Chapter 168 : Crossing That Wall

Cecilia felt warm and cozy.

She was about to speak when Lu Mo’s voice sounded.

“Awake, Cecilia?”

Only then did she notice that Lu Mo was standing in front of her. This time, Lu Mo did not call her an idiot. But Cecilia was still drowsy and didn’t pay attention.

“Miss Lu Mo?”

She spoke softly.

The Lu Mo before her seemed the same as always. Her long hair cascaded like a waterfall, her face exquisitely beautiful, with a faint smile. A breeze blew past. Her hair and skirt swayed gently. Like a flower blooming in the wind. Just like before. It captivated her. It made her want to look at her like this forever. She felt something was off. But couldn’t put it into words.

“Miss Lu Mo…”

She rubbed her head and said quietly: “I just… seemed to have had a very long dream…”

Lu Mo smiled with a hint of exasperation. “We need to hurry. This isn’t the time for dreaming.”

“Hurry?” Cecilia was taken aback. Hurry to do what?

And at that moment, Lu Mo extended her hand toward her. “Let’s go. We still have one last wall to cross.”

“…Okay!” Cecilia nodded. She took Lu Mo’s hand. She froze for a moment. But soon, she smiled foolishly again. Then she left the giant tree. Following Lu Mo, they slowly walked toward the wall at the end of the sea of flowers.

Lu Mo walked step by step toward Cecilia. She walked very slowly. A distance that was originally short now seemed extraordinarily long. So long it felt like it could never be traversed in a lifetime. So long… as if it separated life and death.

She was too weak. With every step, her body trembled violently. Blood and flesh fragments kept falling from her. She fell many times. But in the end, she stood up again and again, continuing forward. Blood spread under her feet. Behind her, the earth and the sea of flowers were stained red, turning into a long road of blood.

She was no longer the invincible girl she once was. Almost every part of her body was damaged. That perfect face was covered with scars. Blood continuously flowed from wounds, eyes, and lips.

‘If Cecilia sees me… she would definitely cry, right?’ Lu Mo thought.

She looked up again. And ahead, Cecilia was leaning against the decaying tree of annihilation that was dissipating. The girl’s eyes were closed. Her expression was calm and serene. As the shadow of the god died, that golden thread also stopped burning. Cecilia seemed to no longer feel pain. She slept quietly, pure and flawless like a princess from a fairy tale. Beautiful in a timeless way. So beautiful… just like the first time she saw her many, many years ago.

Lu Mo looked again at the thread behind her—that pale golden thread extending from behind Cecilia, stretching into the sky beyond, vanishing into the unseen. She had seen this thread for many years. The first time she discovered it was when Cecilia was crying loudly in her arms. The girl said she didn’t want to die, didn’t want to never see her again. It was when the girl first had a strong sense of self and clashed with the mission of the Saintess. It was when she nestled in her arms, revealing her fears and sadness without reservation.

At that time, Lu Mo had made a vow to her: that she would be her knight, protect her forever, until death. That day, she also held the girl under the gloomy sky and said softly: “No one can stop me from meeting you. No one can take you away from me. Not even the gods.”

That year, she was seven years old. And from that time on, she wanted to cut that thread. Research on Fusion Sublimation. Journeys in her youth. Accepting the power of the demon realm. Forming a contract with the Original Sin Imperial Armament. Killing the hero. Devouring the Demon King. Standing against the entire world. Pointing her sword at the shadow of the god. She did many things. Some admired her. Some feared her. But many more… did not understand. What exactly was she facing? What exactly did she want to cut?

The head of the Kalis family had asked her. The Sword of Undying had asked her. Yuxia had asked her. The woman in the Sword of Endless Annihilation had also asked her. And today, all questions would find their answers.

Lu Mo finally stopped. Stopped at a place that would not disturb Cecilia’s sleep. Stopped at a place where she could deliver the final blow to that thread.

She looked at the golden thread again.

“Actually… there are many things I want to ask you too,” she said in a low voice. At this moment, even making a sound was difficult. “What are you? Do you exist only behind Cecilia? Or… do traces of you exist behind many people as well? Do you represent the will of the gods? Represent prewritten fate? Represent everything that people take for granted?”

