My Arts Evolve When Perfected

Setting aside how the Dusk Token possessed the incredible power to capture the threads of fate, Jiang Qiu didn’t even dare to imagine Liu Zili appearing in the Dusk Holy Ruins. How could that young woman possibly survive?!

The Liu Zili from his memories had been in the Spirit Body Realm when an accident at Northwest Martial University left her cursed, comatose, and hanging on by a thread. According to Shangguan Yue, the Eight-direction Reversing Ship had rescued her, but he figured she couldn’t have become all that powerful.

’After all, there was nothing special about Liu Zili. It was fortunate enough that the Eight-direction Reversing Ship had saved her. Why would they go to such great lengths to provide her with resources and help her raise her Realm?’

’Even if she truly wanted to advance her Realm, only a few years have passed. Unless you had a monstrous talent for the Path of Returning to Simplicity like Shangguan Yue, how could you possibly reach the Fusion Realm?’

’And in truth, someone at the Fusion Realm was likely just cannon fodder in the Dusk Holy Ruins. The ones who dared, or were even able, to come here were all at the Unity Realm, pursuing Transcendence...’

The deeper he delved into these thoughts, the more turbulent Jiang Qiu’s aura became.

His original plan had been to temper himself in the Dusk Holy Ruins. If he could achieve a breakthrough and reach a powerful enough Realm, he would go to the Eight-direction Reversing Ship and forcibly rescue Liu Zili. If circumstances permitted, he would even kill Venerable Zuo Xuan.

But now, the very person who most needed to be rescued had been brought to the most dangerous place imaginable. The Dusk Holy Ruins was the final unveiling of a relic from a past era, a place where countless peak powerhouses of the current era were about to emerge!

Just as Jiang Qiu felt his mind reeling, a sudden sensation of separation emanated from his side. Shangguan Yue, who should have been right there holding his hand, had vanished, torn away by an unstoppable force.

Fortunately, Snow was still gripping his hand tightly, as if the two of them were a single entity, impossible to separate even through countless storms.

OMMM—

He opened his eyes and found himself descended into a ruin. As far as the eye could see, the sky was a churning mix of orange-red and vast patches of other bizarre colors. On the ground, the rising and falling debris of the ruins looked like one defeated Warrior after another.

A sinister wind blew, even more abrasive than a storm in the river of time. Even someone like Jiang Qiu had to instinctively narrow his eyes, feeling a scratchy itch upon his skin.

Making him itch was no simple matter. After all, he had undergone the transformation of the Dragon Body. With his current physical fortitude, it was impossible for anyone in the same Realm within the Primordial world-cluster to be his equal.

If an ordinary Half-Step Unity Realm cultivator were to encounter this sinister wind, they would surely be cut until they bled; it would be no exaggeration to say their skin would be flayed open.

And this was just a cold breeze.

"This... is the Dusk Holy Ruins?"

Jiang Qiu felt a flicker of disorientation. He tried to probe his surroundings, but his senses were sealed, as if he were mired in quicksand, unable to use any of his abilities.

As for Spirit Charm?

There was none. This place had no Spirit Charm. It was the last remnant of a collapsed era, a marginal land cast out by the will of the present world.

This was the border between the void and reality, a place that should not exist. Only a powerful force was propping it up, allowing it to display one last glimmer of glory, manifesting as the ultimately ephemeral Dusk Holy Ruins.

Welcome, everyone, to the Dusk Holy Ruins.

Suddenly, a vast voice surged from all directions, yet it also seemed to pour down from the infinite heights of the sky, carrying a divine majesty that could not be ignored.

The voice, however, was ancient, carrying a profound sense of age that spoke of tens of millions of years passed. It seemed to originate from a homeland buried in the dust of history.

Jiang Qiu’s heart trembled. He and Snow tilted their heads up, as if searching for the voice’s source. But they could see nothing. The heavens were in disarray, the Great Dao had crumbled, and they could feel this very space-time on the verge of collapse, trembling faintly.

