Chapter 147: This World Has Turned Fantastical!

Ouyang Jue felt a sudden, inexplicable ache in his heart as he watched this scene, as if it had played out once before, long, long ago.

The man before him was clearly smiling, yet he seemed more sorrowful than anyone else. That single tear that fell onto Nangong Yao’s collar felt as though it had fallen straight into his own soul. Ouyang Jue stared blankly at Nangong Yao, his hand rising unconsciously, and suddenly, a teardrop manifested in his palm.

Nangong Yao stopped. He looked at the tear in Ouyang Jue’s hand, stunned for a moment, then smiled. "You actually kept it?"

Ouyang Jue gazed at the tear that had appeared in his palm, lost in thought. After a long silence, he replied, "Yes, I kept it all this time."

Murong Yi could no longer watch. What was happening here? Was there some illicit affair between Ouyang Jue and Nangong Yao that she knew nothing about? Heavens! She had finally escaped the single life! She didn't want to be dragged back to her zombie-like state of loneliness overnight!

With a mournful face, Murong Yi looked at Nangong Yao with deep grievance. Nangong Yao caught her gaze and laughed heartily. "Don't look at me like that! Haha! It’s going to cause a misunderstanding."

Noticing that Murong Yi was looking at Nangong Yao with "tender affection," Ouyang Jue glared at Nangong Yao, pulled Murong Yi into his embrace, and tossed the teardrop toward him.

Nangong Yao caught it, cradling the bead in his palm. He stroked the smooth, round tear with his other hand and asked, "Have you let go?"

Ouyang Jue nodded, then looked down at Murong Yi with profound tenderness. "Actually, this is quite good, too."

Nangong Yao shrugged and tucked the teardrop away into his spatial storage. He then turned to Qin Yu and said, "Qin Yu, I believe things are more troublesome than we imagined."

Qin Yu raised an eyebrow, signaling him to continue.

Nangong Yao glanced around the room, surveying those present—Murong Yi, Ouyang Jue, Qin Yu, and Zhao Min—before saying with a solemn expression, "Everything I am about to say must be forgotten the moment it leaves your ears!"

Seeing the four of them nod, Nangong Yao began slowly. "I had always believed this apocalypse was intentionally orchestrated by the Heavenly Dao to punish humanity. Back then, I found it strange—why would the Heavenly Dao do such a thing? But thinking about it now, the apocalypse likely has nothing to do with it."

The Heavenly Dao had always regarded humanity as its children. Because most humans were mediocre, the Heavenly Dao viewed the world as a play, providing entertainment for its long and lonely existence.

However, as humans evolved, their ambitions grew. They began to defy the heavens, and their powers gradually broke through the constraints the Heavenly Dao had set. Fearing it would vanish if this continued, the Heavenly Dao cast down the Spirit of Life and the Spirit of Darkness.

The Spirit of Life was intended to resurrect the common people to suppress the source of power for demonic cultivators. The Spirit of Darkness was meant to unearth the dark hearts of the sages, planting inner demons so their cultivation would stagnate.

It must be said that most practitioners in the cultivation world had their progress halted because of this. But among them, a genius emerged who discovered the conspiracy. He sought ways to find both spirits, gathered the most powerful individuals of that era, and sealed them away, while also erasing their memories.

Yet, the legacy of the Heavenly Dao could not be easily extinguished. They had no choice but to seal it, though the conditions to break that seal were likely not as simple as Jin Dabao claimed. I don't know the specifics.

Later, someone in the cultivation world finally transcended the Heavenly Dao, but that person had a very eccentric temperament. Instead of destroying the Heavenly Dao, he sealed it, rendering it weak and unable to control the cultivation world.

If he had destroyed the Heavenly Dao, he could have controlled the entire world himself. By only sealing it, the world remained under the Heavenly Dao’s dominion, but because the seal weakened its energy, many functions ceased to operate normally. This led to chaos in the mortal realm, which in turn affected the cultivation world.

That person, too, suffered a decline in strength for various reasons. Helpless, a few powerful individuals joined forces to break the seal, but unwilling to be controlled by the Heavenly Dao, they erased its consciousness. From then on, the Heavenly Dao became more like a system without self-awareness, merely maintaining the world’s operations.

After I awoke, I found the spiritual energy between heaven and earth to be chaotic and scarce, and the cultivation world was gone entirely. I assumed the Heavenly Dao had recovered its consciousness and was taking revenge, but I could not detect even a trace of its presence. It seems something must have happened during the time I was asleep."

Nangong Yao sighed, his tone heavy with helplessness.

Zhao Min sat stunned. She tugged on Qin Yu’s sleeve and asked in a daze, "Little Yu, have I been reading too many fantasy novels? Why do I feel like I'm having an incredible hallucination?"

Qin Yu patted her hand, suppressing her own shock, and said with feigned composure, "Little Min, as unbelievable as it sounds, this is all true."

Seeing Zhao Min’s lack of composure, Nangong Yao rolled his eyes. "Everything I said is true! What an ignorant human!"

Zhao Min wasn't angry. She nodded repeatedly. "I am ignorant! Heavens! To think that in my lifetime, I’d hear a story as real as a fantasy novel—I really, truly... I could die without regrets! Wait, no! That's not right! Ah! Anyway, it’s worth it even if I die!"

Nangong Yao’s mouth twitched; he was rendered speechless.

Qin Yu, now steadied, stared fixedly at Nangong Yao. "How do you know about things from so long ago?"

Before Nangong Yao could speak, Jin Dabao, held in Qin Yu’s hand, shouted, "Because he was one of those old bald donkeys! He was involved in all of it, how could he not know?"

The smile on Nangong Yao’s face stiffened. He replied helplessly, "I am not the 'old bald donkey' you speak of. I simply inherited his legacy and, coincidentally, some of his memories as well. Since those events were among his proudest achievements, he couldn't wait to brag about them constantly, which is how I know."

"Oh, no wonder! I was wondering why he was so weak!" Jin Dabao realized.

Nangong Yao nodded. "Yes." He then addressed the group, "Forget what you’ve heard today. There is no benefit in remembering it."

The group nodded in silent agreement, and no one spoke further. The atmosphere in the room turned stiflingly heavy.

After a long while, Qin Yu rubbed her throbbing temples. "I'm a bit tired. I'm going back to my room to rest."

Zhao Min echoed her, "Me too!"

Ouyang Jue and Murong Yi expressed the same intention, and the four of them departed. As for Jin Dabao, he had long since scampered off after Murong Yi.

Soon, only Nangong Yao remained in the room. He tapped the table, staring at the teardrop floating in the air, lost in thought.