Chapter 597 - I Really Don’t Want to Let You Through (Part 2)

In the illusion, Lu Ran became a human on ancient Blue Planet with some strength. Under the Torch Dragon’s acceleration, Blue Planet was soon invaded by an alien civilization, and Lu Ran’s fate turned tragic.

Just as Mountain Soul and the Torch Dragon watched to see if Lu Ran would become a lackey of the alien civilization, persecuting Blue Planet together, or feebly escape, they saw Lu Ran bravely step forward and lead the resistance against the alien civilization.

It looked like Lu Ran would choose the heroic route, but after he chased the alien civilization away, he decided to realize their dream and rule Blue Planet himself.

“Fuck you! Blue Planet is mine!”

The trial ended, and Lu Ran emerged from the illusion with a look of satisfaction, having satisfied his addiction of becoming king.

“Lord, he, he... Does this count as saving Blue Planet, or what?”

The Torch Dragon also fell silent. Its dragon eyes quietly watched Lu Ran through space, wanting to know more about this kid who looked like he was six or seven years of age.

Lu Ran wanted to take the test, so it thought Lu Ran would have some outstanding performance, but this was it. It couldn’t figure out why Lu Ran was so desperate to take the test.

Who would desperately want to expose their flaws?

“Well, at least it lets me understand this human better. Count him as passing the test. Next, I will speak with him personally.”

After the Torch Dragon spoke, Mountain Soul said to Lu Ran, “Alright, you have also passed the third test, the Intent test. Next, I will take you to meet Lord Torch Dragon.”

[Congratulations on completing the Legendary Mission.]

A pleasant sound rang in Lu Ran’s ears.

“Good, good, good.” Lu Ran was also very pleased.

So the trial was just this? It’s too easy.

The capital to negotiate with the Torch Dragon was now obtained.

***

“Take on human form.”

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

In the Torch Dragon’s secret realm, to communicate better, the ancient divine beast gradually shed its scales, transforming into a handsome red-haired youth who looked to be about thirteen or fourteen years old, with a scholarly aura.

“Try again.”

As Lu Ran entered, the Torch Dragon once again used its time-based ability to predict Lu Ran, but unfortunately, it still failed. However, when Mountain Soul brought Lu Ran in, the Torch Dragon turned around and finally glimpsed a trace of truth about Lu Ran, and so it laughed.

“So that’s how it is. Interesting.”

Lu Ran didn’t understand what the Torch Dragon meant by “interesting,” nor why it suddenly smiled at him. He had just entered when a third vertical eye appeared on the Torch Dragon’s forehead. Under its gaze, Lu Ran felt as if everything about him was being seen through.

“Human, before, I speculated about your identity, thinking that you came to Blue Planet from another world, seeking me to lift a curse. But after seeing you in person, I finally understand. I know your identity.”

The Torch Dragon looked in the direction of Lu Village.

In Lu Village, a girl drinking beast milk and wearing beast hide armor was practicing hunting skills with a wooden spear in the village. Under the Torch Dragon’s Time Eye, her figure gradually grew up before overlapping with Lu Ran’s figure.

“So you are from the future, eh. I locked onto your ancestor. You used time travel, which is something even I cannot achieve. For you to come here and find me, it seems you have important matters.”

Lu Ran and Six-Path Flower’s expressions turned to surprise. Although it was not as absurd as the Four Supreme Divine Dragons directly seeing through the truth of Limitless City, the Torch Dragon could actually trace Lu Ran’s bloodline just by seeing him, knowing that he came from the future. That was impressive enough.

It was truly a time-based Primary Divine. Normally, Lu Ran would have to fabricate a time traveler identity himself, but the Torch Dragon directly assigned one to him. It definitely saved him some trouble. Communicating with someone who understood was easy. Lu Ran finally understood this saying.

Lu Ran smiled slightly. “Lord Torch Dragon has keen eyes. We indeed traveled through time from the future.”

“Tell me, why have you come?” The Torch Dragon asked.

Lu Ran replied, “Lord Torch Dragon, didn’t you say you could lift my curse? How about lifting it first?”

The Torch Dragon youth was waiting for Lu Ran to reveal some shocking future intel, but Lu Ran always broke the routine, making the Torch Dragon fall silent.

“You first speak of the important matter.”

Lu Ran smiled. “Alright. Lord Torch Dragon, I traveled here to bring a piece of history. The direction of history!”

“History?”

“Yes. In the future, not far from now—maybe in a few thousand years, or maybe in just a few hundred years, the core of Blue Planet, something called the stellar core, will suddenly shatter. After the stellar core shatters, Blue Planet will enter an age of decline. All transcendent energy will fade, and the environment will become unsuitable for transcendent life.

