Chapter 2874: Clarity in Chaos

"No."

Di Ji wailed, a heartrending sound, while Hong Chen Xue and the others wept with tear-streaked faces. They stumbled forward, one taking hold of Liu Dao, the other of Hong Chen.

Liu Dao's expression was dull and wooden, Hong Chen's eyes hollow and vacant. They had not yet closed their eyes, not yet fully extinguished, but they remained in a daze. He did not recognize Di Ji, nor Hong Chen Xue and Chu Ling Yu. They simply stared blankly, the light in their eyes fading bit by bit, showing no response no matter how the devoted women called out to them.

Ah!

The cultivators of the various heavens sighed, unable to bear watching any longer. From the moment Hong Chen and Liu Dao emerged from Da Chu and offered their primordial spirits, their deaths were sealed.

In the distance, Ye Chen finally arrived.

Seeing that scene, his heart ached repeatedly. He did not know if it was for Di Ji and the others, or for Hong Chen and Liu Dao. Even in death, they remained in a stupor, unaware of their own identities or the meaning of their existence. They had wandered the heavens for endless ages, like two homeless wandering souls.

There was a sorrow that only he could understand.

Not everyone knew the connection between the three of them. He was their origin, and due to the intertwining of time and space, they met in this era. Hong Chen and Liu Dao felt no pain, but he felt the agony, and understood the wound and grief of their daze.

Suddenly, the sound of a qin rang out.

It was the awakening melody of the Jiu You Xian Qu. Di Ji was playing it, and Hong Chen Xue and the others were playing it too, hoping to use this immortal awakening technique to rouse the dazed Hong Chen and Liu Dao.

Unfortunately, the Jiu You Xian Qu was ineffective.

They remained just as dazed.

Ye Chen's body stiffened, wanting to move his feet, but he could not lift them. He wished to save Hong Chen and Liu Dao, but alas, he was not all-powerful.

Even if the emperor were present, it would be impossible to turn back the tide.

"I am Lan Er ah!"

"Please, don't leave us."

Their calls were filled with tears.

Perhaps the heavens took pity, for the muddled pair finally gained a moment of clarity. But that clarity was not for them—it was for Ye Chen. Both were smiling at him.

Their smiles were incredibly weary.

In that instant of life and death, Hong Chen remembered the events of the future: In that time, the myriad realms of the heavens were piled with corpses and rivers of blood, the world plunged into darkness with no light, and all living beings extinguished. Even the emperor had fallen in battle, with no chance of reversal.

So, he had come back, returned to kill Ruo Xi. Instinctively, he believed that as long as he killed Ruo Xi, he could reverse history and restore light to the world.

That was his obsession.

In that instant of life and death, Liu Dao's memories also revived. He remembered Hong Chen and Ye Chen. Hong Chen had reversed time and space, but committed a grave mistake by wrongly killing Ruo Xi, leading to an even more devastating defeat for the myriad realms' living beings.

So, he had come back again, becoming Liu Dao, to stop Hong Chen, to protect Ruo Xi, and to attempt once more to reverse history and atone for his tremendous error.

That was his obsession too.

Now, none of it mattered anymore.

What good was remembering? The course of history had changed, and future events were beyond their control. The various heavens might still fall, but they believed—believed that Ye Chen could ignite hope brighter than the sun.

"The fate of the various heavens shall endure eternally."

Hong Chen raised his hand, his voice hoarse.

"The fate of the various heavens shall endure eternally."

Liu Dao also raised his hand, his smile exhausted.

Both spread their five fingers wide, reaching toward Ye Chen. In each of their palms was a sphere of light, brimming with time-space power. The spheres flew together into Ye Chen's body.

Uh!

Ye Chen grunted involuntarily, staggering back a step and nearly collapsing. The two surges of time-space power were too overwhelming, straining his sacred body to the brink of explosion. It affected his primordial spirit and his consciousness, with fresh blood streaming from the corners of his eyes and his memories in utter chaos. In that moment, he could no longer distinguish reality from illusion.

In that instant, Hong Chen and Liu Dao smiled again. Their raised hands dropped simultaneously, their clear eyes falling back into daze, though within the daze, a faint trace of clarity slowly revived.

