Chapter 545

Wishes mostly stem from 'emotion' or 'desire'.

Lost relatives, missed opportunities, discarded treasures, longed-for love, even irrevocable fragments of time buried beneath wind and frost—the idealistic sentiments hidden there.

The future is dark, the path winding, years wasted, nothing accomplished, heart higher than the heavens, fate thinner than paper, tossed and swayed by the times, yearning to break free yet finding no escape—thus sorrow arises from within.

The Great Wish Boat remains anchored at the ferry named Tiancheng, carrying all travelers heading in different directions.

Wishes sold by the Yinglong Tower, without marked prices, gradually became reality, and over time, those who accepted this transaction accounted for nearly ninety-nine percent or more.

"Then, Bei Wu, what is the price?" Su Lin picked up a football rolling toward him and glanced at the black-haired little girl waving at him.

This is my lord's romance; it's normal for children not to understand.

Near the little girl, an adult man hidden in the shadows was about to draw his sword, but saw Su Lin pluck down a sun, shrink it, and kick it into the neighboring Shaolin soccer team's field, where it exploded into a towering column of blazing light.

Hand holding sun and moon, plucking stars from the heavens—there is no one else in the world like me.

"Master Liang?"

Watching the Dragon King's cellmate sprinting away along rooftops, clutching the little girl under his arm, Su Lin had no idea how difficult it would be for law enforcement to manage this place if it continued indefinitely.

Wu Zhenxian said: "The existence or nonexistence of all this lies solely within your thought."

The Great Wish Boat is the core shared by all realms of the Wish Sea, and the necessary product of its cosmic consciousness being submerged under the wishes of all beings; Su Lin was delighted that it was listed in the store for three billion, but he was dissatisfied upon learning it required the Wish Sea to function.

"When the Wish Master is absent, there must naturally be a price."

Wu Zhenxian was surprised—he had not expected such deep knowledge of the Great Wish Heaven and the Great Wish Boat—but certain doubts within him grew firmer; only someone with profound ties could know such secrets.

"What if the Wish Master were present?" Su Lin asked.

"If the beings of the Wish Sea realms seek fulfillment, then at that moment, merely a thought from my master will realize it."

Wu Zhenxian recalled some of the abilities he had once learned about Wish Masters and said:

"Yet the number of beings from the myriad void realms is too vast; for wishes originating from distant dimensions or spacetimes, some primordial essence from the Wish Sea must still be drawn to form the embryonic form before becoming real."

"That is why each being is granted a universe—it is to project their familiar things into this realm, thereby fulfilling the foundational requirements of all their wishes."

"Equal exchange: the people or objects projected require a vessel."

"Thus, no wish is ever fulfilled out of nothing—it is always built upon the sacrifice of unrelated things." Su Lin shook his head and continued touring this complex city.

Along the way, people everywhere in this world smiled joyfully, their wishes having been granted.

A Chinese time-traveler, thrilled at losing money for the first time, was popping champagne.

A Japanese Gao Zhongsheng strolled the streets accompanied by dozens of followers and a demonic Red Hare horse.

An American homeless man lay on the roadside, overcome by the world's fullness of love and peace.

A white man asked: "Hancock, haven't you considered getting a job?"

"Like wearing red underwear over a tight suit to film a political drama about picking cotton on a plantation? Please. Here, there's endless liquor."

An impatient Black homeless man, drunk and holding a bottle, flew into the sky and collided intimately with a cultivator drinking wine from a gourd while riding a sword and reciting poetry; the two smashed through over a dozen buildings on their way.

"Faint twilight cannot illuminate the path ahead; weak starlight cannot brighten a dim life."

"It cannot be denied that stronger beings still exist within the void, but they do not respond, nor need to respond to the prayers of all beings—only within this Great Wish Heaven, does the Great Wish Boat fulfill their wishes."

The full moon corresponding to Yao Tian remained perpetually round, as if to say: humans know sorrow and joy, parting and reunion, but the moon knows neither darkness nor brightness, fullness nor waning.

Hearing Bei Wu's words, Su Lin made no reply but asked: "Has your wish been fulfilled?"

"I am the product of a wish." Bei Wu's mind flashed with the moment he fought through the Yao World's starry sea, turning back to gaze upon his homeland.

A woman in a red dress was barred within a celestial array; from her ink-black eyes, Bei Wu saw himself torn apart by the Blood Ancestor and sacrificed to the Heavenly Demon Emperor.

"Someone wished for me to come back to life—that is why I am here. This body, like the beings projected into this world, is the same."

Bei Wu placed his right hand on his chest and smiled: "All are wish-bodies."

"Is that so?" Su Lin lifted his gaze slightly, gazed at him for a moment, then looked up at the sky: "You've taken all the good roles—looks like I'll have to play the villain in this movie."

Under Bei Wu's confused gaze, Su Lin asked with a slightly affectionate tone: "How much longer does Little Yao Tian need?"

"I suggest signing a DC and Marvel crossover contract first, to avoid lawsuits later. Of course, I don't need to—I just turn into that Canadian guy, then pull out my precious ring and shout 'Shazam!' at the sky."

