Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

—Since Luo Ye didn't make a move, Alice knew she had to come herself.

So she gripped Patchouli's fingertips slightly tighter.

Patchouli... senses things in sync with me.

The dark starry sky in her eyes suddenly changed, and the next moment, a vast and endless ocean of knowledge appeared in her eyes!

That was… a pure aggregation of knowledge! Countless runes, numbers, languages, equations, and inequalities—some she recognized, some she didn't, some she could understand, some she couldn't imagine—converged into a tide, woven together without relying on any medium. And with just a glance, she felt that at least ten projects on her research list that had been progressing slowly were now making leaps and bounds, and she almost couldn't resist returning to the physical world to complete those research projects!

No, it's not the right time yet...

Her gaze shifted, and she discovered that even with the protection of the divine light, Patchouli's form was showing signs of disintegration and collapse!

【Patch! Now let's adjust our perceptions together as we agreed before!】—she screamed in her mind.

However, the next moment she felt a faint rejection from the other end of her hand!

Fear gripped her heart in an instant, for from the other end of her hand, she heard Patchouli's confused yet yearning murmurs, as if her mind had lost control!

No, wait a minute, let me take one more look, I'm about to solve it—

【Patch!】

With a snap of the fingers, the sea of ​​knowledge that filled their vision vanished in an instant. And immediately afterward, the familiar, infinitely tall tower reappeared before them!

“Without transcending the species, one is not qualified to contact the multiverse. This is not just empty talk.” Luo Ye’s voice came softly from beside the two of them: “The Dao is the foundation of oneself, and attachment is the anchor used to confirm oneself. If one tries to contact the Abyss of Death before purifying everything outside of it, even if one knows the answer in advance, the result will still be that one will be disturbed by these impurities before even trying to understand the Abyss of Death, and will instead fall into an even more tragic situation—just like this.”

She reached out and flicked her hand in the air, and with a circle of colorless ripples spreading out, Patchouli's form, which had been flickering like an old-fashioned distorted television even after she regained her true godhood, returned to stability.

“You are the daughter of Shenqi, and you have traveled to and from the Abyss of Death many times, so even without my help, you can survive in the Abyss. But that doesn’t mean there are no other risks. Nor does it mean that other individuals can completely replicate your path.” Luo Ye reached out and pulled up Patchouli, who was slumped on the ground, looking terrified—before she made this move, she had already imprisoned Alice, who might have acted irrationally, in mid-air.

"I originally intended to teach you a lesson in a gentler way, but you seem to underestimate the storms of this multiverse. So, I have no choice but to make you suffer a painful experience that you'll never forget. Now, are you calmer? Or are you planning to punch me in the face because of my actions?"

Luo Ye flicked his fingers, releasing Alice from her restraints.

Alice was really going to throw a punch—but when she raised her hand, her arm froze in mid-air.

The girl's expression shifted between light and shadow, but in the end, she finally let go of her hand.

"Sister, why do this?" She said with a bitter smile and a sigh, "If you want to give me a warning, then come at me directly, why bother..."

“But would that hurt you?” Luo Ye snorted softly. “Do you care about your own life or death? Do you care about your own survival? Do you think I would stand idly by when you are in trouble? — No, you don’t care about any of that. You are sure that I will help you and I will help you — so you become complacent, you become arrogant, you think that this is a well-established path to safety, and you only need to stroll along the path to reap the reward at the end.”

"The results of the Saint Hunting Ritual have given you a false sense of self-worth, and the authority of the True God has made you complacent. You think you are powerful enough, after all, even the wise man who could make Chu Xuan suffer couldn't gain any advantage over you. You think you have mastered considerable power, after all, even the will of the sage's descent became a stepping stone for your ritual. And all of this didn't even force you to reveal your trump card, didn't make you use up your resurrection attempts, or expose the power you've been hiding since the beginning!"

She delivered the final blow with a definitive conclusion.

“You’ve become arrogant, my sister, Alice Margot Lloyd. If I don’t wake you up here, perhaps when the next war begins, your gaze will have crossed the level of transcending races and even saints and will have been placed directly on the level of our respective mothers—so I will let you know your powerlessness, let you know your weakness, let you know that everything you cherish and value may leave you at any time, and you cannot even understand their demise!”

