Beichen Sword Sect's Headmaster's Secret Records

Chapter 403 Abandoned Son
Huangfu Yi opened his eyes and looked at the distinctive UI system projection in his field of vision, realizing that he had once again transmigrated into the war wreckage access pod in the Outer Heavens.

Just now... it seemed like he was refining his second primordial spirit, merging with the great demon Baiyang's divine soul, and jointly cultivating the Five Immortals Sword Scripture...

"First-Class Soldier, Xi'an IV, accumulated combat merits 4951. Your Primarch has evolved, new War Skeleton upgrades have been unlocked, and security mechanisms have been activated. You currently have 426 combat merits available..."

Listening to the system's report, Huangfu Yi subconsciously lifted the coffin lid, instinctively wanting to go out of the cabin to fight monsters, but unexpectedly found that the outer hatch and weapon box were locked.

"Beep beep. Communication received from Xi'an-Xianyang High-tech Zone No. 1."

"Hey kid, don't move around now that you're awake. If you're bored, just keep doing your practice problems. We still have two hours before we reach the city."

Upon hearing the sergeant's voice coming through the communication channel, Huangfuyi realized what was happening.

"Is the pidgin fighting over already?"

"Yes, the lunar fleet intercepted Martian reinforcements at TMI. The Martians jumped over to fight a major battle. We have to wait for the results in the sky before deciding where to fight the next battle. Only then will it be our turn to enter the fray and temporarily disengage and retreat to the nest capital for reorganization."

Okay, it sounds like a major battle is taking place elsewhere, and these cannon fodder on the front lines can finally be temporarily withdrawn to rest.

"Nest City... is that the extraterrestrial stronghold? What's it like?"

"What could it look like? It's just a big, deep hole. It's a military base dug into the mountain, an underground shelter for civilians. The system has all the details, you can check it out yourself."

Huangfu Yi was genuinely curious about what the native inhabitants of Tianwaitian were like.

Of course, he knew what they were 'like'; they were shown in various weapon instruction videos. Whether as weapon users or targets, aside from their drastically different clothing, their physiques and facial features were identical to those of Tai Chi humans—no one was missing an arm or a leg. So, he hadn't really noticed before. But ever since he saw the insect hive and the queen…

"Sergeant Major."

"What's wrong? Can't you do a question?"

"There is one thing I don't understand... Are these beings from beyond the heavens considered human... or insects?"

"Ok?"

The person on the other end of the communication channel was taken aback and then suddenly cut off the communication.

Before Huangfuyi could react, a flash of red light appeared before his eyes, and a crimson figure leaped out.

"Blood Demon!!"

Huangfu Yi was shocked! He instinctively reached out to punch him! Suddenly, a jolt of electricity shot through his spine, followed by excruciating pain in his hands and feet! It felt like being struck by lightning, or like being stabbed in the spine with a steel knife, the blade twisting into his bone marrow. Instantly, his whole body stiffened, his muscles went limp and powerless, and he involuntarily knelt on the ground, unable to muster any strength at all!

"Don't be so alarmed. I'm not a Blood Refining God. It's just the Primordial Spirit Transmission Technique. I don't steal souls."

Blood Shadow took two steps and transformed into the sergeant's appearance, squatting down next to Huangfu Yi and taking a look.

"I told you not to move around. We've already left the war zone and entered the safe zone. The war wrecks are all locked now. The safety limiters will greatly suppress the Primarch's power, suppressing us to the level of the natives, to prevent anyone from suddenly reacting and causing any collateral damage."

After all, the people here are quite fragile; they crumble like mud at the slightest touch. If they go berserk and kill too many, people won't hire you to fight monsters anymore...

But you've evolved quite quickly, kid. I remember when I first met you, you were just a body-refining grunt. It would be fine if you just went through some training to build a foundation, but how come you've already formed your core? And how come your primordial spirit has been strengthened so much? How many divine souls did you steal? Are you that incredibly fortunate?
"Never mind, it's none of my business, but...where did you hear about the bugs?"

Huangfu Yi was paralyzed by the electric shock and unable to answer. The sergeant waved his hand in front of his eyes, and the scene he had seen in the insect nest flashed back to him like a revolving lantern.

