Arad's unruly savior

Chapter 3937 The Spirit of Painting

From the perspective of the first priestess, the outer space of the Endless Demon Scroll contains four extremely hidden spatial frames, two short and two long, which together form the shape of a scroll, and the content of the scroll is the Endless Demon Scroll that is currently bathed in blue light.

A painting floats in mid-air as if frozen in time, bathed in the radiance of a distant, blazing star in just the right spot.

"Who left this painting? It must be someone important." She sighed softly, blaming herself for not discovering it sooner.

In fact, if they hadn't tried to exert their power at all nine nodes together to create a super-large barrier similar to a large magic circle, shaking the foundation of the Endless Demon Scroll, these four frames would probably have remained hidden from their eyes until the very end.

Of course, this is also due to the creator's extremely strong abilities and preconceived notions about "other-dimensional worlds".

Lord Shenlong must have sensed something, but it seems he didn't consider it in that direction, ignoring the possibility of the world within the painting.

The first priestess quickly transmitted her voice, saying:
"The essence of the Endless Demon Scroll is a painting with an extremely ancient and mysterious origin, but I cannot be sure whether someone captured the real world as a painting, or whether the world in the painting became reality."

"The scroll forms a world of its own, and the life force contained within it has been greatly diminished over time. Moreover, it possesses the exclusive characteristics of its creator. Theoretically, those who transcend can imitate most existing power systems, but unfortunately, the three of us are that small group. Our power systems all originate from the same lineage, and none of them can replace the original creator."

In other words, the story of the world in the painting had its ending predetermined long before it was created. It is a pool of water without roots, lacking sustainable vitality. All subsequent developments and the future vaguely follow the trajectory of fate determined by the creator.

Now that they have intervened to change the ending, they have already reversed the original fate by transferring all the characters in the painting. However, the decaying painting itself and the world of the Endless Demon Chronicles are still destined to be destroyed.

The first priestess also doubted whether the group of people who, according to the endless demon records, captured a corner of the world about a hundred years ago and sailed into the void to find a new world, had truly stepped out of this spatial scroll.

“Xiaoyu, I even have an even more exaggerated divine intuition: aside from reality being the painting and the painting giving rise to reality, there is a third possibility—perhaps someone has captured a piece of history and sealed it into the painting…”

It's like a movie that keeps playing on repeat. Every time the finale comes, it starts all over again from the beginning. Everyone in the movie does the same thing over and over again, repeating the same behavior.

The difference is that the people in the Endless Demon Record have independent consciousness and have come to life. They are keenly aware of their own situation, just like the people in the movie who know they are in the movie.

Therefore, those with exceptional insight who discover the truth will do everything in their power to save themselves.

After the self-rescue fails, everything in the Endless Demon Record will start over, the world will restart, and everyone's memories will return to their original state.

But the power of wisdom gives life miracles; in that seemingly repetitive process, there are always people who can discover the problems in their own world and gain a preliminary understanding of the truth.

The first priestess believed this was the most likely truth, and the creator of the Endless Demon Register should also be a transcendent being.

"That is indeed the case," the majestic and sacred voice of the dragon resounded.

Xiao Yu, who was at the core node of the Endless Demon Scroll, constructing a super-large barrier, exhaled and said with pity:

"If that's the case, then the desert and ice that defy the order of life and death can be explained."

"The energy of life is evenly distributed throughout the entire endless demon map. Two-thirds of the area has been artificially turned into a dead zone. The remaining energy will naturally converge in Sakura Garden because this is within the painting, and the energy of life will not disappear into thin air."

"I'm thinking, if we let the Endless Demon Codex restart once, could we solve the problem in the first place?"

The current situation is somewhat unexpected. If we save people, the Endless Demon Chronicle World will perish, as it lacks the elements for restarting.

Xiaoyu's idea is to save the entire world and avoid the trouble of searching for a living world and settling everyone down later.

The first priestess shook her head slightly and said, "There should be no chance to restart it. The essence of the scroll has been exhausted, and it has nothing to do with people anymore."

"The manufacturer's original idea was probably to leave a glimmer of hope and save everyone."

All the exchanges happened in a very short time. Xiaoyu then told Benali about the current situation and two other powerful individuals.

