Chapter 177: The End

Chapter 177: The End

Outside the formation, Gu Dongting and others waited anxiously.

Although Shen Wang had told them to wait for seven days, just the first day felt like an eternity.

Everyone was too preoccupied to talk, focusing only on the island obscured by the formation.

Until nightfall enveloped them, the surrounding silence was terrifying; on the endless dark sea, there was no sound or light, adding to the unease.

Shi Yan paced in place, "I wonder what's happening inside."

The person beside him also paced, "Six more days."

Suddenly, a snicker broke the silence, drawing everyone's attention. It was Cong Zhuo who had laughed.

Cong Zhuo touched the little flower on his shoulder, "Look at them, don't they resemble the nervous new dads pacing outside the delivery room in TV dramas?"

The little flower pondered for a moment and then joined in the laughter.

The others glared at him, but since Cong Zhuo was the last Jiaolong in the world and had shown kindness to China, they could only express their anger with their eyes.

Gu Dongting stood rigidly in the same spot, his posture unchanged since Shen Wang's departure.

As they all waited, the sunrise appeared on the horizon, its gentle rays spreading over the sea and dispelling the chill of the night.

Suddenly, Gu Dongting felt a sharp pain in his chest, his pupils dilating as he gazed towards the island.

"What's wrong with Brother Gu?" Shi Yan asked worriedly.

With Shen Wang's fate uncertain, if something were to happen to Gu Dongting... the entire metaphysical community might collapse.

Gu Dongting clutched his chest, "Something has happened to Shen Wang."

Everyone was stunned and gathered around him.

After the commotion caused by the younger Gu, it was well-known in the metaphysical world that Shen Wang and Gu Dongting shared a special relationship. Hearing Gu Dongting's words, no one doubted him, "What should we do?"

Shen Wang had instructed before leaving that they must wait the full duration, as entering the formation prematurely could cause harm.

Everyone was aware of the dangers he faced on this journey, but the news of his mishap still made them anxious.

As they looked at each other in silence, Gu Dongting suddenly stepped forward, "I'm going in."

His expression was calm, his voice firm, not suggesting but stating his decision.

Shi Yan was the first to object, "No, Brother Shen has instructed us not to go in!"

But Gu Dongting seemed to ignore this. Before anyone could react, he had already leaped from the boat, heading straight for the island.

"Brother Gu!"

"Master Gu!"

The others, both shocked and anxious, hurriedly followed to stop him, but in a blur, Cong Zhuo appeared before them.

Cong Zhuo said with a smile, "Everyone, once Gu Dongting has made up his mind, no one but Shen Wang can sway him. Why not calm down?"

"After all, waiting for one person is the same as waiting for two."

Shi Yan, overwhelmed with anger and frustration, exclaimed, "How can it be the same!"

Everyone glared in protest, but Cong Zhuo remained unmoved, firmly standing before them, clearly indicating his stance.

After all, being a millennia-old Jiaolong, he was more powerful than everyone there combined. They could only glare at Cong Zhuo in frustration, anxiously waiting.

Gu Dongting, with the formation jade given by Shen Wang, entered the formation smoothly. He hurried across the island, trying to find traces of Shen Wang.

The last time he was here, the island was an ordinary one with lush trees and many small animals. But now, the trees lay scattered and charred, as if ravaged by a great fire.

The once flat ground was now crisscrossed with gorges, as if someone had hacked it with an immense axe, even splitting the hard stones in two.

Such power was not something an ordinary cultivator could possess.

The more he saw, the more anxious Gu Dongting became. As he searched around, his gaze suddenly fixed on a specific spot.

Contrary to the surrounding devastation, this area was lush with greenery. Fallen trees were sprouting new buds, growing visibly to the naked eye.

Gu Dongting made a quick turn, heading towards this conspicuously unusual spot.

At the center of the sprouting trees was a clearing the size of a basketball court, the ground marked with blackened scars from burns.

Shen Wang, the one Gu Dongting had been searching for, was lying quietly in the middle of the clearing, showing no signs of life.

Gu Dongting's breath caught, and without a second glance at his surroundings, he rushed over: "Shen Wang!"

Carefully cradling Shen Wang in his arms, Gu Dongting's eyes brimmed with tears, feeling utterly helpless for the first time: "Shen Wang..."

After a few seconds of panic, he quickly reacted, trembling as he administered a series of medicinal pills into Shen Wang's mouth.

"Shen Wang, please, please..." don't leave me alone.

In his despair, Shen Wang's eyelashes twitched slightly. Without opening his eyes, he whispered weakly, "Is it raining?"

Gu Dongting held his breath, seeing Shen Wang's lashes flutter again. Overwhelmed with relief, he laughed and cried, "You're alive! You're still alive!"

Only then did Shen Wang open his eyes. Seeing the large tears on Gu Dongting's face, he weakly curved his lips: "My mission is complete."

"You saved me."

"Now, I am yours."

That day, everyone learned the good news: Shen Wang had defeated Gu Yuanjun, and the world would soon return to normal!

The metaphysical community rejoiced; Shen Wang's hospital room was constantly visited, overflowing with flowers and fruit baskets.

Shen Wang was severely injured, with multiple broken bones and serious external injuries, so severe that the doctors initially suspected a car accident.