Huangfu Yi suddenly came to his senses, gritted his teeth and regained his senses, resisting the opponent's soul-searching technique.

"Tch, so stingy, look how much meat they're not even giving away."

So the sergeant withdrew his hand, shrugged, and said...
"But looking at that cave, it's obvious it's the remains of the insectoid race suppressed by the Celestial Palace. So, you've seen insects?"

Huangfu Yi gritted his teeth and got up, having no time to dwell on these things.

"A new queen insect has been born in Taiji Heaven, and I must eliminate it... How much do you know about it?"

The sergeant pointed to the wrecked helmet.
"Not much, not little, I can tell you, you should be able to remember it."

But it's not a good time to talk here; they're listening. I'll come find you.

The sergeant tapped Huangfuyi's helmet, a flash of red light, and the figure vanished.

"Beep beep, cargo 200 has arrived at the combat readiness base. Security restrictions lifted."

Feeling a series of soft cracking sounds all over his body, as if a blade piercing his spine had retracted, Huangfuyi took a breath and walked to the hatch. He found the hatch unlocked, so he pulled back the curtain and looked out. He saw that he was in some kind of man-made, three-dimensional, deep-well-like transportation hub. Rows of containers were being transported at high speed along a magnetic levitation track. Countless doorways and tunnels on the surrounding cantilevered arms converged from all directions, where they were then sorted, unloaded, transferred, and transported to various cargo holds by robotic arms.

Looking at this enormous underground space, with heavy alloy gates and tunnels everywhere, and light bands winding between towering reinforced concrete buildings, Huangfuyi felt a little dazed, and his doubts deepened.

The underground city of the Outer Heavens humans, the underground hive of the Taiji Heavenly Insect Clan, the War Skeleton Armor and the Shangfang Divine Weapon... isn't it a bit too coincidental?
"Bang!" "Ouch!"

A muffled thud came from above. Huangfu Yi turned his head and saw the sergeant walking over on the roof of the vehicle.

"Dance with me."

Without giving Huangfuyi any chance to hesitate, he jumped off the maglev track that was moving at high speed.

Huangfu Yi had no choice but to follow closely behind, quickly leaping out and immediately feeling the pull of gravity and inertia, tumbling and crashing into the tunnel. Fortunately, the war skeleton only limited his strength, its protective capabilities remained undiminished, and he rolled hundreds of meters without a scratch.

Just as he got up, he saw the sergeant strolling over from not far away, taking off his helmet as he walked, revealing a head with its hair and eyebrows completely shaved off, resembling a hard-boiled egg. He took a deep breath.

"Ah, the taste of freedom~~ Throw the helmet here, there's a listening device."

Huangfuyi hesitated before taking off his helmet, then frowned. The air was polluted, filled with dust particles, and the pungent smell of metallic anti-rust paint and synthetic oil filled the air.

"You just jumped out of the car and ran away like that, is that alright?"

Sergeant Major chuckled.
"Of course it's important. They've sent at least a combined arms brigade to ask us to come back, but it's not a big deal. At most, they'll put you in solitary confinement for a week."

"...Why are you putting me in solitary confinement for a week?"

"Yes, I'm here to take you back."

"..."

"Let's go. We only have half an hour at most. Let's find somewhere to talk."

The car had already jumped, so Huangfuyi could only sigh and follow the sergeant out of the tunnel.

Although the underground fortifications are magnificent and spectacular, the space is limited after all. Along the various logistics hub storage warehouses, you can soon see a large number of underground factories, as well as densely packed civilian living quarters stacked like pigeon coops in the gaps of reinforced concrete built on multi-level platform structures.

Clearly, to facilitate transportation and relocation, many of these living quarters were modified from standard shipping containers. Their exterior walls were secured with electrical tape, and they were covered with electrical wiring and circulating water pipes, using the power lines of nearby base factories for management and charging. At a glance, hundreds of living quarters looked like a honeycomb crammed into a bridge archway or cave, extending along warehouses, factories, and railway lines, filling the underground space to the brim.

The sergeant probably knew the new recruit would be curious, so as he passed one of the compartments, he casually knocked on the door. Huangfu Yi peeked inside and saw that the living quarters were even more cramped than his own wreckage repair bay. Inside, there were not only various mechanical devices for maintaining water, oxygen, and temperature, but also at least twenty people lying down.

