Chapter 1859 – Sheng Mei's Sigh
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Sheng Mei's question implied that she knew who the mysterious youth was. But someone that Sheng Mei knew who was so incredibly powerful that Lin Ming couldn't understand him at all, and who also made him feel fear and apprehension, Lin Ming couldn't think of anyone else besides the Soul Emperor.
"Yes."
Sheng Mei slowly nodded. She wasn't surprised that Lin Ming could guess the identity of that youth.
The Soul Emperor was the one who held ultimate control of the spiritas and the seven Heavens of the spiritas. Although the spiritas had many True Divinities, these True Divinities took the Soul Emperor as their ruler.
Towards this immeasurably deep and mysterious character, Lin Ming was filled with dread.
"If he didn't discover Ruby, he shouldn't have discovered the Magic Cube…"
Lin Ming felt his back drenched in a cold sweat. When he met the mysterious youth, Lin Ming had tried his best to restrain his every thought and emotion. Even so, he felt as if he had been completely seen through.
Luckily, the Magic Cube was originally a supreme divine tool of the universe and Ruby was also an extremely mysterious character who could even see through the Laws left behind by the creator of the Holy Scripture.
These were two existences that surpassed the imagination of others. If they hid their aura as best they could, it was normal if even a True Divinity couldn't discover them.
Moreover, according to what Lin Ming learned before, the Soul Emperor should never have seen the Magic Cube before.
"The Soul Emperor… why is he here to especially see me?"
Lin Ming thought, awed. Without a doubt, the Soul Emperor had been deliberately waiting for him on the banks of that dead lake!
The Soul Emperor had said that Lin Ming's road was too smooth and not conducive to him reaching the true peak of martial arts. These words had left a deep impression in Lin Ming's mind, but he didn't believe that the Soul Emperor had been there just to leave behind these words and help guide his cultivation.
As Lin Ming spoke, his eyes blazed and he stared at Sheng Mei. He waited for her response; this was something that concerned his life!
The Soul Emperor was far too powerful. Although humanity had no conflicts of interest with the spiritas right now, and could even be called loosely connected part-allies, Lin Ming was still alarmed by being noticed by this figure who possessed unimaginable strength and could control his life or death at any moment.
Sheng Mei sighed, not replying.
Lin Ming continued to stare at Sheng Mei. "Why are you sighing?"
"I'm sighing over your destiny…"
Sheng Mei quietly said.
Lin Ming grew increasingly cold. "Why are you sighing for my destiny?"
Sheng Mei shook her head, not saying anything.
Lin Ming also fell silent.
After the two remained quiet for a quarter hour, Sheng Mei suddenly looked at Lin Ming, her eyes glistening like stars.
"Lin Ming, let me ask you one more time. Are you willing to abandon humanity, abandon everything, and follow me in reaching the peak of martial arts, probing the limits of the road of martial arts, establishing a vast world that lies separate from the 33 Heavens and becoming the rulers of that world?
"You and I can even become like the Asura Road Master and Holy Scripture master from 10 billion years ago. We can cultivate the Law of Eternal Life and live forever in this world."
Sheng Mei's words were filled with a dark temptation. Moreover, as she spoke, Lin Ming could feel an invisible force field covering the both of them, isolating out all sounds.
He didn't know why, but the look that Sheng Mei cast his way caused his heart to race.
In that moment, he intuitively felt that Sheng Mei's eyes were filled with sincerity and hope, causing one to be unable to refuse her…
In Lin Ming's impression, Sheng Mei was a strong woman filled with ambition and calculating plans. Through the time he had been in contact with Sheng Mei, on the surface it looked as if they got alone happily and when they cooperated it even seemed as if their thoughts were in sync.
But in the depths of his heart, Lin Ming had always been wary of Sheng Mei. If Lin Ming held 120% trust towards Xiao Moxian, Qin Xingxuan, and Mu Qianyu, then towards Sheng Mei he might not even have 20% trust.
But this time, for some unknown reason, Lin Ming thought that Sheng Mei's words were true, words that came from her heart. Lin Ming wanted to refuse her, but he couldn't seem to summon the words even though they lay near his lips.
This was because he could faintly feel that Sheng Mei had summoned a great determination to say what she said, and this might be the last time she asked. And that if he were to refuse her now, he would be refusing something important.
"The Soul Emperor… how can he allow my existence
Lin Ming slowly asked beneath Sheng Mei's sound-blocking enchantment.
