Chapter 447: Laughter
Left behind by me…
Lu Heng, with an expressionless face, gazed at the spear of celestial thunder in his hand, his thoughts stirring.
Swoosh-
With a resounding burst of thunder, the spear, entirely solidified by heavenly thunder, suddenly exploded, transforming into the most primal and pure heavenly thunder, merging into Lu Heng's very being.
This scene is exactly the same as the sight of cultivators in the Celestial Desolation Realm withdrawing their own mana-created entities.
The Dragon Emperor by the side was utterly bewildered.
She instantly widened her eyes in a state of terror, as she realized an immensely horrifying truth.
"Brother Lu…" The Dragon Emperor's imposing presence, at this moment, completely dissipated.
She looked at Lu Heng in terror and stammered, "Th-thi-this… This golden Buddha… Did you kill it?"
The Dragon Emperor inquired fearfully, but didn't receive a response.
On the gradually dissipated icy tundra of wind and snow, the man cast a cold glance at her and vanished completely.
Once again, he journeyed to another location on this planet.
Upon witnessing the man's disappearance, the Dragon Emperor momentarily hesitated, but this time, she dared not pursue him as closely as before.
However, she fell into silence for a moment amidst the icy tundra, but ultimately, gritting her teeth, she followed in pursuit of Lu Heng's presence.
When she descended once again, she found herself above a vast and immense inland ocean.
The inland ocean was enveloped by the surrounding continents, with only one end having an outlet leading to a wider ocean.
Compared to the other seas on this planet, the waters here are relatively shallow. And on one of the beaches adjacent to the desert, there floats a peculiar corpse in the sea.
The body, spanning thousands of feet in length, is covered in a labyrinth of crisscrossing wounds, immobile as it lies submerged in the seawater. With each crashing wave, the water strikes the corpse like colliding against immense mountains, yet the body remains completely motionless.
It is neither human nor savage beast, but rather an immense monument. It lacks a face, facial features, and limbs, appearing like a colossal stone monument, yet it is, in fact, a being of flesh and blood.
It is immersed in the seawater, and the words inscribed on the surface of the monument are horrifically crimson. The densely packed script all bears witness to a singular fact.
Death!!!
Until the long years after death, the hatred and pain conveyed by this fleshy monument have never dissipated.
Lu Heng and the Dragon Emperor both keenly sensed the air thick with overflowing resentment.
Observing such a monumental structure, Lu Heng remained silent.
Dragon Emperor, however, hesitated and broke the silence between them, uttering, "Brother Lu…"
This place, is already the last anomaly on the planet.
Both of them had already scanned the inside and outside of the entire planet with their divine consciousness, but no other anomalies occurred.
Dragon Emperor was uncertain of how to speak, but she could discern that with the appearance of this final eerie corpse, the man before her experienced the shattering of some kind of anticipation in his heart.
A sense of despair and bitterness is now rippling within the man's heart.
Xiu Ya couldn't help but yearn to comfort him.
However, the man remained silent, suddenly raising his head and looking up at the sky above, as if remembering something.
In the night sky, a radiant and pristine moon scattered a cold moonlight.
This moon, seems to be somewhat different…
Lu Heng's brows furrowed as his divine consciousness suddenly swept towards the vast cosmic void outside.
The scene on the moon unfolded before his eyes in an instant.
Within the moon's surface, illuminated by the radiant glow, there was a certain unique vital energy, distinct from the lunar soil known to Lu Heng.
According to his memory, organic substances didn't exist within the lunar soil.
However, the lunar soil before his eyes seemed to be different?
Lu Heng's figure once again vanished from the original spot. The pale escape light shot straight towards the stars in the cosmos.
In an instant, Lu Heng traversed hundreds of thousands of kilometers and appeared on the barren lunar surface.
On the seemingly desolate moon, numerous things contrary to Lu Heng's memories began to emerge.
Broken ruins, weathered pathways, and a damaged, enormous translucent canopy… On the moon, there was actually the wreckage of a city?
However, this wreckage had long fallen into disrepair, and there was not a trace of human presence to be seen.
Even the city's canopy, shattered by an unknown asteroid at some point in time, was not spared. The tremendous impact force devastated the original city, leaving behind enormous craters.
If it weren't for Lu Heng's divine consciousness being able to penetrate the soil and scan the hidden ruins beneath the surface, it would be nearly impossible to discover these remnants of a city that had been devastated for an unknown length of time.
Behind Lu Heng, the figure of Dragon Emperor Xiu Ya manifested once again.
She also discovered the wreckage hidden beneath this vast crater, and her expression immediately revealed astonishment.
"Could it be… there were actually living beings residing here?"
Lu Heng remained silent.
He extended his expressionless hand and watched as a fragmented golden sculpture emerged from the dusty underground and landed in the palm of his hand.
The golden sculpture stands at a height of one foot and is crafted entirely out of gold, remaining undistorted even after the passage of countless years. The square characters engraved on the pedestal are somewhat blurry, yet their content can still be discerned with effort.
[Wherever the brilliance extends, wherever the darkness inhabits, all become the domain of the Heavenly Lord.]
The text filled with religious connotations made Lu Heng furrow his brow.
Beside her, the Dragon Emperor appeared visibly astonished.
Because the divine sculpture on this golden pedestal is fashioned in the image of a man.
The man, with a faint smile on his face and hands held behind his back, donned a flowing robe, exuding an ethereal and transcendent aura even as a mere sculpture.
And the features of the divine being's countenance were unmistakably…
"Brother Lu?!" The state of Dragon Emperor Xiu Ya's mind, this time, truly became overwhelming.
She looked at the golden idol in Lu Heng's hand in astonishment and murmured, "Just how many years have you truly lived…"
Even the ancient and mighty Candle Dragon may pale in comparison to the age of the golden idol before her, not to mention the divine deity it represents…
Lu Heng, on the other hand, silently gazed upon the golden idol in his hand, observing the smiling countenance of the deity… In a trance-like moment, it seemed as if he was gazing back at himself.
The sculptor of this idol must be a renowned master. The divine aura and temperament conveyed by this small statue seem to be almost on par with Lu Heng!
Indeed, this carved idol is him!
However, was he not just a cultivator who had recently left Earth and had spent less than thirty years in the Celestial Desolation Realm without even reaching the realm of Innate? Why, then, would there be a deity statue resembling him on the moon?
Not only are there statues, but it seems that there is even a divine worship dedicated to him, with honorific titles and followers… What on earth is the meaning behind all of this?
Isn't this his first time returning to Earth?
Or perhaps, did he truly depart for the Celestial Desolation Realm immediately after his untimely passing?
When he awakened in the Celestial Desolation Realm, how long had passed since his demise due to the terminal illness?
How much time has elapsed and how many events have transpired during the period between his demise and his awakening in the Celestial Desolation Realm?
Why does he have no recollection whatsoever?
In the icy expanse of the cosmic void, Lu Heng's gaze… slightly revealed a sense of bewilderment.
The long-sought path of returning home, little did he anticipate that upon his return, all that awaited him would be this.
Even the traces of human existence have vanished within this very solar system.
So, what is the meaning behind his return home?
The long-awaited parents, relatives, acquaintances…
Were those faces that have long been awaited and yearned for, actually vanished into the abyss of time?
What one yearns to return to, is in fact an ancient anchor of the distant past that has long been unreachable, spanning countless years.
On Lu Heng's face, there appeared an expression that seemed to be a mixture of tears and smiles.
A desolate and tragic laughter resounded throughout the vast emptiness of the universe.
"Hahaha… Hahaha…"
