Rebirth as a Willow Tree, building the strongest tribe in all of eternity
Chapter 1659 - 1004: The Scene in the Stone Jar_2

Chapter 1659: Chapter 1004: The Scene in the Stone Jar_2

"Sigh..."

After a long silence, a sigh broke the stillness.

As the sigh faded, the person moved.

They slowly approached the sea of fire.

The flames, enough to reduce the Great Thousand World and the Immeasurable Grand Cosmos to ashes, seemed to find the best kindling in the world.

The raging fire surged instantly by an immeasurable amount, the terrifying waves of fire even reduced the Great Universe bordering this highland to molten stone.

This was a heat beyond extremes and imagination, a fire that should not exist, incinerating any existence at the Sacrificial Path Realm to liquid in an instant.

Time flowed on, and after burning for an unknown duration, the person’s figure finally vanished into the vast sea of flames.

Another indeterminate amount of time passed.

The fire that ravaged everything finally ceased.

As the flames receded, the vibrant body was reduced to a sea of ash, spreading wantonly as if to cover the entire world, announcing the end of life in the flames.

Looking out across the expanse.

Everywhere was black ash, piled up like a dark ocean, churning with the howling winds, as if monstrous waves had been stirred on the ocean.

The once peaceful and harmonious highland no longer held its former vibrant life.

With this unforeseen catastrophe, the entire highland was plunged into silence, the ash falling from the sky, blotting out the heavens and sun, bringing an unprecedented chill of winter.

The highland became that person’s final resting place.

The Ten Thousand Clans on the highland became their burial companions.

Jiang Hui watched this scene with a cold, expressionless face.

He knew that the scene within the stone jar had not yet ended.

On the charred ruins, thick black smoke was still rising slowly, the acrid smell of burning filling the deathly still air.

Sure enough, at that very moment.

Deep within the mound of ashes, a violent turmoil suddenly erupted.

Immediately, from the bottomless ash, a massive figure burst forth.

The being was covered in red hair, and beneath the oppressive darkness, the red was glaring, as if soaked in blood, an indescribably eerie aura welled from the red-haired figure.

Its body twisted, towering, stepping out of the ashes, growing ever larger, until even the abyss-like ashes only reached its knee.

The figure staggered, walking with unsteady steps, as if about to fall at any moment.

But it was not because of any grave injury.

Looking closely, it resembled both a toddler learning to walk and an elderly person struggling with their steps.

Every motion exuded an unspeakable strangeness.

From beneath the ashes, a new life was being nurtured.

Or rather, within that exterior shell, a new existence was forming.

Yet Jiang Hui showed no surprise, as if he had anticipated this outcome.

Once the red-haired creature crawled out from the ashes, his gaze fell on its eyes, growing increasingly serious.

Deep, vast, devoid of joy or sorrow, yet as clear as Amber Agate, like an innocent child unaware of the world’s dangers.

Apart from the red hair, it seemed like a mold of the creature that had been reduced to ashes.

However, the more this was the case, the more it confirmed his previous suspicions from a dialogue with his benevolent thoughts.

This was because the red-haired monster was merely the fruit of malevolent thoughts; its gaze couldn’t be so complex.

Only a complete and whole personality could possess such eyes.

Thus, it corroborated his hypothesis.

The red-haired monster was not the first malevolent thought manifestation to step into the realm above the Sacrificial Path in the Immeasurable Grand Cosmos.

But rather, it was all of the subject’s thoughts apart from the benevolent ones.

Initially, the benevolent thought believed it was expelled by the malevolent thought from the main body, but now it seemed this wasn’t the case.

The main body actively separated the benevolent thoughts, discarding them outside, otherwise, if it were merely benevolent and malevolent thoughts, such complex eyes wouldn’t exist.

At their level of realm, nothing would be held back internally because there was no need.

But why do this?

There might be only one explanation.

Perhaps, in the main body’s view, the benevolent thoughts were the root cause of its "illness."

To "heal" itself, it chose to separate the benevolent thoughts, leaving the rest.

Yet even this explanation seemed not entirely satisfactory.

