Da Qin: Conquer all heavens and all realms

In the Western Pure Land of Buddha, golden light shines everywhere and the sound of Sanskrit is lingering.

On the glazed mountain peaks suspended in the sea of ​​clouds, countless Buddhas, Bodhisattvas, and Vajras are meditating with their eyes closed.

However, the tranquility of the Pure Land was broken by a sudden wave.

"Amitabha."

A Buddhist chant, like a sigh from ancient times, and the Lord of the Pure Land, an ancient Buddha with a majestic appearance, slowly opened his eyes.

What was reflected in his eyes was no longer the compassionate image of all living beings, but a heart-pounding and ever-expanding "nothingness".

"Ying Zheng... he actually took that step." The ancient Buddha's voice was filled with a hint of disbelief and horror. "He... he actually dared to actively merge into the realm of 'nothingness' with his body of 'existence'! This is... an act that defies heaven!"

"Buddha, Ying Zheng is seeking his own death and merging into nothingness, just like a moth flying into a flame. Don't we win without fighting?" A Vajra Master on the side said happily.

"No." The ancient Buddha shook his head, a trace of deep worry flashing in his eyes. "You don't understand. He's not going to die, he's going to 'attain the truth.' He wants to carve out a 'path' of his own in the 'void.' If he succeeds, he will no longer be the 'Emperor,' but... the 'Ancestor of the Dao.' Then, Buddhas like us will become dust under his path."

"Then... then what should we do?" All the Buddhas were shocked.

"Wait and see what happens." The ancient Buddha slowly closed his eyes. "At the same time, gather all the strength of the Pure Land and prepare to face... the echo of 'Nothingness'. Ying Zheng's move will surely set off a huge wave in the dreams of the ancestor of 'Nothingness'. And the first people to be struck by this huge wave will be those of us on the fringe of 'awakeness'."

……

In the Frost Temple of the North, cracks began to appear in the black ice that had not melted for thousands of years.

The Lord of the Divine Court, a Valkyrie clad in ice crystal armor, felt the soul-freezing chill coming from the source of the universe, and clenched the Spear of Eternity in her hand.

"That madman... he really dares!" The Valkyrie's voice was like shattering ice. "He wants to drag the entire universe into his crazy gamble!"

"Queen, the Kingdom of Law is leaderless. This is the perfect time for us to fight back!" suggested a frost general.

"Fight back? Against whom?" The Valkyrie sneered. "Against that 'nothingness' that's devouring everything? Although Ying Zheng is gone, the 'seeds' he left behind have sprouted. Now, the entire universe is trembling because of him. All we can do is strengthen the barriers of the Divine Court and pray... pray that he will succeed, and also pray... that he will fail."

……

Central Galaxy, headquarters of the Free Alliance.

Countless screens displayed abnormal data from the direction of the Kingdom of Law. The stability of that region's existence was declining at an exponential rate, like a massive black hole devouring the very foundations of reality.

"God...what on earth has he done?" The Alliance's chief scientist, a being composed of pure energy, screamed in terror. "Our 'reality anchors' are failing! The fundamental constants of the universe are drifting ever so slightly! This isn't an attack on the physical level, this is...this is a collapse of the 'rules'!"

"Ying Zheng vanished, but he left behind something even more terrifying than himself—uncertainty." The Alliance's Speaker, a weathered old man, his eyes filled with despair. "He made all of us gamblers at the table, and the stakes are the very existence of the universe itself."

……

All the heavens and the world, whether friend or foe, god or demon, at this moment, felt the throbbing coming from the deepest part of the universe.

Ying Zheng's "disappearance" not only failed to clarify the situation, but dragged the entire universe into a more dangerous and unknown abyss.

He was like a stone thrown into a calm lake, the ripples it created were enough to completely shatter the entire surface of the lake.

Everyone knows that an unprecedented storm is coming.

The center of the storm is the absolute nothingness that even the "observer" cannot see.

……

in nothingness.

There is no time, so it is impossible to measure how long Ying Zheng has "existed." It could be a moment, or it could be an eternity.

There is no up, down, left, or right, no past or future. Even the concept of "I" can disappear at any moment.

Ying Zheng's consciousness was like a small boat, drifting in an endless sea of ​​chaos composed of "non-existence".

The Emperor's Realm, so proud of him, was useless here. His will, his strength, his memories, everything he was, was being madly eroded and assimilated by this void. He felt himself being disintegrated, broken down into the most primitive, meaningless "fragments of information."

"I... am Ying Zheng..."

He tried hard to concentrate his consciousness and resist the huge gravitational force that was making him "return to nothingness".

But all that responded to him was the cold, silent "will" of nothingness itself.

"Give it up." A voice, seemingly from all directions, and also from the depths of his own heart, echoed, "You are originally 'something', yet you force your way into 'nothingness'. This is going against the grain, courting your own destruction. Return to nothingness, for this is your destiny. All meaning is illusory. Only 'nothingness' can bring eternal peace."

This is the whisper of the "Ancestor of Nothingness" and the temptation of chaos itself.

It is not like an intelligent life, but more like a universal law, a natural trend of "entropy increase." Its purpose is not destruction, but "return."

Let all "existence" return to its original and most primitive state of "nothingness".

Cracks began to appear in Ying Zheng's consciousness.

He saw his past.

He saw the glory of unifying the six kingdoms and establishing the Qin Dynasty.

He saw his own persistence in seeking immortality and longing for eternal life.

He saw his great achievement of traveling through the starry sky and establishing the Kingdom of Law.

He saw himself standing in the Nine Clouds Palace, passionately expounding the truth to all living beings in the world.

Scenes flashed by like a kaleidoscope.

Then the images began to fade and blur.

"Are these... all dreams?" Ying Zheng's consciousness began to waver. "If everything is a dream of the 'Ancestor of Nothingness', then what does my struggle and my will mean?"

"Yes, it's all a dream." The disembodied voice echoed again. "Your 'reality' is nothing but another level of 'illusion'. Your 'empire', your 'people', are nothing but illusions. Give it up and return to eternal peace."

"No!"

Just when Ying Zheng's consciousness was about to sink completely, a roar erupted from the deepest part of his soul!

"I am the truth!"

"My will is the will of the universe! My existence is the foundation of all things!"

"Even if the heavens and the earth were a furnace and all things were copper, I would still forge an immortal body within this void!"

"I will never admit defeat!"

This roar was like a bolt of lightning that cut through the eternal darkness.

At the last moment before being assimilated, Ying Zheng's consciousness suddenly shrank and condensed into a point.