Chapter 477: Shock and Discussion

Chapter 484: Shock and Discussion

A new world?

With a soft *swish*, Xu Zhi stepped into the extremely dark void, his face filled with curiosity as he observed this new world. Black mist swirled around him, and he murmured in admiration, "Mengmei has truly given me a huge surprise."

Each world in the Three Realms sandbox had required immense effort and long periods of evolution from Xu Zhi. The Demon World was the Wizarding World, the Immortal World had Dao Changsheng's Nine Revolutions Mysterious Art, and the Mortal World was an ancient primeval realm... but now, he had inexplicably acquired a new world!

Moreover, the world's rules were completely different. The beings here were formless and intangible, essentially souls. This realm could be called the Soul Realm. It spawned terrifying and malevolent fiends, evil and dark, yet possessing infinite possibilities, as the thoughts of all living beings already held boundless potential! This world was a creation of the void.

"Since the fears and dark thoughts of all beings will be cast into this void graveyard... the fear of Bai Xiaosheng and his group will also be transmitted here. In the future, they should be resurrected in this place," Xu Zhi mused, organizing his thoughts. "After all, even though Bai Xiaosheng and his group failed, they gained notoriety in the eyes of everyone at the Peach Banquet. Many people's fear of them continues to spread, so they should recover quickly."

In a sense, the faith generated by the masses in Bai Xiaosheng and his group had surged, and their "fanatical followers" were rapidly expanding. In the Mortal World's future, there might even be evil cultists who secretly worship and summon these deceased old ones—evil gods and outer gods—from the void graveyard, causing them to descend upon the world again and bring disaster.

While this place could indeed contain most of the aberrations, significantly reducing the crises for mortals in the Three Realms, some special entities, like Bai Xiaosheng and his group, who possessed high intelligence, could still actively leave, transforming into extraterrestrial demons and descending upon the Three Realms to cause havoc. However, this already greatly mitigated the deficiencies.

Xu Zhi chuckled wryly. "The Three Realms are still the same Three Realms, with only three worlds. The Void Realm covers every corner of the Three Realms but does not exist in the material world, so it naturally cannot be counted as a part of them. It is a secondary, abstract, distorted space-time of all beings' thoughts... or, in short: a two-dimensional space?"

With a gentle wave of his hand, Xu Zhi eliminated an aberration. In the distance, the female Martial Emperors were also highly enthusiastic and excited, pulling groups of sisters into battles everywhere. Xu Zhi was not concerned about their safety; the Ruin had just been established, and only minor fiends had formed, posing no significant threat.

Lin Hongfeng, on the other hand, was greatly invigorated. "The Ruin is practically a tailor-made cultivation ground for our Martial God Palace lineage! Our spiritual perception is relatively weak, and these girls previously had no opponents, leading to boredom and card games. Here, they'll likely become cultivation fanatics, completely absorbed... Their main bodies will constantly train in their inner worlds, while their spiritual senses will descend here to battle endlessly."

"Indeed, martial arts are destined to flourish with the times," Xu Zhi acknowledged.

With another wave of his hand, Xu Zhi remarked, "These aberrations all possess unique properties. If a method could be devised to fashion them into magical artifacts, the Void Realm's value would seemingly increase even further in the future."

Lin Hongfeng's eyes lit up, and she instantly understood. "You mean we can also acquire resources? In the future, if we hunt these aberrations and gather their materials, they could potentially materialize in reality and become sealed weapons?"

Xu Zhi merely smiled and added, "Perhaps some aberrations, like Xiao Wei, possess benevolent, controllable, or even kinship-like attributes. They could be captured, coexist with humans, and become void pets? Assisting in combat?"

Lin Hongfeng was utterly astonished and took a deep breath. "It truly is diverse; you live up to your reputation!"

Xu Zhi did not reply, considering her reaction an overreaction. As a native, Lin Hongfeng hadn't experienced the knowledge explosion of Earth, so her limited imagination was understandable. "The Void Realm has only just been established. You and I are witnesses to this era, and its future evolution is highly anticipated."

Xu Zhi understood clearly. Although the Void Realm served as a temporary solution, acting as a "dumping ground," it did not address the root cause. For every incense-fed deity that emerged, a corresponding vast amount of malevolent energy was still generated. Even if collected in this "dumping ground" and continuously purged, the accumulated energy would only increase over time.

This was a stopgap measure, not a fundamental solution. Currently, there were only two ultimate ways to reduce the continuous accumulation and expansion of this "dumping ground":First, transform these void creatures into magical artifacts or treasures, sealing and utilizing them.Second, purify these dark and malevolent energies into a clean, unaligned form. After all, malevolence was fundamentally a type of energy. However, this was easier said than done. It was deeply ingrained dark energy, incredibly difficult to strip away.

