Futile Devices Scans

“After ruling the Upper Realm for nearly four epochs, was it all for this moment—to use it to threaten A-Li and me?”

Chen Yixin held Wenren Li’s hand. With the Heavenly River at their backs, they stared coldly at Dongfang Jin and at the phantom image of the Upper Realm in his hand. A formation of this scale must have taken an enormous amount of time to construct; likely every Immortal Lord and Immortal Emperor had contributed to it in some way.

Yet the truth was this cruel and merciless.

The person they had pledged their loyalty to had never regarded their lives or their homeland as important.

“Things are no longer what they once were. They betrayed A-Li and me first, so why should we continue making sacrifices for traitors like you? I’m not foolish, and neither is A-Li.” Chen Yixin narrowed his eyes. He was not saying this to deceive Dongfang Jin.

Compared to Wenren Li’s former grand ambition of bringing blessings to all immortals, Chen Yixin’s world had always been simple—family, lover, and friends, nothing more. Those who had abandoned them had no right to demand further sacrifice from him and Wenren Li.

Dongfang Jin himself possessed no such magnanimity, so what right did he have to expect it of them?

Yet it was difficult to make Dongfang Jin believe that. No—more accurately, he had already staked everything on a single desperate gamble. If he failed, he intended to drag the entire Upper Realm down with him. And if he could take Wenren Li and Chen Yixin along as well, he would be even happier.

His mentality had already reached the point of utter desperation and madness.

“Nangong Chuan is a Heavenly Qilin. Hong Yu is a Sacred Qilin. Only when the two become one can there be a true Qilin Saint.” As Dongfang Jin spoke, he turned toward Nangong Chuan and gave a slight nod, confirming the suspicion that had long existed in Nangong Chuan’s heart.

“That’s right. Hong Yu is your secondary soul. It is the nature of the primary soul to devour the secondary soul. But Hong Yu developed a sense of self, refused to return, and even cultivated himself into a Sacred Qilin body…”

As he spoke, Dongfang Jin looked again at Wenren Li beside Chen Yixin. A trace of admiration appeared in his eyes as he revealed one secret after another, secrets long buried beneath the passage of time.

“It was him. He used his own branches to reconstruct your secondary soul. That was why you were able to use the Soul-Severing Sword to sever his true body, splitting it into three parts. But after that strike, the perfect secondary soul he had created for you ceased to be perfect. Of the countless techniques available, you ultimately chose the Myriad Transformations Avatar Technique.”

The thing Dongfang Jin had always admired most about Wenren Li was his near-creation-level medical skill—bringing the dead back to life and turning decay into miracles.

“There should have been only one Qilin Saint to begin with. It was your unnecessary compassion that brought about all these disasters.”

Had Wenren Li been ruthless enough to erase Hong Yu’s consciousness back then and send him to merge with Nangong Chuan, why would he have needed to reconstruct a soul for him using his own branches? Why would he have left such a dangerous weakness in Nangong Chuan’s hands, turning it into the very weapon Nangong Chuan later used to aid his betrayal?

Wenren Li remained silent. Chen Yixin was so enraged by Dongfang Jin’s words that flames surged all around him, as though he wished to burn both Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan to ashes. Nangong Chuan, who had only just learned this hidden truth, froze briefly. His gaze toward Wenren Li became extremely complicated, yet he likewise remained silent.

“Heavenly Speaker Lin Yu, I the Heavenly Dragon, and Qing Ruo the Heavenly Phoenix—none of us had any problems. But…” Dongfang Jin’s gaze shifted slightly, only to see that the previously expressionless Wenren Li had frowned and drawn Chen Yixin a little closer into his embrace.

“Just as there can only be one Heavenly Qilin, there should only be one Heavenly Phoenix. Yet on the day Qing Ruo reached maturity, the heavens manifested strange phenomena and the void erupted into chaos. If I am not mistaken, Qing Ruo brought him back from the Heavenly River.”

Dongfang Jin raised a hand and pointed directly at Chen Yixin. A powerful greed appeared in his eyes. “Heavenly Phoenix, Heavenly Phoenix… He became a Phoenix Egg only because he was stained with Heavenly Phoenix blood, didn’t he?”

