Chapter 1837: Grand Finale

When both of the Dark Sect Master's eyes changed into those of an emerald snake, her entire body stiffened. Then she let out a mournful cry filled with resentment, causing the stars to dim, the sun and moon to lose their light, and the world to turn dark.

"Ahhhh! I am unwilling to give up! I've even reached such heights! I am supposed to be the most perfect existence! I am a fusion of the two of them! I should have been the one to end the chaos that plagues this world! Li Luo!!!"

Li Luo watched calmly as a hysterical voice filled with grievances erupted from Li Lingjing's mouth. He indifferently replied, "Your existence has always been a mistake. I promised Little Jiang'e that I would help her rectify her mistake. Now it's time to say goodbye."

He tightly gripped the Scepter of Authority and stomped downwards, causing the world's will to surge. A formless, humongous hand came down, passed through Li Lingjing's body, and directly grabbed the last strand of will of the Dark Sect Master. Then the hand created from the world's will suddenly squeezed.

The mournful cries ceased abruptly. All of the sound in the world seemed to have paused at that instant, and everything was deathly silent. Not even a squeak could be heard across the entire world.

However, the terrifying aura that had covered the entire world began to dissipate, and the living creatures began to reveal relieved and excited expressions. The Dark Sect Master was dead. All of the living creatures could sense the oppressive pressure bearing down on them start to recede. They instantly guessed what had happened, but at the same time, they weren't confident that they were correct. They were all afraid that this was a dream.

Had the Dark Sect Master, who was on the brink of destroying the divine continents and brought about endless despair and fear even to the Heavenly Emperors, finally fallen?

The silence lasted for an indeterminate amount of time before low and suppressed sobs filled the world. No one could imagine the fear that filled them when the Dark Sect Master was on the brink of becoming the undisputed sovereign of the world.

A moment later, their sobs turned into heaven-shaking cheers. Everyone was so emotional that tears started welling up in their eyes. It was the joy of being able to live after staring death in the face. Their emotions were let loose in feverish excitement as the fear in the depths of their hearts dissipated. The entire world seemed to be shaking.

The apocalyptic catastrophe had finally come to an end. The wind blew gently as rays of light from the rising sun passed through the clouds, lighting up every corner of the divine continents.

Li Luo stared at the lady before him. Her cold expression gradually melted away from her bewitching face, and her snake-like eyes were suddenly filled with immense surprise and bewilderment.

Her red lips parted as she looked at the man before her, quietly saying, "Li... Li Luo?"

Li Luo flashed a warm smile. "Welcome back, Cousin Lingjing."

The confusion in her eyes swiftly vanished. She instantly knew what had happened upon reviewing the memories left behind in her body. She fell silent for a good while before finally giving a soft smile.

"Thank you," she replied with a complicated look in her eyes.

She never would have guessed that she would end up in a situation like this. After all, in her most desperate times, she had chosen to stain herself with the power of the Shadow World for further growth.

All of the chaos that had stricken the world for countless years would finally cease at Li Luo's hands. He would become the most glorious and mythical figure in history.

"I will need you to watch over the Shadow World for a period of time, Cousin. If corruption does not completely disappear, there will always be more Others being spawned," said Li Luo, grinning.

Li Lingjing didn't say anything in response; she merely nodded in agreement.

Li Luo then turned his head and directed his attention towards the Shadow World. With his current cultivation level and power, he could naturally see every single inch of it. The world of the divine continents and the Shadow World were a pair, like two sides of the same coin, one representing good and the other evil.

As long as the living creatures on the divine continents possessed negative emotions, those emotions would gradually condense in the form of corruption within the Shadow World. As the corruption built up, it would eventually erupt as a disaster. At that point in time, what would be born would not be Others, but some other sort of abomination. This was a law of the world.

It was impossible to completely rid the living of their negative emotions and thus, Li Luo would have to come up with another solution. He fell into deep thought for a while. After thinking for some time, he sent a drop of his blood into the Shadow World. It transformed into a golden pagoda that reached into the sky, with sounds of chanting ringing out.

