Chapter 1039: Deep Within the Black Hole

Lou Yu’s pupils contracted slightly.

Lou Yu had never imagined that Lu Xun would deal with him in this way… Black holes in the universe swallow everything, and the nearest matter capable of escaping the black hole’s pull—the debris of stars—was light-years away, completely exceeding the range of his domain.

The current Lou Yu was indeed strong, strong enough to have almost no rivals in a head-on fight, but as a mere demigod, it was impossible for him to release energy greater than that of a black hole…

If he were swallowed into the black hole, both his body and soul would fall into silence, with no possibility of rebirth.

“No…”

Lou Yu gritted his teeth and immediately unleashed all his power, causing his form to expand rapidly…

Nuclear reactors of unknown tonnage surged within him, and brilliant, scorching energy erupted from his body. Like a human-shaped nuclear-powered spacecraft, he forcibly resisted the black hole’s gravity and charged outward!

The energy Lou Yu was erupting at this moment already exceeded the sum of all nuclear energy in human history. If he released this power on Earth, he could sink a Realm in an instant.

And with his all-out effort, even the black hole’s gravity could not bind his existence. His figure, like a burning star, slowly moved away from the black hole.

Just then,

Lu Xun’s figure slowly hovered before him amidst the starlight.

The moment Lu Xun appeared, all the stars within sight flared with light. The entire universe seemed to be shining because of his will. Under the blessing of this starlight, his figure was like a god;

“LU… XUN!!!”

Seeing Lu Xun appear again, wrapped in starlight, Lou Yu felt an indescribable sensation rise in his heart… It wasn’t anger, nor was it unwillingness, but a deep, bitter pain.

He did not give up because of Lu Xun’s appearance; instead, he roared silently, pushing his power to the limit once more. Endless energy surged from his body, and he began to charge at Lu Xun in the starry sky at an even faster speed!

Lu Xun’s pupils calmly reflected everything. Lou Yu’s ferocious face magnified rapidly before him, yet he acted as if he had no emotions, slowly raising his foot…

And then stomped down with force!

Thump—!!!

The starlight surged like a tide, weaving into a comet phantom before Lu Xun. The massive celestial body, containing terrifying mass and kinetic energy, rushed headlong toward Lou Yu!

Lu Xun’s comet and the burning star Lou Yu had become collided violently in front of the black hole, the terrifying shockwaves sweeping through the void!

The comet phantom shattered instantly under Lou Yu’s power, but the shockwave directly blasted Lou Yu, slamming his body—which had barely managed to escape the black hole’s gravitational range—back into the deeper darkness…

Lou Yu’s shattered body spun and fell infinitely into the black hole. He watched the stars and Lu Xun recede into the distance of his world, his pupils gradually losing their luster.

He had fallen too deep into the black hole… Lou Yu knew that even with all his might, he could no longer escape its gravity.

This universe had passed its death sentence upon him;

Darkness, silence…

Lou Yu could hear nothing. The stars in the universe, spinning like dazzling lights with long tails, blurred his vision. Here, time and space seemed to reach their end; everything was distorted and dim. His perception of time and space was being gradually stripped away.

“Is it over…”

Lou Yu sighed softly. There was no anger or unwillingness on his face, only a profound sense of helplessness…

Everything he had been through flashed silently before his eyes, like watching a silent film played at extreme speed. From his ignorant student days to his academic era as a researcher, to the turbulent Great Cataclysm, and the slaughter and schemes after his revival… Looking back on his entire life, Lou Yu had no regrets.

Even if he could do it all over again, he would still choose this path of “insurance,” even if the price was the shackles brought by six million souls and the eternal infamy of the world.

Of course, thinking about these things now was meaningless… His “Infinity” had been ended, and his life was coming to an end.

Fortunately…

The person who ended him in the end was Lu Xun.

Dying at Lu Xun’s hands, Lou Yu had no complaints. On the contrary, he felt a sense of relief. His life had changed because of Lu Xun; if it were to end because of him now, it could be considered complete.

The glare of the stars was too dazzling, and Lou Yu’s eyes slowly closed. Just as he prepared to sink completely into the black hole, a hand suddenly gripped his collar.

Lou Yu was startled and opened his eyes in a daze…

A familiar figure had somehow arrived deep within the black hole. His silhouette, illuminated by the endless glare of the stars, was outlined with a faint light, full of natural divinity… A pair of star-filled eyes were quietly watching Lou Yu.

“Just now you asked me if I came to make you pay with your life…” Lu Xun’s voice echoed in Lou Yu’s mind,

“My answer is… no.”

“A life for a life is the simplest and most direct method, but it’s also a way that yields no benefits… You killed six million people, and you carry the shackles of their souls. If you die now, everything will be meaningless.”

“So, you cannot die, at least not yet…”

“Don’t you want to be humanity’s ‘insurance’? Go do what you think needs to be done. After you finish, pay for those six million lives in your own way.”

Lou Yu stared blankly at Lu Xun’s eyes, frozen in place.

He hadn’t expected Lu Xun to have no intention of killing him, choosing instead to let him live… but doing so was indeed the best choice.

If he died now, those six million people would have died for nothing. What Lu Xun wanted was for him to live on with the shackles of a sinner, and once the dust settled, to settle the accounts himself.

“You… you trust me that much?”

Lou Yu’s lips moved, but no sound came out. Yet, Lu Xun seemed to understand what he meant.

A faint, almost imperceptible smile touched Lu Xun’s serious and imposing face…

“I believe in the Sovereign of Infinity, Lou Yu.”

The Sovereign of Infinity is also one of the Nine Sovereigns.

As the words fell, Lu Xun raised his hand again. He reached out from deep within the black hole toward the starry sky, and a void hand, seemingly from the cosmos, gently clasped his.

“……Take me.”

A soft murmur sounded. The next moment, a force grabbed Lu Xun and Lou Yu, forcibly peeling them away from the depths of the black hole, spanning an unknown number of light-years across the boundless starry sky, and pulling them toward Earth!

……

The starlight streaked past Lou Yu’s eyes like lines.

By the time he regained his senses, the familiar gravity enveloped his body once more. With his body shattered and lacking support, he stumbled and fell to his knees…