"Sorry, I meant: the green lantern burns eternal, light for ten thousand ages."

The red-and-black leather-clad Deadpool held up a glowing green lantern ring, chattering to the man in the trench coat ahead: "So are we filming 'Infinite Crisis: Again, Earth'?"

A group walked through a dark, endless tunnel, their feet resting upon a void.

Ahead, a butterfly formed of light flapped its wings, scattering wing dust that formed a long luminous trail on the ground.

Gradually, the world stretched infinitely; surrounded by boundless light and gray mist, strange and surreal scenes appeared before them.

This is the convergence of dreams and reality—the sea of all beings' subconscious.

Constantine's hand holding the cigarette trembled slightly; he stared at the cheap cigarette still burning, its white smoke drifting like ribbons into the darkness behind—'Exactly like the movie.'

"My personal opinion: add 'Deadpool' to the title. I don't mind playing two roles, but if I show up in green spandex, the box office will die a certain death."

"You should give me some time—I can bring my beloved Captain America and X-Killer Van Helsing. Our Galactic Fleet would make a fortune."

"Of course, this lineup isn't bad either. Hey, Mr. Keanu, is your lung cancer cured? Our crew can't call 120."

Constantine rolled his eyes, took a deep breath, and decided to mutter a spell to dull his hearing—but then he glanced back at the three temporary helpers brought along.

"Don't worry, his fee won't be too high this time." Deadpool placed a hand on the shoulder of a man in a suit and asked: "Right, Tang Ni?"

Su Su Tuoni Stark's mouth twitched downward, his brow furrowed slightly; he blinked and said: "Just pay market rate."

This man was found beneath a bridge, his voice modeled after a Confucian sage; the actor was arranged by him.

Constantine recalled the old man's bare, muscular back, wielding a Seven-Star Sword as he hacked his way back from a shattered universe to Tiancheng—and felt slightly reassured.

"This matter isn't simple. Absolutely, absolutely not a movie!"

Constantine followed the butterfly's guidance, walking at the front, speaking with grave seriousness: "We might have stumbled upon a group of fallen…"

"Cough, cough." Su Su Tuoni Stark coughed twice, covering his mouth to interrupt:

"I think we need evidence. What if this world, and everything else, is… a virtual reality? A dream game? Maybe we should cut down on paranoia—it helps reduce major incidents."

"I don't have that kind of taste." Constantine's face twitched several times, then continued his previous point:

From the known information, the being known as the Fallen God should have some connection to our universe; I fear the things in the movie may be events that already happened in the past.

"Your DC God?!" Deadpool screamed, clutching his face, but immediately calmed down and said, "If this Fallen God of the dark horror film is tied to DC, its authenticity is at least ninety percent."

"No one understands corruption better than you."

Deadpool made a gesture as if playing a harmonica, completely oblivious to Su Su Tuoni Stark's frozen face.

Constantine took a deep breath, shook his head, and quickened his pace.

Amidst the dream imagery and Deadpool's voiceover, the group passed through to stand before a bronze door.

"The scent of angels."

Chanting from a choir echoed in Constantine's ear; he pulled out a playing card, on which a simple cartoon angel, mechanically printed, blinked at him.

"Damn it?!"

He instantly threw the card away, then hurled a ball of flame to ignite it—but the next second, the angel on the card broke free from the flat surface, growing flesh and blood, stepping out in a posture Constantine had never seen in all his years as an exorcist.

Its holy wings were covered in slick, translucent tentacles, each tipped with brass eyes gazing in all directions.

Merely seeing this thing made Constantine's mind stall, as if everything in the world were whispering to him, yet he could not comprehend whether these were words or sensations.

At that moment, the bronze door spoke: "Amen."

"Amen," Constantine replied instinctively.

"Your aura of safety is so strong," Deadpool loosened his limbs, sliding off Constantine's body, gazing tenderly: "Maybe we could try something and get a label supporting minorities?"

"I'm going to find a private doctor to fix my mental health." Su Su Tuoni Stark pulled out sunglasses from the pocket of his suit jacket.

"Ugh, I'm gonna throw up!" Ge Xiaolun stepped forward, preparing to taunt Deadpool.

"OK! OK! OK! I'm perfectly normal!" Deadpool immediately raised both hands in surrender: "I'm normal—you should stay calm. With great power comes great responsibility."

Deadpool signed silently and chose to temporarily shut up; Constantine glanced at Ge Xiaolun in surprise, suddenly feeling this loser boy was more useful than anyone else.

"Let's go."

They walked through the bronze door.

After an unknown length of time—perhaps dozens of days, perhaps only a few hours—the disorientation of distorted time faded, and the group finally stepped out of the bronze door onto a plain.

"That direction."

Feeling the guidance of the Spear of Destiny, Constantine suppressed his inner doubts and pointed east.

Deep in the clouds, a palace perched atop a mountain range, bearing twenty-four ancient wells, from which streams of strange light surged—even from afar, the glow was visible.

Constantine pulled out a map drawn by movie enthusiasts; according to the lore, that place was…

Jade Void Palace?

(End of Chapter)