Night of Despair

"...You, you also know that was before, things are different now." Yu Hong laughed, "Finally, finally managed to contact all of you. I thought, all of you were gone... Before, when the Floating City was attacked, I heard your communications were cut off..."

"Wait!? The Floating City was indeed attacked, but isn't this the first time we're communicating? When did we ever talk with you before?" Quan He frowned and said.

"...Is that so? In that case..." Yu Hong fell silent for a moment, "Perhaps it's a Heart Disaster, or maybe some monster disguises, I'm a bit confused... But no matter what, the fact that you're still here and safe is enough..."

"Where... where are you now?" Quan He asked.

"I'm in the Heartless Belt, the road behind is blocked by the Great Annihilation, can't get out... can only move forward. Can you see me on the map?" Yu Hong asked.

"No, I can't see you..." Quan He replied.

"That's actually normal, we are too far apart. If my cultivation hadn't broken through again, I wouldn't be able to contact you at all." Yu Hong spoke calmly, but a subtle, heartfelt lightness and relief could be sensed.

"We have encountered a situation now..." Quan He quietly narrated their encounter with Yu Hong to the other party.

"What do you think, is it really him or is it really you?"

"Is that so... You've encountered it too. I should have guessed." Yu Hong's tone showed little surprise.

"So, the key now is how to determine whether he's real or I am. Then, have you ever thought about whether you are real yourselves, how could you prove it?"

This question instantly silenced Quan He and Ku Chan...

Yes, they thought about this terrifiedly.

'How to prove you are real? And not a creation of the Heart Disaster?'

In the Heartless Belt, Yu Hong sat cross-legged on the ground, his expression tranquil.

"Actually, if it is indeed a Heart Disaster, its result will inevitably lead to ultimate destruction. Regarding the people appearing in the process, whether they are real or not is irrelevant. The important thing is that their appearance will inevitably lead the original trajectory towards destruction. I have thought about this point; to avoid it, the only way is not to change..."

"That's not a good method..." Quan He replied, "How do you know your unchanged trajectory won't lead to destruction in the first place?"

"I don't know. So this is a gamble." Yu Hong answered. "After all, if it's a Heart Disaster, the people it evolves are actually real. Since they are real, they will certainly understand this point. Just like Feng Xuezi Shibo back then."

"Following the predetermined trajectory..." Quan He somewhat understood Yu Hong's intention.

"Don't be influenced by me, nor by him, make the choices you think are right. Currently, the invasion of the Heart Disaster should still be in the early stage, not severe." Yu Hong reminded.

Facing other Source Disasters, there are traces to follow and shapes to resist, but facing the Heart Disaster, there's really no way, you can only gamble.

The Heart Disaster's direction is destruction, to destroy all living beings, so abandoning all external interference and walking the path you decide yourself is the only way to avoid the Heart Disaster to the maximum extent.

"I understand..." Quan He already had an answer in his mind at this moment.

"That's good. I won't interfere with your decisions. Now, I'm struggling to protect myself and can't help. If possible, I actually want to talk to the other Yu Hong... After all, according to the Heart Disaster, he is also truly Yu Hong. Maybe we will have more topics in common." Yu Hong said softly.

Clack.

Communication disconnected.

Quan He stood still in place, closed his eyes.

Ku Chan and Yiyi beside him, their minds completely scrambled, pondering which side is real and which side is the evolution of the Heart Disaster.

"If our original trajectory leads to destruction, and Yu Hong Ge in front is here to save us, then not changing means waiting for death, right?" Ku Chan voiced.

"Yes... it's really hard to judge, but... there is still a way." Quan He's face turned stern, enunciating word by word.

"What way?" Ku Chan asked.

"Quite simple." Quan He suddenly tapped twice on the Water Instrument Ball.

Buzzz buzzz buzzz...

Continuous connection requests sounded at once.

"Let them meet each other!"

Shwwoosh!

Shwwoosh!

Instantly, two white screens floated in the air in front of the people.

At the same time, two figures of Yu Hong appeared on the screens.

Both tied their eyes, instantly looked at each other.

"Unexpectedly, my Heart Disaster manifestation is like this..." Yu Hong, now connected with Quan He and them, felt less negativity and instead grew interested in the screen version of himself.

"I couldn't have imagined, Heart Disaster could mimic me so convincingly." The Yu Hong on the opposite side was also stunned, then showed the same expression as him.

"Regardless of which one of us is the Heart Disaster evolution, I believe you are like me, hoping Yiyi and them will be safe, right?" Yu Hong looked at his counterpart.

"That's right. What do you think?" The other Yu Hong nodded and accepted.

"If you want to prove your path is right, a path of survival, then go ahead and walk it yourself, how about that?" Yu Hong suggested, "The area you want to break into, since you believe it's safe, you must have been inside before."

"No way, only when timing is right can you enter there, otherwise it's seeking death and now the Great Annihilation is catching up behind, we don't have time." The other Yu Hong solemnly shook his head.

