Chapter 160: 224. Newborn World Fed, Contemplating in the Prison Red Tower (4.2K - Seeking Subscriptions)

Before crossing over, Song Cheng had watched some popular science documentaries, and sometimes he would always vaguely feel that "life" and "the world" possessed a mysterious connection.

Life, it seems, is a small world.

The world, it is just like a great life.

This point is also reflected in myths such as "Pangu opening heaven and earth and his body becoming the world," and "Kuafu chasing the sun, exhausting his strength and turning into a peach forest."

At that time, he would often marvel at the wondrous imagination of the ancients, feeling shocked that "the world was actually transformed from a person."

And now, such a thing has actually happened to him.

Before his eyes, the Canghai has been razed into an abyss, transformed into a great canyon that one cannot see the end of, while the Canghai, once teeming with magical beasts, has already become his body.

After several attempts, Song Cheng discovered: his running would not cause any changes to the small world within his body.

His striking would not trigger any tremors in the small world either.

However, if he were injured, the small world would suffer disasters; if he absorbed power, the small world would flourish.

The flourishing of the small world would, in turn, make his power stronger.

As for what would happen to the small world if he died, that remained unknown.

Regarding his own small world, Song Cheng was truly, thoroughly omniscient and omnipotent; with a single thought, he could reach any place, and without a thought, he could still perceive any change.

He could see the texture of the seaweed in the deep sea, see the colorful fish swimming in the crevices of the sea abyss, and see the giant sea beasts leaping out from the surface; he could also see Tong Niangzi, Song An, Zhao Lingxue, and some people who had followed along, settling by the seaside.

These people were varied and diverse.

There were scions of noble families who pledged loyalty to Tong Niangzi to obtain Song Cheng's Flat Peach, lucky Martial Artists who had followed along, and "miners" responsible for collecting "Wood Crystal" around the Canghai small world for the dynasty to come and retrieve; among these people, there were even those from the original Zhushan Temple. The condensation of Flat Peaches was, for Song Cheng, something he could do with a wave of his hand, so he had long since created a batch of ghosts.

For these lives, they had almost no perception.

Yet Song Cheng could, with a single thought, possess any one of them, or even manifest himself directly, or occupy the "human bodies" originally stored in the Canghai, thereby roaming within his own world.

As for the "end of the world," there was none.

Because when he transformed the Canghai into his body, the Canghai formed a spherical shape.

As long as any creature could not transcend his body, even if they walked along one direction without sleep or rest, they would only find themselves back at the starting point.

After a brief experiment, Song Cheng truly felt a sense of pleasant surprise.

But as this sense of novelty faded slightly, a strong feeling of hunger arrived again.

This time, the hunger was far greater than before.

It was the thought that if he did not eat, he would truly be "starved to death."

With a slight perception, Song Cheng felt that the consumption of his main body was terrifyingly large; the tiny bit of Yin-Yang Two Qi he had stored was being consumed at every moment.

When the Canghai was outside, it relied on the Yin-Yang Two Qi of heaven and earth.

But once it was inside Song Cheng's body, it could only rely on his own.

"Hungry."

"So hungry..."

The sole thought occupied Song Cheng's body and mind.

Song Cheng's figure moved swiftly, passing through various realms, stepping into the Reappearance World, and then with a single thought, he entered the Yin-Yang Illusion Realm directly.

If one were to say the Reappearance World was a world of ink and wash, a freehand world that still possessed exquisite shapes and projections of the human world, then... the Yin-Yang Illusion Realm could simply be described as dry and monotonous to the extreme.

Black Sea.

Daytime.

Apart from these, there was nothing else.

But the Black Sea had waves, which were the Taiyin Illusion Sea; when the waves were slightly larger, they could push the Ghost Tide.

And the Daytime had light, which was the Sun Phantom Void; the white light shooting in all directions could make the viewer instantly blind.

The Black Sea was heavy, the Daytime was frivolous.

