The future.
The Dark Continent.
Gu Qingshan stood in a black city reduced to ruins, having just lowered the sword in his hand.
A voice sounded from nearby, across from him:
"I am... the End of Time... One of the most powerful beings in Chaos. Just what—"
Boom!
Before it could finish, a golden torrent surged down and completely entropy-dissolved the Chaos Spirit.
The endless darkness around Gu Qingshan deepened by several shades.
The four War Flags fluttered behind him, blazing with light that shot into the sky. After several breaths, their radiance gradually faded.
"Almost..."
He murmured, then suddenly turned around.
The void rippled, and a woman appeared before him.
Xie Shuangyan.
"What brings you here?" Gu Qingshan asked.
"Things are going badly. The Nine Faces Insect Demon didn't enter the Demon King sequence. Instead, it appeared directly in front of another you—it's trying to assassinate you!" Xie Shuangyan said urgently.
"Don't rush. Tell me slowly," Gu Qingshan said.
Xie Shuangyan explained what had happened, then added:
"The spirits of the Dust-Sealed World all went to help you. Mu and I were there too, but the Nine Faces Insect Demon still seized its chance to perform an Evil Sacrifice. It and the other you both disappeared—and that you was only at Foundation Establishment."
Gu Qingshan pondered. "The Nine Faces Insect Demon... It can appear in the past without suffering any backlash from the laws?"
"We don't know. We all think it may be an exceptionally unusual existence among the fiends," Xie Shuangyan said.
"All right. I understand," Gu Qingshan replied.
Xie Shuangyan stared at him in a daze. "Aren't you going to hurry and save yourself?"
"Save myself? Why?" Gu Qingshan asked in return.
Xie Shuangyan fixed her gaze on him and said gravely, "The Nine Faces Insect Demon's