A journey of survival starting from Zhetian

Chapter 709 Unable to Find the Way Back

"scold!"

Strands of Daoist chants emanated from the Wood Emperor's mouth, and countless illusory futures manifested before His eyes, transforming into a long bridge of time and space that stretched across the entire universe, guiding the half-formed Dao Fruit to continuously extend towards the golden age of the era.

Until a certain special historical juncture, a large bell engraved with the illusory image of a pale blue blazing sun rose slowly from the hands of the Wood Emperor, shaking the order of time of all things in heaven and earth, turning all living beings in the illusory future into His "future road signs", supporting the light of His true nature, supporting the half-formed illusory Dao fruit, and accelerating its pace toward qualitative change.

The momentum of prosperity and flourishing gradually rose within the half-formed illusory Dao Fruit and transformed into a part of its power.

Watching the unimpeded progress, sensing the semi-formed illusory Dao Fruit that had undergone transformation, and comprehending the elevation of his own life level, the Wood Emperor's gaze became increasingly brilliant. He could feel that he was closer to the true "Dao" than ever before, even closer than the "near Dao" during creation.

"That's right, everything is going very smoothly."

"To break free from suffering, you need help, help from within yourself, whether it's your 'past' self or your 'future' self."

"Now we are at the beginning of an era, so 'going back to the past' is not difficult, but the power that the 'past' itself can draw upon is ultimately too little."

"Therefore, at this point in time, what I need most to truly realize the other shore is the power that belongs to the 'future' itself."

"Only when the forces of the past and the future converge can a true qualitative change occur, allowing the illusory Dao fruit to take shape."

"The opportunity lies in the 'future,' the proof lies in the 'present,' and we must look back to the 'past'!"

As the half-formed illusory Dao Fruit of time continues to expand, and as the power of the Wood Emperor extends into the future without any hindrance, all sorts of fragmented information about past Dao attainments are gathered together, constructing a "path" that can prove the other shore through creation.

Silently, the half-formed illusory Dao Fruit of the Wood Emperor gradually moved towards "completeness," and a special charm of "moving from "the peak to decline" emerged from within it.

The Wood Emperor's innate spiritual light truly ventured into the end of this era, a special environment where heaven and earth were collapsing, all things were heading towards destruction, and all paths were reaching their end. Not only did it not hinder His power, but it also added transformative aids to the nearly formed illusory Dao Fruit.

Within the long river of time, terrifying waves surged forth. The Wood Emperor, with a solemn expression, gazed at the impending catastrophe that was so close at hand. Without the slightest hesitation, he held the great bell and stepped into the chasm.

"Boom!"

The faint sound of bells echoed through the chaos of an emerging illusory future!

At the forefront of the long river of time, at this historical juncture.

Amidst the silence of numerous powerful beings and the horror of countless legendary figures, all the heavens and myriad realms fell into darkness until not a single ray of light could rise, and black and white lost their basis for existence.

The first type of otherworldly phenomenon: "Chaos of Heaven and Earth"!
At this moment, the phantom of the River of Time is manifesting, and countless figures fly out, from the past to the future, all merging into the body of the Wood Emperor, layer upon layer, transforming into an endless collection, slowly converging into a lofty and unparalleled Dao figure.

With a flick of its sleeves, this Dao figure, carrying the fully formed illusory Dao fruit and its inherent spiritual light, leaped out of the river of time!

The Wood Emperor's expression hardened. The surroundings were pitch black, devoid of anything, not even the concepts of up, down, left, right, front, back, or the passage of time.

In this terrifying environment, His consciousness, His true spirit, His innate radiance, His illusory Dao fruit, His Dao body—everything He cultivated and learned—seemed to be completely assimilated and returned to absolute "nothingness."

"This is the 'eternal nothingness,' the final tribulation before attaining the other shore."

"At the same time, this is also an exceptionally severe test."

Within the Wood Emperor's consciousness, this piece of information, which seemed to have appeared out of nowhere, surfaced. The terrifying unknown instantly eroded his last vestiges of consciousness, causing his current state to worsen.

He knew that after the fifth instant, which used his own consciousness as a time coordinate, everything would return to stillness. This incredibly short time was the opportunity to break through to a higher realm, which was the result of all the foundation he had accumulated when he was at the peak of creation.

If, after five moments, one cannot break through this deathly silence of "nothingness," then one cannot completely escape the sea of ​​suffering and reach the other shore. One's enlightenment will fail, and one will perish in the process of enlightenment!
The first instant has passed.