In other words, Chen Yixin had not originally been a Heavenly Phoenix at all. He had merely been an unknown existence that Qing Ruo brought back from the Heavenly River and later transformed by Qing Ruo’s Heavenly Phoenix aura.

“The Heavenly Tome records that whoever controls the sacred relic, the Void Origin, is the guardian of the Realm Gate! Rong’er, you came from the Heavenly River, from the world beyond the Realm Gate… Rong’er, this life is the time of your return.” That was the world all Saints yearned for above all else, the true world of eternal life. That was why Dongfang Jin was determined to possess Chen Yixin and would allow no one else to touch him.

“Absurd!” Chen Yixin shouted sharply. The hand clutching Wenren Li’s waist tightened even further. Looking up at him, a fierce determination appeared in his eyes as he said softly, “Where A-Li is, that’s where I’ll be.”

“A-Rong, don’t worry. We won’t be separated. I promise.”

Wenren Li answered softly. He gently rubbed Chen Yixin’s hair. His gaze shifted slightly behind them. He had not noticed it before, but now he realized that Chen Yixin’s hair color was undergoing a subtle change, becoming more and more like the color of the Heavenly River itself.

Yet after all these years, one thing was certain.

This was not a trap Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan had prepared for them.

“I’m afraid you left out the Divine Sovereign’s origins as well.”

Nangong Chuan’s voice rang out. He raised a hand slightly, revealing a black triangular stone. It was one of the missing fragments of the Three Lives Well. He had picked it up by chance during their journey here. At the time, Dongfang Jin had been occupied dealing with the creatures of the Extradimensional Realm and had failed to notice it.

But Dongfang Jin was a man who lied as naturally as breathing. Even when he spoke the truth, he only revealed the parts that benefited himself. The missing fragment of the Three Lives Well did not record Chen Yixin and Dongfang Jin, nor did it record any marriage bond. Instead, it contained an extremely simple drawing.

Nangong Chuan had studied that drawing for a long time without understanding it. Yet he believed it very likely recorded Wenren Li’s true origins. Back then, when Wenren Li had gone to relocate the Three Lives Well, he had done so precisely because he wished to uncover that mystery. Yet after the well was brought back, it could no longer reflect Wenren Li’s image at all.

As soon as Nangong Chuan finished speaking, he tossed the triangular fragment toward Wenren Li. Dongfang Jin narrowed his eyes and clearly wanted to stop him, but he knew that the moment he made a move, the three people before him would immediately join forces against him. And now was not yet the time.

The one who reached out and caught it was Chen Yixin. He held the triangular fragment in his palm, examined it carefully, then handed it to Wenren Li.

“A-Li, how was this drawn? Why is it so ugly…” Although Chen Yixin spoke those words, what he actually meant was that while everyone else had failed to understand the simple drawing, he had already figured it out. Both arms wrapped around Wenren Li’s waist as he rested his head against Wenren Li’s shoulder.

“A-Li is a little tree that grew beside the Heavenly River, right next to the Realm Gate. As for me… I came here to find A-Li, didn’t I? Mm. That should be it.”

Chen Yixin’s offhand, made-up love confession left the three people around him with the same stunned sensation as if they had been struck by lightning. Other people’s words might not be trustworthy, but these were Chen Yixin’s own words.

The Gate Guardian had entered the world in search of the tree he had raised. If he ever returned, he would only return with that tree. Every action Dongfang Jin had taken against Wenren Li had been an attempt to replace Wenren Li’s position in Chen Yixin’s heart.

Yet it had all been in vain. Even now, when Chen Yixin remembered nothing, he had still chosen Wenren Li without hesitation.

Wenren Li held the triangular fragment in his hand. Before he even had time to examine it closely, it transformed into a streak of silver light and imprinted itself upon his palm. At the same time, the character that had been floating behind Nangong Chuan drifted over of its own accord and condensed within Wenren Li’s palm.

Chen Yixin raised his hand and placed the palm that also contained a character over Wenren Li’s. A burst of silver light erupted from their joined hands, so dazzling that Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan were forced to shut their eyes.