Jiang Hui furrowed his brow slightly, his mind churning with thoughts, as he generally disliked expending mental energy analyzing other matters.

The red-haired monster allowed him to make an exception.

First, the hypothesis of separating benevolent thoughts to "treat" himself fundamentally doesn’t hold.

At such a realm, with omniscience and omnipotence, one would naturally be aware that the true culprit of one’s illness was an anti-world sentiment, not simply any singular emotion or defect.

As people in later generations would say, it was depression.

In such a morbid state, the patient loses all emotions.

Even towards their closest kin, or regarding their own life and death, there is no emotional fluctuation.

This is akin to a gourmand losing their sense of taste, making everything taste like wax.

Depression should also abandon goodness...

Isn’t this behavior akin to killing the goose that lays the golden eggs, or draining the pond to catch fish?!

The only result can be falling deeper into the abyss, becoming utterly incurable.

While Jiang Hui was pondering, the red-haired creature engulfed in endless ash suddenly spoke:

"Still not right..."

"What... how... can I achieve... I have seen, but why can I not enter..."

The creature covered in red hair suddenly knelt halfway to the ground, howling up to the sky. Its mournful voice reverberated through the Highland, breaking it apart.

Blood tears fell from its eyes, transforming into a crimson blood rain, making the Highland sway in the storm, filled with an incredibly vibrant red.

At the same time, the scene wavered, unstable, like a shattered mirror quickly covered in cracks.

At this moment, Jiang Hui felt that the stone jar within his Sea of Consciousness was also rumbling.

Because the stone jar had perfectly integrated with the budding Rule, he could even hear the endless cracking sounds coming from it.

It sounded as hard and brittle as broken bones.

It seemed that if it continued, the stone jar would shatter and cease to exist.

Jiang Hui was startled.

But it wasn’t because of the disturbance from the stone jar.

After all, it was the first existence in history to step above the Sacrificial Path.

No matter how many eons have passed, it couldn’t be completely annihilated.

As a carrier of certain imprints, the stone jar being affected was unavoidable.

He was just a bit startled. After all, this stone jar existed in his Sea of Consciousness, and the one in his consciousness was not the original.

Even just a remnant of the past can affect an existence of the Sacrificial Path, is this the power above the Sacrificial Path?

But now he couldn’t afford to feel further; if it continued, the stone jar might really collapse.

If it were before, it wouldn’t matter, but now the stone jar is of significant use to him and has perfectly merged with the budding Rule.

One plus one, the effect is greater than two.

But if either is damaged, it would affect the whole.

He immediately focused and forcibly withdrew his consciousness from the imprint within the stone jar.

In his ears, all was silent.

The nineteenth level of hell was unaffected, and around him, the dense white fog still writhed as if alive.

That long-diminished power could affect the stone jar, but it was ultimately too distant.

Jiang Hui immediately introspected his Sea of Consciousness, and the sight before him made his heart sink.

At this moment, the stone jar was covered in countless cracks.

The cracks spread like a spider web, nearly covering the entire jar, as if it would shatter completely in the next moment.

The ancient runes that originally flowed on the jar’s surface were now dim and some were even broken, losing their original charm.

Jiang Hui’s expression darkened.

Fortunately, the stone jar had perfectly integrated with his budding Rule; as long as it wasn’t completely obliterated, with time, it could recover.

However, a recovery is just a recovery; this was an undeserved loss.

Of course, strictly speaking, it wasn’t really a great loss.

After all, he did gain some secrets.

He just couldn’t quite understand what the Red-Haired Monster was screaming about at the end.

What’s with the seeing and not seeing?

Did it possibly see a stronger life form?

Is that possible?

In the book, it’s naturally impossible.

But right now, this is a real world...

Of course, this is just a speculation, not definite.

However, regardless, he must be cautious, only personal experience can reveal that things back then were far from simple.

Then, Jiang Hui cast a slightly pained glance at the stone jar.

Fortunately, the budding Rule was indeed powerful. In just this brief moment, some of the fine cracks on the stone jar had already restored themselves.

Earlier, his entire consciousness was immersed in the scene within the stone jar. Now that he withdrew, his first glance was toward Heaven.