Chapter 3288: Remembering

Lu Yin wrote down the names of the fallen heroes without following any particular order. The reason why he had inscribed the Great Sovereign’s name first was because, at her Tea Ceremonies, she had shared the names of a great number of fallen heroes. Her respect for such warriors was unmatched, and her way of honoring them was something that no one else had done.

At the Immemorial Citadel, when Lu Yin spoke with the Origin Progenitor, he had learned that the Great Sovereign had actually come from the Origin Universe. She had cultivated a power that was both identical to and the opposite of stellular energy. She was someone who had never accepted defeat.

"Progenitor Hui, Hui Wen, died in battle at the Immemorial Citadel. Today, I write his name here, so that future generations will never forget."

Progenitor Hui's contributions could not be measured. Without him, humanity would not have reached its current state. Everyone was indebted to the man, regardless of their level of cultivation. Progenitor Hui had altered the course of human history.

Countless people bowed, including those from the Cyclic Universe and various other parallel universes. Progenitor Hui had worked to help all of humanity, not just the Origin Universe.

Only the people from the Sixth Mainland did not bow. While Progenitor Hui had helped them by enabling humanity to defeat Aeternus, he had also done a great deal of harm to the Sixth Mainland. In the end, Progenitor Hui had been a human, not a god, and he had had his own bits of selfishness.

Time passed as name after name was written onto the Tower of the Fifth.

Qiu, Qing Hui, Old Chong, Hui Wu, Bai Sheng, E' Ji, Babal, the Rune Progenitor, Jian An, Bai Mu, Master Shan, and Xiao, and more.

People remained bowed as each name appeared. These people had sacrificed themselves for humanity. Lu Yin was only able to list a few of the fallen heroes, and all that anyone could do at this moment was offer their deep respect and remember the fallen.

The Wordless Heavenly Book blazed like a sun, and it illuminated the entire universe, warming the hearts of all people.

An inheritance was not merely the passing down of a civilization, but also the passing down of the will and culture of a people. If a civilization lost their past culture and will, they had not received a complete inheritance. They would be nothing more than a continuation of a given race, but they could not be considered the same civilization as before.

The Tower of the Fifth sought to pass down not just the current era, but also the memory of humanity's fateful battle against the Aeternals to future generations. The will and spirit of humanity could not be forgotten by future generations.

After Lu Yin etched all of the names that he knew onto the Tower of the Fifth, Lightstream started to take him through the universe, just like when the Origin Progenitor’s sword had carried Lu Yin and the others through time and space. He stared into the River of Aeons and observed the unknown histories of countless individuals who had fought and died for humanity in forgotten corners of the megaverse, never to be remembered.

Lu Yin did not know the names of these people, but he made sure to etch their memories into his mind. Even without names, the Tower of the Fifth continued to shine brightly. The light never dimmed at all.

Those great people who had passed away had never expected to be remembered by future generations at the moment of their sacrifice. Still, they deserved to be remembered.

Even minor characters who had died on the battlefield would be remembered. Their spirit and will would be passed down to future generations.

The Tower of the Fifth continued to glow brightly for two full years.

For two years, Lu Yin constantly traveled along the River of Aeons, searching for forgotten heroes who had died and remembering their memories. For two years, the Wordless Heavenly Book blazed ever brighter, its light reaching every dark corner of the universe.

More and more, Lu Yin could feel the hopes and desires of the people, and his inner universe expanded yet again.

This was something that he had not anticipated. He had simply wanted to leave a bit of history behind for the future. It was his responsibility.

During Lu Yin’s Progenitor’s tribulation with his Wordless Heavenly Book, he had vowed to guide humanity toward goodness. The collective will of the fallen heroes that he was passing down was one method of doing just that. Anyone could be moved by such sacrifices, and if so, they would not fall to evil.

Not everyone could remember the fallen heroes, nor would every fallen hero be remembered. However, everyone, human or not, would remember Lu Yin.

Lu Yin wished to make the Tower of the Fifth a gift of inheritance to future generations, much like what Burial Garden and

Boundless

had both been. However, the truth was that he himself had become the greatest symbol of his era.

This day marked exactly 100 years since Lu Yin had first started cultivating on Earth during the planet’s apocalypse. This was the time that had passed in the Origin Universe, and it did not include the additional time that Lu Yin had spent in universes with accelerated time, the Mirari Realm, and his Timestop Space.

In just 100 years, humanity had experienced a monumental transformation.

...

There was a place in the Perennial World that was rarely visited by anyone. It had once been the site of a grand battle, and it had served as the front line, resisting the Aeternal’s invasion. It was also the location where one of the Perennial World’s peak powerhouses had once lived, long ago. It was in the Dominion Realm, which was in the Mother Tree’s canopy.

After the Perennial World had split off from the Fifth Mainland, the Dominion Realm, Higher Realm, Middle Realm, and Lower Realm had all been established. The Dominion Realm had been the place where Progenitors stood guard, and it had also served as their battleground.

However, the battles in the Dominion Realm had never been as intense as the ones on the rear battlefield. Aeternus rarely targeted the Dominion Realm, even if the human Progenitors had frequently fought against Aeternus there.

This was because the Dominion Realm had been guarded by the Divine Eagle, and the Perennial World had never left the region unprotected.

However, things had since changed.

Aeternus had been defeated, which had led to a great number of people leaving Ceaseless Impetus and the rear battlefield. The Divine Eagle had left the Mother Tree entirely, and only Nong Yi remained behind to guard the Dominion Realm.

There were many different regions of the Dominion Realm, corresponding to the territories of various Progenitors. Lu Yin and other youths had once visited the Domain of Withering, which had belonged to Progenitor Ku. His Voidsoul Palace had been there, which was where Progenitor Ku had left his own legacy.

