NOVEL NEXT Chapter 753: Entering the Void
I tried closing my eyes to see if I could cross the world's wall and sense the void beyond.
"The world's wall" is not something I encountered for the first time. Back in the now utterly destroyed Southern City, I had experienced the "Outer World Wall" summoned by the "Paradise."
However, to be precise, compared to the "Outer World Wall" formed as a self-defense mechanism by the yet-to-fully-arrive "Paradise," a genuine cosmic barrier is vastly different. For one, such a "wall" doesn't simply appear in some physical space. The boundary between the world and the void isn't something so straightforward.
Void is something that is both everywhere and nowhere, and things located within the void can sometimes, under certain conditions, connect with a location within the world. The basement of the fifteenth floor in the past is an example of this. Although this junction point has now been turned into a teleportation door, at least there was a point of contact here. Sensing in this place, although it might have a psychological comfort factor, could potentially provide some assistance.
Soon, I experienced a sensation difficult to describe with existing linguistic systems. To put it simply and bluntly — I can indeed travel to the void in one go.
If I were to return to the time when I just entered the Southern City, the Outer World Wall, which used to be breakable only by relying on myself or Xuanming's death, I might now be able to ignore it and walk straight through.
"So, can you do it?" Fa Zheng asked seriously.
After I nodded, he also relaxed a bit.
However, Zhu Shi seemed to have some doubts. After thinking for a moment, she summoned the Yama Sword and casually slashed the space around her. It was as if a painting was slashed with a blade; a narrow slit appeared out of thin air, in which chaotic darkness surged.
"I don't quite understand... Is it really that difficult to travel to the void? Isn't this, revealed after we destroy space, the void outside the world?" she asked curiously.
"This is chaos; it is different from the void," Fa Zheng patiently explained. "You can understand the world we live in as a giant organism; we are inside this organism's intestines. Even if you can cut open the flesh around you, what will be exposed first is not the space outside the body but muscles and fat and so on. Even if you drill into this wound, leaving ordinary time and space, you're still inside this organism.
"It is said that the Infinite gives birth to the Taiji, the Taiji gives birth to the Liangyi, and the Liangyi gives birth to the Four Symbols... The void Zhuang Cheng speaks of is the absolute void that existed even before the birth of the Taiji, a concept existing prior to the universe.
"Regrettably, even we, Impermanence, cannot survive in the void. Only the Third Gate experts who can maintain their self-color in any environment and the Manifestation and Enlightenment beings who can integrate and adapt to all environments can achieve that."
And I am precisely someone who possesses both these advantages.
"Yes. So, if I use the void as an intermediate station to return to the real world, for now, I'm the only one who can make the return. You all have to wait here until I restart the teleportation door on the real-world side," I said.
"I see..." Zhu Shi seemed regretful about the "waiting only" situation.
However, merely being able to reach the void only solves half the problem; there's another urgent half to tackle.
That is, I must sense the "firefly" located in the real world.
Previously, I was able to sense my flame in the void and enter the Post-mortem World because this flame was conveniently located on the candle in the basement of the fifteenth floor. The basement space has a potential junction point with the Post-mortem World. As soon as I got close, I immediately fell into the nearby Post-mortem World.
Now, without those advantageous conditions, I must sense a "mark" from another world while in the Post-mortem World, using it as a navigation target. Otherwise, even I would be completely lost in the void. Forget about returning to the real world, I wouldn't even find the way back to the Post-mortem World.
Can I do it?
After delving into the sensing, I quickly came to a conclusion.
I did it. And it was not too difficult.
Only the "firefly" in the real world seemed to be in an unusual state. I could only sense its existence but couldn't synchronously receive real-time images from there. This wasn't just one or two "fireflies" like this; all the "fireflies" were in this state.
I thought perhaps the cross-world sensing signal was poor, but it didn't seem to be the case. It can only be said that, true to the Manifestation Realm, where nothing can constrain it, the connection with the "fireflies" was stable despite the world barrier. After thinking it over, perhaps not receiving real-time images is the normal state.
In the enclosed Post-mortem World, it might be on a different time-space axis than the real world. Observing one side from the perspective of the other, it's impossible to determine what is called "now."
