There were four asteroid belts in the galaxy beyond the fog.
The meeting place was the outermost one.
This place was very far from the permanent star, and the light was dim.
All of a sudden, a new sun rose up.
The bright light illuminated the remaining broken pieces of the meteorites and the dust, as well as General Li's face.
His face showed a baffled expression.
Jian Xilai's face was illuminated as well, but he still looked nonchalant. However, his face looked like a stone statue, clean and transparent.
Along with the bright light, an unimaginable heat erupted.
The broken pieces of the meteorites nearby were vaporized instantly, and the dust turned into green smoke, leaving nothing behind.
The fireball was expanding at an unimaginable speed. The light was like a thin sword of the Daoless Sword, piercing toward all directions in the universe. The battleships flying over at a high speed pushed back urgently and entered the half-activated state of the gravitational field as quickly as they could. The high-strength composite material plates dropped down, as if they were entering a warped hole. The few battleships in the front were affected by the explosion of the nuclear power furnaces. Instead of bobbing up and down like the wrecked ships in the ocean, they were stimulated and emitted bright light. It was unclear how many people had died on the battleships.
…
…
The bodies of the gray battleships were made of a highly heat-resistant material made of cluster fibers, but they still couldn't withstand the heat of the sun.
The nuclear power furnaces, as the most advanced technology in the Federation of the Milky Way, were many times more formidable than the regular nuclear bombs.
It was strange that the hexagonal ice block in the asteroid belt didn't melt, and there wasn't even a crack on its seemingly thin surface.
It was probably because Jing Jiu had lost control of his body and couldn't leave. He employed the magic method to protect himself and the ice block at the same time.
Hua Xi hovered in the ice block while holding the doll in her arms. She looked at the back of Jing Jiu and the sun with her hands on the thin ice block; it was unclear what she was thinking.
The air exhaled from her pink lips turned into white mist because of the low temperature of the environment. The mist turned into solid frost when it landed on the ice, gradually blocking the scene outside.
Jing Jiu was also looking at the sun.
The ascendants were also looking at the sun.
General Li had been pushed to a distant place by the explosion, drifting toward a battleship.
There was only one figure in the sun.
No, it was half a figure.
The figure was emitting a bright glow, looking exceedingly eye-catching.
…
…
There was an archipelago in the South Ocean of Chaotian, shrouded in a thick fog all the way to the archipelago, so it was hard to see the sun, let alone the dazzling sun.
At least it had been like this since the day Xilai was born on the island.
One day, he was chosen as the personal disciple of the old man in the black coffin and came into contact with the supreme Sword Dao that mortals couldn't come into contact with. At that moment, he thought he saw the sun.
One day later, he left the Foggy Island on a small boat and arrived in Chaotian.
He chose to stay in the West Ocean to continue cultivating, not only because of the Fallen Immortal Island and the Sword Dao inheritance of his sect, but also because of the high winds and high waves here.
High winds and high waves were generally used to describe a dangerous environment. However, because of the strong winds, there were few clouds, and one could often see the scorching sun here.
After that, he did not do anything else. After establishing the Western Sea Sword School, he had been cultivating in silence, accepting disciples, and preaching.
When his Junior Brother Xiwang Sun came, he handed over all the affairs to him and spent all his time and energy on the sword work.
In the stories of the Cultivation circle in Chaotian, Jian Xilai's image was always vague or monotonous, no different from those villains in the stories.
In comparison to Lian Sanyue, Cao Yuan and the others, his personality was not distinctive, and his actions were rather boring, similar to that of the Immortal Jingyang.
It was because he was as simple as Jingyang.
The goal of the Cultivation practitioners was to live a long life and to reach the end of time.
He wanted to go to the end of the sword work to have a look.
Such a simple Cultivation life had resulted in an outstanding sword work state.
It was similar to Peng Lang of the No-Mercy Sect whom he and Jing Jiu both admired.
His Cultivation state had improved at an unimaginable speed, and he had defeated the Sect Master of the No-Mercy Sect, Pei Baifa, and the highly achieved swordsmen of various sects with ease. Soon, he had reached the highest state of the sword work, second only to the Immortal Jingyang.
He had helped the Western Sea Sword School develop under the influence of the Aoyama Sect all by himself, and he was honored as the Godly Swordsman of West Ocean, as famous as the Broadsword King Cao Yuan.
When the Immortal Jingyang ascended, he left the West Ocean and hid in the clouds to observe the situation. He intended to take a look at the end of the sword work, but he was discovered and forced to retreat by Liu Ci.
Later, he continued his Cultivation and took on disciples, but he was betrayed by his disciples, and then his dying Master, Nan Qü, arrived. In fact, he was already tired of it at the time, but he understood his Master's persistence. As such, he fought against the Aoyama Sect again, but he was defeated by Taiping Zhenren and Jing Jiu, the two brothers. He was severely wounded and had to flee in defeat.
He went to the distant Alien Land and became the silent Sword King for several decades. He paid no attention to the Church and the disputes, and he didn't even think of taking revenge.
He didn't really care about those things.
How could he go to the highest state of the sword work if he couldn't figure it out?
In the end, Taiping Zhenren intended to destroy the world. He knew that the Immortal Jingyang would ascend if he won the battle. As such, he came back by treading on the ocean waves, intending to prove his Dao with the sword.
