Chapter 433: Apathy
But no matter how unwilling they were, circumstances were circumstances. Before one became powerful enough to contend with the wheel of history, or even create a new era, all laments about being born at the wrong time were pale and futile.
Oh, to have been born a hundred thousand years earlier.
"A bunch of lucky mortals."
The three watched the bustling crowds in the city, letting out a soft sigh.
They had once conducted a general survey, using their ability to trace origins. They discovered that among those who had experienced the impact of the spirit tide back then, at least one in ten possessed a talent that surpassed their own when they first began cultivating.
Having been able to stand out among countless beings on the Tianxuan Continent and walk to the very end, their talent, luck, and diligence were one in ten thousand, yet they were struck by the results of this survey.
However, they merely sighed a few words about the injustice of fate. Over thousands of years, there were certainly countless super-geniuses whose talent surpassed theirs but who ultimately perished before them.
The first wave of naturally occurring spirit tide, from certain invisible levels, profoundly changed various races on Earth, thereby altering everyone's destiny.
"Indeed," a cold and ethereal voice drifted from an immeasurable distance, "I am but a lucky mortal."
"Have you finished looking through what we left behind?" The Disciple of the Crimson World, sensing the shadow behind him, was momentarily surprised before immediately reacting.
While Gaia and the others appeared to be chatting in the tavern, their actual conversation took place within a illusory barrier jointly maintained by the three of them, precisely to guard against Bai Mo.
Their range of information acquisition had already completely surpassed the limits of the five senses.
Even from a position where they could neither see nor hear, any information related to themselves would trigger their thoughts, allowing them to read the relevant details.
Unless equally sophisticated means were used to interfere, targeted schemes simply could not work, because from the moment the plotting began, it would already become an open hand against the enemy.
Only overt, crushing strategies, with nothing hidden, held any meaning in battles at this level.
After hearing Gaia's words, Bai Mo nodded.
"I didn't expect it to come so quickly."
It knew that Bai Mo, who had a flaw when breaking through to the Wanxiang Realm, would experience a continuous and rapid increase in power even if he did nothing.
However, it hadn't anticipated such astonishing speed, allowing him to reach a completely overwhelming position within a few years, effortlessly breaking through the information blockade jointly established by the three, and just as effortlessly appearing behind them.
Had it not been for the few information-based beings possessing cross-level protection equivalent to their Dacheng period vitality, allowing them to truly live within memory, they would likely have been instantly killed on sight.
Naturally, it thought of the tri-colored light sphere, a mix of red, yellow, and purple, that it had given to Bai Mo on a whim more than three years ago.
"Logically, with my path of cultivation obstructed, I should be red-eyed, screaming that I'll fight you to the death, then charging forward with all my might."
"But now, while there's still a slight urge to crush you all, there's not much hatred. Have I forgotten what hatred feels like?" He recounted this bizarre situation in a calm tone.
As he spoke, the surrounding air turned utterly still, perfectly matching Bai Mo's expressionless face.
"Your Wanxiang Realm, capable of transforming one's body into myriad things, did you never consider that you might, in turn, lose your true self?" The Creator, who had been silent all this time, spoke up with extreme rarity, though its words seemed unrelated to the previous topic.
"Losing all emotions step by step, and finally losing oneself, is likely the end of annihilation of body and soul." Bai Mo calmly stated his terrifying conjecture.
"Perhaps this is the ultimate fate for all seekers of the Dao?" He thought of Hua Taishan, who had perished on his path many years ago.
Ever since returning to Earth from the Nine Netherworlds, Bai Mo had felt something was amiss, as his power had grown far beyond his expectations and continued to increase relentlessly, day and night.
This wildly expanding power, while supporting the existence of the Land of White on one hand, also deepened his unease on the other.
During his three years in Tianqing, apart from essential matters, Bai Mo dedicated the vast majority of his mental energy to this problem.
Finally, after extensive self-testing and research, he arrived at a startling conclusion – the stronger he became, the closer he was to death.
The breakthrough path to the Wanxiang Realm, hastily developed and immediately put into practical use, was very likely missing a crucial step!
It was precisely the absence of this step that made it highly probable he would pay the price of his life.
"After knowing all this, I didn't expect you would still study the tri-colored light sphere?" Gaia was somewhat perplexed as to what this person in front of him was truly thinking.
Even an immediate declaration of war would be more acceptable to them than the current eerie atmosphere.
The tri-colored light sphere the Disciple of the Crimson World had given to Bai Mo at that time contained a vast amount of insights and thoughts belonging to the three of them. If he truly chose to open it and conduct a thorough study, it would undoubtedly accelerate his death countdown significantly.
It wasn't that this information would launch a spiritual contamination-type attack against him; they didn't possess the ability to use information to infect an opponent of comparable level.
Rather, it was Gaia, relying on its long experience, who deduced the flaw that appeared when Bai Mo advanced – after entering the Wanxiang Realm, he would likely continuously undergo "Daoization."
His very existence would continuously merge with the entire world, and his power would, of course, grow wildly, but his self would also be gradually eroded until nothing remained during this process of merging.
In other words, the stronger he became, the faster he would die.
"I don't care, nor do I believe that becoming stronger means getting closer to death. Greater power will only allow me to see everything in this world more clearly."
Whether it was because he was inherently indifferent, or if Daoization had already brought about its side effects, the emotions contained in Bai Mo's words were indeed growing increasingly faint.
So much so that, in Gaia's eyes, Bai Mo seemed completely indifferent even to his own death, and could still converse with it so calmly.
"Six thousand three hundred years ago, I encountered a rogue cultivator who had just advanced to the Integration Stage. He also fell into the same death spiral, ultimately lasting four hundred and sixty-two years..."
"The day before he fully Daoized was known as the Day of Ruin. That day, from the various sects of Tianxuan, a full thirty old monsters, all at Integration Completion like myself, emerged to confront this madman who claimed he would purify everything and extinguish all life."
"Eleven people died on the battlefield, eight were severely wounded, and Tianzhou, as the battlefield, was transformed into a dead land."
...
It transmitted a massive information stream to Bai Mo, recounting the story in detail.
"Where were your... Dacheng cultivators?" After hearing the entire story, Bai Mo suddenly focused on a strange point.
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