All That Remained Was the East Wind

"You are not their parents, nor are you the savior they've been touted to be, nor are you the reincarnation of Buddha Rōcana. You are just yourself. You owe them nothing, and even if you did, you've already paid it off through the Extinction Spirit King and the Beast King. If you want to leave, we can get away right now."

As long as you secretly find an opportunity to set up a medium-sized Flesh and Blood Wormhole, you can return to the Sea Continent, reveal the truth, protect the Divine Pillar, and use the Eternal Barrier to fight against the World's Extinction Consciousness. As for the Barbarian Continent, they are not related to us, so why bother with them? You have done more than enough for them by killing the Netherworld Insect Princess three times and eliminating the Purple-Pupiled Spirit King. You have done more than enough.

If they insist on keeping you here, then they are insatiable and ungrateful. Do you really think they admire you so much because they hold you in such high esteem?

"Those ignorant and foolish ordinary people are one thing, but how many of those who become Grandmaster are willing to bow down to others? Aren't they just trying to use the 'name of a saint' to trap you, to make you stay and work for them? All they give in return is some flattery, and you have to repay them with your life. Is it worth it?"

Si Jingyu's tone at this moment was very similar to Yu Shuying's, exposing the darkness of people's hearts without any mercy, only cold-blooded interests.

"Perhaps they really want to use their fame to trap me, but from their perspective, it's understandable. When someone is about to fall off a cliff, they'll grab onto even the smallest straw. If I were them, I wouldn't just sit and wait to die either. If I knew someone could save me, I would do everything I could to ask for their help," Si Ming said calmly.

"But you don't need to think about them. Everyone has their own perspective. Easily putting yourself in someone else's shoes would be a sign of a split personality. Do the people of an invaded country need to put themselves in the shoes of the invaders and understand their helplessness? Absolutely not. Everyone should just do their own thing. If you can think about your friends, that's already quite remarkable."

"The Netherworld Insect Princess's goal is the decline of the Nine Continents, not just the Barbarian Continent alone. Sooner or later, she will set her sights on the Shanghai Continent. Our relationship with the Barbarian Continent is one of mutual dependence; helping the Barbarian Continent is equivalent to helping ourselves, and it can also prevent the flames of war from spreading to the Sea Continent. She can infiltrate the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda, so naturally she can also infiltrate the Eternal Barrier. Where can we escape to then?"

Moreover, due to the different restrictions imposed by the Principle, I strongly suspect that if the Netherworld Insect Princess were to enter the Sea Continent, her Foundation would return to its peak. Rather than starting all over again, it would be better to resolve the problem here once and for all.

Si Jingyu paused for a moment, then said, "Actually, even if it's Sea Continent, you have no obligation to protect it. Even if the whole world falls into Kalpa of Destruction, with our strength, we can still survive in a desolate world and live quite well. Why risk your life for others?"

"To risk one's life for others, to become a hero, to be a savior, is actually a good feeling. I don't hate it, I even like it a little. I guess this is what they mean by being influenced by one's Mohist. If you spend too much time with the Mohist School, you will inevitably be influenced by their colors."

"To do things that benefit the world and to hinder the world—after hearing and hearing this so often, I gradually came to believe it. When I said I wanted to become Grandmaster, it was like a child saying they wanted to be a scientist when they grew up—just randomly choosing a goal to appease others. But now I really want to become Grandmaster."

Si Ming stretched out his hand, spread his five fingers to block his view, and clenched his fist tightly, as if trying to grasp the whole world.

Yang Zhu said, "I would not pluck a single hair to benefit the world." This statement certainly aligns with human nature, but does aligning with human nature equate to being right? Is it meaningless to want to be a hero, a savior, to risk one's life for others, to brave fire and water without hesitation, to sacrifice everything for the benefit of the world?

I don't know if it makes any sense, but it must be really stupid.

Si Ming laughed twice and said, "So what if you're silly? There are too many smart people in this world. We always need a few fools to balance things out. Besides, everyone does a lot of silly things in their life, so one or two more won't make a difference."

His voice was crystal clear, without a trace of muddiness or confusion, like that of an enlightened sage.

Si Jingyu chuckled and said, "You're wrong about one thing. It's not that there are too many smart people in this world, but rather that there are too many people who think they're smart. That's why we need people who appear foolish but are actually wise to balance things out."

"Ha, maybe so, but what I'm doing is a bit selfish, and it's dragging you all down with me." But there was no self-reproach or guilt in Si Ming's tone.

"I don't know about others, but at least I'm doing this willingly. Wherever you go, I'll follow, like a shadow. You can't get rid of me. I firmly believe there's an unbreakable bond between us, something that flows in our blood and is engraved in our bones."

Si Jingyu traced Si Ming's face with her finger and said slowly, "Perhaps it seems a bit silly to others, but as you said, everyone is meant to do many silly things in life, so one or two more won't make a difference."

"... Stop saying such provocative things. Aren't you just taking advantage of the fact that I can't move?"

Si Ming's words broke the strangely touching atmosphere.

