Chapter 563: 535: Infinite Future
Chapter 563: Chapter 535: Infinite Future
The one who is speaking is an all-black Qilin, a mythical creature. It has a robust and majestic appearance, yet speaks in a voice as clear and crisp as a child’s.
At the top of the gathering of myriad beasts was Emperor One, who, upon hearing the doubt from the Black Kirin, erupted in deep, hollow laughter.
“The so-called experience is indeed a double-edged sword. It gives us the confidence to face crises, but unbeknownst to us, it pushes us to the edge of an abyss,” he said.
The black mass that is Emperor One seemed to roll with turbulence, seemingly expressing dissatisfaction.
“This Great Calamity is unlike any tribulation we have experienced in our history.”
” Its origin comes from …”
As he says this, suddenly, from the mass of Emperor One, many fierce faces of beasts emerge.
“Shut up, you!”
“Why bicker with these wastes! Swallow them up if they disobey!”
“This Demon Tribe assembly, under the sky, is sufficient with just me, Emperor One!”
….
This strange scene silenced the attending demons instantly.
Yet, evidently, they were not surprised by this odd behavior, their eyes held only fear and no surprise.
The flesh cloud then tumbles again, swallowing back the yelling heads.
Emperor One then resumes: “Therefore, this calamity has exceeded the capacity of the Xuanhuang World itself to resolve.”
“If there are no additional variables, everything in this world will ultimately end with their annihilation.”
Emperor One speaks severedly. The discerning response from the multitude of gathered beasts followed suit.
“However, since I’ve said I would lead you away, naturally, I’ve already formulated the plan for our escape.”
Emperor One’s voice resonated in this space as if inducing a symphony of echoes.
“Among the human cultivators, there is a sect called ‘Heavenly Sword Sect’. To seek a glimmer of hope in the Great Calamity, they plan to construct the ‘Breaking Boundary Divine Weapon’ capable of smashing through time and space, so they can escape from the Xuanhuang world.”
“Leaving aside the feasibility of their plan, their course of action is inspirational.”
“This mountain under our feet is precisely a naturally formed Breaking Boundary Divine Weapon. A bit of modification would allow it to lead us all to escape from here.”
Emperor One asserted confidently.
“Nanming Mountain is situated at the End of the Sky and the Corner of the Sea, boundaries of this world. Thus, it has gathered many dispersive forces of the world…”
Emperor One began to explain the principles to all the beasts.
The attending beasts did not dare to slack, despite their thoughts they all bore a solemn and attentive appearance.
In the transparent room above, Xu Ke was yawning.
“This is really boring. How can the strongest beast like to be so verbose? Not impressive at all,” Xu Ke grumbled quietly.
He turned to look at a child who was even smaller than himself and asked, “Why did you bring us here? This is an internal meeting of the demon tribe. Isn’t it rude for us to eavesdrop?”
“It’s okay, he won’t mind,” The child glanced at Emperor One who was eloquently speaking below and said in a serene manner.
Although Xu Ke is naturally lively, that doesn’t mean he is a fool.
He glanced around, lowered his voice, and carefully asked, “Judging by your tone, it seems as though you’re quite familiar with Emperor One.”
“You’re not his illegitimate child, are you?”
“If you must see it that way, then you’re not wrong,” What surprised Xu Ke was how the child readily admitted to his speculation.
Xu Ke was taken aback.
“Or rather, ‘Emperor One’ is me, but I am not Emperor One,” the child added quickly.
Xu Ke was shocked, his eyes wide with disbelief.
Li Fan, at this moment, also turned his attention away from the speech of Emperor One and back to the delicately made-up child in front of him.
Although he had speculations, he was still somewhat astonished by the idea that the supreme ruler of the Demon Tribe manifested a human body.
Looking at Xu Ke and Li Fan, their expressions filled with surprise. Emperor One displayed an unexpected mysterious smile that did not match his menacing appearance.
“Are you surprised?”
Xu Ke nodded repeatedly.
“Actually, there’s no need to be. All creatures in the world, if you go to their source, can be traced back to one origin.”
“Be it beasts or humans, there’s no fundamental difference between them.”
Emperor One remarks casually, but the words were earth-shattering.
Li Fan believes, even in the Demon Tribe’s sanctuary, if anyone else but the ruler of the tribe uttered such words, they would have been swallowed alive by the enraged demons long ago.
“Funny enough, it took me a long while to understand this principle,” he continued.
“And so, I came to be,” the child Emperor One adds, looking down at the assembly of beasts, speaking with an air of wisdom and maturity.
“Back then, Lu Ya told me that the power of mystical beasts comes from their bloodline. However, as they procreate generation after generation, the beast’s bloodline will gradually thin out. While there are possibilities of mutations and resurgence, there’s no denying that the Demon Tribe’s overall strength is diminishing,” Child Emperor One continued to speak, setting the attention of Xu Ke on high alert at the mention of the familiar ‘Lu Ya’.
