Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 578, Section 594: The Girl Who Was Startled Awake

Chapter 593

"is it?"

Just as that point of "absolute nothingness" was about to touch his heart.

Xu Ran suddenly smiled.

He raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through eternity, and saw the woman smiling sweetly at him amidst a sea of ​​flowers.

"Yao, you said that as long as there is light, there is hope."

"But what if even the light is swallowed up by darkness?"

"So……"

His eyes instantly became incredibly deep, as if they contained a starry sky that was even older and more vast than this epochal graveyard.

"...Let me become the light."

The moment the words fell.

Xu Ran made a move that even the Will of Ending was taken aback by.

He neither resisted nor dodged.

He took the initiative, opening his arms and chest to embrace that point of "absolute nothingness".

He allowed that power, capable of erasing everything, to surge into his body, into his soul, and towards that…seed of life.

"You...you're insane?!"

The will to end was incredulous.

However, the next second, it stopped laughing.

Because it sensed that its invincible power of "absolute nothingness" vanished without a trace the moment it entered the other's body, like a clay ox sinking into the sea!

Do not!
Not disappearing!

Instead, it was assimilated by a more domineering, ancient, and incomprehensible force!

"How can it be……"

"Nothing is impossible."

Xu Ran's voice rang out again, but this time, it carried an unprecedented sense of vicissitude and majesty, seemingly not belonging to this era.

His body began to become transparent.

Through his transparent body, one could see that deep within his soul, at the very core of his Dao heart, besides the seed representing "life" and "protection," there existed... something else.

That was a spark... a fire.

A tiny spark, so faint it seemed it might be extinguished at any moment, yet burning eternally, as if it had existed since before the beginning of chaos... Mars.

The moment the power of "absolute nothingness" of the will to end surged into Xu Ran's body, it was used as... fuel by this spark!
"You devour eras, expanding your 'nothingness'."

Xu Ran's voice became grand and ethereal.

"And I... burn through eternity, just to illuminate this one point... 'existence'."

boom--! ! !
After absorbing the most fundamental power of the Will to End, that spark suddenly burst into flames!

An indescribable light burst forth from Xu Ran's body!
That is not the light of life, nor the light of hope, nor the light of reincarnation.

That is... the flame of civilization! The flame of inheritance! The light of exploration!
It is the inextinguishable flame of will that has been ignited in countless worlds, countless races, and countless generations of beings when they face darkness, the unknown, and death!
"you are wrong."

Xu Ran's voice, like the highest judgment, resounded through the void.

"The meaning of existence is not to return to nothingness."

"The meaning of existence is to pass on the legacy!"

"Even if the physical body decays, civilization is destroyed, and the world returns to ruins, we must pass on this undying light!"

"This is my true... Dao!"

Flames erupted from his body, instantly engulfing the entire world he had created!

The frozen world begins to turn again!
But this time, there's something new in the world.

On that lush green meadow, tiny creatures appeared, gazing up at the sky with eyes full of curiosity about the unknown.

Beside the rushing rivers, creatures have built dikes and learned to harness the power of water.

Beneath the majestic mountains, creatures lit the first bonfire, dispelling the darkness and cold.

Wisdom... was born!

Civilization... has emerged!

As for the seed left by Yao in Xu Ran's chest, under the illumination of this flame of civilization, it was not only not extinguished by "absolute nothingness", but instead... it completely merged into the flame!
Life is no longer simply about being born.

Protecting is no longer just about protecting.

The power of the Yao people has become the "cradle" of civilization and the "soil" for its inheritance!
"No... what kind of flame is this... why... why can it even burn my 'essence'..."

The will to end uttered its final cry, a wail filled with fear and bewilderment.

Its physical form, condensed from "absolute nothingness," is rapidly... "disappearing" under the scorching heat of this flame!
But it is not a disappearance into nothingness.

Instead, it was burned, transformed, turned into light and heat, into the flame of civilization, and continued to burn as nourishment!
It finally understood.

