Mythological origin

Hou Zi glanced at Teach, who had uttered such arrogant words, and for a moment he didn't know how to respond.

He stared at the other man, a near-mad flame burning in Teach's eyes. It wasn't just ambition, but more like a utter contempt for and challenge to the existing order.

In his memory, since the Autumn of the Spirit River—that era that was shrouded in secrecy in the history books of Terra—in the six or seven hundred years of history that he had experienced, whether short or long, there had been very few confirmed reports of the deaths of any of the human beings, not to mention the high and mighty True Immortals, but even the other nobles in the Senate, those extraordinary beings who were at the same level as him in the fifth or sixth tier.

There were occasional rumors, but they were mostly vague excuses such as "seclusion," "long journey," or "exploration of other worlds," and ultimately nothing came of it.

Death, especially the death of top-tier experts, seems to have become a rare commodity in this era.

Although Terran society is quite rigid, it is undeniable that the high priests at the top have indeed maintained a seemingly peaceful and stable environment through their powerful strength and tacit rules.

There are no demonic acts like massacring cities and destroying countries at will, nor do superhumans act arbitrarily here. Ordinary people with civil rights can easily lie down and enjoy a life of extreme material abundance for hundreds of years, thanks to highly developed automated production and AI services.

Most areas were far removed from the war and chaos common in the old days, as prosperous and quiet as Chrysanthemum City, and antisocial elements like Teach were absolute outcasts wherever they were.

Even years ago, when the Blood Alliance secretly carried out a large-scale spatial coordinate distortion, causing many True Immortals to be stranded in other worlds after passing through the cycle of reincarnation, their fates unknown, such a shocking conspiracy was exposed. This caused a huge uproar within the Senate. In the end, it only ended with the Blood Alliance paying an unimaginable amount of resources as compensation, and all parties sitting down to negotiate.

There was no war, nor any relentless pursuit.

The upper echelons of Terra, those individuals and groups who wield world-destroying power, have been striving to prevent a full-blown internal conflict that could tear the continent apart and annihilate civilizations.

They strictly control the intensity of the struggle to a delicate threshold. They can engage in games, compromise, exchange benefits, and even briefly clash to determine who is superior, but they will never allow it to escalate to the point of completely destroying the other party's foundation.

This stems from a collective fear of Bai Mo, who is detached from worldly affairs and unfathomable, but there is also a more fundamental and realistic reason: true immortals are simply too difficult to kill.

Everything is for the sake of existence; existence is everything.

This is not just a slogan, but the core consensus and highest code of conduct for all those who venture into the field of longevity.

The training system and combat philosophy of the upper-class monks of Terra never take pride in becoming a "glass cannon" with terrifying offensive power but extremely fragile.

On the contrary, every powerful person who can reach a high position, no matter how dazzling or bizarre their attack methods are, has an outrageous number of secret techniques and trump cards for survival, escape, rebirth, and substitution. These techniques are often optimized and refined generation after generation.

They can be defeated, wounded, and temporarily suppressed, but the price to pay and the variables to face in order to completely erase their true spirit and destroy all their possibility of resurrection are so great that any rational force would hesitate.

Defeating someone is a tactical issue, but killing them is a strategic or even philosophical one.

This is also the core reason why the Blood Alliance was able to sit down at the negotiating table with the thirteen True Immortals they had offended after causing such a big incident.

Although there are only four True Immortals in the alliance, it is undoubtedly like a mantis trying to stop a chariot to directly confront the wrath of thirteen True Immortals; they absolutely cannot win in a fight.

Conversely, it would be nearly impossible for the thirteen True Immortals to completely kill these four.

At most, we can defeat them, forcing them to abandon their long-established businesses and spheres of influence, and escape into the vast void or hidden corners, becoming "lone wolves" with no worries and no scruples.

Four resentful and unrestrained True Immortal-level "Lone Wolves" lurk in the shadows, bringing endless suspicion, fear, and assassination attempts to the entire world of Terra, ensuring that all those involved will never have peace.

This terrifying balance became the most effective deterrent. "Will we really see the day the sun goes out?" Hou Zi's first thought was tinged with absurdity and bewilderment.

He subconsciously looked up and gazed at the sky through the window.

The sun over the endless earth is now radiating a steady and warm light, seemingly no different from the sun seen from Earth seven hundred years ago in my memory.

The sun went out?

"Thief, hahahahahaha!!!" Edward Teach didn't say much either, neither explaining nor trying to persuade.

He simply let out that signature, hoarse, penetrating, confident grin once again.

Laughter echoed in the living room, causing the window frames to rattle slightly.

He smiled with such certainty, as if the bewilderment in Hou Zi's heart, and the future of "the sun going out," were not questions to him, but rather a predetermined and inevitable picture.

"..."

Bai Mo did not respond further to Teach's bluntness or Hou Zi's confusion.

Without even leaving a word of farewell, the solid phantom, as if drawn by an invisible force, suddenly transformed into a thin stream of light, leaving the tranquil Chrysanthemum City and continuing its journey toward Marinjoia, the political and power center of Terra.

Along his path, Terra's social structure is clearly defined in an almost geographically distinct manner.

Through the blurred vision at high speeds, two distinctly different types of cities can be clearly distinguished.

One type is like Qiuju City, which we just left, with a loose urban layout and a livable environment.

There are only a small number of superhumans in the city who have chosen to lie down completely.

They may have once pursued power, but ultimately chose comfort, coexisting harmoniously with the vast majority of ordinary people in the city who also chose to lie down.

These cities typically lack prominent industrial traces and towering, magnificent buildings; instead, they feature parks, virtual reality access centers, basic living facilities, and community gardens.

They are like tranquil ponds scattered across the endless land, undisturbed by the world, slow to react to changes in the outside world, immersed in a collective, contented stagnation, and in number they make up the vast majority of the empire.

The other type is quite different; they are usually built on nodes where spiritual veins converge.

Even from a distance, one can sense the immense energy fluctuations emanating from them, as well as the visible spiritual light shields or intricate array patterns enveloping them.

These are cities of cultivators, core areas where a large number of extraordinary individuals gather, cultivate, and fight.

P.S.: I've had this idea for a year or two, wanting to create a comic about seekers. Originally, I wanted to hire an artist, but I was worried about their reliability. Then this year, all sorts of useful AI came along, so I just tried it myself. I think the art style is alright. (End of Chapter)