Infinity, starting from eternity

Chapter 623 Meeting Jiang Li! Reaching an Inconceivable Realm!

The original text is beyond human capabilities!

The Dragon Rune Six are indeed powerful. Each of them is an immortal and great being in the Dragon Rune world, and they are rarely matched among the half-step Seventeen Stars.

Unfortunately, it was still somewhat lacking when facing their true forms.

Even if Wang Chao, Hong Yi, and Zhou Qing are not the true original texts, even if they are alternate texts, they are not so easy to defeat in the myriad worlds. Defeating the Dragon Talisman Six would be as simple as eating and drinking.

"Dragon and Snake King Chao! Yang God Hong Yi! Buddha Zhou Qing! Immortal Fang Han! Holy King Yang Qi!"

Li Ping'an's gaze swept across the dilapidated Endless Prison. Of the six members of the Dragon Talisman group, there was one whose true identity he had never seen before.

His wondrous state of existence and non-existence, pervading eternal life and non-existence, is merely the foundation. There are still many areas to expand outwards. He has just embarked on the path of transcendence, and there is still a long way to go before he is close to transcendence.

Xinghe Jiangli!

The cause and effect between the six Dragon Talisman members and him, as well as the corresponding paths of their respective original beings, offer much for Li Ping'an to comprehend and are essential paths he must traverse.

Li Ping'an has already basically comprehended the Dao of others, and even the Boundless Realm of the Saint King Realm cannot escape his grasp.

Currently, only Jiang Li has not yet appeared, and we have not yet witnessed his incredible realm.

"Endless Prison!"

With a thought, Li Ping'an sent the prison flying over, which began to shatter layer by layer. The Dragonless Heart Sutra restriction, which Wang Chao had attached himself to and attempted to imprison the mental power of all living beings, instantly vanished, revealing the true form of the prison.

The prison is so powerful that it surpasses even the Eternal Immortal King, the Holy King, and the Supreme God, and even ordinary half-step Seventeen Stars, directly approaching the realm of the origin of the God Realm.

It could be called the essence of the Great Dao, a philosophical God, or even a realm beyond description, involving an inconceivable understanding, but now it has all turned to ashes and is under the control of Wang Chao.

"I wonder if there are any survivors left."

Li Ping'an's thoughts pierced into the prison. The endless prison void was completely silent, devoid of any living beings. Jiang Li, Ba Liming, and the countless reincarnated beings, as well as the three giants of the prison, were nowhere to be seen.

"Where did they go? Were they all sacrificed?"

The empty prison made Li Ping'an frown slightly; it wasn't what he wanted, and he wouldn't learn anything from it.

"Fang Han, Alliance Leader Yang Jian, Wang Chao, Hong Yi, please wait for me a moment." He left these words briefly, then his figure transformed into a trace of 'existence and non-existence,' completely detached from the common sense of the myriad realms, and entered into an inconceivable realm of enlightenment.

Comprehension is inherently an abstract concept of thought, but Li Ping'an could now make it tangible, surviving within that ineffable workings of thought.

"Waiting for good news." Hong Yi opened a book, the I Ching.

The text records the various events he experienced, from which we can deduce and evolve the wonders of the I Ching, and the branching of destiny in time and space.

Fang Han, Yang Jian, and Wang Chao looked at the Fallen God. The Fallen God did not interfere with the battle between the Guardians Alliance and the Villain Alliance, but He would protect any living beings who could hide under Him. This protection was absolute and no one was allowed to disobey Him.

The fallen God looked at the four of them with level eyes and said, “You still have time. Perhaps now you can decide the winner and challenge me.”

"God? Not a bad opponent. I wonder how many of my Heaven-Turning Seals he can withstand!"

Dragon-Snake King Chao's gaze swept across the room, exuding an imposing aura without anger. He casually examined the weaknesses of the Fallen God, showing no regard for the fact that the other party was an incarnation of God.

