Seeking Within Without End, My Mind Is Boundless!

"Quan Juehua, fuck your [censored]!" "What the fuck is going on out there right now?" Yu Xian paced furiously inside the small dark room. He tried to access his authority over the Zhen Realm, but it was utterly useless. The Zhen Realm seemed to have crashed completely. The small dark room had finally reverted to its original nature as a confinement cell, and now even Yu Xian himself could not get out. "No, I can't just sit here waiting to die." "I have to get out of here as soon as possible and figure out what happened outside." Yu Xian paced back and forth in the room before finally turning toward the still-slumbering Death Emperor. Summoning the Book of the Primordial God, he directly recalled Li Zhenlong's power. The Death Emperor, who had been absorbing Li Zhenlong's martial arts experience, furrowed his brow slightly and opened his eyes. "Things look bad. See if you can open Avici Hell first," Yu Xian urged at once. The Death Emperor sat up, nodded slightly, and closed his eyes. After a moment, he opened them again and shook his head. "I cannot reach it. This space seems to have severed my connection to Avici Hell. What happened?" "Quan Juehua is back. He killed Margot Moxi and sealed the Zhen Realm," Yu Xian replied in a heavy voice. The Death Emperor fell silent for a moment. He rose and attempted to use his own powers to escape the room, but after exhausting every ability at his disposal, he let out a soft sigh. "It won't work. After all, this place was crafted by a Transcender. My abilities cannot break through it." "Quan Juehua definitely came prepared this time. He's probably aiming for Origin Return," Yu Xian analyzed. The Death Emperor said nothing. After all, if they could not get out, talking was pointless. Before long, Yu Xian realized that as well. He paced back and forth, occasionally activating an ability to try escaping the small dark room, and occasionally patting the walls this way and that, as if hoping to find a hidden switch. In the blink of an eye, several days went by. Yu Xian slumped dejectedly on a two-seater sofa, sprawling across it as he stared at the ceiling. He was now certain of one thing: he truly could not get out. Whether miraculous items or soul treasures, none of them worked. Clearly, there had to be Transcendence-grade items clashing against the Zhen Realm from the outside, nullifying Transcendence-grade items across a vast swath of space both inside and out. "Master, may I continue absorbing Li Zhenlong's martial arts experience?" the Death Emperor asked. Yu Xian was tempted to ask what the point was if they could not even leave, but he held his tongue in the end. He merely nodded slightly and let the Death Emperor resume absorbing Li Zhenlong's martial arts experience. Watching the Death Emperor sink back into slumber, Yu Xian finally gritted his teeth, sat up straight, and began to cultivate. In truth, he had no idea what he should do now, what was happening outside the Zhen Realm, or what the right course of action was. Ultimately, he realized the Death Emperor's choice was the most rational one. Since he could do nothing right now, he would cultivate and strive to make himself stronger. Growing stronger was never wrong. Yu Xian forced himself to banish his scattered thoughts and immerse his mind in cultivation. At first, he opened his eyes frequently. Later, he would feel as though he had cultivated for a very long time, only to open his eyes, check the clock beside him, and realize barely any time had passed. Yet as he entered meditative trance again and again, meditating on and on, the duration of his cultivation gradually stretched longer and longer. A year, ten years, a hundred years, a million years, a hundred million years... From remaining in meditation for an hour without emerging, to staying immersed for a full day, he eventually entered a complete state of selflessness. In truth, Yu Xian had always been like a child with hollow power. His enthusiasm waned easily, and he was prone to doing reckless things on a whim. Though his power was under his command, very little of it truly belonged to him. In this state, however, these powers began to meld into his body and his soul. Power from the deepest recesses of his heart slowly merged into them as well. Only through this union of diverse forces did he truly come to master his own strength. Emptiness, yet not emptiness. Unsure how much time had passed, Yu Xian gradually entered the second state. The past of the past could be the present, or it could be the future. His consciousness returned to Silver City, where he replayed his entire life from the beginning. Time and time again, over and over... If Yu Xian had always sought strength outward in the past, this time he began seeking strength within. That was the power of "self." One manifestation of "self" after another constantly surged forth within him, and gradually, he entered the third state. In truth, Yu Xian did not know how rare this state was, nor did he know how difficult it was to achieve. First, to reach this state, one could not be inside the Tree Universe. Due to quantum entanglement and karmic ties, the "selves" of parallel worlds would cause perturbations, and the stray thoughts produced by those parallel versions would interfere with him, preventing him from delving deeper. Second, one could only progress in the total absence of other powers; otherwise, external forces would disrupt the process just as easily. Yet the small dark room was in complete isolation, and the Death Emperor was merely a part of his own power. For all intents and purposes, Yu Xian was entirely alone in this space, allowing him to enter a still deeper state. The third state: Self, yet not self. Deep within Yu Xian's soul, thousands of worlds unfolded freely. His consciousness was singular, yet it manifested as one distinct person after another. Every single one was him, yet none of them was him. These entities of "self, yet not self" lived out completely different lifetimes through varied forms and distinct desires. After living through countless iterations, he progressed smoothly into the fourth state, the fifth state, and the sixth state. The aura emanating from his entire being grew increasingly harmonious, unified, and endlessly profound. ... ... Just as Yu Xian had surmised. After dealing with the looming threat of the Zhen Realm, Quan Juehua turned his gaze toward the Aska. He cared nothing for the others aboard the ship. The only one he feared was Little Nora. The question was, what was the truth behind Little Nora's power? If it came from a Transcendence-grade item, that was manageable. He could counter it with an item of equal caliber to nullify its effects. What worried him was that her power might not stem from an item at all, but rather from the personal favor of some Transcender-level powerhouse. If that were the case, striking at her... "Should I test the waters?" Thoughts raced through Quan Juehua's mind as his hand tightened slightly around the Malevolent Blade. Gradually, his eyes narrowed. If he could not eliminate this great danger weighing on his heart, how could he roam the Tree Universe unchallenged? How could he plunder Calamity Origin and achieve Origin Return? Besides, he refused to believe that any Transcender-level power would intervene in this era—not when an Origin Returner was about to be born. "Origin Return... belongs to none other than me!" Quan Juehua muttered in a low voice, then suddenly raised his arm, leveling the blade's tip toward the Aska. Malevolent Blade—Sole Arbiter of the Heavens! This strike did not travel in a straight line. As Quan Juehua slashed, the black blade energy instantly dispersed into countless fine lines. Each time these strands destroyed a world, they thickened slightly, hurtling forward at rapid speed from various directions. After obliterating countless worlds, they coalesced into massive torrents of blade energy, their tips all converging on the Aska.