Forge a path to success

Nobody expects you to live!

"Even if no one expects me, this world still needs me. The Realm of Submersion still needs the Demon King, still needs fear!!"

He had actually regained some of his strength. The emotions that had surged during his roars were mending his wounds.

"In this cruel world, naive people cannot survive."

Only when brave people step forward can the future of all living beings be protected.

Such a person cannot be born in a greenhouse. They need regret, fear, pain, and the radiant courage to overcome it all. And born from this is the King of Nightmares!

He also gripped Chu Hengkong's fist, wrestling with the assassin. He refused to give an inch, asserting his own stance.

"My trials gave birth to knights in the world."

My first death allowed Chongming to grow.

The wilderness I left behind after my death has nurtured generation after generation of warriors who dared to challenge the heavenly prison.

And now, you have grown stronger because of my trials. You are the heroes I am most proud of!

"But what will happen if I really die?"

Will there still be so many brave warriors? Will there still be so many soldiers?

A weak life will ultimately be defeated by malice. What will become of the Allies? What will become of our dreams?!

He was almost turning into a beast in human form; his grip was so strong it could crush Chu Hengkong's bones.

"It can't end yet. It absolutely cannot stop here."

You have won. I will allow you to proceed to the next level of Heavenly Prison.

But the Nightmare King must exist, to remain for this world!

Chu Hengkong took a deep breath. To defeat this contradictory and mad life, he had to break his obsession. He uttered words that came from the bottom of his heart.

"—You're wrong, Vansalal."

"I was wrong?" The Nightmare King laughed maniacally, then roared, "You witnessed the truth of this world with your own eyes! Tell me! What wrong have I done?!"

All the things I've experienced along the way flashed through my mind.

The impoverished citizens of Huilong City. The helpless ghosts of Yingshi Town. The citizens of Jinye City affected by the natural disaster. The desperate people and warriors in the fog in the wilderness.

Their prayers. Their hopes. Their lives, their joys and sorrows, their tears... and their dreams.

No longer as an assassin.

As a man who rebelled against the Demon King, Chu Hengkong roared loudly.

"Even the weak have the right to live!"

In an instant, Vansalar stopped moving.

Words, like sharp spears, pierced deeply into his heart.

—It seems I've heard similar words before.

When was it? Was it during a casual chat with the knight? A conversation with his apprentice? An argument with Lavaiva? Or a lively discussion with Karsold?

No, not at all. It seems to have been much, much longer ago. A very, very long time ago.

The man's fist broke free from the demon king's restraints. Vansalal's arm slowly fell to his sides.

He remembered. That unprecedented lecture. The audience who were hoping for help. That radiant, confident "Grand Master".

That was the will he once proclaimed.

The principles he once firmly believed in.

"Indeed..."

Correct, words.

With the final punch, Vansalal collapsed into the foul-smelling mud.

Scenes from the past flashed before his eyes, memories gradually blurring in his dream. Suddenly, the world brightened, and many people stood in the light. Familiar faces waved to him. Vaklo, Burning Ash, Cursed Thunder… everyone was there, friends and disciples standing on that side, awaiting his arrival.

It seemed like a long time ago, a moment taken during one of the busiest days. The Grand Master walked over and chatted cheerfully with his disciples, proclaiming that they would eventually change the world.

The past glory has faded, and Vansalal closes his eyes.

He departed peacefully in the darkness of a dreamless world.

Chapter 250 Farewell to the Despairing Wilderness

In the silent, colorless torrent, the Land of Despair met its long-awaited end.

The thunderclouds dissipated, the mist dissipated, and the sea crossed the border, washing over the parched soil. The eternally dark night sky gradually faded away, and even the moonlight dimmed, like a pale black veil shrouding the vast land. A tiny, extremely faint sliver of light pierced through the veil, forming a small dot on the ground.

That is the light of the sun.

At the juncture of heaven and earth, a white light rose. After hundreds of years of darkness, the desolate wilderness welcomed the sunrise.

The outermost layer of the Heavenly Prison border, the embodiment of the concept of despair, the "Wilderness" that all the supreme beings of the Sinking Realm unanimously deemed impenetrable, collapsed at this moment.

Thus, the battlefield, isolated by time, reappeared in the world.

The long-forgotten "past" returns to the present, flowing with the tide to the other side of the ocean.

·

The Mysterious Realm of Senluo, the Spiral Tower.

Karl Sord stepped out of the laboratory, rummaging through a new batch of manuscripts among countless doors. He was always so busy, with so many theories waiting for him to verify. He casually pushed open a door—which seemed to have been a meditation room just last week, and now a tea room—and turned the manuscript into a cup of tea. A small demon crouched in the corner of the room.

"Good progress lately, old buddy," he said casually. "We're one step closer to our goal, just one thin veil away from reaching the Spirit Realm. Who knows, you might just take another nap and wake up to have tea with us."

