As Xu Zimo’s words fell, the void began to stir.
The Tree of Forgetfulness planted in front of the Netherworld Bridge began to change.
Its tree form started to shrink, transforming into an old woman in gray robes.
This old woman looked exactly like the form the Tree of Forgetfulness had taken when Xu Zimo encountered it in Carefree City.
“From now on, you shall be called Meng Po,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “Your role is to provide Forgetfulness Water to those entering reincarnation.”
The old woman slowly nodded. With a wave of her hands, the water beneath the Netherworld Bridge began to surge.
A vortex formed under her control.
This was a brand-new world. Except for the Myriad Beast Realm, all beings stood at the same starting line.
All life was new, there had not yet been a true death.
Everything was beginning anew on the God World.
…………
Once his True Fate World began developing smoothly, Xu Zimo left and returned to his physical body.
When he slowly opened his eyes, he was still in the spatial realm within the iceberg.
Xu Zimo recalled Chaos into his True Fate World and then walked out slowly.
He brought Li Zhizhong with him, stepping into the air and landing back at the dock in Seaside City.
“The flood dragons in this sea have all been killed by me. I’ve fulfilled my promise,” Xu Zimo said calmly. “The people of Seaside City can now rebuild the dock.”
“I understand. Are you leaving now?” Li Zhizhong asked.
“I was never from here,” Xu Zimo nodded slightly. “Are you still planning to be the dragon-slaying hero?”
“That old man said I’m from the Flame Race. I should go back and see my people,” Li Zhizhong shook his head.
“Do you know where the Flame Race is?” Xu Zimo asked curiously.
“No, but I can slowly look for it. I’ll find it someday,” Li Zhizhong replied with a smile. “That’s a kind of journey too.”
Xu Zimo nodded and didn’t ask more.
Li Zhizhong returned to Seaside City, while Xu Zimo rode the Darksky Tiger, heading toward the Endless Sky Sea that linked the Northern and Eastern Continents.
Following the coastline around a quarter of the Northern Continent, he would be able to take a ship back to the Eastern Continent.
Aside from a few small surprises, this trip had gone quite well, and Xu Zimo was satisfied.
The sunset was beautiful, but dusk was approaching.
The afternoon coastline was very quiet.
The glimmering sea, dyed by the setting sun, looked like a painted ink scroll.
The distant mountains glowed red in the clouds, with pink-tinged clouds and the dimming yellow sun mixing into a breathtaking twilight.
Everything along the journey was peaceful.
After over a month of non-stop travel on the Darksky Tiger, Xu Zimo could finally see the coastline leading to the Eastern Continent in the distance.
It was late autumn, the air carried a chill.
The morning sun had not yet appeared, and the overcast sky felt especially heavy.
Xu Zimo was sitting atop the Darksky Tiger when he suddenly noticed a group of people approaching from behind.
Three people were running out front, clearly fleeing.
A group of pursuers chased them closely.
…………
The three fleeing figures spotted Xu Zimo and looked slightly hopeful.
From a distance, they shouted, “Young master, save us! Please help us!”
Xu Zimo glanced back without interest and lay down on the Darksky Tiger, resting with his eyes half-closed.
The pursuers moved quickly, and before long they caught up behind Xu Zimo.
Xu Zimo looked again. The three fleeing individuals were an old man and two young women.
The old man looked like a bodyguard, shielding the woman in the middle.
The woman on the left seemed to be a maid.
As for the woman in the center, she wore a blue-purple long dress, her skin was fair, and her long hair flowed down her back.
Her eyes sparkled with what seemed like a sky full of stars, easily drawing people in.
She had a delicate oval face, a refined look, though one earring had already fallen off.
Despite several tears in her pale purple dress and fear showing on her delicate face,
Her appearance still stirred a strong desire in others to protect her.
“Young master, help us!” the maid desperately shouted.
The old man was already heavily injured, clearly near his limit.
Xu Zimo, watching all this, acted as if nothing was happening. He lay on the tiger with his eyes shut, resting.
The dozen or so pursuers all wore red blood-colored robes, their faces hidden beneath their cloaks.
“General, what should we do about this man?” one blood-robed pursuer asked the leader.
The general frowned slightly and said, “Kill them all. No need for trouble.”
The old man finally collapsed to the ground from his wounds.
He shouted to the two women, “Miss, you two run! Don’t worry about me. Run!”
“Ning Bo, we won’t leave you!” the woman in the purple dress supported the old man, trying to drag him forward.
But the blood-robed group was too fast. In just a few breaths, they had surrounded the three.
“Miss, even if it costs my life, I’ll carve a path through them for you!” the old man roared in fury.
As they surrounded the group, the leading general drew a long sword from a subordinate’s waist and threw it in front of them.
He said coldly, “End your lives yourselves.”
The old man looked at the blood-robed attackers, all their faces were hidden.
He pleaded, “General Zhao, I know it’s you. We’ll give up the empire, abandon our revenge, just please, let the royal bloodline continue. The emperor once trusted you deeply.”
“Trusted me? I was exiled to the frontier for 300 years, unable to see my family. That’s what you call trust?” General Zhao shook his head.
“It’s not that I don’t want to let the princess live, you know this. The empire is about to fall. In this chaos, no one is spared, guilty or not.”
“There’s really no hope?” the old man begged bitterly. “Whatever you want, just say it.”
General Zhao was silent for a moment, then slowly shook his head.
“End it yourselves. I’ll give you whole corpses. Die with dignity.”
The old man picked up the sword, ready to fight and die for a way out.
Suddenly, laughter echoed from nearby.
“A bunch of grown men bullying a few old folks and women, what kind of skill is that?”
Everyone turned their heads to see a young man walking toward them with a sword in hand.