"Who knows what the future holds?" Xu Zhi turned his head and saw a ghostly figure slowly coalescing, its body hunched. It resembled a disaster beast from ancient flood legends, standing up and wandering aimlessly. "Formed from incense and possessing distinct properties and aberrant characteristics, these beings are already close to becoming elemental creatures of law. This truly represents a higher transcendent civilization!"

In a private room at the Peach Banquet. Mengmei took a deep breath, looking at Thunder Emperor Yijian Guixi, War God Heavenly Emperor Long Wuming, Ancestral Witch Battle God Bell, and even Pan Xuesian, the system dispenser, who had not been there long.

"All of us players from the Three Realms are here," she stated.

As for the two red-named players from earlier times, they had long since left the game. One was completely assimilated during the Demon Realm's invasion of the Three Realms due to too many deaths, and the other, centuries ago, could no longer endure the passage of time and was also assimilated, exiting the game.

"Next, it's time for the three of you to become gods. You all can't hold on much longer either..." Mengmei whispered. "But do you know what happened when I broke through to the eighth stage? I met the Creator God!"

"What?!"

Everyone around them was startled. Even Pan Xuesian, the novice next to them, was stunned. From the beginning, the Creator God had merely been a background setting for the dimensional courtyard, never having spoken a word or interacted with any player. Now, this meant it was the first time the Creator God had conversed with a player? How could this not be shocking?

Mengmei then revealed her entire experience without reservation, plunging everyone into silence.

"Second stage? You can already use second-stage power in reality?"

Long Wuming's eyes widened. "Second-stage spiritual power means that even without a bloodline, you can introspect your own body in reality, fully embark on the path of martial arts, become a 'muscle-bound' person, continuously raise your cultivation, and even reach the Martial Emperor realm..."

This was terrifying information! It meant that Earth would possess a devastating individual combat capability. Aside from being hit by large missiles or nuclear weapons, there would be virtually no way to breach the defenses of a peak seventh-stage Martial Emperor!

"That's not what's important. What's important is... in reality, one can only live for three months, while in the Three Realms, it's eight thousand years," Bell slowly stated. "In just three months, what level can one cultivate to in reality? The cultivation speed of a Martial Emperor is slower than other systems. A Heavenly Emperor would need at least two hundred years of cultivation, right?"

Everyone fell silent for a moment.

Thunder Emperor suddenly smiled bitterly. "Speaking of which, the eight-thousand-year lifespan of a Saint is certainly real, but the time flow difference between the two realms is so vast. When linked to just three months in reality, it always makes me feel like a short-lived ghost."

Mengmei pursed her lips. "Simply put, the eighth stage is a turning point. Breaking through to godhood means your character is completely bound. You can't rewind and restart like other players, turning into a spore and re-evolving. Do you want to become gods? It would save me energy to cultivate my own faction."

The faces of the other three darkened. "Are you abandoning us now that we've served our purpose?" they thought. "We've worked so hard to help you up to this point, precisely because we were waiting for you to help us become gods! Now we have to push forward, even if it's difficult. Are we supposed to turn back into spores and start over?" Even if they did, they would eventually face the hurdle of the eighth stage; it was unavoidable. Moreover, starting over might not lead them to such heights or grant them the opportunity to become gods.

Bell coughed. "Ahem, becoming a god is no problem! You know, the oldest deity, Armin, is only a little over four thousand years old, barely past half her lifespan. We've just broken through as new Saints with an eight-thousand-year lifespan. What is there to fear?"

"Eight thousand years is a very long time; much can happen," Thunder Emperor Yijian Guixi said. "At the eighth stage, it's not impossible to attempt a breakthrough to the ninth stage in one's lifetime... After all, for powerful cultivators, every realm is a struggle against fate and a race against time, requiring continuous breakthroughs!"

Long Wuming added, "The Three Realms' future is also unpredictable. First, there's the newly opened Ruin, offering endless opportunities. Furthermore, our Three Realms can begin to open up to other worlds, trying to contact other myriad heavens, and even wage war, possessing infinite potential and future prospects."

Mengmei smiled brightly, then suddenly chuckled, "It's worth mentioning that I can now expose my real-world body casually; it doesn't matter anymore... because it's merely a mortal shell, just a trace of a Saint's spiritual power inhabiting it. I can even feel that I can switch to other bodies at any time, visit a hospital to find some comatose patients, or replace newly deceased corpses... 'Checking the water meter' can no longer restrict me."