Yet, the very root of this space-time contained an exceptionally surging power, so immense that even in its dilapidated state, the Dusk Holy Ruins had not yet disintegrated!

That power was astonishing. Not even tens of millions of cultivators at the Peak of Unity Realm could necessarily achieve such a feat.

One hundred thousand new souls from the new era, and quite a few old faces as well. Allow me to give a brief introduction.

I am the Era Will of the Era of Dragon Fall. Nurtured by a wisp of the Dragon Emperor’s remnant Soul, I survived the great era-ending purge. I have now descended with the legacies of a bygone age to pass on my teachings one last time.

I know what you want, and I understand what you need. Whether it is a place for you in the Sea of Chaos, the chance to reclaim your own Era Divine Artifact, the inheritance of a Peak Sect, or even... to recover your own memories...

I am aware of it all. Indeed, it is for these very reasons that I have descended with this vast Dusk Holy Ruins!

A list of one hundred thousand souls, a billion shattered worlds. I will open for you the gates to these once-flourishing worlds. You may enter them to seek the inheritances you need or the treasures you covet. But I must warn you, many of these worlds conceal great dangers.

When you are discovered by the demons of a bygone age, death will be upon you. I cannot protect you then.

Now, go forth into the worlds of old and seek the Secret of Transcendence!

I will bestow the inheritance of the Dragon Emperor upon the strongest successor among the one hundred thousand souls. It is a legacy beyond all imagination.

...

As the ethereal voice of the Era Will faded, a figure exuding a powerful White Tiger aura clutched purple-black thunder in his hand, his scarlet eyes radiating an air of death.

The aura of the Peak of Unity Realm radiated from him, completely undisguised. This world-ending power felt as if it could erupt at any moment. Everywhere he passed, the ruins became blanketed in Thunder, and a searing heat washed out, overwhelming even the sinister wind.

He was none other than the reincarnated Bloodthirsty White Tiger. Having obtained a Dusk Token in the Thunder Restricted Area, he had made his way here.

’Of course, that Dusk Token from the Thunder Restricted Area was no accidental find. He had a grander scheme in motion, and coming here was a necessary step.’

’The Era of Dragon Fall is now over, which means the last Transcender has died. Henceforth, there is no longer a possibility of Transcendence in the world. This is the meaning of a Severed Communication.’

’To return to the Sea of Chaos and have his revenge, he needed to achieve Transcendence at the very minimum. If he couldn’t do it now, while the Dusk Holy Ruins was open, he might never get another chance.’

’And those bastards who have already transcended this world will continue to play their games from on high. Who knows how many eras will pass before they finally lose!’

"Heh, that Dragon Emperor from the Era of Dragon Fall really poured his heart and soul into this Heaven and Earth Pool," the Bloodthirsty White Tiger mused, staring at the high firmament. "If I hadn’t been revived, I’d never have known this Heaven and Earth Pool could survive so many eras without being cut off by the Severed Communication..."

The world is both vast and small; it all depends on one’s perspective. Take this so-called Primordial world-cluster, for instance. In reality, it is merely one Heaven and Earth Pool, having gone through countless reincarnations and had its name changed innumerable times.

And there are many, many Heaven and Earth Pools just like it, as numerous as the small worlds are to the Primordial world-cluster.

As for that True Dragon, the Dragon Emperor... for him to still be willing to protect these minor Heaven and Earth Pools after countless eras, ultimately perishing for their sake, was truly a cause for deep reflection.

Although the True Dragon was the last Transcender known to the Primordial world, he was not the last of the Dragon Race’s bloodline to achieve Transcendence. On the contrary, he had Transcended long, long ago, even before the Ten Peak Demon Clans had perished.

The only reason he was known as the final Transcender was because he was simply too powerful. All the Transcenders weaker than him had already died. He was the last one standing...

’Then again, the Bloodthirsty White Tiger didn’t actually know how the Dragon Emperor died. He himself had perished countless eras ago, so how could he possibly know what happened in the last one?’

’Coming here now, however, was perfect. He could use the Dragon Emperor’s inheritance to fight his way back to the Sea of Chaos!’