Chapter 1857 — The Skull of the Third-Ranked One
The Herdsman of the Wasteland · Page 2 of 4
He looked back, and saw countless universes of the Seventeenth Epoch — and they too were countless cross-sections; the entire history and future of the Seventeenth Epoch universe lay thus exposed before him!
Then everything turned to chaos. Whether the Sixteenth Epoch universes or the Seventeenth Epoch universes, all vanished!
He looked down, and could no longer see the sea of chaos.
At that moment, he saw countless Shen Mus, and countless versions of himself!
Before him and behind him, everywhere were himself and Shen Mu. Each self seemed to possess an independent consciousness, looking this way and that, yet the face of every self wore a wary expression.
Young Master Lingxiao reached out to wipe away the self before him, and at that moment he touched the back of his own head.
The other selves made all manner of movements: some reached for another self's face, some looked around in all directions, some stood upon another self's soles — each behaving differently.
He could not count how many selves there were at all!
"This is the omen of the Calamity of Creation about to erupt."
Countless Shen Mus suddenly looked toward him in unison. The sight was exceedingly strange and bizarre, yet Shen Mu seemed able to command countless selves.
Those Shen Mus walked about in one strange space after another, but no matter how they walked, they always faced him head-on, facing the countless hims.
"This is the scene after the Sixteenth Universe has been utterly destroyed. Chaos gathers at a single point; it looks like a sea of chaos, but in truth it is a bizarre single point where countless spaces are pressed together, incomparably dense."
Shen Mu's voice seemed to come from countless spaces, yet wherever it came from, it entered his ears all at the same time.
"The entire Seventeenth Epoch universe will be born from here. Third Senior Brother, please look."
Young Master Lingxiao looked in the direction he pointed, and saw Miluo Palace. He could not help but start slightly.
Miluo Palace had not, like him, divided into countless copies; Miluo Palace was still only one.
"The Master's Hongmeng runes are the One; from the One he evolved ten thousand daos, and they can be divided no further. Therefore Miluo Palace is also the One within the Calamity of Creation."
Shen Mu said, "Senior Brother Taishang inherited the Master's mantle, and can also achieve this step. Senior Sister Wuji is the Goddess of Guixu, possessing both world-destruction and world-creation, and she too can achieve this step. Within the Calamity of Creation, they can both be the only one. And of course, I can achieve this step as well."
Suddenly, the countless Shen Mus in the countless minutest spaces vanished, and in their place the one and only Shen Mu appeared before every Young Master Lingxiao, walking back and forth before him.
"The other young masters possess the strength to pass through the Calamity of Destruction, yet they cannot pass through the Calamity of Creation, because at the moment the Calamity of Creation erupts, their countless selves are destroyed by countless Calamities of Creation."
Shen Mu's gaze fell upon Young Master Lingxiao's face, meeting the eyes of countless hims. "And these countless selves are in fact the countless time cross-sections of your future self within the Seventeenth Epoch. Within your body are countless material particles; whichever of these particles undergoes the slightest change will create a possibility in the future. Every material particle has countless variations across the long Seventeenth Epoch, and countless material particles have countless possibilities in the future. But all of this is encompassed within the Calamity of Creation."
Young Master Lingxiao's mind roared. He saw countless selves — some questioning, some shocked, some terrified.
Those selves were himself, but they were his future selves, the countless selves after the changes in his own matter.