Its biggest mistake was not underestimating Xu Ran's "reincarnation," but rather that it completely failed to see through Xu Ran's true... origins!
He is not a being of this chaotic sea!
He comes from a place that is... much older and more distant, a place where the word "inheritance" is imprinted in the deepest part of civilization!
He was the spark that ignited in that place!
"Now, you have become the most radiant ray of sunshine in spring."

Xu Ran looked at the Will of Ending that was being completely burned away and said softly.

His figure gradually became blurred amidst the endless flames.

But the world behind him became more and more real, more and more vast, and more and more... dazzling.

Finally, when the last bit of darkness was burned away, when the will that represented "the end" was completely transformed into a part of the flames.

This cold, desolate epochal graveyard has vanished completely.

Instead, a brand new, infinitely possible, and thriving young universe has emerged.

At the center of the universe, the flames of civilization gradually subsided, transforming once more into a figure in white.

Xu Ran's face was much paler than before, and his breath was extremely weak.

He ignited that last "spark," which nearly exhausted everything he had.

But as he looked at this brand new world that belonged to him and Yao, his eyes revealed an unprecedented... tenderness and satisfaction.

He won.

At the end of all things, he planted a... spring.

However, just as he was preparing to repair himself and stabilize this new universe.

His brows suddenly furrowed tightly.

He suddenly looked up, his gaze seemingly piercing through the barriers of his new universe, looking towards that… supposedly empty “outside world.” There it was.

Sometime during the night, a... ancient, stone... coffin... quietly floated in the air.

It floated there outside the crystal wall system of the nascent universe, as if it had been there since time immemorial, quietly waiting for the end of a grand performance, waiting for the lead actor to take his final bow.

There was no aura, no Daoist charm, not even the concept of "existence." It was like an absolute paradox, clearly there, yet seemingly nonexistent in any dimension of time and space. It was purer than the "absolute nothingness" of the will to end, because nothingness itself is a concept, while this stone coffin seemed to transcend concepts.

Chapter 594 Xu Ran's brows furrowed tightly.

He could feel that his newly born universe, the world that had just ignited the flame of civilization and played the prelude to reincarnation, was like an infant who had just learned to breathe facing a bottomless, silent abyss in front of this stone coffin.

There was no hostility, no murderous intent.

That was a more unsettling kind of indifference...

Just as a person wouldn't care about a speck of dust beneath their feet, a god wouldn't concern themselves with the joys and sorrows of ants. This stone coffin simply "is" there, and its very existence renders everything around it meaningless.

Xu Ran exhausted everything, burning his embers, to create this "existence" in this land of endings. Against the backdrop of this stone coffin, it appears so fragile, so...unreal.

It was as if, if the owner of the stone coffin had so desired, with a single thought, or even without a single thought, merely by changing the state of "being," everything he had created, including himself, would be easily erased, like a phantom that had never existed.

This is not a crushing defeat in terms of power level, but rather... a difference in the dimension of life form.

Xu Ran remained silent. The light within him had weakened to its absolute limit. Although the newborn world was operating on its own, it still required him, the "creator," to expend his energy to stabilize it. He was exhausted, a weariness that originated from the very source of his soul. All he wanted now was to find a place to sleep soundly for an entire epoch.

And the stone coffin before us seems to be... such a place.

It's like a home away from home.

The final chapter of all stories, the final destination of all journeys.

"Come in."

A voice, not through divine thought, nor through laws, resounded directly in the deepest part of his consciousness.

The voice was neither male nor female, devoid of any emotion, like a stone whose edges had been smoothed by time, recounting a predetermined fact.

Xu Ran didn't ask "Who are you?" or "Why?"

Because he knew that asking would be pointless. When he ignited that "fire of civilization" that didn't belong to this chaotic sea, perhaps he had already alerted some... incomprehensible beings.

He simply stared quietly at the stone coffin, then looked down and took a deep look at his own world.

The world is full of magnificent mountains and rivers, and vibrant life.