Li Luo's majestic voice rumbled and echoed in the hearts of every living creature. "The people of this world contain both good and evil within them. I will now create the virtuous resonance, a resonance that represents one's meritorious actions. As the people cultivate, they will draw power from it, allowing them to rid themselves of corruption. It will sever their inner demons and enable them to pursue the Great Dao."

As the Absolute Ruler, Li Luo could set new laws to create a new path of cultivation. Corruption could not be eradicated; it could only be dealt with by performing good deeds. When the two sides were balanced, the world would naturally be at peace.

"We worship the Absolute Ruler!"

The living creatures reverently bowed before him. They knew that Li Luo was bringing peace to all future generations and was the only individual capable of achieving this magnificent feat. In the future, the world would contain a virtuous power that could restrain the spread of corruption. Once corruption stopped accumulating, the Shadow World would gradually fuse back with the divine continents and no more Others would emerge.

As Li Luo surveyed the world, he could sense that the entire world had now been fully awakened, and the Realm Wall's boundaries were starting to expand. Eventually, the previously lost divine continents would return, and the world would reach an unprecedented state of growth and glory. All of the chaos throughout time had finally been resolved by his hands. This story had finally reached its end. However, there were still several loose ends he had to tie up.

......

As the world reveled at the conclusion of the catastrophe, Li Luo appeared in a particular location within the divine continents. This was an area where even Divine Fruit Heavenly Emperors dared not tread, as a terrifying illusory realm was located here.

Bai Mengmeng had paid the price of eternal slumber to lay down this illusory realm, trapping a Divine Fruit Grand Devil King. Heavenly Emperor Jiang and the rest had once approached this location, attempting to break through the illusion and awaken her. Ultimately, they had no confidence that they would succeed and were concerned that going further would irrevocably harm Bai Mengmeng. Thus, they had not taken action.

However, breaking the illusion couldn't be any easier to Li Luo. A deep, mysterious light flowed through his eyes, piercing through the illusory realm that struck fear in Divine Fruit Heavenly Emperors. He could see a little body deep in the realm, curled up in sleep, her pure and beautiful face occasionally revealing an expression of fear. It seemed that the frightening illusory realm was akin to a hellish world for the timid Bai Mengmeng. Even so, she had acted without reservation to stop the enemy, as that was her only choice.

Li Luo opened his mouth and lightly spat out a ball of fire. It soundlessly glided through the illusory realm, completely incinerating it. Everything suddenly went back to normal.

He then stretched out a hand and caught the petite girl with a grin. "Hey, Mengmeng, it's time to wake up."

Upon hearing his voice, Bai Mengmeng's bushy eyelashes trembled slightly as she slowly opened her large, bright eyes. She then looked at his familiar face and murmured, "Another one of these illusions?"

She then closed her eyes.

Li Luo chuckled and was about to speak when a frightening corruption aura surged. It belonged to the sealed Abyssal Evil Grand Devil King.

"Hehehehe, I never thought I would escape from this damned realm!" it said. Then the humongous Other let out a screeching roar.

Bai Mengmeng suddenly opened her eyes, her face pale. She looked at Li Luo and shouted, "Be careful! The Abyssal Evil Grand Devil King has esca–"

However, before she could finish her sentence, Li Luo casually swatted at the air in the direction of Abyssal Evil. The evil creature that had once brought Bai Mengmeng to the brink of despair was smashed into wisps of black smoke before it could even cry out, dissipating into thin air. Bai Mengmeng's jaw dropped in surprise upon witnessing this.

Li Luo then set her down and explained, "Mengmeng, everything has been resolved. Let's go, I'll take you back to the Xia Kingdom."

