The Path to Another World

As the Buddhist saying goes, "A grain of sand contains a world, a leaf contains a Bodhi tree." The universe is a process of continuously expanding from a singularity to its limit, then contracting back into a singularity or tearing apart into multiple universes. During its ultimate expansion, the universe may also have torn apart into multiple universes, with matter-free zones in between. We can imagine that everything initially originated from such an extremely massive singularity, which, through expansion, continuously tore apart into countless parallel universes. At a certain moment on a certain day, our universe was born. Of course, many other universes, like ours, also exist.

The Mayan continent, also a planet teeming with life, differs from Earth in that it is not ruled solely by humans. Instead, it is home to many races with inherent advantages over humans, each possessing its own weaknesses. For example, there are the orcs, strong and physically robust yet intellectually limited; the elves, handsome and skilled archers and natural magic users, but physically frail; and the dragons, apex predators, among dozens of other races. While humans are weaker than the orcs and less adept at magic than the elves, their greatest strength lies in their learning ability. As humans evolved, civilization gradually took shape, progressing from the initial act of starting fires by friction to learning various martial arts techniques from the orcs, then the archery and magic of the elves, and the strengths of other races. This incredible ability to imitate, combined with humanity's terrifying reproductive capacity, allowed them to gradually develop civilization. There are many exceptionally talented individuals among them, so the elves, initially at a disadvantage, gradually used various methods to sow discord among the ignorant beastmen, causing them to fight amongst themselves, while humans reaped the benefits. The elves, forced to leave the alliance due to the unexpected fall of Medusa, the goddess of nature, have been forced to retreat into the Divine Language Forest, isolated from the world. Thus, apart from some apex predators, humans have essentially become the masters of this continent, even ambitiously encroaching on the territories of many beastmen tribes. The once glorious beastmen were humiliatingly driven to the most harsh southern and northernmost points of the continent, where they continue to reproduce and pass on their lineage in those desolate, barren lands. If it weren't for the fear that the beastmen might unite against humans when cornered, the major empires would probably have already joined forces to make the beastmen a thing of the past.

The Divine Language Forest was once the meeting place of the Ancestral God and various deities, a vital stronghold and Eden for the elves. The Ancestral God erected the most powerful energy shield here, making it a true castle that never sets. Unless your strength surpasses that of the Ancestral God or you break through it from within, you cannot breach this thin yet incredibly sturdy energy shield. When the elves were forced to retreat from the battlefield and return to the Divine Language Forest, they were besieged by dark skeletons and liches many times their number. However, thanks to the monstrous defensive power of the Ancestral God's shield, a few individuals simply replaced energy crystals, and they remained undefeated. Ultimately, they dragged tens of thousands of enemies until the army of light arrived, and only through a combined attack from both inside and outside were they completely annihilated. This demonstrated the extraordinary power of the Ancestral God's shield to the world. After driving out the beastmen, humans had considered attacking the elves. They sent hundreds of thousands of soldiers, led by two sword saints and two magic gods, to attack the Divine Language Forest. However, the Divine Language Forest, one of the three forbidden areas of the continent, was not so easily conquered. Before even reaching the edge of the Ancestral God's protective barrier, the human army had already endured countless terrifying beast waves, from terrain dragons to rat-eating creatures, and most terrifyingly, ants. They had already lost tens of thousands of soldiers, and the poisonous creatures and illusions in the forest had also taken down another batch. In the end, only three battered commanders and a few thousand ragged, disarmed soldiers, looking like beggars, arrived before the Ancestral God's protective barrier. Exhausted and weary, the soldiers could only helplessly watch as their commanders, in front of the many watching elves, frantically hacked at the barrier, unleashing devastation. The magic of power, under the watchful eyes of many elves, finally slunk away, repeating the nightmare journey once again. When they returned to Didu, only a few hundred of the most elite people remained. After receiving a reply from three people about their experiences, the top decision-makers were speechless all night. The next day, all those involved in the operation secretly disappeared. Of course, this secret was not recorded in history, and not many people knew about it. Only the royal family passed down the terror of the Divine Language Forest from generation to generation. The first ancestral rule of the royal family was that they should never enter the Divine Language Forest before the ancestral god's protective shield was broken. Those who violated this rule would be expelled from their ancestral status and reduced to ordinary people.

Compared to the bustling world outside, the Divine Language Forest is a veritable paradise. Birds sing, flowers bloom, streams murmur, and a chorus of chirps fills the air. All the spirits live in harmony, without a trace of quarreling. When hungry, they gather wild berries; when thirsty, they drink from the clear spring. Spirits are inherently a kind race. In their understanding, whether it's chickens, ducks, pigs, or cows, these are all living beings just like themselves. Therefore, they cannot kill their own kind. So here, you won't feel any bloodshed, only the freshness and embrace of nature.

A group of beautiful female elves, as lovely as celestial beings, sang clear and melodious mountain songs, picking flowers and weaving garlands. Even the occasional birds flying by stopped to listen, and pairs of butterflies danced around them. Meanwhile, a group of equally handsome male elves practiced their unique archery skills and their matching close-combat technique—bow dance—in a wider forest. Hitting the bullseye with every arrow was child's play, and their bow dance was a closely guarded secret of the elf race. Everyone believed that elves were only skilled in archery and magic, but when they engaged in close combat with them, they realized how false the rumors were. The so-called "bow dance" uses a bow as a weapon and dance as its offensive movement. The bows of the elven race are specially crafted, unlike ordinary bows, each with two fixed, sharp short blades at both ends. Wielding these specially made bows, they dance with beautiful yet cruel steps, transforming the elven race into terrifying close-combat assassins. Those who witness it cannot help but admire them; the elven race truly deserves its reputation as the most aesthetically pleasing race on the continent, even their killing is as beautiful as a dance, swiftly ending the enemy's life with a flick of their wrist, devoid of any violence. It is precisely because the elven race is so perfect that many bounty hunters risk their lives to infiltrate the Divine Language Forest, capturing lone male and female elven and selling them at high prices to nobles with particular tastes for exorbitant profits. The elven race has repeatedly sent representatives to the Didu to demand an end to this inhumane practice, and the Empire has vowed to severely punish such crimes. However, driven by profit, many still choose to take the risk.

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