Chapter 942: Return

"I didn't comprehend the Eternal's other divine abilities, but I did feel how he utilized the law of spacetime," Li Pin said softly.

As Li Pin brought Null along, he tried his best to search for that feeling of "ascension" he had experienced. However, the sensation remained ever so elusive.

He felt like he was a fish swimming in a river. No matter how the fish looked around, it could never seem to glimpse the vast starry sky beyond the water.

Li Pin let out a long breath. "Looks like my path to ascension truly has been severed by that Eternal."

"And if an Eternal only knows two states to events—cause and effect—then I am in the ‘effect’ state, meaning my path has already been severed, and there is no way to complete it anymore. Because, from his perspective, he has already seen the outcome of everything I try. Even if I continue my efforts and patch the Eternity Path from a different direction, I may still inevitably encounter a fate where the path is cut off."

It was like two people playing rock-paper-scissors. One party—the Eternal, in this case—always threw his hand last. No matter what, the opponent could never win.

"No matter how you look at it... it seems hopeless," Li Pin murmured.

Is this the end of the road for my cultivation?

This thought rose for a moment, then it was firmly denied.

Li Pin smiled.

No, he refused. As long as he could still draw breath, it was never over.

He mercilessly cut down the occasional waves of negativity and regained his resolve.

The road ahead might have turned bumpy and hard to tread; perhaps it was now riddled with hardship and peril. But as long as he didn't give up, there would always be hope.

Buzz, buzz!

While he pondered, Li Pin felt the familiar operation of surrounding laws. He had arrived at the starry cosmos.

Li Pin glanced back at the Void of Chaos for a moment, then looked back at the starry cosmos.

A sigh escaped him. "What a peaceful, safe haven this is."

He thought of how mortals from technological civilizations first stepped off their home planet and entered space.

To the Supremes, the universe was like a planet to an astronaut. By relying on matter and spacetime they had gained from within the universe, they could temporarily exist in the Void of Chaos.

But the Void of Chaos would constantly erode the traces of their existence. Ultimately, they could not survive in the Void of Chaos by relying only on the universe-sourced matter and spacetime. They would eventually have to return to the universe.

Just like astronauts who, after a while in space, had to return to their home planet once their supplies ran low.

The similarity in essence was astonishing.

Compared to the Supremes, those who achieved Liberation Realm through Dao realms underwent a transformation of life from the inside out.

It was like evolving from a mortal flesh-body into a legendary cosmic lifeform.

Cosmic radiation, once deadly, was now of no concern. Their bodies, which had once relied on planetary supplies, would be able to extract the omnipresent energy of the universe and continue to exist indefinitely.

A smile rose on Li Pin's lips. "This... is the beauty of life's evolution."

This was the meaning of the path he had chosen to follow.

Shortly after Li Pin entered the starry cosmos, Sasha, who originally existed through her own rules, quickly reconnected with her main body. As soon as contact was made, various streams of information rapidly poured into Sasha's hands.

In less than a second, Sasha had digested it all, and a hint of astonishment appeared on her face.

She glanced behind her.

Now obscured by the starry cosmos, she could no longer see Li Pin's true form, vast enough that it almost rivaled the universe itself. But even so, by merely recalling it, she could still feel the vastness and majesty of his main body, spanning billions of light-years in diameter.

She looked once more at the messages she received, and her expression grew a little strange.

"Your Majesty Origin, I'm afraid your return to the starry cosmos might bring some trouble," said Sasha. "Of course, it's all trivial to you."

"Then it's not worth minding," Li Pin said.

He still trusted Sasha quite a bit. Especially considering that he was carrying her Father, Null.

Sasha opened her mouth, wanting to say something, but didn't know how to describe it.

Fortunately, Li Pin seemed to remember something himself. "Oh, the Supreme Council organized by the Human Race's Supremes should have already ended, right? Did they come to a conclusion?"

Shaking his head, he said, "Knowing these Supremes, it's probably not that fast. Never mind, I'll first get used to controlling my main body's power. Once I have better control, I'll descend directly into the starry cosmos, withstand the backlash of the starry cosmos, and complete the reshaping of the Astral World.

"

Hmm

, reshaping the Astral World isn't difficult. The key is figuring out what kind of system can ensure its operation for thousands, tens of thousands, or even more eras into the future..."

As he spoke, he added, "Give me a proposal."

"Me?"

Sasha was stunned, then delighted.

His Majesty Origin had finally delegated to her a task that didn't involve computing optimal directions!