Fang Han and Yang Jian did the same, their imposing aura pressing forward.

However, they did not make a move. God is absolutely proud, even arrogant, but aren't they the same? Since the other party had agreed to a battle with Li Ping'an, they would not interfere before that.

Unless a fallen God takes action against them.

But clearly, this fallen God did not mean that; he simply looked down upon the heavens and everything, and did not take anyone seriously.

Immediately, the Gate of Immortality, the Mark of Heaven, the immense and absolute martial will, the Bridge to the Other Shore spanning the void, and even the aura of the Heavenly Dao Master, the Great Venerable Zhou Qing, also appeared.

The six are facing off without giving an inch!

Their power erupted, tearing apart the boundless chaotic sea and almost returning everything to its original state, obliterating everything except those who were protected.

The fallen God, however, has begun the countdown; from his omniscient and omnipotent perspective, he has already foreseen what will happen next.

In an endless prison.

Following in the footsteps of Jiang Li and the others who had made sacrifices, Li Ping'an arrived at the deepest part of the prison, a chaotic place where even the Dao did not exist. Here, he ignited an infinite fire to sacrifice all living beings.

"In a way, Wang Chao got a good deal," Li Ping'an thought to himself.

Wang Chao's achievement of seventeen stars was largely due to luck. The first reason was that he was fortunate enough to capture Wang Chao, a mortal in the dragon-snake stage, during his cultivation phase, and refine him in one bite, making him the first perfected member of the six-person group.

After all, the martial arts of the Dragon and Snake Kingdom are weak, and no matter how extraordinary their minds are, they ultimately cannot manifest true supernatural power.

Wang Chao was completely powerless to resist and was devoured by Wang Chao. However, he did not die. His spiritual light persisted until now, and he even devoured Wang Chao in return.

Another point is the refining of the imprisoned beings. To put it ironically, Wang Chao simply doesn't have that ability. Without becoming a seventeen-star, he can't refine the imprisoned beings.

Beings at the level of half-step nothingness, half-step immortality, and half-step seventeen stars, even if they descend into the prison, will be suppressed by the prison's origin.

No matter how powerful you are, if you don't reach the seventeenth star level, transcend a single worldview, and reach the pinnacle of all worldviews, the Prison Origin has a way to deal with you. The most unreasonable thing is assimilation, which turns 'you' into the new Prison Origin.

Xinghe Wang Chao is an example. His strength reached the standard, but he instantly replaced the prison and became the new source of the prison, thus trapping himself in the prison.

Jiang Li was no exception, nor was anyone else. The prison confined everything, and nothing existed outside the prison. Since it was impossible to transcend His worldview, the heavens beyond were essentially nonexistent.

No matter how strong they are, they can only replace Him.

This applies to other half-step seventeen-star powerhouses as well.

This is why so few reincarnators have dared to interfere with the Star River Prison.

The Gate of Immortality, the Realm of the Holy King, the Star River Prison, the Trilogy World, the Primordial Chaos Space, the Blue and White Worldview, the Daoist Canon World, the Endless Abyss, the Bible Mythology, the Brahma Mythology... These worlds each have their own unique features, and the more powerful they are, the more they are wary of them.

However, Wang Chao was lucky. He devoured Wang Chao, achieved perfection, and reached the peak of his cultivation. After a period of seclusion, Jiang Li led all the beings in the prison to make a sacrifice and stepped into the realm of the inconceivable.

Everyone and everything disappeared, leaving only the empty shell of the prison, which allowed Wang Chao to snag a bargain.

With Wang Chao's original source and the Star River Prison, how could Wang Chao not break through the seventeen stars?

However, it was precisely because he was too arrogant that he encountered Li Ping'an and suffered a crushing defeat. He didn't even completely devour Wang Chao, and was easily turned the tables on him.