“And the opponents of the demon tribe, humans are getting stronger each generation by continuous learning and accumulation. Techniques, Talisman Records, tools, formations, pills, medicines — sources of human strength, are carried forward generation after generation.”
“The gap is growing larger, what holds the future for demonic beasts?”
“I pondered on this question for a full three days and nights, still unable to come up with an answer.”
“Force those mindless fellows to learn alchemy, refining tool?”
“Even if it’s me, I probably couldn’t do it. To laze around daily, eating and drinking, sleep when tired. If one can become stronger by doing this, why should anyone strive at all?”
“This is the dilemma of the demon tribe. Even though there may be some unusual individuals, nobody can change the ecological condition of the entire tribe.”
It seems as if he’s telling it to Xu Ke and another person, yet it seems like he’s merely talking to himself.
“So, you want to turn demonic beasts into humans? Like how you are now?” As if figuring something out, Xu Ke was shocked beyond words and blurted out in alarm.
A sense of fear ran through Li Fan as his feathers slightly stood up.
“Yes.”
“And no.”
Emperor One shook his head, and then nodded again.
“As the master of all demonic beasts, I must consider the perspective of the entire tribe rather than letting personal preferences influence my decisions and thinking about the problem.”
The child version of Emperor One pointed down to the ongoing Monster Grand Convention.
“This ‘me’ below, decided to lead the demonic beasts and escape from the Xuanhuang World.”
“Despite having full confidence, I can’t deny that this plan could fail.”
“Even if there’s only a one in ten thousand chance, I must include it in the calculation.”
“To prevent the demon tribe from going down a dead end due to my one decision, I need to have another plan.”
Emperor One spoke slowly.
“I get it! This is what my elders often say, ‘always have a plan B!” Xu Ke said excitedly.
“No, you don’t understand,” Emperor One rebutted mercilessly.
“Plan B? For the vast demon tribe, that’s no different than seeking their own extinction.”
“Those who refuse to leave, deciding to stay in the Xuanhuang World, what level of acceptance will they have towards becoming human? Without much thought, one will know that there will be only a small portion who can accept this plan.”
“Forcing them will only harm the tribe being split apart, hence, I need to execute this plan in secret.”
Xu Ke scratched his head, his face filled with confusion. “What exactly do you want to say? I feel like I’ve been led in circles and am getting more and more confused.”
With a light wave of Emperor One’s hand, a lush tree suddenly appeared before them.
At the end of one branch, Xu Ke startlingly saw his own figure.
“What is this?” He asked, slightly confused.
“This represents the future,” Emperor One replied solemnly. “A possible future.”
“The fate of the demon tribe is closely link with you,” Emperor One said, looking at the little Xu Ke, his eyes full of vicissitudes.
Xu Ke looked at the sprawling shadow of the tree which was still expanding and multiplying, feeling lost.
The scenes of the demon tribe displayed on the branches of the tree were of bloodshed, annihilation, prosperity echoed from the most glorious era of the ancient demon tribe, harmonious co-existence with humans, and the establishment of a brilliant civilization.
There were also some that were ambiguous, full of desolation and the aura of destruction.
“Infinity of the future brings infinite possibilities.”
“This also means, even if the probability is small, as long as it’s within the ‘infinite’, everything has the inevitability of occurrence.”
“So as the leader of the tribe, I must rationally consider the future destiny of the demon tribe in every possibility.”
At this point, the words spoken by the child-like Emperor One weighed like a mountain.
“This is my answer to Lu Ya’s earlier question.”
“Humans are indeed filled with potential and have limitless possibilities for the future, but you are too disunited to gather the most powerful forces among you, leading to exhaustion from constant infighting.”
“Once faced with a tribulation, you will definitely be greatly affected.”
“You may be able to survive numerous calamities by luck, but over a longer timeline, the more calamities you face, the greater the chance of human extinction.”
“But we, the demonic beasts, are different. As long as I’m here, I will take everything into account for my tribe.”
“Although they have their own thoughts, on essential matters like survival, they must follow our will and execute the relevant orders.”
“The day I exist, the demon tribe won’t be completely annihilated.”
“If we can’t compete with humans, we just need to live long enough and wait for humans to annihilate themselves.”
Emperor One’s tone carried a hint of mockingly scorn as he spoke lightly.
Xu Ke, however, was defiant, wanting to retort.
But he struggled to find the right words, and after stewing for quite a while, all he could muster up to say was, “So how can you guarantee that you won’t die before the extinction of the demon tribe?”
Emperor One glanced at Xu Ke, but remained silent.