Chapter 501: New Year's Day, the Return of the New Saint

Outside the window, ten thousand homes were lit, and fireworks were brilliant.

Inside the room, the lights were as bright as day, and it was full of the sounds of singing and dancing.

Chen Shu sat in front of his desk, using a website called "Watch Together" to watch the New Year's Eve gala.

This was a website Chen Shu had only discovered this year; its function was to allow one to open a room while watching various movies, shows, or variety programs, invite a group of people to join, and have the people in the room chat while watching without any audio interference, just like watching together in reality.

The viewing resources were also quite plentiful.

Chen Shu invited Qingqing, Xiaoxiao, and Chen Banxia to watch the New Year's Eve gala together.

The New Year's Eve gala in this world was truly well-made; the comedy sketches were funny, the artistic segments were top-tier, and the entertainment industry in Yiguo in this world was very well-developed, with good works emerging one after another.

The one performing right now was Crown Princess Zhusha.

Every work Crown Princess Zhusha had released in the past few years was top-tier; over time, her status in the entertainment industry had become very high, and coupled with her Imperial Family bloodline, which carried a special significance, she was already a regular at the New Year's Eve gala and one of the few singers capable of performing a solo.

This song had nothing to do with Chen Shu or his past life, but it was still a very good song about protecting the country.

"Sounds good!"

Chen Shu couldn't help but praise it.

"I think so too."

Chen Banxia immediately followed up.

After about a few seconds, once Crown Princess Zhusha had left the stage, Ning Qing's voice was heard: "Student Ning, are Crown Princess Zhusha's legs nice to look at?"

"Cough..."

"Hmm?"

"How many years are you going to remember that for!?"

"I'm so sorry that my memory is too good."

Even though it was through an online room, Chen Shu felt as if he could imagine her expression.

This woman was truly becoming more and more wicked.

"What are you two talking about?" Chen Banxia's little speaker icon flickered. "What Student Ning? Are you talking about Xiaoxiao? Why can't I understand?"

"It's nothing..."

"Oh, tell me quickly!"

"It's ancient history..."

"Tell me, tell me! If you don't tell me, I'll be itching to know!"

"Eh! Is that so?" Chen Shu said in a very surprised tone. "Then I'm not going to tell you!"

"Qingqing, you tell me!"

"You should ask him."

"What about you, Xiaoxiao? Xiaoxiao, you tell me!"

"Give it up, she doesn't have her microphone plugged in."

"So annoying! I want to eat the melon!!"

Chen Banxia looked just like a *cha* that couldn't find a melon.

"Just honestly keep watching."

"Tell me! If you don't, I'm coming to knock on your door!"

"Who's afraid of you."

About a few seconds later—

"Bang! Bang! Bang!"

Chen Shu looked speechless as he glanced toward the door.

No way? This person actually came?

The online conflict had even extended to the offline world.

"Fine, fine, I'll tell you..."

"Tell me!"

"Go back to your room."

"Okay!"

Chen Shu sighed and said helplessly: "It's just that back when I finished the Great Exam, didn't people come to interview us? I was wearing a mask at the time and was the first to leave the exam hall. Someone interviewed me and asked if I had anything to say, and I said my surname was Ning, and told Crown Princess Zhusha to wear more shorts and skirts. It was popular for a while back then; you never saw it?"

"I don't remember..."

"What a moron."

"It's not just that." Ning Qing's voice came through. "A while ago, Crown Princess Zhusha even said she wanted to date him."

"That was a joke..."

"Wow, little brother, you're so popular! I couldn't tell at all!"

"..."

"..."

At this moment, in the suburban courtyard.

The little girl and the little cat-girl each pulled up a chair and sat in front of the computer. The two of them listened to the voices coming from the computer, holding their breath and focusing, their faces full of seriousness.

"Going to sleep now, we still have to get up to wrap tangyuan tomorrow morning. You all remember to come over and eat tangyuan."

"Mm."

"Eight o'clock, then."

"Okay."

The little girl still didn't make a sound, only turning her head to exchange a glance with Taozi before continuing to listen. Once the room closed, they turned off the computer, and the little girl took out her Mobile Phone to search for the old news about Student Ning. The two of them huddled together to read it in tacit understanding before climbing into bed to sleep. From beginning to end, not a single word was spoken in that room, as if their communication required no language at all.

The night passed quickly.

Wei Lvshi changed the desk calendar.

Chen Shu boiled a large pot of fermented rice glutinous rice balls, cooking twenty-seven of them this time.

Four for each person, three for each spirit beast.

One poached egg for each person and each spirit beast.

The portions were not very large, which was just right; everyone ate everything clean, and even the fermented rice soup was drunk without a drop left.

After the meal, Xiaoxiao took the initiative to wash the dishes, Taozi followed her to learn the survival skills of higher life forms, and Qingqing sat down next to Chen Shu again.

"It is the year 5026."

Qingqing said this very calmly.

"What's wrong?"

"On the first day of this year, a major event will happen."

"What event?"

"The return of the New Saint."

"Oh..."

Chen Shu suddenly remembered that when Ning Qing was giving him examples before, she had said that the New Saint would return in the year 5026.

So it was the first day.

"When?"

"In the afternoon."

"But the real Wooden Bead is in your hands."

"So the moment he returns, he will come to find me."

"Will there be trouble?"

