MTLNOVEL Chapter 832: 434. Judgment
[Specialty: Decisive Action Activated]
Xides struggled to lift his hand, kneeling on the ground, inching towards his own head.
Primordial Soil rolled his consciousness and flesh, just as it condenses civilization and territory. To the entire civilization, it is a blessing, but to the individual, it is like crushing the soul, distributing it evenly across every inch of the body's cells.
Xides's soul was pulled, and Leoz immediately launched an assault, channeling his immense charm to command Xides.
"Suicide."
[Your real-time [Charm] is: 19987]
Swish!
Two divine blades sprang from his palms, slowly moving towards his eye sockets under Xides's gaze.
[Charm Check Passed]
Slash!
The blades pierced through Xides's eyes, then twisted vigorously.
In the next moment, Xides briefly struggled awake mentally, shouting towards the sky, with a beam of light erupting from his eyes and mouth.
Crack!
Leoz raised his hand, igniting Chaos Fire to disrupt the pillar of light rising to the sky, simultaneously punching him in the face, causing him to fall to the ground, with his flesh rapidly decaying.
"A phoenix rises from the ashes, sacrificing pawns to save the king—so cunning."
Leoz knew precisely what this meant.
Xides's soul strength was still too high, or perhaps the Starry Abyss's blessing on him was too strong, seemingly a blessing to immortalize from death.
If it were ordinary deities, Primordial Soil would be enough to shatter their soul along with their flesh, erasing their self-awareness while sealing it in Primordial Soil's particles, leaving not a trace.
Leoz wasn't sure if there was too little Primordial Soil, or if the Starry Abyss's blessing was too strong, or perhaps both.
Fortunately, he had foreseen this situation, and at the moment of ordering Xides's suicide, he was already prepared.
[Sequence 1: Chaos]
Supported by powerful [Charm], he had already laid down layers of chaotic fire seas. Amidst the disturbance of dark flames, Xides's soul could not find the correct escape route, only spinning and crashing within the tides of chaos, bit by bit roasted by the flames.
Leoz waited patiently.
The Chaos Fire was already burning, and Xides would soon meet his end.
Years ago, Xides had escaped from his grasp, buying his life.
This time, the Starry Abyss's blessing on him could no longer save him.
Within the black flames, not a scream came from Xides, perhaps due to Chaos distorting the rules of sound resonance, as Leoz merely watched his soul struggle, flee, spin in circles, then bit by bit entwined by the black flame, much like being strangled by a python, unable to defy.
In the end, Xides left neither a last word nor a glance; his soul floated upward like a kite with broken strings, seemingly sensing the call of the Starry Abyss in his final moments of life.
That was his homeland, the place that nurtured him.
Leoz coldly watched Xides's soul, which reached out towards the ink-blue starry sky, seemingly trying to touch the path back home.
But ultimately, the dark flames silently devoured Xides, along with the chaotic fire, dissipating into the air.
As the Chaos Fire concluded, Leoz lowered his head, the Moonlight Armor upon him now shattered, dispersing into six-winged butterflies fluttering in the air.
[DLC content ended, time until next gameplay: 30 natural days]
"It's over..."
Li Aozi raised his head, his deep blue eyes looking in all directions.
With the demise of the Void Overlord, and more civilizations successfully resisting the invasion, the inherent temporal domain of the Void began to retract. Though temporarily, Dragon Satellite lost seventy percent of its territory, Li Aozi liberated "Social Institutions," releasing numerous powerful civilizations untainted by the Starry Abyss Pathway, greatly supplementing Dragon Satellite's land, technology, culture, and species diversity.
In the future, Dragon Satellite should find a truly suitable path amidst the interweaving clash of civilizations.
But those are stories for another time.
The mandate of chaos faded alongside Leoz, as black flames swept across, transforming the Void's corals and crystalline earth into fertile black soil and exposed mineral beds. The air was no longer filled with the monotonous suffocating essence of the Void; various types of bacteria, gases, sulfur...everything seemed to revert to primordial atmosphere.
Heaven and earth newly opened, all things in chaos.
Li Aozi raised his hand, clenched his fist, playfully commented:
"This ability is almost like a creator, if I were you, I would establish my own domain and work independently."
Leoz was no longer able to respond to him, or rather, they had reached a new level of fusion.
Li Aozi had no extra sentiment, immediately seizing the opportunity to inventory what was left from defeating Xides.
First was the experience, the higher-level kill of Xides. Despite receiving a 70% penalty for 'using DLC content', the remaining experience was enough for Li Aozi to sustain until the players descend.
Next were various miscellaneous materials: [Void-Polluted Divine Armor], [Fallen Divinity (Void Attributes)], [Void Tendrils]—these are all valuable items.
Some materials were altered as Leoz burned them with Chaos Fire; Li Aozi casually launched a [Eye of Truth] Arcane Missile, assessing them all in one breath.
Then he became vexed—materials and items altered by Chaos burn were reduced to very low-grade primitive existence. The previously precious [Void Tendons] turned directly into [Biological Tendons] after being burnt by Chaos, essentially worthless, even deemed unwanted scraps.
Yet, Li Aozi, having gained some stature, akin to a wealthy young man, did not care about these scraps, casually packing and tossing them into dimensional space.
Anyway, players will treat them like treasures.
