CHAPTER 1573: CHAPTER 1532

"You are..."

"He is your brother, Lu Chen, sixteen years old this year. Your mother and I had him in the Small World. Chuan’er, I know you might resent your mother and me for abandoning you for over twenty years, and suddenly being presented with a brother out of nowhere. But Lu Chen is innocent. If you have to hate someone... hate me."

"Hate? I don’t hate! I have a brother now! I finally have a brother! Haha..."

Lu Chuan laughed a few times, but then coughed up a mouthful of blood that splattered on the edge of Lu Chen’s clothes.

Seeing the blood spread out, Lu Chen’s tears flowed like springs.

"Brother, don’t talk anymore! Take a good rest, Grandpa has already gone to find a way to save you!"

"No, I have so many things I want to say, I’m afraid I won’t get the chance if I don’t say them now."

Lu Chuan shook his head stubbornly, struggling to sit up, and laughed, "Mother, I have married a lot of wives, um... more than a dozen, each one a stunning beauty! They all love me, and I love them deeply too. But Grandpa said I am the only Lu family playboy, hahaha, I guess I set a precedent?"

"Oh right! Mother, you’re a grandmother now! I have a daughter! She... she’s like my life, just looking at her, it’s like seeing the continuation of my life. She’s so... so little, all rosy-cheeked!"

Lu Chuan gestured with his hand, his face a blur of tears and blood mixed together, dripping from the corner of his mouth.

"Unfortunately, I don’t have a photo to show you your granddaughter. Her name is Lu Zhenzhen, named by her mother-in-law. Zhenzhen means vibrant life, I think it’s a good name."

Oh right! There’s one more thing, I killed that Han Qian who bullied you. I know you are also from the Han family, but it doesn’t matter if they don’t recognize you, I do!

And, and... I have more to say."

As Lu Chuan spoke, he was already in tears, his shoulders trembling, blood and flesh peeling away from his body, revealing the ghastly white bones.

"Son... don’t say anymore, wait for your grandpa to return, we’ll have plenty of chances to talk slowly."

"I... I might not have that time anymore."

With most of his Sea of Consciousness shattered, Lu Chuan could even feel his consciousness hanging by a thread, ready to perish at any time. The long-awaited reunion had finally arrived, but it seemed... the time for farewell was imminent.

"Come, Chen’er, come let brother have a look at you!"

"Brother... please don’t talk anymore."

"Hey! A man doesn’t cry! Wipe your tears!"

Lu Chuan straightened up, took all his treasures from the Tower Spirit and placed them in front of Lu Chen.

"This is the Golden Luster Stick, this is the Soul-devouring Blade, this is... oh, this is my wife’s small vest, I can’t give you that, but the rest, you keep them for me, you might need them someday.

And these Heavenly Materials and Earthly Treasures and Spirit Pills, you keep them too, take your pick and eat, build a solid foundation."

Saying so, Lu Chuan took up the Little Tower, fondling it in his palm, hesitated a long time, then finally smiled bitterly, "As for this, I won’t give it to you, let me keep a memento."

"It’s a pity... that I met you too late, otherwise I’d certainly have raised you to be someone better than me.

Ah... well, let there be a little regret."

Having finally said what he needed to say, Lu Chuan lay back down, staring blankly at the sky.

In fact, he couldn’t really see the sky, only the hideous branches obstructing his view.

But if possible...

Lu Chuan still wanted to see his lovers.

Even if it was a farewell, it shouldn’t be so hasty.

Lu Chuan thought this, and gradually, his consciousness began to scatter, as the last bit of his strength silently slipped away.

"Chuan’er... Chuan’er!"

"Brother!"

Seeing Lu Chuan’s arm fall limp, Lu’s mother held Lu Chen tightly, her frail body was trembling with sobs.

How much she wished at that moment for Lu Chuan to wake up and playfully say: Haha! Fooled you!

But Lu Chuan apparently wouldn’t wake up again.

"Um... wait a minute, don’t cry just yet, Lu Chuan isn’t dead."

At the opportune moment, a faint figure condensed from the body of the Little Tower, transforming into an apparition that floated before them.

Hearing this, Lu’s mother immediately lifted her head, a glimmer of hope flashing through her eyes.

"You... what did you say!"

"Though that flicker of life is very faint, I can confirm Lu Chuan is still alive..."

The Tower Spirit furrowed its brows, striving to deduce where exactly that flicker of life in Lu Chuan resided, until it caught the aura of a Gu Insect.

"This is... the Destiny Devouring Gu!"

Perhaps it had been dormant within Lu Chuan for so long that not even the Tower Spirit remembered its existence!

After such a long time, the Destiny Devouring Gu had long since merged and coexisted with Lu Chuan. Should Lu Chuan die, this world’s greatest strange Gu would lose its survival foundation and subsequently die.

It was precisely because the Destiny Devouring Gu sensed this crisis that it had no choice but to awaken from its slumber, using the destiny it had devoured to sustain Lu Chuan’s last breath!

"My... my child! Can he still wake up?" Lu’s mother’s face was filled with panic and anxiety.

"There is a chance, but it’s very slim. If Lu Chuan’s grandpa can enlist that person’s help, perhaps it can restore Lu Chuan’s injuries, otherwise... this state is already the limit."

The Destiny Devouring Gu, after all, had not fully transformed before being forcibly awakened, and the amount of destiny it could muster was minimal.

If the Destiny Devouring Gu could successfully transform, it might be able to seize the destiny and fortune of the Small World to help Lu Chuan repair his body, but unfortunately, the time required was too long.

At the current pace, if it hadn’t been awakened prematurely, it would have needed at least another ten years. But being forcibly awakened now, all previous efforts were wasted, and the time required would be even longer.

But this was also, currently, the best outcome they could achieve.

For now, all hope rested on Elder Master Lu’s shoulders.

...

Life Forbidden Zone, deep within.

Elder Master Lu looked at an indescribable Dry Corpse, a steely resolve flashing in his eyes.

"This thing... can it heal my grandson’s shattered Sea of Consciousness?"

"No, but it can stop the Sea of Consciousness from further shattering. If you want to save your grandson, bring him to see me."

"The price?"

"Have him help me sever the three corpses, assist me in Ascension."

At this, Elder Master Lu’s face suddenly darkened.

"After all these years, you’re still pursuing that unattainable dream."

"It’s not a dream, I’m just walking a path no one has ever walked before."

"You’re asking him to die."

"I’ll protect him for ten years, teach him for ten years. After ten years, after severing the three corpses, I’ll return him his freedom. You have no choice, and neither do I. Either gamble with me, or watch him die. You know the answer, deep down, you always knew the answer."

Hearing that hoarse voice, like the snapping of dry branches, Elder Master Lu had nothing to say.