Tonight, Alice joins the hunt.

As he continued onward, more messages from his former companions reached his ears through sight and sound.

It's nothing really.

It was nothing more than the news of Mr. Wang Xia, who was devoted to serving his country, being broadcast live on television as a national hero for recovering lost territory.

It was nothing more than Uncle Mu Gang, who was originally just an ordinary worker but is now the boss of a steel group, speaking eloquently at the report meeting, and his words entered his ears on the breeze.

Even those three college students who had a grudge against him in the world of Ju-on—Lu Renjia, Xiao Bingyi, and Jun Zhongding—who stole the Buddhist scriptures, were resurrected here. Due to strange events, they received several years of education in the detention center, thus turning over a new leaf and striving in the market as emerging entrepreneurs.

He doesn't hold grudges—why would someone of the transcendent hold grudges against ordinary people?

The past is but a phantom of yesterday; he can change, adjust, and arrange it at will, making it work in a way that conforms to his current aesthetic. Only the imperfection that still cannot be perfected on this basis can become an obsession that transcends the species, and his obsession, Zheng's, is clearly unrelated to revenge against a few mortals who offended him when he was weak.

So he passed them and continued onward.

He hadn't walked far when he saw entertainment news in the entertainment section of a well-known newspaper about famous movie star Qin Zhuiyu establishing a film and television company and thus taking control of her own destiny—or, as ordinary people understand it—on the front page. The front page featured a story about a young man named Gao Hongliang who, with a small investment, successfully acquired the company he worked for and became its owner.

This wasn't Zheng Zha's will, but rather the witch's tolerance—after all, Alice couldn't possibly lack such magnanimity. Besides, for Alice, anything in a state of development and change was a good thing.

Are these two people in a state of flux? — Yes.

Although it is very minor, their current state undoubtedly aligns with part of Alice's philosophy—moving away from their old ways and moving towards a new stage. Whether they perceive it as a change for the better or a change for the worse, it is a manifestation of Alice's ideas.

So Zheng Zha continued forward.

He traversed the city, crossed the streets, and headed to one novel or unique place after another. Along the way, he saw familiar faces and figures, some memorable, some fleeting. Without exception, these people all had a deep connection with the Central Continent Team, and even now, after reincarnation and repatriation, they were still acknowledged by him, the captain of the Central Continent Team.

He eventually stopped inside a library.

He reached out, and by a twist of fate, he precisely grasped an old book—the title of which was a study of lost ancient texts such as the *Classic of Mountains and Seas*, *In Search of the Supernatural*, and *Heavenly Questions*. But when he opened the book, he found the pages covered in ink smudges, obscured by various wondrous entanglements that would obscure even the most profound historical events, with only a few fragments remaining.

Di Jun, Tai Yi, Jiu Feng – these are basically the only three names in this book.

He blinked, only to find that the "nine" in Jiu Feng had transformed into the character for "ice"—no, perhaps "find" wouldn't be the right word. In his understanding and memory, the character that remained there was always just "ice."

Perhaps.

Because the ice in his memory turned into nine, and nine turned into ice again, cycling back and forth several times, he could only perceive that the content had changed, but did not know the specific details of the change.

Is it nine? Or ice?

I don't know, I don't understand.

For a fleeting moment, the words 'Nine-Headed Clan' flashed through his mind. However, as soon as that moment ended, the name vanished along with that fleeting memory, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Di Jun, Tai Yi, Bing Feng—this is the final conclusion.

No longer changing, no longer altered. And apart from these three, all other well-known ancient gods, monsters, and various mysterious legends have vanished without a trace—Zheng Zha felt they should have existed, but they had left no trace whatsoever. Whether auspicious omens or ferocious beasts, evil gods or benevolent deities, they were all like blank sheets of paper soaked in water, leaving no trace whatsoever.

Oh... there are some.

For example, a demon named Shang Baize Huiyin is recorded in a book called *Baopuzi*, which has only one page remaining and no author. It states that this demon knows the names of all the ghosts and monsters in the world—although Zheng Zha felt that the words 'Shang' and 'Huiyin' were somewhat redundant. But that's what the book records. And that's also what he remembers in his head.

very funny.

