Chapter 29 Not a Hero

With the concept of \[Supporting Heaven and Earth] circulating, and the unparalleled amplification of power brought by the \[Heaven and Earth Avatar] divine ability, the collapse of the \[Firmament] was finally halted. Wei Yuan gritted his teeth, exerting all his strength to slowly push the firmament, the myriad images of stars, upwards.

The Four Greats within the Realm replaced the original \[Wandering the Six Voids], reordering and maintaining the order of vitality.

The Daoist could hear the faint sound of winter snow melting in spring.

His expression became calm, stepping on the earth veins and turbid qi, while his hands held up the clear qi. Along with that faint sound, countless tiny wounds began to appear on his body. The vast starlight left behind by Dijun, the power that had fixed his soul, poured out from within these countless wounds.

When the starlight dissipated, what remained was his own life force.

His cultivation crumbled, and the ability of the Buzhou Mountain cultivation to maintain his last shred of life began to disappear.

Wei Yuan took a slight breath, circulating sword qi to stimulate his acupoints, briefly maintaining his consciousness, inching forward across the earth and sky. However, such means were ultimately only temporary tricks.

It was the last gleam of light before death, a final burst of brilliance.

It was as if a great fire had been ignited within his body, burning his meridians, igniting his life force, plunging his consciousness into chaos. He wanted to smash everything that could be smashed, pulverize everything that could be pulverized, and throw it all into that raging fire, allowing his consciousness to display its final strength.

The Daoist's consciousness began to dissipate.

"...Can't hold on anymore..."

"Is this the limit..."

Suddenly, streaks of five-colored light flew from afar, directly entering his body. Incomparably vast primal vitality instantly flowed down his true spirit and flesh, which were already as fragile as porcelain, sustaining the Daoist's life force.

!!!

Wei Yuan's own consciousness instantly cleared.

His hands were once again able to mobilize his own power. Then, Wei Yuan heard a voice coming from the distant beyond. It was the voice of a gentle and sweet woman. Even though he could hear the anxiety within it, he could also feel the feeling of being bathed in a spring breeze in that tone.

"Hold on for a little longer!"

"Soon, I will come here to help you!"

Nuwa!

Wei Yuan's consciousness steadied. Gonggong had knocked down Buzhou Mountain, causing the sky to tilt to the northwest and the earth to sink to the southeast. Although this would bring many disasters, Nuwa would be born, refining five-colored stones to mend the sky, breaking the legs of the divine turtle to support the four poles, calming the floods and killing fierce beasts, connecting yin and yang and eliminating reverse qi.

Only then could all living beings be at peace.

……………………

At the extreme of the North Sea, Nuwa's clothes fluttered in the wind as she looked at the divine turtle whose spine supported the heaven and earth of this sea area. The divine turtle sensed the great changes in heaven and earth, and its voice was vast and ancient. "Turbid qi... All things are born with yin and yang in order. Since there is clear qi that transforms into us living beings, there will naturally be turbid qi that is suppressed."

"This world is no longer at peace... Buzhou Mountain must have fallen for a trap."

"Then, please do it... Nuwa."

"...I'm sorry."

"What is there to be sorry for?"

The divine turtle smiled and said, "I am one of all living beings. When heaven and earth are overturned, the North Sea will be difficult to spare. Every day, I see fish swimming past me, and I see the people of the foreign lands fishing and hunting, singing songs to the setting sun. I like that very much."

"I also hope to be able to give something back to those very pleasant tunes."

The divine turtle, which had lived for countless years, closed its eyes.

In the last scene it \[saw], it was still those things it loved, the various races singing songs, the boundless sea. Nuwa turned her gaze away, and the weapon in her hand ultimately fell.

………………………

That streak of five-colored light was undoubtedly the divine power and authority held by Nuwa.

This allowed Wei Yuan's injuries to be alleviated to a considerable extent.

However, for his current physical state, such power was simply a drop in the bucket. His original cultivation formed its own world. When this cycle of endless life was broken, it represented the rapid collapse of his overall abilities, a straight decline.

Damn it...

'This time, as long as you don't encounter extreme situations, you can display more than 70% of your cultivation. But remember, do not unleash your full power. Otherwise, your cultivation will shatter, and my backup will not be able to save you.'

Dijun's words echoed in the Daoist's ears.

Wei Yuan's aura finally began to collapse.

It was like the collapse of a towering snow-capped mountain in an instant. It started from the bottom, slowly and gently, making people feel that it wouldn't be too big of a problem. Then, it would involve and trigger an increasingly large and terrifying momentum. In the end, the towering snow-capped mountain would completely disappear without a trace.

The Daoist's true spirit had experienced the flames of war, countless deaths, and the tempering of thunder and fire. He had mastered the heaven and earth and had already become clear, pure, and flawless. Along with the familiar and unfamiliar cracking sound in his ears, his soul and true spirit were covered with fine lines, just like when he controlled the Xuanyuan Dragon.

