Chapter 501: Parting at 499 No.3

“I’m the only one left!?” Yu Hong was taken aback. “What do you mean?”

“Literally.” Agrius replied calmly.

His massive eyes resembled two huge lakes, with gentle ripples like patterns.

“In the Great Extinction, everything will be destroyed, whether it’s the Absolute Balance or Forest Sea City, all Floating Cities are merely struggling to survive.”

“The strength of the Source Disaster will continue to rise until you can no longer withstand it.”

“But if the Floating City has already endured for tens of thousands of years, isn’t its destruction inevitable, as there is no eternal and indestructible fortress in this world?” Yu Hong suddenly asked.

“You’re right. But that’s in regard to your kind of feeble life. When your lifespan spans millions or even billions of years, a world that perishes over tens of thousands of years is also an error for you,” Agrius explained calmly.

“Alright, so why are you seeking me out now?” Yu Hong understood and asked directly. “For a hundred-year-old life like mine, such a future is too distant.”

“I see your potential,” Agrius said in a deep voice. “Although I’m not sure how you’ve done it, you have a power that gradually makes ordinary things extraordinary. The other captains also have their specialties, but ultimately none compare to you.”

“So…” Yu Hong knew Agrius was referring to the Black Mark, though he probably couldn’t dig to the deepest reason. He could only observe the surface and draw that conclusion.

“So, I intend to renew the contract with you,” said Agrius. “Of course, that’s just the superficial reason. The real reason is… I’m almost at my limit too.”

“What do you mean…?” Yu Hong was puzzled.

“My body has mostly been eroded and destroyed by the Source Disaster, and now I could be completely obliterated and turned into an empty shell of the Source Disaster at any moment,” Agrius answered. “You’ve already reached the Phoenix Eye. Though the Savior Ship has also entered the Phoenix Eye, in my line, you are the only one. I have no other choice.”

“….” Those words seemed as if choosing him was barely a choice at all.

Yu Hong was at a loss for words.

In the next instant, he saw a platinum beam of light shoot out from Agrius’s forehead, arriving before him in the blink of an eye.

The light stopped, transforming into a small sphere composed of countless silver metallic runes.

Inside the sphere was a flowing platinum liquid, which slowly parted, revealing a vague, miniature humanoid shape.

The humanoid shape, astonishingly, had Yu Hong’s own face.

“Drip your blood, and the contract will be renewed indefinitely. But do not think you can hide in the Floating City to enjoy your time. Though I don’t know why, you’ve been targeted by the Ultimate Sun. The Light Disaster is rapidly approaching you. Your time is short…” Agrius’s voice drifted from afar.

“And you… what about you?” Yu Hong frowned. Although the hundred-year limitation of time was lifted, he felt even more restless for some reason.

“I am about to die,” Agrius replied. “Perhaps in the next moment or maybe years later, perhaps even longer, but I have no hope left. Only when you find the land of vitality in the future will there be hope, and I might possibly revive. While you’ve been delaying, the Great Extinction has advanced to more distant regions. If you do not act now, everything you encounter will be remnants and fragments of destruction.”

After finishing these words, Agrius raised a fingertip, where a speck of golden light gleamed briefly.

In the next moment, another object appeared before Yu Hong.

A key.

A golden key, with countless moving black spots on its surface.

“This is the Key of All Things. It’s a token I once obtained from a prophecy, proving the existence of the land of vitality. As long as you get close, it can guide you and open the entrance.”

Agrius’s voice gradually faded, diminishing until it fully dissipated.

Yu Hong looked at the two objects before him, extended his fingertip to release a drop of blood into the sphere, and then grasped the key.

Whoosh!

All of a sudden, everything before him seemed to dissolve like an illusion. He was instantly pulled out from a drowning-like state.

Hiss….

He looked around, realizing he was still standing in front of the window of the safe house Black Spirit, outside where multicolored lights shone, and the ship was still anchored deep within the Wind Disaster.

“Just now… was it an illusion?”

But the next moment, when he looked down, he saw a golden key tightly gripped in his hand.

He understood, it wasn’t a dream or an illusion.

“So, the restriction really is lifted…. The hundred-year contract is gone?? Does that mean the captains on Prison Island can come and go freely too??”

“There is no longer a Prison Island,” Agrius’s voice sounded. “Five hours after you last left, Prison Island, along with the world you originated from, was utterly destroyed by the Primordial Catastrophe deep within the Black Disaster. Whether confined or not, you are the last captain. Take care….”

“Hey? Agrius!?” Yu Hong called several times, finding that there was truly no response now.

Regardless of how he tried to summon after that, no answer came.

Confirming there was truly no response, Yu Hong simply sat cross-legged, holding the key to study it carefully.

After more than ten minutes of observation, he discovered that the key seemed not to exist in reality; it was something only he could touch.

Any other object he tried to meet with the key would pass right through, as if the key didn’t exist.

Upon retrieval, neither the key nor the object bore any marks, as if he held a shadow.

Having found nothing significant, Yu Hong got up to eat, reminiscing for a few moments about Brother Hu from Prison Island, and then continued practicing the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill.

