The light could not penetrate; the air was hazy and dim, as countless figures stood gazing at themselves in their own forms. Meng Qi felt an indescribable chill.
“If this is the afterlife, then surely not everyone would look exactly the same. It seems the ‘Mirror of Rebirth’ has been destroyed, leaving only residual energy. That’s why it can only reflect the future, which is uncertain and filled with various possibilities, manifesting in multiple ‘forms.'”
With a clear mind, Meng Qi surveyed his surroundings, having suppressed his shivering. He speculated and pondered while striving to recover from the toll of using the “Ancient Symbol of Breaking the Void.”
“‘From now on, I shall live with only an old lamp and Buddha’… Could it be that I am deeply trapped in a powerful being’s chess game, repeatedly struck, and finally, having lost all hope, I seek peace and liberation, no longer resisting or fighting back?” Meng Qi first looked toward the “monk version” of himself. Since this figure lacked A-nan’s aura, he could only make such an assumption. As to why and how his heart had been wounded, there were too many possibilities to determine.
“This is one of the worst possible futures!”
Meng Qi turned his gaze toward another “himself” who raised his head toward the heavens. The sorrow in that posture was almost tangible, enough to make anyone who heard it feel heartbroken and bring tears to the eyes. Clearly, this version had experienced something extremely tragic!
“Did all my companions perish, or did another important person die?” Meng Qi shook his head, unwilling to accept such a future.
“This is also one of the worst possibilities!”
The powerful martial artist pierced through by a red spear resembled someone killed by the Demon Emperor’s spear. The mad Daoist priest was similar to the monk with the ancient lamp and Buddha. Meng Qi clearly resisted such a future as well.
The only two futures that seemed relatively acceptable were: one, a swordsman in white robes, whose expression was free of obvious sorrow, despair, or numbness; the other, a man in black clothes exuding an overbearing aura, quite similar to another style Meng Qi admired. Especially when he shouted, “Bring me my saber!” it sounded truly mighty.
“That saber resembles the Overlord’s Final Saber. Does it mean I must walk the Overlord’s path to achieve a favorable outcome?” Meng Qi furrowed his brow. While the Overlord’s path was indeed admirable, it also meant facing enemies everywhere. The futures he had seen were definitely not the final outcomes. Perhaps the “Overlord version” of himself, after shouting, “Bring me my saber!” was immediately surrounded and forced into a dead end, dying by self-destruction.
Meng Qi gazed deeper into the hazy mist. Around him were countless indistinct figures, representing more of his possible futures, deeper and more distant ones, too numerous and uncertain to fully comprehend.
“The future is uncertain!”
Treading carefully, Meng Qi intended to see deeper into the “future,” preferably at the endings, various endings, to understand which powerful being harbored ulterior motives, who casually laid down idle moves, and who favored using him to break the deadlock. Only by understanding all this could he use these forces to his advantage, maneuvering skillfully within the heavenly net to carve out a sliver of survival and transform from a pawn into a chess master!
After walking a few steps, Meng Qi suddenly frowned. The previously indistinct figures had not become clearer with proximity; he could still only make out the first few.
“Is it because the Mirror of Rebirth only has fragments and residual energy left, making it impossible to reflect and clarify more of the future?” Meng Qi felt a sudden clarity in his heart, but he was not ready to give up. He temporarily shelved his thoughts of seeking an exit and focused entirely on exploring this place. Perhaps it concealed a glimmer of hope for escaping his dark future and breaking free from the schemes and abnormal fortune of powerful beings.
The fog thickened, churning and congealing into a murky, oppressive shroud that severely limited visibility. Meng Qi felt as if he had stepped into the depths of the Nine Nether Hells, where monstrous entities lurked, poised to strike at any moment.
He carefully examined the figures, discerning their energies and sketching a chaotic picture in his mind, hoping to gradually find the source reflecting his future, whether it was a fragment of the Mirror of Rebirth or its residual energy, both potentially beneficial to him.
Silently stepping forward, Meng Qi moved slowly. Suddenly, a sense of danger stirred in his heart. He lightly pushed off with his toes, retreating several steps and hiding deeper within the mist.
After a breath, Meng Qi faintly saw a figure in black robes flash by. Moving swiftly, it seemed to disregard the numerous “futures” scattered around, clearly having its own purpose.
“Xi?” Meng Qi concealed his aura, blending seamlessly with the mist. He roughly identified the figure as Xi, the “Solar Sovereign” from mythology.
“Does he seem quite familiar with this place?” Meng Qi felt puzzled. Previously, he and Gu Xiaosang had been ahead, with the Dharma King secretly following to “protect” them. Somehow, Xi had managed to bypass the Dharma Body and intercept them from the path of the infernal flames.
Without an in-depth understanding of the Nine Heavens, even if one spotted an opportunity, one would likely hesitate to act. Xi had not engaged Meng Qi and Gu Xiaosang before Han Guang and others arrived, clearly suspecting the presence of the Dharma King. How could he dare to act so recklessly, risking detection by a Dharma Body?
As Xi quickly vanished, Meng Qi pondered while sensing the energy of the world, gradually moving toward the direction of the “Present Life Hall.” That strange tree, with its lush branches and dense roots, might have some roots extending into this depth. Meng Qi could use it to absorb the tree’s essence, fulfilling the demands of the Dao Tree and observing any changes it might undergo.
As for this small tree with such an impressive name, Meng Qi did not expect it to be immediately useful. He merely had a vague feeling that it would play an important role in the future.
