Matrix Survival: One random treasure chest per day

Chapter 536 They Share a Common Identity
Li Zheng opened his eyes and found himself in a boundless ocean.

This place is boundless and has no concept of time; it seems to remain like this forever.

He wanted to move but couldn't, wanted to speak but found he had no mouth, and wanted to hear but had no ears.

He seemed only able to 'watch' all of this, unable to change anything.

After an unknown amount of time, he noticed that the 'seawater' around him seemed to be gathering towards him, slowly filling his body.

A sense of fulfillment welled up inside me.

As the 'seawater' poured in, his size gradually increased.

Whether it was because he had grown larger or because the seawater had decreased, Li Zheng could now see the edge of the 'ocean,' where it was empty and devoid of anything.

After an unknown amount of time, just when Li Zheng thought this situation would continue, the speed at which the 'seawater' was injected suddenly increased, surging wildly into his body.

The feeling of fullness quickly turned into a feeling of swelling, as if I would be burst by the things rushing into my body at any moment.

Finally, the seawater disappeared completely, and the swelling reached its peak.

Li Zhenggang breathed a sigh of relief, and his pent-up ego exploded with a bang.

The 'seawater' that had been poured into his body gushed out, and in an instant, he returned to his original state.

He was surrounded by 'seawater' and found himself in the center of the 'ocean'.

However, this time Li Zheng suddenly felt something was different.

He was like a plastic bag that had been transformed into a pipe; the previous filling of 'seawater' was all done passively.

This time, his 'body' seemed to be actively absorbing the nearby seawater, and the speed was getting faster and faster, as if the dam blocking the river water had suddenly opened its gates and released water, and the surging 'seawater' rose up.

Whether it was an illusion or not, Li Zheng was able to perceive a 'rumbling' sound from the surging seawater this time.

"This feeling... it's kind of like something indescribable," Li Zheng wondered. The first time, he resisted but was also somewhat reluctant. After the initial exploration, the second time he started to actively seek it out?
Hey, that's fucking amazing!

In the brief moment that Li Zheng was distracted, the 'seawater' was completely absorbed, and silence fell all around.

Not far away, a little more 'seawater' suddenly appeared. As soon as it appeared, it seemed to be attracted by Li Zheng and flowed over impatiently, only to be completely absorbed by Li Zheng.

This was repeated countless times before Li Zheng's perspective suddenly shifted, rapidly rising.

Only then did he realize that the place he had been standing in had turned into a sphere that looked like a star.

"Now, do you understand how nodes are formed?"

Hearing the sudden question in his ear, Li Zheng snapped back to reality. Standing in front of him was a figure that looked exactly like him.

"Is this what you meant by guiding me through the process of condensing nodes?" Li Zheng couldn't help but complain, "Even so, there's no need to blur my memory, is there? I almost got lost in the process just now!"

“Only in this way can you experience the process without any distractions,” Xu explained. “I will be right beside you the whole time. If you are at risk of getting lost, I will stop in time and will not hurt you.”

"Even though you said that, I still don't know what to do..." Li Zheng said with a wry smile.

Trust me, you won't regret it!

He smiled kindly and said, "Now that you've experienced the process, start trying to establish a 'singularity' in the origin of your spiritual power."

"Ah."

Li Zheng closed his eyes, released a wisp of spiritual energy to envelop himself, and found the center point of his body at the junction of his chest and abdomen.

Because Li Zheng is currently in a spiritual state, all his actions are transparent to the virtual eyes, who can easily see everything.

"First, you need to concentrate all your mental energy at the center point. This process may take a while, but remember not to rush it," Xu said, offering guidance to Li Zheng, worried that he might not do it well.

Following the virtual instructions, Li Zheng's body seemed to turn into a pool of liquid, rippled, and gradually softened. "Don't panic!"

Xu continued, "Your current state is originally spiritual power; it's just returning to its origin and reverting to the most basic state of spiritual power."

As soon as he finished speaking, Li Zheng's body indeed transformed into a pure spiritual force.

This spiritual energy flowed gently, converging towards the very center.

As time went by, the area where spiritual energy gathered at the center indeed collapsed, forming a small vortex.

The vortex stirred up spiritual energy, slowly rotating and attracting surrounding spiritual energy to draw it in, eventually merging it into the vortex.

"The singularity is already taking shape. Don't stop. Continue this action until the vortex sublimates to the next level!" The Void's voice was steady, giving Li Zheng boundless confidence.

The vortex gradually dragged and devoured the spiritual energy, and at the very center of the vortex, a tiny black dot appeared.

The small black dot seemed to possess some kind of tearing force, and the surge of spiritual energy became faster and faster, gradually slipping out of Li Zheng's control.

Li Zheng was shocked and tried to stop, but it was too late.

Xu, help me!

He cried out in his heart, trying to muster his mental strength to convey his meaning to the other person, but he failed.

"Finally...it's time..."

A rare hint of melancholy and disappointment appeared on Xu's face.

"I have been waiting for this moment for countless years, and finally it has come."

Xu slowly raised his hand, controlling countless mental energy nodes within the Dark Realm, and lightly clenched it with one hand.

boom! ! !
All the nodes exploded, transforming into the most primal form of pure spiritual energy, forming a dazzling river in the dark realm, exquisitely beautiful.

His actions were undoubtedly self-destructive; from now on, his strength might not even be as good as Li Zheng's.

Xu, what are you doing?!

Li Zheng was screaming deep in his consciousness. He didn't understand why Xu was doing this, because if the node was destroyed, he might not have the power to restore himself to his original state.

"Don't worry, I know what you're thinking. I'll take this time to tell you the truth."

Xu revealed a relieved smile, sat cross-legged not far in front of Li Zheng, and gently pulled his right hand in the air, causing a strand of the dazzling river of light to separate and connect to the source of Li Zheng's spiritual power.

After being absorbed by the nascent node, even the void's spiritual power was swallowed up.

The next moment, the node seemed to have taken a powerful tonic, instantly growing several times larger and devouring all of Li Zheng's spiritual power.

However, his consciousness did not disappear, but instead transferred to the inside of the node, just as he had experienced the node condensation earlier, feeling powerless.

Except for one difference, this time he not only has 'sight', but also 'hearing'.

After finishing the previous action, Xu stopped and slowly asked, "Do you remember when we met before, I told you that many different races had come to the Dark Realm?"

Remember!

Of course Li Zheng remembers!

Since that meeting was not long ago, how could he not remember?
Immediately afterwards, Xu uttered a sentence that sent chills down Li Zheng's spine:

"Actually, I lied to you back then. Those people didn't come from countless races; they all shared one common identity, and that was... you!"

(End of this chapter)