Forge a path to success.

Chapter 250 Farewell to the Despairing Wilderness
In the silent, colorless torrent, the Land of Despair met its long-awaited end.

The thunderclouds dissipated, the mist dissipated, and the sea crossed the border, washing over the parched soil. The eternally dark night sky gradually faded away, and even the moonlight dimmed, like a pale black veil shrouding the vast land. A tiny, extremely faint sliver of light pierced through the veil, forming a small dot on the ground.

That is the light of the sun.

At the juncture of heaven and earth, a white light rose. After hundreds of years of darkness, the desolate wilderness welcomed the sunrise.

The outermost layer of the Heavenly Prison border, the embodiment of the concept of despair, the "Wilderness" that all the supreme beings of the Sinking Realm unanimously deemed impenetrable, collapsed at this moment.

Thus, the battlefield, isolated by time, reappeared in the world.

The long-forgotten "past" returns to the present, flowing with the tide to the other side of the ocean.

·
The Mysterious Realm of Senluo, the Spiral Tower.

Karl Sord stepped out of the laboratory, rummaging through a new batch of manuscripts among countless doors. He was always so busy, with so many theories waiting for him to verify. He casually pushed open a door—which seemed to have been a meditation room just last week, and now a tea room—and turned the manuscript into a cup of tea. A small demon crouched in the corner of the room.

"Good progress lately, old buddy," he said casually. "We're one step closer to our goal, just one thin veil away from reaching the Spirit Realm. Who knows, you might just take another nap and wake up to have tea with us."

The demon smirked, smiling like a child.

"...Vansara?"

The teacup shattered on the floor, and Karsod's fingertips trembled. He reached for the smiling demon, its elemental life dissipating into meaningless shadows that flowed from his fingertips like water.

"No! No! Don't..." Karsod's expression changed drastically, "Vansarar!!!"

He knelt on the ground, frantically grasping at the water-like shadow. He used magic to shape it, he twisted time and space, he grasped the lines of cause and effect, but even with all his efforts, the Sorcerer Supreme could not avert the predetermined fate.

Calsod held the shadow that was about to fade away and wept bitterly.

"My best... friend..."

On this day, the entire Realm of Dust was ravaged by torrential rain. The furious downpour raised the level of the Sea of ​​Illusions, carrying the Sage Supreme's sorrow to every Dust Isle. The incessant sound of the rain mingled with the dying cries of wild beasts. All the demons of the world emerged from the shadows, their cries a lament for their progenitor. Overwhelmed by emotion, their bodies crumbled, and approximately two-thirds of the demons perished simultaneously, ending countless tragedies.

The survivors were at a loss, only feeling the ocean-like sorrow in the cries.

This should have been a golden opportunity for the demons, but the sea was deathly still. The cursed jellyfish rose from the deep sea once more, and the demons, fearing its presence, dared not proceed.

Olek gazed at the gloomy sky, recalling the rainy night long ago when he first met his friend.

“I’ve told you many times, the more radical a person is, the faster they die,” it said. “Only by conforming to the world can you survive, why can’t you understand…”

The dead one has finally left, and from now on, no one will play with it anymore.

Its sighs drifted into the distance with the sound of rain, like a ghost singing a mournful song.

In the northeastern part of the Mysterious Realm of Senluo, the Eternal Calamity deployed its reconnaissance unit above the water. Having completed its analysis of the currents, it transmitted the information back to the homeland.

“3001/4/21，0:00:00，确认L-001号坍灭神‘恐惧’……”永劫号略作停顿，“前大法师凡萨拉尔死亡。”

All Imperial units with a mass of 5 or higher received the message, and 0.1 standard seconds later, a huge uproar erupted in the communications network. It had been a long time since all the high-ranking members of the Empire had participated in a discussion; the last time such a scene was witnessed was when the Empire itself was born.

Most of the true machines were calculating their future development, while a few veteran members—those who were once giants, the respectable prototypes—were reminiscing about the past. The Eternal Calamity read the words from the past while simultaneously reading the records from the day the Spiral Tower fell.

The Empire of Truth has no secrets or privacy; anyone with sufficient access can browse all information. It looks at the records of the Empire's high-ranking officials' discussions, as well as the results of the oracle's calculations from that day.

Regarding the top-down contagious deduction of elemental magic, evidence of communication between one of the Spiral Tower's higher-ups and Black Moon, and the possibility of the Sorcerer Supreme being taken advantage of due to time zone differences... the entire higher-ups unanimously passed a resolution, and the Emperor took urgent action...

"What do you think of the Eternal Calamity?" the former Imperial Chancellor asked.

"The Empire made a wrong judgment, but this mistake only hastened its destruction. The facts are as the Oracle has calculated. The corruption of the Sorcerer Supreme was already inevitable," said Eternal Calamity.

"Fragile emotions are hard to trust, and many things are predetermined from the beginning. This is what people call 'fate'."

·
Chu Hengkong felt he had been unconscious for an hour, perhaps two. Because he hadn't had time to dream; dreams always come only in long sleep.