Song Cheng performed the "Taiyin Guidance Technique" with his left hand and the "Taiyang Guidance Technique" with his right; the Yin-Yang Two Qi were guided over, and their force kept his body balanced in mid-air, with the black and white colors surrounding him in the center as if weaving a cocoon.

Immediately following, a process of a "reverse caterpillar weaving a cocoon" occurred.

Those black and white colors began to surge crazily into Song Cheng's body.

Not knowing how much time had passed, Song Cheng felt the hunger being relieved.

Not knowing how much more time had passed, Song Cheng saw that on the firmament of his main body, there was an extra patch of Daytime connected to the Sun Phantom Void, while deep at the bottom of the sea, there was an extra patch of black water connected to the Taiyin Illusion Sea.

At this moment, he truly felt that he had become a "newborn infant," crying out to be fed, instinctively absorbing mother's milk; but unlike a mortal infant, this process of absorbing mother's milk was evidently quite long.

"Mother, I feel that this sea seems to have undergone a change."

At a seaside, Zhao Lingxue raised her hand to shade her eyes, gazing at the firmament.

There, the daylight was brilliant, slanting down and illuminating the waves of the Canghai with shimmering golden light.

After her father-in-law performed the Spirit Servant Technique on her, she had chosen to become a Tree Spirit of an ancient tree towering in this Canghai.

The Tree Spirit belonged to the Spirit of Mountains and Rivers, and could better perceive the changes of the world, and could also reap benefits from the changes of the world.

Song An echoed: "Ling Xue is right, the cultivation speed has become much faster."

This former Emperor of the Great Song had chosen to become an island spirit of a sea island.

Tong Niangzi's beautiful eyes turned, looking left and right; her perception was the most obvious.

Because Song Cheng had personally taken action, allowing her to transform into a Water Spirit.

And for the Canghai world, a Water Spirit was almost a water god.

If there were a "distribution principle" for the power absorption of a world, then Tong Niangzi, as the Water Spirit, would certainly be the one who was allocated the most.

Unlike An Chenyu and Zhao Hua, many of the people in Tong Niangzi's line had grown weary of the flashy human world, so they chose to settle down when they first went to the Canghai, rather than return.

Not far behind the three of them was a fairyland town like a paradise.

For the strong, slightly improving the living environment was not a difficult task.

This fairyland town had no noise of carriages and horses, no clamor of voices, and pavilions, towers, and exquisite stone bridges were all complete; it was truly a collection of gardens.

As for Tong Niangzi, Song An, and the others, they each had their own residences in this immortal town; besides them, many of Song Cheng's grandchildren and great-grandchildren had already started families of their own.

The path of cultivation is incomparably long; only by maintaining one's former life can one keep their state of mind from collapsing.

At this moment, Tong Niangzi looked at the Canghai, sensing its changes, and recalling the appearance of that man in her memories, an inexplicable emotion welled up in her heart; it truly was like white clouds turning into grey dogs, life is like a dream—back when she was still in Tanghe Village, how could she have ever imagined today?

"Let's return to the town first."

"Yes, Mother."

The three of them returned.

As soon as they entered the town, many people greeted them; titles like "Senior Tong," "Mistress," and "Big Sister" rang incessantly in their ears.

Clearly, in this region, everyone knew that this "Tong Niangzi" was the true mistress of the house.

Tong Jia pushed open the door to her own home.

The layout of the house was modeled after the original An Mansion.

There was a spacious courtyard, a quiet cobblestone path, and a deep well chiseled out beneath a bamboo tree, covered by a small pavilion with a rugged stone placed to the side.

Along the path grew thick moss, verdant and lovely, with lush cloud-grass that swayed in the wind whenever the door was opened, making for a beautiful sight.

In the center of the courtyard was a deep pool, and many fish were swimming within it.

This pool was highly unusual, as it was connected to the Canghai, so strange and bizarre fish, or even demonic beasts, would often appear in it. If the owner of this courtyard were an ordinary person, this deep pool would be a deadly place—a "monster exit."