Without a doubt, the Soul Emperor was also someone who held vast ambitions. If the Soul Emperor still had a long time left to live, how could he allow a competitor from a different race to grow?
Even if the Soul Emperor didn't have much lifespan remaining, he still needed to choose a descendant, and he absolutely wouldn't choose a human to inherit his legacy.
"Me and the Soul Emperor are different from what you imagine. I am only asking you – will you agree?"
Sheng Mei's words were ambiguous. She didn't explain anything to Lin Ming, only continuing to look at him with sincere hope in her eyes.
In that moment it seemed as if she wasn't the Soul Empress Sheng Mei that dominated the spiritas and looked down at the world, but a delicate woman who aroused one's deepest sympathies.
"I don't understand…"
Lin Ming quietly said. Sheng Mei's actions today left him startled.
Sheng Mei shook her head. "I only want to ask you this and know your answer. If you agree then I will explain the doubts you have in your heart, but if you refuse, I'm afraid that in the future, perhaps…"
Sheng Mei didn't continue speaking. Her last words left Lin Ming feeling something strange in the pit of her stomach, as if saying them would hurt her.
Lin Ming knew that if he agreed to Sheng Mei's conditions, it was possible that she would teach him the nearly complete Holy Scripture!
To Lin Ming, this was an unimaginable advantage!
"You can't wait?"
Lin Ming already took a step back. The so-called 'wait' was to wait until he grew into an extreme Empyrean that neared a True Divinity, to wait for him to possess enough strength to contend with the saints' Good Fortune Saint Sovereign and even turn the tide of the war.
At that time, once humanity was safe then he would have more choices he could make. He could wholeheartedly chase the peak of martial arts.
However… Sheng Mei shook her head.
"No."
She refused without brooking any compromise, leaving Lin Ming stunned.
"Why?"
"I don't have time."
A nervous look flashed in Sheng Mei's eyes.
Didn't have time?
Lin Ming took a deep breath, trying to compose his racing heart. At that moment, in his mind, images of his parents, Xiao Moxian, Mu Qianyu, Qin Xingxuan, Lin Xiaoge, Empyrean Divine Dream, Empyrean Vast Universe, and even Empyrean Primordius who left him his legacy, flashed like a panorama. There was the Black Dragon of the Eternal Demon Abyss and the countless individuals of humanity who had crossed paths with him, aiding him, supporting him…
These were things he could not discard.
A human was never an independent existence. They needed human society, and also to be recognized by others.
Lin Ming couldn't allow himself to become independent, desolately climbing towards the peak of martial arts all by himself.
To withstand an immortal life of loneliness.
That was an unimaginably despairing fate.
Eventually… he grit his teeth and shook his head.
"I refuse!"
Hearing Lin Ming's deep voice, a look of disappointment crossed Sheng Mei's face. She looked at Lin Ming and slowly closed her eyes. Beneath the starlight, her long lashes seemed to shiver.
The truth was she had already expected Lin Ming's answer. Otherwise he wouldn't be Lin Ming at all.
With a sigh, Sheng Mei turned around, looking at the boundless starry skies.
Her outstanding figure was outlined with her dark red dress. As it fluttered in the wind, she exuded an infinitely beguiling charm.
She was like a goddess of the heavens and earth, controlling creation, perfect and immovable. But at that moment, within her star-bright eyes, she also revealed endless loss.
Why did she ask again?
Perhaps… she just needed a reason to give up…
"Lin Ming… you are a moth drawn to the flame. Although you know there is a raging fire in front of you, you still desperately plunge into the roaring flames…
"Me, I am also a moth…"
Sheng Mei's voice was like flowing starlight t
hat cut through the night sky.
Lin Ming was silent. Indeed, he was a moth.
The saints were strong to an incomprehensible point. Perhaps, no matter how hard he tried, even if he exhausted the totality of his potential and burned his life, he still might not be able to stop the invasion of the saints.
But Sheng Mei… what were the flames she faced?
"Your words, sound familiar…"
Lin Ming sighed. He remembered when he was 15 years old and had just stepped onto the road of martial arts, he had lacked raw medicines to help cleanse and heal his body. And for a mortal, if they lacked the materials and medicines to nourish their body, they might overdraw themselves and be disabled for the rest of their life.
In the past he had gathered money to purchase these medicines. He had drawn up inscription symbols and went to various city squares, auction houses, and inscription association stores, but because he wasn't famous, he had received nothing but a cold shoulder.