When they could finally see again, Chen Yixin and Wenren Li had moved even closer to the Heavenly River.

Dongfang Jin unconsciously took a step forward. He was worried that Chen Yixin might suddenly open the Realm Gate and leave with only Wenren Li. Of course, he also knew that with Chen Yixin’s and Wenren Li’s current strength, opening the Realm Gate was basically impossible.

They stopped upon a reef closest to the Heavenly River. The overwhelming grandeur before them gave rise to the feeling that they might perish at any moment, and before them stood the Demon Abyss Well, even closer to the Heavenly River.

“Pull it back!” Wenren Li ordered. Chen Yixin, who understood him perfectly, needed no explanation. The words were directed at Nangong Chuan. The three of them joined forces, yet after a long time they had managed to move the Demon Abyss Well only slightly.

“It’s useless. The Demon Abyss Well is connected to the Heavenly River just like the Three Lives Well and the Myriad Worlds Well. What you are doing cannot change anything.”

The pale yellow projection in Dongfang Jin’s palm swayed gently. He spoke mockingly, yet still chose not to move immediately to stop them.

“Three Lives Well, Myriad Worlds Well, pull together!” Chen Yixin suddenly shouted toward the Heavenly River. His voice traveled through the connection between the three wells and slowly echoed within the depths of the other two wells back in the Imperial Void Palace.

The two wells had long since become accustomed to being bullied by Chen Yixin. Just as Dongfang Jin believed such a thing impossible, the Demon Abyss Well within the Heavenly River began returning at a speed far faster than before.

The three wells were merely wells. No one had ever heard of them producing spirits or consciousness. Yet somehow they could obey Chen Yixin’s commands… No, other people could not do it, but Chen Yixin could. Since he came from beyond the Realm Gate, there was nothing impossible about it.

“It’s useless…” Dongfang Jin quickly regained his composure. Shaking his head, he repeated with certainty, “It’s useless…”

“And who told you it was useless?” Chen Yixin reached out and gathered the projection of the Demon Abyss Well into his arms. His heart settled completely. Raising his head to look at Dongfang Jin, he smiled. “You’re waiting, and A-Li and I are waiting as well.”

“You’re waiting for them to activate your formation. A-Li and I are waiting for Elder Brother and Big Brother to destroy it.”

As soon as Chen Yixin finished speaking, Dongfang Jin stared in horror at his own palm. The pale yellow projection there was rapidly dimming. Outside, the Imperial Void Palace led by Qing Ruo and Lin Yu had gained the upper hand.

Yet at that moment Chen Yixin lowered his gaze toward the Demon Abyss Well in his arms. His expression turned stern. “Demon Abyss Well, you aided evil and harmed A-Li and me. Split once more into the Demon Well and the Abyss Well. Let your spiritual consciousness cease to exist!”

The moment Chen Yixin spoke, the Demon Abyss Well split in two. One became a mass of absolute blackness, while the other became a faint gray. Then Chen Yixin turned and cast both halves into the Heavenly River.

Bang! Bang!

With two explosions, the talisman stones connecting Dongfang Jin and Nangong Chuan to the Demon Abyss Well shattered into powder upon their thumbs. The Demon Abyss Well had divided into two, and their authority over it vanished completely.

A faint humming sound drifted from the Heavenly River. It was the response of the Myriad Worlds Well and the Three Lives Well. After all the various ways Chen Yixin had “tormented” them over the years, their spiritual consciousnesses had grown frighteningly powerful. They were declaring their loyalty.

“I… I…”

“Don’t believe it?” Chen Yixin interrupted Dongfang Jin before he could continue. He had no desire whatsoever to hear Dongfang Jin’s voice. “Whether you believe it or not has nothing to do with me.”

At that moment Nangong Chuan stepped forward and knelt. Dongfang Jin had already run out of trump cards, and Nangong Chuan had even fewer.

“I have wronged the Great Emperor. I submit myself to whatever punishment you deem fit.”

He had always prided himself on living clearly and decisively, severing emotions and cutting off attachments, believing he needed to shoulder no emotional burdens. Yet he had never realized that from beginning to end he had been trapped within another’s scheme. After kneeling, he reverted to his true form—a Wood Qilin.

