Chapter 687: Universe Mother River Alliance, The Pitiful Fate in a Bottle (Two-in-One)

A great rumble.

The entire universe, influenced by the choice of the Abyssal Worm Mother Empress, saw the emergence of two crystal wall branches. Two parallel universes were truly born, like high-speed trains running side-by-side on parallel tracks.

This scene was breathtaking.

"The rules and parameters of the soul universe can be personally customized," Medusa murmured continuously. "Since this is a dream and not reality, any fantasy can be realized. For example, I could set the universe to... at certain temporal nodes, instinctively respond and undergo self-division and proliferation, leading to the emergence of parallel universes!"

"And this rule brings infinity."

"Because this is choice, it is infinite!" Medusa exclaimed loudly, like the most devout seeker of truth. Her eyes grew brighter as she pondered, understanding more deeply the profound implications.

No matter how much she guided civilizations, it would ultimately be limited.

Because her knowledge was finite.

Therefore, she would inevitably and unconsciously impose her own subjective knowledge upon the civilizations she guided.

It would be better not to guide them at all, but to use the rule of "infinity" and let them choose for themselves.

"Survival of the fittest."

Her face full of admiration, she exclaimed, "Yes! It's infinite possibilities, followed by limited elimination—survival of the fittest!"

Parallel universe races that were unsuitable or chose the wrong path of development would head towards destruction... even, that entire parallel universe might be completely destroyed! It could be removed from the multi-universe within the entire crystal wall system!

Civilizations that made the right choices would flourish.

"Is this the truth of the universe? Is this the truth of the Dimensional Origin Courtyard?" Medusa was almost entranced. She recalled that mysterious courtyard, "From the vastness of the universe to the smallest creatures, everything evolves under unseen rules, with the strong surviving and the weak perishing... Just as everything displayed in the Place of Origin, creatures evolve, from fish becoming land animals, and land animals becoming birds."

She lowered her head and looked at the two newly born parallel universes within the crystal wall system. "It seems they are about to split again."

For the Abyssal Insect Race, who chose a world-line where they fought with their backs to the wall, two scenarios emerged.

In the first scenario, they ambushed in the grand canyon, but were discovered by the enemy, fell into an ambush, and the entire Abyssal Demon Worms were captured, suffering defeat.

In the second scenario, they attacked in the heart of the plains, and their attack happened to hit the enemy's leader. The decapitation strike succeeded, reversing the situation, and the Abyssal Demon Worms were victorious.

Pop!

Two more parallel universes appeared.

"Did it split again from that 'back-to-the-wall' branch... parallel universes of victory and defeat?" Medusa watched intently as a bubble slowly swelled on the wall of the original rhombic glass diamond. Like cellular reproduction, it quickly grew into a new diamond.

"And what about the other side?"

She eagerly looked towards the universe where the Abyssal Demon Worms chose to flee.

Surprisingly, there were three branches.

One parallel universe where, during their escape, they were pursued by the Demon Mantis race, made the correct decision, and successfully broke free.

Another where they made the wrong decision, failed to escape, and were completely captured.

And a third universe, surprisingly, where they fought bathed in blood, and only the Abyssal Mother Empress managed to give birth to a child, secretly sending it away as the future of their race.

"Too many, too many."

Medusa exclaimed excitedly, "From one comes two, from two comes three, from three comes all things! Countless parallel universes of the two races' war, split, keep splitting! This will become a true cosmic Big Bang!"

"Hahahahaha!!"

Pop.

Pop.

Xu Zhi, clad in a black research robe, watched as bubbles rose from the original two crystal-wall rhombic diamonds on the bookshelf, gradually proliferating into several more diamonds.

A pile of small rhombic glass diamonds perfectly stacked together, forming a larger, fragmented diamond.

"It's so beautiful, these bubbles of the multi-universe."

He picked up an Ishtar-characteristic energy magnifying glass and, like a scholar in a library, used it to study the crystal-wall universes within.

