Chapter 416: Little Moon’s Growth, World Shattering, Final Stop

Ripples rose and fell by the lake, and people bustled in Hongya Cave, drowning out the soft evening breeze and the gentle sway of branches. The bubbles from the sunflower sparkled with rainbow light and popped one by one as the sound faded away. Except for a few hints of soapy scent, no trace was left behind.

The birthday song had long finished, and the sunflower faded, returning to its cheap plastic look. The boy held his mother’s hand, looking up curiously and asking with worry,

“Big sister, why are you crying?”

Chu Wang Shu was stunned by his words. She touched her face and found it covered in tears. The feelings growing in her heart had completely faded—no sadness, no joy. She held the sunflower toy tightly, crouched down, and gave the boy a gummy candy. She politely asked,

“Thank you, little one. Can you tell me who asked you to give this to me?”

The boy glanced at his mother, and seeing she didn’t object, happily took the candy. He answered,

“It was a very beautiful big sister. She was right over there just now.”

The boy looked back and pointed to the distant, glowing lights. But in the crowded crowd, no sign of that person could be found.

After Chu Wang Shu said thank you, she looked back at her teammates on the painted boat with an apologetic glance. Without any more hesitation, she hugged the sunflower toy in her arms and quickly ran in the direction the boy pointed.

September 13th.

In her memory, this was the day she was adopted by the national welfare center.

But because of problems with her household registration and ID card, the birth date on her documents was more than a month late. From then on, whether it was her real birthday or the one she told others, she always used the date on her ID.

Chu Wang Shu only remembered this when she heard the birthday song. Today, she felt like something was missing; maybe it was because of this.

But… who was that person? How did they know this date? And why did they give her a gift?

Was it a fan? If it was, why didn’t they give it to her in person?

Also, why did she cry when she received the gift?

The girl felt more and more confused. She was about to forget the sudden feeling inside her, but it made her even more anxious. It was like trying to catch a falling star’s tail, wanting to make a wish with all her heart. Feeling tangled and restless, she squeezed through the crowd, looking around eagerly in search of a stranger whose face she didn’t even know.

A long, long time passed.

Only after leaving Hongya Cave and arriving at another street filled with even more people did her phone keep vibrating, and her teammates’ calls kept coming. She finally snapped out of her daze and stopped walking.

Chu Wang Shu stood still, bathed in neon lights and moonlight. She hung her heavy eyelids low, slowly crouched down, hugged the sunflower toy, and held herself tightly, like a lost child in a crowd, lonely and sad.

The shrine maiden, holding a paper umbrella bought from the street, stood on the edge of a stilt house’s roof, looking far away at Little Moon’s back and softly saying,

“Won’t you go see her? Next time you meet, you might not get a chance to talk.”

Pure White Witch’s face was filled with mixed feelings. She quietly watched her daughter, who, worried by passersby, came back to her senses, stood up, and walked ahead bravely. Then she answered with both comfort and sadness,

“Little Shu has grown up.”

Now, the other side completely swallowed the Son of Mankind. Without being corroded by the Entropy of Disorder, it seized the form of Shadow of the Masses. Because of this, even from tiny clues, it could recover some pieces buried by the void, creating feelings and visions that should not exist.

This proved her daughter’s growth and strength, but it was also why Chu Yuanqing held back her longing and could not meet her.

If this child were like the green-eyed cat, without blessings or special powers, maybe there would be no need to worry about breaking through the barriers and facing true emptiness. Then she could have met a few more times.

But there is no if.

Besides, more meetings are not as important as her daughter having the power to control her own fate.

Right now is just fine.

Soon enough, this part of her life will become just a small, forgettable moment.

As for that sunflower toy, it would gradually lose its voice and become a decoration at home, ready to be forgotten and discarded.

Chu Yuanqing watched the girl’s back grow smaller and smaller until she could no longer see her clearly, fading into the glow of the neon lights and moonlight, prepared to leave with the shrine maiden.

But the next moment, the entire mountain city was engulfed by the pattern of lotus flowers, and the unseen rules, surging like a tsunami of disaster aura, controlled the local space and time, abruptly causing everything to freeze in place.

—The Lotus Realm.

The shrine maiden’s steps halted, like a beautiful statue suspended in the moonlight.

Chu Yuanqing looked back, rising like the Calamity God to the sky and gazing down at the world below. Little Moon surrounded the entire mountain town with golden magic energy and dark, burning mist, instantly locking the whole town in a magical prison, marking her territory.

Moreover, she even sensed the chains of cause and fate. Through the sunflower toy, she attempted to anchor the true identity behind it all.

Chu Yuanqing drew the shrine maiden back to the cherry blossom tree rooted in the void dimension. She stood still, no longer moving, allowing the golden magic energy, the dark disaster aura, and the mixed powers to rush by like a fierce wind, unmoved, softly whispering:

“The powers of Tathagata and Helldir, huh?”