Even more critical were his internal injuries, with disrupted spiritual energy, faint cracks in his meridians, and his consciousness and dantian in a dire state.

It was a sight and story that brought tears to the eyes of all who heard or saw.

After all, his injuries were sustained while saving the world, and the metaphysical community almost revered him, with the Bai family sending over medicinal pills at no cost.

Shen Wang even enjoyed treatment akin to that of an emperor.

The only dissatisfaction for him was that Gu Dongting couldn't always be by his side, as he had to go out on missions, perhaps to root out the remnants of Gu Yuanjun's followers.

Having slept a lot during the day, Shen Wang found himself restless at night. He watched the moon outside the window, carefully circulating his spiritual energy.

The door opened, and Gu Dongting immediately noticed him cultivating, frowning, "You're still healing; there's no need to rush your cultivation recovery."

Shen Wang acquiesced good-naturedly, ceasing his energy circulation, "I'm just bored."

Ever since being brought to the Gu residence from the hospital, Shen Wang was waited on hand and foot, treated like a fragile object – he was hardly allowed to do anything.

Even walking a few extra steps out of bed would earn disapproving looks from the Gu family elders.

Normally, Shen Wang wouldn't care about others, but these were Gu Dongting's elders, and by extension, his too... A sweet burden, indeed.

"They're just worried about you," Gu Dongting said with a smile, pausing for a few seconds before adding, "I'm worried about you too."

Although it had only been a few days, the memory of finding Shen Wang seemed blurry to Gu Dongting, except for the vivid red and Shen Wang's pale, life-hanging-by-a-thread face.

While Shen Wang didn’t seem to be psychologically burdened by his injury, Gu Dongting, on the other hand, kept waking up from nightmares, unable to let go.

"My fault," Shen Wang pulled Gu Dongting closer, kissed him, and coaxed, "I’ll heal properly, get plump and healthy, okay?"

Gu Dongting tried to look stern, but within seconds, Shen Wang’s antics had him laughing, melting his icy demeanor into tender affection.

After freshening up, the two cuddled together, harboring no thoughts other than the gentle warmth and peace between them.

It was the first time Gu Dongting brought up the events of that day, "What exactly happened that day?"

Considering Gu Yuanjun was far stronger than Shen Wang, how did he die so easily?

"Back then..." Shen Wang's voice trailed off.

Endowed with the primordial purple qi, sharing its origin with the heavenly dao, Shen Wang, in his dying moments, benefited from the virtues of his past good deeds. These virtues returned to him at the crucial moment, helping him survive the most perilous time.

It was then that Shen Wang finally understood the intentions of the heavenly dao.

Gu Yuanjun had exhausted the world's resources. If he were to die so easily, those spiritual energies and resources would vanish, leaving the world to merely struggle on for a few more years.

But if those stripped-away spiritual energies could be returned to the world, it would bring a glimmer of life.

This was the true purpose of the primordial purple qi within Shen Wang.

By then, Gu Yuanjun was consumed by evil, his spiritual energy turned into sinister qi. Shen Wang voluntarily dispersed all the primordial purple qi in his body, sending it into Gu Yuanjun.

Purified by the primordial purple qi, the sinister qi in Gu Yuanjun transformed back into spiritual energy and then dissipated into the world.

Bound by the rules of heavenly dao, there was much Shen Wang couldn't say. After thinking, he explained, "Have you heard of whale falls?"

"In the ocean depths, whales are the largest creatures, consuming vast resources, at the top of the food chain."

"But... when a whale falls, myriad lives flourish."

When a whale dies, the nutrients it gathered become a corpse on the ocean floor, nurturing countless sea creatures, turning into nourishing mud.

Shen Wang's explanation was vague, but Gu Dongting understood, "No wonder."

No wonder in recent days, the negative energy in the air had been diminishing, and the spiritual energy seemed to be returning.

The two nestled close, whispering and embracing tightly, as if nothing could ever separate them again.

That day, having stripped all the primordial purple qi from his body and completely purified Gu Yuanjun, the heavenly dao appeared once more.

Heavenly Dao said, "You are a strand of my essence. If you rejoin me, we merge into one, and you will be me, I will be you, you will become the heavenly dao of this world."

Lying on the ground, Shen Wang closed his eyes, every word he spoke wracked with pain, "Forget it, that's just twisted."

The heavenly dao then asked, "Humans are ignorant, trapped in karma, unable to escape. If you die, you will enter countless cycles of reincarnation, until your last bit of consciousness is worn away."

"Even so, you wouldn't want to come back?"

This time, Shen Wang was silent for a long while before he said, "You said you're my father, didn't you? It's time to let go when a child grows up."

"Your daughter-in-law is still waiting for me."

He couldn't let Gu Dongting's last image of him be a corpse; therefore, he would survive.

Strive to live on.

In a half-conscious state, Shen Wang seemed to hear a sigh, and then something entered his body, stabilizing the chaotic spiritual energy within.

Shen Wang slightly curled his lips, feeling that his brush with death had not been in vain.

He thought he would lie as a corpse for seven days, but it wasn't long before Gu Dongting came to him.

In that moment, Shen Wang thought:

Perhaps, Gu Dongting was also his obsession.

Only Gu Dongting's obsession manifested as a tear mole under his eye, while his own became a bond in his heart.

From then on, through life after life, they would be concerned for each other, inseparable forever.