Calamity of Tomorrow

Zhou Bai walked through the hospital corridors at night. The empty hallway was deserted, with only the echo of his footsteps reverberating.

Christina crouched in his mind, looking at the empty hospital and hugging Elsa, she said, "Zhou Bai! Why come to such a place late at night? It brings back bad memories for me."

Zhou Bai knew what Christina had remembered and smiled faintly, "This isn't the abandoned hospital in Donghua City. There are still people here; it's still operational. What are you afraid of?"

The next moment, as Zhou Bai turned the corner at the end of the hallway, various patients and nurses gradually came into view.

Zhou Bai arrived at the sickroom where Qian Wangsun had stayed, only to find that his bed had already been taken by another patient.

Zhou Bai thought, 'So he's already left? With such severe injuries, where could he have gone?'

Zhou Bai still remembered how, before the top ten competition, Qian Wangsun had risked his life to observe the Heavenly Emperor's Sword, hoping to use the attack from Jue Ji to break the prohibitions on the sword, only to be struck down by Jue Ji, nearly costing him his life.

It was also because of Qian Wangsun's insight that the Artifact Spirit of the Heavenly Emperor's Sword still survived, and even retained its sanity, that Zhou Bai chose to use the Heavenly Emperor's Sword to prove his identity during his fight with Sun Jingping.

'According to the doctors, he wouldn't recover for half a year, and even his future cultivation could be affected.'

Zhou Bai suddenly furrowed his brows, "I was planning to find a way to heal Qian Wangsun after the Daluo Heaven discourse was over. Why did this kid run off on his own? Could it be he's lost hope?"

"That's not right." Zhou Bai recalled Qian Wangsun's experiences—how he had his limbs severed at school, fought alongside him on the Heavenly Demon Battlefield, and faced Xu Dela, the Great Heavenly Demon, and the mysterious lady who could manipulate anomalies.

"With his will now, it's impossible for Qian Wangsun to take his own life. So why did he leave the hospital?"

This was what Zhou Bai had been pondering all the way here, yet he couldn't figure it out.

Christina said, "Zhou Bai, how do you plan to find him? Isn't this guy on Gong Tu's path? Although you're stronger than him, you're not as good as him in these investigative and counter-surveillance matters."

"When facing areas I'm not familiar with, I usually choose to directly cheat—no, I mean use auxiliary tools. The ability to use tools is the biggest difference between humans and other animals."

While speaking, Zhou Bai opened his mouth to let Elsa use her power, spitting out a string of necklaces.

This necklace with its divinatory patterns, acquired in Donghua City, had the magical ability to see the past and the future.

Zhou Bai now activated the divinatory pattern, planning to look into what had happened in this sickroom in the past, using this pattern to find Qian Wangsun's whereabouts and the reason for his departure.

"Let's start from the moment when Qian Wangsun was admitted. It should have been eight days ago..."

As the light and shadows shifted, the sickroom seemingly changed to how it looked eight days ago. Zhou Bai watched Qian Wangsun lying in the hospital bed and murmured to himself, "Let's see what exactly happened."

Next, Zhou Bai continuously adjusted the divinatory pattern and also kept curing the mental trauma aftermath brought about by the pattern with his laziness points.

Through slow adjustments and careful observation, he finally saw the scene where Li Xiuzhu approached Qian Wangsun and had a conversation with him.

"So it was Li Xiuzhu who healed Qian Wangsun using the divinatory pattern?"

"He actually wants Qian Wangsun to join the Sky Flipping Sect?"

Zhou Bai listened intently to the conversation between the two, growing more surprised as he listened, and soon heard the part where Li Xiuzhu and Qian Wangsun talked about the ideals of the Sky Flipping Sect.

...

"Forget about those, Qian Wangsun, let's continue our conversation, I've always had this idea..." Li Xiuzhu said with a smile, "To gather a group of elite humans to see if we can change this world."

"Afterward, this thought became clearer and clearer through battle after battle, exploration after exploration."

"If humanity wants to rise today, they must rely on themselves; seeking gods and worshiping Buddhas is useless. You've been through so much, you should understand this point already."

Qian Wangsun nodded, "I've heard from San Mei that they say you have a sure-win plan, one that will definitely help humanity rise, sweep away the Heavenly Demons, and stand independent of the heavenly courts, is that so?"

Li Xiuzhu nodded, "I once strayed into the void and saw the true form of Heavenly Dao. He's indescribable, impossible to summarize, yet undeniably real and incredibly profound."

"It was from that time that I gained a deeper understanding of mutations and demon bloodlines."

"Then, I wandered ceaselessly in this world full of contaminated spiritual energy, continually excavating the power belonging to the demon bloodlines, using this strength to counter the mutations, to adapt to them."

"The capacity of humans to adapt to the Heavenly Dao actually lies hidden within our bloodlines. But I was unaware of the existence of demon bloodlines at that time, and it was at that moment that my curiosity and skepticism about human history, our past, intensified."

"Later, my companions and I traveled across the majority of the planet. We explored humanity's past, searching for the reasons why the situation had become what it was within the ruins and hidden history, and at the same time looking for solutions."

Qian Wangsun looked at Li Xiuzhu curiously, "So, did you find it?"

Li Xiuzhu nodded, "We found it." He sighed, "But we found two methods."

Qian Wangsun exclaimed in surprise, "Two? What methods?"

Li Xiuzhu shook his head, "Central City is too complex, too many Immortals, too many means of surveillance, divination, and even if this place isn't under surveillance now, there's probably a way to trace back, to recreate. Some things are better not said here."

...

"Damn, just like that no more talking," Zhou Bai muttered, but as he listened to the further conversation between the two, there were no more substantive contents.

Zhou Bai then used the divination to observe the ward for the next few days and discovered that Qian Wangsun probably went with Li Xiuzhu.

"That kid Qian Wangsun... actually got involved with the underworld," Zhou Bai stroked his chin and thought, "Is he not planning to return to Donghua City?"

Zhou Bai watched as the other party left the ward. Just as he was about to use divination to follow along, he drew back.

'Forget it, let's not take risks... After all, Li Xiuzhu probably wouldn't harm Qian Wangsun. If I really found Li Xiuzhu and Qian Wangsun now, I might just lead the Immortals straight to them.'

Christina asked curiously, "Why's that?"

Zhou Bai sneered, "They've probably already started 'protecting' me, which means returning to the dormitory where I'm under the protection of the Elder of the Heavenly Sword, I can maintain some privacy. Going to find Li Xiuzhu now, if by chance it draws the attention of the Immortals, that would be bad."

...

Outside the hospital, two monks watched from afar as Zhou Bai exited the main gate and returned in the direction of the dormitories.

"This kid still cares about old connections," one said.

"That Qian Wangsun has disappeared? Let's report it and have someone check it out."

"Do we still need to protect this kid? With his physical body..."

"Of course we can't protect him, we're just here to relay messages. As long as you crush this Jade Talisman, Ming Yue the Immortal can descend in the blink of an eye."