The Wood Emperor's consciousness and innate spiritual light struggled with all their might, but they could not shake this terrifying "nothingness" in the slightest. All their efforts had no effect whatsoever.

"How to do?"

The Wood Emperor began to examine his own mind, having tried every method imaginable, but none of them worked.

The second instant has passed.

The Wood Emperor ceased all deductions. This calamity, which was unexpected by Him and was not calculated before He even attempted to escape the sea of ​​suffering, meant that even if an optimal solution existed, there was currently insufficient time to deduce it.

Therefore, in this special state that is infinitely close to "nothingness", one can only rely on the things that have transformed themselves, regardless of the consequences or the cost, and use the most insane methods to forcibly break free.

The third instant has passed.

"This thing is my illusory Dao fruit."

"This is a manifestation of certain aspects of the true 'Tao,' and it is also the collection of everything related to me."

The Wood Emperor unleashed his illusory Dao Fruit, merging it into the great bell, and using his own consciousness and innate spiritual light as a "refining material," becoming one with it.

The fourth instant has passed.

The great bell began to ring, and the sounds of Tao transformed, forming notes that were like dreamlike bubbles, composing a supreme symphony from "nothingness".

The dazzling, blinding white light illuminated the darkness, opening up the absolute "nothingness," causing everything condensed into a single point to expand violently, unleashing an explosion capable of both annihilating and creating everything.

"Zha!"

The sound of creation resounded, transforming into background noise in the great explosion that cleaved the heavens and the earth!

"Existence" arises from "non-existence." The Dao shadow belonging to the Wood Emperor begins to re-condense at the highest and deepest point of the structure of all the heavens and myriad realms.

His figure, His traces, once again form reflections on the river of time, maintaining the past history, supporting the meaning of existence, and making everything suddenly clear in sight. Within the Realm of Truth, a brilliant azure sun slowly rises, illuminating all the darkness, shining throughout the myriad realms, and illuminating one near-path after another.

Within this ray of azure sunlight, something faintly and indistinctly seemed to cover everything in this era.

The second type of vision from the other side – “Illuminating all directions”!
As the sun faded, a wondrous light emerged between heaven and earth, a kaleidoscope of colors that coalesced into a three-legged divine bird, carrying the sun across the sky, seemingly becoming the core of the birth of all life.

Countless streams of primordial and yellow merit descended, lining the stars and constellations, like rivers and seas!
The phantom of the divine bird underwent further changes, with black and white energies swirling around it to form a long serpent with its head and tail connected. Time cycles endlessly in eternity, much like the river of time, flowing ceaselessly, immortal and indestructible.
The great bell evolved, the radiant glow of the wood element was magnificent, and countless stars and universes were engraved on it, reflecting the warmth of civilization. It was constantly generating all kinds of acquired laws and principles, spanning all worlds, like a tree supporting the heavens.
The "Three-Legged Divine Bird," the "Post-Heavenly Dao," and the "Heaven-Supporting Dao Tree"—ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine different manifestations of the Great Dao spread throughout the myriad realms, eventually collapsing into a gentle, green sun radiating upward development and vibrant vitality, invisibly elucidating a boundless love and indifference that transcends all things.

The third type of extraordinary phenomenon on the other side – “The Azure Sun Shines Upon the World”!
Upon seeing these three different phenomena, all the great beings of creation in the myriad realms could clearly feel a familiar stirring, a unique charm that only the three celestial venerables who had vanished from the world possessed.

A being who had lived for nine eras, even more ancient than the Wood Emperor, and whose creation was at its peak, murmured in disbelief, "Wood Emperor, you have successfully attained the other shore?!"

One of the younger, more accomplished cultivators said softly, "The Wood Emperor must have succeeded. Such a terrifying phenomenon could never have occurred unless one had successfully attained the other shore of enlightenment."

"The phenomena alone were too dazzling and too vast to look directly at, as if the 'Dao' had descended upon the world and manifested before me. This was definitely not something that belonged to the realm of creation."

"If it doesn't belong to creation, then it can only be the other shore."

Numerous powerful beings of creation were discussing it, and all the legendary great beings were marveling at it, as if they were witnessing the miracle of this era firsthand, proving the history of the other side through creation.

However, the twelve powerful beings who had visited Nanshan and met Xuanjun before the Water Emperor attempted to reach the other shore had completely different expressions, showing some surprise and doubt.

At the summit of Zhongshan Mountain.

Qiongqi looked at the azure sun that illuminated all the heavens and myriad realms with a strange expression. "This kind of power is indeed completely outside of creation. The Wood Emperor should have ascended to the other shore, but why do I feel that He seems a little weak?"

"Uh, maybe it's just my imagination."

