Chapter Seventy-Two: The Great Xia Universe—Three Million Years of Error!

"Moreover, the black evil aura seems to be frantically devouring Qin Xingtong's vitality and lifespan."
"The black mist of the main world also erodes life..."
"It's so... so similar."
Lin Qiye shivered, countless doubts flooding his mind.
Of course.
Now was not the time for questions.
Qin Xingtong's condition was critical, his life hanging by a thread; if he wasn't treated soon, the black evil aura would swallow all his vitality.
As the most brilliant scientific genius Lin Qiye had ever met,
if he were to perish here,
it would be a tremendous loss for Lin Qiye.
Therefore,
Lin Qiye paused to think for a few seconds,
then immediately sent innate true energy into Qin Xingtong's body.
When the black evil aura within Qin Xingtong sensed Lin Qiye's flawless, immaculate body,
it let out a piercing, manic laugh, as if it had found a delicious feast.
In an instant,
it revealed its true form—a slender, sinister worm saturated with evil energy—and charged into Lin Qiye's body!
The wicked black worm burrowed madly through Lin Qiye's arm,
attempting to make Lin Qiye its new host and drain his vitality.
Lin Qiye did not resist.
Instead, he allowed all the black evil aura in Qin Xingtong's body to transform into the evil worm and invade his own body without restraint.
The black worm, seeing Lin Qiye 'unable' to resist,
laughed with even greater greed and eeriness.
It abandoned Qin Xingtong's body entirely, plunging into Lin Qiye's arm.
"All out now? Truly a creature of insatiable greed, but it's precisely that greed that makes it easier to destroy you!"
Lin Qiye's gaze was icy.
He swiftly retracted his arm.
Then,
the milky-white divine thunder and ten strands of the Purple Star true energy, hidden and dormant within him, suddenly surged forth, like burning oil, attaching themselves to the worm's body.
Divine thunder and Purple Star true energy were the natural nemesis of the evil worm.
Thus,
the evil worm let out a shrill, agonized scream, its slender body twisting madly.
In a flash,
it disintegrated into ashes, vanishing into nothingness.
"Very good, easily resolved."
Lin Qiye smiled faintly.
Had the evil worm remained inside Qin Xingtong,
Lin Qiye would have had to expend considerable effort to cleanse it.
Indeed,
if the worm had chosen to drag Qin Xingtong to death with it,
Lin Qiye would have been helpless.
But the worm's greed provided Lin Qiye the opportunity.
He used his flawless body as bait, provoking the worm's desire,
and feigned helplessness,
driving the worm into a frenzy.
Finally,
he destroyed it in one stroke.
After eradicating the black aura,
Lin Qiye did not hesitate in the slightest.
He swiftly pressed his palm to Qin Xingtong's chest, sending a steady stream of innate true energy to heal Qin Xingtong's shattered meridians and internal wounds.
Soon,
Qin Xingtong's condition stabilized.
"Take him to the palace."
"And you have done well. Each of you will be rewarded with ten thousand marketplace points. I'll have someone record it."
Upon hearing this,
the Golden Core cultivators who had hurriedly brought Qin Xingtong to National Fortune City bowed in gratitude.
"Thank you, Seventeenth Prince!"
"Thank you, Seventeenth Prince!"
They never expected that bringing someone here would earn them ten thousand marketplace points.
To know that ten thousand points,
even in the era of imperial infrastructure,
would take a year of hard work.
Clearly,
this was a great merit!
With tears in their eyes, gratitude overflowing, they carefully carried Qin Xingtong into the palace.
Beside them,
Zhu Yuheng watched Qin Xingtong curiously.
"You really know him?"
Lin Qiye nodded slightly. "Yes, he's an old acquaintance."
"He should be fine now, right?"
"He just needs to rest well."
Zhu Yuheng nodded.
"Mm, you'd better check yourself thoroughly, lest that evil creature lurks inside you."
Lin Qiye's expression was calm. "I've already reduced it to ashes."
Zhu Yuheng breathed a sigh of relief.
"Don't ever let such things enter your body again! It's very dangerous."
"It's fine, I'm absolutely confident."
Lin Qiye was fearless.
Zhu Yuheng glared at him.
"Even if you're confident, you shouldn't take such risks!"
"Are you worried about me?"
At his words,
Zhu Yuheng bristled like a startled kitten.
"Who's worried about you! I just need you to deal with the Wolf Lord and restore my fortune!"
She pouted,
refusing to admit it in any way.
"In any case, you must be extremely careful with such evil things. Never take risks lightly. Do you understand caution?"
Lin Qiye smiled.
"I understand. Only—he must be saved."
Lin Qiye's tone was resolute.
"His name is Qin Xingtong, a super genius, extremely important to me."
"You wanted a pair of wings, didn't you? My wings were crafted by his hands.
