Chapter 1076: Wailing Elegy

That fallen Tenth-Tier being—it couldn't be Mr. Dark, could it?

"It's been confirmed that Renimansga fell! And it's been confirmed that Renimansga was a Tenth-Tier being before his demise! The Three Great Celestials used their unique bloodline's extraordinary talents, so there can be no mistake!"

Everyone was discussing, eagerly awaiting Qiu Mingshan's answer.

"Indeed," some said, "Renimansga had previously told those in the room that he had faked his death to escape a crisis. If he couldn't even deceive unsophisticated beings like the Three Great Celestials, how could he have deceived that terrifying enemy?"

"I knew it," someone else added. "Renimansga is terrifyingly mysterious; how could his methods have been seen through by the Three Great Abyssal Blue Celestials?"

They truly couldn't find any discrepancies, feeling that the history from over a hundred thousand years ago was just too incredible.

Suddenly, some people started to react.

"What exactly happened?"

"Yeah, what's going on?"

"Everyone, calm down again," Qiu Mingshan paused, interrupting the chatter. He continued, "So, how exactly was the deception pulled off against the Three Great Celestials? It's likely that what the Three Great Celestials found was indeed a deceased Tenth-Tier being. And to deceive that terrifying enemy, it probably required the genuine death of a Tenth-Tier being; only then, upon achieving their goal, would the enemy choose to leave. Such an ultimate, enlightened existence wouldn't release the hawk until they saw the rabbit. So, who was this fallen Tenth-Tier being?"

Who was the dead Tenth-Tier being? At this point, it became clear that this was the key to the core truth of the matter!

Listening to Qiu Mingshan's question, and recalling his previous mention of "Mr. Dark," an incredibly astonishing idea suddenly formed in everyone's minds.

Qiu Mingshan smiled and continued, "So, since we believe the side of the Ancient Gods, we must believe that Renimansga faked his death. Let's analyze why the Three Great Celestials might have made a mistake, concluding that Renimansga was surely dead. Let's put ourselves in their shoes: if a faked death couldn't even deceive the Three Great Celestials, how could it possibly deceive that mysterious Tenth-Tier ultimate being?"

"I imagine many of you have already guessed," Qiu Mingshan said. "Let me organize my thoughts: Back then, Mr. Dark from the Cosmic Garden was also capable of breaking through to the Tenth Tier. So, he broke through to serve as bait. Mr. Dark stepped in to face the enemy, taking Renimansga's place and being killed. And Renimansga? He, as Mr. Dark, survived that great war, but couldn't bear the despair and fear, so a weak Tenth-Tier being 'committed suicide.'"

The two exchanged identities? Everyone was astonished by Qiu Mingshan's daring hypothesis! A switch of identities, faking death to escape.

"This is the greatest unsolved mystery of the Cosmic Garden," Qiu Mingshan stated, "the internal conflict that has troubled the great octopus Louis for so long, the truth he has sought for tens of thousands of years through countless historical records: the truth behind why a weak Tenth-Tier existence would choose to commit suicide!"

Many people sitting in front of their computers clenched their teeth, their widened pupils filled with horror as they listened.

"This is too ruthless!"

"That was a Tenth-Tier being, and they just committed suicide right away?"

Sacrificing a Tenth-Tier being—this is absolutely staggering; that was an ultimate Tenth-Tier being who had already successfully broken through!

One must realize that even these players and Qiu Mingshan, despite their lifelong efforts, might never reach that level, or even set foot on the path of a weak Tenth-Tier being. Yet now? They committed suicide!

Such a grand gesture, such immense courage.

A storm raged within everyone's hearts, churning with immense waves of emotion.

In a daze, they seemed to see an ancient, unyielding being from over a hundred thousand years ago, secretly plotting against the entire world, determined to carve out a dark path.

What terrifying planning and calculation this was, what an immense sacrifice! It was a desperate bid to carve out a future, to truly attain the ultimate Tenth-Tier realm!

"Is, is this true?"

Some felt deeply uneasy.

The two had completely swapped identities. The one seemingly killed, "Renimansga," was actually the one who committed suicide! The one seemingly surviving only to commit suicide, "Mr. Dark," had actually faked his death to escape.

Qiu Mingshan also took a deep breath, knowing that the truth of this situation was simply too shocking to describe. He said, "Renimansga said from the very beginning that this was a dark period of history he didn't even want to mention. Do you remember what Renimansga, at the start, said in the room about why 'Mr. Dark' committed suicide? He said — the higher one reaches, the greater the despair. When struggle offers no hope, under that intense, terrifying pressure, death is also a release. Death is a form of escape; living requires enduring much more, and that is the hardest part! At the time, we thought this statement referred to the reason for Mr. Dark's suicide. In reality, it *did* refer to Mr. Dark's suicide, but it must be interpreted from another angle! Interpret it by looking back at 'Renimansga's' role in facing the enemy, advancing even when knowing death was certain."