Although Mengmei said she had transcended the real world, she had no intention of revealing her true self. The three fell silent for a moment. Mengmei's implication was clear: the three of them had initially served their country because their real-world bodies were held by it. But now, they were completely free and could abandon those bodies. How could a true Saint of the Three Realms, an ancient titan, be restricted by a small country?

"Ahem, that's excellent! We're free, but we should still serve our homeland," Bell quickly interjected with a laugh. "After all, even though we've gained this opportunity, become primeval Saints, and can even walk towards eternity across the myriad heavens, we shouldn't forget our origins."

Mengmei glanced at him. "Are you thinking that eventually, among the myriad heavens, we'll find Earth's civilization and then return with celestial soldiers and generals to show off?"

The others let out a few dry laughs.

Mengmei neither confirmed nor denied. "Once we enter the eighth stage, we are true Saints, just like the other ancient titans of this sandbox world. We must fully embody our roles and strive to break through to the ninth stage."

The others nodded. Previously, they had no sense of urgency because they wouldn't truly die; they could restart, revert to spores, and begin the game anew. But now, they had to be as urgent as other Saints.

The path of cultivation was a race against time! They had to make frantic breakthroughs and explore the next realm before their lifespan limit arrived.

Pan Xuesian, however, was more carefree and said exasperatedly, "You're the youngest Saints with a long lifespan of eight thousand years, which is equivalent to two five-thousand-year-long Chinese civilizations. And yet, you're already talking about dying of old age?"

Mengmei shot her a glance. "The ninth stage involves continuously strengthening one's spiritual consciousness, which is also a path of computational power. Among us here, the most likely to reach it is actually the system creator. As their system chip refines, their realm continuously improves, and their computational power keeps increasing."

Pan Xuesian was bewildered: "???"

"Yes, you, the girl whose brain is all muscles. I don't know who is backing you to help you cheat your way in, but you truly have terrifying combat potential. Among us, you have the best fighting talent," Mengmei said, exasperated. While people like Long Wuming and Thunder Emperor were trained as agents, focusing on comprehensive average strength – being able to fight, research, and plot – they naturally couldn't compare to a specialized combat fanatic.

Mengmei continued, "You have the most hope of breaking through to the ninth stage. And second, there's me. I might be able to leverage the Earth's dragon脉, like the Three Pillar Gods, and follow the path of sentient computational power..." Mengmei then glanced at the other three. "What about you? There's no shortcut for you. Like other traditional Saints, you'll have to progress step by step, relying on individual effort."

The three of them: "..." They felt quite disheartened.

Mengmei continued, "Our next opportunity is with the Creator God... the Blood of Immortality. If we become another Medusa, we won't have to worry about lifespan issues anymore. The Blood of Immortality is absolutely the most powerful treasure in all the myriad heavens, and it's not impossible to obtain. After all, Hermes once possessed it before passing it to Messiah... With our eight-thousand-year lifespan, there's a good chance we might acquire it."

"Although it would mean falling into slumber, with only about ten percent of the time spent awake and most of the time asleep, I'm not afraid of being killed. No one would kill me; they would all protect me. Not even aberrations would kill me because I am the Mother of Good and Evil... I'm already bound to the Three Realms, so I can just lie there. But if you fall asleep, you'll most likely perish instantly. A sleeping Saint? Heh heh."

The three of them: "???" They instantly felt a headache. Was this person here just to demoralize them?!

Indeed, the current Medusa, despite her extensive research, could only be awake for twenty years out of every century, spending four-fifths of her time in slumber. But she was the Origin Demon God, so she didn't fear being attacked; the Demon Realm would protect her. Like Mengmei, she was bound to a world.

"But what about us?" they thought. Their expressions instantly changed drastically. Eighty percent of the time asleep? Even with rotating shifts, they couldn't be fully protected. In the future, with more deities around, they would surely die. After all, the energy of three deities on one side, but only the combat power of one? Anyone would covet that! They looked at Pan Xuesian, the system dispenser, with eyes like hungry wolves.

"Why are you looking at me?" Pan Xuesian asked, looking confused and muttering inwardly.

Mengmei patted her shoulder. "Because you can fight! Look at all those muscles; they've even grown into your brain. Among us scholars, you're practically an anomaly. In the future, you might be our players' top combatant. When they're asleep, they'll want you to protect them."

Of course, this was merely a hypothesis for everyone present. Whether they could obtain the Blood of Immortality, such a supreme treasure, remained an unknown.