He smiled as the world around him warped. In an instant, both of them were back in Xia City. They were right behind two particular individuals who were busy embracing one another, overjoyed that things had finally come to an end. They were none other than Bai Doudou and Yu Lang. They had not noticed that Li Luo and Bai Mengmeng were present. After all, Li Luo had not offered any warnings before popping up out of nowhere. They stood there and watched with great interest as the two lovebirds made out.

When their passionate embrace intensified, Bai Mengmeng finally couldn't handle it. She cried out with a flushed face, "Older Sister!"

"Ah!" Bai Doudou cried out in surprise, snapping back to reality.

The couple finally noticed the other two in the room. Bai Doudo was gripping her spear, ready to strike. However, she froze when she saw Bai Mengmeng's teary face.

Klang.

Bai Doudou dropped the spear and started trembling. She let out a flood of tears, then she rushed over, grabbed her, and shouted, "Mengmeng!? Is it really you!?"

Bai Mengmeng rubbed away her tears and nodded. "Yes, Older Sister, I'm home."

Bai Doudou couldn't suppress her feelings any longer and grabbed her sister, bawling her heart out. During these years, her longing to see Bai Mengmeng had driven her to the brink of insanity. There was no chance she would've made it through those tough times without Yu Lang's companionship. The fortunate thing was that her little sister had finally returned home.

Li Luo turned away from the crying sisters and smirked at Yu Lang. The latter was looking at him, licking his lips and rubbing his hands together.

"Now that your status is so high, I truly don't know what to say. Should I grovel before you now?" asked Yu Lang.

"If you wish to do so, I won't complain," replied Li Luo, smiling.

"Oh?" Yu Lang was dumbfounded. How could this bastard act so impolitely? He couldn't blame him though.

Yu Lang's legs turned into jelly as he attempted to kowtow. But before he was able to lower his head, he felt dizzy and disorientated. When he returned to his senses, he found himself still standing in the same spot and chuckled.

Li Luo reached out and patted him on the shoulder. Yu Lang suddenly felt a burning sensation coursing through his body. He was then shocked to realize that his resonant palace, which had been destroyed when he used the Resonance Origin Transformation Art, was now growing back. His face froze. The disappearance of his resonant palace was a problem that even Divine Fruit Heavenly Emperors couldn't resolve. However, a single pat from Li Luo had allowed it to recover.

"You should give the path of the Absolute Resonance Seed a try in the future," said Li Luo, smiling.

Yu Lang's resonant palace didn't contain any resonances at this moment and was thus perfect for it. After resolving the problem of Yu Lang's missing resonant palace, Li Luo imparted to him the cultivation methods of the Absolute Resonance Seed. However, the only thing he would be able to cultivate would be an Absolute Resonance Seed; it could not transform into the Void Resonance Seed.

Yu Lang's eyes turned red and tears began to fall. Although he had seemed indifferent about the fact that he no longer possessed his resonant palace and resonance, he had never truly let things go. Li Luo had now given him a new lease on life.

As he looked at the smirking man before him, he knew that Li Luo's identity was completely different from before. As the World's Absolute Ruler, even Heavenly Emperors would have to be respectful to him. Even so, he could sense that Li Luo was still the same person when facing his old friends. He was far different from the immature youth who had attended Southwind Academy, but many things had also remained the same.

As Li Luo studied the emotional Yu Lang, he raised his fist, the same way he had done when they first met in the academy. Yu Lang returned the fist bump.

"Thank you, Li Luo," said Yu Lang. Then he hesitated before asking, "There is one question I want to ask you..."

"Speak."

"What about Qing'er?"

Li Luo fell silent as the image of that snow-like lady flashed through his mind. She had ultimately chosen to self-destruct without hesitation, buying him precious moments of time.

"I'll think of a way to revive her," he replied.

Yu Lang looked at him intently. "Her self-destruction was complete, leaving behind no trace of her aura. Perhaps she meant to fully erase herself from existence. I don't doubt you can revive her, but..."