Creatures of the same origin naturally felt close to one another. Once upon a time, he too had admired the Great Emperor of the Imperial Void Palace with pure sincerity and taken pride in being able to enter the world from the Imperial Void Palace. Yet those feelings of pride had gradually become tainted by arrogance and ambition.

Upon hearing his words, Chen Yixin glanced at Wenren Li before waving a hand toward Nangong Chuan. “Destroy another soul and four spirits. Your punishment is confinement at the bottom of the Heavenly River. Unless the Heavenly River is severed, you shall never return.”

As soon as he spoke, Nangong Chuan, now left with only one soul and one spirit, cast himself into the Heavenly River.

Chen Yixin turned his head toward Dongfang Jin. His back remained straight. He still looked as though he possessed a chance of victory and still wished to overturn the heavens, but this place was destined to become his grave.

“It was you, it was you… who erased so many Ancient Gods throughout history! Great Emperor, you saw it, you heard it—he killed Father God, he killed every Ancient God you once knew!”

“If you put it that way, then you are not entirely wrong.”

Chen Yixin nodded lightly in acknowledgment. Though he had not personally acted, given his nature, he would never have stopped them or saved them. Compared to many Ancient Gods, he was an even colder guardian—or perhaps a slaughterer.

“Simply killing you is not enough to repay your crimes. Dongfang Jin, reveal your true form!”

The moment Chen Yixin spoke, Dongfang Jin transformed in the eyes of both him and Wenren Li. He became a golden dragon. Its scales were gold, yet grayish-brown demonic miasma shrouded its entire body, and beneath its feet rested a black Divine Crystal.

“One soul shall be sealed within the Demon Well and suffer the torment of ten thousand demons for all eternity. One soul shall be sealed within the Abyss Well and endure endless confusion and madness. Six spirits shall have their immortal roots erased and be reduced to mortal worms, neither living nor dying!”

Dongfang Jin had sought immortality and indestructibility. Chen Yixin intended to grant it to him. If one could die and then die again, that too was a form of immortality.

“As for your main soul, it can accompany A-Li and me into the Realm Gate and undergo a little cleansing…”

With every sentence Chen Yixin spoke, the Heavenly River responded with terrifying displays of power. In an instant, the complete and whole Dongfang Jin was reduced to a single main soul before them. All of his evil karma wrapped itself around that soul, making it appear so filthy that it scarcely resembled a divine dragon any longer.

“Ahhh! I refuse! I refuse! The Heavenly Tome wouldn’t deceive me! The Heavenly Tome wouldn’t deceive me!”

The divine dragon’s main soul, now shrunk to less than half its original size, rolled frantically atop the Divine Crystal, unable to accept such a fate.

“You mean this thing?” Chen Yixin pressed a hand against his chest. Then, incredibly, he drew out his own Divine Heart. At the center of the icy-blue flame was a gray shadow pulsing rhythmically, and it seemed to be slowly expanding.

“The Void Origin is the source of all evil. Even the waters of the Heavenly River cannot cleanse it away. Only the Realm Gate can block it. That Heavenly Tome of yours was carved by it, wasn’t it?”

“No, no! I still have it! I haven’t lost yet!”

As Dongfang Jin opened his mouth and bit down on the Divine Crystal beneath him, Chen Yixin recalled that the Void Origin spat out one such crystal every epoch. The price Dongfang Jin had paid to refine them all into one was the fusion of his own Divine Crystal into them. Only by doing so had they been able to borrow the Void Origin to comprehend the Dao of Life and Death, the Dao of Immortality, and then take that final step forward.

“You sought to pave your path with the entire Upper Realm, yet in the end, you are nothing more than a puppet of the Void Origin.”

As Chen Yixin spoke, he clenched the gray shadow at the center of his Divine Heart. No longer paying any attention to the nearly mad Dongfang Jin, he turned to Wenren Li and asked softly, “A-Li, are you willing to trust me?”

“I trust you. In life, we will be together. In death, we will remain together.”

He had never been obsessed with immortality. His only obsession was Chen Yixin. If Chen Yixin asked him to trust, then he would trust.