She asked softly: “But just because something is taken for granted… does it make it right?” Just like the question she asked when she first came to this Simulated Reincarnation.

Between the giant tree and the sea of flowers, the thread remained silent. It stood high above, refusing to answer the mortal’s question. After a brief silence, Lu Mo raised the Sword of Endless Annihilation again.

“Give me… open—!”

She pushed her body again. The intense pain almost made her faint. But she still held on, condensing the last of her power into a sword aura and slashing at the thread.

Pfft—!

But she was ultimately too weak, already at the end of her life. The next moment, blood spurted out. Her body collapsed uncontrollably. She stabbed the Sword of Endless Annihilation into the ground, using the blade for support, barely managing to kneel on one knee.

‘Have I reached my limit after all…’ Lu Mo thought.

She tried to stand, but found her soul slowly separating from her body. Her vision grew dimmer.

‘Stand up, Lu Mo. Stand up!’ she told herself. This was her battle alone, and it was something she had to accomplish. So she couldn’t fall.

“What a small fry~ What, are you going to collapse at a time like this?”

A familiar voice suddenly rang out. Lu Mo felt as if someone had forcibly pulled her up, no refusal allowed. She turned her head and saw a blurry figure. Twin tails swaying gently. Anklets jingling.

“Yuxia…” Lu Mo said with difficulty.

“Hmph~” The girl nodded proudly, with a hint of mockery. “I never thought I’d see the day that even you would be so pitiful. Worse than I was back then. Uglier than I was. Since that’s the case, let me graciously help you.”

At the same time, in reality, Lu Mo’s shattered heart, about to stop beating, suddenly began to burn. Flames emitted a strong scent of God-blood. Affected by the God-blood, the unclaimed divine powers in the sea of flowers divine kingdom surged toward Lu Mo, filling her wounds, becoming her strength. There wasn’t much God-blood, and the flame wouldn’t last long. After the flame went out, the divine power would dissipate, and Lu Mo would still die. But at least for now, she regained the ability to move.

Lu Mo slowly stood up. Part of the divine power around her twisted slightly, vaguely outlining a blurry figure. The figure approached her. Yuxia whispered in her ear, serious, firm, resolute:

“Mo. Do you remember what I once told you? You have to keep going. You must not… lose to anyone. Even if you face fate. Or the gods.”

“Thank you,” Lu Mo smiled.

“Don’t thank me.” Yuxia pouted. “I didn’t do this just for you. Alright, accept this power—for your idiot. Go swing your sword!”

Lu Mo couldn’t help but laugh: “Has anyone ever told you? You’re an idiot too.”

“Wha—what?!” Yuxia was stunned.

And Lu Mo had already looked up again toward the golden thread. Divine power temporarily repaired her body and decomposed into pure energy, restoring some of her realm’s strength. She mobilized her own power again, once again manifested the Eightfold Fusion Sublimation Power, and then… slashed at the thread!

But the divine power could only convert the human part of her power. The demon part of her power had already weakened to the extreme. Under these circumstances, condensing the Eightfold Fusion Sublimation Power was still very difficult. Yuxia grew anxious. And Lu Mo still condensed with all her might. As long as there was a glimmer of hope, she would never give up.

The woman in the Sword of Endless Annihilation quietly felt all this—felt Lu Mo’s will, felt the changes in her. Finally, she smiled and made a decision.

Hum—

On the Sword of Endless Annihilation, the fragment of the Demon Emperor’s authority suddenly lit up. The next moment, the vast demon realm power stored in the sword exploded completely, surging toward Lu Mo like a tidal wave.

“Enough.” The woman’s voice sounded, helpless, accepting, and with a hint of madness. “You will definitely die. There’s no doubt about that. But I thought about it. After you die, I will likely be picked up by humans for research. My true body is the Demon Emperor. Being seen through, developed by humans, making ‘oh oh oh’ sounds every day… That kind of thing is absolutely not. Rather than that, it’s better to blow up along with you against that thread.”