Far away from the Voidsoul Palace, on another one of the Mother Tree's branches, there was a region known as the Wildblade Domain. It was where one of the Perennial World’s Progenitors had once lived. That powerhouse had been known as Wild Sword.

Wild Sword had been a Progenitor who had risen up from the Liu family. His sword had been fierce and wild, which earned him the title of Wild Sword. For a time, he had swept through the rear battlefield. Aeternus had been forced to take the man seriously. After he arrived in the Dominion Realm, his chosen region had been much closer to the rear battlefield than Progenitor Ku’s Domain of Withering.

After Wild Sword’s death, the region had fallen to ruin.

No one thought that True God would be hiding in such a place.

True God's body was still shrouded by the golden light of the Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, though a blood-red color was suppressing the golden light. If not for that, the man would blaze like a beacon everywhere he went, and it would be impossible for him to hide.

His expression fell as he watched countless people in the Higher Realm bow in the direction of the Wordless Heavenly Book. He sighed. “Humanity is a strange species. They always manage to stand up when confronted with despair. There is always someone willing to lead them out of the darkness. Even if Lu Yin had not appeared, someone else would have.

“That child is like an illusion born from the collective desires of humanity to reverse their despair. But an illusion, no matter how brilliant, will eventually fade away.”

Ancient God and Blackless God both stood behind True God, calmly watching.

Skydog quietly sat at True God's feet. Even after surviving so many battles, the dog showed no sign of any injuries. Despite only being a True God Guard Captain and much weaker than the Seven Skygods, Skydog was exceptionally tough.

“I just hope that this illusion doesn’t take you with it when it disappears,” an elderly voice commented from behind the small group.

Ancient God and Blackless God both whipped around as one, startled. They had not noticed anyone’s arrival.

True God’s expression remained unchanged. “He won’t take me. No matter how bright an illusion might shine, it will remain false. It’s been a long time.”

He turned around to look at an elderly man some distance away. “Master Qing Cao.”

It was indeed none other than Master Qing Cao standing behind the remaining Aeternals, the same old man that Lu Yin had met with and questioned, but found nothing strange about.

Master Qing Cao was the elderly man who led the Windrift Hall. He had saved many lives and enjoyed a brilliant reputation in both the Innerverse and the Outerverse.

Ancient God stared at the old man in the distance. He had never seen this man before. Who was he?

Ancient God was an Ortuser, and yet this old man had arrived behind him without Ancient God noticing anything. That might be beyond even True God. Ancient God believed himself capable of fighting True God on equal footing, and yet he had been completely unaware of when this old man had approached.

Could this person be an Immortal?

Was this the Fated One that Gu Yizhi had been searching for?

Master Qing Cao was carrying a bamboo basket on his back. He looked like nothing more than an ordinary herb gatherer. He slowly walked forward, smiling at the group of men. “The mighty Aeternus, reduced to just the few of you. How pathetic.”

“And who might you be?” Blackless God could not hold back the question.

Woof!

Skydog barked once, but the moment Master Qing Cao looked at the dog, it was overwhelmed by fear. It curled up, burying its head below, not daring to make another sound.

Ancient God frowned. He was well aware of Skydog’s strength. In fact, not even he really understood why Skydog was so resilient. The man did not know if he was capable of killing the beast.

Despite that, Skydog was clearly terrified of this old man.

Master Qing Cao looked at Blackless God and said, “All of your schemes are nothing more than fleeting illusions; compared to the plans of that child, Hui Wen, yours are insignificant. You’ve lost, which is by no means unfair.”

Blackless God clenched a fist, but he did not dare speak back. He was no idiot, and he had already guessed the truth. He silently took a step back.

Master Qing Cao then turned to Ancient God, to whom he gave a nod of admiration. “Tai Chu’s disciples were all quite remarkable. If not for the fact that Tai Chu forced you to suppress your cultivation and forbade you from breaking through to the Origin realm, the Heavens Sect might not have fallen so easily.”

“Who are you?” Ancient God asked.

Master Qing Cao gave a slight smile as he sighed. “Who am I? I’ve long since forgotten. I’ve lived for far too long. Immortality is more of a curse than a blessing. You, Yong Heng, dream of entering the Immortal realm, but little do you know that Immortality is where the true nightmare begins.

“The feeling of being unable to die is something that you can’t even comprehend.”

Ancient God’s eyes narrowed. The Immortal realm. So, this old man really was an Immortal. This was the mysterious power behind the Boundary Guardians, the Fated One that Ancient God had been searching for.

However, he had never seen this old man before.

True God stared at Master Qing Cao. “Not being able to experience such a thing is even more tragic than experiencing it.”

Master Qing Cao gave the same slight smile. “The megaverses place severe restrictions on Immortals. While we can never die and have no equals, the megaverse itself is our greatest enemy. If not for the restrictions it places on us, I would have never needed to strip that man, Ku Jie, of a bit of his time.

“I couldn’t allow him to take that time with him.”

𝐟𝕣𝗲𝕖𝕨𝗲𝐛𝗻𝗼𝐯𝗲𝚕.𝗰𝚘𝐦

“You should have just killed him,” True God stated coldly.

Master Qing Cao shook his head. “And that’s why there are restrictions. Tian En was utterly useless—she failed to kill the man even under those circumstances. However, that doesn’t matter. The time that was taken from him will never be returned.”

Ancient God listened in silence, betraying nothing on his face.

True God spoke again. “Three of the Boundary Guardians are dead, and only Tian Ci managed to escape. My Aeternals have been defeated. Either you help me break this Six Paths of Reincarnation Realm, or your Spirit Nidus can deal with the things here on its own. While the Heavens Sect has gained many experts, they still might not be able to stop your Spirit Nidus.”