When his companions helped him up and he opened his eyes to see their unhealed wounds, he realized he had only been unconscious for a few dozen seconds. Ji Huaisu waved vigorously in front of him, and he managed to exhale, letting out a weak breath to tell his partner that he was still conscious.

“Open your eyes and look around, man.” He heard Vander’s bewildered voice. “This is probably the craziest sight we’ve ever seen in our lives…”

A blazing sun and a black moon hung simultaneously in the sky, their interplay of day and night creating a chaotic void. The mist, constantly dissipating, was then gathered again by the strong winds, forming a massive vortex at the zenith. The pillars supporting the wilderness collapsed; contradictory forces emerged simultaneously, and the world descended into chaos, like the delirium of a madman.

The long-parched land became moist, colorless water flowing across the earth, dividing the land into fine sand. Chu Hengkong realized it was seawater; this land, deprived of its support, was about to return to the ocean. He desperately wanted to move, but for a moment he couldn't. The excruciating pain in his back hadn't subsided; instead, it was intensifying. The broken wing seemed to have taken root in his back, impossible to remove.

"Ah Kong, don't touch that thing yet." Ji Huaisu was a little nervous. "You're too badly injured right now. I'm afraid you won't breathe if I pull it out."

"Where are the others?" Chu Hengkong strained to look up. "Is the settlement still there?"

"It's still there, very close to us." Qingye raised her hand and looked around.

They also saw the settlement; the small village, protected by the Tree of Light, was approaching them like a ship without sails. The settlement, secured by the sacred pillars, was the most secure land they had found at that moment; in reality, they had been swept there by the sea.

Chu Hengkong estimated it would take about half a minute to arrive. He turned his head and spotted a familiar figure on a sand dune that was about to collapse. The dog-man, Wolfka, sat on the dune, smiling and waving at him.

Over here. Chu Hengkong was too exhausted to speak, so he mouthed to him, "Come over here..."

But Vovka didn't reply, only smiled contentedly. The sea was about to engulf the dunes; he let out a long cry, turned, and walked into the sea.

Chu Hengkong understood and said goodbye to the person in the mist.

They were swept back to the settlement, and everyone huddled around the sacred pillar. "Come quickly!" Fenya stretched out her vines, infusing them with life force. Gulibo and Jie'an rushed over and looked everyone over.

"Great, they're all alive!" Gulibo cheered.

"This is great news!" The cook visibly relaxed. "Excuse me for being a spoilsport, but what do we do next?"

The group exchanged bewildered glances, their initial excitement quickly dissipating amidst their confusion. From beginning to end, everyone had been focused on defeating Vansalal, but no one had considered what would happen after victory. That was far too extravagant; after overcoming despair, even breathing for a second longer would be a blessing.

"Shall we ride the tide and go out?" Qingxia said. "If we follow the Sea of ​​Illusions, we can go anywhere."

"What a brilliant idea! After defeating the Nightmare King, we'll feed them all to the demons." Vande rolled his eyes. "If I were a demon, I'd be laughing my head off. A feast falling from the sky, one dish after another! Let's start with this fiery red one, and save that tough-looking one with iron on its body for last! Oh my gosh!"

Qingxia grabbed Fande with both hands and began to torture the Eye Demon with all her might. Everyone let out good-natured laughter; at this moment, every extra second of laughter was a victory. Chu Hengkong looked around dazedly, feeling that something was missing. Shax sat at the foot of the Holy Pillar, his gun pointed at the vortex in the sky.

“There’s only one path from the very beginning,” he said coldly. “If this is the outermost layer of hell, then after your victory you can only go to the next layer of hell.”

A somber red light emanated from the depths of the whirlpool. Chu Hengkong realized that this was the route Wen Yao had attempted to take to escape—the deeper "Blood Plains of No Life." He tried to find another way out, but all he saw was a vast ocean. The trees in the settlement had been swept away by the sea, and even the beach filled with tombstones had been submerged and disappeared into the endless sea.

"Looks like bad luck just won't let us go," the assassin laughed. "A new adventure is about to begin... haha... it's starting."

"I don't want this kind of adventure!" Vande screamed. "I bet you there are at least ten thousand lustful demons with a minimum of 4 mass points crouching on the other side of the vortex! Just waiting for us to go over there, devour them alive, and fuck them all!"

"Fande, try to think positively. At least they won't sleep with you..." Ji Huaisu comforted him.

"It's not a good thing if the first one to die is the first one to die!"

"This is the last chance. Shall we all have one more competition?" Qingye was eager to try. "Let's see who kills the most before they die."

“Let’s throw away the relics and then compare them. You all have high-level relics, so I’m at a disadvantage,” Shakes said.

"Wow, you're actually jealous of this! This is an heirloom from my ancestor, a gift from Mr. Nightwalker!"

"I remember you stole Mian Sheng yourself, didn't you?"

"Well, Mr. Nightwalker didn't object either..."