Chen Yixin nodded. Rising onto his toes, he pressed a kiss to Wenren Li’s cheek. Then he stood straight, hurled the Void Origin wrapped within his Divine Heart toward Dongfang Jin, and detonated it before Dongfang Jin could. At the same time, he wrapped his arms around Wenren Li and leaped together with him into the Heavenly River.

“Ahhh!” The gray mist surrounding Dongfang Jin instantly ignited. Wrapped within the flames with nowhere to escape, he stared at the retreating figures of Chen Yixin and Wenren Li as they jumped away. He detonated his own Divine Crystal, but at that moment a Realm Gate formed from the waters of the Heavenly River where Chen Yixin and Wenren Li had entered.

“I’m coming! Immortality! I want immortality!” Dongfang Jin charged toward the Realm Gate while engulfed in black flames. Yet from within the gate burst forth an incomparably pure divine light. Dongfang Jin’s main soul, together with the gray shadow attached to him, was instantly reduced to nothingness.

“Ahhh!” This was true agony. Immortality had seemed within reach, yet because he was stained with the evil karma of the Void Origin, he could not pass through. He was completely erased within the divine light.

Within the waters of the Heavenly River, Chen Yixin held Wenren Li tightly as they continued sinking. His eyes were closed, his expression utterly serene. Wenren Li, however, was the opposite. He could not survive within the Heavenly River, and the deeper they sank, the worse his condition became.

“This time, it seems I may have dragged A-Rong down with me…”

Holding Chen Yixin tightly, he looked at the locks that appeared upon both of their wrists. These were locks he himself had forged. Chen Yixin had no way to undo them, though Wenren Li, their creator, naturally could. Yet the locks merely appeared briefly before fading once more.

He lifted Chen Yixin’s chin and kissed him upon the lips. Then he hugged him tightly and completely surrendered to the downward pull. In truth, he could not bear it. Compared to letting Chen Yixin live, he was even less willing to let Chen Yixin suffer the pain of surviving alone.

That pain was too great. He had endured it once. After the catastrophe of the Yuxu Palace, Chen Yixin had endured it once as well. Neither of them had the strength to endure it a second time.

The waters of the Heavenly River were purer than even the Sea of Ice Extremity. Almost no living being could withstand their force without perishing. Wenren Li reverted to his true form—a silver tree—while Chen Yixin’s body gradually assimilated into water. Yet that mass of water wrapped itself entirely around the silver tree.

They seemed not to move at all within the Heavenly River, yet also seemed to be endlessly swept onward. They knew neither destination nor consciousness.

Meanwhile, the final battle in the outside world had long since ended. The Demon Abyss Well split into two and lost its divine might. The awakened Immortal Emperors, having lost the Demon Abyss Well’s protection, fell one after another. The Void Heaven Battlefield vanished completely along with the relocation of the Demon Abyss Well.

The Ten Emperors and Nine Clans of the Upper Realm all submitted. The final battle, which had lasted nearly a thousand years, had finally come to an end.

Yet neither inside nor outside the Yuxu Palace could anyone celebrate, because their masters had still not returned. A hundred years passed. A thousand years. Ten thousand years. A hundred thousand years…

Qiu Yi and An Cheng had offered sacrifices and attempted to communicate with the Myriad Worlds Well and the Three Lives Well more times than they could count. Yet the two wells were like dead objects, giving no response whatsoever. They were even gradually losing their divine nature, along with the liveliness they had possessed when Chen Yixin was present.

“Could it be… that they perished together?” An Cheng muttered dejectedly. Then he immediately slapped his own mouth. “Bah, bah, bah! Impossible! The Great Emperor and the Sovereign  Consort will definitely be fine!”

Outside the Yuxu Palace, Qing Ruo and Lin Yu followed behind a young boy with two silver whiskers growing from his forehead. “Yinzi, where are you taking us?”

This was Yinzi, who had finally gained a human form after all these years. His ability to traverse space was astonishingly fast. Qing Ruo and Lin Yu followed behind him, while Jiu Yu, who had originally been following as well, had long since been left far behind.

“This… is where I found A-Rong.”