As a result, the scene of his failure had been witnessed by his first love, Lan Yunyue.
At that time, the advice Lan Yunyue gave him was similar to Sheng Mei's…
"I remember… that when I was a mortal, an old friend of mine warned me not to be stubborn and practice martial arts. She didn't want me to spend the rest of my days disabled on a bed. But, my answer was…
"The path of the martial artist is like a flame. Practicing the martial arts will only cause pain. The dangers are countless and the road is filled with obstacles. Everyone who walks down it will eventually turn to ash, but the true martial artist will be reborn from these ashes. Even if I am only a small and weak moth, I will walk into the flames without hesitation. I will fight my destiny for a one in a million chance that I will experience my own samsara and be reborn as a flaming phoenix. And even now, I am no longer a moth…"
As Lin Ming spoke these words, he didn't know what he felt in his heart.
He knew that he was discarding an easy road to take, and choosing to walk down one filled with thorns and obstacles, and he didn't even know whether or not he could reach the end of this road.
And when he chose to take this road, he seemed to have hurt Sheng Mei. Even so, Lin Ming didn't know what difficulties Sheng Mei had that she couldn't bring up…
"Forget the words I've said tonight."
Sheng Mei suddenly calmed down. She turned around, the disappointment in her eyes already completely vanished, replaced with cold indifference.
It was as if what Lin Ming had seen and heard was just an illusion. As if that pitiful Sheng Mei had never existed at all.
She was the same as she had always been, the Empress of the spiritas, dominating the world, looking down upon all others!
"Lin Ming, a worm that lives amongst the dead leaves and fallen branches will never understand the beauty and greatness of this world. You have far too many chains shackling you down. The road of martial arts is to struggle for life with the heavens, and to climb to the peak of martial arts is to crush the heavens beneath your feet. Since ancient times, those that were willing to discard all others naturally possessed extreme talents of their own, and yet they were still defeated, much less someone like you who has chosen to place such a great weight upon yourself and shoulder the destiny of your race. Don't you know the story of Empyrean Divine Seal from 3.6 billion years ago? He was a truly peerless character, a True Dragon of the world, but he also chose to shoulder the destiny of humanity and in the end he died in battle. What a pity, what a loss!"
Sheng Mei softly sighed. Lin Ming shook his head. "I am not Empyrean Divine Seal. My road is one I will walk down myself. And the choices I make, I will not regret them in the future!"
Chapter 1860 – A Hundred Million Years
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Lin Ming's last words were calm but steadfast.
Beneath the shimmering moonlight, Sheng Mei and Lin Ming looked at each other, neither speaking for a long time.
Lin Ming didn't know just what Sheng Mei was thinking.
He even faintly felt that if he were to part ways with Sheng Mei today, if they were to meet again in the future their relationship would no longer be the same.
"Your golden pages."
Lin Ming waved his hand and four golden pages flew towards Sheng Mei.
Sheng Mei received the golden pages and turned to leave. But at this time, Lin Ming called out to her, "Wait one moment!"
Sheng Mei stopped. With her back to Lin Ming, her black hair fluttered in the night wind. Bathed in starlight, her entire body sparkled with a gentle brilliance.
"I have a question… you can choose not to answer." Lin Ming said after a moment of hesitation.
"Speak…" Sheng Mei faintly said. She knew that even if Lin Ming called out to her, he wouldn't have changed his mind.
"I want to ask… when you asked me to leave with you, was it to follow you, or follow the spiritas?"
Lin Ming always felt something was off, as if Sheng Mei had something she couldn't say. Every time she sent a sound transmission she also isolated herself from the outside so that no one could eavesdrop. Even amongst the spiritas she seemed to be wary of something. This made Lin Ming feel that the situation was a bit unusual.
Since she didn't want the spiritas to eavesdrop on her, then that meant the words she spoke must have vaguely involved some secret.
Sheng Mei indifferently said, "You have already refused, so what meaning is there in asking another question? Following me or following the spiritas, is there a difference?"
"Yes, I want to know."
Lin Ming's reply was firm. Sheng Mei suddenly turned around, her deep and silent gaze focused on Lin Ming, her pupils shining like black gems. As the two pairs of eyes met, the decisiveness in Lin Ming's eyes caused Sheng Mei's thoughts to tremble for the briefest moment.
As if in that moment, her originally frozen heart began to slowly warm, the layers of ice she formed melting away with Lin Ming's words.