"It seems I... no, we, have truly created an incredible new sandbox model."

"This isn't like the virtual future derivations of the ancient Pillar Gods of the Lava Earth, or Caroline; these are truly existent, within each divided universe."

This feeling was one of profound satisfaction.

Pleasure.

This was the immense pleasure brought by the fruits of knowledge, the only way for these eternally ancient beings to find joy through the long passage of time.

Virtual world-lines had transformed into a tangible World Tree.

Compared to other physical universes, where you bring nothing into life and take nothing out of death, this truly represented infinite possibilities.

"'The world is a tree, constantly splitting into universes on its branches, swaying with lush, verdant boughs...' Xu Zhi, holding the magnifying glass, continuously observed the self-dividing universes."

Just like cell division.

A multi-parallel universe had actually been created right in his lab in Dongcheng, his rural hometown. If revealed to the outside world, beyond winning a Nobel Prize, it would directly elevate the entire human civilization by an entire dimension, transforming them into ancient cosmic giants, observing the infinite development of civilizations throughout this multi-crystal-wall universe!

It wasn't just a giant leap for humanity; it was a giant leap even for Xu Zhi himself.

One could say that his civilization derivation sandbox had been raised by a significant dimension out of thin air.

Of course, this also implied that Xu Zhi's knowledge had accumulated to a certain level, allowing him to unlock an even higher and more formidable sandbox civilization.

Before, he thought the small universe world was appealing. Wouldn't such vast land be appealing? Now, it no longer felt appealing. No matter how vast the land, it was just that; the universe had no shortage of land.

"Before, I was smug just getting a piece of physical land. I suppose I was still poisoned by the traditional mindset of buying property... Now, this is true prosperity."

Xu Zhi took a deep breath. "In an instant, a poor farmer turns into a rich one. This is like spontaneously harvesting rice fields with high power, splitting one person into multiple individuals to cultivate simultaneously in various parallel universes, just like my three avatars. One stands in for several, and multiplied taxation simply means multiplied happiness."

The destruction and rise within this crystal-wall universe system were estimated to be a hundred times vaster than a Mercury power station.

"My orchard's... multi-universe."

Xu Zhi lowered his head, feeling he was truly embodying the name of the 'Creator God of the Rural Orchard.' In just a few moments of his daze, several more parallel universes had split off, growing almost exponentially.

"This is the initial cosmic Big Bang. Growth is fastest in the early stages because civilizations are extremely primitive... In later stages, the more mature a civilization becomes, the longer the intervals between radical epochal changes, and the slower the splitting of parallel universes."

Xu Zhi continued to watch the bookshelf, a joyful expression on his face, observing intently.

As usual, just the time it took for lunch, decades had already passed in the entire crystal-wall universe system. The initial development was incredibly fast.

In Xu Zhi's eyes, the bookshelf in his study soon witnessed the destruction of the first crystal-wall universe. It was a parallel universe where a certain Abyssal Mother Empress had been victorious, but they experienced terrible internal strife, which annihilated their entire race and civilization. Ultimately, this led to their self-destruction, with terrifying energy weapons turning the entire world into ruins.

Pop!

"They're all dead, so it's my turn to step in."

This small diamond shattered.

A long strand of hair from the Origin Demon God in the center pierced into the void. With a gentle stir, she forcefully recycled the entire shattered multi-universe.

In an instant, her face flushed with a blush. Clearly, even for a rapidly destroyed universe in its early stages of development, the energy contained within was not insignificant.

The first universe met its demise, and the remaining universes continued to face successive destruction.

There was destruction, and there was also new birth.

By evening, more than ten hours had passed.

The crystal-wall universe system had proliferated to one hundred and forty-three.

Due to warfare, more than a dozen parallel universes had reached complete extinction or mutual annihilation. Even if each was the size of a one-carat diamond, one hundred and forty-three of them piled together were dazzlingly brilliant, looking magnificent on Xu Zhi's shelf.

