The master and disciple had good intentions and the most idealistic ideas, but Black Wind Mountain was truly vast. They themselves were not of a very strong level, and they had over-exhausted themselves, already at the end of their strength. To now dream of saving all living beings was an almost impossible task.
"Xue'er, take a rest. Let your master hold on alone for a while. You seem to be unable to persist."
"It's alright, Master. We, master and disciple, must bear it together!"
Lin Xue was indeed at her limit, but as if to save the surviving creatures of Black Wind Mountain, she could still persist a little longer.
No matter how difficult the road ahead, there was always hope. As long as this hope existed, Lin Xue would never give up.
"Master, you rest for a bit. I can hold on."
Ye Tiancheng had intended to keep going, but a sweet, metallic taste filled his chest. The feeling was unpleasant, and Lin Xue discovered that her master had actually vomited blood.
"Master, we still have to fight this fire for a long time. Don't rush. You should rest a little, and we master and disciple can take turns. We will definitely succeed."
Lin Xue's words made sense. To push oneself now would only affect their later efforts, which was an extremely unwise action.
Ye Tiancheng quickly stopped to rest. Although he didn't rest for long, he recovered some energy, enough to charge forward again.
Ye Tiancheng activated his true qi once more, but this time he discovered something that filled him with despair. The fire, which had just been extinguished, had suddenly reignited.
This was terrifying. It meant that the hope they had just ignited was simultaneously extinguished.
The areas where the fire had just been put out saw some flames quickly turn into small clusters, and they would only burn more fiercely from now on.
"Master, what should we do?"
The current situation caught both master and disciple off guard. If this fire reignited, even if they exhausted themselves to death, this wildfire would never end; it could only continue to spread.
"Impossible. Heaven wouldn't be so cruel. Those are very young animals. Their survival is already difficult enough. They've already used all their energy to make their lives better. How could this happen?"
Ye Tiancheng looked at the flames about to reignite, his feelings indescribable. He felt that Heaven was truly unfair, showing no mercy to these weak lives, even wanting to annihilate these small lives that had no power to resist.
"Heaven, open your eyes! The suffering here is enough. Everything should come to an end."
Regardless of anything else, Ye Tiancheng did not want to see any more suffering. Things had progressed to this point, and there should be a conclusion.
"Master, it's bad! The fires we worked so hard to extinguish have reignited!"
Lin Xue was on the verge of tears. It was too difficult. When the last glimmer of hope was extinguished, it felt like being flayed, truly experiencing what heartbreak meant.
"It's alright. I believe that where there's a will, there's a way. There will definitely be a solution."
Ye Tiancheng was constantly trying to find a way to give himself, and all living beings, some hope, because the feeling of having no hope was truly unbearable.
The raging fire continued to burn. What Ye Tiancheng and Lin Xue were doing now was futile. It seemed that no matter how hard they tried, they couldn't change the current situation. It was as if this disaster had become an inescapable fate.
Ye Tiancheng watched as everything crackled and burned. Those poor little lives, who thought they had been saved, were once again plunged into the terrifying shadow of death.
"Help! Oh Heaven, open your eyes! Save these poor little lives."
Tears flowed from Ye Tiancheng's eyes. Perhaps for him, a man crying was a particularly shameful thing, but it depended on the circumstances.
The situation before him made one's heart ache. Could nothing be changed? Ye Tiancheng felt immense sorrow.
"Master, you can stop this catastrophe, but it will require your sacrifice. Can you do it?"
Little Stone had not appeared for a long time, and Ye Tiancheng had barely felt its presence. To suddenly appear now was good, as Ye Tiancheng finally had a glimmer of hope.
"What kind of sacrifice? Can you explain it more clearly?"
Ye Tiancheng was, after all, a mortal. When faced with the choice of life, he couldn't be so nonchalant. Some things had to be understood before making a decision, rather than making a promise like a chuunibyo teenager and then being unable to fulfill it, which would be awkward.
"You will become a monster."
"As long as I don't die, it's fine." Ye Tiancheng breathed a sigh of relief. To ask him to die would indeed be a difficult choice, but since it didn't endanger his life and could save so many creatures, it was a sure win-win deal.
"It doesn't matter if I become a monster. It's fine. Enduring pain is better than dying."
"I'll give you one more minute to consider. You will experience immense pain during the process. Don't blame me for not warning you in advance. It's also possible that you won't be able to endure it and choose to commit suicide. Since it's death either way, I'll tell you now that this sacrifice is akin to death."