Black Black Spirit remained at its spot, waiting for repairs, and Agrius had lifted the century-long contract, leaving time unrestricted.

Now, he just had to wait for the Black Mark’s enhancement to complete, repair the ship, and then he could continue forward.

No companions, no crew.

Yu Hong watched the countdown on the Outer Eye, ate, slept, and practiced cultivation.

Before he knew it, the countdown ended.

He moved the bed to the window on the ship, sat cross-legged on it alone, watched the outside through the window, and then took out the Outer Eye to wait.

Coloured light fell upon him, painting him into a patchwork of blues and yellows, vibrant with many hues.

Hiss.

The last minute lightly ticked away on the Outer Eye, completely ending.

The countdown ended.

The Outer Eye in Yu Hong’s hand blurred for a moment, and then the next second, it transformed into a peculiar orb of pure white with an intensely bright internal light.

A sheet of white paper instructions flashed below the orb.

Yu Hong, unperturbed, picked up the white paper to examine the instructions.

‘Outer Eye: Also known as the Immortal General’s Eye, this single eye possesses abilities comparable to the Immortal General’s eye from Heaven’s Qishan. Everything in its sight can be immediately reached by teleportation. Everything in its sight can be destroyed with a thought.’

‘Ability 1: Eye of Destruction (Able to destroy any target lower than one’s own spiritual power under visual lock. It absorbs the force of destruction in reverse from destroyed targets; the more targets killed, the stronger the Eye of Destruction. The limit is the body’s strength tolerance, capable of targeting multiple objectives simultaneously.)

Ability 2: Eye of Transmission (Able to teleport oneself across distances to any desired location without cost, every second interval. Note: Under extreme conditions, transmitting over great distances may require bodily strength, and insufficient strength can lead to the body decomposing midway, leaving only the will to arrive.)

“This time it’s quite impressive, just amplifying two abilities, directly upgrading me to the Immortal General’s tier,” Yu Hong said contentedly, picking up the globe of white light, but he didn’t insert it into his eye socket immediately. Instead, he continued to extend his hand, suddenly inspired, placing the just-obtained Key of All Things on it.

The two made contact as one.

‘Enhance the Outer Eye, full enhancement,’ Yu Hong thought silently.

He wanted to try it out, to see what kind of enhancement the combination of the key and Outer Eye would yield.

Certainly, this was just an attempt; he still had to first repair the safe house before considering more.

Just to have a look.

Soon, a dark line shot out from the Black Mark on the back of his hand, merging into the Outer Eye.

The countdown naturally surfaced.

‘139 years, November 15th, 42 minutes.’

“Indeed…” Yu Hong put his hand down without surprise, removed his eye patch, and inserted the Outer Eye into his eye socket.

With a flash of golden light, this Immortal General’s Eye quickly linked with the body, and a great amount of Inner Strength from the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill surged into it, assimilating it into his own system.

Then, in the next second.

The Immortal General’s Eye also began seeping nurturing, cooling airflow, blending into his Inner Strength under the influence of his cultivation power.

The Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill was inherently a technique that accelerated and improved the stronger the eyes became.

At this moment, with the Immortal General’s Eye enhanced, the dramatic boost in eye strength activated the whole cultivation method into auto-acceleration.

Buzz.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged, a circle of dark-rimmed, two-winged giant tiger’s phantom naturally appearing around him.

With the nourishment of the Immortal General’s Eye, the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill Power surged rapidly as if on a highway.

Grey Inner Strength circled densely in Yu Hong’s body, quickly refining the essence of the Immortal General’s Eye, absorbing it into the entire cultivation system within, fusing into Yu Hong’s whole body.

Roar…!

A low growl rumbled from the giant tiger as its body gradually solidified, the thick, fluffy white fur floating in the breeze, looking exceptionally pristine and dignified.

Poof.

Before long, Yu Hong’s entire form trembled slightly. A gray light flashed briefly across his face.

The next layer of the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill was broken through.

And that is not all….

The potential of the Immortal General’s Eye was far from fully tapped; the grey Inner Strength continued to circulate wildly, absorbing and refining the potential of the new Outer Eye.

Time passed little by little.

In the blink of an eye, more than three hours had passed. One barrier after another in the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill was breached.

Hiss!

With another faint sound, gray light flashed across Yu Hong’s body once more.

This time, the cultivation technique reached the Eighth Layer, marking the final phase, the mid-stage of the Chaotic God.

Reaching the Eighth Layer, breaking through just once more would bring the cultivation technique to its apex, signifying that the Chaotic God Sky Eye Skill has been trained to its limit and acquired a brand new cultivation technique trait.

Yu Hong sat cross-legged on the bed, enveloped in a radiant gray glow, the outline of the giant tiger highly realistic, with most of its black eyes now open, revealing densely packed, peculiar black eyes.

At this time, the gray Inner Strength within him was entirely pressing down the red-purple Inner Strength from the Tai Ling Skill for the first time.

The Light Well in his Dantian was also tightly encased in layers of gray light, woven tightly as a sealed entity.