It was simply too beautiful.

Perhaps this was truly a super-miniature model of the multi-universe.

At the same time, among these universes, some were strong and some weak. In the strongest universes, unimaginable technological civilizations had already emerged.

Because compared to the slow pace of transcendent civilizations, the explosive speed of technological civilizations was the fastest.

"'We grow, we conquer!'"

A grotesque mantis stood on the podium, with a fresh gray rhombic flag fluttering. He looked at his subjects, full of vigor, proclaiming, "The era will unveil a new chapter."

This was the strongest Demon Mantis race in one of the universes. They gradually evolved into a transcendent race allied with technology. After self-cultivation, their forms changed, becoming humanoid scythe-mantises more suited for combat. They were a special kind of assassin, calling themselves 'Iron-Blooded Warriors.' The strongest among them had reached the sixth tier.

"'Multiply! Quantity will yield quality!'"

In another universe, the most powerful Abyssal Demon Worm race, relying on their strong reproductive capabilities, also gave birth to many technologically enhanced Demon Worm warriors due to their large population base.

"These are all real, something virtual world-line derivations lack. Their derivations, after all, combine the minds of an entire world for calculations, based on existing civilizations... Therefore, the civilizations they produce don't possess the same breakthrough nature as reality; incredible civilizations cannot emerge."

Xu Zhi's gaze was fervent. "Only reality can create miracles."

Reality itself is a grand miracle.

"This fellow, locked in my study, seems quite happy entertaining herself." Xu Zhi glanced at Medusa in the glass bottle, finding her looking keenly interested and thoroughly enjoying herself, squirming in the bottle like someone with ADHD, as if a net-addicted girl amusing herself.

After finishing his delicious dinner, Xu Zhi browsed the mobile forum to ensure the players weren't plotting any strange schemes, then returned to his study.

Time continued to pass.

That group of Iron-Blooded Warriors had already begun attempting to break through world barriers, seeking to traverse cosmic civilizations.

Finally, they achieved a miracle. Using a certain boundary-breaching resonance device, they managed to break through the crystal wall and enter an adjacent universe.

Amidst a landscape of lush green trees.

"'Huh? The Abyssal Demon Worms in this world are still alive?'"

A powerful Iron-Blooded leader removed his mask, revealing a hideous, disgusting black face with tentacles. His radar continuously scanned. "Didn't this hostile race, from back then, already perish in our civilization decades ago? Weren't they destroyed by us?"

Those around him buzzed with incredulous whispers.

"'A true parallel universe?'"

"'In this universe, our race was defeated? How is that possible! The glory of our Iron-Blooded Mantises doesn't include defeat!'"

They stealthily entered the town and began studying its history.

"'Historically, there were figures similar to those in our own history, but a different turning point seventeen years ago led to our defeat.'"

"'Another version of myself from a parallel universe? No wonder I often have a peculiar sense of déjà vu, as if I've been to this place or done certain things before. It must be my parallel self, unintentionally transmitting data memories in some way.'"

Discussions ensued all around.

The Iron-Blooded leader couldn't help but caution those around him, "If our counterparts in this universe truly exist, then we can try to seek them out."

"'Seek them out?'"

The surrounding Iron-Blooded Warriors trembled. Seek out their own selves in this parallel universe?

What an incredible undertaking.

Yet, they chose to seek them out.

Three days later, the Iron-Blooded leader saw his counterpart from this universe: a pitiful beggar wandering the streets as a slave. It gave him an absurd, surreal feeling.

Simultaneously, other team members also found their respective selves.

"'The me in this world, who grew up just like me, had a different fate. At the turning point seventeen years ago, I didn't become an army second lieutenant; instead, due to defeat, I became a captive and died three years ago.'" Someone spoke bitterly.