Sasha confidently promised, "Please rest assured, Your Majesty. I'll immediately connect to the Ocean of Time database. Over the years, we've refined many systems. I'll download them all now and tailor them to your needs. I guarantee a satisfactory answer."

Li Pin nodded. "Good."

After traversing through the starry cosmos for a while, he sensed something and looked in a certain direction.

Why is there a Sky Clan Supreme over there? And what's with him skulking around like that?

This scene caused him to recall what Sasha had said.

He said, "Hey, the minor trouble you mentioned, don't tell me the Human Race has gone to war with other races?"

"That's not the case," Sasha replied truthfully. "The Creators who survived the ancient Astral World era have arrived. Comparing the data they got from Transcendent Black White with the human Supremes, they believe... the Eternal they're searching for, or rather, the Eternal's successor, is probably you."

"They've already arrived? That's fast," Li Pin remarked.

He shook his head. "I am not surprised they'd think that. For a while, I thought I was the Eternal too. But now I understand that that is not the case. The Eternal is someone else."

"Those Creators may believe otherwise," replied Sasha. "They've fixed their eyes on you and convinced most of the Supremes in the starry cosmos to hand you over, in exchange for ensuring the Creators won't harm the universe or jeopardize the Supreme Races' status," Sasha shared.

"Let them believe what they want," said Li Pin. "It doesn't matter."

At the moment, all his focus was on the Eternal. He wasn't too concerned about the Supremes of the starry cosmos or the ancient Astral World's Creators.

"But I do wonder if they have more information on the Eternal," Li Pin pondered. "Inform them that I will go to the Ocean of Time. If there's anything to resolve, we'll resolve it there. I also have some questions for those Creators."

Sasha was a little surprised. "You're not angry?"

"There is nothing to be angry about," Li Pin said. "But... I do think that there are too many Supremes within the starry cosmos. There are also too many races. Even if everyone seems to agree on the surface, there will always be those who stir chaos behind the scenes."

He thought briefly and said, "There should've been an Intelligent Lifeform present at the Supreme Council, right? Give me a list of those Supremes who betrayed the starry cosmos and joined the Creators' camp."

Even though those defectors were also beings of the starry cosmos, the actions of certain Supremes and many Supreme races could rightly be called betrayal.

"I've already compiled the list," Sasha said. "But if we want more complete data, we may need to exchange information with the Intelligent Lifeform Race."

Li Pin understood what Sasha meant.

Apparently, the Intelligent Lifeform Race hadn't performed very satisfactorily in that meeting. Did they not firmly side with the Human Race?

Sasha had seen his true form and understood that it held the power to influence the entire starry cosmos. By inquiring with the Intelligent Lifeform Race now, she was offering both a warning and an opportunity for them to redeem themselves.

Considering their long-standing alliance with the Human Race, Li Pin didn't stop her. He decided to give them one more chance.

***

As Li Pin approached the Ocean of Time, messages started flooding in from various people. Among them were many Human Supremes, mostly sending messages for him to hide quickly.

While there's life, there's hope. They all believed that with Li Pin's talent, as long as he stayed alive, he would eventually grow powerful enough to influence the entire starry cosmos.

"Have them all go to the Ocean of Time. We'll settle everything there in one go," Li Pin instructed.

Sasha nodded and quickly relayed the message.

"I have to admit, communication within the universe is quite convenient," Li Pin said with a laugh. "I wonder how people communicate in the Void of Chaos. Don't tell me they have to shout at each other?"

Sasha couldn't respond to this joke. It had already gone beyond her knowledge.

Soon after, Li Pin successfully arrived at the Ocean of Time. This galaxy was filled with countless planets.

Unlike last time, when he was quickly retrieved by Null without a good look, this time, Li Pin closely observed the Ocean of Time and keenly noticed its structure. Something was strange about it.

The same lifeform, due to countless different choices, gave rise to countless different planets, each heading toward a different fate.

Such a galaxy....

"How fascinating," marveled Li Pin. "What exactly is Null trying to prove with this simulation?"

"Sorry, I don't know..." Sasha said, glancing at Li Pin.

Li Pin promptly handed over Null, who had fallen into a fundamental logic error and nearly lost all self-function.

Immediately, Sasha and several other sub-bodies that had flown out of the Ocean of Time quickly took Null and headed deeper within.

Li Pin remained on the outskirts of the Ocean of Time.

While waiting for the Supremes and Creators to arrive, he quietly observed this Ocean of Time that was some kind of testing ground.

He faintly felt that this Ocean of Time seemed to contain some hidden mystery, but he couldn't quite put into words what those secrets were.