Zanxing (Retranslated)

Chapter 351 - Star (2)

Time froze in that moment.

Countless faint lights illuminated the night, like the tears of a goddess falling from the distant heavens.

In the vast chessboard, at the center of the swirling abyss, a single star suddenly appeared, adorning the vortex.

At that instant, the raging floodwaters transformed into countless gentle ripples, softly flowing into the mortal world. And the woman riding the silver lion towards the heavens radiated a brilliant, chaotic light from her body.

The night sky solidified there.

Heaven and earth became still and desolate.

From the void, a distant, serene evening breeze slowly began to stir.

This evening breeze descended from above, sweeping freely across the mortal realm. It blew over islands and dense forests, over deserts and snowy plains, over vast and barren wilderness, and over the undulating hills.

The Biyi Blossom Tree on Heishi Mountain rustled under the long wind, its fiery blossoms in full bloom. The flowers fluttered down, and the branches gradually turned transparent, faded, becoming a clear, dreamlike scene.

With a soft clang, a small silver lock fell from the tree, landing in the dark, damp soil.

The vast valley was tightly covered by silver-white snow, the endless wilderness stretched on, where two names, written side by side in the snow, were scattered by the thoughtless grains of wind.

Quietly, they vanished.

The wind continued to blow, sweeping over the sapphire coastline of Li’er Country, over the gilded, silver-embroidered dance costumes beside the bonfires of Wufan City, over the golden sunset hanging from the tip of the pagoda in Yue Mountain, and over the dark night rain along the surging banks of Mingming River in front of Heishi City.

It blew over everything, onto the youth’s shining silver spear, upon that ever-blooming vibrant flower.

It was a Biyi Blossom born of the Star Adornment Illusion. A single Biyi Blossom required only a little spiritual energy to sustain it, and it would bloom endlessly without effort.

The young man murmured, “No.”

He tried to hold on to that crimson bloom with his illusion, but in the end, he was not the master of the Biyi Blossom. He could only watch as the bird, poised to fly, gradually escaped the dreamlike illusion of fleeting life.

Nothing remained.

In the sky, the faint roar of a great beast echoed, gradually dissipating into the night.

A spirit beast is its master’s most loyal companion—it was born for her, and it perished for her.

“Heh,” the golden-eyed youth, leaning against a pillar, gazed toward the void and laughed mockingly. “Turned to ashes, nothing was left behind.”

“Shut up!” Bu Jiang glared at him in anger.

Gui Yansheng, however, was unfazed. He spoke calmly, indifferently: “What of the Celestial Demon bloodline? What of sacrificing everything? In the end, she was just a pawn.” He took a labored breath, and a layer of faint black shadows began to rise over his body. “What a fool, sacrificing for the world… it’s the most foolish thing one can do.”

Those faint black shadows blurred his form, like fireflies about to extinguish, drifting slowly into the distant sky.

“Gui Yansheng?” Bu Jiang was suddenly startled.

The youth’s body was now completely enveloped in darkness, leaving only a faint smile of release on his face. It was as if he had finally cast off a burden he had carried for years, becoming light and free for the first time.

“What does the world have to do with me? What does all of humanity have to do with me?”

His golden eyes shone like midday sunlight—fierce and radiant.

His voice gradually faded, turning into a golden illusion in the vast sky.

“I just didn’t want to accept my fate.”

He was born with golden eyes, marked as an outcast. A half-demon born of the union between human and demon, living his life as lowly as an ant. Rejected by both races, he wandered, separated from family and friends—this was the destiny arranged for him by the heavens.

He spent his life trying to change his fate, only to be ultimately devoured by it.

The Demon Race was born rebellious, and now that the heavens sought to destroy the world, he would save it.

Beside the dark surging waters of Mingming River, the girl he had regained lay in his arms, blood blooming from her chest like a flower. Xiao Chun gazed at him tenderly and said, “If you’re worried I’ll have regrets, help me go back to the village and check on my mother. Then visit the small town where we used to live, and taste the pastries from the inn next door for me.”

The flood had drowned everything, but if he could stop it, at least someone would still be able to taste those pastries from the small town inn for her.

Lowly as ants, scurrying about, struggling amidst the tides of the world.

Yet, in this world, there must always be some trace left of the ants who lived.

In the night sky, the last star returned to its place.

At the edge of the vast chessboard stretched across the heavens, a faint figure seemed to hover. An immortal hand swept across the board, and the sound of a chess piece being placed echoed, cold and distant.

In that instant, the sound of the surging waters stopped.

The vortex was filled by the stars, and the scattered spiritual energy slowly began to reverse.

As if time, which had been paused, finally began to flow again in this moment.

In the dark mountains of Heishi City, the dry spiritual veins surged forth like a newborn sunrise. The vibrant, waters flowed filled with life, enveloping the entire mountain range.

In the declining Mingxiu Courtyard on Mount Gufeng, a withering old persimmon tree suddenly trembled, and a single green sprout shakily emerged from its branches.

The submerged farmlands stood like isolated islands in the sea. An old ox bent twice, its horns covered in yellow mud, as it struggled to rise from the mire.

A mother, who had been desperately fighting the whirlpool, cried out in joy, lifting her child high above her head as the floodwaters receded, her face filled with the relief of having survived.

The tides rapidly withdrew from the vast land, and the refugees, who had been fleeing toward the mountains, halted in surprise. They turned back, staring in amazement at the newly revitalized Douzhou.

The sound of collapsing houses ceased.

The sky was no longer teetering.

The torrential rain that had poured down from the Nine Heavens had softened at some point. The rain became fine and delicate. The rushing river waters, which had not yet receded, no longer surged violently to devour the world. They became calm and gentle, like the tenderest of hands, mercifully brushing over heaven and earth.

Dpuzhou, which had transformed into a vast river, was no longer roaring, no longer wrathful. It was peaceful and lingering, reflecting the expansive night sky above.

At some unknown moment, the sky had filled with stars.

The dazzling lights mixed with the fine rain, showering the earth with a rain of stars, casting golden light on the water’s surface. Douzhou was bathed in brilliant, multicolored hues, radiant and enchanting.

Heaven and earth were gentle and beautiful, grand and magnificent.

From the highest and farthest reaches, a star fell from the horizon, streaking a burning trail across the night sky, landing in the palm of the young man’s hand.

That hairpin, once shattered and pieced back together, had lost the star that once adorned its tip. Only the dim and tarnished pin remained, the sole trace of her existence.

And yet, it wasn’t the only trace.

In the center of the great hall, the stone stele atop the Ascension Platform was still blank. But at the forefront of the chessboard, there was now a small, radiant statue.

The woman’s long hair flowed in the wind, her brows and eyes as bright as spring water. She held a green staff and sat upon a great beast. Beneath her, the Silver Moon Lion stood proudly in the breeze, smiling at the crowd.

Radiant as the morning glow, a beauty unmatched.

END OF ARC: FATE