"Compared to the realm of the unbelievable, Wang Chao's experience is truly unbelievable." Li Ping'an couldn't even imagine how a mortal could possess a cultivator's spirit, and even at the seventeen-star King level, he still didn't notice.

Hong Yi had revealed a bit to him, but he knew very little and was not clear about the details. However, it must have been an unimaginable process, and the hardships and dangers were beyond the comprehension of outsiders.

Each original world is independent, and even the transcendent Wang Chao could not occupy a place in the Milky Way. Therefore, Dragon-Snake Wang Chao is the true embodiment of his brilliance.

Star River Era's Wang Chao is closer to the real Wang Chao than Wang Chao, but he is still a bit inferior to Dragon Snake Wang Chao.

This is not a matter of strength, but of essence.

"That Dragon-Snake King Chao is not Star River King Chao, but the two are one. In the prison, I can feel King Chao's aura. It is not Yuan Shi, but a martial will that surpasses Yuan Shi."

Wang Chao's transcendence is not due to 'Yuanshi' or being the reincarnation of the Primordial Heavenly King of the Star River Era; that rumor seems absurd.

His transcendence is more of a martial will of 'absolute self,' where there is no one else but me.

Li Ping'an could grasp any clues about this distinct will that had ever existed in a prison.

He believed that the prison was not empty, but rather full of traces, containing the mysteries of an incredible realm, something that could not be described in words.

'Supreme, invincible, limitless, boundless, selfless, heavenless... an omnipotent realm. That realm is neither eternal nor immortal; it transcends these realms, a realm beyond words, a realm that cannot be described or imagined by humankind.'

It cannot be spoken of, cannot be thought of, cannot be discussed, cannot be reached, cannot be obtained, cannot be guarded, cannot be present, cannot reside, cannot remain, cannot come, cannot go, cannot be destroyed, cannot be emptied.

This is an absolute achievement no less than immortality, nothingness, or the transcendence of non-existence.

Even if time were reversed, the scene of the birth of the incredible realm could not be traced back; it was nothing, without any trace whatsoever.

But Li Ping'an managed to capture it. He transcended nothingness, existence and non-existence, and all living beings. His vision reversed everything, and his realm was beyond even the ability to explain what one thought or did.

Thus, the Age of Stars reappeared, the prison returned, all things originated, and everything was to be recreated.

And it can never escape his gaze.

'Immortality' means absolute self-existence and eternal existence.

He bestowed this self-existence and eternity upon the Starry Prison, freezing it in that eternal time.

Even beings who had sacrificed themselves to reach an incredible realm were brought back by him.

"Boom!"

"Jiang Li, Wang Chao! You cannot destroy me. Even if you defeat me, you will only replace me as the new source of the prison. It's just a change of dynasty, a new emperor taking the throne. You will never be able to transcend it!"

Li Ping'an traced back to the moment before all living beings sacrificed themselves, when Jiang Li defeated Wang Chao, who was possessing the prison, and he and the infinite world became the new source of the prison.

Just as Ba Liming was about to speak, his gaze sharpened as he saw the figure in the void above. "There's someone else?! Who is it?!"

“Martial Ancestor Ba Liming, Wang Chao, Jiang Li, Jiang Xinyue, Luo Feng, Meng Zhiyuan, Hong Heiyu, Hua Liudao…” Li Ping’an stepped out and, with a glance, knew that this was not the altered alternate world, but the original world.

It is at least incredibly close to, without any difference from, the canon, the orthodox world.

Tracing back to the endless prison, and arriving at the Star River Prison?
These subtle differences made Li Ping'an realize that the birth of the Inconceivable Realm is something that can never be changed or shaken.

Even if he were to freeze in this moment and forcibly insert himself into this timeline, he could only witness it.

“His cultivation is even more incredible than that of the prison, and countless times stronger.” Ba Liming’s eyes trembled as he sensed the changes in the infinite world, and the prison’s origin had changed hands once again.