He comprehended the essence of the All in One. He was defeated by Jing Jiu again, but he didn't die.
He encountered General Li after his ascension, another swordsman who had mastered the All in One. He was defeated by General Li, but he didn't die.
He had finally won the battle today, but he was going to die.
… …
… …
Countless stars lit up in the fleet; it was a sign that the long-range weapons had been activated.
Thousands of laser beams and many unknown long-range weapons of particle flow were heading toward Jian Xilai after traveling a long distance.
Nobody could resist the attack of a fleet, neither he nor Jing Jiu.
The broken pieces of the meteorites in the sky were pulled and pushed by the tide-like sword wills and formed twelve stone pillars, forming an ancient and powerful formation that blocked the laser beams for the time being. The surface of the stone pillars grew brighter and brighter, and it seemed that they would break apart in the next moment.
A black battleship accelerated and arrived at the asteroid belt at the risk of being affected by the nuclear explosion, in an attempt to take the severely wounded General Li away.
His red overcoat was torn, and his body was even more damaged. The golden and jade fairy energy kept flowing into the space, turning into small burning beads.
He was indeed one of the strongest swordsmen in the history of the Cultivation world in Chaotian. He survived the explosion of the nuclear power furnace at such a close distance.
Jian Xilai's condition was even worse. His body below his chest had been vaporized, with only the upper half of his body remaining. His condition was better than Shen Yunmai's, as both of his arms were still intact.
His line of sight fell on General Li after traveling a distance of several thousand kilometers. The expression in his eyes was cold and nonchalant, devoid of any regret.
It was because it was not over yet.
He raised his broken and burning arms from a long distance away, and then dropped them slowly.
He was like a bird that had flown for a lifetime and decided to close its wings and sleep forever after feeling tired.
An unimaginably deathly and gloomy energy appeared in the space.
It was so cold in the space; but why did such a distinct energy appear except on the side directly illuminated by the fixed stars?
It was because the remains of the explosion of the nuclear power furnace hadn't dissipated yet, and the whole space was filled with light and heat.
One could sense the cold only when it was hot.
One could see the darkness only when it was bright.
One could sense death only when he was alive.
General Li sensed a gloomy and yet somewhat familiar energy approaching from all directions.
It was the stone beam between Shiyue Peak and Xilai Peak, on which he had recited the scripts.
There was frost on the stone beam, and bamboo leaves on the frost.
He had taught that evil creature a lesson.
Crack!!!
That formless deathly still aura landed on his body like a folded wing.
The body of the battleship was opened, and the Stone Man of Chen Wushan flew out.
He sensed that something was amiss. His body grew abruptly against the light of the distant fixed star, blocking most of the attack for General Li.
Though he had the strongest defense in the history of Chaotian, a deep cut appeared on his back.
What was that deathly and gloomy energy?
…
…
Jian Xilai's arms fell down slowly.
His arms were long, suitable for wielding a sword.
Together with the remaining half of its body, it really did look like a bird.
Together with the tattered military uniform, he looked like a dying bird with festering feathers.
"This is the Shadow of Death, the last sword I've comprehended. How is it compared to yours?" he turned to Jing Jiu and asked.
"Almost the same," said Jing Jiu, "but the name is a bit more ordinary."
The light and heat from the explosion of the nuclear power furnace had finally passed through the Formation of Sealing Ice of Thousand Miles and landed on the ice cubes.
The frost formed by the breath melted again. Hua Xi felt warm, but her face was pale and her eyes looked a bit bewildered. It was unclear if she was disturbed by the radiation.
The ring was a bit deformed, and the information passage was not as stable and unbreakable as before.
Jing Jiu didn't pay any attention to it. "Why?" he asked Jian Xilai.
Why did the spring rain exist? Why did the morning sunlight exist? Though it was difficult to achieve eternity, it should be pursued with great effort.
"I found that bird on the ocean and came ashore with its corpse in my arms. I sat by the lake of the Three-Thousand Nunnery for a long time and comprehended something."
Jian Xilai continued, "What I comprehended is not what you want. My attitude toward death is different from yours."
"I've given up in the end," said Jing Jiu.
"I've read many books about this place when I was on the mineral star. I've read a saying that the greatest possibility lies in the self-abandonment."
Jian Xilai added in the end, "And since you said you're a human, you're me. It doesn't matter if I die, but it's enough for you to live on."
A philosopher had said that suicide was the only serious philosophical issue, because death was the basis of existence.
As for Jian Xilai's choice, it would be clearer.
Since he couldn't live forever, it didn't matter when he left.
You're me; it doesn't matter who lives on.
Jing Jiu said, "The human philosophers are not experienced enough when it comes to thinking about problems."
He had intended to say that these two statements were confusing and inexplicable, but it was because he had thought of many similar things before his friend's grave when he was young, and it was a special moment, so his tone was rather mild, devoid of his usual nonchalance.
"Yes," said Jian Xilai. "Maybe I'm just a bit tired."
It was hard for him to leave the Foggy Island to look at the sun, to manage the Western Sea Sword School, to think and deal with some matters, and to keep advancing in the sword work.
This was the last statement he made in this world.
After saying this, his arms slowly fell down, like a bird falling into a deep sleep.
… …
… …
(The statement about the greatest possibility should have been said by Heidegger. The statement about suicide being the only serious one should have been said by Camus. Of course, I'm just using it casually.)
(End of this chapter)
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