Chapter 1309: Deception

"I am the origin and the destination," Qi Xia said. "What does this represent?"

"Doesn't this mean... you are like 'Shen'?" the old man said, shifting the conversation. "'Shen' created humans, which is our origin. 'Shen' guides humans, which is our path. 'Shen' accepts humans, which is our destination."

The old man continued speaking on his own, but it didn't stir any reaction from Qi Xia. A few seconds later, Qi Xia revealed a smile that the old man couldn't quite fathom.

"But 'Shen' can also deceive," Qi Xia said in a deep voice, with a strange smile. "Maybe there's a possibility that this 'Shen' created humans just to lead them to their death."

The old man trembled all over upon hearing this: "'Shen' lets people die...?"

"This 'Shen' isn't the 'origin', isn't the 'path', and isn't the 'destination'," Qi Xia said. "It could also be 'deception', 'dead end', or 'exile'."

"What...?" The old man was stunned, as if he didn't understand Qi Xia's meaning. "Wait a minute..."

"Since you've come to find me, I'll take you to the end of the world and tell you the real answer."

Qi Xia stood up and walked to the side of the room against the wall. He then picked up a chair and smashed it hard against the wall.

The old man followed, unsure of what was happening, though the young man's words were shocking. He truly wanted to know the answer he had been seeking.

Why were people living in this bizarre world?

Where did they come from, and where were they fleeing to?

Why were there faceless people buried underground?

After striking it once, twice, and a full five times, Qi Xia had smashed a huge hole in the wall, revealing a vast, pitch-black starry sky on the other side.

He threw the chair to the ground and reached out to clear away the broken wooden boards around the hole.

The old man was speechless with shock at this strange sight; he stood frozen, staring blankly at the stars.

"How can there be something like this outside the wall?" the old man murmured. "Where are we exactly... and what is out there...?"

"It's the end of the world," Qi Xia said. "You will gain 'Yongheng' and see 'all'."

The old man paused, then asked, "And what is the 'real answer' you mentioned... What will happen today?"

Hearing this, Qi Xia fell silent for a long time.

The ground began to shake slightly, and strange sounds rustled in the distance.

"Within ten minutes, everyone here will die," Qi Xia said while clearing away the debris. "'Zhongyan Shike' will arrive as scheduled. By then, I will betray everyone's trust, and the lies I told will come true. That's the answer you've been seeking."

As the old man listened to Qi Xia's words, he stared with his aged eyes toward the opening outside, incredulous. He plucked a strand of his own hair and slowly pinched it in his hand.

The hair no longer pointed at Qi Xia; instead, it truly pointed toward the distant starry sky.

That was where all the answers lay, and it also represented the end of the world.

The strand of hair fluttered at the old man's fingertips, continuously pointing through the cracks toward the distant stars, like the smallest compass in the universe.

"Why...?" the old man said in disbelief. "Why would 'Shen' deceive humanity?"

"For a single thought," Qi Xia said. "I need everyone to believe that my task will succeed, so that it will succeed. Then, I need my subconscious to believe that the task will fail, so that it will fail."

"I don't understand..." the old man said. "For a single thought... why go to such extremes?"

"You can find that answer yourself." Qi Xia pointed toward the distant stars. "Let the thoughts stirring in your heart settle down."

The old man gazed at the distance with the strand of hair in his hand. If he could navigate through that vast space... combined with his own "Xun Zong," perhaps he really could find all the answers.

"So 'Shen'... lied... 'Shen' deceived humanity..." the old man murmured. "'Zhongyan' will still come... Everyone working hard now... No one will survive this event..."

He seemed overwhelmed by this sudden truth, his thoughts in chaos.

"Yes, I call this rebellion 'Yu Nian An'," Qi Xia said. "Let all the miscellaneous thoughts in your heart settle down—that's the answer your inner 'Shen' can give you."

The old man felt as if he had glimpsmed the answer to the world, yet it was like grasping at nothing.

"'Shen' deceived mortals... 'Zhongyan' is coming... No one can live..."

The old man shuddered slightly, feeling insignificant as dust before this vast and eerie world.

He kept repeating Qi Xia's final words in his mouth.

"'Shen's deception...' 'Zhongyan is coming...' 'No one survives...' 'Yu Nian An'."

"If you stay here, you'll die too," Qi Xia said. "Go pursue the ultimate of the world, witness 'Yongheng', and seek your own origin and destination."

After hearing this, the old man seemed entranced. He walked forward step by step.

As the old man was about to reach the door, Qi Xia whispered, "If the final outcome isn't what we hoped, take this story with you into 'Yongheng'. Keep our existence in your heart, otherwise no one in this vast universe will remember us."

The old man turned his head and gave Qi Xia a look full of complex emotions.

A few seconds later, he smiled with a sense of relief, then stepped into the void.

He plummeted like falling off a cliff, but he didn't cry out. He just kept repeating a few words.

Vaguely, Qi Xia heard the old man murmuring "Shen's deception," "Zhongyan is coming," and "No one survives."

Qi Xia felt like he had heard these words somewhere before.

But where exactly?

There were too many "memories" to sift through this single needle in the forest of recollections.

Fortunately, the "variable" had vanished—he hadn't been born here, nor died here; he had simply disappeared from here.

He would spend "Yongheng" in a space where time and reality were completely still, and then go completely mad.

No one would ever see him again.

Qi Xia sighed and turned around, noticing movement at the door again.

Chu Tianqiu pulled Tiantian along, looking tense as they appeared at the doorway. The two rushed into the room and quickly shut the door behind them.

"Qi Xia..." Chu Tianqiu swallowed hard and said, "I don't know what's happening... Everything outside is in complete chaos..."