Chapter 600: Chapter 499: Do Not Ascend to Saint
"I understand."
The voice of the Queen Mother of the West emitted from the giant toad, revealing no emotion.
The choice of the Great Sage, in a certain sense, was also her own choice.
She couldn’t remember when her resolve began to waver.
She was no longer the decisive Queen Mother of the West who would unhesitatingly slaughter all beings in the Fruit World just to preserve the "truth."
Perhaps it was within this endless cycle of time.
Watching those familiar faces die before her eyes in the same way, time and again.
Perhaps she harbored a glimmer of hope.
She assumed that after such a long time, that gaze might have departed, and she could live again as a Saint.
Perhaps it was... the entry of Han Zhan and his companions that gave her an inexplicable sense of destiny.
In any case, she did not stop the Great Sage, allowing him to assist Han Zhan and the others, letting him leave the Fruit World on his own accord.
If the Great Sage succeeded in leaving, it would prove that gaze was no longer there.
If the Great Sage failed and returned, that gaze would still be present, and Han Zhan and the others, being anomalies, would not have succeeded in breaking the cycle, allowing her to continue hiding within the Fruit World.
If the Great Sage failed, but Han Zhan and his companions succeeded, her time loop would be broken, and the aura belonging to a Saint would be exposed to the world once again.
That was the inescapable fate she had to face.
The only consolation was that she had already passed on the "truth."
This endless age of perseverance was not entirely without meaning.
The Queen Mother of the West thought of this and slowly closed her giant, ugly toad eyes.
"Let’s go." The Great Sage looked at the Queen Mother of the West and said, "My millions of avatars can’t deceive for much longer; that gaze is returning."
He turned to look at Han Zhan and the others.
"You wouldn’t want them to be caught in this disaster, would you?"
"Come with me now, fight our way out."
He invited the Queen Mother of the West.
She did not reply, but transformed into a beam of light shooting toward the sky, which was the best answer.
The Great Sage did the same.
He took one last look at Han Zhan, nodded, and then, like the Queen Mother of the West, charged into the sky again.
The Saints from two different Fruit Worlds disappeared beyond the barriers of the Fruit World together.
"Will they... be able to come back?" Li Lingzhen looked at the disappearing figures and couldn’t help but ask.
No one answered.
In truth, everyone already knew the answer in their hearts.
They will not return.
Not just them; those Saints who cleansed the plague of locusts have also disappeared completely.
Otherwise, the World Tree would not have withered into the Bodhi Treasure Tree, and the Fruit World would not have been left with only a few fruits.
At this time, a beam of light suddenly descended from the sky, landing in front of Nuannuan.
It was the Ancient Divine Soldiers, the Kunlun Mirror.
In the last moment before departing, the Queen Mother of the West had returned it to Nuannuan.
At that moment, the barrier between Han Zhan and Nuannuan was pierced, and their compatibility reached its peak.
Divine Origin, (5/10)!
The last instruction of the Queen Mother of the West echoed in the Kunlun Mirror:
"Do not ascend to Saint."
"Not until you are completely certain."
"Do not ascend to Saint."
...
Kunlun Twin Fruit World exploration, completed!
As the familiar dizzying sensation came over them, Li Lingzhen, Xia Youwei, and the other Contracted Spirit Girls finally managed to leave the Fruit World successfully.
They let out a long exhale, relieved but fearful of their journey in the Fruit World this time.
If not for Han Zhan discerning the ultimate solution to the conundrum, if they had not persevered to the end, the outcome might have been completely different.
"Wait a minute."
"Did we forget something very crucial?" Shang Siteng suddenly realized something and spoke rapidly.
"Weren’t we on the Moon? Why are we at Julu Pass?" Nuannuan looked around in surprise.
"No, not that!" Shang Siteng urgently reminded, "It’s Ah Zhan!"
"Did you forget why we entered the Fruit World?"
They entered the Fruit World because Han Zhan had merged with the Void Origin, became controlled by malicious thoughts, and entered a berserk state of massacre.
It was the hexagram from Second Senior Brother Lin Jingxuan that directed them to the Moon to seek a glimmer of hope.
Finally, at the critical moment, they determined the solution lay within the Fruit World.
This led to the subsequent series of experiences.
The Fruit World exploration was complete, but the issue of Han Zhan being controlled and merged by malicious thoughts seemed unresolved!
"Ah Zhan!"
"Ah Zhan?"
"Why is Ah Zhan missing? Could it be that he hasn’t left the Fruit World yet?"
The women couldn’t find Han Zhan, but were immediately found by the Celestial Net AI Bob, stationed at Julu Pass.
On the other side.
Han Zhan awoke from his slumber.
He looked around in confusion, finding himself surrounded by darkness.
Where am I?
Han Zhan thought to himself, taking a step forward.
Tap, tap.
The sensation underfoot, coupled with the sound of stepping on water echoing in his ears, was as if he was stepping on a water surface, with invisible ripples spreading outward.
Han Zhan vaguely seemed to see a faint golden light in the extreme distance.
So, he quickened his pace, quickly approaching the light.
As he got closer, the golden dot became larger in his gaze.
Han Zhan finally saw the true form of the light.
It was the Bodhi Treasure Tree!
The current Bodhi Treasure Tree was immeasurably larger than before.
Han Zhan remembered that after each Fruit World exploration, the Bodhi Treasure Tree would grow at a terrifying rate.
Now that five Fruit Worlds had been explored, the Bodhi Treasure Tree finally bore a faint trace of the World Tree’s shadow.
Han Zhan continued forward and reached the base of the Bodhi Treasure Tree.
He looked up at the sky, where countless dense branches and leaves were wrapped in a faint golden holy light, exuding a sacred radiance.
The thick trunk was almost as large as a mountain, and the golden glow also illuminated the area beneath Han Zhan’s feet.
The deep, dark water rippled below.
Through the water, Han Zhan could faintly see the roots of the Bodhi Treasure Tree extending far and wide beneath the surface.
But these weren’t the main focus.
The main focus was directly ahead of Han Zhan, near the tree roots, where there was a door that was impossible to ignore!
That door was tightly locked, seemingly integrated with the Bodhi Treasure Tree.
There were only two ways to open it: destroy the entire Bodhi Treasure Tree or find the key to unlock it.
Regretfully, Han Zhan fumbled through his pockets and found nothing.
A door that couldn’t be opened.
Upon realizing this, Han Zhan’s eyes began to sting, his Talent [Divine Radiance] awakened in that moment.
It allowed him to see upon the door near the tree roots, a line of floating golden text:
"Insufficient privileges."
"Unlock progress: 0%"
