musicians of old

Chapter 976 Glow
Fanning's answer was straightforward and direct.

Mr. F smiled.

"The dwelling is the abode of the witnesses. Of course, there were 'worms' there before, but they have been dealt with by your great work, Master Fanning."

"So, how could you possibly find the 'worm' now? The conditions for the 'exorcism ritual' can never be met. Even if you wanted to reset it, you probably wouldn't be able to meet the 'worm' at all, haha."

“If you’re looking for some ‘interaction,’ Master Fanning might as well go and find other witnesses. This requires a bit of luck—a dwelling doesn’t have an absolute concept of space size or orientation. All concepts are as thin as light and as transparent as water. But if you spend more time walking around, it’s still possible to have some intersection.”

Fanning remained silent, continuing to pace through the "garden" and "valley".

Silent frost flowers, sacred fragrance, and blue light.

Large and small scenes are being generated, and large and small scenes are being shattered.

If there are "worms" at higher levels, it would only please Fanning to some extent; in fact, the more the better, and it would be even better to find a large, densely packed "worm nest" somewhere in the end.

That means there are indeed problems in this world. The collapse of the Abnormal Zone has not completely disappeared. It has just retreated to the last corner and is trying to grow and reproduce again. And Fanning is not afraid to deal with it.

but.

Fanning examined every “cave,” every “plant,” and every “stone” he passed, even crouching down to look at the cracks in the pebbles on the ground. There was nothing there—no soil, no weeds, no insects, no damage, not a single “collapse” or “abnormality.”

The view of the valley seemed to float upwards, and the path stretched out beneath their feet. The two took turns stepping on the white pebbles, making a soft, almost crisp sound that seemed particularly jarring in the absolute, sacred silence.

After an unknown amount of time, they arrived at a relatively high place and came to a fork in the road.

The blue light from the house was even more subdued, almost as dark as twilight. Before them, two paths met in the shadow of a huge oak tree, so perfect it seemed unreal, the edges of which were as clear as ink lines.

Small crossroads?

One road continues forward, deeper into the valley, pointing to a higher place steeped in unsettling shadows; the other turns right, along the edge of the valley, disappearing behind an archway of wisteria blossoms—also perfectly symmetrical pale purple inflorescences, each cluster identical in size, shape, and drooping arc.

Fanning stopped at the fork in the road.

Mr. F also stopped, a faint expression on his face that was almost one of reminiscence and appreciation.

“Once, in the New Calendar year 912 of the Old World, a young man glimpsed the Shifting Currents and a mysterious door opened for him. The things high above made him tremble with fear. He said, ‘The world is full of imperfections, but someone will eventually see the brilliance.’”

“I conveyed Mr. Boulez’s admiration and expectations to him, and his mentor also witnessed it. However, unfortunately, one of them was later killed by a dictator, and the other was impeached and suppressed at a crucial moment in his artistic career.”

"So, this leads to 'Radiance'?" Fan Ning pointed to the fork in the pebble path, where the exquisite wisteria trellis looked like a collage against the bright background.

“That’s right,” Mr. F said. “It’s right here, at the bend in the pebble path. The ‘glory’ you’ve healed and implanted with the pacemaker is not far ahead, but you’ll have to lift your hand and put in some effort to tear off the curtain.”

His tone was calm, as if he were introducing a tourist attraction and reminding visitors to tie their shoelaces.

Fanning stepped to the right.

He stood before the wisteria archway, its inflorescence as still as glass, and seemed to sense something. After a few seconds, he waved.

Surprisingly, some shimmering, mysterious threads drifted out from behind the archway.

The reason for using "some" threads is that the quantity is really hard to describe. There seem to be only three: one pale gold, one deep purple, and one milky white. But if you try to look more closely, they seem to divide into three each time in the illusion, and then divide into three again each time. And so on, countless in number.

This is the "path".

Its lower or lower end is now connected to the observers of those forty theaters, and to all parts of the new world, while its upper or lower end had already been sent through the "Dome Gate" by Fanning and connected to this higher place.

And as Fanning now draws it back in—

"Tsk!"

Indeed, it was just a slight movement of the hand, requiring some effort.

The exquisite wisteria archway in front of us, along with the surrounding background, was simply peeled off like a sticker!
The terrain seemed to sink slightly, and before us lay a meticulously sculpted "mountain stream." The pure white "rocks" were smooth and rounded, shimmering with a pearly luster. At the bottom of the stream was a tranquil pool of light, from which one could vaguely discern part of the climbing path structure of the Shining Tower below.

Fan Ning looked at the thing that was floating and pulsating in the middle of the pool.

It resembles a millstone or a heart, with a blurred outline and edges radiating a soft, ever-flowing, and ever-changing seven-colored halo. Inside the halo is a more solid, milky-white core, like a slowly rotating galaxy. In addition, there are many tiny "noise" spots with cryptic images flickering regularly within it.