"Following me…" Sheng Mei's sound transmission echoed in Lin Ming's ears. "To go somewhere with me, to not return to the Divine Realm, to not return to the Soul World, to go somewhere for a hundred million years, far away from the storm of the great calamity. To discard everything else, that is a silly proposal… isn't it? The truth is that when I asked you I already knew it was impossible…"
Sheng Mei shook her head. Even though she knew it was an impossible proposition she still asked Lin Ming to rid herself of the last wild hopes in her heart.
If she didn't give it her all and strive for everything she wanted, then there would always be regrets.
What Sheng Mei wanted was not Lin Ming's answer. What she wanted was only… to not leave behind any regrets.
"A hundred million years!?"
Lin Ming sucked in a breath of cold air.
Living for all this time, he was still only a mere 150 years old. A hundred million years was an unimaginable span of time. Even most Empyreans only lived for a hundred million years!
And if Sheng Mei proposed that they leave together for a hundred million years, that was in truth acknowledging that both she and Lin Ming would be able to break into True Divinity. And in fact, there was no need to doubt the veracity of this.
"Why?"
Lin Ming was confused. Was this 'place' somewhere in the 33 Heavens? Or was it separate from the 33 Heavens? In order for a genius to grow, they needed an ever broader stage. He didn't believe that staying in one fixed place for a hundred million years was conducive to increasing one's cultivation.
So why had Sheng Mei made this choice?
"There is no need for you to know." Sheng Mei said, without any intention of explaining herself further. "Two of these golden pages originally belong to you, but I fear you cannot bring them away yourself otherwise you will be drawing a fatal disaster upon yourself. Right now you are far too weak to protect them. This is your compensation."
Sheng Mei waved her arm and a golden jade slip flew into Lin Ming's hand.
As Lin Ming looked over this jade slip, his heart shook.
This jade slip was a compilation of the 10 golden pages!
Of course, this was only an imitation, but even an imitation was extremely precious, because in order to create an imitation of the golden pages one needed to be at least a True Divinity level character to reproduce 10-20% of the original's charm. Moreover, a massive amount of time and energy would be required.
It was impossible for an Empyrean to copy them.
For Lin Ming alone, the value of this jade slip surpassed the two golden pages. This was because Lin Ming had already looked through the golden pages and recorded their contents.
And since Lin Ming gave the golden pages to Sheng Mei, that was the same as shaking himself off from the focus of the large influences. At the very least he wouldn't be instantly chased down and hunted.
In this sort of situation, Lin Ming didn't have any more life or death blood enemies in the Soul World. Humanity wasn't hostile with the spiritas to begin with, and in the Akashic Dream Battlefield, Lin Ming had only slapped the faces of some large influences; it wasn't an irreconcilable difference. And, with everyone knowing about the connection between him and Sheng Mei yet not fully knowing how they were related, no one would risk offending Sheng Mei just to kill off Lin Ming.
In just this point, Sheng Mei had helped Lin Ming a great deal.
"Thank you." Lin Ming said from his heart. Although the reference value was lower than the original golden pages, it was still the complete book.
It was only a pity that Lin Ming didn't have the black book.
There is no need to thank me. I received your two original golden pages and they are far more valuable than this imitation jade slip. This is simply a transaction, and since it is a fair trade there is no need for you to owe me anything."
Sheng Mei coldly said. As Lin Ming listened to her he could hear a resolute tone in it, making him feel inexplicably dispirited.
If it was said that there was a hint of friendship between him and Sheng Mei, then that friendship could be said to have been severed or even frozen away by Sheng Mei.
"You and I will meet again in the future. But, the only change is that we will be enemies. I will not hold back, but unfortunately… you are too weak, and I cannot bear to destroy you…
"Let me tell you something else. I believe you only have 20-30 years before the saints mount their full invasion against humanity. You have no capabilities of stopping them. But since you have stubbornly chosen to walk down this road filled with thorns, you should continue to stubbornly press on."
20-30 years?
Lin Ming's thoughts darkened. Perhaps it might be as Sheng Mei said and there wouldn't be anything he could do, but in any case he wouldn't run. No matter how brutal or disastrous the great calamity was, humanity would still have those that lit the incense for them in the future…
"You said that before the saints invaded humanity, they had to wage war in the Primeval Realm Ruins. So, are you saying that in another 20-30 years, the ancient races within the Primeval Realm Ruins will be thoroughly suppressed by the saints?"
