."

A flash of white light.

Two figures of devastating beauty, one in green and one in white, silently and eternally disappeared into the vast misty rain above West Lake.

...

At this moment above the East Sea, the sea breeze was still biting cold.

After a brief moment of tenderness, Zhuge Jinyu's cold, fox-like eyes slightly closed.

As the person among the four women present most skilled in the path of Divine Sense...

...the responsibility of investigating the situation in Great Xia and determining their next course of action undoubtedly fell on her.

As golden ripples radiated outward from her as the center...

...the powerful Divine Sense belonging to a Fourteenth Stage Transcendent Heroic Spirit instantly swept across half of Great Xia's territory.

A moment later, she opened her eyes.

A rare look of solemnity appeared on her exquisite face.

"The situation is very bad."