"Now," she said coldly, "do you have any objections to what I've done?"

Alice felt she really should punch this guy, a punch with all her might, a soul-burning punch. However, she also had to admit that what Luo Ye said did make some sense.

No, it wasn't just a fraction. There was no need to deceive herself to that extent—she knew Luo Ye was right; although she hadn't shown much, she had indeed become arrogant after the battle against the Saint Hunter.

No longer as timid and cautious as before, no longer as meticulously calculating. The most obvious manifestation of this was the shameful state he displayed after Luo Ye unexpectedly appeared in the Main God Space! How could his past self have been so careless and easily succumbed to the 'family affection' he had never experienced? How could he have—

Suddenly, a thought flashed through my mind.

This discovery caused Alice, who was still reflecting on herself just a moment ago, to suddenly open her eyes wide!

—'To become a transcendent being, everything outside of the Way and attachments must be purified. For the Way is the foundation, while attachments are the anchor that ensures one is not eroded by one's own Way.'

—'The Tao is the change of all things, while the attachment is the unchanging love for Patchouli Knowledge as an individual. Beyond this, things like kinship and friendship are not included!'

【I see……】

The complex emotions surging in her heart suddenly subsided—Alice carefully examined her own heart and sadly discovered that the unconditional trust and dependence that Luo Ye had once placed on her had been irreversibly shaken the moment Luo Ye tacitly allowed Patchouli to fall into a desperate situation. Even if she tried to mend it in her heart now, it could never be restored to its original state.

[Luo Ye... No wonder you, despite possessing countless methods, chose such a radical approach. So that's why you...]

"...It really will never change."

Alice lowered her eyes and then took a soft breath.

“I understand your actions, and I have no objection to them. But—” She raised her head, casting the same resolute gaze that Luo Ye had been expecting at her only sister. “—I challenge you, sister. Because you have placed the test that should have fallen on my shoulders onto my lover!”

"Alice..." Patchouli, who had just recovered from the chaos, was about to speak up to stop her, but was interrupted by Alice, who showed a rare tough attitude.

Then, Luo Ye clapped her hands gently, a satisfied smile appearing on her face.

“Very good. As a responsible woman, if you can’t even protect your lover, then it’s true that there’s no point in living. Since you’ve taken the initiative to challenge me, I will naturally give you some preferential treatment—as the third lesson in my training, I will teach you how to deal with attacks from a transcendent species.”

She reached out and pushed open a closed door beside her.

"The script for this world is called 'King of the Undead.' It's a world where 'pseudo-transmigrators' exist and it possesses a dual universe view. It's perfect as teaching material for the third lesson."

"Go ahead, I'll let you make the first move. I'll only use Aika as my piece." — Her hand rested on Aika's shoulder, who had just been sitting in the corner watching the drama unfold, clearly looking lost — "You can choose to interfere in this universe, you can decide when to start the war. And then..."

"I will give you the battle you desire."

Section 9 Twins

fighting.

The purpose of the battle is to determine a winner and then to obtain the benefits represented by that win or loss.

Regardless of the type of battle or its purpose, there is one thing that participants must understand before engaging in it.

That means determining what constitutes a win, and what constitutes a loss.

When Alice led Patchouli away from Loyal and pushed open the portal to the outer side of the single universe it represented, the first thought that filled her mind was to devise a way to determine the winner.

She examined the timeline of this twin-structured universe, measuring its beginning and end, and reading all the information she deemed valuable. This might be a rather long process, but for a true god, it was actually quite short. As she absorbed all the information of this universe like a sponge, she felt a pair of slender hands embracing her from behind.

“Alice…” she heard Patchouli’s whisper in her ear, her voice filled with worry and hesitation.

“Don’t worry, I’m fine.” Alice shook her head slightly, then repeated, “I really am fine. I know I caused this problem, and I understand the necessity of Luo Ye’s actions. I won’t blame her, and I certainly won’t blame…you.”

