The Primordial Saint was dead.
There was no suspense; he wasn't even slain. He had committed suicide, a conclusion clearly heralded by the rolling tide of the [Final Tribulation] surging from his body.
Wherever the light of the Final Tribulation passed, regardless of the Great Dao or the profound wonder, everything—except for the already transcendent Sisui—inevitably marched toward extinction. The Primordial Saint, being at the epicenter, was naturally the first to fall. In an instant, Lu Yang even heard the mournful wail of the Great Dao of [Inevitable Fate].
"BOOM!"
In the next second, after the Primordial Saint's true body disintegrated, a massive dark vortex manifested out of thin air. The light of the Final Tribulation was gushing forth from this very vortex.
"It is [Time]..."
Sisui murmured under his breath, appearing unable to believe it even now. "No wonder he didn't use it before; he filled the entirety of that Great Dao into the future."
Simultaneously, Lu Yang finally understood the Primordial Saint's maneuver.
[Time] acted as the catalyst.
[Inevitable Fate] acted as the coordinate.
Utilizing these two Great Daos, the Primordial Saint had forcibly channeled the Light Sea's Final Tribulation—which was long-destined but should have only appeared in the far distant future—into the present.
Within the vortex, a figure emerged.
It was [Terminus Tiger].
He still wore his human form and yellow robes, his expression equally dazed. He seemingly could not fathom why the Primordial Saint would do such a thing.
Then, he lost his composure.
"...Fuck!"
"That old bastard! He spoke with such conviction before, claiming there was no way to trigger the Final Tribulation. It turns out he lied to me; he triggered it the moment he wanted to!"
Terminus Tiger was trembling with rage.
It was true that he wanted to manifest in the present world ahead of time, but that was limited to himself. The Final Tribulation of the Light Sea was something even he did not wish to touch!
For although he was the Innate Dao God symbolizing the Light Sea's end, once the Final Tribulation truly arrived, his own end would follow shortly. He would be like a candle flame, continuously burning himself until he marched toward extinction at his brightest, most glorious moment. He wouldn't even live for a fraction of the Ancestral Dragon's lifespan!
How could he be resigned to this?
Yet he had no choice, for the Primordial Saint had chosen for him. The Final Tribulation of the Light Sea was already rushing from the end of time, irreversible and unstoppable!
"What a bastard!"
In an instant, everyone was scattering. Cang Hao and Myriad Laws were the first to flee, their silhouettes rapidly retreating into the Light Sea, not daring to touch the radiance of the Final Tribulation.
On the other side, Dao Tianqi and Sisui rushed over.
"Lord Sisui!"
Dao Tianqi's voice was urgent. "You are unaffected by the Final Tribulation. Is there a way for you to take [Tianhuang] and leave? As long as we leave, there might still be hope."
Sisui shook his head with a dejected expression. "I can take [Tianhuang] away, but it is useless. Though the [Final Tribulation] begins in the Light Sea, it will eventually spread to the entire Dark Void. There is no escape. I am not truly transcendent; all I can do is delay the arrival of the end..."
"Delay it first. I will go and comprehend the Final Tribulation. Perhaps I can find a way to break it."
"Don't go! One cannot even look at the Final Tribulation. If you try to comprehend it, the more you understand, the faster you will march toward decay. It is no different from suicide."
"But we can't just..."
In the spark of a flint, the thoughts of Dao Tianqi and Sisui intertwined rapidly as they tried to discuss a viable method to resolve the current crisis.
Only Lu Yang remained silent.
He did not fear the Final Tribulation; to him, it was merely starting over once more. However, the Primordial Saint's behavior was incomprehensible. Had he chosen mutual destruction because he saw no hope?
'Impossible!'
The Primordial Saint was absolutely not that type of character. Even the Sword Lord had struggled until the very instant before her death; how could the Primordial Saint choose to give up on himself?
'Unless...'
Lu Yang's heart throbbed with a dull ache. The Primordial Saint's final self-destruction carried a powerful sense of déjà vu, forcing Lu Yang to consider a suspicion he was unwilling to admit.
'The [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]...'
Judging from the end of two lifetimes ago, it was highly likely that the Primordial Saint recognized the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]. Lu Yang even suspected he might have restarted once in his early years.
But there shouldn't be a second [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] in the world, and the [Heavenly Scripture]—the lost page of the book—was within his own control.
In that case, what would he use to restart?
Lu Yang shook his head violently.
'No, that's wrong. He used the Final Tribulation that annihilates everything to kill himself. If it were just for a simple restart, why go through such trouble? This Final Tribulation is meant to...'
—Force my hand?