“Even you, Lord Torch Dragon, will be forced to leave this planet and seek a more suitable habitat beyond the stars. I came here hoping to find the stellar core and protect it. But unfortunately, I don’t know where the stellar core is, so I had no choice but to visit you, the king of the ancient Blue Planet’s exotic beasts, first. I hope to find the core of Blue Planet with your help.”

The Torch Dragon watched Lu Ran with its third eye but didn’t sense any lies.

“Lord Torch Dragon, do you know where it is?”

The Torch Dragon shook its head lightly. “I do not. This is the first I’ve heard of such a thing as a stellar core.”

Lu Ran refused to give up. “Then what about the Jianmu?”

The Torch Dragon looked at Lu Ran again. “The Jianmu? This I do know. The Jianmu is a special teleportation array, seemingly connecting beyond the stars. Unfortunately, long, long ago, before I became a god, it had already decayed and become unusable.”

Lu Ran took a deep breath. “Through my investigation, the stellar core’s location might overlap with the Jianmu’s. I hope Lord Torch Dragon can show me where the Jianmu is.”

The Torch Dragon smiled. It reached out toward Lu Ran and Six-Path Flower. The next moment, a hand that seemed capable of grasping the river of history covered them. Lu Ran and Six-Path Flower didn’t resist, allowing themselves to be controlled by the Torch Dragon.

“To be honest, I didn’t want to pass you in the previous two tests. What I didn’t expect was that you actually came to save Blue Planet. I highly doubt the authenticity of what you said.”

Even though Lu Ran was being controlled, he showed no panic and smiled. “Doubt is normal. What I said would indeed be hard to believe without personal experience. But since you, Lord Torch Dragon, are proficient in time power, you can easily peek into the future I mentioned yourself.

“See if the spiritual energy will indeed fade in the future. See if your future self will indeed go to the stars... and eventually... die in the stars.”

The Torch Dragon youth calmly looked toward the stars, a faint smile inadvertently appearing at the corner of its mouth. “Who did you get your intelligence from? I mean, the intelligence about me avoiding the spiritual energy decline and going to the stars.”

Lu Ran said, “I got this information in the future from a pair of divine beasts hiding in the Moon Palace, the Jade Rabbit and the Golden Toad. They didn’t leave with the other gods of Blue Planet but slept in the Moon Palace.”

The Torch Dragon said, “That really is a terrible future...”

Lu Ran observed its expression. “Terrible? When leaving Blue Planet, you might not have left with a pessimistic, homesick mood, right?”

“

Hmm?

” The Torch Dragon looked at Lu Ran.

“Since reaching this level, haven’t you felt that there is a power in this starry sky vaguely restraining your growth? Unable to advance further, you must have doubts about this starry sky. Sooner or later, you will yearn for the unknown cosmos.

“However, leaving the planet that raised you, leaving familiar sights, is also a difficult choice. If the spiritual energy fades, it might as well give you a reason to explore the unknown cosmos.”

The Torch Dragon said, “Good analysis. I indeed have long wanted to voyage beyond the stars, but I also have a feeling that once I leave, I may never return to this land because... this is already the last pure land in the universe.

“The outside universe has been devoured by disaster. The reason this starry sky is sealed is also because of rules set by four lifeforms far beyond the divine level to protect this starry sky.”

Lu Ran retorted, “And I also relied on the power of one of them to successfully return here. So, Lord Torch Dragon, do you understand? What awaits Blue Planet is a dead end. Blue Planet will see its spiritual energy fade and head toward decline.

“Externally, an unknown disaster is spreading, and no one can resist it. One of my purposes here is to first solve the mystery of Blue Planet’s stellar core shattering. The second is to persuade you.

“I hope you can return to the future with me, to the timeline where you have already died, and fight alongside me to solve the cosmic disaster that is about to devour Blue Planet.”

The Torch Dragon looked at Lu Ran and said, “You didn’t come to follow me. Instead, you came to persuade me to follow you?”

Lu Ran smiled, not embarrassed at having his intentions seen through, and continued, “No, rather than facing the unknown disaster alone, I just want to invite you, the Exotic Beast King, to cooperate. You don’t want Blue Planet to be destroyed, do you? You don’t want to die in an unknown cosmic disaster, do you?

“You don’t want to be forever limited under this starry sky, unable to advance further, do you? Don’t you want to meet those four cosmic lifeforms who sealed this spacetime? They know what the broader universe is like.”

The Torch Dragon smiled. “I don’t. I don’t like being lectured by someone weaker than me, either. That flower... did you persuade it into becoming a companion like this, too?”

(✿◠‿◠) You are already on the path to death.

Six-Path Flower thought to itself.