Night of Despair

Yu Hong paused, staring at Yiyi for several seconds before turning and flying out of the spaceship.

Returning to the Black Black Spirit.

He gritted his teeth and entered the Main Control Room.

"I can't go on like this! I can't!! Go back! I must go back!!"

He extended his hand, a wisp of black and white Holy Power flowed from his palm into the Energy Furnace of the Black Black Spirit.

Buzz!!

The entire Black Black Spirit shook violently, its speed suddenly surged, it made a sharp turn, taking the spaceship back to where it came from.

From then on, he went nowhere, staying in the Main Control Room, ensuring the accuracy of the direction.

When tired, he would close his eyes for a brief nap, when thirsty or hungry, he would directly gather elemental material with Holy Power to replenish his energy.

Days passed by, quickly turning into several months.

Yu Hong reopened the communication screen.

"Uncle Master?"

Silence on the other side of the screen.

"...Uncle Master??" Yu Hong's eyes slowly widened as he called out again.

After rustling sounds, Yiyi's small face appeared on the other side of the screen.

"Yu Hong, what Uncle Master?" She asked puzzlingly, holding the pendant that held her mother's memory, looking at the screen from her side.

"It's...." Yu Hong's lips began to tremble again, "It's, Feng Xuezi, Uncle Master...."

Even his voice carried an undeniable quiver.

"I.... I don't know any Uncle Master Feng Xuezi?" Yiyi was frightened by his appearance and cautiously replied.

"And what about Senior Fu Bai?" Yu Hong tried to suppress his emotions as he asked.

"What is... Fu Bai?" Yiyi cautiously asked, puzzled.

Yu Hong fell silent.

A weight of indescribable pressure clamped tightly in his chest, nearly suffocating him.

He opened his mouth but felt unable to draw any oxygen.

Though he no longer needed to breathe...

Yet a suffocating sensation, down to his bones, spread from his lungs throughout his body.

"Wait for me!"

At the last moment, he disconnected the screen, transformed into a serpent shadow, and flew out of the Black Black Spirit.

Soon, he entered the Aus Spaceship.

The spaceship was vast and empty, with only Yiyi standing dazedly in front of the control station, clutching the pendant.

Seeing Yu Hong land and transform back into human form, she quickly came forward.

"Yu Hong, are you alright?" she asked urgently.

"Why are you alone?!" Yu Hong seized her hand, asking anxiously.

"I was always alone?" Yiyi responded, confused.

"And this ship!?"

"Didn't you help me find this ship specifically for storing supplies?" Yiyi replied.

Yu Hong had no words.

Grasping Yiyi, he tightly held her arm, turning his head to look around.

No traces of the mages, no trace of Feng Xuezi or Fu Bai.

Yet he evidently still carried the Nine Calculation Heavenly Extreme that Fu Bai gave him.

"Is there truly no one else here?"

"There never was, Yu Hong, don't scare me!" Yiyi said, a little frightened.

"Let's go! You come with me to the Black Black Spirit, we can't be apart!!" Yu Hong felt his grip on sanity stretching tighter, holding Yiyi's hand, which trembled slightly.

A deep chill seeped through his bones, quietly spreading through his body.

"Okay, actually, in such a large place, I'm a bit scared too," Yiyi quickly nodded.

Right away, Yu Hong enveloped her with Holy Power for protection and flew out of the spaceship, back into the Black Black Spirit.

He dared not release Yiyi, continuously holding her hand tightly, never letting go even for a moment.

Whether cultivating, eating, drinking, or observing the outside world, he always held onto her.

Even when Yiyi slept, he didn't dare let go.

Day by day went by.

The time for the strengthening of the Black Mark had swiftly passed more than half.

The Qingyuan Heavenly River Holy Technique Yu Hong was cultivating rapidly filled the meridians of his upper body, only half the Holy Power was needed to fill the rest.

One night, he recorded important information from his mind, then meditated and cultivated, replacing dreams until morning.

"Yiyi, what do you want to eat today? I'll go and look in a bit."

Opening his eyes, Yu Hong turned his head to look in Yiyi's direction.

But.... his hand grasped only air.

"Yiyi?"

The calm on his face disappeared...

The left side was empty, only a computer whirred, the blue-white screen light was the only flickering object on the left.

Yu Hong got up and frantically searched the room.

No one on the ground floor, none in the basement, none on the upper floor.

He flew out of the Black Black Spirit, returned to the Aus Spaceship, and it was still empty, no sign of life.

Yu Hong landed in the desolate control hall, staring at the white round table used for small meetings, motionless.

For a long, long time....

He squatted down, holding his head with both hands, closing his eyes.

*

*

*

The Aus Spaceship slowly drifted away from the Black Black Spirit, losing power, rolling away, silently sinking into darkness.

Inside the Black Spirit Window, Yu Hong quietly watched this scene.

"Now, it's just me left..."

His face was expressionless, his eyes wooden, he turned and pulled down the shield, beginning to focus on cultivation.

With no sense of the passing years during cultivation, time went by year after year.

Finally, the countdown for the strengthening of the Black Mark's Outer Eye was drawing to a close.

Inside the Black Black Spirit, in the Main Control Room.

Yu Hong carefully arranged the metal figurines he had carved, lining them up in a row.

Each figurine bore a familiar face, with familiar names engraved on their backs.

Yiyi, Feng Xuezi, Yu Xuezi, Fu Bai, Ku Chan, Little White Dragon, and a young woman whose face he could no longer recall.

Yu Hong carved them all and placed them in the empty space on the main control console.

