Chapter 1294: Forgotten

One step, one epoch—this was utterly mind-shattering!

Even the mere thought of such grandeur left one dumbstruck.

Both Shi Hao and the little ant were stunned, lost in a daze, unable to speak or find words.

“It’s just a step, isn’t it? I’ll take it!” Shi Hao snapped out of his trance, muttering to himself as he strode forward.

Yet, in the next moment, the stars shifted, time surged violently, and he nearly disintegrated. Had it not been for a paper boat appearing beside him, its faint glow shielding him, he would have surely shattered.

This terrified him. Could a single step truly be so horrifying?

Then, he looked up and saw the woman in white growing increasingly indistinct, farther and farther away, separated by a sea of stars, endless years, an entire epoch!

This was no exaggeration. In that moment, he knew—they were worlds apart.

The realization sent chills down his spine. One step, one epoch. How had that woman come here to meet him? What unfathomable power did she possess, shaking the past and dazzling the present, unheard of in all of history?

But why had she sought him out?

Shi Hao thought again of that cauldron—it too had seemed to summon him, to call him to battle, to demand his aid.

The thought made his hair stand on end. What kind of cataclysmic war was raging that even the White-Robed Empress would seek help?

What kind of enemies were invading that realm? A cold dread seeped into his bones.

In an instant, his thoughts turned to the present era, rumored to be the darkest of times, surpassing even the horrors of antiquity. What terrors awaited? How could he spare energy for anything else?

His heart grew heavy. Perhaps he would fight until this world crumbled. And the realm of the White-Robed Empress—was it equally dire? Was this a war spanning the heavens, a conflict stretching across epochs?

Who were the enemies? Were they truly so fearsome?

He felt suffocated, his soul trembling. Suddenly, he realized the weight of his responsibilities—so immense it choked him.

All these thoughts crashed over him like a tidal wave, drowning him in a sense of impending doom, as if life itself might cease.

Never before had Shi Hao yearned so desperately to rise, to grow stronger. Otherwise, whether in this era or the next, he would face insurmountable foes and despair.

If he faltered even slightly, the consequences would be bloody and tragic.

A premonition gripped him—the future might be unbearably painful. He had to change it, to overturn all suffering and sorrow. He *had* to.

He recalled a vision from long ago—himself standing alone at the pinnacle of divinity, the world in ruins, a charred willow tree dead behind him.

That was a glimpse of the future he had foreseen back in the Three Thousand Provinces. No comrades, no kin—only himself. He couldn’t accept it. He *wouldn’t*.

And the White-Robed Empress had once warned him—his path would be bitter. He alone must sever eternity.

Otherwise, facing enemies on all sides would be a mercy. The true horror would be ruin, annihilation, desolation—himself the sole witness to the world’s end.

All his loved ones, all his friends, would perish in unseen sorrow.

“Change!” Shi Hao roared, jolting awake. He realized he was drenched in cold sweat, his face pale.

The shock had struck deep, igniting a desperate urgency—as if his life’s flame might flicker out. He burned to cultivate, to become invincible.

“Sever eternity!”

Would it be the world’s tragedy, or his own loneliness? He didn’t know. All he could do was move forward, grow stronger, and overturn fate!

Then, he heard faint whispers—words from the Empress, growing ever more distant.

“What? How can this be?” he bellowed.

“Alas, the wrong era will erase all traces,” came her final sigh as she faded, the passage destabilizing.

*Boom!*

The world seemed to collapse around him.

*Crack!*

A fissure split the Empress’ bronze mask, cleaving it in two!

What was happening?

Then, a divine light shot from the crack, striking his body, sending tremors through him.

Amid swirling mist, the Empress staggered back. The mask shattered, falling into the void.

*Boom!* The cosmos quaked as he and the golden ant were hurled from the time channel.

In the last instant, he saw the Empress retreat, her mask broken, a single drop of blood falling—then vanishing.

She had paid a price.

Shi Hao wanted to scream, to etch the memory into his soul. But as the time channel dissolved, an unseen force swept through.

An invisible blade slashed mercilessly.

He struggled, resisted, but failed. Parts of his mind were erased.

Gone, without a trace.

“No! What have I forgotten?” he howled.

At the end, the Empress must have spoken, revealed something. Yet, as she had warned, all traces were gone.

Even her image in his mind was fading.

This was the touch of irreversible cosmic law.

—

The sea and sky merged into endless blue, serene as a mirror, shimmering silently.

After an unknowable time, Shi Hao awoke, locking eyes with the golden ant. He strained to remember, but his head throbbed, his soul near splitting.

“We saw a woman in white. What did she say?” Shi Hao asked.

“Yes, a terrifying immortal, perhaps as strong as my father. But… what did she tell you?” The ant frowned, feeling as if its senses had been sealed at the time.

Shi Hao fell silent. What message had the Empress imparted?

“Something about the right place, the right person… but the wrong time,” the ant cried.

“Yes, I recall that. What else?” Shi Hao grasped at fragments—a broken mask, a beam of light.

He sat cross-legged, inspecting every inch of his body and soul, but found nothing.

“It was vital. Why can’t I remember?” He clutched his hair, growling.

“You will, when you’re strong enough. Nothing is impossible with power,” the ant said.

“Something crucial, about life and death… yet lost.” Shi Hao murmured, then vowed, “I’ll mark this day. When I’m strong enough, I’ll reclaim that light from the broken mask. It was a sign—an indelible mark!”

The black bone ship sailed on, leaving the azure waters for a sea shrouded in dark mist, strewn with colossal skeletons.

Skulls and limbs breached the surface, reeking of the underworld.

Though brief, the encounter felt pivotal—destined to shape his life, to erupt again in the future.

But now, he must press on.

This sea had left an indelible mark.

“One day, I’ll know everything,” Shi Hao vowed.

Setting aside his thoughts, they journeyed deeper, the ghostly ship carrying them unchallenged.

Gradually, the black fog thinned, the sea returning to normal.

No more bones, no deathly aura—just vast, vibrant waters teeming with leviathans.

The Northern Sea Stone Forest—they had arrived!

The ocean was majestic, but the stone forest was awe-inspiring.

Before them, colossal pillars rose from the sea, towering like mountains, irregular yet magnificent.

Some stood like spears, others lay like sleeping bulls, each massive enough to breach the waves.

Bathed in dawn’s gold, wreathed in mist, the forest exuded sanctity and peace.

Far from desolate, it housed bustling cities, a thriving realm.

In some areas, the stones merged, forming landmasses shaped by mighty cultivators.

*Boom!*

Lightning coiled around a distant peak, runes flashing—a Transcendent Peak, imprinted with ancient wisdom, awaiting those who could ascend.

*Whoosh!*

Solar flames raged atop another pillar, a golden crow’s corpse blazing like a sun, rendering the area forbidden.

“Are those the Transcendent Peaks? The sacred mountains bearing marks of past supremes?” Shi Hao mused.

Many such peaks existed here.

Legends like Purple Sun Sovereign and Blue Fairy had soared to fame by conquering them.

Some peaks had gone unconquered for millennia, even eons. Others remained untouched since time immemorial.

“Is the *Indestructible Scripture* here?” The ant’s eyes blazed with fervor.