"Yes. The various ancient races are descendants of the races that existed 10 billion years ago. Amongst them, the most powerful one is the primal god race. They harbor the decree of the gods and even the Good Fortune Saint Sovereign must respect them!"
"What!? Primal god race!?"
Lin Ming was bewildered!
The primal god race was the race that the goddess of the ancient grave in the Eternal Demon Abyss – Heavenly Empress Xuanqing, came from. When Empyrean Primordius established the Samsara Road in the past, a part of the reason he did so was to prop up and help the primal god race.
But afterwards, he had been defeated.
It wasn't an exaggeration to say that the primal god race was the most perfect race molded by the hands of heaven. Their souls, mortal bodies, and inner worlds were all formidable and they were able to triple cultivate essence, energy, and soul. They were strong as soon as they were born and possessed talent that defied the heavens. Moreover, their lifespans were ten times longer than those of humans.
This was a race that even the heavens envied. They were powerful to a ridiculous extreme, but their fertility rate was despairingly low.
No matter how powerful a race was, if they couldn't procreate and expand then they would only slowly decline. Many people believed that the primal god race was so powerful that the Heavenly Dao decided to no longer abide their existence, thus starting their trend towards annihilation.
Lin Ming wouldn't forget the benevolence of the primal god race.
In the past within the Sky Spill Continent, because of Heavenly Empress Xuanqing, there was the Forsaken God Clan that existed there which could trace their roots back to the primal god race. Of course, the bloodlines of the Forsaken God Clan had become unbelievably thin, and in truth they were closer to humans. When Lin Ming was forced into a dead end by the Asura Divine Kingdom, it was the Forsaken God Clan that had taken him in under the shelter of Shibai. Lin Ming was then able to launch his counterattack against the Asura Divine Kingdom and shock the entire continent in a great battle after reaching Life Destruction.
Afterwards, when Lin Ming was chased down by Tian Mingzi it was again Heavenly Empress Xuanqing who had saved him. In fact, it was Heavenly Empress Xuanqing's body that now housed Mo Eversnow's soul.
How could he forget all of the kindness they had shown him? Now that he heard Sheng Mei say that the primal god race would soon be exterminated by the saints, it was impossible for him to remain calm.
Yet, he was too weak to stop that from occurring.
"I… how can I go to the Primeval Realm Ruins?"
Lin Ming asked through grit teeth.
Sheng Mei looked at Lin Ming and coldly laughed. "Why do you want to go? Even though you would be walking towards your own doom you still want to help bury the primal god race?"
Sheng Mei mocked. Lin Ming clenched his fists so hard that he drew blood from his palms. He knew that everything Sheng Mei said was the truth!
Yet again, Lin Ming felt sorrow over how weak he was!
He had lived for 150 years, singing nothing but victory all this way, so how could he feel so powerless?
Zhu Yan, Xuan Wuji, Yang Yun, Tian Mingzi, all of these incomparably powerful enemies had far surpassed his boundary in the past, and yet he had defeated them one at a time. But the saints, they were an entire race!
How much time would he need before he could surpass them?
"Does the primal god race possess True Divinities?" Lin Ming took a deep breath, returning his mood to normal. He knew he needed to remain calm.
He feared he wasn't able to help the primal god race, but he couldn't sit back and watch them be destroyed. He needed to understand the specifics of the situation and analyze them for a potential breakthrough.
Perhaps there was the thinnest thread of hope.
"True Divinity? If the primal god race had a True Divinity why would their people face extermination?" Sheng Mei sighed. "The primal god race are the favored children of the world. If a True Divinity is born amongst their ranks, that True Divinity will be far more powerful than an ordinary True Divinity. In addition, because they possess the decree of the gods, even the saints don't dare to recklessly go against them. Otherwise, even if the primal god race perished it is highly possible that they would drag down two saint True Divinities with them. There are no True Divinities who are willing to be sacrificial victims in a war between two races.
Thus, the saints decided to act only when a hundred million years passed after the last True Divinity of the primal god race died! Within the 33 Heavens, the primal god race was once the most magnificent, most glorious, largest, brightest race of the entire martial arts civilization, also possessing the deepest background. Even if the current saints and spiritas were to be added together now, they likely wouldn't even compare to half of what the primal god race was at their pinnacle. 10 billion years ago, the reason so many outstanding young elites and peerless sovereigns appeared was because the primal god race was far too talented! But what a pity, this vast and ancient race couldn't escape the samsara of life and death in the end. The curse of the Heavenly Dao has now brought them to the brink of destruction…"