She clearly felt the hands that were embracing her tremble slightly, and then the softness behind her pressed even tighter against her.

What else doesn't she know? If she just calms down and thinks about it, isn't everything crystal clear?

Whether it was Luo Ye's deal with Chu Xuan, or her good intentions as the eldest sister towards her bratty younger sister, or Patchouli's seemingly flawless but actually flawed acting—didn't she know then, but didn't she know afterwards that Patchouli was deliberately immersing herself in the ocean of knowledge, risking death in the abyss to cooperate with Luo Ye in teaching her a lesson?

However, Luo Ye saw something much more important. Patchouli, on the other hand, perhaps only saw the 'confidence' and 'arrogance' she herself displayed.

“This is my own problem.” Alice said softly. “Although I am very dissatisfied with your self-harming way of admonishing me, I know it is my own problem—Luo Ye… Sister is right. I have succeeded too many times. Under her protection and with Chu Xuan’s support, I have clearly crossed the line of failure too many times, but with the help of external forces, I have turned defeat into victory. This has filled me with confidence… and also filled me with arrogance.”

“Being confident isn’t a bad thing, Alice,” Patchouli whispered, trying to comfort her. “As long as you can control the range of motion…”

“Isn’t it a bad thing…” Alice blinked, her eyes narrowing as she analyzed the numerous historical moments she had marked. She wanted to agree with Patchouli to reassure her, but what came out of her mouth was the truth that Luo Ye had taught her.

"No, it's bad now, because of me, because we've reached this level. We're like fledglings who have climbed to the top of a cliff. If we don't spread our wings and soar, we're destined to sink into the sun and rain, and be eaten by insects and rodents. And if we want to successfully flap our wings after that leap, shedding all our burdens is the only thing we can do, and must do."

She spoke very simply, but she knew Patchouli could understand the underlying meaning behind those simple words.

—The conjecture about the transcendent species in the Moon World has been confirmed by Luo Ye. To go further, everything except the Tao and attachments should be abandoned and purified. The process is irrelevant, but the result is predetermined and unique. This is what is meant by 'Supreme Forgetfulness'. It is not the absence of emotion, but rather the complete understanding of all suffering, including birth, old age, sickness, death, and the arising and ceasing of all emotions, which will converge in two places, remaining only for the Tao and attachments.

Alice is a Westerner; she doesn't believe in Eastern Taoism, nor in Eastern religions or Buddhism. However, she feels that the Eastern concept of the "Five Signs of Decay" truly applies to her current situation—precisely because she has embarked on a path of transcendence, precisely because she is purifying everything, her past, her history, everything she possesses, and everything she has experienced are launching their final counterattack at this moment.

The morality she endorses, the education she receives, and everything she likes and dislikes—all the concepts and entities upon which she is based—will become obstacles to her progress before she attempts to 'transcend' everything. Yes, how could a true God who can control all her emotional changes be arrogant? She is arrogant simply because she chooses to be.

And she, and the final obstacle they faced, was the source of her thoughts that led her to the conclusion that 'I am willing to be arrogant, I am willing to be coquettish, I am willing to indulge in family and love'—all her experiences and past imprinted deep within her heart as remnants of the past!

'Confidence' has become an obstacle for her, and not just 'confidence'. 'Humility', 'reason', 'justice', 'fighting spirit', 'friendship'—everything that might influence her principles and convictions, everything positive or negative emotion that goes unnoticed—will become an obstacle for her.

—Beyond the Tao, there is nothing else. This means that even if the entire universe, the sum of everything one likes, dislikes, and cares about, blocks one's path, one should not hesitate to crush it without any doubt. Even the concept of 'hesitation' should be purified. Otherwise…

...The remains of those true gods who cannot see through this layer are as numerous as the sands of the Ganges in any slightly larger single universe. And within this multiverse, there are universes as vast as the Moon World, possessing a complete epochal cycle...

...is infinite.

It's a very simple principle: if you want to surpass everything, you must first give up everything.

And precisely because it is so simple, this principle cannot be reversed.