Well, maybe they can't even be considered human. These natives from beyond the heavens, of all ages and genders, without distinction of category or size, are all uniformly packed in body bags-like plastic films, looking at them like bulging insect eggs.

Even simpler than the war hull, these pods held the humans within the insect eggs, periodically injected with synthetic nutrient solutions to sustain their lives. Their brains were connected to thick, python-like cables, presumably to a network, where they were perhaps lost in some electronic fantasy. The pods were equipped with cleaning drones that performed regular cleaning and maintenance; if someone died, the body was dragged out and sent to an organic nutrient pool for decomposition.

Huangfu Yi glanced at the people inside the cabin, then looked at the Nest City stretching along the dimly lit underground track to its end.

Insects...

"There's no other way. It's a state of war. All resources must be prioritized for combat units. Non-combat personnel can only be left like this for now."

The sergeant, grinning, leaned against the living quarters and introduced the situation with a cheerful smile.
"The doomsday survival system can operate normally for at least sixty years, unless there is a natural disaster, earthquake, or sudden disease."

If the war ends within sixty years and enough living space is created, they can be resurrected in batches via online lotteries.

Huangfu Yi looked at him.

"Sixty years... and we still can't finish fighting?" The sergeant shrugged.

Is that so...? It's obvious, isn't it? In reality, a mortal's lifespan is only about sixty years...

The sergeant chuckled and comforted him.
"Don't be discouraged. Even if the battle is fierce and the world is in chaos, even if all the people in the world are doomed to die."

But as long as that one in ten thousand privileged individuals can survive, human civilization can continue.

Isn't this the path to immortality that your celestial palace seeks? Heh heh…

Huangfu Yi glanced at him sideways.
"Your Excellency need not test me further. I am indeed a member of the Imperial Guard, but I will never again follow the path of the Celestial Palace."

The sergeant laughed.
"Why not leave? This path may not necessarily be bad. When faced with a true catastrophe, disaster, or change, and when there is no other way out, sacrificing the people of the world to allow a small group of elites to survive and continue the flame is the only way."

In any battle, there will always be cannon fodder; in any game of chess, there will always be sacrifices. Sacrifice and sacrifice are inevitable; how can everyone possibly have a happy ending?

Even those of us who are "superior beings from beyond the heavens" are not immune to being abandoned one day, as long as we are born into this situation.

In the end, all one can hope for in a lifetime of cultivation is to outlast on the chessboard, and not be eliminated so quickly. Understand?

Huangfu Yi looked the other person in the eye.
"Alright, since there has to be a sacrifice no matter what, then I'll be the one to sacrifice myself to turn the tide."

Before I am taken away, I will do everything in my power to create more opportunities for the common people to survive.

The sergeant was taken aback at first, then frowned, did some quick calculations with his fingers, and then nodded as if he understood something.
"Oh, you're such a chuunibyou (middle school syndrome) kid?"

Huangfu Yi didn't understand.

The sergeant chuckled.
"No wonder those old fogies in the Xuanmen sect like to pick on a greenhorn like you. Tsk tsk, young people are easy to fool. At this age, you're full of vigor, all brawn and no brains, and you don't know the immensity of heaven and earth."

Using it as a weapon to bang your head against a brick wall is truly the best approach, hehehehe..."

Huangfu Yi said coldly,

"Your Excellency need not continue with your sarcastic remarks. In short, I must eliminate the Queen Insect and save the people of Taiji. If you have no solution, there is no need to waste your time on rambling."

The sergeant smiled.

"Who said I couldn't do it? These mere insects are nothing. I can easily eliminate them with my primordial spirit technique. It's not that difficult."

But that thing isn't worth much anyway, and people can clone another batch and throw it on the ground anytime. What will you do then besides running around like crazy?
"Could you fly to a star and destroy all the Zerg orbital stations?"

Huangfu Yi was speechless.
"I have no idea what you're talking about, but since you're so knowledgeable, you must have a solution, right?"

The sergeant nodded.
"Of course, so the solution to the root of the problem, as I said at the beginning, is right here: just end the war."

