Chapter 538

Chapter 538: The Second Ending

Return Ruins.

Endless ruins twisted like vines, while the yellowing sea gradually submerged the ruins, drowning the parched wasteland.

Yet within this seemingly boundless Return Ruins, a sword light in a mysterious yellow flashed by.

"Heavenly Slashing Swordsmanship!"

Amidst the mighty sword light, the giant serpent’s body faded away once more until it disappeared.

Qiao Mu, holding the Human Emperor Sword, fell from the sky and landed in the ruins of the South Heavenly Gate in the heavenly realm.

"How many times has it been?" Qiao Mu sheathed the Human Emperor Sword and murmured.

"Since falling into the Return Ruins, this is the fifth time I have killed Entropy."

He was not unscathed; his body was covered in scars, with bones almost visible, and there was not much blood, showing he had clearly been through a very tough battle.

He did not know how many years had passed in the Return Ruins, nor how long it had been since that great battle.

To be precise, it should be about how much time has passed in the present world of countless realms.

"In the end, it was wise of the Dao Ancestor to escape this endless cycle early."

Qiao Mu walked from the South Heavenly Gate to the Lingxiao Treasure Hall, and saw at the center of the hall, on the Heavenly Emperor’s Throne, a fluffy little creature curled up, gently rising and falling.

"Cat Heavenly Emperor, it’s time to wake up."

Qiao Mu angrily rubbed the chubby cat’s belly, but his hands felt empty, lacking that previous feeling of softness that seemed to overflow from his fingers.

This fat cat had lost weight; her belly used to almost touch the ground, but now it was shriveled, and her size had shrunk a lot.

Qiao Mu was absent-mindedly rubbing his strange belly.

If you ask why he is still alive, it is greatly connected to this fat cat.

When he fell into the Return Ruins along with entropy, he was indeed dead.

As for his resurrection this time, it is truly due to the strange cat.

The fat cat is not called Fat Pig; she is called Strange, the strange cat of life and death.

She was originally a kind of demon cat that fed on death energy.

Such creatures are not very common in Jiu Province, but in the whole universe, they are not rare; they cannot be compared to beings like Di Ting.

The biggest problem for these creatures is that they find it hard to grow into great demons.

This fat cat initially consumed death energy, and later swallowed the Frosty Short Sword of Great Dao Sect Patriarch Lingyuan—the sword had a connection to defeat, as it contained the energy of extinction from a small world’s destruction.

During the fifteen years that Qiao Mu traveled through countless realms, he experienced the collapse of many great worlds alongside Immortal Diyuan.

When the Demon Realm collapsed, the damaged Sky River Immortal Boat almost could not escape from the disaster.

In the end, it was the "Cat Heavenly Emperor" who took action.

At that time, this fat cat devoured the overwhelming energy of destruction from the great world, surprising Immortal Diyuan.

Over the fifteen years, the fat cat indeed grew stronger, living up to the title of Demon King.

However, Qiao Mu did not take it too seriously, as he did not expect this fat pig to fight alongside him; with his own strength, he didn’t need to.

This, in fact, was also his oversight.

"I realize this now, after the fact…"

The cultivation of the demon race is a path of returning to their roots, continually purifying their bloodline to get closer to the original ancestors of each group.

But in fact, this return to ancestors does not necessarily mean a bloodline return.

For example, the Sky Piercing Water Spirit that once accompanied Qiao Mu.

The Sky Piercing Water Spirit has no father or mother; it is actually a creation of the world, without ancestors in the bloodline sense.

If it continues to grow and practice, the sources of water it controls will increase, from the Sky Piercing River to the vast boundless sea, and even to the rivers of the heavens…

The path of cultivation for the Sky Piercing Water Spirit is actually a journey toward the Ancient Gods and Demons, the Water God.

This fat cat is quite similar.

From consuming the life energy of living beings to the life energy of small worlds, then to the life energy of large worlds, and finally entering places like the Return Ruins at the ends of countless realms.

This fat cat grows silently, and the end of its evolutionary path is something Qiao Mu is very familiar with.

That is to bring an end and death to all things… the end of all realms.

Of course, this is like a smooth, frictionless slope; it is an endpoint that exists only in theory.

But the one who is with it is Qiao Mu.

While the cat sleeps soundly, Qiao Mu carefully strokes its thin belly.

Qiao Mu is no longer an ordinary person; after countless deaths, he has become one of the bodies of entropy, and he is the strongest, the last one standing.

Once, this fat cat had a round belly that almost touched the ground, which was actually filled with Qiao Mu’s essence, full of rich energy.

"Perhaps this is the true reason she will evolve towards the end of all worlds."

At that moment, the now-thin fat cat opened its eyes.

"Qiao Qiao Qiao Qiao…"

It just leaped into Qiao Mu’s arms, licking his neck with its rough, warm tongue, bringing a tingling sensation.

But then he suddenly remembered something, jumped down from Qiao Mu, curled up, seeming a bit afraid that Qiao Mu would blame him, and shouted:

"It’s not me, it’s all the Dao Ancestor’s doing, he is the one who ordered it!"

"Dao Ancestor?" Qiao Mu squinted his eyes; when he met the Dao Ancestor, the ancestor had a brief encounter with the plump cat hiding in the shadows.

"He said you have become too powerful, out of the control of entropy. So even entropy cannot take away your immortality without a fight."

"He said it’s like chives in the field, even if they look cut clean on the surface, the roots are still there. As long as there is a suitable trigger, they can grow back, giving you limited immortality once more."

