What was the void?
Many people knew about it, but not many could actually see or feel it.
The void wasn't the absence of anything, nor was it a blur, nor was it an illusion.
The void was the bottom layer of the starry sky. To a certain extent, it could be considered a membrane. However, the membrane was so large that nothing could be seen after stepping into it.
However, just because something couldn't be seen didn't mean it didn't exist.
What existed here were the memories of all living beings. It could be likened to a sea of collective consciousness. In theory … it was possible to see the entire life of every living being in this place. However, it was limited to the dead. The living couldn't be seen here, unless one looked at themselves.
However, that was only in theory. Because there were far too many memories here, there was almost no life form that could withstand the influx of such a vast amount of memories. Therefore, they would instinctively reject it, and that was why … there was nothing in the void that could be seen and sensed by one's eyes.
It was an instinctive act of self-preservation.
But Chen Qing was different. He didn't know the level of his cultivation base, or what level he had reached. However, he knew … that in this void, if he wanted to, he could see the memories of all living beings.
That wasn't important, because he didn't want to spend time and effort looking at the lives of others. Especially since … there was no trace of Wei Yangzi here.
That fact … proved his conjecture right.
Wei Yangzi … wasn't actually dead.
That wasn't important either, because Chen Qing already knew of her plan. It was an open conspiracy, and although he knew, he still had to go.
If he didn't go, he could just stay in the world of the stone steles. However, hiding away wouldn't help him in the future, and would cause him to lose the will to seek the Dao.
In the end … what was to come would come, and what was to happen would happen.
"Little Junior Brother … you're in the light, and I'm in the dark. If I succeed, then the secret of the Immortal will remain forever. I'll bear all the karma. If I fail, I'll die for the Dao …." Chen Qing murmured, shaking his head.
"I'll help you achieve your goal!" Chen Qing's eyes shone with stubbornness and anticipation for the future. Step by step, he walked into the depths of the starry sky, stepping on the memories of the past.
This was a path of seeking the Dao.
It was also a path of seeking the heart.
As the first step landed, ripples spread out in the void. Chen Qing saw an image within those ripples.
In the picture, there was a mortal village burning. There was a seven or eight year old boy there. He wore tattered clothes and his body was extremely thin. He knelt in front of the flames and let out miserable cries.
The cries were filled with helplessness and confusion, as well as a hatred that had just sprouted but was growing rapidly.
In the distance, a group of mortal soldiers could be seen disappearing at the end of the mountain. This army had a bandit aura, and one could faintly see the totem of a black snake on the slanted flagpole.
The images faded away, and Chen Qing closed his eyes. He took a second step, then a third …. One image after another appeared beneath his feet.
The second image was that of the capital city of the mortal world. The imperial palace was filled with corpses, and the rest of the soldiers were surrounding a young man. However … even though the young man was surrounded, the ones trembling were the surrounding soldiers.
As the young man walked forward, everyone retreated. When there was no place to retreat, the young man saw the main hall of the imperial palace, and a middle-aged man sitting on the throne, his face ashen.
Behind the man was the totem of his nation, which was a black snake.
In the next moment, the totem collapsed, the soldiers were killed, and the emperor perished!
The third image was of a vast Sect. An old man in a violet robe was looking down at a kneeling young man in front of him.
"What is your name?"
"Chen Qing."
"From now on, you will be called Chen Qing, and I … will be your Master." When the young man heard the old man's words, he looked up at the old man. Behind the old man was a huge boulder erected in front of the main gate of the sect, upon which were written two large black characters.
Underworld Sect.
"Master …." said Chen Qing. After taking his third step, he opened his eyes and looked down at the images beneath his feet. After a long moment passed, he took a fourth step, a fifth step, and a sixth step.
During those three steps, he saw himself in the Underworld Sect, herding the souls of the dead in the starry sky. He saw his Junior Brother, who had suddenly been brought back to the sect by his Master.
Back then, he had sensed strange ripples emanating from his Junior Brother. Those ripples … were very, very familiar. It was as if … he were looking at another version of himself.
"He is in the light, and I am in the dark …. Master, the mission of the Underworld Sect is to prevent the Immortal from leaving. But because of you … that mission has been changed to prevent anything from leaving.
"This expansion is actually a form of protection, and also … tacit approval.
"Tacit approval for me … and tacit approval for Junior Brother ….
"That's because … he received the legacy of the Immortal, and I … also received the legacy of the Immortal. The Immortal's legacy is not the same thing!
"You're just like me. You're tired of the mission …. So, in the end, you agreed to help me. But in reality … it's because your two consciousnesses were mutually destroyed. Junior Brother doesn't know, and I don't want him to suffer too much …." With that, he lowered his head and continued onward.
Step by step, he saw himself amidst the countless souls of the dead. When he looked at a single soul, the light in his eyes shone brightly. When the Underworld Sect was destroyed, his hands were filled with slaughter.
It was strange, but also familiar.
There were many other images. He killed the God Emperor, he killed Never-Ending, he killed all of the Myriad Races. As Chen Qing continued onward, his entire life appeared beneath his feet. Shockingly, the final image he saw was of Wang Baole looking up and shouting ….
"Elder Brother, come back alive!"
"I will," he murmured. Having reached the end of the void, Chen Qing took his final step, causing the entire void to tremble. An indescribable pressure weighed down, transforming into an enormous hand that landed right in front of Chen Qing, preventing him from proceeding any further.
That hand was the will of the entire World of Stone Steles. It was … the manifestation of the Hand of Allheaven!
There was also a dense wave of Underworld Qi emanating from the palm.
"I am the Underworld Sect's Heaven-Dao, the current generation's Hell-Emperor, and the highest will within the World of Stone Steles!" As the words left his mouth, underworld qi exploded out from him. A black fish flickered on his forehead as he stared at the hand.
Both of their auras seemed to come from the same source. After a long moment passed, the hand began to fade away. As it did, an ancient stone door appeared in front of Chen Qing.
Chen Qing stood in front of the door for a long moment. In the end, he waved his sleeve, causing the stone door to slowly swing open. As it did, Chen Qing saw that beyond the door was, shockingly, an expanse of nothingness.
There was no end in sight, and further off in the distance was an enormous fissure. Apparently … someone had forced open that fissure from the outside.
"The World of Stone Steles is divided into three layers. The first layer … is the Core World, which is the universe. The second layer … is the Inner World of Stone Steles, which is the void behind this door. I'm in between the Core World and the Inner World. As for the third layer ….
"That fissure is the Outer World, which is the third layer!"
Chen Qing's eyes narrowed as he stood there in the doorway, looking out. All of a sudden … he caught sight of a massive blood-colored blur passing through the doorway. In the blink of an eye, more blood-colored blurs passed by. If you looked closely, you would see that they were actually the tentacles of some sort of living creature.
However, because this creature was so huge, just the whiskers alone were shockingly majestic!
At the same time, as the blood shadows flashed past, sharp screeches could be heard.
Those screeches were enough to penetrate one's soul, tear everything apart, and intimidate all living beings. If anyone below the Universe Grade heard those screeches, their flesh and blood would crumble and their souls would shatter!
"Are you the one Weiyangzi has been waiting for …?"
"Are you … the one who tried to possess my little junior brother?"
"The real Emperor Emperor!"
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