This question caused even Li Luo to gently sigh, and he turned to leave. He then appeared in various parts of the divine continents. With his unimaginable power, he directly revived the Heavenly Emperors who had self-detonated in an attempt to protect him during the Origin Reversion War. Though only those who had left behind traces of their auras could be revived.

It was as Yu Lang had said—he couldn't find any remnants of Lu Qing'er. Her self-destruction was so thorough that nothing had been left behind. Li Luo stood in the location where the ground was eternally frozen as a result of her self-detonation, looking down with a complex expression. Lu Qing'er's aura had completely vanished. Perhaps she had deliberately left nothing behind precisely because she knew about his ability to resurrect others.

Li Luo stretched his hand out, and a wisp of cold air emanated from his body. It then condensed into an icy lotus seed in his hand. This was Godlotus Cold Energy. When he ran into Lu Qing'er in the Spiritual Resonance Cave, he had helped her obtain the Glacier Godlotus. She had then given him the wisp of Godlotus Cold Energy in return. It was used to help him forge his ice resonance.

Lu Qing'er's aura had completely dissipated, but the Godlotus Cold Energy contained a tiny shred of her will. As Li Luo held the lotus seed, he fell deep in thought for a long while. Eventually, he used a finger to gently separate the soil and buried the lotus seed in the ground. It would be nurtured by the strongest Ice Authority and perhaps would bloom one day.

......

The chaos that plagued the world had finally been dealt with when Li Luo ascended into the position of the World's Absolute Ruler. The divine continents went on to experience an unprecedented era of peace.

𝒻𝘳𝘦𝘦𝘸ℯ𝒷𝘯𝘰𝑣ℯ𝑙.𝘤𝑜𝘮

The Heavenly Fate that had been overdrawn as a result of the Ten Years of Heavenly Fate had recovered at frightening speed in his hands. A period of immense growth and development filled the divine continents. Heavenly Emperors continued to appear across the world, forging an era more glorious and prosperous than ever before.

During this period of time, red candles were lit in the Xia Kingdom's House Luolan. The tiny piece of land had become the most sacred and revered location in the world. Even Heavenly Emperors couldn't easily set foot on it.

However, tonight was a special occasion—a small but meaningful wedding was taking place. There weren't many attendees; Li Taixuan and Tantai Lan sat at the main seats, and Li Taixuan, Li Qingpeng, Li Jinpan, Yan Changsheng, Yu Lang, and the other close friends were present.

They all watched the perfect couple standing in the hall with smiles on their faces. Beneath the red candles was Jiang Qing'e in a phoenix coronet and embroidered robes. She shone brightly in the candlelight, accentuating her beautiful features.

Li Luo grabbed her hand, then they both kneeled in front of Li Taixuan and Tan Tailan. Everyone present watched closely as the couple faced each other with tender expressions.

The marriage that had been arranged when they were children had finally concluded in this meaningful ceremony.

......

A hundred years later.

What was once ten great divine continents had now increased to forty-nine continents. A prosperous and flourishing age encompassed the lands, akin to a blazing sun shining from the heavens.

Astral Sage College.

No, it was no longer a mere sage college—it had risen in rank, and it wasn't merely at the level of an ancient college. No, it had become the sole Divine College in the world. It was thus known as the Astral Divine College. This was because the principal was none other than Li Luo, the Absolute Ruler. Li Luo had taken on the role in order to fulfill the promise he had made to Pang Qianyuan.

At this moment, inside a magnificent hall within the college, there were countless geniuses from all across the lands sitting upright, awaiting their mentor's arrival for the day's lessons. Low whispers echoed throughout the hall.

"I heard that the mentor today is incredibly gorgeous. Also, she hasn't been in the college for long."

"Oh? She's only been here for a short while and still dares to teach?"

"I heard her connections are solid..."

"Stop joking. Even Rulers have to follow the rules without question in this college. How far can connections get you here?"

"I heard that she was recommended by the Absolute Ruler himself..."

