Wasteland

The feeling of weightlessness lasted for a long time.

When Uchiha Kei opened his eyes, he saw a gray sky. There were no clouds, no sun, only endless grayness, like a giant shroud covering the world.

He got up from the ground, his whole body aching.

This feeling was unfamiliar. He hadn't experienced pain for a very, very long time.

"This is..."

He looked around.

Ruins.

An endless expanse of ruins.

The collapsed high-rise buildings are reduced to twisted steel skeletons, rusted cars lie haphazardly on the cracked asphalt road, and the wind whips up black ash, swirling among the ruins.

Blue Star.

He recalled the scenes he had witnessed when he merged with the Earth Soul.

This is Jiang Hao's hometown, the place where he lived before he traveled through time.

It is also... the lair of the Dark Old God.

Uchiha Kei took a breath, trying to sense the power within his body.

The next moment, he froze.

The power remains.

His peak True Immortal realm remains, the blessings of the three worlds remain, and his comprehension of the Will of the Sword remains.

But--

It felt like something was pressing down on him.

Invisible, heavy, and ubiquitous.

Suppress.

His strength was suppressed.

It's not that they've disappeared, but rather that they've been "rejected" by this world.

He could sense that if he went all out, he could only unleash the maximum power of the peak of the Sage of Six Paths level.

If it gets any stronger...

Uchiha Kei raised his head and looked at the gray sky.

He had a gut feeling.

As long as he dares to use power beyond the Sage of Six Paths level, something will... "see" him.

"I see."

He muttered to himself.

Is this the reason for Jiang Hao's 379 failures?

In this world, the stronger you are, the easier it is for Him to discover you.

And once discovered...

He recalled that eye from his memory.

Red and black stripes, cold and ruthless, looking down on everything.

With just one glance, Jiang Hao's Three Thousand Worlds shattered simultaneously.

Such an existence...

"Now is not the time."

Uchiha Kei restrained his aura and stepped forward.

First, find Jiang Hao's refuge.

First, awaken those three thousand warriors.

First...

Live on.

We walked for a long time.

The surrounding ruins remained unchanged, like a vicious cycle from which there was no escape.

Uchiha Kei stopped, squatted down, and picked up a pinch of black ash with his fingers.

Something was faintly glowing in the ashes.

He brushed aside the ashes and saw a small fragment, about the size of a fingernail.

Transparent, crystal clear, like shattered glass.

But within it, a faint purple light flowed.

"This is..."

Uchiha Kei's pupils contracted slightly.

Divinity.

This small fragment contains divinity.

Although very faint, it is indeed divine.

He raised his head and looked at the endless ashes around him.

If all this ashes are...

"Roar--"

A roar interrupted his thoughts.

From the depths of the ruins, countless dark figures emerged.

They have human-like shapes, but not human features—their skin is grayish-white, their eyes are blood-red, their bodies are covered with black scales, and they run on all fours like wild beasts.

Creatures of darkness.

Uchiha Kei had seen this thing before.

In the memories of merging with the Heavenly Soul, on that brutal battlefield, Jiang Hao's enemies were endless dark creatures.

No, that's not right.

Those dark creatures are far stronger than these...

What you see before you are just infected "things".

Within them, there are faint divine fluctuations.

Uchiha Kei.

What will happen if we kill them?

But if he doesn't take action, these dark creatures won't let him go.

The roars grew closer, and thousands of dark figures surged in from all directions like a black tide.

Uchiha Kei sighed.

"Trouble."

His hand rested on the Black Blade at his waist.

The Blade Intent was concentrated.

A single slash—

There was no earth-shattering light, no power to tear through space.

It was just an ordinary cut.

But wherever the blade's edge passed, hundreds and thousands of dark creatures were instantly reduced to ashes.

One strike, and half the sky is cleaved.

The remaining dark creatures hesitated for a moment, then fled in panic.

Uchiha Kei sheathed his sword and looked up at the sky.

A crack appeared in the gray sky.

From the crevice, the phantom of a giant eye slowly emerged.

Red and black stripes, cold and indifferent.

It looked down, sweeping across the ruins, the ashes, and the corpses of the dark creatures.

Finally, the blame fell on Uchiha Kei.

It paused for a second.

Two seconds.

Three seconds.

Then, the illusory eyes slowly closed, and the gap disappeared.

The sky returned to its gray hue.

Uchiha Kei remained motionless, a layer of cold sweat beading on his forehead.

In those three seconds, he felt like he was being seen through.

From the inside out, from the past to the future, from the three souls and seven spirits to the three worlds.

Everything was seen through.

"The Watcher."

He remembered A-Yi's message.

That was not the true form of the Dark Old God, but merely His servants.

Even a servant can exert such authority.

That is His true form...

Uchiha Kei took a breath to calm himself down.

I can't go all out anymore.

We can't use it anymore, at least not until we find Jiang Hao.

He turned and continued forward.

He hadn't walked far when he heard voices.

It was very faint, intermittent, like someone arguing.

Uchiha Kei, walked around a half-collapsed building, and saw a group of people.

There were about twenty or thirty of them, men and women, young and old, dressed in tattered clothes and carrying simple weapons.

They were arguing over a truck that had broken down.

"I told you not to take this road! Now look what's happened, the car broke down, we're all going to die here!"

"Shut up! You agreed to it!"

"I agreed because you said this road is safe!"

"It was safe! Who knew those things would suddenly riot!"

"Riots? Don't you know why those things are rioting?"

"What do you mean?"

"What I mean is, one of us brought something we shouldn't have!"

The argument escalated, and they started pushing and shoving.

"Enough!"

A deep voice rang out.

Everyone fell silent and looked at a middle-aged man.

He was about forty years old, with a square face and thick eyebrows. He was wearing an old military uniform with the left sleeve empty—his arm was missing.

The one-armed man scanned the area, finally looking in the direction where Uchiha Kei was.

"Come out."

Uchiha Kei.

Were we discovered?

He stepped out and met the gaze of the group of people.

The one-armed man sized him up, his gaze sharp.

"Who are you? Where did you come from?"

After thinking for a moment, Uchiha Kei decided to tell the truth.

"From outside."

"Outside?" The one-armed man frowned slightly. "Where is 'outside'?"

"A very far place."

"How far?"

"As far as..." Uchiha Kei paused, "You won't believe it."

The one-armed man stared at him for a long time.

Then he smiled.

"Interesting."