Everyone thought carefully and realized that revisiting that sentence now gave it an entirely different meaning!!

Mr. Dark was in despair at the time, seeing no hope. So he chose death as an escape, and at the same time, he chose this method to secure a glimmer of survival for Renimansga! That's why he said, "Death is an escape; living requires enduring much more."

Qiu Mingshan said, "You understand now. Do you remember what Renimansga said before? About why there had to be destruction."

Everyone shivered, vividly recalling the recent conversation. That scene faintly reappeared before their eyes, and the gentle dialogue echoed in their ears.

"Then why was our Cosmic Garden still destroyed?" Shi Ji asked.

Renimansga smiled faintly and said, "There must always be pursuits, mustn't there? This was a test, an attempt, even if the cost was immense."

The! Cost! Was! Im! Men! Se! Hearing this sentence again at that moment, everyone shivered, comprehending all the causes and effects of the entire affair. Their hearts felt like they'd fallen into icy water, and their minds were like a bucket of paste!!

"There must always be pursuits.""There must always be pursuits."

They repeatedly whispered the phrase, sensing the untold bitterness, and the elegies of blood and tears contained within that calm tone.

At first, they thought the cost was already enormous, considering the suicide of a weak Tenth-Tier being. But now, upon reflection, it was far more than just the fall of a weak Tenth-Tier being. This was the demise of a living, ultimate Tenth-Tier being!

And beneath the heavy weight of this life, amidst a bitter and complex era of dark destruction driven by mission and destiny, lay a seemingly simple phrase: "'There must always be pursuits. This was a test, even if the cost was immense.'"

"The cost was immense?" Many people wore bitter expressions. This was far more than just an immense cost!

Renimansga must have borne an unimaginable amount of pressure, carrying forward the convictions of his closest friend. Just as he said, "Death is a form of escape; living requires enduring much more, and that is the hardest part."

Ooh... Suddenly, their hearts pounded rapidly, and with each beat, they felt their bodies rise as if floating into the air.

"To hear the Dao in the morning, and die in the evening, would be acceptable."

This might well be the best interpretation of the Cosmic Garden's destruction.

"Tell me, how tragic this is!! I vaguely saw that ancient being traversing the cosmos, crying out in pain, desperate to find a glimmer of life, a thread of hope!"

"These blood-soaked dark lands of the myriad heavens are too cruel, too brutal! Cruelty has been written throughout history! To achieve the ultimate Dao, the 'Dao' that everyone dreams of—how incredibly difficult is that?"

"With wolves ahead and tigers behind—both the preceding and succeeding realms conspire to ambush you, to plunder you, to kill you! Breaking through becomes virtually impossible!"

Everyone sobbed, feeling utterly speechless.

Their hearts were bitter and complex, an indescribable sense of unease spreading through them, filled with unwillingness.

The destruction of the Cosmic Garden civilization back then, the ancient historical epic written by Renimansga and Mr. Dark shoulder to shoulder, their friendship—the impact of this on them was immense!

Renimansga was carrying a heavy burden forward, bearing the will of another cherished friend.

No wonder Ninth-Tier cultivators in the cosmos are almost at the highest level, because going beyond that is truly, heartbreakingly difficult; untold bones lie buried beneath that path.

Qiu Mingshan also took a deep breath. The impact was unimaginably profound, but he still had to continue, to reveal another equally incredible truth: "Why the Emperor was born."

No matter how they thought, they couldn't understand.

This piece of history was hidden too bizarrely, full of strange twists and turns, and imbued with a sense of dark evil.

This was indeed a full-blown shock for everyone.

"Everyone, please be quiet," Qiu Mingshan said. "I'll summarize the conflicting clues from the Three Great Celestials and the Ancient Gods. One side says he's definitely dead, the other says he's alive. First, who do we believe?"

Everyone chimed in, saying they definitely believed the Ancient Gods, Renimansga's side.

Everyone knew this was a major contradiction at its core. The archaeological history of the Abyssal Blue Divine Realm proved that Renimansga had indeed died, yet they had personally witnessed a living Renimansga.

After all, the Three Great Celestials of the Abyssal Blue Divine Realm were their own people, ancestors of their Buddhist-Daoist transcendent Chinese system. While they didn't lie or deceive, and their talent in building from scratch was undeniable, their civilization's development was indeed not high, and their accumulated knowledge was insufficient.