When those words were said, all of the geniuses within the hall fell silent. That title contained immense prestige and brought about an inherent sense of oppression, so no one dared to take it lightly. As a result, they could only look at each other in bewilderment as curiosity filled their minds.

Suddenly, the students heard light footsteps outside the hall. As the geniuses watched the door with curious and respectful gazes, an icy aura filled the air. It was as though the ground was freezing over. At the next moment, a graceful figure walked in atop the frost.

True to the rumors, her beauty was unmatched. She had long, icy blue hair and her face reminded everyone of a goddess of ice, radiating a chilly air. Her long hair, which cascaded down to her waist, seemed to be made out of thousands of fine ice crystals, producing a melodious sound as they lightly collided and fluttered in the air.

The geniuses in the hall dared not offend her, so they rose to pay their respects. As she regarded the unruly youths with her icy blue eyes, she fell into a momentary daze. She thought back to when she was a student here, but that was a long time ago.

Immediately after, her clear voice, which contained an icy quality, reverberated through the hall. "My surname is Lu, so you can address me as 'Mentor Lu.'"

"Yes, Mentor Lu!" everyone respectfully replied.

Her voice then rang out through the hall as she began to teach the young geniuses. A while later, the sound of the bell ringing indicated the end of the class. When she stopped her lesson, her gorgeous face remained as still as an icy lake. She did not communicate much with the students; she merely organized her teaching materials and left.

The moment she walked out, she sensed something and raised her head. Her gaze pierced through space, and she could see two figures standing on a starry tower in the distance. One was a man and the other was a woman. When their eyes met, a faint smile appeared on Mentor Lu's face, and she nodded in greeting.

Atop the starry tower, Li Luo turned away. Even after a hundred years, his face had barely changed. However, his aura had become immeasurably deep as his unfathomable eyes swept across the divine continent. Even the lofty Ruler Stage experts felt a sense of awe and trepidation when they saw him, marveling at how he had reached an unimaginable realm.

The one beside him was naturally Jiang Qing'e. She had also reached the Ruler Stage, but the path she walked was not the one Li Luo had created. Just like him, she had chosen the harder route, opting to realize her Dao with a tenth-grade light resonance. Doing so allowed her to become a Greater Ruler, reaching a higher realm than ordinary Rulers. Her stunning features were imbued with a sacred and holy aura, causing anyone who looked at her to feel a sense of reverence.

"The Shadow World is about to completely fuse with the divine continents," said Jiang Qing'e as her golden eyes saw through the void and observed the Shadow World.

The corruption there had mostly dissipated, and when the worlds were fully fused, the world's Heavenly Fate and rank would rise.

Li Luo nodded. He could hear rumbling sounds as the two worlds fused. All of the world's will was gathered within him, and he could shape the world with a thought. When the process was completed, the River of Time would grow even larger and longer. At that point, he could glimpse into even more secrets.

"Qing'e."

"Yes?"

"Do you know what the source of the Others is?"

"Is it not the Origin of Absolute Corruption?"

"Then where does the Origin of Absolute Corruption come from?"

Jiang Qing'e paused. Wasn't it created due to the aggregation of the divine continents' living creatures' negative emotions? Was Li Luo implying that this wasn't the case?

Li Luo calmly explained, "The Shadow World is where our negative emotions go, and Others are born when a certain amount of them accumulate. However, the Origin of Absolute Corruption wasn't created in the same fashion. On the contrary, it was the catalyst that caused the negative emotions to congregate in the Shadow World, setting off a cataclysmic disaster much earlier than planned."

Jiang Qing'e's expression grew solemn. "Then where did the Origin of Absolute Corruption come from?"

Li Luo raised his head. His deep gaze penetrated through countless layers of space, observing the edge of the world. He then coolly replied, "It naturally came from outside of this world."

"Outside of this world?" Jiang Qing'e's heart shook.

