"I survived, and I lived on this ship for a long time, but in the end, I still died?"
Quinn Shepherd was dazed and lost, overcome by a powerful sense of fate.
He hadn't believed the words of the little person in the lantern at first, but ever since he boarded this ship, the string of bizarre and unfathomable events left him no choice but to believe.
Doesn't this mean that no matter how hard he tries, he can't escape the fate of dying on this ship?
No matter how he struggles, he can't jump off this ship. No matter how he deduces and calculates, even until his death he can't break Venerable Skysoar's divine art?
Dragon-Keeper Lord's Dao heart collapsed. He slumped to the ground, dragon eyes brimming with tears, muttering, "How do we leave this cursed place? Heaven and earth may change, but the constants do not. What does 'the thirty-six Immutable Constants' mean?"
He shuddered, sinking into deep terror. "Isn't this what that crazy old dragon said? Why am I repeating his words? Could I really be him?"
Quinn Shepherd glanced at him, frowned, then forced a smile and said, "So, how many times have we boarded this ship? Why don't we remember the previous times we've boarded?"
The little person in the lantern said, "This ship undergoes thirty-six time resets in each grand cycle, appearing in different eras. After thirty-six resets, it returns to the starting point—the moment the fog erupts. During this period, everyone who boards has no memory of the previous times. They simply repeat boarding, repeat dying, and then board again."
Village Chief suddenly asked, "Then why are you able to remember the grand cycle?"
The little person in the lantern said, "I don't really know, either."
Quinn Shepherd's heart stirred. "That wailing old dragon seems to remember the grand cycle too, but he's gone mad. What's his story? Who is he, really?"
The little person in the lantern said, "He's Lord Drakebar. Like me, he didn't virtualize when the fog erupted."
Dragon-Keeper Lord unconsciously let out a sigh of relief. "So I'm not him..."
Village Chief suddenly thought of something crucial. "On this ship, besides you and Lord Drakebar, is there anyone else who didn't virtualize?"
The little person in the lantern paused slightly and didn't answer.
Village Chief narrowed his eyes and glanced at Quinn Shepherd.
Quinn Shepherd narrowed his eyes as well. From inside his Glutton Dragon Pouch, his sword pill quietly floated up; the Worryless Sword emerged from the pill, its hilt pointing toward Village Chief.
Village Chief sent out a thread of vital energy from his fingertip, wrapping it around the hilt of the Worryless Sword. He smiled and said, "Heaven and earth may change, but the constants do not—the thirty-six Immutable Constants. The constants aren't changed by the time resets. This ship experiences thirty-six time resets in one grand cycle, but maybe those constants aren't numbers, but people aboard the ship. That is to say, there are thirty-six people who aren't reset and don't virtualize."
Quinn Shepherd said, "According to that theory, every time the Ghost Ship traverses, one person survives. The first reset was when the fog erupted, and Lord Drakebar survived. He was the first observer, but couldn't handle it and went mad, repeating 'thirty-six Immutable Constants—not numbers, but thirty-six people who aren't reset or changed.' Since Lord Drakebar survived the first reset, how did you survive?"
Village Chief held the sword in his hand and said quietly, "The Ghost Ship docks in different eras thirty-six times, and each era has different people boarding. Each time, only one person survives. Lin Hawk, which cycle did you board this ship in?"
Quinn Shepherd said, "When we boarded, you saw me take out the command token and approached us on your own. Sitting in the lantern, you easily gained our trust, so we never suspected you. Because we knew nothing about this ship, we needed you to guide us, so we would never doubt you. We'd trust you completely, and that's the simplest, most effective trick—what they call 'hidden right under the lamp.' That can fool most people, but not an old hand from the jianghu."
Village Chief gripped the Worryless Sword, its back resting against his body, while his other hand formed a sword seal in front of his chest.
By conventional swordsmanship, the sword should be held in front and the sword seal hidden behind, so the seal can't be seen and the swordplay remains unpredictable. But he was doing the opposite.
Countless sword lights flowed around him, forming a sword diagram that enveloped the surroundings—the lantern and the little person inside were both trapped within the sword diagram.
Quinn Shepherd had never seen this kind of sword technique before.
Village Chief had once taught him the Nine Forms of the Sword Diagram, but this sword art must be a new diagram he created after reaching godhood.
His sword path had reached an entirely new height.
"And we," he said, "are the old hands from the jianghu."
Quinn Shepherd smiled and said, "In our Oldridge Village, we never mean anyone harm, but when dealing with others, we always keep our guard up! So, Lin Hawk, were you the one who brought Absolute Dust aboard?"