Capítulo 960: Chapter 960: The Oldest… Ancestor of the Abyss If we ignore the surrounding sense of discord, this place is truly a breathtakingly beautiful location. We are currently in what feels like an underground space, a Crystal Jungle. Here, the “Crystal Jungle” is not just a metaphor; it really is a place full of flora made of crystal. Everywhere you look, you see towering Ancient Trees, dense shrubs, and even white, semi-transparent grass stems and wildflowers. These dazzling “plants” resemble a lush forest in form, but they are all made from white, semi-transparent crystal. The entire Crystal Jungle is filled with a translucent glow, and even the ground beneath our feet is covered with fine sand with a texture like soil but a substance like crystal. After looking around for a while, my vision starts to blur. The scene before me makes it seem as if the whole world has become an ice sculpture, carrying a strange beauty that is breathtakingly stunning. Yet in this beautiful environment, the air is filled with an omnipresent hostility and oppressive atmosphere. This loathsome feeling is somewhat familiar to me, but before Father God spoke to explain it, I didn’t dare make a bold assumption—after all, the guess would be too startling. “You’re right, this place really does feel uncomfortable…” I looked around but couldn’t find the source of this oppressive feeling. It was as though hostility permeated from all directions, making it impossible to pinpoint an origin. In my sight, there were numerous Divine Race sentries standing guard or patrolling the Crystal Jungle. Clearly, we were walking through a highly guarded area, and as we moved forward, the uncomfortable pressure grew increasingly intense. Father God led the way not far ahead, seemingly unaffected by the unfriendly atmosphere, as if he was used to it. “This phenomenon only occurs at specific times, and that’s when this area is completely sealed off,” Father God slightly turned his head to explain to me. “Normally, the Crystal Jungle is quite a lovely place, one of the prettiest in the Divine Realm. This is where my daughter Jia Di was born.” I was taken aback, glancing around an environment that seemed ill-suited for childbirth, muttering to myself, “My sister-in-law is quite romantic indeed.” “No, Jia Di was not born of Sola,” Father God smiled slightly. “Neither of my daughters were.” I suddenly coughed, “Cough… Oh, well… Is there another sister-in-law?” Being relaxed around Father God is one thing, but there are some topics that make me particularly awkward. After all, Father God’s family situation is rather complicated. Rumor has it that he created all the Divine Race in the Star Domain. Now his wife, the Supreme Dark Goddess, is also his daughter. And then Father God has a pair of real twin daughters, who aren’t even born of the Dark Goddess. How do those daughters relate to the Dark Goddess then? Do they call her sister or mother? And does Father God have other wives? How does that all work? I schemed back and forth for quite a while without producing a thorough relationship chart, reaching only one conclusion: if you keep pursuing this line of reasoning, Father God might have to become the second person after me to call himself an old man—if you recall, I’ve previously drawn up equations detailing the familial titles among my family members. It’s apparent to me now that aside from the ethical issues, the interpersonal relationships around me are no less complicated than Father God’s… “You’re overthinking it,” Father God seemed to instantly discern what kind of tangent I was on and didn’t mind, just smiled faintly. “I have only one wife, Sola; Jia Di and Cynthia have no mother. They were born from my sword.” … After confirming I hadn’t misheard him, the image I had of Father God instantly became extraordinarily formidable, for I had never before heard of anyone being able to have children with a cold weapon… “It seems you’re overthinking again,” Father God said, both amused and exasperated, as he watched my face cycle through various expressions. “A God’s form of life is rather unique—Jia Di and Cynthia are called my daughters only because they happened to be created by me… Forget it, this topic is endless to explain. If you have time, you can visit Jiajia at the Life Temple. She has a Divine Realm Life Encyclopedia, reading which should help you understand.” ᴜᴘᴅᴀᴛᴇ ꜰʀᴏᴍ 𝗻𝗼𝘃𝗲𝗹·𝗳𝗶𝗿𝗲·𝗻𝗲𝘁 Father God might be right, but I still feel that these True Gods are simply too extraordinary. With my own worldview, pondering the world of the Divine Race might end up landing me directly in a mental hospital, so I decisively shelved the topic. While allowing my thoughts to wander off a bit, I suddenly heard faint water sounds, pulling my attention back. That’s when I realized I had unknowingly followed Father God to a special area within the Crystal Jungle. It looked like an… Underground Lake? Within the world of glistening white Crystal Jungle, a large blank area appeared abruptly. No more plants or obstructions were ahead, replaced by an Underground Lake whose surface shimmered like mercury. The vastness of the lake was staggering—I couldn’t even see where the far side ended! Of course, some might ask, if I couldn’t see the lake shore, how could I determine that it’s an underground lake and not an underground ocean? Actually, it’s not hard at all—there’s a sign next to me, which says, “Caution: Underground Lake Ahead”… “The water here is quite shallow,” I pulled out a stick and poked at the water, “Uh, it’s not just shallow, it’s just a layer of water! Is there an ice layer below?” I originally thought that under various lighting effects, the depth of this Underground Lake couldn’t be discerned and might still be quite deep. But with two pokes of the stick, I realized its “water depth” was less than a centimeter. The shimmering silver on the surface