# Chapter 131: Complete
Everything seemed to have fallen silent.
The person wearing that eerie smile paused, as if startled. Their stiff movements became fluid again, and their eyes regained the seven emotions and six sensory pleasures that a normal person should possess. The Xuantian League's protective sect formation began functioning once more, and all those ordinary people who had invaded the Xuantian League vanished without a trace.
That crimson, eerie rain had also stopped.
Yet the people who remained in the Baishi Hall were all stunned. Their gazes fixated on the spot where Qi An and Lian Ruoyu had been standing. Along with all these events, the two of them had completely disappeared as well.
"Why?" The black-clad man from the Dark Tower leapt forward abruptly, rushing to that spot regardless of anything else. For the first time, his composed expression showed ripples of disturbance, as if he had lost something extremely important. His expression was in utter chaos, even verging on madness. "Why? He..."
The black-clad man's actions shattered the silence. The old man's weathered gaze flickered with uncertainty. Zhao Bo, who had been lying on the ground, stumbled to his feet, his body covered in wounds, coughing uncontrollably.
Because of the sudden stillness that had just occurred, though the two of them had spoken in low voices, everyone had still overheard their conversation.
Qi An—that un cultivatable, frail少年—was actually... Du Ning's reincarnation?
It made sense, it made sense. Only then would Lian Ruoyu's and this black-clad man's actions make any sense at all.
"Why, why..." The black-clad man stretched out his hands, as if trying to grasp something. He was like someone who had lost all faith, merely murmuring the same three words over and over. "Why?"
The black-clad man stumbled away. Throughout the entire process, no one stopped him. The amount of information conveyed in that just-ended conversation was simply too vast—vast enough that everyone needed some time to process it.
"What... just happened..." Zhao Bo's voice turned hoarse. He too had隐隐 understood something. But deep down, he didn't want to admit it.
"Qi An, Du Ning?" The old man took out a turtle shell and began fiddling with it, as if calculating something. The others didn't dare disturb him, so silence returned. After a long while, the old man spat out a mouthful of blood. His voice carried a sense of regret. "So it really was like this... What a pity, what a pity..."
"Elder, what about Lian Ruoyu and Qi An?" Someone finally couldn't hold back and asked him directly.
"Within this world, I can no longer sense their presence..." The old man gently closed his eyes. "Though I don't know exactly what just occurred, Qi An is indeed Du Ning. He... saved us once again."
Even after he had done all that, that少年 still chose to save this world. The old man's voice rang out once more. "He really was a... very good person."
The old man's words came to an abrupt halt. His eyes suddenly turned toward a certain direction. The wrinkled face took on an unprecedented gravity, and his expression changed—more drastically than before.
His change in expression caught the attention of others as well. Their gazes followed the old man's line of sight. In the distant sky, something black suddenly appeared. It seemed like nothing more than a tiny dot, yet it was expanding and extending at an extremely rapid speed.
"What's wrong?" The same person who had questioned the elder earlier spoke up again. From the old man's expression, it wasn't hard to guess that he should know what was happening.
"Why, why would this situation occur again? Wasn't it all repaired by Du Ning..." The old man's expression completely changed. He grew anxious. No matter how much those around him asked, he refused to explain—merely repeating "why" over and over.
After a long time, that patch of black grew larger and larger, nearly covering half the sky. The rest of the people could no longer remain calm.
The spiritual energy in the surrounding environment seemed to be dissipating. A sense of despair blanketed the entire world. They could clearly feel the thick aura of danger contained within that blackness, and they could see the spiritual beasts and plants being devoured by it.
The old man seemed to have given up on struggling. Only when the blackness was finally about to envelop them did he speak calmly in the midst of everyone's despair.
"You should all know about the near-destruction of the cultivation world a thousand years ago, right? At that time, people were in a state of panic. Just when everyone thought the world was about to end, Du Ning stepped forward and saved the entire world." The old man seemed to sigh. "The situation then was the same as... now. Back then, there was also such a black dot in the sky. This blackness kept devouring everything in the world. No matter how powerful the person, facing this thing, there was absolutely no chance of resistance."
"How did Du Ning save the world?" As if grasping at a lifeline, everyone's eyes lit up.
"This black hole was caused by spiritual energy turbulence. Because somewhere, the spiritual energy had somehow suddenly experienced a staggering shortage. Therefore, the spiritual energy in the world couldn't maintain this balance. It needed something to make up for the missing spiritual energy. So it devoured the living beings of this world." The old man's words came slowly, as if he didn't care at all about the anxious expressions of those around him. "Back then, Du Ning was the number one expert under heaven. No one knew how far his cultivation had reached in this world. So after he sacrificed his life, pouring all his spiritual energy into this black hole, the world regained peace."
"But now, he's dead, and Lian Ruoyu has disappeared. There is no one left who can save this world."
As the old man's final word fell from his lips, the black hole hovering above them also completely descended.
The world returned to its primordial state, turning into是一片黑暗.
"Master, master, how are you drunk again? Didn't I tell you not to drink outside? If you drink indoors, then I wouldn't have to drag you back." Though saying this, the speaking少年 still mustered all his strength to drag the old man into the room.
"Keke, you don't understand. Drinking only feels right when you're outside. Drinking in a room is just... completely boring." The speaker was an old man who looked slovenly and disheveled. He truly seemed quite drunk, his cheeks flushed red, making it completely impossible to tell whether he was sober or not at the moment.
Xu Ke covered the old man with a simple quilt. Perhaps because he had drunk too much, the old man was very restless—occasionally muttering incomprehensible sleep-talk, other times kicking off the blanket.