The demon smirked, smiling like a child.

"...Vansara?"

The teacup shattered on the floor, and Karsod's fingertips trembled. He reached for the smiling demon, its elemental life dissipating into meaningless shadows that flowed from his fingertips like water.

"No! No! Don't..." Karsod's expression changed drastically, "Vansarar!!!"

He knelt on the ground, frantically grasping at the water-like shadow. He used magic to shape it, he twisted time and space, he grasped the lines of cause and effect, but even with all his efforts, the Sorcerer Supreme could not avert the predetermined fate.

Calsod held the shadow that was about to fade away and wept bitterly.

"My best... friend..."

On this day, the entire Realm of Dust was ravaged by torrential rain. The furious downpour raised the level of the Sea of ​​Illusions, carrying the Sage Supreme's sorrow to every Dust Isle. The incessant sound of the rain mingled with the dying cries of wild beasts. All the demons of the world emerged from the shadows, their cries a lament for their progenitor. Overwhelmed by emotion, their bodies crumbled, and approximately two-thirds of the demons perished simultaneously, ending countless tragedies.

The survivors were at a loss, only feeling the ocean-like sorrow in the cries.

This should have been a golden opportunity for the demons, but the sea was deathly still. The cursed jellyfish rose from the deep sea once more, and the demons, fearing its presence, dared not proceed.

Olek gazed at the gloomy sky, recalling the rainy night long ago when he first met his friend.

“I’ve told you many times, the more radical a person is, the faster they die,” it said. “Only by conforming to the world can you survive, why can’t you understand…”

The dead one has finally left, and from now on, no one will play with it anymore.

Its sighs drifted into the distance with the sound of rain, like a ghost singing a mournful song.

In the northeastern part of the Mysterious Realm of Senluo, the Eternal Calamity deployed its reconnaissance unit above the water. Having completed its analysis of the currents, it transmitted the information back to the homeland.

“3001/4/21，0:00:00，确认L-001号坍灭神‘恐惧’……”永劫号略作停顿，“前大法师凡萨拉尔死亡。”

All Imperial units with a mass of 5 or higher received the message, and 0.1 standard seconds later, a huge uproar erupted in the communications network. It had been a long time since all the high-ranking members of the Empire had participated in a discussion; the last time such a scene was witnessed was when the Empire itself was born.

Most of the true machines were calculating their future development, while a few veteran members—those who were once giants, the respectable prototypes—were reminiscing about the past. The Eternal Calamity read the words from the past while simultaneously reading the records from the day the Spiral Tower fell.

The Empire of Truth has no secrets or privacy; anyone with sufficient access can browse all information. It looks at the records of the Empire's high-ranking officials' discussions, as well as the results of the oracle's calculations from that day.

Regarding the top-down contagious deduction of elemental magic, evidence of communication between one of the Spiral Tower's higher-ups and Black Moon, and the possibility of the Sorcerer Supreme being taken advantage of due to time zone differences... the entire higher-ups unanimously passed a resolution, and the Emperor took urgent action...

"What do you think of the Eternal Calamity?" the former Imperial Chancellor asked.

"The Empire made a wrong judgment, but this mistake only hastened its destruction. The facts are as the Oracle has calculated. The corruption of the Sorcerer Supreme was already inevitable," said Eternal Calamity.

"Fragile emotions are hard to trust, and many things are predetermined from the beginning. This is what people call 'fate'."

·

Chu Hengkong felt he had been unconscious for an hour, perhaps two. Because he hadn't had time to dream; dreams always come only in long sleep.

When his companions helped him up and he opened his eyes to see their unhealed wounds, he realized he had only been unconscious for a few dozen seconds. Ji Huaisu waved vigorously in front of him, and he managed to exhale, letting out a weak breath to tell his partner that he was still conscious.

“Open your eyes and look around, man.” He heard Vander’s bewildered voice. “This is probably the craziest sight we’ve ever seen in our lives…”

A blazing sun and a black moon hung simultaneously in the sky, their interplay of day and night creating a chaotic void. The mist, constantly dissipating, was then gathered again by the strong winds, forming a massive vortex at the zenith. The pillars supporting the wilderness collapsed; contradictory forces emerged simultaneously, and the world descended into chaos, like the delirium of a madman.

The long-parched land became moist, colorless water flowing across the earth, dividing the land into fine sand. Chu Hengkong realized it was seawater; this land, deprived of its support, was about to return to the ocean. He desperately wanted to move, but for a moment he couldn't. The excruciating pain in his back hadn't subsided; instead, it was intensifying. The broken wing seemed to have taken root in his back, impossible to remove.

"Ah Kong, don't touch that thing yet." Ji Huaisu was a little nervous. "You're too badly injured right now. I'm afraid you won't breathe if I pull it out."

"Where are the others?" Chu Hengkong strained to look up. "Is the settlement still there?"

"It's still there, very close to us." Qingye raised her hand and looked around.