But as the Water Spirit "bestowed" by Song Cheng, Tong Niangzi could naturally control the water flow and make all the demonic beasts here feel close to her; even if the house were crawling with Mysterious Grade demonic beasts, they would not harm her in the slightest, but would instead become guard dogs for the house.

The three of them walked into the house, and suddenly, Tong Niangzi, who was in the lead, came to a sharp halt.

Zhao Lingxue and Song An looked forward subconsciously, only to see a young man with delicate features sitting before the deep pool, holding a fishing rod and fishing in a leisurely manner.

"Song..." Tong Niangzi's voice stammered; she didn't even dare to call out the full name of the person before her, as a strong, complex emotion flooded her heart.

The youth then said quite naturally, "Mistress, back from gathering herbs?"

Song An's expression was agitated, and just as he was about to step forward to call out "Father," he felt his sleeve being tugged; looking back, he saw his wife pulling on his sleeve, dragging him backward.

He understood immediately, carefully retreated, and then closed the door.

Tong Niangzi said, "What time is it now? Where is there still a need to gather herbs? Besides, where are there any herbs left to gather here? With the Canghai roaming, one takes whatever one wants... It's just that some herbs don't grow in the sea, and there's nothing to be done about that."

Song Cheng smiled.

He had been continuously absorbing the Yin and Yang Qi within the Yin-Yang Illusion Realm, unable to stop and unable to leave, so he took this opportunity to project his consciousness back into the physical body stored in the Canghai to seek out Tong Niangzi.

Even as an old married couple, they hadn't seen each other for several decades; this reunion was naturally filled with tenderness and lingering affection.

Song Cheng naturally did not hide anything and told her truthfully about what was happening outside.

"So, you mean that Xiao Cheng, Ling Xue, and everyone else are already inside your body?" Tong Niangzi asked in astonishment.

Song Cheng nodded.

Tong Niangzi said, "You are currently absorbing Yin and Yang to nourish the operation of the world inside your body?"

Song Cheng nodded again.

Tong Niangzi didn't know what else to say; she had never imagined that cultivation could reach the point of "one person becoming a world." After being stunned for a long time, she stammered out another sentence: "Th-then you should eat more; maintaining the operation of a world isn't easy, you must be full. I—I'll go cook."

Song Cheng grabbed her and said, "Eating food won't keep me full anymore."

Tong Niangzi said, "That's true."

Song Cheng smiled and said, "However, I still want to taste the Mistress's cooking..."

Tong Niangzi beamed; hearing him call her "Mistress, Mistress" again, it was as if she had returned to a long, long time ago, so she responded and happily went off to busy herself with cooking.

Watching her back disappear, Song Cheng's brows furrowed slightly, and he glanced at his panel.

Judging by the increased data, twenty years had already passed.

That was the only downside to having a high realm.

No matter what one does, a long time passes in an instant.

Before you can even react, the world outside has already been turned upside down; Song Cheng felt a bit worried about Jing Shifei.

However, he had no way to help for the time being.

The Yin and Yang were providing him with nutrients, helping him perfect the small world within his body.

He couldn't leave even if he wanted to now.

"Palace Master Zhang, it has been twenty years; what else do you want to get from me?"

In the Reappearance World, inside a prison cell, Shi Feng looked calmly at the middle-aged man with an immortal, transcendent air sitting opposite him.

To call him middle-aged was actually a bit of an understatement, as his temples were already slightly grey.

It was just that because of his handsome and extraordinary bearing, it was very difficult for people to notice his signs of aging.

This person was none other than Zhang Daolu.

At this moment, a look of contemplation was evident in Zhang Daolu's eyes.

Shi Feng said, "Back then, after my mentor died, I knew that the Seizing Heaven Path was not the right way; you were all wrong, which is why you need to struggle and struggle endlessly just to prolong your lives.