It wasn't until the old man had finally fallen asleep that Xu Ke left the room. But the moment he stepped outside, his expression grew absent-minded.
He remembered clearly—that blackness had enveloped everyone, including himself.
But strangely, he hadn't died. Instead, he had traveled back three years. The world was peaceful and quiet. His master was still that old man who loved to drink, and he himself still hadn't embarked on the path of cultivation.
What on earth had happened?
Xu Ke suddenly felt an emptiness in his heart. According to what those people had said, that frail-looking little uncle was someone he had always revered—Du Ning.
Thinking of how the少年 had treated him, Xu Ke's eyes drooped slightly. The person he had revered for so long really was a wonderful person.
Since he had been reborn, this time he definitely wouldn't let that person end up in that kind of situation again. Xu Ke temporarily shelved this matter and continued living with his master. But the longer he lived, the more he noticed how strange this current world was.
It seemed many people retained memories from that time.
Those cultivators of the cultivation world were all searching for Qi An, but... to no avail.
Countless people were dispatched, the entire cultivation world was searched, yet there was still not a single trace of that少年.
Once again dragging his drunk master to his room, seeing the old man maintain exactly the same attitude as usual, Xu Ke finally paused. Unable to resist, he asked, "Master, is there nothing you want to tell me?"
Though he hadn't shown it, he had actually been waiting for a long time.
In his previous life, it was on this very day that the old man had told him that thing, and on this same day, he had truly entered the cultivation world.
The slightly tipsy old man seemed to be stunned. He barely managed to open his eyes. As if trying to clear his head, he swayed it about. After a long while, he finally spoke the words Xu Ke had waited so long to hear: "Right, you've also reached the age to go out and see the world. Go take a look."
Xu Ke stared at the old man who had closed his eyes again, slightly dazed. For some reason, he always felt that when his master had spoken just now, there had been some other implication. But the少年 didn't dwell on it further, merely nodding lightly.
He left the old man and re-entered the cultivation world.
Like in his previous life, he also participated in the Xuantian League's recruitment. He fortunately became a preparatory disciple once more, but there was no sign of that person, nor any trace of Lian Ruoyu.
Everyone was searching for that少年.
Xu Ke personally witnessed some people go insane—from the moment when the少年 should have appeared but didn't. The Xuantian League members, the Dark Tower people, disciples from various sects, and even Kong Yue, the current number one expert under heaven, gradually went mad.
They were frantically trying to find that person. Any clue related to that person could affect these people's moods. Of course, he himself was among them.
But, nothing.
Xu Ke saw a man named Zhao Bo living in poverty and misery. He saw his clan being suppressed. Because they believed the boy's disappearance was related to him.
For some unknown reason, Xu Ke found these people ridiculous. But seeing these high-and-mighty people lose their minds one by one, he also felt a subtle sense of joy.
Though there was no interference from the Dark Tower people, that blackness still arrived as scheduled. It devoured everyone once more.
Then, he returned to the beginning.
The drunk master lay on the ground again. Xu Ke skillfully helped him inside. He confirmed once more that those people also possessed memories of those past events, because those people were now insane.
These mad people were still searching for that少年, and the intensity of their search had increased considerably, yet they still found nothing.
They grew even more insane.
"Do you want to go out and take a look?" It was that same day again. The drunk, mentally unclear master gently asked him.
"Yes." Xu Ke nodded. He wanted to go see.
"Then go." The old man waved his hand casually.
Darkness arrived as expected. When the darkness devoured everyone once more, Xu Ke saw the familiar scene.
Those people searched for Qi An like mad, but found nothing. The world was constantly being destroyed, then returning to that specific point in time. That point in time when Du Ning no longer existed.
It was that same day again. Looking at his drunk, boozy master, Xu Ke was silent for a moment. "Master, do you know something?"
"Keke, when something very important to you leaves, do you think you could go on living?" The old man's voice fell silent for the first time. His answering voice drifted lightly.
"Something very important? Like the heart?" Xu Ke was startled.
"... Du Ning poured all his spiritual energy into this world. He saved this world, and his spiritual energy merged into one with this world's origin. Do you know what that means?" The old man smiled lightly. "When he died, his spiritual energy should have truly integrated into this world. The world would stabilize. Only... he didn't belong to this world. So that spiritual energy could never truly compensate for this world's loss."
"What would happen then?" Xu Ke was stunned.
"This world would be destroyed." The old man's eyes slowly closed.
"Then why?" Why was this world still functioning?
"Someone temporarily maintained this world's stability, but he didn't completely solve the problem." The old man sighed lightly. He thought of the words that man had said after Du Ning died, when he had gone to find him.
—He said he liked this world, so I won't destroy it. But that doesn't mean those who hurt him won't receive punishment.
"This world will keep cycling, gaining rebirth after destruction. But this rebirth is destined to face destruction once more. They regret, wanting to make amends, or simply wanting to live well—they won't get the chance. No matter what they do, that person won't reappear. This world will never become whole."
"Their so-called hope will gradually extinguish. The world will become mechanical and rigid. The future has been clearly destined. This world will... have no hope."
"They are receiving that person's punishment."
"Master, what about Du Ning and Lian Ruoyu? Are they really... dead?"
"They ah..." The old man tousled the boy's hair with his dirty hand. "They will live in another world... very well, very very well..."
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**Author's Note:**
The whole story is complete~
Sweeties, I hope we can meet again~
I've already said so much before, so I won't say much else~
But! Most importantly, I want to郑重声明 one last thing!! I love you all! Really super love you all!! Thank you for your support!!