The earliest creatures had already begun to try to make tools from stones. They chased and played by the river, sang and danced around the campfire. In their eyes were longing for the future, curiosity about the unknown, and the most primal and precious hope.

The seeds left behind by Yao have transformed into the soil of this civilization.

The flame he ignited has become a guide for this civilization.

His path, his cycle of reincarnation, has transformed into the order that safeguards the ceaseless operation of this world.

His mission... seems to have been accomplished.

"What will happen to my world?" Xu Ran asked in his heart.

"It will exist," the voice replied, still so calm, "until you 'return'."

Will they return...?

A bittersweet yet relieved smile appeared on Xu Ran's lips.

He got it.

This is not the end, but a... exile. Or rather, a "formatting".

He, this "variable," this outsider, can be tolerated, but the "Dao" he brings needs to be "assimilated" and "understood" again by the rules of this chaotic sea itself.

And he had to leave.

He slowly walked towards the stone coffin.

With each step he took, his aura weakened, and his connection with that newborn universe grew fainter.

He completely integrated his final imprint into the world's order, transforming into the sun, moon, and stars, into the cycle of the seasons, and into the "luck" that, in the darkness, protects the flame of civilization and ensures its continued transmission.

After doing all this, his figure had become almost transparent.

He walked to the stone coffin, and the lid slid open silently.

Inside, it was the same as outside—a deep, indescribable darkness.

Xu Ran took one last look at the dazzling universe, his eyes filled with a tenderness and reluctance like that of a parent.

Then, he lay down inside.

The lid of the stone coffin slowly closed.

The moment the last crack was closed, the whole world seemed to freeze for a moment.

Then, the stone coffin, along with Xu Ran, vanished into thin air, as if it had never existed.

Only that young universe remains, in the vast and desolate void, alone yet steadfastly continuing to evolve its own... story.

……

……

The smell of disinfectant.

It was faint, yet clear, like a fine needle piercing through the chaotic consciousness, bringing a touch of cold clarity.

Then came the sound.

Drop...drop...drop...

It's very regular, unhurried, like a pointer measuring the passage of time, or perhaps measuring... the length of life.

Then, there's the tactile sensation.

My body felt heavy, as if filled with lead; every muscle, every bone, seemed to be silently protesting. My skin could feel the roughness of the fabric, probably some kind of cotton that had been washed many times, carrying a scent of sunshine and soap.

My eyelids felt as heavy as mountains.

Xu Ran used all his strength to barely manage to open a crack.

Blurry light and shadow flickered before my eyes, as if I were looking at the world through frosted glass. After a long, long time, that "glass" gradually became clear.

The ceiling is white, and the walls are covered with some peeling paint.

To the left is an IV drip bottle containing a clear liquid, which is dripping slowly into the back of his hand through a thin tube.

The beeping sound came from a device placed by the bedside that displayed heart rate and blood pressure.

My gaze slowly shifted to the right. The curtains weren't fully drawn, and the afternoon sunlight squeezed in through the gaps, casting a long, warm patch of light on the ground. Countless tiny dust particles lazily swirled and danced in the beam of light.

A scene that is both familiar and unfamiliar.

Xu Ran's mind was like an old computer that had just been restarted, with countless chaotic data streams flashing through it.

The Graveyard of the Ages, the Will to End, Yao's Smiling Face, the Newborn Universe, the Spark of Civilization, the Ancient Stone Coffin...

Those scenes were grand, real, and profound, as if they had happened just a moment ago.

But everything before him—the ceiling, the IV drip, the heart rate monitor, the dust in the sunlight—gave him an undeniable, mundane sense of reality, telling him that perhaps… it was just a dream that was far too long.

"Brother? You're awake?!"

A clear, crisp female voice, filled with surprise and disbelief, rang out from beside the bed.

Xu Ran turned his head with difficulty.

A girl of about seventeen or eighteen years old was lying on the edge of the bed, seemingly asleep. She was startled awake and was rubbing her sleepy eyes.

(End of this chapter)