And that clarity was for their loved ones.

"You are as beautiful as you were back then."

Liu Dao's voice was hoarse. He recalled his lover and their past: On the distant shore of that ancient starry river, there was a playful girl who teased him daily, smiled at him, and made funny faces at him.

"You are as foolish as you were back then."

Di Ji embraced Liu Dao, her eyes blurred with tears.

"In this life, I have too many regrets."

On the other side, Hong Chen smiled with warmth.

"Don't leave us."

Hong Chen Xue and Chu Ling Yu were already sobbing uncontrollably.

"But I hope for a next life."

These words came from both Hong Chen and Liu Dao.

The two closed their eyes one after the other, their souls returning to the nine heavens.

They had reversed time and space, overturned the cycle of reincarnation, and now, finally, they would return to dust. Their missions and destinies faded like passing clouds.

Ah!

Di Ji wailed in agony, and Chu Ling Yu did the same. She held Liu Dao, they held Hong Chen, crying as if their hearts were being torn apart, blood and tears streaming from their eyes.

"We bid farewell to our dao friends."

The cultivators of the various heavens bowed in unison, their eyes filled with sorrow. Though they did not know who Hong Chen and Liu Dao were, or why they were in a daze, these two had saved the living beings of the myriad realms.

Ye Chen finally steadied himself, standing there in a daze for a long time.

After a while, he let out a self-mocking smile, unsure if it was from grief or pain.

He turned slowly, his back looking desolate and weary, his steps still unsteady. The dao sword in his hand slipped unnoticed into the starry sky.

It was all because of that altar array. They had been defeated so utterly. If they had not been caught in the time-space turbulence, they would not have had to die. What good was being half-step to great accomplishment? What good was slaughtering an emperor? In the face of life and death, he felt more powerless than an ant, and realized that he, Ye Chen, was nothing but a joke.

Behind him, everything was eerily silent. Di Ji's hair had turned white, like a madwoman; Hong Chen Xue and Chu Ling Yu's hair had also turned white, like soulless shells, clinging tightly to their loved ones and allowing no one to approach.

In the other regions of the starry sky, it was the same.

Whether Qing Luan or Xuan Gu Di Zi, they stood like stone statues, motionless, just like Di Ji and the others, holding their loved ones and keeping everyone at bay.

Time would record that eternal moment.

The ages would etch that weary bond.

"Qing Luan."

Lin Shi Hua whispered softly, calling out for what seemed the countless time. That was her spirit beast from a past life, sharing a spiritual connection that transcended reincarnation. She could clearly sense Qing Luan's pain, a pain so deep it had led to utter despair and the loss of all will.

"Take care."

The various emperors looked toward Tian Shuo, their sorrow hard to conceal.

No one knew when the five of them finally rose. Qing Luan carried Ming Jue's armor, Tian Shuo carried Bai Zhi's bloodstained robe, Di Ji carried Liu Dao's ashes, Zhong Xiao and Chu Ling Yu carried Hong Chen's memorial tablet. They moved like walking corpses, step by step, toward the depths of the starry sky.

On this day, they all lost their most beloved.

The world mourned, and even the emperors grieved.

Five had fought against the emperor, and four had fallen in battle.

This war had been too devastating.

The great battle finally ended, leaving the starry sky in ruins. It was due to the chaos of the primordial era and the emperor's war, with countless deaths and the once-beautiful mountains and rivers now in utter devastation.

Ye Chen remained silent, each step leaving a bloody footprint. His sacred body was riddled with cracks, golden blood overflowing. The backlash persisted, and so did the dao wounds, but the cracks in his body were not from that—they were from the power Hong Chen and Liu Dao had imparted before dying. It was time-space force, infused with time-space laws, all merged into him.

His form had become somewhat strange, his figure flickering between illusion and solidity as he walked, with time-space laws faintly appearing.

He was completely unaware of it. As he walked and observed, he could vaguely detect the lingering aura of heavenly demons and also the primordial energy. Without needing to ask, he knew that the various heavens' calamity had not come solely from the heavenly demons.

His killing intent was impossible to hide. The stronger it grew, the more fresh blood flowed from his mouth. Various injuries intertwined, and his condition was extremely poor—he was gravely wounded.