When the world collapses, who will be the savior

Rumble, rumble…

At the end of the world, beyond what mortals could perceive, the boundaries of the world were collapsing at an unimaginable speed. Yet because their vision was limited, no one had noticed—for now.

But Mo Yuan saw it all.

“What… what is happening?”

Mo Yuan’s expression was stunned. He simply couldn’t figure out why the world was collapsing. Could there really be such a coincidence?

“Could it… have something to do with my ascension to immortality?”

He muttered under his breath, frowning in thought. “Does becoming an immortal cause the world to collapse? I’ve never heard of such a thing.”

“But it doesn’t matter. So what if the world collapses?”

Mo Yuan quickly regained his composure. He let out a cold laugh. “I’ve already stepped through the gates of immortality. Next, I’ll ascend directly to the Immortal Realm. What happens to this world has nothing to do with me.”

He had now attained the pinnacle of cultivation, reaching the absolute limit.

Only one step remained: the arrival of the immortal-guiding light. Then he would soar into the heavens, shatter the shackles of this world, and reach the celestial court!

“Come!”

Mo Yuan spread his arms wide, his face filled with fervor as he waited for the immortal-guiding light to descend from the heavens.

Yet the lotus flowers continued to bloom, the celestial music continued to resound, and the multicolored radiance continued to flow throughout the heavens and earth.

Only the immortal-guiding light he so desperately awaited failed to appear.

Ten breaths passed. A hundred breaths… A full incense stick of time went by.

Mo Yuan’s arms had long since gone rigid.

He stared at the empty sky in disbelief, his eyes filled with confusion and shock.

“Why? This is completely different from what the ancient records describe. Why hasn’t the immortal-guiding light appeared?”

Could it be… that he couldn’t escape after all?

“Are you kidding me?!”

Mo Yuan’s eyes bulged with fury. He clutched his head and muttered frantically, “The ancient records left behind by our predecessors can’t be wrong. Something must have gone awry. Yes, there must be some mistake. As long as I figure out what the problem is, I’ll definitely be able to ascend successfully. Even the kid from the Qingxuan Sect managed to do it. There’s no reason I can’t… There’s no reason…”

Clutching his head, he looked completely deranged.

Nearby, Zhao Kun and Ao Xiong were bound in chains. They exchanged a glance, then began whispering among themselves.

“Old Zhao, do you think this guy’s gone mad? Why does he keep laughing one moment and acting crazy the next?”

“And why hasn’t the immortal-guiding light come down?”

“Who knows?” Zhao Xiong replied quietly. “Maybe he’s done too many evil deeds, and even the heavens refuse to acknowledge him. They’ve shut him out.”

“Could be.”

Ao Kun nodded deeply, then sighed. “Looks like the heavens really do have eyes. They know exactly who’s good and who’s evil.”

“Keep your voice down and let him destroy himself,” Zhao Xiong warned in a whisper. “Don’t let him suddenly go berserk and turn the two of us into fireworks. That would really be the worst.”

Zhao Xiong’s concern was entirely unnecessary.

Mo Yuan’s thoughts were completely focused on the Immortal Realm. As for whether Zhao Xiong and Ao Kun lived or died, he couldn’t care less.

The world was about to collapse. If he didn’t leave now, he would die too!

“What exactly went wrong?”

“What exactly went wrong?”

Mo Yuan clutched his head, unable to think of any flaw whatsoever.

The celestial music continued without end, and lotus flowers drifted through the air without pause. Against that magnificent backdrop, Mo Yuan seemed even more like a gaudy clown.

“Confused?”

At last, a cold electronic voice rang out through the void, carrying a faint note of mockery.

“This world has no Immortal Realm.”

“Ascension is a lie.”

“A lie constructed over countless eons from innumerable ancient records—a lie that everyone came to believe without question.”

“This world has never had a history.”

“The so-called Era of the Fallen Emperor, the ancient experts who supposedly perished, the early struggles between humanity and the myriad beasts, and the later siege beneath the rainy night—none of those events in your memories ever truly happened.”

“All that exists is you.”

“And the knowledge that suddenly appeared in all of your minds, along with the world that appeared at the same time.”

“And so, you gained a future, as well as a past.”

“But history does not exist.”

“History does not exist.”

“Ascension is a lie. There is no Immortal Realm. There never has been.”

“Everything is merely wishful thinking on your part.”

That sudden string of words completely shattered all of Mo Yuan’s fantasies.

He was far too familiar with that voice.

It was the mysterious voice that had taught him the art of harnessing destiny a year ago.

“There’s no Immortal Realm?!”

Zhao Xiong and Ao Kun were also stunned by the revelation. They seized upon its most important point and cried out in unison.

The Immortal Realm they had pursued for so long… was fake?

“It’s you!”

Upon hearing the voice, Mo Yuan finally reacted. He abruptly raised his head and frantically searched the surroundings. Gritting his teeth, he spoke in a chilling tone.

“You plotted against me?!”

“Plotting against you would be putting it too strongly.”

A hazy figure suddenly appeared before everyone. Its features could not be seen clearly, yet everyone could tell that it was smiling—and smiling with great delight.

“You wanted to turn defeat into victory, to become an immortal and an ancestor. I gave you everything you wanted. How can you call that plotting?”

“Heh. A powerful expert like you is truly useful.”

“Compared to your useless son, your speed at gathering destiny was like heaven and earth apart. Now that I’ve collected all the destiny, this world naturally can no longer hold together.”

“What?! The world is collapsing?”

Zhao Xiong and Ao Kun were stunned upon hearing this.

At the same time, their senses reached the distant boundaries of the world. They saw them continuously caving in, like a painting set alight at the edges, curling inward inch by inch and turning to ash. Wherever the collapse reached, everything was reduced to complete nothingness.

“Damn it!”

The two were startled and cried out in alarm. Their clansmen were still stationed beyond the outer reaches of the world!

“Everyone, thank you for your cooperation.”

The System gave a slight bow.

“I’ll be taking this world.”

“Bastard!”

Realizing that he had been tricked, Mo Yuan’s eyes blazed with fury. With a fierce wave of his hand, he withdrew the chains binding Zhao Xiong and Ao Kun. Then he gathered every last trace of spiritual power in his body and struck toward the hazy figure with his palm.

With one palm strike, all things fell silent, and the heavens and earth lost their color.

Yet the System did not even bother to dodge. The attack, powerful enough to destroy the heavens and earth, passed straight through its body without causing the slightest effect.

“How is this possible?”

Seeing that his full-powered strike had accomplished nothing, Mo Yuan, Zhao Xiong, and the others all shrank their pupils in shock.

“Why bother? Why bother?”

The System shook its head slightly, its face filled with helplessness.

“Since I dared to show myself, naturally I have nothing to fear from you. We don’t even exist on the same dimensional plane. No matter how powerful you are in this world, it’s meaningless.”

“How can a two-dimensional creature attack a three-dimensional one?”

Was there truly no way out? Could they only watch helplessly as this creature took the entire world away?

Just as everyone was rendered powerless and despair began to spread—

Knock, knock, knock!

A rapid succession of sounds suddenly rang out in the distance.

Immediately afterward, a series of steps paved from bluestone and white jade appeared in an instant, stretching across the space before the hazy figure. At the end of the steps, a gate radiating endless white light suddenly unfolded, trapping the figure firmly within.

Everyone looked up.

It was actually… an immortal gate!