misled my vision, and the strange energy in the area disrupted my spiritual perception, so I had been deceived by a water-skimmed mirror… “Depth here has no meaning because the lakebed of the Crystal Lake is conceptual; it is infinitely deep or infinitely shallow. Its ‘bottom’ depends on the visitor’s soul. The purer the soul, the shallower Crystal Lake feels. Of course, this limitation doesn’t apply to Void Creatures. Our soul is of the same rank as the Void, so the Crystal Lake practically doesn’t exist to us,” Father God led me forward, stepping onto the mere water-skim-covered “lake surface,” causing gentle water sounds, “This is to prevent anyone from inadvertently entering into danger—those who don’t meet the standards simply cannot pass through Crystal Lake, not even the Gods. These lake waters contain my power, sufficient to stop any who trespass uninvited.” I thought about it and felt relieved that Lilina wasn’t here with us; otherwise, I might have been busy fishing her out with Father God… “Don’t rush, we’re almost there.” Seeing my somewhat absent-minded demeanor, Father God understood that I was eager to find out what this place was about, but his tone remained unhurried and calm. “You need to learn to patiently wait. As a Void Creature, this is essential. One day, you’ll realize that you possess endless time to complete any plan, but at present, you haven’t grasped this truth.” Actually, I wanted to say I always considered myself a very patient person. I can ponder the art of life for ten minutes over instant noodles, but I realized that zoning out might not equate to patience. More importantly, no matter how patient I might be, I couldn’t compare to this great entity who plans eons ahead, so I decisively kept quiet and learned obediently—I’m just a newly born Void Creature, whereas he has been a Void Creature for who knows how many billions of years. Listening to seasoned insights from an elder is never a bad thing. As we walked on, I noticed the surroundings becoming quite unusual. That oppressive feeling grew ever stronger, and now I could distinctly feel it emanating from below. The crystal’s glow around us dimmed significantly; even the distant Crystal Jungle seemed shrouded in twilight, and the water beneath us was turning black. “We’ve arrived.” At last, Father God stopped. We had completely left the lakeshore. The vast, chaotic sky was as dim as the dusk, the distant Crystal Jungle appeared submerged in night, layered with eerie shadows. The air floated with black and purple mist; no sentries were visible in the vicinity. Beneath us, the lake water, once faintly mixed with an inky hue, had transformed into a vast expanse of gray-black. A few meters ahead under the water lay something—a massive black circular form, as riveting as a black hole. It was so enormous that its opposite edge seemed unreachable. I strained my eyes to both sides to discern even a fraction of this black hole’s edge. This bizarre situation was quite astonishing, and I finally couldn’t help but ask, “What on earth is this thing? Why do I feel it looks so much like…” “This is the core surface of the bottom layer of the Divine Realm,” Father God turned his head and gave me a slight smile, “and what you see before you is the oldest existing Abyss Gate in the Void.” “What the hell!” The moment Father God finished speaking, I couldn’t help but let out a strange shout, jumped back ten meters, “You’re keeping this thing in your own basement, raising little ones?!” Father God’s shoulders visibly twitched, then he turned his head to look at me helplessly, “Don’t be so tense, it’s not dangerous, and haven’t you noticed, the Abyss environment here is quite different from what you usually feel — it’s gentle.” With that explanation, I calmed down and after carefully sensing the area, indeed found it to be so. Although the surrounding environment couldn’t be called comfortable, it wasn’t as oppressive as a real Abyss Gate, where you’d want to take a six-barrel cannon and blast away. Compared to normal Abysses, this one could indeed be described as gentle, and most importantly, the black circle under the water seemed very stable, showing no signs of the explosive nature of Abyss Gates I’d seen before. The surrounding atmosphere was unlike a usual Abyss too, which was one of the reasons I had always been suspicious yet couldn’t make a judgment. “What on earth is going on here? Bottom layer of the Divine Realm? Abyss Gate? I have to say, the development is downright thrilling and suspenseful — did you capture an Abyss Gate here for research?” Father God hurriedly called me over from Shadow City to show me a suppressed Abyss Gate, which gave me a very strong shock, because after all, no normal person would keep such a thing in their basement — which is what the bottom layer of the Divine Realm basically is. I thought I was already tempered by all sorts of troubles to remain unfazed even if Mount Tai collapsed in front of me, my nerves so resilient that even if they weren’t dead at the ends, I’d practically be half-paralyzed. But now I know, the world never lacks things that leave you stunned and cursing, especially with someone big fellow in front of me, a Father God who has lived for countless billions of years and plans to live countless more, who has enough surprises reserved to keep me astounded until next year’s National Day… Of course, although Star Domain Divine Realm retaining an Abyss Gate is shocking, perhaps the thing serves a very normal purpose, such as being a sample for research by the Divine Race, or perhaps a trophy from a battle Father God fought — similar things actually exist in Shadow City too, though I generally keep those in extreme laboratories, stationed at the boundary of the Void, with at least a legion of soldiers standing guard, and even a mosquito needs to go through three ultrasounds to be let