Chapter 1298: Time and Space Two Sides

Xu Qing raised his hand and pressed it to his brow. His life experiences, extracted from his memory, transformed into streams of light, gathering before him.

This formed the first piece of his puzzle, serving as an anchor point for comprehending the temporal turbulence. Like a seed, this point absorbed Xu Qing's life and grew. Drawing power from destiny, it spread from the primordial cocoon where Xu Qing resided into the temporal turbulence, extracting what was needed from its disorder. What manifested on this puzzle piece was Xu Qing's past.

Within it lay his childhood in Wushuang City, the arduous journey of survival, the tempering by the Seven Blood Eyes, and the trials on Mermaid Island. It also depicted his path to becoming a Sword Holder, the events in Fenghai County, the great battle against the Crimson Mother, and the rise of humanity. It encompassed all incidents, as well as Xu Qing's destiny and life. This was a complete continuum.

“So, the subsequent pieces…”

Inside the primordial cocoon, Xu Qing gazed at the Divine Spark of Destiny before him. Perceiving the first puzzle piece he had laid down, he pondered, then made a decision. “The people I have encountered throughout my journey will form the subsequent pieces.”

The next instant, as the Divine Spark of Destiny shimmered, countless figures from his memories appeared on the accumulated fragments of Xu Qing’s life. There were relatives from Wushuang City, enemies from the wilderness. There was Captain Lei, everyone from the Thunder Squad, and also Seventh Grandmaster. There were Er Niu, Huang Yan, Second Senior Sister, and Third Senior Brother. Yan Yan, Zhao Zhongheng, and Ding Xue were all among them. Also Zhang San, the Little Mute, Wu Jianwu, and Kong Xianglong. Qing Qiu and Ning Yan were present, as were naturally Zi Xuan and Ling'er. Even the Crown Prince and others, the Empress, and the Great Sword Emperor were included.

Finally, those Xu Qing met after leaving Wanggu appeared. They were numerous, a dense cluster, including Xinghuanzi, Li Mengtu, Zhou Zhengli, and many more. Each of these individuals had intersected with him, and the sparks generated at the moment of their intersection manifested here as new puzzle pieces. Piece after piece appeared: the second, the third, the fourth… more and more. Guided by the power of destiny, they absorbed temporal energy from the outside, drawing sustenance from the disordered flow of time and space to these emerging puzzle pieces. This caused the pieces to continuously expand and become increasingly comprehensive. Within them, the entire lives of all individuals known to Xu Qing were contained. Moreover, as the puzzle pieces generated by these individuals matured to a certain extent, they began to manifest new threads of destiny, forming even more puzzle pieces. These were the further causes and effects they should have connected with more beings, an evolution of destiny's power. Now, all were revealed on the diagram of destiny Xu Qing had outlined with the power of destiny.

Time flowed on. Xu Qing gazed at the puzzle before him, like a spectator, watching the life trajectories of those familiar individuals. This destiny puzzle no longer required his active impetus; it had formed its own self-sustaining cycle, continuously expanding before him. The absorption from the external flow of time and space continued in the same manner. Thus, it grew larger and vaster, revealing not only Xu Qing's known life but also unknown pasts and futures. It even showed countless individuals Xu Qing had never met. He could not distinguish truth from illusion, for everything was possible.

“This… this is destiny,” Xu Qing murmured softly.

Within this destiny puzzle, from beginning to end, everything was contained. Xu Qing even had a premonition: if this diagram of destiny were placed externally and empowered by the Divine Spark of Destiny, then everything within it would supersede rules and become true destiny weaving, dictating the lives of all beings.

“The power of the Primeval Desolation…” Xu Qing fell silent. For a moment, he considered changing his own fundamental constitution. Indeed, through this process of utilizing destiny's power, his understanding of destiny had deepened, and he had also perceived its terrifying and boundless nature. But Xu Qing ultimately dispelled this thought.

“Though destiny is powerful, its source already lies with the Primeval Desolation.”

“For me, it can only serve as a tool to help me see clearly through the temporal turbulence, to see my own path.”

“And using it as a guide…”

Xu Qing looked up. With a wave of his hand, the primordial cocoon enveloping him instantly dissipated, causing Xu Qing's figure to reappear within the temporal turbulence. However, this time, with the expansion of the diagram of destiny, Xu Qing stood within the temporal turbulence, gazing outward, yet he could still maintain his human form and his clarity of thought. This was because the order of the destiny puzzle was orderly, while the temporal turbulence was chaotic. Standing within the orderly, Xu Qing used destiny as a measure, calibrating time and space, enabling his current gaze to perceive something different from before.

“Next, I need to verify something.” Xu Qing looked up, gazing into the distance. After a long moment, a resolute look appeared in his eyes. He withdrew the Divine Spark, raised his right hand, and pressed it firmly onto the puzzle he had outlined with the power of destiny. He intended to withdraw destiny's empowerment, causing the diagram of destiny to collapse. Then, by observing the fragmentation of the diagram of destiny, he could witness how the temporal turbulence tore apart the cause and effect within the puzzle, how it inverted them, and thereby gain new understanding of his fundamental constitution during this process.

The next instant, the puzzle trembled. Without the empowerment of the Divine Spark of Destiny, this diagram of destiny could not endure for long within the temporal turbulence. Now, under Xu Qing's press, cracks appeared amidst its trembling. The next moment, it shattered into pieces and collapsed.

The power of the temporal turbulence instantly surged, sweeping over the chaotic flow of time and space, disrupting everyone's lives within, misaligning their timelines, and tearing apart every single experience. Then, time and space were kneaded together in chaotic disarray. For example, the moment of a person's birth might be placed after the death of their descendants. Or events that should have happened to oneself were misplaced onto others. Thus, temporal turbulence was formed, resulting in inverted cause and effect and logical errors.

As Xu Qing watched all this from within, his mind instantly cleared. Countless pieces of information were perceived, imprinted, and understood by him during this process. Though he still could not fully comprehend it, he had gained a partial understanding. This understanding allowed Xu Qing to realize that this place, from beginning to end, though seemingly chaotic, was merely a single space-time. It only appeared to encompass everything because time and space were scrambled. It produced an effect similar to the power of parallel universes and overlapping multiverses. But in reality, it remained a single space-time, without transcending.

Xu Qing now understood. “My fundamental constitution of space-time is correct, while the space-time here is incorrect. And correct and incorrect are inseparable; they are the two sides of all things. Only when they merge together is it complete, like a single point.”

Xu Qing's mind buzzed, experiencing a profound enlightenment. His eyes grew brighter. This enlightenment was crucial; it was a validation of his own fundamental constitution from different perspectives. It was like an augmentation to his foundations.

“So, the next step…” Xu Qing lifted his foot and stepped forward.