From the end of the world

Chapter 754 Entering the Void
I tried closing my eyes to see if I could cross the walls of the world and sense the nothingness outside.

This isn't the first time I've encountered or sensed the "wall of the world." In a southern city that has now been completely destroyed, I came into contact with the "wall of the world" summoned by the "Shangri-La."

However, to be precise, compared to the "wall of the world" formed by the "Shangri-La" that has not yet been born as a self-defense mechanism, the actual cosmic barrier is certainly very different. First of all, this kind of "wall" does not appear directly in a certain physical space; the dividing line between the world and nothingness is not such a straightforward thing.

Nothingness is something that is both nowhere and everywhere, and things located within nothingness may, under certain conditions, border a location within the world—the old basement on the fifteenth floor being an example of this. Although this border point has now become a portal, at least it was a place where there was once contact. Perceiving things in this place, while perhaps offering some psychological comfort, might actually provide some assistance.

Soon, I experienced a feeling that was difficult to describe using existing language. To put it simply and bluntly—I could indeed travel to nothingness in one breath.

If I were to travel back to when I first entered the southern city, the barrier that used to require my own death or Xuanming's death to break through might now be something I could simply ignore and walk right in.

"How is it? Is it okay?" Fa Zheng asked earnestly.

He breathed a sigh of relief after I nodded.

Zhu Shi seemed to have some doubts. After thinking for a moment, she summoned the Yama Sword and casually cleaved open the space around her. Just like a painting being cut by a blade, a narrow rift appeared out of thin air, filled with chaotic darkness.

"Actually, I don't quite understand... Is it really that difficult to go to the void? Isn't what we revealed after destroying space the void outside the world?" she asked curiously.

“This is chaos, which is different from nothingness,” Fa Zheng patiently explained. “You can think of the world we live in as a giant organism, and we are inside the intestines of this organism. Even if you could cut open the flesh and blood around you, what would be exposed would not be the space outside the body, but rather the muscles, fat, and so on. Even if you crawl into this wound and are out of normal time and space, you are still inside this organism.”

"As the saying goes, Wuji gives rise to Taiji, Taiji gives rise to Yin and Yang, Yin and Yang give rise to the Four Symbols... The nothingness that Zhuang Cheng speaks of is the absolute nothingness that existed before Taiji was even born; it is a concept that existed prior to the universe."

"Unfortunately, even we Great Impermanence cannot survive in the void. Only the powerful beings of the Third Gate who can maintain their true nature under all circumstances, and the manifested Daoists who can integrate into and adapt to all environments, can do so."

And I am someone who possesses both of these advantages.

“Yes. So if we use the void as a relay station to return to the real world, then for the time being, only I can complete the return. You all have to wait here until I restart the portal in the real world,” I said.

"I see..." Zhu Shi seemed to feel regretful about the situation where they "could only wait".

However, merely being able to travel to the void only means overcoming half the problem; the other half still needs to be tackled.

That is, I must perceive the "fireflies" in the real world.

The reason I was able to sense my own flame in the void and travel to the afterlife last time was because the flame was located on a candle in the basement on the fifteenth floor. The basement space has a potential connection with the afterlife, and I immediately fell into the afterlife that was right next to me after I got close.

There are no such perfect, favorable conditions now. I must sense the "signs" of another world in the afterlife to use as a navigational guide. Otherwise, even I would be completely lost in the void. Forget about returning to the real world; I wouldn't even be able to find my way back to the afterlife.

Can I do it?

After further investigation, a conclusion was quickly reached.

I did it. It was actually quite easy.

However, the "fireflies" in the real world are clearly acting strangely. I can only sense their presence, but I can't receive their real-time feeds. It's not just one or two fireflies; all of them are in this situation.

I initially thought the cross-dimensional signal might be weak, but that doesn't seem to be the case. It truly lives up to its reputation as a realm of manifestation where nothing can bind it; even across the barriers of different worlds, the connection with the "fireflies" remains stable. After much thought, I believe that "not receiving real-time images" is actually the normal state.

The afterlife exists in a closed world, and its spacetime axis is likely different from that of the real world. Observing the other side from the perspective of one side makes it impossible to determine the so-called "present".