Li Luo nodded and emotionally continued, "After I became the Absolute Ruler, I reached the true pinnacle of this world. I could sense that there was a heaven outside of our heaven, a world outside of this world. There is another universe."

The River of Time reflected in Li Luo's eyes rippled, and an ancient memory transcended through time, projecting before him. He could see everything.

In a faraway ancient era, there was once a terrifying existence that passed by the world of the divine continents. It had stopped outside the undeveloped world and greatly coveted it. It then schemed as it watched over the world for a long time. It could sense that this world contained immense potential and that no ruler had been produced yet.

However, this world was not connected with the greater universe. The barrier was extremely dense, so the terrifying existence was unable to break through it. Thus, it sacrificed a part of its own source origin and foundation to send an object into the world. With its plot commenced, the being lingered for a while longer and then disappeared.

"The Origin of Absolute Corruption was planted in this world?" asked Jiang Qing'e.

Li Luo was holding her hand, allowing her to see the same images.

"What was it trying to do?" she asked.

Li Luo calmly explained, "It was a seed."

"A seed?"

He nodded. "A resurrection seed with the ability to use the negative emotions of the divine continents to nurture a true seed. It was that being's final trump card, left here just before it went off to do something large. It wasn't confident it would succeed in completing its main objective, so it planted a resurrection seed in the divine continents. If it failed and perished, it could use the seed to come back to life in this world."

Jiang Qing'e's gaze turned chilly. So it turned out that the chaos that had inflicted immeasurable pain on the citizens of the world was a byproduct of that extraterrestrial being's backup plan. It was the true instigator of the calamity.

"There's no need to be angry over this. The seed has been completely eradicated, and I don't think that the being's fate hasn't been great either," Li Luo explained.

"Oh? It failed?" Jiang Qing'e asked in surprise.

That being was unimaginably powerful, so much so that not even Li Luo would be able to defeat it. Yet it had actually failed?

"It's a good thing it failed. That means we don't have to spend time looking for it and resolving this karma," Li Luo explained calmly.

The being had set off an incredible calamity in the divine continents, and the karma connecting them was far too strong. If the other party was still alive, Li Luo would have to seek it out and settle the score himself.

Jiang Qing'e nodded in agreement. "That being is a little unlucky. Its resurrection seed could've been placed anywhere, yet it chose to place it in the divine continents. Though if you hadn't destroyed the Origin of Absolute Corruption, it might have revived here."

Li Luo couldn't help but smile.

"What are you smiling at?" Jiang Qing'e asked suspiciously.

"I'm smiling because even if it succeeded in reviving here, it would've had a hard time evading death," Li Luo replied.

"Why?"

Li Luo's gaze extended past their world as he mysteriously replied, "That unlucky fellow has provoked far too many people. All of them would've followed the trail of karma and come here in the end."

He could look through the barrier between worlds, and he could see a distant location beyond the barrier. It was a void filled with vast amounts of lightning, and there was an ancient dragon inside. The dragon radiated the aura of the primordial chaos and was akin to an ancient ancestor. A majestic figure was sitting cross-legged on its head. His gaze was as deep as the abyss, and he met Li Luo's eyes.

"Congratulations on becoming a Great World Ruler, Your Excellency," said the man on the dragon, followed by a warm laugh.[1]

Li Luo nodded in acknowledgment. He then looked towards another distant location beyond the endless seas, a place where even time couldn't reach. Majestic light illuminated the world as three awe-inspiring figures exuding auras of unparalleled power stood there. Their gazes also pierced through time and space, meeting Li Luo's. They clasped their hands in greeting.

At that moment, boundless laughter echoed from their location, then they said, "Thank you, new Ruler. You've assisted the Great Thousand Worlds in getting rid of a malaise."

1. I had to use the TGR wiki to figure out some of these terms and the implications because it’s clear this is the connection between novels! I’ve read BTTH, WDQK, DPY, and only missed out on TGR. I assume that these four figures are the four protagonists of the Author’s previous works. ☜