“You only remembered to use your powers after calming down. Such a clumsy child.”

“But you’re still too weak. Maybe after you devour these two true Calamity Gods, you’ll be able to touch this barrier.”

Chu Yuanqing quietly observed Little Moon as she searched through the entire mountain town. She stood there, but as long as she didn’t actively resist the Void’s devouring, even if the whole Disaster group gathered, they would struggle to see through this hidden barrier.

Time is the harshest disease.

With the potential that Chu Wang Shu displayed in her future dream, perhaps in a few months, she might break free from the boundaries of this universe, absorb the countless ages of the Shadow of the Masses, and gaze directly into the source of the Void.

But at this moment, whether it’s the Son of Mankind or the magical girl, none of these powers could meet this child’s expectations.

After 180 seconds, the Lotus Realm began to shake and collapse. The locked local space-time started to connect with the outside world, and dark cracks of ill omen appeared in the sky above the edge of the mountain city.

The Son of Mankind only wielded a fraction of the power of Tathagata. If this sequence had not fused numerous blessings of time, attempting to freeze such a vast local space-time would simply be a fool’s dream.

180 seconds, 3 minutes.

This was Chu Wang Shu’s current limit.

Unless she accepted the infinite dimensions belonging to the Disaster group and obtained the blessings of the Shadow of the Masses, every additional second would only drain her magic energy.

And having chosen an ideal creature as her form, if she expended too much magic energy, there was a chance she would trigger a disaster that would alter her permanent life form, evolving into a concept life of natural negentropy.

Thus, the Lotus Realm shattered.

The golden patterns adorning the horizon suddenly crumbled with a loud crash. Thousands of shimmering fragments swirled back with the cracks, as fierce winds howled and swiftly swept away the floating clouds across the entire city. The moon hung high and clear, its silver light pouring onto the earth, creating a breathtaking scene.

Time resumed its flow.

Before it could happen, Chu Wang Shu exited her Calamity God mode, transforming back into a magical girl. The Magic Armor adorning her body slowly disintegrated like a withered bouquet, swirling down and disappearing as it fell.

The girl stood in a daze on the surface of the river, gazing at the shimmering waves that reflected the full moon and the neon lights of the old town. Her mind gradually cleared, yet her rosy eyes brimmed with confusion, leaving her uncertain about what she was thinking.

Why was she so excited?

Upon reflection, this gift was most likely from a fan.

Today was her birthday; however, for someone who had lived alone for so long, birthdays didn’t really mean much.

The intense emotions had surged suddenly and faded just as quickly.

Chu Wang Shu stared blankly at the sunflower toy in her hand, feeling like a nervous fool.

Before she could continue her thoughts,

Her teammates’ voices quickly reached her ears:

“Little Shu! What’s wrong? Did something happen?”

“You used a lot of magic energy. Did you meet a disaster beast?”

“Are you hurt? Let me see.”

Xie Qingxuan, Tang Liuli, and Kirimi Miyuki, like caring mothers, surrounded the sweet girl with concern, helping her onto the boat and using their magic to examine her body.

Chu Wang Shu didn’t have time to feel sad; the worry from the three older girls made her very embarrassed. She quickly moved away to a safe distance, wiped the corners of her eyes that had not yet turned red, and feeling grateful for a magical girl’s healing power, she solemnly told a little lie:

“I did encounter a disaster beast, but I’m not hurt at all. Nothing is wrong.”

The green-eyed cat scrutinized the somewhat nervous Little Moon. She was very sensitive to emotions and immediately sensed that the other was lying, but she didn’t call her out. Instead, she said:

“We asked Dream Weaver Rabbit to locate you. Just as we were about to come get you, we saw you teleporting above the riverbank.”

Kirimi Miyuki asked enviously:

“Has Little Shu already learned space-time magic? Did she learn it from Charlotte?”

It was said that there were two types of space-time magic users: one type was academically gifted; they could use extrasensory perception to calculate space-time patterns and sequences, and by employing this careful data like a ritual, they reduced magic energy consumption to achieve a special state of mind.

The other type was purely talented, relying on instinct to teleport however they wished, with precision almost approaching zero error. Charlotte, who disliked studying, belonged to this type.

Since Little Shu was always busy with advanced math studies, she should belong to the first type, right?

Xie Qingxuan examined Little Moon’s clothes, and upon finding no damage or wrinkles, she moved past those details and took out a tablet, asking her to input her measurements to match the ready-made clothes available in the boat for free selection.

Chu Wang Shu sighed with relief. She took the tablet and quietly explained:

“I… I smelled a disaster aura in the crowd earlier. It was an urgent situation, so I didn’t have time to inform you. It was a newly hatched Grade C Disaster Beast. I quietly deployed the Mortal Realm Barrier and dealt with it.”