"'The me in this world is still alive, but to survive, I underwent gender reassignment surgery seven years ago and have been selling my body for a living in a commoner's courtyard.'" Said a tall, well-built warrior.

Seeing his counterpart from another timeline living such a wretched life, barely able to eat, he felt bewildered, even having an impulse to take the person away, buy their freedom, and rescue himself from misery.

"'The multi-universe, parallel timelines, infinite possibilities.'"

They paused, halted their steps, their faces a mixture of terror and bewilderment.

It was at this moment that their era, for the first time, truly gained an understanding of the entire multi-universe.

Several more years passed, during which they continuously traversed parallel multi-universes, engaging in conflicts, and even helping their counterparts from other timelines win battles.

On the other side, the Abyssal Insect Race also discovered this and retaliated.

The era had completely entered the age of multi-universe warfare.

Countless Abyssal Demon Worms and Demon Mantises from various multi-universes each formed two great Cosmic Mother River Alliances, helping their counterparts in other multi-universes achieve victory in battles.

Multi-dimensional war erupted!

The two terrifying alliances fought with earth-shattering intensity.

In almost every world, even ordinary ones inhabited by other races where the two major races had already perished, they would descend and engage in covert battles, giving rise to many bizarre stories.

Gradually, their void war, waged by the two great Mother Rivers, directly transcended dimensions, time and space, and universes, erupting simultaneously everywhere to help their counterparts in other multi-universes achieve victory.

This campaign was extremely brutal.

Multi-universes were shattered and fragmented one after another.

Under the impetus of war, their technology advanced tremendously. Scientists from countless multi-universes discussed with their counterparts from other timelines, leading to continuous explosive iterations and a terrifying technological surge. A multitude of advanced weapons emerged endlessly, reaching the power level of Heavenly Emperors.

Yet the war grew even more brutal. The animosity between the two sides, almost continuously from the most primitive civilizations, had extended to the present day. The two massive Mother River civilizations finally could no longer withstand it and collapsed.

They exhausted all their civilizations' resources, turning lands into deserts. Universes became desolate one after another, and powerful beings died off sequentially. Ultimately, the entire cosmic expanse became a pitiful battlefield of ruins.

They faced the apocalypse of their world.

"'The world is destroyed.'"

"'This is a storm that swept across the entire universe; eternal chaos will engulf us.'"

"'The entire transcendent universe doesn't know what the future holds, but presumably, there will be no trace of us.'"

"'Will the Light Universe completely vanish?'"

"'I don't know.'"

The powerhouses of the two alliances gazed blankly at the sky.

This was war, uncontrollable. By the end, both sides had been blinded by rage, completely disregarding consequences, and there was no possibility of stopping. Thus, the inevitable outcome was mutual destruction.

This was destiny, continuing from beginning to end.

No matter how many parallel universes there were, they ultimately converged into a single overarching trend.

Suddenly, someone pointed to the sky and couldn't help but exclaim:

"'Wait, what is that?!'"

Rumble!

The entire vast, dark brown sky, stretching across countless parallel universes, almost turned milky white. The immense, milk-like firmament was ceaselessly shattering.

They saw a colossal, endless Cosmic Demon God. Her long hair wildly fluttered, and her two pupils were ten thousand times larger than a single parallel universe, an infinitely eternal being.

She seemed to be the origin of the entire world, her body comprised of unspeakable evil chaos. Her vast hands were far larger than any world, seemingly capable of cradling endless cosmic time and space.

One of her eyes suddenly pressed against a single crystal wall, gazing at the beings within the endless universes, like a giant staring at pitiful ants in a glass bottle.

As if the most ancient end had arrived,

"'You...'"

A rumbling sound echoed.

It seemed like the sole true word of the multi-dimensional universe; every civilization inexplicably understood its chilling implication.

"'Virtual existence has been calibrated. Little ones from the beta test, are you ready to embrace your destiny?'"