"So, this means they can only follow you, is that the only choice? Don't you find it strange?" Yu Hong asked.

"...." The other Yu Hong froze.

"Besides... other people's Heart Disaster might be easy to simulate, but we are different. You should understand what I mean, right?" Yu Hong continued.

"...." The other Yu Hong fell silent, he indeed understood. "You mean...."

"Just go and prove it yourself. Even if it is a Heart Disaster, if the involved level is high enough, it can't be directly imitated..." Yu Hong replied.

Yu Hong across from him fell silent again.

He stood rigidly for a moment, then reached out to remove the black cloth covering his eyes, and lowered his head, gouging out his right eyeball.

'Enhance Outer Eye,' he silently recited in his mind.

With a swoosh, the Black Mark on the back of his hand quickly emitted a black line, which drilled into his right eye.

But soon, the black line flowed out again, returning to the Black Mark.

'Unable to Enhance. Basic functionality insufficient.'

Yu Hong's face across from him turned somewhat ugly.

He randomly grabbed a cup and held it, silently reciting enhancement.

But the black line's feedback still indicated inability to enhance...

Then he kept switching to other objects, constantly trying one after another, yet none could be enhanced.

"Understand now?" Yu Hong looked at the figure inside the light screen and sighed softly.

"I..." Yu Hong across from him showed a bitter smile, "This might be the biggest flaw of Heart Disaster in us...."

He hadn't expected that he himself was the one evolved from the Heart Disaster.

It was hard to accept, but it was the truth.

Standing inside the light screen, he fell silent for a long time.

"Sorry..." Finally, Yu Hong across from him lowered his head resignedly, put down the things in his hands, and looked at Quan He, Ku Chan, Yiyi, and the others in the light screen, "Trust him. He is real, and I..."

Gradually, his entire body, along with the Black Black Spirit behind him, began to turn semi-transparent and slowly disappeared.

Soon, the light screen completely dissipated.

Only the real Yu Hong remained floating.

Quan He and the others below finally heaved a sigh of relief.

"Quick! Inform the councilors immediately, stop advancing!!" Quan He quickly ordered.

Yu Hong also let out a sigh of relief here, quietly disconnecting the communication.

Now the communicator and Water Instrument Ball were combined, enhanced by his Mana at this moment, significantly increasing the connection ability.

Finally, the crisis of Heart Disaster on the other side was resolved, but he knew it was only temporary.

'Heart Disaster is unpredictable. Once there is any communication disruption—not even that, as long as the reality is slightly hard to distinguish, a single directional error can lead to catastrophic consequences....'

Honestly, he couldn't think of a better way to avoid it, especially considering even a powerful being like Star God King Ji had perished in the Heart Disaster back then.

Sitting on the ground, Yu Hong gently stroked his right eye.

'Once the trait fusion is complete, continue strengthening... strengthen the right eye.' He wanted to see the limit of the Black Mark. If the Black Mark could surpass Heavenly Venerate, perhaps...

Reconnecting to Floating City, confirming he was nearly deceived earlier, the loneliness in Yu Hong's heart instantly vanished.

Previously, he had often felt disheartened and saw no joy in anything, wanting to rush deep into the Source Disaster in one breath and just die.

After all, even if he survived, if everything around him was left with only himself, what would be the point?

But now it's different...

Inside the Heartless Belt, Yu Hong quietly floated, waiting for the completion of the Black Mark fusion.

He didn't dare go anywhere else, staying near the Heavenly Venerate corpses, using their might to avoid the wandering Unconscious Bodies elsewhere.

As time passed day by day.

He contacted Floating City every few days to ensure no Heart Disaster deception occurred over there.

To avoid trouble, he actively refrained from influencing Floating City's decisions, simply chatting with Yiyi, Quan He, and Ku Chan about daily life, the past, or exchanging cultivation insights.

In this peaceful and stable interaction, the enhancement of the Black Mark was finally about to complete.

Inside the Heartless Belt.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged inside the Black Black Spirit, once again concentrating to form a Golden Vitality Crystal.

As soon as the crystal appeared, it naturally decomposed with a swoosh, transforming into cultivation nourishment and being absorbed into his body.

These days, after mastering mass-energy conversion, his cultivation speed had increased again. Although he kept increasing the number of converted crystals, it was still not enough.

Because his cultivation needs were constantly growing, he planned to try expanding the volume of mass-energy conversion next.

Seeing how much he could convert at once. If possible, he was even considering attempting to convert some of the Heavenly Venerate corpses....

Clatter.

Calming his mind, Yu Hong focused intently, ensuring the surroundings of the Black Black Spirit were temporarily free of any trouble.

Only then did he slowly immerse his mind into his brain, entering the edge corner where his traits were located.

There, the Immortal and Ancient God Body traits had completely fused into a new, bizarre black-and-white interwoven sphere.

The sphere wasn't large, but it emitted a strange aura that made Yu Hong himself highly uncomfortable.