Once he finished arranging them, he sat crossed-legged, gently gouged out his right eye, and placed it in his palm.

The dark red countdown on the eyeball had only a few seconds left.

He placed the Outer Eye in his palm, and shortly after, the countdown flickered a few times and then disappeared with a pop.

The Outer Eye suddenly transformed, blurred for a moment, and then reappeared.

The whole Outer Eye completely lost all its luster; from the bottom, a layer of black swiftly spread upward.

In just a few seconds, the entire Outer Eye turned completely jet black.

Yu Hong held the Outer Eye, feeling a heat in his hand, and immediately sensed the corresponding explanatory information flowing into his mind.

'Outer Eye: also known as the Eye of Time, evolved from the right eye of the All Saints Venerable, possesses the power to manipulate time state changes.'

Time state!?!

Yu Hong's eyes widened, and a glimmer of hope emerged in his heart.

He hurriedly continued reading.

'Having acquired the Eye of Time, you have obtained the talent: Time State Solidification.'

'Time State Solidification: Your body and consciousness will not be affected by any negative state. You can permanently stay at a time of your choosing.'

'Having acquired the Eye of Time, you have obtained the talent: Reverse.'

'Reverse: You can reverse the time state in a small area, with the specific reversal time determined by the amount of energy you expend.'

'Having acquired the Eye of Time, you have obtained the talent: Heavenly Time Position.'

'Heavenly Time Position: A full version of the Heavenly Venerable Position possessed by the Heavenly Time Venerable, who achieved enlightenment through space-time transformation. Immunity to any harm below the Saint Position, infinite lifespan, can create something from nothing, condensing most matter and organisms without consumption. Condensing ability can only be used nine times. To reuse, the previously left power must be dissipated beforehand. Refresh the usage count.'

"Finally....!!" Trembling with excitement, Yu Hong gazed at the long-awaited Heavenly Venerable Position.

Finally, it had arrived.

Heavenly Venerable Position!

The Heavenly Venerate, who can condense countless fragments from the long river of time and recreate everything, the strongest beings at the pinnacle of existence.

"This way, I can resurrect Yiyi, and everyone who died before!"

He stood up, trembling, and gently placed the fortified Eye of Time into his right eye.

Sizzle!

In an instant, when the Outer Eye entered the socket.

An indescribable sensation of paralysis swept through Yu Hong's entire body.

His body lost strength, and he fell straight backward, hitting the ground with a thud.

Countless scalding hot currents flowed out from his right eye, spreading throughout his entire body.

He felt as if his right eye turned into a volcanic crater, spewing forth hot currents robust enough to scald him, incinerating every part of him to ashes.

Countless strange, indescribable perceptions also flooded into his mind at that moment.

Hiss...

He didn't know how much time had passed.

The Eye of Time, which was spewing hot currents, suddenly stopped, then rapidly began absorbing everything around it.

The hot currents that had spread throughout his body were now rapidly consumed and pulled back in.

Furthermore, all the Holy Power Yu Hong had cultivated was now entirely swallowed by the Eye of Time.

Then, his body began to melt, like oil dissolving in the heat, quickly dissolving into a puddle of variegated liquid, rapidly absorbed by the Eye of Time.

As his body was absorbed, Yu Hong felt his consciousness, his soul, everything being sucked into the fortified Eye of Time.

After a few breaths.

The Eye of Time floated into the air, suddenly emitting a translucent platinum halo.

The light gathered like mist or clouds, swiftly forming a blurry humanoid shape.

The shape solidified, soon reshaping into Yu Hong's form.

He still looked the same, a simple black and white patterned Daoist robe, black hair draped over his shoulders, pale skin, sitting cross-legged, his strong body resembling metal poured into a mold.

After more than ten minutes.

Yu Hong slowly opened his eyes, lifted his hand, and looked at his unchanged palm.

Soon he stood up.

Came to the Black Spirit Window.

Sizzle!

His body instantly disappeared, passed through the window, turning into a light-like phantom, appearing directly at the rear of the Black Spirit.

He reached out to point at the rear.

Silently and quietly, a large number of platinum light dots rapidly gathered from all directions, quickly reforming into a ship identical to the previous Aus Academy spaceship at the rear.

'Is this the Reverse ability?'

Yu Hong gazed at the restored Aus Academy spaceship.

He didn't use the nine-position ability of the Heavenly Venerate but directly utilized the Reverse talent. This talent can reverse traces from the past in a small scope.

And the Aus Academy spaceship, which had recently been let go, was now reversed and returned to its original place.

Looking at the familiar spaceship, Yu Hong took a deep nonexistent breath and pointed at the ship again.

He transmitted the thought of returning to a time when everyone was still on the spaceship.

Hiss...

In an instant, the Holy Power within him flowed out madly, disappearing.

In a blink, more than half of the Holy Power he'd cultivated was gone.

At the same time, within the spaceship, figures began to appear, shadowy and translucent.

Soon, Feng Xuezi, Fu Bai, Ku Chan, Yiyi, Quan He, Little White Dragon, all quietly and silently solidified, standing still inside the spaceship.

But by this point, the Holy Power within Yu Hong was almost depleted.

With a pop, the Reverse ability abruptly stopped.

The reversal of time within the spaceship also came to an end.

The mages had only partially recovered, and everyone stood frozen in place, motionless, like wax figures.

Crack.

Suddenly, Feng Xuezi's body, like cracking ice, was the first to begin moving.

"Success!!" Yu Hong's face trembled, his teeth clenched, his figure flashed, and he appeared inside the spaceship.

"Welcome... welcome back...."

He spread his arms, a twisted smile on his face.