Qing Ruo stopped, and Lin Yu halted beside him. Together they gazed at the vast Heavenly River before them.

“Could it be that the Great Emperor’s and A-Rong’s battle still hasn’t ended?” It was not impossible. The flow of time within the battlefield was different from that of the Upper Realm. Very little time might have passed there while thousands or tens of thousands of years had passed here.

“Could they be waiting for our help? I always felt we shouldn’t have split into two groups. The four of us should have faced them together…”

Qing Ruo spoke regretfully, but time could not flow backward, and no decision could be changed now.

“Don’t touch it.”

Lin Yu grasped Qing Ruo’s hand and pulled him away from the edge of the Heavenly River. Back when Qing Ruo had reached completion and flown across the Heavenly River, he had seen something within its waters and reached in to retrieve it. He had indeed pulled out an egg, but the blood pouring from his hands had terrified even him.

“I… I’ll try fishing something out again. Maybe I can pull A-Rong and the Great Emperor back as well!”

Shaking off Lin Yu’s hand, Qing Ruo strode to the riverbank and solemnly reached toward the Heavenly River once more.

Lin Yu frowned helplessly but did not stop him again. Qing Ruo had never been someone he could truly restrain. Besides, if Qing Ruo was not allowed to do something, the guilt and worry inside him would eventually crush him.

Splash!

Before Qing Ruo’s hand could touch the water, Yinzi’s head suddenly emerged first. One of his long whiskers wrapped around Qing Ruo’s wrist, and Qing Ruo took the opportunity to pull him out.

Yinzi reverted to his original form and sprawled beside the Heavenly River, looking utterly miserable. He began vomiting water.

“Blegh… splutter… blegh… splutter…”

No one knew how much of the terrifying Heavenly River water Yinzi had swallowed. Qing Ruo and Lin Yu could only watch helplessly. Just as they were about to sigh and step forward, Yinzi suddenly opened his mouth enormously wide.

Then a silver tree came tumbling out.

“G-Great Emperor!”

The silver tree landed upon the ground and transformed into Wenren Li. His eyes remained tightly shut, and not a single drop of water clung to his body. Yet no matter how Qing Ruo and Lin Yu called to him, he would not awaken.

“It seems the Great Emperor’s soul has not yet returned to his body.”

After carefully examining him, Lin Yu explained this to Qing Ruo, to Yinzi who had transformed back into human form, and to Jiu Yu who had finally caught up. Still, the recovery of Wenren Li’s body meant the situation was not nearly as hopeless as they had feared.

“A-Li still hasn’t come back. Big Brother and the others must be worried sick…”

Wenren Li’s soul wore black robes and had black hair. Looking at the mass of Heavenly River water before him, he gently shook his head.

“I’ll wait for you.”

“Alright…”

A hundred thousand years later, the waters of the Upper Realm’s Heavenly River stirred once more. Even the Three Lives Well and the Myriad Worlds Well, which had remained motionless for nearly two hundred thousand years, began to tremble.

A streak of black light shot into the main hall of the Yuxu Palace. Qing Ruo and Lin Yu were alerted and rushed over, only to discover that Wenren Li’s body had vanished.

Arriving at the banks of the Heavenly River, Wenren Li stepped into its waters. Yet instead of entering the river itself, he passed through it and arrived directly within the Extradimensional Realm. This was the very place where Chen Yixin had brought him when they leapt into the Heavenly River all those years ago. Today, he had come here to bring Chen Yixin home.

“A-Rong…”

Wenren Li called softly, his gaze searching across the boundless Heavenly River.

At that moment, a chain of Heavenly River water wrapped around Wenren Li’s waist and pulled him into the river. The waters flooded his vision, and when he could see again, a breathtakingly beautiful youth stood before him without a stitch of clothing, smiling brilliantly.

“A-Li came quite quickly…”

Before the words had even fully fallen, the youth impatiently leaned forward and kissed him.

This was Chen Yixin.

Yet he was no longer the Heavenly Phoenix Chen Yixin, nor was he the outsider from beyond the world that Dongfang Jin had described.

His true form was the Soul of the Heavenly River.

End of Main Story

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