Chapter 1350

At this moment, Tian Long shifted his illusory form and sat down opposite Qi Xia.

"Bai Yang, I really have to admire you now," Tian Long said with a complex expression. "This time, I'm thoroughly convinced."

Qi Xia remained silent, but his voice echoed from the void:

"So, have you figured out the method to become a god?"

"I have," Tian Long replied. "You didn't deceive me, but I can't do it."

"Why not?"

"Compared to you, I'm neither crazy enough nor normal enough," Tian Long answered somberly. "You've taken both states to the extreme. To control your subconscious, you're even willing to sit motionless in meditation here for decades."

"Tian Long, you know you can do it; it's just that you don't want to," Qi Xia said. "Your Xian Fa is more abundant and powerful than mine. If I can create a world, there's no reason you can't."

"Aren't you afraid of failure?" Tian Long asked. "Bai Yang, what if you spend centuries building a world and it doesn't succeed? What if the world you create doesn't have a 'door'? What if your 'door' doesn't lead back to 'Tao Yuan'?"

"Then I'll try a different method and start everything over from the beginning," Qi Xia said. "Tian Long, I've always known I'm not the smartest person, but once I think of something, I do it. If I fail, I set out again. If I had approached things as cautiously as you, I'd still be pondering escape routes in the void."

"But no one wants to endure that kind of loneliness..." Tian Long said with a sorrowful expression. "I thought a few decades would be enough to make me a 'god,' but my efforts pale in comparison to yours—like a drop in the ocean."

"What you call 'effort' is full of calculations and shortcuts," Qi Xia replied. "If becoming a god were as simple as sleeping and dreaming every day, it would be unfair to all the gods in this world."

Tian Long lowered his head, his eyes now aged and weary, as if they had witnessed a thousand years in mere seconds.

"Tian Long, I'm not just going to overthrow the so-called 'gods' rule," Qi Xia said. "I've even written absurd endings for every single 'god.'"

"Absurd endings for every 'god'...?"

"Those lofty 'Tian Ji' will be torn apart alive by the 'Di Ji' and 'ants' they've always looked down on," Qi Xia said casually. "In legends, the Zhu Que of the Wu Xing fire element dies from an 'explosion,' and the Xuan Wu of the water element dies from 'liquefaction.'"

"What...?" Tian Long trembled all over upon hearing this; he knew he had lost, but he never imagined this defeat could be called art.

"The Qing Long of the wood element is defeated by a single tree, and even the Bai Hu of the metal element has lost the bronze bell he guarded, which has vanished into smoke."

Tian Long fell silent for a long time before finally giving a bitter smile: "What a brilliant stroke, Bai Yang. Not only have I realized the method to become a 'god,' but I've also realized my own ending."

"Oh?"

"This 'Yong Heng' was your punishment for me all along, wasn't it?"

"Was it?" Qi Xia whispered. "Then tell me... what will happen to you?"

"I'm sitting right now in the place within this flesh-and-blood world where the killing intent toward me is strongest, lost in daydreams," Tian Long said. "Once I wake from 'Yong Heng,' you'll let the entire 'world' swallow me in an instant. You're destroying my mind before my body, choosing to completely shatter me rather than just kill me."

"Yes," Qi Xia's voice echoed ethereally. "Tian Long, I told you, the whole world is built on the premise of 'killing you.' It carries my obsession from 'Yong Heng.' As long as we're both in this world, you can't escape. I don't just want to give you a defeat; I want to instill in you a deep fear of 'Yong Heng,' so you'll never rise from the void again."

"Ha..." Tian Long lowered his head in despair, his face twisting into a bitter smile. "Talking about 'trying to coexist peacefully'... saying you 'don't want to kill me'... you clearly planned for me to witness this 'Yong Heng' from the start."

"Did I deceive you?" Qi Xia countered. "Since you wanted to become a god, I showed you the inner journey of a creator god. Since you wanted to take me to a new world to build a fresh realm, I demonstrated the hardships of world-building. Since you wanted to know how to escape, I told you the way out. It's just that the first trial on your path to godhood is one I personally created for you—a massive flesh-and-blood beast as vast as the world itself."

"Ha ha..." Tian Long's eyes went blank, and he kept smiling.

This long ordeal made him feel as if he had lived countless lives anew; in the face of 'Yong Heng,' the eighty-plus years in 'Tao Yuan' seemed like a mere interlude.

"Tian Long, to let you fully experience 'Yong Heng,' I even went through all of this with you again," Qi Xia said. "I've clearly proven to you that if I truly want to create a new world, you don't have to be part of it."

Qi Xia had completely crushed Tian Long; though he sat at the round table, half of his spirit was already dead.

"But what's the point of all this?" Tian Long asked, head bowed. "Just for those people who might not even remember you... for those selfish, insignificant people, you've driven yourself to this extent?"

Qi Xia fell silent, offering no response.

"Do you think they'll be grateful for everything you've done?" Tian Long pressed. "Do you think they'll feel fortunate that someone crossed 'Yong Heng' for them?"

"What does that have to do with me?"

"What?"

"Even if they don't remember me, even if they curse or eternally condemn me, it has nothing to do with me," Qi Xia said. "I said I'd lead everyone to escape, and once I achieve that goal, my karma with them ends. I don't need any feedback from them."

Tian Long frowned and sighed: "But do you really think the people you created with 'Sheng Sheng Bu Xi' can count as real people?"

"Why not?"

"You're not only creating them but also using a world to contain them," Tian Long said. "You're both their 'origin' and their 'destination.' In 'Tao Yuan,' you're the only one truly 'alive'; everyone else doesn't know their origin or their end."

"But the disappearance of the body isn't death; only the halting of thought is true farewell," Qi Xia refuted. "Their past memories will all converge into one body. That new body carries all their experiences from this life—how is that not living?"

"Don't you think that's just deceiving yourself...?" Tian Long asked. "No matter how many people are in the room, they're really just empty shells... Everything you've done will be forgotten in the most hidden corners of the world; no one will ever mention it. Are you really okay with that?"

"Someone will remember."

"You..."

Qi Xia chuckled softly: "If someone wants to record my story, let it begin with 'empty room.' What do you think?"

"You... madman..." Tian Long laughed bitterly and lowered his head, his expression as if he were already dead. "How many more people do you plan to deceive...?"

Tian Long scanned the empty room.

An old tungsten bulb hung from the center of the ceiling by a black wire, flickering with dim light.

The quiet atmosphere spread like ink dripping into water, seeping through the room.

In the center stood a large round table, worn and battered.

At the table's middle was a small ornate clock, its intricate patterns ticking away.

The story seemed to end, yet it also felt like a beginning.

"Tian Long, I'm ready. What about you?"

"Ready for what?"

"Ready to accept the failure I'm bestowing upon you."

Tian Long gave a bitter smile: "I'm ready."