Although there were still many flaws in her statement, she indeed could randomly destroy a Grade C Disaster Beast from the Shade Throne and retrieve its body as evidence, so she was not afraid of getting caught.

As for Dream Weaver Rabbit activating the surveillance and noticing her emotional distress, she could easily pass that off as the result of a mental disaster beast’s manipulation.

The girl’s green eyes blinked thoughtfully.

Little Shu’s lies did not fool her; earlier, she had established a semi-permanent communication spell called Divine Control, which she had shared with her three teammates, so they only needed a thought to communicate.

In this case, no matter how urgent it was, they would not have failed to send a single word.

So… why was that?

Tang Liuli kindly chose not to expose her; she often felt a sense of elderliness around Little Moon and naturally wanted to be understanding.

Moreover, as a shy green-eyed cat, she consistently respected others’ privacy.

Thus, aside from the unusual air currents recorded by satellites far above, today the mountain city was calm, and the earlier commotion became just a minor incident.

Chu Wang Shu quickly integrated into the team and, filled with curiosity, started selecting outfits. She planned to dress in matching styles with her older peers and take photos on the painted boat as extra fun after the show tonight.

The sunflower toy had been placed in a specially created magical space, resting alongside the other luggage. No one knew when it would be retrieved again.

Meanwhile, dozens of kilometers away from Hongya Cave, a food street bustled with activity.

The shrine maiden angrily munched on grilled skewers, still feeling embarrassed about being frozen in time by Little Moon earlier. She quietly grumbled:

“This kid must be cheating! Soon, even when I’m at my best, I won’t be able to beat her.”

Chu Yuanqing smiled softly. She brushed the girl’s hair, as black as crow feathers, and then took out a bottle of discounted cola from a plastic bag, handing it over. Sitting beside her, she spoke softly:

“The idea of the Disaster group’s meme was first created by gathering data from billions of souls. Then, they recorded all of humanity’s blessings from me. Using the power of the other [Calamity Gods] and bits of at least seven digits of world fragments, they crafted the [Son of Mankind].”

“Her powers cover everything. It’s not surprising if she has the exact same ability as the [Tempering of the Heart]. If you can’t beat Little Shu in the future, that would be normal.”

The shrine maiden looked over at Honey Qing’s profile and smiled, saying:

“Hmm, if we say it like that, then according to Liuli, doesn’t Little Shu seem like a special prize you receive after finishing the first playthrough in New Game Plus? It’s made just to help players speedrun.”

Pure White Witch pondered this notion and proudly agreed:

“Even I back then only viewed myself as a container to seal the Disaster group. Without immortality, I would have fallen halfway, but this child can effortlessly absorb the power of the Son of Mankind.”

Chu Yuanqing said this while her golden eyes shimmered softly, happily adding:

“So, perhaps from the very beginning, she was the appointed savior of the new age.”

The shrine maiden sipped her cola, gazing at the night sky, holding hope for the future, and softly sighed:

“Truly, she is the child of you and Charlotte.”

“It’s unfortunate we won’t live to see that day.”

Chu Yuanqing did not feel regret. In her youth, she had once considered giving in when faced with such despair. However, she had encountered many who burned themselves with hope, willing to sacrifice their lives for it, and thus she did not want to witness those flames of hope extinguished.

So, unknowingly, she grasped that remaining spark in her hand, stepping over countless fallen bodies until she reached the very end.

And now, her own daughter, the savior of the new era, designated by the Disaster group as the natural highest, could finally carry this hope, allowing it to burn on forever.

At long last, this courageous soul, who had used herself as fuel to reignite hope for others, the stars, loved ones, civilization, and many other things, without burning or harming herself, could finally release her burdens and embrace hope in her death.

To her, this was the greatest gift.

The shrine maiden understood Chu Yuanqing’s thoughts perfectly; she did not display sadness but looked up at the clear night sky and gently asked:

“Little Qing, you’ve attended Charlotte’s concert, said goodbye to Sister Ellie, visited Liuli’s father’s grave, met my family and Little Xuan’s, and helped Little Shu celebrate her 18th birthday.”

“So, where else do you wish to go with the remaining time?”

Chu Yuanqing smiled and replied:

“Our journey is over. For now, I want to stay in Daxia a bit longer to see them more. But… I won’t have close contact anymore. I will only observe Little Shu, Liuli, Honey Xuan, Miyuki, and Charlotte from a fan’s perspective.”

The shrine maiden nodded in understanding and teased:

“There’s no other way. After all, that child is only going to get stronger. If you get too close, you might leave traces behind.”

The girl set down the porcelain cup filled with cola and rested her chin on her hand, asking:

“And in the end? Where do you wish to go?”

Chu Yuanqing had already thought this through and responded:

“In the end? I believe I will go to the place closest to the stars.”

“Where is that?”

“The Crimson Polar Realm.”