Benali was clearly stunned, then quickly looked around the Sakura Garden. Every cherry tree she had planted with her own hands was in full bloom. Every blade of grass, every brick and tile was so familiar to her that it was deeply imprinted in her heart. It was a place where she would never get lost even with her eyes closed.

“So that’s how it is. But this place… is my everything, my hometown, my home.” Benali said subconsciously, her emotions sinking into an unprecedented depression, her eyes filled with a hopeless grayness, like a world where the sun has been extinguished, her whole being in a daze, in a daze.

The other two powerful figures remained silent, seemingly acquiescing to the situation.

Xiaoyu could understand Benali's sudden emotions. From an outsider's perspective, transferring everyone in the Endless Demon Scroll was equivalent to saving them all and preserving the most important part, which could be considered a great achievement.

People who can speak well have been saved, so what is there to criticize?

However, another version of the story, from Benali's perspective, is that their homeland will be destroyed, everything familiar will cease to exist, and they will never be able to return.

That was a deep-seated, inseparable connection to one's hometown, a feeling buried deep in the heart, an initial memory that can never be forgotten.

This emotion is rich and incredibly precious; it's a deep-seated longing etched into one's blood and marrow, one that won't fade with time. Much of what the wicked woman Hilder did in the past was an intense, almost obsessive, yearning for Terra.

Sakuraba will disappear, the Endless Demon Scroll will disappear, and they will never return.

Therefore, Xiaoyu fully understands Benali's feelings. It is a very normal state of mind to suddenly learn that one must be permanently separated from one's hometown.

Xiaoyu took a deep breath and said:

"Time is running out. The decaying power comes from deep within the earth. I will do my best to move the buildings on the surface at the same time, leaving behind the houses and vegetation of your hometown."

“I have a new place to go, but it’s quite far away.”

She was thinking of the life-bearing planet called "Yudia" where Ye Lin and Sirocco had once lived. It was now lush with vegetation, rich in oxygen, and had an auto-regulating climate, possessing the basic conditions for human habitation.

Xiaoyu further explained that the reason she couldn't capture the entire Endless Demon Scroll world wasn't because she couldn't, but because the original, mysterious creator had buried the scroll's order and rules deep within the earth and sky, rendering them decayed. Capturing them all at once would only cause cataclysmic upheavals and a collapse of the heavens and earth. "Okay, I'm counting on you." Benali quickly composed herself, recovering from the dejection of losing her homeland. She let out a deep breath, a mixture of helplessness and relief on her face.

That feeling was truly unbearable, but she wasn't someone who was oblivious to the bigger picture.

The fact that all humans were able to be transferred was thanks to the tremendous help from Xiaoyu and the others; otherwise, with the current power of the Endless Demon Scroll, there would have been no way to escape the world within the painting.

Everyone will perish along with the endless demonic saga.

As long as people are still alive, there is hope, and so is our hometown...

Xiaoyu's divine sense swept across the endless demon register like lightning. Every life was under the control of her will. The next second, countless cyan talismans transformed into a torrential downpour that plunged into the depths of the earth, surging forth with tangible divine power that touched every person and marked them precisely. Then, a powerful force shook the entire continent.

"rise!"

Crunch!

All the houses slowly rose from the ground, and a blue light, like a sun, shone on every corner. As they swayed precariously, they ascended into the sky. High mountains and rushing rivers all trembled with a rumbling sound. Unaware people cried out in panic, shouting that it was another strange phenomenon, that the world was about to be destroyed, and that the end of the world had arrived.

The first priestess also returned, and together they scraped away a substantial layer of the ground. The talismans transformed into blue chains, constructing a barrier capable of traversing the void and transferring endless demonic statuary.

Benali opened the umbrella that had transformed from a meow, and gently turned the handle. A crimson cherry blossom turned into a point of light of the same color, sweeping across every corner of the Endless Demon Scroll. All the beings that came into contact with the point of light closed their eyes and fell into a peaceful slumber.

"Indeed, the power of the creator has almost disappeared." Xiaoyu nodded, then grasped the world of the Endless Demon Scroll and began to detach from the scroll.

This step symbolizes the transformation from painting to reality; it is crucial and extremely dangerous.

