Chapter 707: Is the End Synonymous with Death?

"Ziji, this newly arrived fellow Daoist has a very strong sense of purpose."

These powerful beings gazed at Li Heng's receding back, and one of them, whose back was filled with dazzling light, like a dreamlike and elusive kaleidoscope, spoke thoughtfully.

"Who among those who have embarked on the Future Road does not have a strong sense of purpose? It is just that this road is far too long; ninety-nine percent of people will give up, or forget the purpose for which they first set out."

"It just remains to be seen how long this newly arrived fellow Daoist can walk."

Ziji said calmly.

"How long he can walk, or how far he can go, I do not know, but I am very clear that it is quite lively up ahead. There was once a rumor circulating that the correct route had been found, and that as long as one walked along that correct route, one could reach the Shikong Jintou without needing to cross the Time-Space Mother River."

The kaleidoscope being said with a smile.

"Whether this news is true or false, it will always stir up a great disturbance. I fear that many powerful experts and even factions up ahead are already fighting; it is likely a complete mess, attracting many experts to head there. I just don't know if that fellow Daoist who spoke to us earlier has the ability to blow up this mess."

Ziji laughed aloud, then also began to walk toward the front.

"Let's go. Having rested for an epoch, I have rested enough. If we walk a little faster, perhaps we can still join in on this excitement."

He waved his hand, beckoning the other powerful beings to follow.

Li Heng, for his part, was traveling light and moving very quickly.

The Wudao Gong artifact spirit shrank the Wudao Gong, transforming it into a small Gong Dian that constantly revolved around Li Heng, and began to speak with him. "Interesting, this road is truly interesting. Could it be that there really exist such fellows who are selfless and self-sacrificing? To actually open up such a thankless Time-Space road."

"Looking at you, what is it you want to say?"

The journey was boring, so Li Heng also began to chat with the artifact spirit.

"What else could I say? Have you not noticed that once you step onto this road, there is no high-level pressure or the like, and no matter what kind of living being you are, you obtain an Eternal body and remain undying?"

"Theoretically, even the most ordinary mortal, as long as their mind is firm and they keep moving forward, and this road truly leads directly to the Shikong Jintou, then this mortal can also reach the end."

"Is it not enough to walk it yourself, that you must also open up a road?"

The artifact spirit explained it this way, whether out of mockery or admiration.

"Surface phenomena may not necessarily explain everything. Perhaps the person who originally opened this road did so on a whim, or perhaps they were just fulfilling an obsession, and not for the sake of all living beings?"

Li Heng answered casually, offering a rebuttal.

"A Saint judges by deeds, not by intent. No matter what the person who originally opened this road was thinking, the nature of this road is just like this, which really leaves me somewhat unable to understand."

"Moreover, this road is not a futile effort; theoretically, there is indeed a possibility of crossing the Time-Space Mother River to reach the end directly. Furthermore, this Future Road is extremely close to the road that my master and I once took, the one that led directly to the end of the Time-Space Mother River."

The artifact spirit said with some admiration.

"Your own road is also nearby? Could it be this very road depicted on the Route Map!" Li Heng took out the Route Map, showed it to the artifact spirit, and speculated.

The artifact spirit emitted fluctuations and responded immediately.

"The position of the Node is not right; there is a slight deviation, but it is not too far off. Strange, could it really be my road, just with the Node positions slightly shifted?"

The artifact spirit began to talk to itself, muttering.

This unreliable appearance made Li Heng feel a sense of unease. It was fortunate that he had traded for a Route Map from the Void Balance; otherwise, relying solely on the artifact spirit, he felt he was bound to crash.

"Regarding your route and Nodes, I suggest you think carefully before you speak."

Li Heng thought for a moment and suggested.

"Don't make it sound like I'm very unreliable. Besides, the route and Nodes on this Route Map of yours are very likely the correct route as well. It is a pity that the road I took with my master to the Space-Time End Region was different from the road I took to escape the end region, and I only walked each once; otherwise, my memory should be deeper."

The artifact spirit said with some regret.

"The route to go and the route to escape are different? The one extremely close to this Route Map of mine is the route you took to go, right? Then where is the escape route? Can't I go directly through that route?"

Li Heng asked.

"You cannot, because the Node where the escape route is located is a one-way Node. The Space-Time End Region is easy to escape from, but difficult to go to. Otherwise, why do you think everyone in the Da Xu Kong feels that no one has ever reached the end or origin of the Time-Space Mother River?"

The artifact spirit said.

"Information not being shared is a common occurrence."

Li Heng expressed that it was nothing to be surprised about.

Not to mention such a vast Da Xu Kong, even on just a single planet or in a single country, the information gap between the powerful and the common people is worlds apart.

You might think the emperor uses a golden hoe to till the fields.

The emperor would say, what the hell is that?

"That is not necessarily true. Perhaps to those living beings and experts who have not gone to the Space-Time End Region, those who have reached the end of the Time-Space Mother River are all dead; they are all considered dead people."

The artifact spirit retorted.

"The premise of that statement is that once you go to the Space-Time End Region, you can never return, but clearly, didn't you escape back?" Li Heng shook his head and laughed.

The Shikong Jintou and the Space-Time End Region are two different concepts.

The Shikong Jintou might truly be a black hole or monster that devours people without spitting out the bones, and once you enter, no one can return. But the Space-Time End Region is a Zhanchang outside the Shikong Jintou; even if the Zhanchang is tragic, at least some people have survived.

"Then you simply do not understand. I remember my master once sighing, wondering if the self that reached the Space-Time End Region was still the original self, or a dead ghost? Did the self that gradually approached the Shikong Jintou also mean that one had already reached the end, and everything was just a final flash of light before death?"

The artifact spirit warned Li Heng, hoping Li Heng would change his mind. It really did not want to go to the Space-Time End Region again.

"But didn't you still come back alive? I observed you three times inside and three times outside with my divine sense and thoughts; you are alive and well, nothing like a dead person or a ghost. Do not say such spooky things to scare people."

Li Heng said with a smile.

"However, what you said is not impossible. After all, you are an artifact spirit, and your master, as a flesh-and-blood being, might have been affected. Shikong Jintou—approaching the end is death, and walking into the end is returning to Emptiness? An interesting argument."

He fell into deep thought, considering many possibilities.

The artifact spirit had once told him that the Space-Time End Region was very strange; no matter when or where you set out, as long as you could reach it, you would eventually arrive, and arrive at the same time as everyone else.

This kind of statement is full of fatalism...

And the meaning of death!

People living in this world all have the qualification for death, and all will die....