Chapter 1350: Divine Gift

At this moment, the ethereal figure of Tianlong shifted and took a seat opposite Qi Xia.

“White Sheep, I’ve truly begun to admire you,” Tianlong said with a complicated expression. “This time, I concede wholeheartedly.”

The Qi Xia before him remained silent, yet his voice echoed through the void:

*”So, have you grasped the method to become a god?”*

“I have,” Tianlong replied. “You didn’t deceive me. But I can’t do it.”

*”Why?”*

“Compared to you, I’m neither mad enough nor sane enough,” Tianlong answered bleakly. “You’ve taken both states to their extremes. To control your subconscious, you could sit here motionless for decades.”

*”Tianlong, you know you can do it—you just don’t want to,”* Qi Xia said. *”Your divine arts surpass mine in both number and power. If I can forge a world, there’s no reason you can’t.”*

“Aren’t you afraid of failure?” Tianlong asked. “White Sheep, what if you spend centuries and still fail to create a world? What if the ‘Door’ never appears in the world you forge? What if your ‘Door’ doesn’t lead back to ‘Taoyuan’?”

*”Then I’ll find another way and start over,”* Qi Xia replied. *”Tianlong, I’ve always known I’m not the most brilliant mind, but when I conceive an idea, I act on it. If I fail, I begin again. If I shared your hesitation, I’d still be trapped in the void, endlessly searching for an escape.”*

“But no one should endure such loneliness…” Tianlong murmured sorrowfully. “I thought decades would be enough to make me a ‘god,’ but compared to your sacrifices, mine are but a drop in the ocean.”

*”Your so-called ‘sacrifices’ are riddled with schemes and shortcuts. If one could become a god simply by dreaming in their sleep, it would be an insult to every deity in existence.”*

Tianlong lowered his head. His eyes, now ancient, had witnessed the passage of a thousand years in mere moments.

*”Tianlong, I will not only overthrow your so-called ‘divine’ rule—I’ve even scripted an absurd ending for every ‘god’ you revere.”*

“An absurd ending for every ‘god’…?”

*”The lofty ‘Celestials’ will be torn apart by the ‘Earthlies’ and ‘ants’ they once despised,”* Qi Xia said lightly. *”In legend, the Vermilion Bird of Fire will perish in an ‘explosion,’ while the Black Tortoise of Water dies in ‘liquefaction.’”*

“What…?” Tianlong shuddered, realizing that even his defeat had been crafted into an art form.

*”The Azure Dragon of Wood will fall to a single tree, and even the White Tiger of Metal—his bronze bell, the very symbol of his guardianship, will vanish without a trace.”*

After a long silence, Tianlong gave a bitter smile. “A masterful stroke, White Sheep. I’ve not only learned the path to godhood—I’ve also glimpsed my own ending.”

*”Oh?”*

“This ‘Eternity’… it was always my punishment, wasn’t it?”

*”Was it?”* Qi Xia murmured. *”Then tell me… what fate awaits you?”*

“I’m sitting in the heart of this fleshy world, where its hatred for me is most concentrated, daydreaming. Once I awaken from ‘Eternity,’ you’ll have the entire ‘world’ consume me in an instant. You shattered my spirit before my body, and between killing and sparing me, you chose annihilation.”

*”Yes,”* Qi Xia’s voice echoed faintly. *”Tianlong, I told you—this world was built on the premise of ‘killing you.’ It carries the obsession of my ‘Eternity.’ So long as we both exist here, escape is impossible. I won’t just give you defeat—I’ll instill in you a terror of ‘Eternity,’ ensuring you never rise from the void again.”*

“Ha…” Tianlong lowered his head in despair, his smile tinged with resignation. “All that talk of ‘trying to coexist peacefully’… of ‘not wanting to kill me’… You planned from the start to make me witness this ‘Eternity.’”

*”But did I deceive you?”* Qi Xia countered. *”You sought godhood, so I showed you the path of a creator. You wanted to forge a new world with me, so I revealed its hardships. You asked how to escape—I told you. The only pity is that the first trial on your path to divinity was a flesh-and-blood monstrosity, as vast as the world, crafted by my own hands.”*

“Haha…” Tianlong’s eyes glazed over as he laughed softly.

The sheer expanse of this experience made him feel as though he’d lived countless lives. Before ‘Eternity,’ the eighty-odd years in ‘Taoyuan’ were but a fleeting interlude.

*”Tianlong, to ensure you ‘enjoyed’ Eternity, I relived it all with you,”* Qi Xia said. *”I proved, beyond doubt, that if I truly wished to forge a new world—you were never necessary.”*

Qi Xia had broken Tianlong utterly. Though seated at the round table, half the light in his eyes had already faded.

“But what’s the point of all this?” Tianlong muttered, head bowed. “For people who might never remember you… for the selfish, the insignificant—you pushed yourself this far?”

Qi Xia remained silent.

“Do you think they’ll be grateful?” Tianlong pressed. “Do you believe they’ll rejoice that someone crossed ‘Eternity’ for them?”

*”What does that… have to do with me?”*

“What?”

*”Whether they remember me, spit on me, or curse me forever—it changes nothing,”* Qi Xia said. *”I vowed to lead everyone out. Once that’s done, my ties with them are severed. I need no acknowledgment.”*

Tianlong frowned and sighed. “But do you truly believe those born from your ‘Endless Cycle’ can be called real people?”

*”Why not?”*

“You create them, then trap them in a world of your making. You are their ‘origin’ and their ‘end.’ In truth, ‘Taoyuan’ is alive only through you. The rest know neither where they came from nor where they’re destined.”

*”The death of the body isn’t true death—only the stillness of thought is farewell,”* Qi Xia retorted. *”Their memories converge into a single vessel, carrying every experience of their existence. How is that not life?”*

“But isn’t this just self-deception…? No matter how many fill the rooms, they’re still empty shells… Your deeds will be forgotten in the darkest corners of time, never spoken of. Are you truly content?”

*”Someone will remember,”* Qi Xia said.

“You—”

Qi Xia chuckled. *”If anyone records my story, let it begin with ‘Empty Rooms.’ What do you think?”*

“You… lunatic…” Tianlong laughed weakly, his expression already lifeless. “How many more will you deceive…?”

His gaze swept the barren room.

An aging tungsten bulb dangled from a black wire at the center, flickering dimly.

The silence spread like ink in water, staining the air.

At the heart of the room stood a large, weathered round table.

Upon it rested an ornate little clock, its intricate engravings ticking softly.

The story seemed to end—or perhaps, it had only just begun.

*”Tianlong, I’m ready. Are you?”*

“Ready for what?”

*”To accept the defeat I’ve bestowed upon you.”*

Tianlong smiled bitterly. “I’m ready.”