The endless demon world, shrouded in the power of the oracle, was just like the eight demon realms that Hilder had personally manipulated back then. The colossal object moved through the sky with extraordinary power, smashed through some mysterious barrier, and entered the void of the universe in a mighty and unstoppable manner.

"Wait! Something's wrong!" the first priestess suddenly exclaimed anxiously.

She saw a corner of the Endless Demon Chronicles world suddenly disappear, vanish into thin air without any warning, as if it had never existed.

Immediately afterwards, on the streets, in houses, anywhere, all those without cultivation levels, no matter what they were doing or what they were doing, vanished in the same instant, as if an eraser had wiped away a pencil drawing, leaving nothing behind.

"Where did things go wrong?" The first priestess's forehead was sweating as her mind raced. This shouldn't be happening; they had already given it their all.

After just a few breaths, even beginners with a rudimentary understanding of cultivation began to disappear, vanishing into thin air without a trace.

Those who remain are now a minority. They watch helplessly as others suddenly disappear, their hearts filled with immense horror, yet they know not the cause. Their fear of the unknown soars to its peak in an instant, almost crushing their souls.

"Is it an anomaly from ancient history, manifesting in a new form, on an unprecedented scale?" An elderly, erudite high-level professional, who was drinking tea, frowned. He had only recently awakened, and the next second, he too was disillusioned.

The teacup in his hand clattered to the ground, shattering into pieces, and then vanished in disillusionment.

Benali already knew what had happened to the Endless Demon Codex. In that instant, she seemed to hear the emotions of the entire world and sense the "unknown future" will that everyone had before they disappeared.

She had expected to feel a longing for life, a resentment towards death, and perhaps even anger, sadness, and confusion. But now, a sense of powerlessness and weakness welled up inside her, and she slowly lowered the meowing umbrella in her hand.

"The Endless Demon Register, 'endless' means infinite. The Demon Register is a painting. Since we are the painting, the characters being depicted, how can we possess infinite meaning?"

"Are we, in essence, just a page in the demon register?"

Within minutes, the Endless Demon Scroll had been reduced to just three people.

Benali shook her head slightly at Xiaoyu and smiled, "We who belong to history are probably just a dream for you."

A dazzling light began to emanate from her, and her figure began to blur, as if she were about to turn into particles of light and then disappear.

She didn't blame Xiaoyu and the others. Perhaps without them, the Endless Demon Record could have existed for a little longer, but that process would have been filled with pain, despair, and heart-wrenching destruction.

It's happening earlier now, but there's no pain involved, which is great.

The Endless Demon Chronicles must contain some secret that even those who transcend cannot understand.

Xiaoyu suddenly stared at Benali, as if struck by a sudden realization, and exclaimed in astonishment:
"Oh it's you!"

"The core of the Endless Demon Chronicles actually lies within you. We have always focused on this world itself, but we have neglected you. We only regarded you as a native powerhouse of this world, and never thought that you were the true core. We were negligent, and it turns out that we were wrong."

"You are the spirit of this painting!"

Benali seemed to have suddenly unlocked some memories as well. She tried to open her mouth as if to say something, but a deep darkness welled up in her eyes. Her consciousness was rapidly fading and blurring, as if she were drowning in the deepest part of the sea.

Suddenly, the void tore open, and a giant hand shrouded in chaotic mist reached out from the unknown. Along its path, time vanished, and the light of the three fundamental powers—time, space, and elements—resonated with each other, transforming into three veins that attached themselves to the palm of that terrifying giant hand, manifesting an invincible aura that suppressed everything.

That giant hand was the might of a god, the very essence of miracle, forcefully grasping the endless demonic scroll that had only a sliver of its last rays.

Any decaying past is utterly reconstructed by the power of the creator.

In an instant, time flowed backward like the Milky Way, and everything that had vanished was re-emerged. Countless fragments of time rushed backward into the endless demon register, and every person who had disappeared reappeared in the reverse flow. The entire broken world was perfectly manifested.

Benali's eyes, which had been so dark they seemed dead, regained their light. Her consciousness gradually cleared, and her vision returned to the light. She vaguely saw a man with a refined and otherworldly air, standing at the other end of the void rift, nodding gently at her.

(End of this chapter)