Chapter 3683: The Broken Realms

Lu Yin knew that the Willbound Expanse was a trap for the High Seraph that was prepared by the Consciousness Megaverse’s Thirteen Luminaries. That was the most important detail. If the Consciousness Megaverse could actually take down the High Seraph, the entire balance of the war would shift.

Lu Yin longed to see the future clearly. Unfortunately, without the River of Aeons, no bridge could be built across it and connect with what lay ahead.

Combat strength and cultivation level were two entirely different concepts.

Destiny had plotted against Wei Nu because of the River of Aeons. That was something that Lu Yin was still unable to do.

All he could do was take things one step at a time. But when dealing with an opponent whose strength had reached a certain level, any sort of strategy became nothing more than a joke.

Maybe he would undergo a transformation in the Consciousness Megaverse.

Traveling through the endless darkness was a dull affair, but because he was cultivating the Wayfinder Sutra, the journey became far less monotonous.

For the peak experts aboard

Boundless

, just ten years was not enough for their strength to change through normal cultivation. However, they had received both the Nine Heavens Transformation and the Wayfinder Sutra, which would let some of them undergo a transformation.

Lu Yin noticed that Shao Chen’s aura was becoming more and more condensed. The man was sitting out on the battleship’s open deck, and yet there were times when he was almost overlooked. It was an indication that he had perfectly blended into his surroundings.

Almost any individual cultivator could blend with their surroundings. Impressive cultivation was not even needed. However, success depended on the environment. Aboard

Boundless

, with so many powerful experts present, it was no simple feat to vanish from their perception.

From the moment that Shao Chen had stepped onto the path of cultivating the mortal world, his path had become one to keep an eye on. Regardless of whether his path could transform his combat strength, it had already allowed him to force both Bao Qi and Wilderness God to enter Dukkha. That much was undeniable.

It was possible that, one day, others might need that same kind of assistance.

As they drew closer and closer to the Consciousness Megaverse, their curiosity about the unknown place grew stronger. Nearly all of the cultivators from the Spirit Nidus who were riding on

Boundless

had been there before.

“What we find in the Consciousness Megaverse could very well be entirely different from what you are expecting,” Tian Ya explained when asked about the situation in the megaverse. “Let me first ask you this: does your megaverse resemble our Spirit Nidus?”

Ce Wangtian replied, “More or less. Both consist of parallel universes filled with stars. However, the Tianyuan Megaverse doesn’t have a unified cultivation system, so there’s no absolute central universe. Whichever parallel universe is the strongest at the time takes the lead. Currently, the Origin Universe holds that position, though it was once referred to as the Main Universe.

“Other than that, there’s not much difference. They both have star-filled skies, celestial phenomena, planets, and so on.”

Tian Ya nodded. “Then my guess is accurate—the Consciousness Megaverse is genuinely unique. I haven’t even visited any other megaverse.”

He paused for a moment before continuing, “There are also stars in the Consciousness Megaverse... but they’re alive.”

Everyone was stunned. “Alive?”

Hu Wu shot a glare at him. "Stop talking nonsense. 'Alive?' They're nothing more than endlessly repeating scenes, that's all."

"What does that mean?" Lu Tianyi asked curiously.

Hu Wu explained, "In the Consciousness Megaverse, there exists an astral phenomenon called the Broken Realms. Regions affected by this phenomenon endlessly cycle through certain scenes—sometimes it's the growth of life, the formation of planets, the battles of species, or even just survival. These Broken Realms are found throughout the Consciousness Megaverse, and almost every planet in the megaverse has one, of varying sizes. That's why the stars seem... alive.

"We still don't fully understand these scenes. Are they spontaneously created, or are they recreations of past events? In the Spirit Nidus, some speculate that the Consciousness Megaverse has undergone a 'reset' at some point and that these scenes are remnants of a previous cycle. But that's just speculation.

"Others believe that it could be a Star Mirage."

"Star Mirage?" Mu Zhu asked, surprised.

Hu Wu nodded solemnly, his expression grave. "The omniverse is vast and infinite. Even an Immortal, with limitless time, could never reach the edges. Beyond the three known megaverses, are there others? Of course there are, and there may be more than just a few. They're simply too distant for us to reach. The Consciousness Megaverse is filled with countless beings of pure consciousness. Their very nature is consciousness itself. This megaverse is infused with the power of consciousness, and it's possible that this energy is resonating with far-off megaverses, reflecting scenes from those realms into this one. These are what we call Star Mirages."

Astral Anura muttered, “That sounds like a real mirage, but on the megaverse scale.”

“That’s basically the theory,” Hu Wu agreed.

Luo Shan asked, “Are these Broken Realms dangerous?”

Tian Ya's expression grew solemn. “That’s precisely the central theme of today’s discussion. The Broken Realms are extremely dangerous. If you see one, do not approach it.

“A Broken Realm will endlessly cycle through a scene. Some of the scenes don’t include a single living creature, while others feature unknown, harmless lifeforms. Any cultivator capable of moving through outer space can easily pass through such a scene. Most of the Broken Realms in the Consciousness Megaverse are exactly like that.

“But this does not mean they all are. Some Broken Realms contain terrifyingly powerful beings, while others have scenes of dangerous battles from the past. If you enter one of those and are caught in the crossfire, the danger is just as real as an actual battle. Escaping depends entirely on how intense the battle is.

“Let me put it this way.” Tian Ya’s eyes swept the crowd. “The Spirit Nidus has lost more than a hundred sequence powerhouses to these Broken Realms, and more than ten Ortusers and Dukkhans have died in them as well. Once, even a Seraph fell in a Broken Realm. The Seraph of the Hundred Grasses Domain was gravely injured in the Consciousness Megaverse, and one of the reasons was a Broken Realm.”