Isn't that interesting?

"Mortals don't need to be holy to live, and they can live better than before, not worse. Isn't that an interesting conclusion?"—A voice he had met several times before rang in his ears, and as soon as the voice reached Zheng Zha's ears, he understood why he had come here.

It turns out, I wasn't here without a reason. I wasn't wandering around here without a reason. I didn't have this past experience without a reason.

The reason why I am here and why I have done this is because there is a substantial and detailed cause for everything.

—"Adam".

Zheng Zha squeezed out these words softly between his teeth.

"Do you think you can shake my beliefs?"

“I can’t.” The voice, the blond-haired youth with a radiant smile, the man who had once been the captain of the Celestial Team, spread his hands comfortably. “But you have seen my philosophy, and you didn’t completely deny it at first. Isn’t that right?”

"...Is the war outside related to you?"

“It’s related to another part of me.” The blond youth nodded. “Or to be more precise, he was the one who orchestrated the fall of the Holy Emperor. After all, this final battle of the Reincarnators has its limitations. No matter what, external interference can’t surpass the current strongest member of the Reincarnation Squad in terms of life level. So, there’s no other way. I can only get in with this little bit of power, and I have to resort to all sorts of tricks to gain even the slightest advantage.”

He made a gesture with his fingers barely touching the ground and raised an eyebrow.

Zheng Zha remained silent.

Who could have imagined that the original human, Adam, would participate in the battle outside? Who could have imagined that he would attack the human saints? Who could have imagined that the 'human' camp he belonged to did not even recognize the saints who were of human origin? Who could have imagined that while guiding the external battle, he would also be able to infiltrate his influence into the source world inside the final war?

Zheng Zha knew he was at a disadvantage. Everything he saw and agreed with had put him at a disadvantage. Because before Adam spoke, he had indeed somewhat accepted Adam's unspoken idea—that mortals could live freely without holiness—and this source world, which did not belong to him, proved this. Because even if all the outer saints perished, mortal civilization would still be able to function stably!

He knew how to handle this situation—the simplest way to negate someone's idea is to negate the very thing that embodies it. If he were to take action and destroy this source world, or to the point that mortals could no longer live in peace, then that act itself would be a negation of Adam's idea—provided he could do so!

Can he do it?

Can he destroy all the lives of those he just acknowledged as members of the Central Continent Team, and condemn their world to eternal damnation?

Maybe yes, maybe no.

Yet, at that very moment, or more precisely, at this exact moment when all the conditions were met, the message from his future self, deep within his mind, was unlocked!

That was a single sentence, a simple sentence—

— "Take one step to the left."

—That was Chu Xuan from the future, or the present, speaking to him through him!

Section 29: The Changing Situation

Take one step to the left.

If someone else had said these words, Zheng Zha might have considered them further, taking a fraction of that infinite time gap to ponder their true meaning. However, at this moment, what he heard in his ear was Chu Xuan's guidance.

Since it was Chu Xuan who said it, there's no need to think about it further.

The moment the concept of language was fully formed in his mind, Zheng Zha's physical form suddenly changed—

—Take a step to the left.

He saw Adam watching him with a smile, seemingly having no intention of doing anything.

And at that very instant—the world changed!

The bustling modern city transformed into a dark and vast starry sky, and Zheng Zha's step to the left separated him from this starry sky—his landing point was the only exit, and his form and the exit returned to nothingness the moment they made contact!

"Did they escape?" Adam said calmly, his smile unchanged.

His form blurred for a moment, but then flickered and returned to its original position—he discovered that he was in a complete universe. The boundaries of this universe were closed, and both its beginning and end were destroyed!

The heat death of the universe occurred simultaneously at every point on the timeline. Whether in the past, present, or future, the energy inherent in all stars is rapidly dissipating, transforming into 'meaninglessness' in the process—the rules of mass-energy conversion and energy conservation no longer apply. And all things, even the crucial step of 'collapse,' are rendered meaningless!

This is a universe, and also a prison.

Abandon a universe, destroy a prisoner.

Then, all things returned to [—]

................................................