Regrettably, as the Void Overlord of the Path of the Void, Xides didn't carry any equipment, leaving Li Aozi with no useful items. For a Void Overlord, his body is the most valuable.
Then it was completely burned away by Leoz.
The only thing Leoz left him was a completely worthless particle of Primordial Soil.
Li Aozi fiddled with it half-heartedly, but even the Eye of Truth couldn't reveal its true nature.
In the end, he still couldn't figure out how to use the Primordial Soil, so he had to go back and let Leoz handle it himself.
That was the entirety of the loot from this battle.
In terms of value, it probably wouldn't exceed a hundred million Ammonium Gold, which might be sold to players for a wave of Experience. Otherwise, there was nothing else gained.
Of course, one could put it this way: this trip allowed him to completely settle the mess Leoz had left, and he learned the purpose and operations of the Starry Abyss. Such information is priceless.
"Let's just say it wasn't a loss. It was worth the trip; at least it wasn't for nothing."
Li Aozi comforted himself, putting away the Primordial Soil. Suddenly, he sensed a gaze from behind and immediately turned around.
Drip... Drip...
Zhi Xiang walked slowly over the sea, maintaining the appearance of Merid Fenny, with purple hair and purple eyes, dressed in the Kingdom's knight attire.
But this time, the habitual fake smile was gone from its face, replaced by a solemn expression.
"Hey," Li Aozi greeted, placing one hand on his waist. "Why the serious face? Smile a bit."
Zhi Xiang stood in front of him, lifted its head, and gazed deeply at Li Aozi, saying nothing.
Silence.
Li Aozi met Zhi Xiang's gaze; he couldn't decipher anything from those eyes, just as he couldn't understand why Zhi Xiang had abandoned him in the deep mountains before, leaving alone.
But there was one thing he could be sure of: he could feel that Zhi Xiang's attitude at that moment was much more serious than ever before.
In silence, they stood for a few minutes.
"Phew..."
Finally, Zhi Xiang lowered its head, sighed, and said helplessly:
"I thought of many ways to start this conversation, but in the end, I came up with nothing."
"Doesn't matter; awkward conversations are fine too. I'm a pretty boring person anyway."
Li Aozi shrugged, unconcerned.
"How should I put it..."
Zhi Xiang raised its arms, pressed its fingertips to its chin, pondered for a moment, and said:
"As a Primordial Species, my life is too long. In many cases, our kind, who don't even conceive the idea of 'death,' can't resonate with you the same way."
She lifted her hand, revealing a bouquet of vividly blooming flowers in her palm.
"For instance, when brief lifespan species see flowers wither, they feel the passing of time, youth lost forever, time irretrievable. To a Primordial Species, it's hard to comprehend why something that is just a normal life cycle stirs so many reflections—why it even spurs you to create cultural products."
Her eyelashes gently trembled as the flowers in her palm quickly wilted and decayed. Without the support of the Weak Force, they soon became fragments, dispersed by the wind.
Zhi Xiang watched the petal fragments being carried away by the wind; at that moment, Li Aozi noticed she reached out to gently attempt to hold back their disappearance.
"But now, I somewhat understand that feeling. Precisely because life is short, you are like meteors streaking across the night sky, illuminating the instant splendor in the darkness, leaving your mark upon the world."
Zhi Xiang murmured, pondering:
"From the paramecium to the rulers of civilization—in the past, it was through genetic replication, then familial inheritance, followed by national culture, and next the level of consciousness—finally converging in the Grand Narrative, endless and eternal."
"Fleeting, intense, and then continue to pass on the flame," Li Aozi said. "I thought you understood that long ago."
"Understanding doesn't mean empathizing."
Zhi Xiang said mildly:
"You certainly know how hard the lives of those coal miners are, but when you see them gathering together, speaking with diverse accents and watching trash videos, their manners coarse, fighting over meal money—do you feel sympathy?"
"Well—it's not something even the civilized can entirely do themselves." Li Aozi waved his hand. "Anyway, I understand you; it's not your fault. Human beings can't understand each other entirely either, expecting you to understand is sort of moral coercion."
"I've been on the Dragon Satellite for a long time, constantly striving to maintain this pure land not yet polluted by pathway. Someday, this might become a new cradle for a civilization free from the Shattering Abyss's interference. I've imitated the brief lifespan species, immersing my heart and soul in this land. I believe in them, I cherish them..."
Zhi Xiang looked across the coast, at the civilization unleashed by Li Aozi, continuing its purge of the Void:
"Yet I've done nothing well. Unaging, undying, ever-changing, yet without the capacity for direct combat, I can only disperse the Substance Rain and nurture some children to delay the Void's invasion."
"Isn't that pretty good too? As a Primordial Species, no one expects you to do this. Entirely due to idealism, without seeking return, it's quite admirable."
Li Aozi comforted.
"Indeed." Zhi Xiang said mildly. "What I couldn't achieve in so long, a decent-looking little ghost managed in five years."
"No need to put yourself down—let's just say you're complimenting me." Li Aozi joked. "Thanks for the compliment, and I must thank you for your help, Zhi Xiang."
"No, I should be the one thanking you."
Zhi Xiang turned her head and said to Li Aozi:
"Leoz, no, or should I call you Li Aozi?"