Huangfu Yi frowned, momentarily puzzled, yet at another moment seemingly enlightened.

The sergeant major stopped beating around the bush and patted the surrounding living quarters.

"If someone only had a superficial understanding, they probably wouldn't believe you even if I told them. But since you've seen it with your own eyes, you should be able to figure it out by now."

This outer heaven is intricately connected to my Taiji Heaven, bound by cause and effect and destiny.

To put it simply, it's the same universe, just at different times.

The outer heaven is the cause of the Taiji Heaven.

Taiji Heaven is the fruit of the outer heaven.

The wreckage, mechs, and drones you see here today will one day emerge from their cocoons and hatch into adult insects.

It is precisely because this war was never over that these insects were born from winning the war.

Therefore, they will continue to evolve, fight endlessly, and wipe out all living beings.

They will not rest until all enemies are wiped out and a safe space is created for the long-extinct 'humans' who protect them to hatch and be reborn.

Cause and effect are intertwined, like the snake that bites its own tail, its mouth and tail intertwined, endlessly cycling.

Therefore, the fundamental purpose of us standing here at this moment is to reverse the future apocalypse and end this war right now, in this place.

Stop everything at its source and end this cause and effect.

"If that were the case, insects would not be born."

Upon hearing this, Huangfu Yi's eyes brightened and his pupils cleared.
"Understand cause and effect from the root."

Seeing that this kid actually seemed eager to try, the sergeant sneered and poured cold water on his enthusiasm.

"What, you really want to be a savior? I advise you not to get too excited."

Although I don't know who this powerful being is, with such time-reversal abilities, could even drag me to this godforsaken place to play a dungeon.

But at least I've come to understand one thing. The outcome of the battle between you and me, and even this world, is actually irrelevant.

We're nothing more than pawns discarded in this game.

Huangfu Yi did not understand.
"Abandoned son?"

The sergeant nodded.

"That's right. You've also redeemed things from the system before, so do you know which Earth this is?"

"Which number... Earth..."

The sergeant didn't care whether he could keep up or not, and directly revealed the answer.

"60, Earth is 60."

The outer heavens, the Taiji heavens—whatever we call it, this world is referred to as Earth in the system.

So they're very open and honest; they just tell you clearly.

This is Earth 60! So, the same Earth, the same time and space, the same game, they've already played it 59 times!

You, me, and all living beings beyond the Taiji Heaven are nothing more than misguided paths and discarded pawns of possibility, held in the palm of someone else's hand.

This is called the Great Dao of Time and Space, you know what I mean?

Huangfu Yi stared at him blankly, remaining silent for a long time. Only when blue and red lights flashed above his head, and swarms of mechs, like thunderclouds and crimson clouds, poured out from countless tunnel entrances, obscuring half the sky, did he finally speak with difficulty.
"Liar, liar... It must be you, you miscalculated..."

The sergeant sneered.
"I, Zheng Shanyin, am a supreme master of the Ten Absolutes and the leader of the Blood Code Sect! How could I possibly miscalculate!?"
If only this were truly calculated! This is my enlightenment, you know!
You little rascal, you keep coming and going like that, don't you know what's going on?
That bastard hiding behind the scenes! Scheming, plotting, backstabbing! While I was in a dreamlike state, he's kept me trapped here for almost sixty years!
Back when I was sweeping through the Western Regions, I killed all sorts of insect queens and kings. So how could I possibly be kept in the dark about this little thing in the Outer Heaven?

I saw it all along! Just you wait and see. In the end, we're all just pawns crossing the river, stepping on minefields!
If they lose this match, it doesn't matter to them. They'll just lose and start another round on 'Earth 61'!
But for us, that's the end of the world!

"Not only will you die, but I will die too! The entire Taiji Heaven will be buried with you!"

Before Huangfu Yi could even process what he had said, this dignified Blood Scroll Supreme, the leader of a sect, expertly raised his hands to his head and crouched down, roaring at the overwhelming swarm of insects.

"Don't shoot! Don't shoot! We're on the same side! We're all on the same side!"

Huangfu Yi reacted a beat too slow and was immediately overwhelmed by a barrage of electric shock probes.

(End of this chapter)