Chapter 569: The Azure Dragon Game
"I can't say for sure," Qi Xia replied. "I can make my teammates survive, so naturally I might also think you're just an ordinary 'participant.'"
"But can you... do that?" Qinglong took a step forward, and his terrifying aura burst forth, forcing Qi Xia to take half a step back. "Your subconscious is afraid of me. You think I come from the 'upper level,' you think I am one of the rulers of this place — how could you possibly shape me into a 'participant'?"
"Heh..."
"So the initiative lies neither in your hands nor in mine." Qinglong reached up and tapped his temple. "It lies in the hands of your 'subconscious mind.' Qi Xia, don't try to control it. Just let yourself fear my existence."
Qi Xia swallowed slightly. At this moment, he seemed to have discovered an even more terrifying problem.
Qinglong would not fade away with time.
If Qi Xia was going to "reshape" a new Qinglong, then two Qinglongs would appear simultaneously in the "Land of Endings."
The first Qinglong had not yet died, and the second would follow right on his heels.
"It seems you understand..." Qinglong smiled. "All 'divine powers' are double-edged swords — from 'Endless Cycle' down to 'Spiritual Hearing,' there are no exceptions."
Qi Xia had nothing to say. He could only stand there with his head lowered, deep in thought. He had thought that "Endless Cycle" had fully developed his brain, allowing him to envision countless new paths. But now it seemed he had to control his own thoughts, or everything would spiral out of control.
Just then, the distant bell tolled, and a tremendous sound poured forth.
Though not as loud as Qi Xia's own sound, it was at least on the level of the "Twin Flowers" sonic wave.
"Suffering...?" Hearing the sound, Qinglong slowly walked over to Qi Xia, leaned close to his ear, and whispered, "If it's too painful, go find the 'Breaker of Ten Thousand Laws.'"
"Qiao Jiajin...?"
"Qi Xia... to liberate this place, we need to rely on Qiao Jiajin," Qinglong said.
Qi Xia remembered that Bai Hu had said the same thing before. But back then, he had just arrived in the "Land of Endings" and hadn't yet gained a deep understanding of anything.
Seeing that Qi Xia didn't respond, Qinglong continued, "You're trapped by your current way of thinking. Look at it from the perspective of 'Echo.' As long as Qiao Jiajin can say to you, 'Stop cheating,' all the cycles and rebirths will cease. 'Endless Cycle' will come to a halt, and tens of thousands of souls will scatter into nothingness... How simple is that?"
"You..." Qi Xia was slightly stunned.
Using the "Breaker of Ten Thousand Laws" to break "Endless Cycle"... was this the closest path out of here?
So what Bai Hu had said back then — "Leaving here will still require the power of Qiao Jiajin" — was never "hope," but rather a desperate path toward the annihilation of everyone.
"I've even given you my 'trump card,'" Qinglong said. "Would any other 'Heaven-level Zodiac' or even 'Divine Beast' be as open and sincere with you as I am? Qi Xia, this is the sincerity of our cooperation."
Beside them, Xu Liunian felt a chill run through her entire body.
Every exchange between Qi Xia and Qinglong made her tremble uncontrollably.
Had things spiraled out of control... or had the truth finally come to light?
"You lunatics..." Qi Xia lowered his head, his bangs falling to cover his eyes. "It really is endless..."
"Every path is laid out before you. Which one will you take?" Qinglong laughed uproariously. "Hahahaha! This is so interesting! 'Heavenly Dragon' wasn't completely useless after all! At least he gave me seventy years of entertainment."
Qi Xia gritted his teeth and looked up, only to find that Qinglong had already disappeared.
Xu Liunian quickly opened the car door and got out, standing beside Qi Xia.
"Qi Xia... what do we do now...?"
Qi Xia felt his mind in chaos. Qinglong seemed to have explained a lot of things, so why was his thinking even more muddled?
...
Chen Junnan and Qiao Jiajin were stumbling along the road, both their faces looking like they were nearing their limits.
"La... Lao Qiao..." Chen Junnan gasped heavily, his vision going dark.
"What's up...?"
Qiao Jiajin held his ribs, his brow tightly furrowed.
They had been running for nearly two hours, their legs moving almost entirely on inertia.
"You... just give up now..." Chen Junnan said. "Little Lord... I won't laugh at you..."
"What...?" Qiao Jiajin didn't stop walking. He kept moving as he said, "We said... we said it... whoever can't run anymore is a gutless loser..."
"You... don't..." Chen Junnan ran a few more steps, then bent over and grabbed his stomach, breathing heavily. He looked back at the black line that was drawing closer. "Little Lord me... all my glory... I can't die as a... a gutless loser..."
"Then... then keep running..." Qiao Jiajin struggled to regulate his own breathing. "Don't stop... once you stop, you won't be able to run again..."
"Like hell I can run..."
The two were staggering down the street using their last reserves of strength. Qiao Jiajin seemed to be in slightly better shape than Chen Junnan; he kept turning back to look at Chen Junnan.
"Jun Nan... we really can't stop... we'll die if we do..."
"You think I want to stop...?" Chen Junnan felt that every word he spoke cost him a portion of the air in his lungs. He was on the verge of suffocation. "It's okay, Lao Qiao... I'm fine... don't mind me..."
Though Chen Junnan kept saying "I'm fine," thoughts of death had already flooded his mind.
During their entire run, they had seen too many people die under the black line behind them. Chen Junnan knew his chances of survival were extremely slim. Now, he only had one last trick left.
Before he could make a move, a huge sound suddenly came from afar.
DONG!!!!
The two were already unsteady, and this sudden change threw them even more off balance, the massive sound waves shaking them violently.
Qiao Jiajin stumbled to one side and was about to fall, while Chen Junnan crashed directly to the ground.
"Jun Nan! Get up!" Qiao Jiajin steadied himself and shouted. "Why are you falling down for no reason?!"
Chen Junnan didn't know what he had hit, but his expression was one of extreme pain. Qiao Jiajin looked toward the direction of the bell sound, feeling that it was familiar.
"I heard this sound once during the 'Heaven's Gate Positional Battle'..."
"Damn it... Little Lord's done running!!" Chen Junnan rolled over on the ground and panted heavily. "Thought after all this time there'd be some change... ha... still the same..."
Qiao Jiajin took a moment to catch his breath, then, before the black line reached them, hurried over and grabbed Chen Junnan's arm. "Don't fall! Come with me!"
Chen Junnan was practically dragged off the ground by Qiao Jiajin. He hadn't expected Qiao Jiajin to still have this much strength left.
"Lao Qiao... you weren't waiting for me, were you?" Chen Junnan found it strange. "If you've got this much energy, why were you running so slowly?!"
"Don't talk so much!" Qiao Jiajin pulled Chen Junnan and shoved him forward. "If we live, we live together. If we die, we die together."