The seawater was already ankle-deep, yet they continued to laugh and talk, seemingly oblivious to life and death. At this point, there was really nothing to be excited about; isn't that how fate is? It occasionally gives you surprises, but it rarely leads to a truly good ending. Now that things have come to this, what good can we still hope for? Hope that some hero will descend from the sky and save everyone?

Qingxia spread her wings, preparing to take everyone into the sky while she still had the strength. But she couldn't fly; an invisible force, like a gentle hand, softly pressed her back to the ground.

She paused for a moment, realizing it was someone's impetuousness. Just then, a familiar, lazy voice reached everyone's ears.

"Hey, don't be in such a hurry to leave."

"After all the hardships of defeating the Demon King, we're headed for a new hell? That's terrible! That's not the kind of story we're looking for!"

The sea's spread suddenly ceased, even the light and color stopped changing, and the sun and moon's radiance remained still in the air, like black and white snowflakes. Yet the still world was not silent; it was filled with familiar laughter. Chu Hengkong even heard trumpets and drums; there was music playing here, and he wondered what madman was playing such awful songs at this hour.

He saw the source of the music; researchers came running in droves, their feet wading through the seawater, carrying homemade instruments. They fired cannons with a bang, sending colorful ribbons cut from thin leaves fluttering in the air. A few who couldn't play instruments used sticks to unfurl a banner with large, flamboyant characters:
Congratulations! The wilderness has been traversed!

Chu Hengkong couldn't help but laugh, and everyone else followed suit. In this unreasonable and hopeless world, these clueless idiots were practically a godsend.

The black-armored samurai stood among them, wearing stylish sunglasses and a fiery cloak. He laughed triumphantly, "That's how it should be! Now that we've won, let's celebrate to our hearts' content!"

Chongming drew his sword and casually slashed at the air.

In an instant, waves surged, the water level rose, and immeasurable seawater vanished, instantly severing the illusory sea. A blade of light, solid as a tangible object, pierced through the ocean, carving a bottomless abyss within it!

The sea surged in raging fury, yet its momentum held it back. A storm, carrying a blinding white light, swept in, creating a wide, open path of light in the sea. His movements were utterly casual; a mere flick of his wrist was enough to tear apart the shackles of fate.

That road transformed into a ray of hope, shining into the eyes of the weary and desperate, and even the most silent among them cheered loudly. Gulibo laughed and jumped, "Commander Chongming, I didn't know you were so strong, Bo?!"

Chongming wiped his nose, beaming with pride: "What a joke! I told you long ago that I'm awesome, but I was restricted from showing my skills before! Hurry up and make your way now, or I'll throw you back into the Blood Plains to continue fighting."

"No, no!" Gulibo screamed and jumped into the road. Vande was the first to jump in, laughing heartily in the light.

With this single slash, the settlement was divided into two distinct parts. Chongming and the people in the mist stood on the opposite side of the passage, while the warriors, the brave men, and Fenya naturally stepped into it. Chu Hengkong was about to praise Commander Chongming's excellent swordsmanship when he saw that the other man stood still, without making a move.

"Hey, Chongming!"

The samurai sheathed his sword, his smile unusually gentle.

“There’s no reason for the commander to leave the battlefield,” he said. “There are many important people waiting for me inside.”

Qingxia, with her sharp eyes, spotted a fluffy head behind Chongming and quickly called out, "Grandpa!"

“Young people should go on adventures in the vast world.” Silar jumped out from behind Chongming and said with a smile, “We are enough to stay in this small battlefield.”

It was already a being within the mist, a life form that could only exist in the Heavenly Prison, and had no right to go to the outside world. Qingxia realized this and sadly lowered her hand. Silar stretched out its little paw and stroked her orange hair.

"After you go out, take care of your health and go to bed on time. Don't always overeat, and make sure to eat nutritious food."

"Ah."

"Make sure you get along well with everyone and don't argue with your friends," the old man gently advised. "You might encounter unreasonable situations, but don't lose your temper. Think of solutions together, and you'll always be able to resolve things."

"Yes." Qingxia nodded vigorously.

Slar raised his paw, patted his granddaughter's cheek, and gave his child a big smile.

"You can be a knight if you want, or even a lustful demon if you want."

Don't worry about identity or race. You will always be our proudest warrior!

"I will, Grandpa!" Qingxia wiped away her tears and smiled at the old man. "I will become stronger! And once again, I will fight alongside you in the Heavenly Prison!"

The suppressed tide surged once more, and the light from Chongming's blade began to flow. He smiled at Chu Hengkong, then turned and walked towards the sky, towards another battlefield belonging to the past. The people in the mist followed Chongming's footsteps, trailing behind his fiery cloak. He raised his hand high before the crimson vortex, his index finger pointing to the rising sun.

"Final command from the officer!"

You carefree, undisciplined guys, live happily ever after!
The 35th Resistance Army is hereby disbanded!

People from the past step into the vortex and head to another ancient battlefield.

The seawater swallowed their footprints, and the road to the future began to turn.

The warriors stepped into the light.

Leaving the desolate wilderness, we step towards the land of hope.

(End of this chapter)