Chapter 458: The Method To Go Back Home...

Legend has it that when a god disliked a certain species, they created a bottomless gorge with a divine sword during a time of great catastrophe, severing the species' path to survival.

As the sun slowly rose above the horizon, its gentle rays swept across the land, illuminating the creatures gathered at the edge of the gorge.

Ye Zi stood silently, observing the scene.

The deafening roars of the human pursuers and their war beasts filled the air as they closed in. Facing them was a young girl whose face was etched with despair and grief.

"Shokui, you must survive," said Sō, her tear-streaked face tilting up to look at Shokui.

"Together," Shokui growled, his gaze locking onto the overwhelming number of pursuers. His face contorted into a savage expression, his gaping maw revealing bloodstained fangs and bits of flesh.

The pursuers shouted strange battle cries as they charged toward Shokui and Sō, launching attacks imbued with strange energies.

Shokui shielded Sō with his body, enduring the first wave of attacks, though he was left teetering on the brink of collapse.

The attackers appeared to deliberately avoid Shokui's eye, as if their goal was to capture it.

Realizing he could not hold them off, Shokui made a grim decision. He scooped Sō up with a massive hand and leapt into the bottomless gorge.

.....

Shokui survived the fall, but the girl in his hand did not.

In the pitch-black depths of the underground, Shokui could clearly see Sō's lifeless body lying in his palm.

"They're all dead… all gone…" he murmured blankly, staring at the girl's closed eyes. Her final words echoed in his ears.

You must survive.

The air was filled with a ceaseless rustling, and shadows surged like waves, ghostly and eerie.

Ye Zi stood silently beside Shokui. As a projection within Shokui's memory, he could see everything clearly, even in the darkness.

He noticed countless strange worms swarming toward Shokui. Despite knowing this was only a memory, a chill ran up Ye Zi's spine, and his scalp prickled with unease.

The worms were blood-red, the size of calves, their bodies covered in sharp barbs. Their heads sported three pairs of compound eyes, and their gaping mouths were lined with spiraling rows of jagged teeth.

If it had been just one worm, Ye Zi wouldn't have been so alarmed. But through Shokui's enhanced vision, Ye Zi saw a seemingly endless tide of worms surging toward them. The sheer number was horrifying.

To the worms, Shokui seemed to be an irresistible source of food, driving them into a frenzy.

Under Ye Zi's silent gaze, Shokui carefully cradled Sō's corpse and rose to his feet.

In the pitch-black underground world, surrounded by the blood-red tide, Shokui's solitary figure stood out starkly, a picture of profound loneliness.

"Humans… such fragile creatures," Shokui muttered to himself, though his words were quickly drowned out by the rustling tide.

Suddenly, he grabbed one of the worms that had reached him and shoved it into his mouth, biting down with force. Blood sprayed as he devoured it.

For an entire month, Shokui fought and consumed the endless tide of worms in the darkness, without rest or sleep.

The worms, devoid of fear, followed their instincts and continued to swarm toward Shokui, only to end up as his food.

Ye Zi, standing as a projection in this memory world, monotonously observed Shokui's relentless feeding for a full month.

When Shokui had finally devoured every last worm, he let out a hysterical laugh that echoed through the underground. It was then that the legacy hidden within his bloodline awakened quietly.

At that moment, Kui understood his purpose: to devour all life before him… and to survive.

He meticulously buried Sō's corpse in the ground before leaving the cavern.

Shokui returned to the ruins of Sō's tribe, then began his rampage from the surrounding forests. From the smallest insect to the largest beast, he devoured everything alive. Every life consumed became a part of his strength.

Shokui devoured the entire forest and then turned his wrath on the humans who had destroyed Sō's tribe, consuming them all.

Leaving behind a trail of despair and sorrow, Shokui began to traverse the world. No mountain was too high, no sea too deep, no swamp too toxic to stop him.

