Swallowing the Stars: 100x Return for Teaching Apprentices

Chapter 177 Hope for Escape
Deep within the Time-Space Prison, a strange place where time and space are completely disordered.

The source of all the chaos was a constantly expanding and contracting 'singularity,' beating like a heart in some strange rhythm.

Around that mysterious 'singularity', countless translucent 'threads' intertwine and converge, forming a strange net-like structure. Each thread is connected to a phantom of a bubble world that has not yet completely disappeared.

Whoosh!
A brand new bubble world travels through endless time and space tides into this strange place, and is then drawn by some mysterious force to the end of a certain 'thread'.

Meanwhile, ahead of this bubble world, the other small worlds that were originally connected by this thread were being squeezed by their new companions, and they quickly advanced a great distance along the thread.

As they moved forward, each of those small worlds instantly changed—

Near the end of the thread, each small world becomes visibly illusory, and this illusion intensifies the further one goes.

Even at the very front, those bubble worlds had completely collapsed, leaving only faint, hazy phantoms of worlds.

On the silk thread, separated from the newly arrived bubble world by three small worlds, lies a bubble world that is already incredibly hazy, seemingly existing between reality and illusion.

At this moment, this small world, like an old man whose life force had been drained, became dilapidated.

Mountains collapsed, the earth cracked and turned to sand, and everywhere was a desolate scene.

And at this moment, as each small world moves forward—

"Snap snap~~~"

As a series of cracking sounds rang out, cracks rapidly spread across the almost transparent world membrane surrounding the small world, and even the earth itself began to show ravines.

In the blink of an eye, the entire bubble world became like a glass bead riddled with cracks, teetering on the verge of collapse, as if it would burst apart completely at any moment!
Within this small world, on the desertified land.

Qi Yuanyuqing and Shangqing clones, who were originally sitting in meditation, simultaneously stood up.

"According to the outside time, about 3400 years have passed since I entered this place. Is the lifespan of this small world finally coming to an end?"

Both clones were looking at the world membrane that resembled shattered porcelain. In their gazes, there was no trace of panic or tension, only unparalleled confidence and composure.

"It should still be about ten years before this small world completely collapses. I originally wanted to stay here a little longer and wait until I was more confident before taking action, but now it seems that I have no choice but to take some risks."

With a thought, Qi Yuan's aura began to change rapidly.

Although his physical appearance remained unchanged, deep within his body, which was invisible to the naked eye, every fragment of his divine power and every strand of his soul imprint were rapidly changing.

Every tiny unit of divine power and soul imprint within his body seemed to be twisting and rotating according to some strange law—

"Whoosh whoosh~~~"

In an instant, his entire body seemed to transform into a human-shaped black hole, with endless, terrifying devouring power forming an incredibly powerful vortex around him.

The powerful tearing force caused the already crumbling small world space to tremble continuously, as if it was about to collapse completely!
Immediately afterwards——

"Bang! Bang bang! Bang."

Like the rise and fall of a heartbeat, or the beating of a giant drum, a series of strange, highly regular pulses suddenly emanated from his body!
Centered on his body, invisible fluctuations spread outwards, forming a special force field like a tide.

"Whoosh whoosh~~~"

"Bang! Bang bang! Bang."

The eddies and tides blend perfectly, creating a unique rhythm that is hard to describe.

In a daze, the aura emanating from Shang Qingfen became remarkably similar to that of the 'singularity' at the center of this strange place.

According to the outside time, Yuqing and Shangqing's avatars have been lost in this strange place for more than 3400 years.

For over three thousand years, the two avatars have been sensing the pulse of that mysterious 'singularity' and observing that incredibly profound 'net-like structure'.

At first, he simply observed and used the mysterious atmosphere he sensed to accelerate his comprehension of the laws of time and space.

Later, he had a sudden inspiration and tried to use the 'transformation' ability of Shangqing's clone to capture and simulate this special artistic conception.

However, that special artistic conception is almost invisible and traceless, so how can it be captured or simulated?

Left with no other choice, he had to start with the tangible. He first tried to simulate the mysterious 'net structure' within his body using his divine power, constructing a special 'network' inside his body.

No matter how he simulated it, he didn't feel anything unusual.