"No," Ning Qing said lightly. "He is a man of great wisdom and has seen many different universes. Many of their later theories, including the Twin Universe and the mechanisms of the Twin Universe, started with him. At this period, he already had conjectures about these things. Therefore, when he discovers that the Wooden Bead in his hand has inexplicably disappeared, and when he discovers that the timeline of this world is completely different from what he expected, those conjectures of his that already had the seeds of truth will instantly find the correct direction, and he will know that he is actually the version of himself located in the 'Post-Universe' and 'Rear Plane'."

"That's truly amazing."

Chen Shu couldn't help but exclaim; he was worthy of being the saint who single-handedly pulled back the curtain on a new era of cultivation.

"You can find a place with me to wait for him," Ning Qing said. "He has been to the universe where you and the Saint Ancestor came from, and he has been to your planet. You can ask him about some things you are interested in."

"Okay."

Chen Shu was nervous yet expectant.

At the same time, he suddenly thought—

Regarding the catastrophe of Nanzhou, the gods and the big shots of the Secret Sect had indeed made thorough preparations.

Not only was there the Calamity-Resisting Buddha and the origin of the Reed God, but there was also the New Saint returning at the beginning of 5026. If Cao Ci hadn't intervened, the shattering of the Nanzhou seal would have happened a few years later, and by then, the New Saint would have already returned.

It was foolproof.

Yijingshijian, three o'clock in the afternoon.

In the sea area near the Northern Continent, a thousand miles were frozen and ten thousand miles were covered in drifting snow; the whole world was a vast expanse of white, filled with wind and snow, and above the ice, white bears as huge as houses were fighting each other.

Suddenly, the void became chaotic.

Like a scorching summer, rising water vapor distorted the light and blurred the scene; the next second, a human figure had already appeared in the air.

This was an old man wearing an old robe.

Having become a god by fusing Space-Time Energy and Plane Origin, he carried the aura of a god in front of creatures with keen Spiritual Sense in this Plane; his appearance caused the white bears below to abandon their fight and instead lower their heads to him.

The old man, however, frowned immediately.

His Wooden Bead had disappeared.

Sensing slightly—

It was in the distant south.

The old man's eyes flickered incessantly.

Many things that would follow were still uncertain to him at this moment, but at least from now on, he had already begun to prepare.

The sun gradually set, and the Jinghai rippled with light.

Chen Shu and Qingqing sat by the Jinghai; this was the other side of the sea, where there were relatively fewer tourists. Chen Shu held the kite string, stirring it as it flew further and further away.

Suddenly, Ning Qing looked behind her.

Chen Shu turned his head to follow.

Without knowing when, a figure had already appeared behind them—an old robe, a kind face, quietly staring and observing them; it was the New Saint.

Chen Shu had seen his statue.

As a pioneer of modern civilization, his influence and changes on the world were far greater than any god; perhaps only the former Saint Ancestor could compare to him, so even the proud people of Yiguo respectfully gave him the title of "New Saint".

The person himself was almost exactly the same as the statue.

The two stood up at the same time and bowed:

"Congratulations on your return."

"Greetings, New Saint."

The New Saint's eyes flickered a few times. He could feel that his Wooden Bead was in the hands of that woman, and he could also feel that the Wooden Bead no longer belonged to him. Coupled with the fact that they clearly knew he would return and had come here, he confirmed his own conjectures.

"Twin Universe?"

"Form-Shadow Twin Universe; the former is the form, the latter is the shadow," Ning Qing said in brief language. "The main plane of the Subject Universe has been defeated. I, from the Subject Plane, used your Wooden Bead and the Saint Ancestor Crystal to travel here, which is equivalent to time backtracking, gaining a chance to change things."

"I understand..."

Both are people of great wisdom, so there is truly no need for many words.

"How are you feeling right now?"

"I am fine."

The New Saint's gaze remained flickering as he sensed carefully.

Back when he became a god, he had already realized that this universe might have two parts, a former and a latter, and the Wooden Bead was unique; it was just that, unable to transcend the shackles of the universe, he could not be certain whether he was the former or the latter, nor whether the Space-Time Energy he had used to leave and return to achieve godhood would still be effective, so while merging with the Space-Time Energy, he had also merged with a portion of the Plane Origin; now it seemed his state still contained the merged Origin and still contained the Space-Time Energy.

What kind of mechanism is this?

The New Saint's first reaction was to think.

Only the Wooden Bead of the Subject Universe could take people away, and when he of the Shadow Universe used the Wooden Bead to leave, the universe, in order to prevent the self of the Subject Universe from disappearing while the self of the Shadow Universe still existed—which would cause great damage to the mechanism of the shadow-form universe—made the self of the Shadow Universe disappear as well.

Then where did he go at that time?

Or did he go nowhere at all?

And what state is he in now? Where did the complete experience and gains of traveling to other universes come from?

"Marvelous..."

The universe is always this marvelous, with countless mysteries that leave one unable to fathom them, and within those mysteries lie all sorts of wonders.

The New Saint withdrew his thoughts and continued to look at the two people before him; he did not ask for the Wooden Bead, but instead smiled and said, "Tell me about the 'future', tell me what preparations we made in the future to face the crisis."

"Alright."

Ning Qing felt no restraint before him; she soon sat back down, sitting on the lawn, and spoke in a low voice.

Chen Shu also sat beside her, continuing to hold the kite.