It stirred the pool of light below, creating silent ripples. Each time those ripples touched the "rocks" on the ravine wall, they generated intricate and beautiful geometric patterns, like a partial sketch of a magnificent cathedral—the "pacemaker" that Fanning had personally installed earlier had now become the gentle base and fence of the "radiance".

This is the "glowing light".

I have already torn open the curtain and witnessed the radiance. "How does it feel?" Mr. F's voice came from behind me.

Fanning did not turn around; he continued to gaze at the "radiance," standing there for a long time.

"It's good, it's sublime, it's beautiful." His voice was calm, revealing neither emotion nor regret, simply stating a fact.

Gazing at it, the feeling was indeed similar to the feeling of holding a small red rose on the mountaintop before—beautiful, holy, gentle, stable, radiating a warm, almost "eternal feminine" aura that was so captivating. But as Fanning gazed at it, she felt a strange loneliness and unease.

It is too “good”, so good that it is like a specimen stripped of all wildness, danger and infinite growth potential, enshrined in a corner of this absolutely silent and absolutely perfect sacred dwelling, pulsating regularly and providing light to nourish the world.

No, strictly speaking, it's not what it provides.

If we trace the source further up, those lights must have come from an invisible path higher up in the mountain stream—from the depths of the straight path we just walked from the small crossroads.

The light was originally somewhat strange, but in this mountain stream, after being refracted and filtered by the prism that "disregards the three factors," the resulting phase criterion became normal colors, illuminating the radiance tower below and flowing towards the surface of the world.

After standing there for a long time, Fan Ning recalled again the feeling she had when she first entered the Shifting Current and glimpsed the "Radiance" from afar. At that time, the boundaries of her senses blurred, her concept of time disappeared, and her sense of self crumbled. Countless "selves" stood beside her at the same time, trembling with sublimity. An unbearable yet deeply ingrained longing for "return" arose spontaneously within her.
And now, I'm standing so close.

It is so close that you can see the flow of every color on the surface of the halo, count the rhythm of the core light spot's flashing, and have a clear understanding of the distribution of the "cause of the problem" and "repair points".

There was no more trembling, no more longing, only a sense of certainty.

It's like a chemical engineer inspecting a reactor he assembled himself, making sure that every component is functioning correctly and that the inflow of reactants and the outflow of products are both normal.

Fan Ning finally turned around and retraced his steps along the route he had taken.

It's like reviewing a checklist of items that need to be checked, and now you can check them off.

Mr. F watched his retreating figure, his lips twitched, but he ultimately said nothing, simply smiling as he followed.

Back at the fork in the road.

This time, the light-quality threads that "disregard the three factors" were drawn to Fan Ning's side, winding around his figure, his shoulders, arms, head, and waist.

Back at the small crossroads, Fanning didn't stop, heading straight for the path that led deeper into the shadows.

The "path" passes through the "radiance" and continues to ascend to higher places.

Mr. F followed beside Fanning, and the two walked side by side once again.

“Actually, ‘home ownership housing’ is not a very accurate concept,” Mr. F said.

Fan Ning turned her head and glanced at him.

"The structure of the 'Door Gate' is, in some ways, no different from that of other doors; they are all divided into this door, passageway, and other door," Mr. F continued.

“So this is actually a passageway,” Fan Ning said.

“Excellent,” Mr. F praised. “This gate is the highest point that mortal beings can reach, the so-called ‘unbreakable boundary’.”

"The passageway is the dwelling we are currently walking through. The 'glowing' we just saw was located at a relatively high point in the dwelling."

"And that gate is the 'gathering point' we're going to next."

“Oh right, I forgot, Master Fanning, you are no longer an order taker.” Mr. F smiled. “Do you have any thoughts or revelations to give to those below regarding divine names and witness symbols? It just so happens that the people at the end of the ‘path’ are all giving their testimonies now.”

"Not interested at the moment," Fan Ning said.

“I’ve never been particularly interested either,” Mr. F said with an understanding smile.

The scenery on both sides of the path began to change. The delicate fountains, shrubs, roses, and decorative patterns gradually decreased, and the pure white background became thicker and thicker, with the color becoming darker and darker, from pure white to ivory white, and then to the yellowish color of old paper.

The temperature in the air is dropping, not in a cold way, but in a sense of heaviness brought about by an increase in "density".

After walking for a while, Mr. F spoke again.

"We probably have about a hundred 'breaths' left to reach the other side, or the 'gathering point.' On this last stretch of the journey, how about we talk about something?"

"What are you talking about?" Fan Ning didn't look at him and continued walking forward.

"How about we talk about 'double-disc flukes'?" Mr. F's voice was calm and steady, as if he were suggesting a chat about the weather.