"Now" is a relative and subjective concept, meaningful only to those living at a specific time point on the time-space axis. People living in the 21st century might think the 21st century is the present, while the periods before and after are respectively the past and the future. People in the 22nd century would similarly define what is past and future centered on themselves. But for those outside the time-space axis, they can only see the axis itself, making the concept of "time" highly questionable.
However, because there still exists the natural will of the planet, a super-being spanning across the two worlds, it's not to say the two time-space axes are entirely unrelated. But it is a fact that I am currently outside the real world, so I cannot perceive it like when I'm inside it.
Under these conditions, I cannot use Flame Transmission to skip the void and directly reassemble myself in the real world. Because "time" equates to "process," "operations without process" are still too difficult for me at this moment. I wonder if I observe for a long enough time, would I find the knack.
The perception of the Manifestation Realm is extremely mysterious. Sensing the world from an outside perspective is truly bizarre. The concepts of time and space seem to become full of loopholes. All times seem to become the same time, thus transforming into an indeterminate state akin to chaos. Combined with the scientific hypothesis of time and space unification, it seems this could lead to the conclusion "all spaces are the same space." This inevitably reminded me once again of the Great True Spirit hypothesis, where all life is the same life—
I see. Perhaps I understand a bit about the "integration with all things" and Shan Liangyi's "reincarnation" of Manifestation. Since ultimately all things are the same thing, naturally, there is no distinction between them; although Shan Liangyi cannot simultaneously become "all life" as the Great True Spirit, it can constantly transition from "one life" to "another life."
Just like "Manifestation," in some sense, "reincarnation" is also an unyielding compromise to achieve "True Spirit"... it is a fork in the path to self-proving True Spirit.
And since I cannot skip the void, I must bear the cost of not being able to freely choose the time point when returning to the real world.
However, since "firefly" signals are used as guidance, at least I won't jump to a past where the target "firefly" doesn't exist or a future where it has been eradicated. The random time range might not be extraordinarily outlandish. Combined with the sweeper star power, I shouldn't miss any important events.
After finalizing the departure details, Mazao and Zhu Shi handed the Divine Seal Fragment that they had been keeping to me.
"Even though we're not sure if it'll be of use... you just keep it for now," Zhu Shi said.
I reached out to take it and stored it in the small budding Void Realm. Now, as long as I don't intend to, even if I take the Divine Seal Fragment barehanded, it won't automatically bind.
"To prevent Shan Liangyi from suddenly restarting the teleportation door and barging into the Post-mortem World after you leave, we must first depart this area and act in secrecy. And if you're the one restarting the teleportation door, please notify us through the fire you leave behind when the time comes," Fa Zheng said.
"Understood," I replied.
"Speaking of hiding in the Post-mortem World, I have some experience, and Hongcao... No. 7, along with the Tai Sui Army she leads, should be far more adept than I am," Mazao suggested. "We can try to rendezvous with her afterward."
Jian Feixian nodded and said, "There should still be quite a few remains of the Evangelical Institute, and it is necessary to clean up this part of the forces."
"Then... see you later," I said.
Mazao came forward and hugged me tightly.
This time separating, from her time experience, might be yet another lengthy farewell.
"Zhuang Cheng, make sure to come back alive and save the world together," she said.
"I definitely will," I nodded.
Mazao stepped back two steps, and I etched the images of her and Zhu Shi into my heart, then turned around and took a step forward.
It was like stepping off a stair into nothingness; though the front was flat ground, my vision suddenly swirled, turning promptly into utter darkness.
With just one step, I stepped out of the world and entered the void.
Time, space, matter, energy... an environment without any elements swallowed me. Here, not even life and death exist, nor do they allow any consciousness and perception to exist.
Even in my period of Innate Manifestation, I had felt immensely suffocated by this true meaning of utter darkness devoid of anything. If I stayed here for a long period, my own spirit would dissolve and dissipate like sugar in boiling water. Although saying "a long time" in a place without time is odd, I couldn't find another way to express it.
But this time it was completely different; I felt my spirit incomparably clear, even bringing my whole body into here.