They also saw the settlement; the small village, protected by the Tree of Light, was approaching them like a ship without sails. The settlement, secured by the sacred pillars, was the most secure land they had found at that moment; in reality, they had been swept there by the sea.

Chu Hengkong estimated it would take about half a minute to arrive. He turned his head and spotted a familiar figure on a sand dune that was about to collapse. The dog-man, Wolfka, sat on the dune, smiling and waving at him.

Over here. Chu Hengkong was too exhausted to speak, so he mouthed to him, "Come over here..."

But Vovka didn't reply, only smiled contentedly. The sea was about to engulf the dunes; he let out a long cry, turned, and walked into the sea.

Chu Hengkong understood and said goodbye to the person in the mist.

They were swept back to the settlement, and everyone huddled around the sacred pillar. "Come quickly!" Fenya stretched out her vines, infusing them with life force. Gulibo and Jie'an rushed over and looked everyone over.

"Great, they're all alive!" Gulibo cheered.

"This is great news!" The cook visibly relaxed. "Excuse me for being a spoilsport, but what do we do next?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, their initial excitement quickly dissipating amidst their confusion. From beginning to end, everyone had been focused on defeating Vansalal, but no one had considered what would happen after victory. That was far too extravagant; after overcoming despair, even breathing for a second longer would be a blessing.

"Shall we ride the tide and go out?" Qingxia said. "If we follow the Sea of ​​Illusions, we can go anywhere."

"What a brilliant idea! After defeating the Nightmare King, we'll feed them all to the demons." Vande rolled his eyes. "If I were a demon, I'd be laughing my head off. A feast falling from the sky, one dish after another! Let's start with this fiery red one, and save that tough-looking one with iron on its body for last! Oh my gosh!"

Qingxia grabbed Fan De with both hands and began to torture the Eye Demon with all her might. Everyone let out good-natured laughter; at this moment, every extra second of laughter was a victory. Chu Hengkong looked around dazedly, feeling as if something was missing.

Shax sat at the foot of the sacred pillar, his gun pointed at the vortex in the sky.

“There’s only one path from the very beginning,” he said coldly. “If this is the outermost layer of hell, then after your victory you can only go to the next layer of hell.”

A somber red light emanated from the depths of the whirlpool. Chu Hengkong realized that this was the route Wen Yao had attempted to take to escape—the deeper "Blood Plains of No Life." He tried to find another way out, but all he saw was a vast ocean. The trees in the settlement had been swept away by the sea, and even the beach filled with tombstones had been submerged and disappeared into the endless sea.

"Looks like bad luck just won't let us go," the assassin laughed. "A new adventure is about to begin... haha... it's starting."

"I don't want this kind of adventure!" Vande screamed. "I bet you there are at least ten thousand lustful demons with a minimum of 4 mass points crouching on the other side of the vortex! Just waiting for us to go over there, devour them alive, and fuck them all!"

"Fande, try to think positively. At least they won't sleep with you..." Ji Huaisu comforted him.

"It's not a good thing if the first one to die is the first one to die!"

"This is the last chance. Shall we all have one more competition?" Qingye was eager to try. "Let's see who kills the most before they die."

“Let’s throw away the relics and then compare them. You all have high-level relics, so I’m at a disadvantage,” Shakes said.

"Wow, you're actually jealous of this! This is an heirloom from my ancestor, a gift from Mr. Nightwalker!"

"I remember you stole Mian Sheng yourself, didn't you?"

"Well, Mr. Nightwalker didn't object either..."

The seawater was already ankle-deep, yet they continued to laugh and talk, seemingly oblivious to life and death. At this point, there was really nothing to be excited about; isn't that how fate is? It occasionally gives you surprises, but it rarely leads to a truly good ending. Now that things have come to this, what good can we still hope for? Hope that some hero will descend from the sky and save everyone?

Qingxia spread her wings, preparing to take everyone into the sky while she still had the strength. But she couldn't fly; an invisible force, like a gentle hand, softly pressed her back to the ground.

She paused for a moment, realizing it was someone's impetuousness. Just then, a familiar, lazy voice reached everyone's ears.

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

"After all the hardships of defeating the Demon King, we're headed for a new hell? That's terrible! That's not the kind of story we're looking for!"

The sea's spread suddenly ceased, even the light and color stopped changing, and the sun and moon's radiance remained still in the air, like black and white snowflakes. Yet the still world was not silent; it was filled with familiar laughter. Chu Hengkong even heard trumpets and drums; there was music playing here, and he wondered what madman was playing such awful songs at this hour.

He saw the source of the music; researchers came running in droves, their feet wading through the seawater, carrying homemade instruments. They fired cannons with a bang, sending colorful ribbons cut from thin leaves fluttering in the air. A few who couldn't play instruments used sticks to unfurl a banner with large, flamboyant characters:

Congratulations! The wilderness has been traversed!