694 It Should Not Be So (1/2)

In the rumble, Ye Qingxuan lay in the ruins, looking up at the turbulent sky.

Fierce glows lit up one after another. Despite clearly being fires that sufficed to burn the mortal realm away, turning it into purgatory, when they gathered in one place, they were gorgeous to look at. Colorful reflections flickered in his eyes.

Without anyone realizing it, he closed his eyes and fell asleep.

The dream was so calm and long.

Tides swept from afar, and waves washed onto the beach. He stepped on the gravel barefoot. A small crab crawled out of a hole in the sand, climbed over his feet, and fell into a puddle.

The familiar smell of seawater was in the air.

The blue sky was reflected on the surface of the sea.

Ye Qingxuan sat silently on the beach, watching the calm waves surge, washing up on the beach. The wind blew from a distance, bringing fresh air with it. It blew on the dilapidated palaces of the Ultimate.

No disputes.

No fights.

No ambition.

Nor was there so-called future.

In the quiet ruins, only eternal loneliness and beauty were present.

After a long time, he suddenly realized the truth.

”Is this my dream?” Ye Qingxuan chuckled softly and rubbed his forehead embarrassedly. ”I didn't expect that I still like to deceive myself...”

He lifted his head and looked up at the sky, raising his voice. ”The world is not like this, is it?”

A rumble came from afar.

The smell of the wind changed.

”The world has never been so calm and gentle.” Ye Qingxuan stepped on the waves and walked along the beach, talking to himself, ”The sky is not of such a color.”

So, the blue sky broke, and the fierce lights from the battle emerged from the gap as if the door of purgatory had been opened. Fire burned the clouds as if iron had been ignited. White clouds were dyed black by ink, and when they brushed against each other, a high-pitched sound of steel colliding burst forth.

The calmness was torn apart.

”The wind does not smell like this,” he said.

The breeze paused. Then, the Föhn wind of purgatory blew from the fire. The wind brought along a pungent smell of sulfur, and the wind was dyed yellow. When it blew on one's face, it stung one's eyes, and one could not help but tear up.

”The sea water is not of such a temperature,” he said.

So, the clear sea water boiled, and the stench rose from it. Stinking white foam surged between the reefs, like a boiling spring beneath the earth's crust. The water was no longer pure, and it was full of the smell of bodies rotting, the bloody scent stinging one's nose.

”The ground is shaking,” Ye Qingxuan murmured softly, turned back, and saw the collapse of the dilapidated yet calm palace as the island shook. Cracks emerged on the road paved with stone, and the lava of purgatory spewed out from beneath the earth's crust, dyeing the island a blood red bit by bit.

”The light of the stars has gone out,” he said.

So, stars fell, breaking through the clouds, and ignited the air. With a long trail of lights behind them, they fell into the sea, stirring up tides tens of thousands of meters tall. Some fell on the ground, leaving tragic scars behind.

It seemed as if a cruel child was casually doodling on a masterpiece with red paint.

Everything was beyond recognition.

But something was still missing.

Ye Qingxuan thought for a moment, nodded, and said, ”Let there be forlorn whines.”

The rumble sounded like countless blasts of thunder colliding. The gale howled forlornly as if countless desperate souls had emerged in the wind, crying softly, mourning the death of everything.

Ye Qingxuan stood between the sea and the skies. He raised his head, looking up at the world.

Under the burning sky, the sea was blood red. Broken islands spat out lava, stars fell, and Föhn wind blew and swept. Forlorn howls and mournful crying sounded one after another, then dissipating in the air like illusions.

Everything seemed to be from a nightmare about purgatory.

”Such is the real world.” Ye Qingxuan looked at his creation with satisfaction. It was so detailed and real, honestly presenting its actual appearance. But he couldn't smile and simply felt tired.

After bidding farewell to hypocrisy, his dreamland was finally exactly the same as the world. But he couldn't tell whether he was awake or he had stayed in the dream.

”The world shouldn't be so, right?” Ye Qingxuan reached out and fished out cigarettes that did not exist in the dream from his empty pockets. After igniting one, he smelled the fragrance of tobacco burning. Ashes rolled around in his lungs, bringing a familiar stinging sensation.

He could no longer distinguish between reality and dream.

Reality was so absurd that it seemed like a nightmare, but the dream was so cruel that it seemed like reality.

No one responded.

Only a rumble sounded from the sky, and Föhn wind stirred up forlorn howls.