Compared to Jiang Li and the Infinite World, this newly appeared existence was far more powerful, and it replaced the prison in an instant.

Then, an endless expansion, surpassing billions of reincarnation units, trillions of reincarnation units, appeared, including countless units of reincarnation, such as 京, 垓, 秭, 穣, 沟, 涧, 正, 载, 极, 刚河沙, 阿僧只, 那由他, 不知, 无量大数, and so on, which submerged everything!
This level of achievement is beyond imagination; it is not an 'inconceivable realm,' yet it is so incredible.

Having attained the wondrous realm of existence and non-existence, and stepped into the realm of self-eternal life, Li Ping'an's existence is so astonishing that nothing can encompass it, and it transcends everything. Even the origin of the prison, chaos, the gate of infinity, the eternal river, and the city of myriad phenomena have all been revived. All the destroyed and reborn creatures have been resurrected, witnessing the descent of this incredible and great will of existence.

At the same time, countless giant-level beings comparable to hundreds of millions of reincarnation units were born in the prison. They were born and expanded endlessly, but they were just a speck of dust on Li Ping'an.

In that long river of time, from the Star River Era to the present, people from countless worlds have gone through many trials and tribulations and witnessed countless incredible things, but there is nothing they can understand right now.

Ba Liming looked shocked.

“He is not a creature of the prison.” Yet Jiang Li remained calm, unmoved by the expansion of any reincarnation unit.

"The so-called infinity is the eternal infinity, the endless cycle of reincarnation, without end!" He roared to the sky, and the infinite world, propelled by him, began to advance continuously until it reached infinity.

Infinity means without end, but a prison has an end; it is finite.

Now, with Li Ping'an's appearance and impetus, the prison's original position has been replaced and expanded infinitely, allowing his infinite path to advance infinitely as well.

"This is the true Infinite Dao! Jiang Li's True Infinity is nothing but a lie and cannot represent true infinity!" Li Ping'an exclaimed.

No matter how high the realm, it is not that far from the infinite Dao; as long as there is a path, one can continue to walk it.

Perhaps Jiang Li's choice to sacrifice himself was not because the Infinite Dao could not continue to grow stronger, but because the eternal infinity would only continue to spread, forever teetering on the brink of transcendence, yet reaching an unattainable limit.

Infinity and limits are always contradictory.

“Beings outside the prison!” Baliming, the Prison Origin, the Gate of Infinity, Chaos, and the Eternal River were all shocked. They could not imagine what kind of realm that was.

But everything he did proved this point.

Undoubtedly, this infinitely expanding cycle of reincarnation is a characteristic of what lies outside the prison.

“No, that’s not it.” Wang Chao stood with his hands behind his back and spoke slowly. “When such a being enters the prison, it actually lowers its dimension and confines itself to a cage.”

"But I suppose he has his own purpose."

"Wang Chao." Li Ping'an looked at Wang Chao. This man didn't have the absolute self-confidence and domineering aura that the "Dragon and Snake Wang Chao" outside had given him. He smiled slightly, "Do you still remember Tang Zichen? Do you know where she is?"

"What are you talking about? Of course I know..." Wang Chao began, but then suddenly fell silent, and a look of realization appeared on his face.

Does he know? No!

Since Tang Zichen did not appear in the Star River Era, there were only vague rumors, and even rumors that he died on the path of cultivation, which were naturally false.

There was never a single word mentioning Tang Zichen's death.

Even if Tang Zichen died—she was Wang Chao's wife, and she died tragically in the Dragon-Snake Era, but in the Star River Era, she manifested as a saint, an emperor, and even surpassed the three-dimensional universe and chaos, replacing the prison, and Wang Chao and Jiang Li, who could have their wishes fulfilled, could not be resurrected?

The answer is obviously no. If you can make your wish come true, nothing is impossible. Resurrection is just a piece of cake.

Wang Chao had never thought about this, and even subconsciously ignored it, but now Li Ping'an's words have awakened him.