Under the Final Tribulation, no one except the transcendent Sisui could possibly survive, including himself. In this situation, he was certain to restart.
'So... he wants to force me to restart, and then hitch a ride on my boat? Impossible! He is already dead. His soul, his Great Dao, and even his Primordial Spirit have been erased by the Final Tribulation. What does he have to hitch a ride with? Even for the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes], restarting requires self-awareness.'
Lu Yang could not understand it.
However, right then, Dao Tianqi's voice suddenly rang out: "What is that? Inside that vortex the Primordial Saint opened... there seems to be something else?"
"...Hmm?"
Lu Yang looked up sharply, his gaze instantly locking onto the vortex that was still spewing the colors of the Final Tribulation. He saw a speck of gold amidst the infinite gloom.
What was it?
Under the Final Tribulation, all things perish. Even a [Variable] must march toward decay. What kind of wonder could survive within the Final Tribulation?
Lu Yang focused his gaze with effort.
In doing so, he was forced to take the light of the Final Tribulation into his eyes. His previously intact body immediately emitted the aura of decay and death.
His clothes became soiled, the radiance atop his head withered, sweat flowed from his armpits, his body became foul-smelling, and his mind began to fail. In this moment, Lu Yang seemed to have turned back into a mere mortal.
Yet he did not care.
Powerless to heed the shouts of Dao Tianqi and Sisui, he endured the effects of the Final Tribulation and finally saw clearly what was hidden within that speck of golden light.
It was a book.
The book was filled with dense records. Lu Yang couldn't see most of it, only catching glimpses of content that was fragmented and appeared somewhat chaotic.
[A truly rare experience, but it must come to an end after all.]
[A pity I cannot truly return to the past; I can only leave some records... from this perspective, I have made too many records in this life.]
[Delete them; keep only the critical nodes.]
[There are also some events that can shape my personality ahead of time. To attain the Dao, one must cast aside all distractions. I realized this too late in this life.]
[Sisui can be trusted, but his living is an obstacle. Find a way to eliminate him.]
[The Ancestral Dragon has no schemes; it takes little effort to plot against it. But the timing must be grasped well, ensuring the conflict between us is irreconcilable...]
[Nian Yao—the path of Affection is the easiest to take to extremes; she can be guided.]
[Cang Hao—his achievement in creating script is great, and he has obtained the inheritance of the School of Names. He is a potential trouble. Perhaps I can guide him and Nian Yao together... to sever his path of the Dao.]
[Myriad Laws... Du Xuan...]
Dense records, like a cold author arranging the plot for characters in a book, writing one chilling ending after another.
The Saint is not benevolent; he treats all living beings as straw dogs.
It was only at this moment that Lu Yang truly felt as if a cold serpent had crawled onto his heart. He finally understood the Primordial Saint's deepest, most hidden secret.
He truly had restarted before.
Except—what restarted was not the person, but the records. He had cast aside all memory and personality, leaving only the coldest records and obsession:
[Seeking the Dao]!
'And this time, he is repeating the trick.'
Lu Yang didn't know the specific method, but there was no doubt that the book submerged in the Final Tribulation contained the information that was key to his restart.
He didn't even have the choice not to restart, because the Final Tribulation had arrived. As long as he wanted to live, he could only start over. However, this time would be different from before.
The Primordial Saint would be a fellow traveler!
All the intelligence he once relied upon would become unreliable under this variable. He hadn't even seen what the Primordial Saint had written for this life!
"...Bastard!"
Lu Yang snapped awake. In an instant, he left the Dark Void and landed within [Tianhuang], then looked toward the missing page of the [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes].
'...Reclaim it.'
Lu Yang's gaze gradually became calm.
"Buzz, buzz!"
The [Book of a Hundred Lifetimes] panel seemed to have been waiting for this for a long time. Like a tiger pouncing on its prey, it swallowed the gold-glittering book page in the blink of an eye.
Almost simultaneously, Sisui and Dao Tianqi followed.
"Lu Yang, you..."
Turning around, Lu Yang looked at Sisui and Dao Tianqi, yet he seemed to look past them, staring directly at the [Tianhuang] and all the living beings behind them.
The feeling of a punch—prepared for so long—ultimately hitting nothing but air was not a pleasant one.
However, it also made him incredibly certain of one thing.
'Primordial Saint... I will surely kill you.'
Next time, I won't let you escape again, nor will I use these clever tricks. I will face you head-on and completely destroy you at your peak!
Anything less would not suffice to vent this hatred.
The Final Tribulation gradually rolled in from the horizon, drowning all light and color.
"[Book of a Hundred Lifetimes]."
Restart again.
Everything starts anew!