The aura of his true spirit was thus able to leak out to the greatest extent.

He relied on this burst of power to forcibly support the sky, but this was also the final burst.

It's over...

Wei Yuan thought to himself.

Just at this time, another force appeared, vast and profound, coming from the highest point.

Wei Yuan was slightly stunned.

This is...

Huntian?!

That yellowed letter appeared, flying to the front of the Daoist's spiritual sea. The words on it had almost completely dissipated, leaving only a few characters still emitting light, maintaining the Daoist's consciousness and life force. At this moment, those spiritual lights flowed and fell into Wei Yuan's consciousness.

It was a pulling force.

It seemed to be the last bit of power, wanting to send Wei Yuan back to later generations.

It was also a way to maintain his life.

It would preserve enough comprehension, enough karma and imprints, and the last bit of life force. Then, he would return to the future era. Even people who didn't understand cultivation could understand what a huge gift this was.

"Huntian... you really left behind a great gift."

The white-haired Daoist looked at the letter in his sea of consciousness as if he saw the middle-aged man at the end.

He closed his eyes and did not reach out to respond to this power to leave here and return to the future.

Now Nuwa had not yet completed the task of supporting the pillars of heaven, she had not yet returned, now the firmament had not been stabilized, if he left now, it would mean that when the true spirit of Buzhou was taken away, the firmament would lose all support and directly crash down.

The consequences of that would undoubtedly be heavy casualties. The Daoist felt that he was a relatively vulgar person, but he still couldn't do such a thing.

He supported heaven and earth, resisting the calamity.

Finally, Wei Yuan looked at the letter emitting a gentle light, as if looking at a friend.

You have your pursuit of the Great Dao, and I am not the kind of person who lives in such a cowardly way. You and I are both fellow Daoists, you should know me. Wei Yuan's heart was calm. Carrying the burden of the firmament, it was as if there were familiar figures around him, seeing his teacher, seeing Master Kong, seeing Zilu.

Then, he quietly watched as his friend's last gift was exhausted little by little, and finally disappeared into ashes. The letter no longer existed, and the vitality to return to the past was cut off. There was no more. The crisp cracking sound in Wei Yuan's ears reached its end.

His true spirit was now covered with dense patterns.

Huntian's gift had exhausted the last of his foundation, turning into a gentle force to nourish his soul.

This force, remaining with the five-colored divine light and the starlight of Dijun before, was like a thread, maintaining Wei Yuan's soul and consciousness, allowing him to still support the firmament and maintain the earth in this desperate situation, so as not to immediately disintegrate.

At this time, the boundless weight of the firmament suddenly became lighter, diminished.

In the four directions, four new pillars of heaven rose up, maintaining the state of heaven and earth. The white-haired Daoist was finally able to breathe a sigh of relief. He slowly withdrew his palms, took a few steps forward, and his body swayed, almost falling down. However, he still barely stabilized his last breath.

The immense \[Heaven and Earth Avatar] body, ninety thousand miles high, disappeared.

Between heaven and earth, there was only a Daoist, his face like golden paper, his white hair lost its original luster, becoming dim and dull, his expression dazed. It took him a long time to recover, sitting down on the ground, panting rapidly, his eyes closed, his face full of fatigue after surviving a disaster.

Huff... I survived, I survived...

Next time, I won't act like a hero.

Nuwa's voice transmission returned—

'Thank you for your help...'

'This matter will definitely be repaid, but I am currently refining spiritual materials and cannot personally express my thanks.'

'Sorry.'

"There's no need to apologize for anything."

Wei Yuan raised his head and saw the distant firmament, and in the four directions, giant pillars rose up, connecting with the fortune of the four directions. Wei Yuan shook his head and leaned on a rock on the side, barely standing up. The cultivation of Buzhou Mountain had been broken, and his meridians had almost been completely severed.

But it seemed that some mana still remained, and he could still use divine abilities.

The Human Race, Xuanyuan Mound…

How are things over there?

And also Xian, that guy has lost all his memories, and his strength is greatly reduced.

The white-haired Daoist couldn't wait for Nuwa to rush back, so he rushed towards Xuanyuan Mound.

What he saw along the way was all shocking. He could see the tragic battlefield of Gonggong and the turbid qi incarnation. He could also see the gods remaining from the Battle of Zhuolu and the turbid qi shapes crawling out of the annihilated earth veins, launching a tragic offensive against the Human Race.

The white-haired Daoist's heart became more and more anxious.