The woman chuckled: “Lu Mo. I should thank you. I have lived too long. So long I forgot what I originally looked like. Became afraid of death. Lived in disgrace. But today, your madness, your unwillingness, your determination, your will… reminded me of myself many, many years ago. Back then, I was also that kind of person. If you can continue to live, you will definitely become the Demon King. Even have a chance to become the Demon Emperor. Unfortunately, you can probably only go this far. But no matter what, you are still my great master. So—let me witness it. Witness your sword. Your will. Your power that shakes the gods and shatters the stars!”

Hum—

The fragment of Demon Emperor authority merged into Lu Mo’s palm. Several more cracks appeared on the surface of the Sword of Endless Annihilation. And Lu Mo felt vast demon realm power continuously flowing into her body. Human power and demon power once again formed a new balance. The woman fell silent. Lu Mo began to condense the Eightfold Fusion Sublimation Power. Endless darkness merged into the Sword of Endless Annihilation. The fragment of Demon Emperor authority unreservedly offered everything it had left.

“Swing it down. Swing it down,” Yuxia said softly. Her hands covered Lu Mo’s hands on the sword. She showed her a brilliant smile, then turned into light and merged into her body.

Divinity and demonic nature. Angel and demon. Emperor and girl. All kinds of starkly different temperaments simultaneously appeared on Lu Mo. Opposing, yet unified. Contradictory, yet coexisting. Between black magic power and white divine power, a deeper, more terrifying line slowly appeared.

Was that still the Eightfold Fusion Sublimation Power? Lu Mo suddenly realized—not only the power of the four attributes and inverse attributes, but also divine power and demon realm power, at this moment, also integrated into that sword aura. Divine power trembled. Magic power trembled. And her body, because it could not withstand this power, continuously split apart. But these no longer mattered.

“What a long story…” Lu Mo finally murmured. There might be many regrets. Might not be perfect. But this… was her final sword.

“Wait! This aura… this resonance…”

At some point, the woman seemed to sense something. Suddenly she breathed rapidly and shouted in disbelief.

“I understand! I finally understand! So you were—”

The voice cut off.

And the girl, in the vast heaven and earth, swung her sword.

That deep and terrifying line suddenly slashed out! Swallowed all sound. Gathered all power. Drove straight toward the pale golden thread between dusk and the giant tree. There was no earth-shattering momentum. No world-ending scene. Just… cut a thread.

Crack—

At that moment, the sound of something breaking rang in everyone’s ears, causing countless people to look up at the same time toward the direction of the Sacred Demon Wall.

“What was that sound?”

“Did you hear it too?”

“Seems like something broke…”

“What’s going on?”

Mass hallucination? Or mental disorder? Not only ordinary beings, but at this moment, the higher-ups of major factions—those Star Realm powerhouses—all experienced a brief trance.

“What happened?”

“That sound just now… is it related to the Sacred Demon Wall side?”

“Could it be that the gods killed Lu Mo?”

And at the same time the cracking sound rang out, in the depths of their souls, something seemed to tighten sharply, causing everyone to tremble instinctively.

Far away, on a cliff, an old man sat in a wheelchair, stopped in front of that giant sword intent monument. At this moment, the sword intent at the top of the monument slowly stained with a hint of black. A certain will spread from the sword intent, causing countless sword intents within the monument to retreat in awe. The old man quietly watched all this. The ancient longsword on his lap also began to tremble uncontrollably.

That was a sword intent… that even Audenary could not understand. Surpassing the Undying Sword. Transcending all sword intents in the world. At this moment, the old man seemed to see the entire heaven and earth through the monument. Saw the world slightly misaligned before that black sword scar. That sword scar… seemed to have cut open the entire world. And in the blackness, he vaguely saw a pale golden thread. The thread… was broken.

He didn’t know what that thread represented. But instinctively, he could feel that the thread was related to fate, related to something that transcended the world.

“Is this what you ultimately wanted to cut?” the old man said softly. “Miss Lu Mo…”

He gazed at the black sword scar for a long time. Finally, he let out a long sigh.

No one knew how long had passed. Sunlight shone on her body. Warm and cozy. Cecilia slowly opened her eyes. Found herself seemingly asleep under a tree. Flowers bloomed around her. The sunlight was warm.

“What am I…”