Wang Chao immediately understood, "So I was also one of those who lowered my dimension and imprisoned myself."

Real yet unreal, Ba Liming seems to have also come to his senses. They are the only two people from the Dragon and Snake Era. Once they awaken to self-awareness, this prison can no longer hold them.

Then Wang Chao and Ba Liming vanished, completely disappearing from the prison.

This shocked the Prison Origin, Chaos, the Gate of Infinity, and the Eternal River.

"If one can see a god without decaying, one can become a human immortal or achieve sainthood and the position of a saint." Jiang Li was not surprised. "Wang Chao and Ba Liming simply chose a direction for their breakthrough."

He could be in the Yang God realm, in the realm of immortality, or in the Great World of the Holy King. As long as there was a path to follow, Wang Chao would not stop.

In the era following Dragon and Snake Martial Arts, a new martial art will emerge, one that reaches the Dao, is indestructible, possesses an infinitely transcendent spirit, and, with the aid of technology, will ultimately surpass the ordinary, with no end in sight.

"So Jiang Li, do you still want to choose to sacrifice yourself?"

Li Ping'an looked on with great interest. He had come here to witness the truth of the self-sacrifice and the incredible realm. He could understand Wu Wu Ta, but he did not understand the incredible realm, or rather, Jiang Li's choice.

"Of course."

Jiang Li looked at the people in the infinite world and smiled slightly. “Everyone, the existence outside the prison has appeared, but the people outside the prison are no different from us. There is no difference between the trillions of reincarnations, the units of reincarnation such as Jing, Gai, Zi, Rang, Gou, Jian, Zheng, Zai, Ji, Ganges sand, Asengji, Nayuta, the inconceivable, and the immeasurable number of reincarnations.”

He divided his power, and any point in the infinite was also infinite, so everyone achieved the same state of infinite reincarnation as him.

But right now, all living beings don't feel any difference. It's just a change of name and a change of realm. They are still in the cycle of reincarnation and still in confusion.

Even Jiang Xinyue seemed to sense something was wrong. "What is the meaning of these powers?"

"Pointless."

"Strength itself is meaningful."

Jiang Li and Li Ping'an offered two different answers, leaving the choice to all living beings. The world of infinite reincarnation units could be incredibly beautiful, or one could choose self-sacrifice to explore that incredible realm.

"I choose to stay." Everyone in the infinite world is enlightened and possesses great wisdom, but upon seeing the outside of the prison, they still made a different choice.

Jiang Li was very carefree. "True self-sacrifice comes from one's own enlightenment. You will eventually reach the same level as me."

"What exactly is infinity? Whether one transcends or not, it all becomes meaningless."

He let go of the infinite world, thus creating the infinite world, and then let go again, like a child who has broken free from the control of his parents.

A flame of self-sacrifice ignited on Jiang Li's body, spreading from a single point to an endless world. Many people followed this leader and reached an incredible realm.

The flames burned away much of the land, leaving the survivors bewildered and terrified.

Li Ping'an merely watched all of this indifferently, paying no heed. Now that he was a prisoner, he could sense everything that was happening. Jiang Li's self-sacrifice had brought him ultimate enlightenment.

All living beings did not disappear, but rather reached another realm.

Self-sacrifice is actually a form of liberation, but the opposite of existence leads to conflict, from trivial family matters to the vast universe, conflicts and struggles are everywhere.

Jiang Li initially wanted everyone to understand each other, for all beings to be of one mind, and for a truly infinite world to be created.

But in the end, it was discovered that this was similar to the paradox of the infinite path: the mutual understanding and redemption of all beings was an unimaginable and inconceivable achievement.

Only through self-sacrifice, erasing all that can be understood and reaching the incomprehensible realm, can one truly transcend, truly attain infinity, and truly achieve unity of mind and body among all beings, without distinction between them.