When he arrived outside Xuanyuan Mound, he saw Bai Ze in a coma. Then, his pupils suddenly shrank. He saw a white-haired woman in military attire kneeling on the battlefield. He saw Ji Xuanyuan held in her arms. He saw that Ji Xuanyuan's aura had been annihilated, his true spirit no longer existed, and even the Xuanyuan Sword had lost its streamer.

"This, this is..."

"Daoist, you're back..."

Zhuanyu looked much quieter than at the beginning, his eyes were red. Seeing the previously unrestrained and ethereal white-haired Daoist covered in blood, Wei Yuan said in a hoarse voice, "...He, what happened to him..."

Zhuanyu's eyes turned red again. After a long time, he said as calmly as possible:

"After the turbid qi and the allied forces of the gods were wiped out."

"The sky collapsed."

"The first impact after the sky collapsed directly rushed towards the hinterland of the Human Race."

"Grandfather, no... Emperor Xuanyuan, in order to protect the large and small tribes of the Human Race, faced the calamity of the sky collapse with his true spirit and passed away."

Wei Yuan opened his mouth, not knowing what to say for a moment, feeling sad in his heart.

Raising his eyes and looking at the Human Race's residence, which had also been invaded by enemies and had experienced a battle, his expression suddenly changed. Thinking of the girl Xian who had lost her memory and combat power, he reached out and pushed away Zhuanyu and the few Human Race people in front of him, staggering forward.

Terrible…

That guy has lost his memory and doesn't know how to mobilize mana.

He has also lost the memories of his moves.

In the eyes of turbid qi, he is now just a sweet pastry with innate qi but no cultivation.

"Daoist, you..."

Before Zhuanyu could finish speaking, the Daoist had already rushed into Xuanyuan Mound. What he saw along the way was bleak. Wei Yuan's expression became more and more suppressed. Along with the rapid progress, the little power remaining in his meridians dissipated. Because his mind was too anxious, he felt dizzy in front of his eyes.

He passed through street after street and finally returned to the house he had rented before.

He saw that the stalls at that time were still there.

He saw the corpses of monsters lying around, and some Human Race people sitting nearby with pale faces but a sense of peace of mind. And surrounding them was the girl in the red dress, sitting in front of the stone steps with her knees hugged, playing with a bell in her right hand.

Obviously, Xian had protected them in the previous battle.

Fortunately, fortunately...

The Daoist, clutching his chest, breathed a sigh of relief.

When his gaze slightly deviated, his pupils suddenly shrank. He saw the wisp of turbid qi core that had remained after Xuanyuan and Zhurong had killed it, reviving again when Buzhou Mountain collapsed and the earth veins shook, slowly approaching Xian.

The girl Xian lowered her head and played with the bell. Suddenly, she felt an extremely strong baleful aura.

It came from the innate turbid qi that had been revived because Buzhou Mountain had fallen, and its position was extremely high.

It made her thoughts stagnate, her palms trembled, and her brain went cold.

And the next moment, the sound of sleeves shaking rang in her ears. What appeared in front of Xian was a familiar aura, which made her relieved. Then, she heard the Daoist's question: "Are you okay?"

Xian was happy in her heart, and a bright and brilliant smile appeared on her face: "You're back?"

"Yeah..."

"I've been waiting here properly as promised."

"Look, look, the stalls we set up together before are still in good condition. We can continue to set up stalls together later."

"The house before wasn't rushed into by the enemy."

"Although those humans are annoying, because of you, I also protected them."

The girl's voice was very cheerful, and the Daoist responded softly.

Then, it seemed to be raining, and there were drops of liquid on the corner of the girl Xian's eyes. But strange, so strange, when did rainwater become viscous and warm?

She finally realized something, raised her head, and saw the white-haired Daoist still looking at her quietly as always. The weapon transformed from innate turbid qi pierced the Daoist's chest. The Daoist's left hand also pierced through the turbid qi. The corners of his mouth twitched, blood kept flowing out, and his vision finally began to return to darkness.

He rushed to kill the Overlord of Guixu.

He debated with Dijun twice, winning once and losing once.

He supported heaven and earth, killing innate turbid qi.

Then, he separated heaven and earth again.

"Hey, don't cry."

The Daoist's vision was blurred. Seeing the girl in front of him with red eyes, his tone was weak, and he joked self-deprecatingly.

"Didn't you say that from death onwards, until the world returns to silence, time loses its meaning, and the myriad phenomena of heaven and earth return to paleness, \[I] will completely belong to you? It's a good thing… So, don't cry… Don't, cry…"

The white-haired Daoist wanted to reach out and wipe away the blood that had dripped on the corner of the girl's eyes, but he only left behind a trace as gorgeous as rouge. The true spirit, which was maintaining the last step, ultimately shattered and fell forward.

The girl reached out and hugged the Daoist, watching helplessly as the pair of black pupils lost their brilliance.

His true spirit turned into starlight-like fine clouds and annihilated.

He died in her arms.