"He said if you were to die in the future, I could—–" the once plump cat did not continue.

"Then I should thank the Dao Ancestor for saving my life," Qiao Mu said coldly.

The so-called limited immortality, although not as good as true entropy, Qiao Mu estimated that it could give him five chances to die and come back to life within seven days, which was still quite remarkable.

At that moment, Qiao Mu suddenly felt something and looked up at the sky.

The once-great Outer Realm Heavenly Path Palace has long disappeared, and this Return Ruins is not a place where living beings can stay for long.

At this moment, a huge serpent’s shadow appeared once again in the sky.

"The sixth time, it has begun again."

Qiao Mu stood up and picked up the Human Emperor Sword beside him.

"This cycle of life and death in the Return Ruins will eventually come to an end; you cannot stop me forever," the giant serpent spoke with a blurry voice that shook the Return Ruins.

"Yes, entropy increase is an irreversible process. No matter how strong a fist is, it cannot stop a rotting door from continuing to decay," Qiao Mu said calmly.

"But as long as I keep defeating you, I can delay the Great Collapse process indefinitely."

The Great Collapse is unstoppable and irreversible, and thus the immortality of entropy arises.

He can kill entropy when it appears in a living form, but he cannot stop the Great Collapse itself.

Qiao Mu, who fell into Return Ruins, has become the strongest being in all worlds, even the great Taoist ancestors or Entropy who appeared in this world eventually fell to his hands.

In his battle with Entropy in Return Ruins, he generally held the upper hand, although there were moments when he faced death.

He charged again towards the giant serpent.

But this time, his injuries were too severe; after a fierce battle, his body shattered into a mist of blood and did not reform, leading to his complete death.

Yet, in the next moment, a new Qiao Mu stepped out.

When he first emerged, his expression was indifferent, but when he grasped the Human Emperor Sword beside him, the dullness on his face faded, and he regained his former appearance.

The Human Emperor Sword represents the will of all beings in the world; no matter how long the years stretch, as long as the Human Emperor Sword is by his side, Qiao Mu can restore his complete mind and humanity once more.

The giant serpent Entropy witnessed this scene and simply said,

"This cycle of life and death in Return Ruins will eventually come to an end. Do you really think it can last forever?"

After experiencing the long battles in the present world and Return Ruins, Entropy knows that the key to breaking this cycle is not Qiao Mu or Him.

The key lies in the Human Emperor Sword in Qiao Mu’s hand.

The Human Emperor Sword is a key; it represents the will of all beings in the present world to resist.

For Qiao Mu now, the sword itself is not very important; it mainly exists as a key.

"There are no traces of you left in the present world; you who are forever trapped in Return Ruins are no different from death, and the enemies you once fought will return, and the conflict will never end." The serpent does not speak empty threats.

As a god and demon representing the end of all worlds, He can also peer into the future, predicting what is to come:

"At first, they saw you as the human ancestor who would open a new era for all realms."

"But after two hundred years, five hundred years… when all the people who experienced this great battle have passed away."

"Your deeds will be forgotten, your name will be erased, and all traces will gradually vanish in the river of time."

"At first, they forget you; later, they question you, thinking of it only as a story made up by an ancestor."

"By then, the Human Emperor Sword in your hand will naturally lose its shine."

"And the you who dies once more will not resist, and will return to being one with me."

Qiao Mu lowered his eyes and did not argue.

The Human Emperor Sword is the will of all living beings in this world to resist. If one day, the living beings do not inherit the fighting spirit of their ancestors, the spark he once planted in Jiu Province will go out…

Then this sword will just be a sharp piece of metal.

At that time, the cycle of life and death in Return Ruins will naturally come to an end.

The Qiao Mu who has lost his obsessions and humanity will not resist entropy anymore and will not fight for the lives of those in reality.

Qiao Mu cannot truly kill entropy, and for now, entropy cannot do anything to Qiao Mu, who has limited immortality.

"Then just wait slowly," Qiao Mu said softly.

"Nothing in this world is eternal and unchanging."

"A person’s life, a dynasty, all are the same; they all have an end."

"I simply do not want to see heroes grow old or see the martial artists of this world perish in disasters that they cannot fight against."

"As for what will happen in a hundred or a thousand years… ha, who knows?"

He drew the Human Emperor Sword and started the endless battle with the giant snake once more.

After a long time, the illusion of the giant snake was shattered by him again, and he returned to the ruins of the Heavenly Palace for a short rest.

He sat alone on the Heavenly Emperor’s Throne, with the Impermanent Demon Cat curled up and sleeping on his lap, while the Human Emperor Sword floated quietly beside him.

There was nothing else.

"As long as there is still a spark of life in the world, I will forever guard Return Ruins," he murmured to himself.

As long as the Human Emperor Sword is still here, he can endure many long years without fearing the erosion of Entropy and continue to retain his humanity.

To him, if he were to be assimilated by Entropy and become the "Martial Art Immortal" that he can no longer accept, it would naturally be equivalent to death.

"I save all beings, and all beings save me."

The present-day Qiao Mu protects the beings of all realms from the disaster of the Great Collapse, while now in Return Ruins, he must rely on the will of the beings to maintain his awareness and humanity.

But if, after hundreds of years, the spark of life truly goes out…

"Then let it be extinguished."

Qiao Mu rubbed the fat cat gently, feeling its fluffy, warm, and soft fur; his heart, which had experienced countless battles and deaths, seemed to soften a little. "With this fat cat as my companion, it’s much better than the Long Life Dream of the past."