Aohen nodded, somewhat puzzled, and said, "After the Wood Emperor ascended to the other shore, he became the only one in this world. Even if he is not on par with the three Heavenly Venerables, he should be extremely powerful. But this level of manifestation of the law gives me the feeling that he is far inferior to that Mysterious Lord of [Nanshan]."

"Although it is obviously stronger than other pseudo-other shores, whether it is pressure or other pressures compared to that Heavenly Venerable of [Nanshan], it is significantly lighter. Much, much, much lighter."

The eagle's expression was also hesitant, and its eyes also showed confusion.

Based on the joint deductions of the fourteen great supernatural beings, and some speculations, once the great supernatural beings of creation successfully ascend to the other shore, they will definitely be stronger than the pseudo-other shore beings who rely on shortcuts. Not to mention that they can defeat the pseudo-other shore beings in a short time, they can at least suppress these great supernatural beings who rely on special places to an absolute disadvantage.

The aura and legal strength manifested by the Wood Emperor are stronger than those of the Pseudo-Other Shore, but only by a fraction, with the difference being almost negligible.

If one were to ascend Mount Nan with such power, they would most likely be suppressed by Xuanjun, the pseudo-Other Shore who created this place close to the Dao.
How could a true being of the Other Shore be inferior to a powerful pseudo-Other Shore?

After a few moments of silence, the eagle slowly said, "Perhaps the Wood Emperor encountered some problems when he ascended to the other shore, but since he has already successfully attained enlightenment, it shouldn't be too troublesome. The fourteen of us have already formed a Dao Heart Covenant, and once the Wood Emperor returns, we can directly inquire of Him."

In the East China Sea, in Tianchi, in the Star Sea, in various blessed lands and in fragments of cosmic light where divine weapons and other beings from the other shore projected their own images, several other powerful beings pondered for a few breaths and, with the aid of various deductive methods, also reached a conclusion similar to that of the Great Egret.

The Wood Emperor successfully reached the other shore, but due to some reason, problems arose, resulting in damage.

The various strange phenomena manifested by the Great Dao disappeared, and the Wood Emperor, who was located above the River of Time, was surrounded by a real River of Time.

This is the manifestation of time from all the heavens and myriad worlds that have been completely solidified within His body, and it is also a long river of destiny that is almost independent of the present world, but can be completely controlled by Him.

The Wood Emperor gently stretched out his hand, and the river of time surrounding him shimmered. Time flowed by, never ceasing day or night, filled with the erosion of years and the unpredictability of fate.

The fourth type of vision from the other side: "Time surrounds the body"!
The river of time belonging to the Wood Emperor began to extend, overlapping with the river of time and destiny in the Real World.

In an instant, the past was recalled and the future was extended. He gained a more firm grasp on his past and a more thorough possession of the future.

The world once again became serene, and everything dissipated like a dream. Before the Wood Emperor, two yin-yang fish chased each other, carrying a mysterious charm that dominated the world, regulated the earth, water, wind, and fire, and stabilized all things.

They gradually evolved into a picture book, and it was as if they formed a golden bridge spanning all the heavens and the world, which is the foundation of the existence of all things in the world.

Looking at what was before him, the Wood Emperor murmured to himself, "The Tai Chi Diagram."

He frowned slightly, wondering why this divine weapon from the other shore had projected a shadow of itself onto his face.

For someone who has reached the other shore, the divine weapon of the other shore is also a form of enhancement, but it is merely a projection of another self. Unless one can use it to control the true form of the divine weapon of the other shore, it is just a piece of chicken rib that is neither worth discarding nor worth eating.

Could it be that the Celestial Venerable Morality made some special arrangements for himself before disappearing?

The Wood Emperor shook his head slightly. He had already attained the four other shore phenomena, which meant he had reached the other shore. He only needed to return to the forefront of the river of time, to the present moment, to completely complete his breakthrough.

Therefore, for Him, the most important thing at the moment is not anything else, but to return to the present world and complete the final note of the breakthrough.

Suddenly, the Wood Emperor's expression changed drastically, and his pupils contracted rapidly.

He couldn't find his way back!

Looking around, all I see is chaos, disordered logic, and a lack of concepts. Everything is collapsing madly towards some "point," an indescribable state.

This is the "final catastrophe" that is infinitely close to blankness!
The point in time we are in is the end of an era!

The Wood Emperor could clearly feel that his own body, which had just reached the other shore, was slowly dissipating in this "nothingness" that was infinitely close to absolute emptiness.

Whether it's the meaning of its own existence or anything else.

(End of this chapter)