Because sentient beings cannot understand, these self-sacrificing beings seem to have disappeared.

Just as the human eye cannot observe many colors, the human nose cannot smell many odors, and the human hearing cannot hear many audio frequencies, they are as if they do not exist for humans.

But with the progress of the times, these incomprehensible and unknown things will eventually be understood one by one.

Of course, it's also possible that humans might perish along the way, and then they would never see it.

Following Jiang Li's self-sacrifice was not suicide, but a journey to an incredible world unknown to 'humans'. It was a world where common sense could not explain true infinity, a world where all beings could be of one mind, tolerant and understanding of each other.

But Li Ping'an could see 'their' existence, in the world after transcendence, where all beings were of one mind, perfectly complete and flawless.

He took it all in, and he saw a realm that was indescribable, inconceivable, incomprehensible, unattainable, unobtainable, unguardable, unlivable, unstayable, unretainable, undestroyable, and unempty for ordinary people...

What you see is what you get.

Seeing him in his own right, he is already an existence of the inconceivable realm.

Li Ping'an attained the inconceivable realm, which was even simpler than achieving immortality, because this was the place that all beings imprisoned would reach. He received Jiang Li's sharing and understood it with his own wisdom.

But many more are still struggling, and those beings who are confused by the truths he brought from outside the prison are still waiting for his enlightenment.

Jiang Xinyue was even among them, looking at Li Ping'an with suspicion, "You've given us the power of infinite reincarnation units, what are you planning to do?"

“Jiang Xinyue.” However, Li Ping’an just smiled calmly, “Your realm is not high enough to comprehend all of this, which is also a rejection in itself. This prison world is now in your hands. I hope you can achieve final enlightenment.”

With a single thought, he broke free from the prison's original position, able to have what he wanted and not have what he didn't want.

All living beings lost their perception of him, but this prison world of infinite reincarnation units did not disappear. Jiang Xinyue was puzzled and confused, but the more power she mastered, the less she could understand.

"I refuse to believe that I cannot reach true infinity, true transcendence!"

Jiang Xinyue, who had always resented and hated Jiang Li, instead inherited his path and continued to advance the infinite world.

Before leaving the prison, Li Ping'an glimpsed the future. He saw an infinite prison, an infiniteness beyond an infinite prison, yet still within a prison. They could neither leave nor transcend this world.

All the struggles ultimately led to self-sacrifice. They went mad and insane because Li Ping'an, an existence outside the prison, influenced them and made them want to escape the infinite prison.

An infinite prison is an infinite prison; no matter how powerful they become, they can only make the prison larger, rendering it meaningless.

Finally, one day, Jiang Xinyue also chose to sacrifice herself, leading those who had gone mad and desperate to do the same.

But they did not reach the incredible realm. Despair itself cannot support a world where all beings are of one mind, understand each other, and redeem each other.

It wasn't until the detached Jiang Li intervened, pushing them back to the right path and ushering in a new era of stars.

"This is a tragedy of worldview, a dual choice made by both worldview and all living beings."

Li Ping'an understood everything. Jiang Li smiled and nodded at him. After this experiment, he truly understood that self-sacrifice was a last resort.

Because it is not the gate to immortality, they have no way to step into the new era of immortality and can only struggle in prison. Nor is it the realm of the Holy Kings, where the civilization of the gods transcends the realm of gods, reaches nothingness, and opens up the true realm of the Holy Kings, a transcendent civilization.

"But in my worldview of all the heavens and myriad realms, what kind of transcendent world should I create?"

Li Ping'an understood that this was the necessary path to transcendence, a necessary reflection. There was no way to transcend a world like Hua Tiandu's, which believed that annihilating all realms, burying all living beings, and ignoring everything else was equivalent to non-existence.

It was only natural that his path to transcendence was broken; being on the verge of transcendence was merely a perpetual state of being on the verge of it, because that was not the true path to transcendence!

(End of this chapter)