But what is the point? Even if you exhaust all your strength, drain your talent, and obtain every opportunity to rush from one realm to the next to gain an extension of your lifespan,

what awaits you is still an endless cycle of reincarnation."

Zhang Daolu said indifferently, "Junior, your master once studied the Dao under me; how dare you spout such nonsense? Isn't the Seizing Heaven Path you speak of just another method of merging with Heaven and Earth?"

Shi Feng sneered twice and said, "Whether it is or isn't, doesn't Palace Master Zhang know that yourself? Although I have not reached your realm, I know... you often live in seclusion, not for the sake of enlightenment, but because you and Palace Master Long are forced to go to the Yin-Yang Illusion Realm to absorb Yin and Yang.

But you are not complete, and your absorption will only bring you a feeling like drinking poison to quench thirst; afterward... more pain will follow like a shadow and invade you."

Zhang Daolu's expression remained calm.

Having lived for over twenty thousand years and being the number one existence, his joys and angers had long since ceased to show on his face.

However, what Shi Feng said was indeed true.

The small world formed by the fusion of his and Long Xueling's Yin and Yang always seemed to have problems.

They guessed that this problem was because their techniques had not been cultivated to Completion, and because the world was, after all, obtained through fusion, it was therefore imperfect.

Over these years, they have exhausted all their strength in cultivation, but the path of cultivation is far too difficult.

Zhang Daolu often wonders, what must this great era of cultivation have been like in the ages past? He has no way of knowing.

But he understands that the current world is the end-times of cultivation; even a Mountain and River Lord is now extremely difficult to produce, which is why the problem of "aging" has appeared.

Shi Feng continued, "If Completion is still not the way out, what does Palace Master Zhang intend to do?"

Zhang Daolu said, "What are you trying to say?"

Shi Feng said, "Why does Palace Master Zhang not try my path? Look at me; am I not living perfectly well right now?"

Zhang Daolu said, "The Lost Spirit Path—is that not the very question I have been asking you all these years? Are you willing to answer now?"

Shi Feng said, "I have not answered because I could never see Palace Master Zhang's true intent. Yet, all these years, every time Palace Master Zhang appeared, your restlessness seemed to grow with each passing year. It is clear that seizing the heavens has been unfavorable, which is why I now wish to speak."

Having said this, he continued, "Since death is inevitable, why try to escape it? Death brings forth a vast amount of yin energy; mortals lose their yang and return to the cycle of reincarnation.

And Jiqi Qi can fuse with yin energy and manipulate it.

Once yin energy can be manipulated, then everything else is no longer a problem.

This is another path after death."

Zhang Daolu said, "The problem is, Jiqi Qi is not reliable."

Shi Feng laughed, "Does Palace Master Zhang not see that, according to your own judgment, I am actually already a dead man?"

Zhang Daolu did not speak, merely watching him quietly.

Shi Feng said, "Since ancient times, there have been those who worship the sun and those who worship the moon. Yet the sun and moon are but insignificant things; the truly eternal one is the Distorted Sea. Why does Palace Master Zhang not worship it?"

Zhang Daolu was silent for a long time, but eventually asked, "How does one worship it?"

Shi Feng said, "I possess a 'Red Pagoda Visualization Method'."

"By ascending the ninety-nine levels of the Red Tower, one may see my Lord. However, my Lord sleeps much and wakes little, and is by nature prone to anger."

"If you wish to receive his grace, you must dissipate your yang energy and reach the brink of death; only then can you see him."

"Do you think the Lihuo Palace Vice Palace Master and those many disciples are willing to help me for no reason? They do it for this very visualization method."

Zhang Daolu said, "Reaching the brink of death is to obtain a vast amount of yin energy, is it not? If this could be achieved by other methods, would that also work?"

Shi Feng said, "If you possess the divine ability, then naturally it is feasible. Palace Master Zhang, I have been imprisoned for twenty years and have reached my limit. If you are willing to learn, I can take you to retrieve the jade slip."

(End of chapter)