Chapter 342:

“Sylvia, do you remember what I once told you?”

“Enduring darkness is easy. But facing the light again… that’s the hard part.”

Walking across the ruins of the plateau, Xu Xi held Sylvia’s hand and led her forward. The brave one, overwhelmed by emotion, could no longer move properly on her own. Only by following Xu Xi’s hand could she continue forward.

She didn’t understand why Xu Xi was suddenly asking her that. Her eyes were dim, hollow, and without light. “I remember, Master Sorcerer…”

They paused for a moment.

Xu Xi passed by the ruins of a sorcerer tower, cleared away debris with practiced skill, and stored every intact item into his spatial ring.

Dust and sand were swept by the wind but blocked by an invisible shield.

The cold, black sun hung high in the sky, making the despair even heavier.

Yet compared to all that, the dull green in Sylvia’s eyes still held a faint ripple.

“You said,” Sylvia said hoarsely, “that people who’ve stayed too long in the dark can’t adapt to the world under the sun.”

Xu Xi nodded in approval. “When your eyes become used to darkness, the sudden appearance of light causes pain. That’s why facing the light again is so difficult.”

“Master Sorcerer, I… I can do it.”

Her dull eyes flickered with response.

She wanted to prove herself.

Xu Xi smiled and continued holding her armored skeletal hand, gently guiding her deeper into the ruins of the plateau.

“Sylvia, having the courage to face the light is admirable,” he said softly, “but that alone isn’t enough.”

“Sometimes, the darkness is so empty and silent that we can’t see the light… nor find a way out.” Xu Xi paused.

He turned to look back at Sylvia and the lifeless world behind her.

As if understanding something, Sylvia looked up at him.

“Master Sorcerer, is there… really no other way?”

The darkness in this world was so suffocating, even the hand of the brave one that gripped her sword was trembling.

Xu Xi held her hand tighter, passing warmth once more to her undead body. “Sylvia, sometimes you don’t have to be fixated on finding the light.”

“Those who yearn for light… are already shining themselves.”

“Even if it’s faint, that light is real.”

“Sylvia, I believe… that one day, you’ll be the one who breaks through this deep darkness.”

His words were calm and gentle, filled with unwavering trust.

It was encouragement.

It was recognition.

Enough to help the grieving brave one rise again, rather than remain trapped in sorrow.

The dead were already gone.

The pain that had happened couldn’t be undone.

But now, the brave one could try to save the future with her own hands, and prevent even more tragedy.

“Master Sorcerer, I… I don’t think I can…”

“But I believe in Sylvia.”

Words from others… really could give strength.

Sylvia, whose sorrow had been so heavy she could barely breathe, now had a faint light emerging in her eyes.

It was grief, still fresh, mingled with a sliver of strength—gathered into a quiet brilliance.

Sylvia didn’t believe in herself.

But she believed in the Master Sorcerer… who believed in her.

The emeralds of Crowfell once again shone brightly because of the sorcerer’s presence.

[The painful truth and despairing world dealt a heavy blow to the brave one]

[But because you were by her side]

[She found her courage again]

[With Sylvia’s help, your speed in collecting relics from the ruins increased significantly. Many of them were precious, including manuscripts from high-level sorcerers and usable extraordinary materials]

[The corpse of a bone dragon, stripped of its soul flame, also became one of your trophies]

[Half a month passed]

[You cleared out every valuable item from the ruins of the sorcerer towers on the Plateau of the Gods]

[The brave one asked you where to go next]

“Master Sorcerer, what should we do now?”

Xu Xi had come to the Plateau of the Gods for two main reasons.

One was to find the mastermind.

The other was to meet more sorcerers.

After investigating the place himself, he concluded that the mastermind who ascended to the seventh ring had already left long ago, and the high-level sorcerers had fled together as well.

Now, the sorcerer world was fragile and pitiful. The strongest remaining living being was only a third-ring sorcerer—someone like himself. At any moment, the Netherworld could devour everything.

So Xu Xi had to choose a path.

He could either wait for the world to end and become a necromancer.

Or escape the sorcerer world and seek safety in another plane.

Like a coin’s two sides, no matter which way it landed, neither option was what Xu Xi wanted. He was determined to carve out a third path.

On the simulation panel that only he could see, Xu Xi checked the entry for “Soul Collector” once more.

Soul Collector (Gold): You are not Death, but something greater. The souls of the departed who fall by your hand become the stepping stones of your advancement.

The Soul Collector had no upper limit for harvesting souls.

Even if only a little was gained at a time,

the total would eventually build up into a flood of power.

“A million, ten million, a hundred million, a billion…”

“Quantity transforms into quality. When enough souls are gathered, even a spark can ignite a wildfire.”

On the Plateau of the Gods,

Xu Xi tapped his wand gently against the ground.

Tens of thousands of pure soul flames surged inside, continuously flowing back and forth within the gemstone embedded at the tip of his wand.

This was his strength—

and the key to what he wanted to do in the future.

Without a red entry, and in a world that was about to be destroyed, Xu Xi had little chance of reaching higher realms through normal cultivation.

But if he kept collecting soul flames,

then one day,

a single blow from him—poured with all his power—would shake the very world.

Maybe even threaten a seventh-ring sorcerer, who was considered immortal.

Before that day came,

Xu Xi needed to keep killing undead and make sure Sylvia—the kind-hearted brave one—would have a happy ending.

“Let’s go, Sylvia.”

“We don’t have much time left.”

“I’m going to build a sorcerer tower. It’ll be our future base.”

The Netherflame Raven answered his call,

carrying Xu Xi and the brave one as they soared into the dark and gloomy sky.

The world was silent.

Yet in Xu Xi’s ears, the voices of the dead still echoed—gentle, ordinary, and guiding him forward.

“Master Sorcerer… thank you.”

“My wife and I… we’ve lived long enough.”

They smiled as they refused the offer to extend their lives.

Those two elderly figures radiated happiness, even in the haze of death.

They walked hand in hand—

but under the corrosion of death, they had been twisted into painful, desecrated monsters.

Still, they called out Xu Xi’s and Sylvia’s names.

Those memories… were silent, yet unforgettable.

Sitting on the back of the Netherflame Raven, Xu Xi closed his eyes slightly.

As he expected—

he still wanted to land a strike on that seventh-ring sorcerer before this simulation ended.