So he turned to simulating the more mysterious and profound 'singularity', trying to capture the frequency and trajectory of its pulse by resonating with the fluctuations emitted by the 'singularity' at all times, and attempting to replicate it with his 'transformation' ability.

The power of Shangqing's clone's 'transformation' ability is absolutely undisputed. In addition to changes in form and aura, it can even simulate the secret techniques used by the target, provided that the understanding is sufficient.

When he was still the Lord of the Realm, he used his 'Transformation' ability to disguise himself as an immortal god and roam the outer battlefields.

Back then, they could even almost perfectly simulate the 'divine form' and 'law domain' of immortal gods!
However, this powerful ability to 'change' becomes exceptionally difficult when attempting to capture and simulate the state of that mysterious 'singularity'.

The source of chaos in this strange place, though called a singularity, is actually more like an invisible force field.

To simulate an intangible existence with a tangible body is naturally an almost impossible task.

It was thanks to this invisible 'force field' and some mysterious fluctuations that the Shangqing clone had a chance to sense and interact with it.

By resonating with that mysterious fluctuation, one can feel the frequency and trajectory of the invisible 'force field' pulsation, and finally attempt to replicate it.

It sounds simple, but the execution process is incredibly difficult.

The vortex and spacetime tidal energy triggered by that mysterious 'singularity' are terrifying; they are terrifying beings that can even annihilate the divine bodies of cosmic venerables!
Given the current level of Qing's clone, simulating such terrifying power would be extremely difficult.

Although it is difficult, there is still a glimmer of hope.

Moreover, Qi Yuan discovered that in the process of resonating with that strange fluctuation, his soul and will were greatly tempered without him even realizing it.

Although each simulation ended in failure, with the continuous tempering of the soul and will, and the deepening of the state of resonance with that wondrous fluctuation, each attempt showed significant progress compared to the last.

Since entering this strange place, Qi Yuan has maintained a state of resonance with that wondrous fluctuation, and his soul and will have been constantly tempered.

His divine body was comparable to that of the most ordinary cosmic venerables. With such a powerful divine body, the soul and will he nurtured were inherently extremely strong.

After more than three thousand years of continuous tempering and honing, his willpower has long surpassed that of most cosmic venerables, reaching a level comparable to that of cosmic overlords!

As his will deepened and his resonance with that strange fluctuation intensified, it became much easier for Shangqing's clone to attempt to simulate the form of that 'singularity'.

About a hundred years ago, Shangqing's clone successfully simulated a special force field shape that was similar to the mysterious 'singularity' for the first time.

At the very moment of success, he felt his connection with that mysterious fluctuation deepening, and his perception of that 'singularity' becoming increasingly clear.

However, this initial successful simulation lasted only a moment before collapsing uncontrollably.

However, with the experience of the first success, the subsequent steps became simple.

With each attempt, the probability of Shangqing clones successfully simulating the state increased, and the time they could maintain that state also increased.

Recently, Shangqing's clone has been able to enter this state at any time with a thought, and each simulation can be maintained for almost a month.

Moreover, Qi Yuan had already tried using his Shangqing clone, and in a special state where he was almost in sync with the fluctuations of that mysterious 'singularity', the powerful devouring vortex and spacetime tides outside, which could easily annihilate the divine bodies of cosmic venerables, could no longer cause him any harm!
In other words, if he wanted to leave, he now had the opportunity to directly cross the external spacetime tides and leave this place.

However, in the past, Shangqing's clone could only maintain this state for a short time, which could not completely guarantee that he could escape from the most dangerous core area of ​​the Time-Space Prison. That's why he did not act rashly.

However, the small world he was hiding in was about to collapse, and he had reached a point where he had no choice but to take action.

Of course, he could also use this special state to enter a safer little world and thus continue to stay in this strange place.

However, the biggest secret of this world should be this mysterious 'singularity' environment.

Now that he can replicate this state at any time, he has essentially seized the greatest opportunity in this world, so there is no need for him to stay here any longer.

"Now, each successful simulation of that 'singularity' state can last for more than a month. After it ends, I need to rest for nearly three days before I can simulate it again. If there are enough small worlds along the way for me to rest, it should be enough for me to successfully escape!"

"But before we leave, should we take a look at the central area of ​​that mysterious 'singularity'?"

(End of this chapter)