Little Stone spoke very seriously, not joking at all. It was clearly warning Ye Tiancheng not to be too confident in himself. In the face of true disaster, all acts of self-confidence were merely nonsense.
"Don't waste time. Hurry up. So many lives are waiting for me to save them. Every second I hesitate, new deaths will occur. Don't delay any longer."
Ye Tiancheng was extremely anxious. At this point, Little Stone did not delay further. It sighed and then began to use its magical power.
Little Stone itself possessed immense healing capabilities. Combined with Ye Tiancheng's true qi, the entire Black Wind Mountain was suddenly revitalized.
Where the ground was once covered in corpses and ashes, green shoots soon sprouted. Springs suddenly appeared, and even the trees became lush and vigorous, as if reborn. It was truly wonderful. If this continued, Black Wind Mountain would no longer be called Black Wind Mountain; everything had changed.
"It's so beautiful. I never imagined it could be this beautiful."
"Goodbye, Master. Artifacts like me, with healing functions, will eventually disappear to save others. At this moment, I feel it's good, fitting my wishes perfectly."
Ye Tiancheng's heart suddenly skipped a beat. He hadn't understood at first, but soon grasped Little Stone's meaning.
"What's wrong! Little Stone, are you leaving me?" Ye Tiancheng suddenly panicked. Every artifact that had stayed by his side had been with him through hardships for a long time, and he had developed deep affection for them. He couldn't bear to see any of them leave.
"I must go. I have completed my mission. I am more outstanding than all other artifacts. Perhaps we will meet in another way. I will not disappear, just meet in a different form. I hope that when we meet again, I will be much stronger than I am now, not a useless being with only healing abilities."
Thinking back to how Little Stone could revive withered plants, Ye Tiancheng should have realized that every artifact had its own superior function. Clearly, Little Stone's greatest power was its healing ability, bringing withered things back to life.
"But as your master, I failed to protect you, causing you to leave me like this. I am still saddened."
Little Stone's voice was already very weak, clearly unable to hold on much longer. "Don't worry, I told you we will meet again. Thinking of that day makes everything I'm going through now worthwhile." Little Stone seemed anxious to speak, as if it were running out of time and couldn't speak anymore.
"Little Stone, you promised me we would meet again, right?"
After Ye Tiancheng asked this question, there was no response. Little Stone disappeared from that moment on, leaving behind only a trace of loneliness.
Ye Tiancheng felt terrible. He had thought that his own sacrifice would be enough, but it turned out that Little Stone had made the greatest sacrifice. There were many people in this world who contributed silently, perhaps never shouting slogans, but when it came to saving lives, they were always at the forefront, commanding immense respect.
The raging fire stopped. Fatty also dared to emerge from underground, and everything seemed to have returned to normal. However, Ye Tiancheng's face could not muster a smile.
"Brother Ye, I knew you could do it! That was amazing! You created a miracle like this, saving so many people. You are truly my hero!"
"It wasn't me who saved them. It was Little Stone. Little Stone sacrificed itself. I am truly useless. I couldn't even protect the great green snake, and now Little Stone has also left me. Following a master like me is destined to have no good outcome. One by one, they all leave."
Thinking about this, he felt truly heartbroken. He had thought he was quite capable, that his abilities in all aspects carried the team compared to others. Ordinary existences, he never expected reality to be so humbling.
"Brother Ye, don't blame yourself. Such a big matter was never something you could solve alone. Since it happened, it was fate. Everything is guided by destiny. Even if you had the heart to sacrifice yourself, sometimes it doesn't make much difference."
Fatty felt naturally sad seeing Ye Tiancheng so upset, but he didn't know what to say. After all, he respected him, and he worried that saying the wrong thing might make Ye Tiancheng even more distressed.
"Little Stone said I would also suffer. I just don't know where this punishment comes from. Is there really such a punishment?"
As Ye Tiancheng was pondering, a large snake, emitting flames, suddenly shot out of the sky and attacked Ye Tiancheng. The entire crimson serpent god slammed into Ye Tiancheng.
In a flash, Ye Tiancheng felt as if his internal organs had been crushed. He almost fainted and then spat out a mouthful of black blood.
"Quick, take me away!"
Ye Tiancheng felt something was wrong. The two of them had no time to spare. He saw his entire body covered in red snake scales, looking terrifying, as if he had become a slave to that red snake.
"Brother Ye!"
"It's alright, I'm fine. This is what Little Stone said I would have to endure. At least I'm still alive. The problem isn't too big."