"Heh, you make it sound like you can do whatever you want to me. You're just a coward with a heart full of desires. Non-Self taken the initiative to establish a spiritual connection back then, you probably would still be hoping for a respectful relationship."

Si Jingyu took out a paper fan and tapped the other person on the head, with a hint of resentment.

"I'm just afraid of crossing the line, it would be terrible if I attracted the 404 God," Si Ming abruptly changed the subject, "Anyway, let's not talk about that, let's get back to the main topic."

Si Jingyu snorted twice, but did not continue to press the matter. She then recounted the information she had obtained from the Azure Mysterious Corpse King.

"So, if we really want to solve the Extinction Consciousness and put Him into a deep sleep, we can only leave the protection of the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda and fight Him in a real battle?" Si Ming frowned.

"I also think this method has no chance of success. The Netherworld Insect Princess is already so powerful even when she is restricted, not to mention her true form. So we might as well use another method. Instead of thinking about a one-time solution, we should fight a protracted war with her."

As you said, every time you kill the Netherworld Insect Princess, her Foundation weakens. Theoretically, as long as you exceed a certain threshold, you can completely defeat her, and even if she regenerates, she won't be a threat to you.

Protected by the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda and the Eternal Barrier, she cannot invade from the outside; she can only be dismantled from within. Therefore, once her threat is eliminated, everything will be simple.

"Don't forget, she can bring the dead back to life," Si Ming reminded him.

"No matter how strong the dead are, can they be stronger than the living? The strongest dead in the Barbarian Continent is the King of Monsters, and the strongest dead in the Sea Continent is the Demon Emperor, but neither of them are your match, and you don't even need to lift a finger. The Sea Continent also has several Void Returning Great Grandmaster. You can't just let them stand by and watch. They bear such a great reputation; they should at least do their part."

"What you said makes sense, but I think it's worth trying again."

"Try what?"

"How could the Holy Maiden defeat Demon Emperor Foundation was so vastly different? What secrets does the Sacred Sword hold? What kind of Divine Ability does the sword formation activated by the Sacred Sword possess?"

Si Ming revealed a thoughtful expression and recalled, "At that time, I was entangled by two Demon Kings and blocked by a sword formation, so I couldn't hear the conversation within the sword formation. I only vaguely sensed the process of the battle through the changes in their auras. The Holy Maiden's cultivation level clearly hadn't increased at all, and the Demon Emperor's cultivation level hadn't been suppressed either, yet the Holy Maiden was able to repeatedly repel the Demon Emperor in direct confrontations. My intuition told me that this was the key to defeating World Extinction Consciousness."

Si Jingyu asked skeptically, "According to your description, it should be an effect similar to ignoring differences in Foundation. Although it sounds unbelievable, there have been too many unbelievable things these days, so this is nothing special in comparison. But if the Sacred Sword really has such an ability, how could the Holy Maiden reveal it to you for nothing?"

"It's alright if you don't reveal it. At worst, we can ask her to fight in the World Extinction Consciousness. Although there are many suspicious points about the Holy Maiden, there is one thing I am very sure of: as long as we tell her about the situation here, she will definitely help us."

Compared to resolving the world's Extinction Consciousness, the suspicion that the Holy Maiden and the Netherworld Insect Princess spoke in similar tones is nothing. Si Ming felt it was worth taking a gamble.

"Regardless, let's try to contact her first."

Chapter 854 Only the East Wind Is Lacking

The Sarira Hall, a secret chamber.

After several days of quiet rest, Si Ming was able to get out of bed and walk, and his injuries had almost completely healed. Although activating the three divine powers still caused him severe pain all over his body, he could no longer engage in ordinary martial arts training and sparring.

In the past few days, the Netherworld Insect Princess has made no move, and the Azure Mysterious Corpse King has also disappeared. It seems that after the battle at the Heavenly Dragon World-Delivering Pagoda, he escaped the control of the Netherworld Insect Princess. On the other hand, the Beast King Anye comes to provoke him from time to time. He seems to know that Si Ming is still injured and therefore is fearless. Moreover, he always attacks once and then leaves, never engaging in prolonged battles, and does not give the enemy a chance to surround him.

Faced with this fly-like harassment, no one could do anything about it. The Beast King was cunning, ruthless, and shameless, a true example of Machiavellianism. Coupled with the regenerative power of the King of Monsters, even if he was hit by one or two extreme attacks, he would be full of energy again in a day.

At first, no one understood why the Beast King would do something so disgusting and irrelevant to the overall situation. It wasn't until Yu Shuying reminded them that the beast king was still up to his old tricks and wanted to possess another body that had cultivated the Evil-Slaying Sword Technique that they suddenly realized what was going on.

There's a saying that goes, "You only know how to cherish something after you've lost it."

While it's not that the Beast King Anye doesn't know how to cherish things, how could he bear to become weak after experiencing the Power of Sacred and Evil? It's like how once someone has tasted power, it's hard for them to let go.

Knowing the other party's purpose, Wan Ziqiu, although eager to avenge his father, knew he had to prioritize the greater good. So he and Zheng Jingyuan, who was recovering from his injuries, lived a secluded life, never giving the other party any opportunity to take advantage.