…
Gu Xiaosang paused at the “Hall of Rebirth,” slightly frowning in thought. Suddenly, without warning, she leaped downward, her sashes fluttering like a tent, carrying her gently into the mist.
Not far from where she had been, a single eye suddenly materialized in the void, identical to the cold, hollow eyes of the Dharma King of Salvation. Inwardly, he mused:
“There’s something strange about the fruit she took…”
…
Gao Lan tried various attacks—kicks, palm strikes, and sword cuts—but could not harm the strange tree. Angrily, he said, “Let’s explore the passage behind first. We’ll deal with this tree later. I refuse to believe that even prolonged effort won’t work!”
Even the slightly awakened Human Emperor Sword could only leave shallow marks. Han Guang seemed to recognize the tree as the primary material for a formidable wooden divine weapon. He glanced at it, suppressing his greed, his aura deep and vast like the sea, following Gao Lan into the passage opposite the cave.
The Dharma King of Salvation half-hid in the void, barely perceptible, yet his movements were no slower than Gao Lan’s and Han Guang’s.
The passage was smooth and unadorned, as if casually carved by a powerful being. After walking for a while, the space suddenly widened. The surrounding walls were ancient, gray stones exuding an aura of timeless desolation.
They had entered an ancient gray stone hall, as if returning to the ancient past. The air felt strangely timeless, with hints of overlapping time and space, though nothing else appeared unusual.
“This place connects to another realm, but not in the normal way…” Han Guang had already sheathed his imitation Time Blade. With his hands clasped behind his back, he gripped the top of the Demon-Subduing Staff, his posture elegant and unrestrained—like a traveler with bamboo cane and straw sandals.
Gao Lan sniffed the air: “Where else could the Nine Heavens connect to?”
The Dharma King of Salvation, most skilled in the path of void, moved forward, carefully sensing the surroundings. In a hollow voice, he said, “It doesn’t feel much different from the outside.”
Han Guang seemed to have realized something and chuckled: “Could this be the path leading to the top two layers of the Nine Heavens?”
“I remember the paths and ‘gates’ of the previous layers were all in the central, visible locations,” Gao Lan expressed his confusion.
Half-guessing and half-confirming, Han Guang said, “It must be that a certain powerful being forcibly ‘moved’ the upper layer here, hence the abnormal overlapping of time and space.”
Moving an entire layer of the Nine Heavens… Gao Lan slapped the back of his sword-holding hand with his left hand: “What kind of mighty being could do such a thing? Truly, I long to meet him!”
The space-time here was abnormal, and the three Dharma Bodies’ senses could not reach far.
“Perhaps the one who created this secret passage…” Han Guang stepped forward leisurely, his wide robe fluttering, his demeanor extremely graceful.
After walking a distance, the three Dharma Bodies took in the entire gray stone hall. At the very front, the space abruptly ended, giving way to chaotic void, formless and intangible, where even the Dharma King of Salvation dared not tread!
At the very center of the rupture stood a green-tinged bronze gate, ancient and weathered, exuding a mysterious aura.
Before the bronze gate stood a stone tablet, ordinary in appearance, like a mundane object. On it were eight characters written in seal script:
“Those who are not legends shall not enter this gate!”
It stood there unassumingly, as if declaring a rule, establishing a law!
An invisible oppressive force surged forward. Han Guang narrowed his eyes, and the Dharma King of Salvation snorted coldly.
Gao Lan clicked his tongue in admiration: “Let me give it a try.”
The Human Emperor Sword rose, summoning countless phantom figures—demons, gods, immortals, landscapes, rivers, the sun, the moon, and the stars—all converging into the sword’s radiance. Surging forward like a mighty torrent, it shattered the ancient aura and shook the time-worn gate.
…
Meng Qi walked for a while and arrived at a place where the mist was dense and solid, guessing it to be the foundation of the “Present Life Hall.”
Following this, he searched for the roots of the strange tree and possibly fragments of the Mirror of Rebirth.
As he searched, his eyes suddenly lit up when he saw an ugly root extending from the solid mist, drilling downward. The Dao Tree once again felt an intense hunger.
“What a fortunate discovery,” Meng Qi couldn’t hide his joy as he drew out the Dao Tree and brought it closer.
Upon contact, chaotic-colored gas, between tangible and intangible, between visible and invisible, surged out, flowing into the Dao Tree.
Within the secret passage of the Three Lives Hall, the strange tree had not yet withered, instead drawing energy from its lush branches and leaves.
The chaotic energy flowed, seeping underground, causing the Peach Garden tree to wither rapidly.
Streams of energy surged outward, and the Dragon-Subduing Platform, Demon-Slaying Platform, and others crumbled and decayed.
The entire world trembled violently, the sky and earth shaking, cracks appearing in the once-solid white clouds!
Cui Qinghe and others were about to enter the vortex when suddenly they noticed the vortex spinning faster than before, terrifyingly fast, as if something terrible was happening inside!
Boom!
Within the gray stone hall, Gao Lan was just disappointedly sheathing his sword, the ancient bronze gate still intact.
At that moment, tremors and ruptures arrived. The three Dharma Bodies turned their heads, puzzled about the source of the disturbance!
“Was it because of my sword strike?” Gao Lan was baffled. He looked again at the stone tablet and noticed four tiny characters in one corner:
“Yu Xu Yang Jian (Jade Void Yang Jian)!”
…
Boom!
The heavens and earth shook violently. Meng Qi stared in shock at the Dao Tree, which was “feasting” wildly, feeling that something terrible had happened.
Oh no, did I just trigger another catastrophic change again?
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