"Now" is a relative and subjective concept, only meaningful to those living at a specific point in time on the timeline. People living in the 21st century would consider the 21st century as the present, with the past and future as before and after, respectively. People living in the 22nd century would also define the past and future from their own perspective. For those outside the timeline, however, they can only see the axis itself, making the concept of "time" itself questionable.

Of course, since there are also super-beings spanning both realms, such as the natural will of planets, it cannot be said that their spacetime axes are completely unrelated. However, it is a fact that I am currently outside the real world and cannot perceive it normally as if I were inside. Under these conditions, I also cannot use fire teleportation to skip the void and directly reassemble myself in the real world. Because "time" is "process," and "operations without process" are still too difficult for me at this moment. I wonder if I can find the trick if I observe for a long enough time.

The perceptions of the spiritual realm are incredibly profound; perceiving the world from an external perspective is truly bizarre and wondrous. The concepts of time and space seem to become riddled with flaws. All time appears to have become a single, unified time, thus creating a state of unpredictable chaos. If we combine this with the scientific hypothesis of the unity of time and space, it seems we could conclude that "all spaces are the same space." This inevitably reminds me of the Great Spirit Hypothesis: all life is the same life—

So that's how it is. I think I understand now the "merging into all things" of spiritual manifestation and the "reincarnation" of the Mountain and Yin-Yang. Since all things are ultimately the same thing, there is naturally no distinction between them; and although the Mountain and Yin-Yang cannot become "all life" at the same time like the Great True Spirit, they can continuously transform from "one life" into "another life".

Just like "manifestation," "reincarnation" is, in a sense, a compromise that cannot lead to the attainment of "true spirit"... It is a detour on the path of self-proving one's true spirit.

Since I cannot skip the void, I can only bear the price of not being able to freely choose the time when I return to the real world.

However, since it uses the "firefly" signal as a guide, it won't jump to a past where the target "firefly" doesn't exist or a future where it has been destroyed, so the random time interval probably won't become too outrageous. Combined with the power of the jinx, it shouldn't miss any very important events.

After finalizing the departure arrangements, Ma Zao and Zhu Shi handed over the fragments of the divine seal they were keeping to me.

"Although I don't know if it will come in handy... please accept it for now," Zhu Shi said.

I reached out and took it, then stored it in the tiny, nascent illusory realm. Now, as long as I don't think about it, even if I take the divine seal fragment with my bare hands, it won't automatically bind to me.

"To prevent Shan Liangyi from suddenly restarting the portal and entering the afterlife after you leave, we need to leave this area first and act covertly. If you are the one who restarts the portal, please notify us through the flames you leave behind," Fa Zheng said.

"I understand," I said.

“I have some experience in hiding in the afterlife, but Rainbow Grass... Number Seven, and the Tai Sui Army she leads, should be much better at it than I am,” Mazao suggested. “We can try to meet up with her later.”

Jian Feixian nodded and said, "There should still be quite a few remnants in the Gospel Academy, and it is necessary to clean up this part of the force as well."

"Well then...see you later," I said.

Ma Zao came up to me and gave me a tight hug.

Judging from her experience of time, this separation might be another long one.

"Zhuang Cheng, you must come back alive, and then we'll save the world together," she said.

"It definitely will." I nodded.

Ma Zao took two steps back. I imprinted her and Zhu Shi's figures in my heart, then turned around and took a step forward.

It was like suddenly stepping off a step; even though there was flat ground in front of you, your vision suddenly turned into complete darkness.

With just this one step, I stepped out of the world and into nothingness.

An environment where time, space, matter, energy... all elements are nonexistent swallowed me up. Here, even life and death do not exist, nor is any consciousness or perception allowed.

Even during my innate spiritual awakening, I felt utterly suffocated by this truly empty darkness. If I lingered here for too long, my spirit would dissolve and vanish like sugar dropped into boiling water. Although it's strange to say "for a long time" in a place where time is nonexistent, I can't find any other way to express it.

This time was completely different. I felt incredibly clear-headed, and even my body was fully present.

(End of this chapter)