Looking at the future that remained blurred and hazy ahead, Yun Ming stopped his steps, no longer moving forward.
Yun Ming did not know how long he had been walking or how far he had traveled within this strange, dark, and boundless space-time. He had explored many of the blurred tributaries of the future, experiencing the myriad changes and the diverse flavors of life within them. Yet, all these futures gave him a sense of illusion, feeling extremely unreal.
If one were to speak of goals, the creation of a world and becoming a Deity, pursuing the supreme realm of cultivation, had always been Yun Ming's clear and firm objective. Looking back at his past and present lives, this had been his greatest pursuit. Among the illusory futures he had seen, he had also witnessed time branches containing similar fragments, but even that line gave Yun Ming a sense of unpredictability. This caused him to begin doubting whether his understanding of the future timeline had been on the wrong path from the very beginning.
Where exactly does the future that truly belongs to me lie? What is the future?
Yun Ming looked at the chaotic and illusory time branches beneath his feet, falling into deep thought. He began to explore the mysteries of this place starting from the source.
Everything originated from two thousand years after the Douluo Continent. In his youth, he studied at Shrek Academy, apprenticed to the Sea God Pavilion Master of that generation, the Heaven's Chosen Douluo. He fought against various geniuses and powerhouses, met the love of his life, defeated all rivals in love, and later reached the peak, suppressing the world for decades. Up to this point, Yun Ming's life could be described as smooth sailing.
Later, a great catastrophe occurred; Shrek suffered a disaster, and Yun Ming sacrificed his life on the spot for the sake of the final spark of hope. He should have perished, body and soul, but he unexpectedly traveled through two thousand years of time, living another life. Born into the Breaking Soul Yang Family in this life, destroying the Clear Sky Sect, strengthening his family, stirring up the winds and clouds—all these experiences and insights into cultivation began to surface and circulate in Yun Ming's mind, over and over again.
From these constantly revolving life experiences, Yun Ming wanted to find the answer he sought. However, the more he thought, the deeper his memories became; the superficial appearance obscured the essence, and he never managed to find that truth he desired. After pondering for a long time without finding a method, Yun Ming decided to take a radical approach.
Yun Ming sat cross-legged in the darkness, eyes tightly shut.
Since normal reason cannot find the answer, then discard reason.
Abandoning reason meant losing the ability to regulate oneself artificially. In the current situation where the remaining time was unknown, making such a decision meant that if one move went wrong, Yun Ming would be completely lost in this space-time. Furthermore, following instinct did not necessarily mean success.
Under normal circumstances, a person cannot completely empty their reason due to external disturbances. But the current situation was abnormal; the environment of this space-time—no light, no sound, no other objects, nothing at all—was far cleaner than the endless Void. Here, there was a possibility of reaching that state.
The chaotic consciousness in Yun Ming's mind began to dissipate bit by bit, yet a trace of clarity always remained. The entire state was at the level of deep meditation, but it was not thorough enough.
To enter that state, one cannot force it, nor can one think, so Yun Ming could only let things take their course.
Time passed second by second. He did not know how long had passed, but Yun Ming's eyes still retained that final trace of clarity.
The failure to succeed caused uncontrollable, subtle fluctuations in Yun Ming's thoughts. Seeing him drifting further and further away from success, a light from an unknown source flashed by, severing the positioning line and cutting off the last connection between Yun Ming and the outside world.
Outside, in the Demon Whale Sea Area.
Poseidon frowned as he watched the positioning line break. The time had not yet come, but the line had snapped; Yun Ming had clearly encountered a situation beyond His expectations. However, things had reached this point, and He was powerless to intervene, left only to await the final result.
With the positioning line severed, Yun Ming's mind was in turmoil. Without the anchor, it meant that he truly had to seek life through death now. But upon reflection, he gained some enlightenment. Perhaps only now could he be considered to have completely severed his connection with the outside world; his previous attempts had not been thorough enough.
Yun Ming stabilized his mind once more. This time, all connections with the outside world, including his retreat, were completely interrupted. After another significant period, Yun Ming finally, according to his vision, emptied all thoughts, allowed his brain to follow instinct, and entered a state of chaos.
Past, present, and future—these clear yet distinct concepts no longer existed in his consciousness. In this strange state, the fragments of his life in his mind began to be forgotten frame by frame, until everything was forgotten, and everything returned to chaos.
Yun Ming opened his eyes, looking once again at the chaotic future beneath his feet.
His gaze was devoid of joy or sorrow, without a trace of emotion. At this moment, he was more like a Deity than a Deity, appearing unreachable, and the scene before his eyes had undergone a earth-shattering change.
The time lines beneath his feet still appeared as three segments to the current Yun Ming, but they were no longer in the shape of a river; instead, they had formed a Mobius Strip resembling an '∞'. In the entire ring structure, the further forward it went, the darker it became, and the further back it went, the more illusory it appeared. The entire time model had only the intersecting node in the middle that was bright and shining.
The past has passed, the future has not yet arrived, and the present is in the present. This is the truest form of time and the cycle of reincarnation.
If Poseidon could see this scene, His jaw would likely have dropped. Time and reincarnation are profound and mysterious; even He could not see the full picture, yet now it was actively revealing itself before Yun Ming's eyes. If one were to tell the Deities about this, probably none would believe it. But reality requires no logic; whether one believes it or not, it remains the same.
This was not a matter of cultivation level, nor was it a difference in comprehension; if one had to say, it could only be attributed to fate.
Just like the Creation God, as the first living being born from chaos, essentially He knew nothing, yet He was able to complete the creation of the world. The key to this lay in only one point: the timing, or rather, destiny. Because external conditions had matured and the external chaos had developed to its limit, it required the Creation God to open up the world and continue development, so He came into being in response to the situation.
Yun Ming's current state was similar to that of the Creation God, only his external conditions were created subjectively and objectively by himself. His top-tier talent, years of cultivation insights, the actively perfected Sky Support World, and the opportunity to enter this space-time gained through his cooperation with Poseidon—all these combined were his timing. Through a convergence of circumstances, Yun Ming satisfied all the conditions for creation. Therefore, the Atlas Divine Spear, or rather the Sky Support World, helped him sever his final retreat and chance of luck in order to evolve, allowing him to finally behold the source.
Looking at the Atlas Divine Spear standing in the center of the Mobius Strip, Yun Ming uttered the true word.
"Open!"
As his words carried the power of law, the Atlas Divine Spear shone brilliantly, and the phantom of the Sky Support World instantly expanded, completely covering the '∞' river.
As the two merged, the Sky Support World began to tremble violently; mountains and rivers shifted, and the territory's map expanded and stabilized rapidly. The Golden Tree also radiated ten thousand rays of light, growing at high speed. A ripple of chaos clearing and all things nourishing washed over the universe, and the world grew rapidly. By the time Yun Ming stepped into this world, all this accumulated development finally reached its peak, and blades of grass and trees sprouted from the ground.
The birth of vegetation in the Sky Support World meant that the cycle of life and death had begun; this world had completely awakened! It also meant that a new Creation God had been born.
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Translated by: randomtranslator.com
Proofread by: DaoistReader