The Colorful Insect had lost the will to live.
Trapped in Shi Ming’s Sea of Spirit, it entertained the thought of seeking release for the first time since its birth.
Even being trapped in the Banded Dream Realm for a millennium, facing one illusory bubble after another all day long, hadn’t caused it an ounce of suffering. But now, in just a few dozen days, it had endured an agonizing exploitation unlike anything in its entire existence!
Over and over!
There was no end in sight!
Every time this "Insect Power Bank" recovered in the slightest—be it Spiritual Power or life force—it was immediately and forcibly siphoned away, becoming nourishment for that human!
’Dammit!’
’Dammit all!’
’What in the world is he doing?’
After being squeezed like this for a number of times it couldn’t even count, the Colorful Insect was emaciated, with nothing left but a sheet of iridescent skin. It could barely move, no longer having the strength to even curse him.
Finally, it sensed that outside the tower suppressing it, a world-shaking change was taking place.
...
Whether in dream or reality, Shi Ming was so immersed in fusing with "Zero" that he had lost all track of time. The immense consumption left him without an ounce of spare energy. The Spiritual Power he could draw from his Sea of Spirit was evaporated time and again, pushing him past his limits with each depletion. He was shattered and rebuilt an unknown number of times, yet he persevered through it all.
His entire body trembled, his willpower constantly growing through the ordeal.
This newfound strength was then immediately exploited to push him further. His will and his Endurance, like an iron ingot being forged by ancient methods, were hammered, compressed, and transformed, again and again. It was a process of refinement, of casting off impurities in pursuit of sublimation.
He was chasing the dawn before him, drawing closer step by step.
He didn’t know when that dawn would break, but an ironclad tenacity propelled him ever forward!
The eight types of Holy Hall Origin, through repeated tempering, gradually eliminated all mutual repulsion. Life and death learned to coexist; destruction and eternity became two sides of the same coin; pollution and purification grew interdependent. All held within the embrace of time, space, and fate, the eight origins intertwined...
Finally...
They merged into one.
Undergoing a fundamental transformation.
At that moment, all the Holy Hall Origins merged with Shi Ming’s bloodline, his genes, and his very cells. Life, death, pollution, purification—all became concepts of the past. Now, they were indistinguishable, having become the primordial "Zero."
Or rather, the reborn "Zero."
The space where the Cyan Lotus once grew suddenly fell still.
The pool beneath Shi Ming abruptly froze solid!
Then, it shattered like cracking ice. The two realms, once separated as above and below the water, merged into one. Countless crystallized fragments flew upward, hovering in the space around Shi Ming. Each fragment shimmered with a different color, reflecting infinite possibilities... Some represented death, others fate, and still others life. Yet they were not isolated; each contained aspects of the others.
WHOOSH—
Like an awakening dragon, Shi Ming opened his eyes.
The space was imbued with purpose.
Complex divine patterns flashed through his eyes before receding into their depths, leaving them as clear as they were at the beginning. The complex and diverse power of the Eight Holy Halls had now become singular and pure.
Primordial Zero!
This Nirvana skill, Number 1, had undergone a true rebirth and fusion within his body, becoming a skill intrinsically linked to his very bloodline!
The taut string in his mind finally loosened.
Before he could even think, Shi Ming’s eyelids grew heavy. Exhaustion washed over him, threatening to pull him back into the dream’s slumber. But the origin of "Zero" within him erupted with a powerful life force, silently nourishing him and sustaining his Physical Strength. Its effect was ten times more efficient than the former Supreme Sanctuary.
The exhaustion of his Spiritual Power, however, would require a slow recovery.
’I can’t sleep yet.’
’There’s something more important I need to confirm. That old man... the message he left at the end.’
Shi Ming’s gaze swept over the pool, which had now shattered into crystalline fragments. Where the old man had once sat, a peculiar symbol now floated. It was not the script of any other race, but the one Shi Ming knew best: the Civilization Prologue. This language, created by gods, could contain a massive amount of information within a single character!
Shi Ming had no spare Spiritual Power to analyze it.
He reached out and touched the character.
A massive amount of information flowed from the character, through his fingertip, and into his mind:
"Child,"
"You have succeeded."
"This wisp of my lingering will has now fulfilled its purpose and is about to fade away... The eye that symbolizes fate has always been wise, and your success has once again proven it so."
"Gods are not born."
"I was born in this Star Sea, initially as nothing more than an insignificant creature. About one million, seven hundred thousand years ago, I climbed the Ascension Ladder, was called a god by other beings, and established the First through Third Civilization Cosmic Countries..."
"After me, countless beings sought to repeat my path, but none succeeded."
"They do not understand."
"The Ascension Ladder cannot be copied."
"Learn from me, and you will live. Imitate me, and you will die."
"After I passed on, the Eye of the Divine roamed through endless time and space until it finally made its own choice. I am gratified that you have become its master and have forged a different, yet equally brilliant, path. You have shown me the potential of those who will come after."
"Besides the Eye of the Divine, my other three body parts are scattered across other times and spaces. In the future, should you have the ability or the interest, you may seek them out. But remember this: you must absolutely never fuse two or more of these pieces."