Zheng Zha's eyes flickered as he suddenly realized he was still in the library, while Adam had completely disappeared from his original spot. He turned his head, his unwell state manifesting as a gloomy expression, and at the edge of his gaze, he saw Chu Xuan standing expressionlessly among the bookshelves.

"How much fighting strength do you have left?" — Chu Xuan held a golden cube in his hand, which was visibly turning black — Zheng Zha remembered it; it was a fragment of the Tower of Babel, an independent universe that Chu Xuan had used as an experimental platform. And this universe was visibly heading towards its end!

“Against others, I’ll go all out. Against Adam, less than 30%.” Zheng Zha’s lips curled into a bitter smile, but he had no intention of showing off or concealing anything. Adam’s actions just now, and his own behavior which was essentially an escape, had indeed shaken his principles, preventing him from going all out as he had in the past.

Chu Xuan nodded, unsurprised.

The instant he nodded, the entire planet, along with the billions of mortal beings residing on it, was forcibly ripped from its original universe and cast into the seas. It was as easy as plucking a grain of sand from the earth. The entire planet then transformed within the seas, becoming a delicate gem and falling into Zheng Zha's hands!

“Take this with you to deal with the enemies the others need to handle. The remaining three Reincarnation Squads are itching to make their move; leave things here to the others.” Chu Xuan stretched out his hand and opened a portal. Zheng Zha stepped into it without hesitation. As his form vanished, Chu Xuan threw the cube, now mostly black, into the Sea of ​​Things. His own perception then redefined the Sea of ​​Things as an infinitely opening portal, and he caused the cube to fall into one of its universes!

The seas have returned to calm.

The nameless universe reached its end precisely when the cube fell; another cosmic heat death overwhelmed the previous catastrophe before the first one even ended. In terms of a tangible, comprehensible spectacle, the golden cube was coated with a pale gold layer before turning completely black, and then, as this layer vanished, it fell into a new portal!

One after another, layer upon layer.

Within the seas, there are many universes.

Within the limited multiverse of the final battle, there is still a large amount of space available for use outside of the main battlefield.

In war, killing the enemy is not the only way to win. If one can permanently imprison one's adversary in a predicament where destruction is impossible and one cannot leverage their strength, then when everything settles down, another kind of victory—still a victory—will fall into the hands of the strategist!

The cycle of creation and destruction continues in a continuous process.

Under Chu Xuan's watchful eye, this cycle will not end anytime soon.

..............................

Meanwhile, the main battlefield is in the knowledge domain.

Patchouli, having finished the ritual she had been trying to complete at the desired time, slightly raised her head.

"Has it started?" she said softly.

As she spoke, a dark red sword light suddenly appeared within the knowledge domain she occupied. The supreme divine power that could suppress even a true god shattered under the strike of this sword, and the tip of the sword had already reached Patchouli's chest on the throne!

Above her head, the pages of the Great Library flipped continuously.

Just before the tip of the sword was about to touch her skin, the turning pages of the book suddenly froze!

"My power is to know all the laws of the world." Patchouli's voice was faint, and the form of the sword dissipated before her.

Her voice then shifted from indifference to a soaring tone, and like a tangible wind, it unveiled the world, revealing the hidden secrets to the world!

"I already know your name, ID DX KunΣ06797, a failed copy of the prototype Servant Artoria, a reincarnator who calls himself Ex. Former captain of the Morizumi Team!"

The words had barely left his lips—

Concealed in the void, the assassin's form, which had previously only revealed the blade, suddenly materialized at her announcement. The golden-eyed girl, who should have resided in the future timeline and been gathering strength with the rise of Tau, appeared in this realm of knowledge as an assassin and attacked Patchouli, who should have been weak in combat!

She carried an item capable of penetrating the protection of supreme divine power. She originally had a very high probability of success.

However, things rarely go as planned. When her assassination attempt had completely failed, and she was imprisoned within Patchouli's domain by her power, her fate was already sealed!

The pages of the book in the Great Library turned to the next one.

....................................

Tracing the Stream —

Go back along Ex's timeline.

Beyond her heyday, beyond her growth, beyond the history of her past glory, beyond all the periods during which she could protect herself.

Patchouli travels back in time within her source worldline.