Luo Shan grew much more serious. Were things really so dangerous?

Lu Yin watched the lecture from a distance, his hands clasped behind his back. He was well informed about the Consciousness Megaverse. In fact, he knew it better than anyone here. After all, he had Possessed both Wu Wei and Hua Manyi, reaping their memories.

The Broken Realms were essentially the same as the tablet world that Lu Yin had once encountered in the Origin Universe.

In the tablet world, scenes from the past repeated in an endless loop. Everything within it was gray: gray people, gray creatures, gray remnants of battle, etc. The first time that Lu Yin had encountered the tablet world had been during the Astral Tower contest. If he hadn’t learned Inverse Step, he might not have made it out. The second time had been in the ruins of the Celestial Frost Sect in the Origin Universe, the former territory of the Daynight Clan. There, Lu Yin had witnessed a Progenitor-level attack during the cycle, which had severely injured him.

Back then, he had wondered why the tablet world existed.

As his cultivation improved, the possible explanations for the phenomena decreased. Many possibilities had been ruled out, and eventually, he stopped thinking about it.

Even if a person’s cultivation could destroy the stars and galaxies, they might still be unable to explain the origin of a single grain of sand.

Lu Yin had stopped considering the matter of the tablet world, but after learning about the Consciousness Megaverse, he had been shocked to realize that the entire megaverse was essentially a massively expanded tablet world. The scenes in the Broken Realms were also gray. Once disturbed, the creatures in those realms would attack and eliminate any foreign life. Even ancient remnants of battles could appear.

He could not help but reconsider just what the tablet world truly was.

The tablet world, the Celestial Frost Sect ruins, and the Consciousness Megaverse—they all contained similar phenomena. There had to be some connection between them.

“This scar here came from a Broken Realm,” Tian Ya said, rolling up his sleeve to show a mark where his shoulder had been pierced. “I could have removed the scar, but I kept it to remind myself that it came from a Broken Realm. Never underestimate them.

“The Broken Realms can easily make you underestimate them because, for the most part, ninety-nine percent of them are harmless. Of the remaining one percent, most pose no significant threat to cultivators. This is why so many cultivators in the Consciousness Megaverse underestimate the Broken Realms. Some have fought in the Consciousness Megaverse for a thousand years or more without encountering any dangers in the Broken Realms. They tend to traverse them carelessly, but this is extremely dangerous.”

“This is also why any who head to the Consciousness Megaverse from the Spirit Nidus for the first time are always warned: never underestimate a Broken Realm.

“But every year, a tremendous number of cultivators still die in the Broken Realms.”

“Is this also why the Spirit Nidus forms squads of cultivators to fight in the Consciousness Megaverse?” Sovereign Dou Sheng asked.

Tian Ya nodded. “That’s one reason, but the bigger reason is the conscients themselves. A consciousness attack can cover an enormous area. If you are unable to withstand the attack, then numbers don’t matter. Even if only a single person endures the attacks, that’s enough. So, spreading out helps during fights.”

Lu Tianyi spoke up. “Are the conscients affected by the Broken Realms?”

Hu Wu answered, “They are, though not greatly. It’s no different from when we fight the conscients. If their consciousnesses aren’t affected by an attack, they can’t be harmed. Well, not unless they choose to take on a physical form. If they do that, then they are affected the same way as us when they enter the Broken Realms.

“In the Broken Realms, the conscients possess a tremendous advantage over us.”

Sovereign Dou Sheng curiously asked, “Where is the most dangerous Broken Realm you’ve ever encountered?”

Tian Ya and Hu Wu exchanged glances. “They don’t have any fixed location. One of the traits of a Broken Realm is that they can drift away. One day it might be there, and the next it could be somewhere elsewhere entirely. We once stumbled into a Broken Realm while trying to escape from one of the Thirteen Luminaries who was hunting us. An entire group of us charged into the Broken Realm, but ultimately, only the two of us emerged alive.

“The scene that repeated in that Broken Realm was some sort of ritual offering.

“When we first entered it, we instinctively stayed quiet. However, there are always people who become careless and underestimate the Broken Realms. After being frightened by the Luminary’s pursuit, the others in our group panicked, and they antagonized the creatures in the Broken Realm.

“We had never seen such creatures before, but they appeared to be performing some sort of ritual. We all ended up as part of the sacrifice in that ritual. The strongest of them was unquestionably as powerful as a Seraph. Armed with nothing more than a bamboo sword, that creature slaughtered all of our companions and stabbed my shoulder. We only managed to escape through sheer luck. Looking back, the Luminary chasing us must have known how terrifying that Broken Realm was, which is why they didn’t follow us in. There are actually many times when conscients will follow their targets into a Broken Realm.

“That’s actually a good way to determine if a Broken Realm is dangerous: see if someone from the Consciousness Megaverse follows you inside. Conscients live extremely long lives, and the Broken Realms are part of their megaverse. Their understanding of the Broken Realms far surpasses ours.”

Lu Yin silently listened for a time, and then he released Wu Wei. The conscient appeared within five meters of Lu Yin and was instantly Possessed.

Lu Yin intended to search for memories of Broken Realms.

Wu Wei possessed vast memories. When Lu Yin had scanned the conscient’s memories on two previous occasions, he had only gotten a glimpse of the tip of the iceberg. This time, he was specifically searching for memories related to Broken Realms.

Wu Wei had countless such memories. Broken Realms were scattered throughout the entire Consciousness Megaverse, and there were countless of them. Just as Hu Wu and Tian Ya had said, Broken Realms were not fixed to any specific location. Instead, they constantly drifted about. The truth was that not even the conscients could consistently determine if a Broken Realm was dangerous, but they did share what knowledge they had with each other.