As reincarnators, they possess the privilege of continuing to exist even after the change of eras. Therefore, as long as they don't take this step, they will continue to live in peace and tranquility, enjoying the favor of all living beings. However, if they do take this step, all the former beauty will vanish without a trace.

I've already taken this step, there's no turning back now. But Patchouli...

Should I tell her? Or should I not?

The girl's thoughts raced, but the next moment Alice mocked herself for her indecisiveness and hesitation. Patchouli had already made up her mind; otherwise, how could she have walked into the abyss with her like someone who genuinely thought they were going on vacation?

It's important to understand that only she herself took this step, while Patchouli remained at the level of a true god. She remained calm and wise. Because her past had not betrayed her, which meant that all of this was a choice she made from the bottom of her heart.

—She simply didn't know. Because she, Patchouli, wasn't the daughter of Shinki or Gaia; she was just a mortal with no background whatsoever. Even if she did, she wouldn't be stronger than someone like Esdeath, who had already been banished from the cycle of reincarnation. And yet, as a mortal, she had stubbornly followed him to this point, to this very place!

Silence is betrayal, true arrogance.

Because it wasn't me who dragged her here, but rather she who, through her own efforts and talent, has always kept up with me and stood shoulder to shoulder!

Alice then let out a soft breath and repeated what she had just said.

“I’ve come this far, Patchouli. Besides my love for you, all I need is… no, even if I don’t take another step forward, everything I once had will no longer be trustworthy. They will rebel, they will betray me, they will do everything in their power to slow me down before I can see through and purify them, even at the cost of my own death… as long as I live, as long as I intend to continue.” — And so will you.

She didn't finish her sentence, but she knew Patchouli would understand—even lovers who are one in body and soul need this level of restraint. And both she and Patchouli knew this.

Then, the person embracing her from behind fell silent.

She wouldn't urge her, nor would she say much, because it was pointless—she knew she should thank Luo Ye, because this sister who genuinely cared for her had personally helped her sever the ties to her past that were hardest to let go of. But she also knew that even the concept of 'gratitude' should be purified from her heart. Only in this way could she truly appreciate Luo Ye's good intentions!

The events in her eyes continued to change; the script called 'King of the Undead' had been running for a complete era in Alice's eyes, presenting all the details.

—She knew Luo Ye had given her a hint, and through the two clues of 'King of the Undead' and 'the selection of a world is never without reason,' she quickly locked onto an undead individual named 'Shalltear Bradfordren.' She was a vampire who appeared as a background figure in the Dragon Break Ritual of the Zero World, and who had formed a bond with someone she loved. And through the connection between Shalltear's personal and demonic network and the concept of 'King of the Undead,' she accurately identified the protagonist of this scenario.

It was a 'fake transmigrator,' someone who traveled from one end of a twin universe to the other, changing their body and abilities. Retaining only their soul, they transformed from a mortal with flesh and blood into a skeleton mage who, through sheer combat prowess, reached the pinnacle of the world and wielded immense power. And their name was—

Alice felt a heartbeat coming from behind her.

“Alice.” She heard the determination and resolve in the heartbeat and the words that followed. “Wherever you want to go, I will be with you.”

The next moment, she sensed a 'change'. The figure nestled behind her made the same choice as her, no longer content with the status of a true god, but taking the first step towards the path of transcendence that purifies everything. From that moment on, almost everything Patchouli had possessed and cherished in the past became her adversary.

Alice's Way is the Way of all things changing, and her only obsession is that her love for Patchouli will never change.

Patchouli's way is the way of recording and collecting knowledge, and her only obsession is that certain knowledge should be permanently forgotten by her.

Alice knew what that knowledge was because she knew that Patchouli had made almost the same choice as her when defining the Way and the Attachment. And when Patchouli also embarked on this path of transcendence with her, its meaning was reduced to a single, unchanging essence.

—In this vast multiverse, Alice Margotrovid and Patchouli Knowledge, two independent individuals. Aside from their own ideologies, the only thing they can trust, the only thing they can possess, is this: at this moment—

—They really were all left with each other.

So Alice grabbed the hands that were embracing her.

They became one, their ideals and paths intertwined. Then, they both turned their gaze toward a specific point in time.