So do you understand his importance now? For him, not only am I absolutely confident, even if it meant risking my life, I would save him."
Lin Qiye's gaze was fervent.
Zhu Yuheng's phoenix eyes narrowed slightly.
"So he's that important..."
"Wait... you said your wings were made by him? How is that possible? He's only at the Fifth Heaven Gate, isn't he?"
Zhu Yuheng was astonished.
Such remarkable wings, crafted by this person?
His cultivation was only at the Fifth Heaven Gate.

Lin Qiye smiled serenely.
"Genius and cultivation are not necessarily connected."
"Besides... human thought is boundless. Some people can't cultivate and never touch the stars, yet they can design aircraft to explore the vast universe.
The Wolf Lord is only at half-step Nascent Soul, yet comprehended the Arrow of Fate. Some people transcend their era—even transcend time and space."
As Lin Qiye explained,
he pulled out thirty thousand storage rings, filled to the brim, from the space within the Life Lamp Gem.
Zhu Yuheng, deep in thought, was once again stunned.
"Where did you get so many storage rings? Thirty thousand? And every one is packed full?"
"As they say, a thief never leaves empty-handed. When the Wolf Clan Palace was burning, I emptied their treasure vault. The Wolf Clan truly is a wealthy beast; so many heavenly treasures and martial arts!"
Zhu Yuheng: "...You really know your way around."
A proud smile flashed in Lin Qiye's eyes. "No choice, I must consider for the Great Qin Empire."
After searching for a while,
Lin Qiye found several treasures to restore blood and vitality, refined them into medicinal liquid, and fed it to Qin Xingtong.
Then,
Lin Qiye used innate true energy to guide the cool medicine through Qin Xingtong's limbs and bones, aiding his recovery.
Half an hour later,
Qin Xingtong coughed and opened his eyes.
When he saw Lin Qiye,
he froze, his pupils trembling violently, a look of self-doubt and disbelief blazing within.
Lin Qiye gazed intently at him.
"What is it... don't you remember me?"
Qin Xingtong's voice quivered, incredulous, rubbing his eyes again and again.
"Is it... really... the National Lord? I should be dead, right? I..."
"Am I really not dreaming?"
Qin Xingtong was uncertain.
Yet,
even if it were a dream,
he sat up in an instant and bowed respectfully to Lin Qiye.
Even after three million years,
he still revered Lin Qiye to the utmost.
In his heart, Lin Qiye had already become perfect, divine.
"This is not a dream."
Lin Qiye explained.
Qin Xingtong was dazed for a long time, biting his tongue hard.
At last, he was beside himself with joy!
"National Lord, I truly lived to meet you! It's incredible! How can it be so incredible?!"
Qin Xingtong's eyes were red, his voice trembling with excitement, his lips curling, emotions complex on his face.
"National Lord... Officer Ji Qinghuan has searched for you for three million years! If only she were here..."
At the mention of Ji Qinghuan, reverence also appeared on Qin Xingtong's face.
"After the final battle with the Divine Tiger Universe, Officer Ji Qinghuan held on alone for many years.
She managed the Angel Universe and Divine Tiger Universe as your treasured legacy,
exerted herself to the utmost managing those vast universes, exhausted daily..."
Speaking of Ji Qinghuan, Qin Xingtong was moved to tears several times.
"National Lord, Officer Ji Qinghuan..."
Qin Xingtong wanted to confess Ji Qinghuan's feelings directly,
but restrained himself.
If feelings were to be expressed, they should come from Officer Ji herself.
He shouldn't speak out of turn!
He hesitated, then changed the topic.
"Two million six hundred thousand years ago, Officer Ji Qinghuan ascended to this time-space.
She reached Nascent Soul peak in just three hundred years, then spent five thousand years searching the entire time-space, but couldn't find you."
"She said she'd go to the next time-space to find you, and so she ascended."
Qin Xingtong narrated earnestly,
his gaze wary as it glanced at Zhu Yuheng.
Lin Qiye exhaled deeply.
"I'll go find her, too!"
Hearing this,
Qin Xingtong breathed a sigh of relief.
Behind Lin Qiye,
Zhu Yuheng stood frozen, her two hearts twisting in pain.
She suddenly felt afraid,
afraid of losing something important.
At this moment,
her logical ability surged.
From the conversation between Qin Xingtong and Lin Qiye, from clues of the past,
she began to deduce frantically.
Ji Qinghuan?
The woman who left a stone tablet and trapped her for a hundred years?
Zhu Yuheng's gaze grew grave.
That woman was searching for Brother Ye, wasn't she?
But from Qin Xingtong's words, Ji Qinghuan was searching for 'Xia Ji'?
Were Xia Ji and Brother Ye the same person?
Suddenly,
Zhu Yuheng's mind exploded.
Everything connected!
Back then,
when Xia Ji approached the stone tablet, characters immediately appeared...
If he weren't the true person, how could the words appear?
