White Snake dragged his nearly numb body, moving step by step to the edge of the black hole.

Then he swung both feet outside, leaned his head against the wall, and lifted his eyes to gaze at the boundless, vast starry sky.

The breathtakingly beautiful scene left him momentarily mesmerized, as if it had been a very long time since he had quietly looked at scenery like this.

No, come to think of it, where was there any scenery to look at in the “Land of the End”?

“People” were the only scenery here.

“So it’s true that people really do see their lives flash before their eyes when near death…” White Snake murmured.

But surveying all the images in his mind, not a single scene came from the real world—they were only filled with stories that had happened in the “Land of the End.”

“Damn brat!”

“My name is Qi Xia, not damn brat.”

Two voices echoed in White Snake’s mind.

“I’ll call you damn brat!”

“Fine, suit yourself.”

“Say… everyone else is afraid of me, why aren’t you?”

“Afraid of what?”

“I’m neither male nor female… like a… monster…”

“I…” In the memory, White Snake’s emotions became somewhat anxious. “But many people point and whisper when they see me… even…”

The voice paused before continuing: “That’s because they’re too idle, idle enough to meddle in other people’s lives. I’m busy, I don’t have time. And besides…”

He stared at him and said in a deep voice: “I don’t think you look like a monster.”

He didn’t know if it counted as comfort, but that brat’s words did make White Snake feel somewhat better.

It was precisely because he had experienced countless acts of malice since childhood that he could treasure every bit of kindness.

No matter what Qi Xia had been thinking back then, he had already fully repaid that debt of gratitude.

But why did he still feel sad?

After an unknown amount of time, White Snake gradually felt his hands and feet growing cold. Every wound on his body felt like wind was pouring into it, chilly and drafty. The blood dried on his body, itchy and cold. He seemed to have slept for a while, or perhaps passed out for a while. His consciousness was no longer clear, and his hands and feet gradually lost all feeling.

He had done everything he could. Heavenly Snake had cut open several blood vessels on his body—under these circumstances, there was no better outcome.

Although he had trapped Heavenly Snake, it seemed he couldn’t trap “Qiongqi.”

After another period of time, Heavenly Snake and “Qiongqi” behind him went silent. Then footsteps sounded, and a figure sat down beside White Snake—it was Heavenly Snake.

The two gazed together at the sky full of nebulae, silent for a long while.

“Did she leave?” White Snake asked.

“She did.”

“Didn’t you plan to have her use ‘Leap’ to take you away?” White Snake asked again.

“Her…?” Heavenly Snake gave a bitter smile after hearing this, then shook his head. “Take me back to Qinglong’s presence, then exaggerate and report me? I’ve already botched the mission—I’ll die the moment I return. Moreover, I can’t be certain that ‘Qiongqi’ can definitely make it back.”

“Ha… fine.”

What followed was another long silence, as if staring at the stars in the sky could make people forget about time.

Or perhaps… everyone in the “Land of the End” had long forgotten about time.

“Earth Snake…” Heavenly Snake’s tone still carried some sadness. He said in a deep voice, “I have an idea. Right now I’ll suture your wounds… I’ll let you live. I don’t want to be left here alone… without anyone to talk to, I’ll definitely go mad.”

“Haha…” White Snake stared at the stars above, laughing foolishly. “Thanks for the kind offer, my dear teacher, but I’d rather die.”

“Why…” Heavenly Snake lowered his head, clutching his hair and wailing. “You could clearly survive. We could keep each other company. You have a lot of knowledge too, right? We could exchange knowledge! You like reading, I like reading too. Wouldn’t this be…”

“Hahahaha!” White Snake laughed weakly a few times. His serpent eyes reflected the sea of stars. “Too ridiculous, cough… Heavenly Snake… You yourself are unwilling to stay here with ‘Qiongqi,’ yet how can you think I’d be willing to stay here with you? What’s the difference between the two of you? This is the funniest joke I’ve ever heard… cough…”

“‘Qiongqi’ is different!! ‘Qiongqi’ she…” Heavenly Snake somewhat anxiously pulled out that ball of shredded paper from his pocket, found two crooked characters and reached out to show them to White Snake. “Do you see?! She’s a ‘Calamitous Beauty’! How can she be allowed to stay here?!”

“‘Calamitous Beauty’? Hahahahahaha.” White Snake grinned, laughing dryly. “So that’s how it is… Su Daji? Bao Si? Ha… cough cough… My dear teacher, you’ve actually done a great deed… You have ‘Spirit Vision,’ yet you didn’t immediately examine that woman’s ‘Echo’… Who can you blame for this…”

“My ‘Spirit Vision’…” Heavenly Snake stood up with a face full of anger, directly dragging the “furniture” with “Spirit Vision” in front of White Snake, then removed his eyepatch.

Only then did White Snake see that the “furniture’s” eyes were already completely blood-red.

“Why would I damage my beloved ‘furniture’ for the sake of that woman…?” Heavenly Snake said through gritted teeth. “Moreover… who could have predicted she would carry such a bizarre ‘Immortal Art’ on her?!”

“Yes… ‘Calamitous Beauty’… haha… cough…”

White Snake coughed weakly, his life completely entering its final countdown.

Under limited medical conditions, even if Heavenly Snake sutured all his wounds, there was no way to replace the blood he had lost.

“The two words ‘Calamitous Beauty’ originally referred to women who, after gaining favor, could cause nations and organizations to fall into chaos…” Heavenly Snake said with lingering fear. “She will only continuously create calamity for the organization she belongs to. As long as she considers herself on our side, we can only lose…”

“Wrong…” White Snake smiled and shook his head. His body clearly had no strength left. “My dear teacher, you and I are not on the same side.”

“You…” Heavenly Snake paused. “Fine, even if you and I aren’t on the same side, it won’t change anything. As long as the ‘Calamitous Beauty’ is still around, Qinglong can never suppress this rebellion. It’s all that woman’s fault… everything is going to be ruined.”

“Cough… I don’t agree with that statement.” White Snake leaned against the shattered wall, staring blankly at the sky. “A huge nation or organization… cannot possibly crumble in an instant just because of one woman’s appearance. In my view, this is a manifestation of incompetent rulers shirking responsibility. If a ‘Calamitous Beauty’ can exploit the gaps, it only shows there were already plenty of cracks to begin with.”

After hearing this, Heavenly Snake paused, then hurriedly said: “You see! Earth Snake, you’re very knowledgeable! Wouldn’t it be nice if we just talked like this every day… to pass this long stretch of time?! Let’s discuss together how various ‘Echoes’ can be used, let’s talk about just how terrifying ‘Calamitous Beauty’ is… Perhaps someday we might…”

“Haha.” White Snake smiled ambiguously, his eyes becoming even more unfocused. “Heavenly Snake, you’re too foolish. I can’t chat with you every day—I’d go mad.”

“I… foolish?”

“Tell me… is the ‘Calamitous Beauty’ what’s truly frightening?” White Snake asked in return. “What’s truly frightening is clearly the person who perfectly utilizes this ‘Calamitous Beauty’… Let me ask you… cough cough… If the ‘Calamitous Beauty’ were your soldier… how would you use her to lead yourself to victory?”