He devoured every species he encountered, sparing not even plants or water. The more he consumed, the larger he grew, his size increasing without limit.

Eventually, when all species were extinct, Shokui became the sole remaining life form in his world.

His head towered above the tallest mountains. His legs reached the deepest ocean floors. He had destroyed an entire world.

According to the knowledge within his bloodline, Shokui could break through space and move to the next world. Yet he chose not to, remaining in his barren world until the endless passage of time gradually drained his power.

It wasn't until Ye Zi arrived in this world that Shokui's long solitude was interrupted.

In the sealed space, Ye Zi suddenly opened his eyes, and so did Shokui.

The two locked eyes in silence.

The long years of Shokui's memory had passed in the blink of an eye for Ye Zi.

Through Shokui's memories, Ye Zi had experienced another world and another life. Though merely an observer, he could deeply empathize with what he had seen.

Particularly the battles Shokui fought against humans and powerful creatures early on, those vivid first-person perspectives provided Ye Zi with a wealth of combat experience, intangible yet valuable.

"You invaded my memories?" Shokui glared coldly at Ye Zi, visibly displeased.

By entering Shokui's innermost memories, Ye Zi had forced Shokui to relive them as well. Memories long buried and forgotten had been brought back into sharp focus.

Ye Zi nodded slightly, his expression darkening. Having seen Shokui's memories, he now understood Shokui's origins more clearly.

The strange and colorful world Shokui came from held little interest for Ye Zi. What he sought was the method to break through space. From Shokui's memories, Ye Zi confirmed what Shokui had said: breaking through space required immense energy.

Without sufficient energy, it was impossible to tear through space. This validated the plan to gather tailed beasts, as their chakra would provide the necessary power.

Shokui himself had never actually attempted to break through space. His decision to remain in his world was tied to Sō, and over the countless years, his dwindling strength had eventually cost him the ability to shatter space.

Shokui's memories confirmed that breaking through space would indeed lead to another world. However, the nature of that world was unknown. For a being like Shokui, the specifics didn't matter, so long as life existed, it was enough.

This realization darkened Ye Zi's expression further. If, after finally breaking through space, he arrived in a world that wasn't Earth… what then?

Shokui looked at Ye Zi's grim expression and sneered. "Now that you know the method, you should be happy."

Ye Zi remained silent, raising his gaze to coldly meet Shokui's. "Why didn't you break through to the next world back then? Was it because of that girl?"

This time, it was Shokui's turn to fall silent.

Seeing Shokui's reaction, Ye Zi let out a faint, silent laugh, then sank into deep thought.

Having learned the method to break through space and the cost that came with it, Ye Zi's initial reaction was despair. But he eventually came to accept it.

Perhaps there would only be one chance, and he had to ensure that when the space was shattered and he traveled through the dimensional tunnel, his destination would indeed be Earth.

"You now understand the price of traversing the spatial tunnel, yet you still insist on going back?" Shokui broke the silence, looking at Ye Zi. This was the information he had intentionally withheld before.

Ye Zi met Shokui's gaze with unwavering resolve and replied calmly, "Yes."

Shokui frowned and said, "Isn't it better to stay in this world? You have power here, you can get anything you want. Compared to that distant and uncertain goal, what you have now is reality, something you can touch."

This was the second time Shokui had tried to persuade Ye Zi in this manner. The first time, Ye Zi's response was: Do you have someone who means the world to you?

This time, Ye Zi didn't give the same answer.

Instead, he looked at Shokui and replied calmly, "It's the same reason you chose to stay rather than break through space."

Shokui's eyes flickered slightly before he let out a cold snort and said in a low voice, "If you want to return to Earth, it's possible. You don't have to worry about ending up in a world other than Earth after breaking through space. Your soul is the anchor, it will act as the coordinate."

Hearing this, Ye Zi's pupils contracted sharply, and his expression grew visibly more animated. "Is that true?"

"You'll have to try it to find out," Shokui replied indifferently.

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