So,
Brother Ye is Xia Ji!
Xia Ji is Brother Ye!
At this moment,
Zhu Yuheng looked at Lin Qiye with an absurd, strange gaze.
A monstrous woman who reached Nascent Soul peak in three hundred years, searching for her dream lover for three million years...
And that was Seventeenth Prince?
Back then,
when she first saw the stone tablet,
Zhu Yuheng had scoffed at such behavior.
But now,
she understood.
If the youth who was missed for three million years was Seventeenth Prince,
it wasn't impossible to understand...
After all, Seventeenth Prince...
As this startling thought arose,
Zhu Yuheng's heart suddenly trembled, panic welling up.
She slowly retreated two steps...
Yet,
Lin Qiye was engrossed in conversation with Qin Xingtong, unaware of Zhu Yuheng's abnormal reaction.

"I want to know, where did you encounter the evil worm?"
At his question,
Qin Xingtong's gaze deepened.
"I think, National Lord, you should see for yourself."
As he spoke,
Qin Xingtong bit his finger and smeared his essence blood around his eyes.
Then he activated a unique eye technique.
When the eye technique unfolded,
Qin Xingtong's eyes shone brilliantly.
A strange scene appeared before his eyes.
In the scene,
the heavens were divided into many layers.
The Bronze Time-space and Silver Time-space at the bottom.
Golden Time-space above Silver.
Between Silver and Golden Time-space, there was a vast void and evil black mist.
The black mist blocked everything,
like an endless desert separating two small oases.
Those oases would forever be isolated.
Yet,
within Silver Time-space, there was an exception!
A radiant white celestial staircase emerged, spanning Silver Time-space.
On closer inspection, the staircase was forged from countless human bones.
That staircase must have been built from the corpses of trillions of human geniuses!
All who sought ascension.
They fell on the path,
but before dying,
they used their bones to construct a pathway for those who came after.
Upon the staircase was imprinted the power of faith.
Faith drove away the black mist,
making the climb easier and safer for future generations.
Thus,
this white bone staircase stretched from Silver Time-space upward, toward Golden Time-space.
Like a fragile seedling growing upward from deep within the earth!
Worth noting,
upon the staircase, strange glowing statues stood from time to time.
Those were Lin Qiye's statues—
serving as markers and guides,
supporting generation after generation of geniuses as they climbed without fear of sacrifice.
Alas...
their courage was not enough...
The staircase drew ever closer to Golden Time-space,
but when only a short distance remained,
the staircase seemed to hit an impassable chasm.
That tiny gap was not only uncrossable,
it forced the staircase to turn in a most bizarre direction.
Thus,
the staircase veered sideways,
thrusting into deeper, denser black mist!
A perilous place,
sure to claim many lives.
Yet the geniuses of the Great Xia Universe did not realize anything was wrong.
They kept building the staircase, one after another.
Over two million years,
trillions of geniuses paved a long, winding staircase with their bones.
This staircase was longer, further,
but also more hopeless...
The Great Xia's geniuses feared not death,
willing to use their lives to pave the way,
willing to burn everything to find a path through the black mist!
But they were going the wrong way!
Their efforts misdirected,
making it all the more shocking and tragic.
Even Lin Qiye couldn't help but hold his breath.
It was too tragic!
Lin Qiye felt a pang in his heart, exhaling heavily.
"Why did the staircase turn when only a short distance remained? Was there a mysterious force stopping it?"
Lin Qiye's gaze turned cold.
Qin Xingtong sighed in confusion.
"Mysterious force? Maybe evil life forms in the black mist are behind it.
I tried to redirect the bridge, but was blocked by creatures in the mist, even parasitized. If I hadn't met you, National Lord, I would have perished..."
Qin Xingtong was still shaken.
"Oh, National Lord, is that evil creature still alive? I'd like to study it!"
Qin Xingtong suddenly perked up.
Lin Qiye was speechless.
Indeed a scientific genius—barely rescued from death and already wanting to research evil creatures.
But,
Lin Qiye shook his head, sternly warned: "That thing is already dead. You don't have the means to fight such creatures. For now, don't even think about them."
Meanwhile,
Lin Qiye stared intently at the ascension staircase built from countless white bones,
pondering a solution.
Suddenly,
the statues atop the bone bridge seemed to sense Lin Qiye's gaze.
On the long staircase,
millions of statues shone with light at once.
Then,
the bridge shook violently.
In the tremors, the bridge collapsed.
The shining bones, guided by some unknown force, returned to the Great Xia Universe, forming a protective circle of white bones around it.
Afterwards,
the Great Xia Universe was stripped from Silver Time-space.
A round universe, its surface covered with radiant white bones,
crashed into the depths of the black mist at visible speed and vanished.
Qin Xingtong was shocked, sitting up abruptly.
"National Lord, what... what just happened? Is something wrong?"

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