in — which reminds me, I did see a lot of Divine Race Warriors standing guard along the way, probably to watch over this Abyss Gate. One thing remained very intriguing: Father God said this is the oldest Abyss Gate in the Void. Such a remarkable title on an already remarkable thing like an Abyss Gate really lets one’s imagination run wild — had Father God not coughed twice to bring back my thoughts that had drifted to the end of the Void, I might have conjured up a story of over three million words… “You know, the Divine Realm is a very special place.” Father God led me to stand very close to the Abyss Gate, a step away from directly jumping in — of course, that should be an illusion, as this Crystal Lake suppresses the Abyss Gate, dividing it from the space above the lake surface. Though the black hole was visible to the naked eye, one wouldn’t really fall by walking around the lake surface, although Lilina might be an exception; I doubt this ancient, barely surviving Abyss Gate could surpass the blackness of that little girl as dark as creases. “The Divine Realm is divided into many layers, with the observed space extending infinitely, but these infinite spaces evolved gradually with the development of the Divine Realm. It was originally a very simple space when first created. What you see, this Crystal Jungle, is the first layer of the Divine Realm. This Crystal Lake is as ancient as the entire Divine Realm, actually. Deep in the jungle, there’s a place you can visit when you have time, where I rested after creating the Divine Realm. It’s a very simple little cabin, now fenced off by the children as a Holy Land.” Father God spoke with pride, and I glanced around. Though the lighting here seemed dim, filled with bizarre colors, away from the Abyss Gate, the Crystal Jungle was a monotonous white world, prompting me to say, “Well, it seems the Divine Realm was quite simple at first.” Father God scratched his head, “I had no experience back then; I forgot to add color after finishing — by the time I remembered, the kids were already used to it, so it’s hard to change.” I thought to recommend Father God talk with Bubbles, that girl changes Shadow City’s theme every three days on average, where would those habitual nostalgics find justice? “This Abyss Gate —” I cautiously extended a foot and tapped the lake surface ahead, discovering that the black shadow beneath was indeed suppressed by something, entirely uncontactable, which reassured me, “is it your research trophy?” Entirely unexpectedly, Father God shook his head, “No, it’s a part of the Divine Realm; it predates this Crystal Jungle substantially. In fact, it formed before I started creating the Divine Realm.” I stubbornly resisted jumping back over ten meters: Ladies and gentlemen, this is a historic moment, I’m standing on the ancestor of Abysses! This is really not the time to discuss this! “Are you building a house on the Abyss?!” I felt almost every muscle on my face twisted as I looked at Father God’s harmless smile, reminiscent of my ten-year-old self seeing the principal make a home visit for the first time, equally unsettling. “I know it seems incredible. Everyone momentarily shocked by this news reacts the same way, including other Kings of Mankind who’ve visited this Crystal Jungle — of course, you’re the first to reach this position with me. This ancient Abyss Gate has always been stable; its nature is very unique… virtually harmless. Initially, it was much larger, almost as vast as the Frozen Continent of the Divine Realm. Later, I compressed it to this size. Recently, the Abyss Gate’s activity has been intensifying again, with unusual states and some noteworthy incidents… I suspect it might be related to something I’ve been researching recently about whether the previous cycle of the Void truly existed…” “Wait a minute,” I quickly interrupted, “what’s all this about previous and current cycles? I don’t understand.” “The Void encompasses all, therefore it contains all conceivable concepts, and consequently lacks all describable attributes,” Father God said casually, sitting right on the ‘water’ surface, inviting me to join him. I hesitated before seating myself, surprised to find the ‘water’ of the Crystal Lake didn’t cling to my clothes at all, “so many people assume the Void is eternally unchanging — from the mortal perspective, they’re not wrong. The Void they comprehend has never changed, nor will change. However, for me, for you, and for that crazy girl Huron, it’s entirely different.” I had a sudden change of expression, the first thought crossing my mind being: So the God King of Huron Divine Race is a girl! At such a serious moment, that’s the first thought I had, causing me a heavy sense of guilt right away, seemingly rendering me unreliable for life. “The entire Void should reshuffle at intervals, resulting in unknown outcomes with unclear causes and cycles. It’s even uncertain whether it truly occurred,” Father God, of course oblivious to my spiraling thoughts, continued speaking on his own, each word setting off alarms in my mind, “For the Void, this has presumably happened countless times, though you could also argue it happened only once, as everything resets to zero and starts anew after every cycle, with the states between cycles indefinable. Even I am uncertain about the details of it all, yet I’ve termed this process — together with Huron’s crazy girl — as the Great Void Cataclysm.” “None of the three—of us—Void Creatures, including you and I, have ever experienced this event. We might have been born after the last cycle, and the Abyss Gate before you might be the only relic left from the previous cycle.” (Because I was exhausted, I spent a long time debating whether to skip a day. I began wrestling with the decision at half-past six, then finally decided to pass on this perfect opportunity to save a draft — I might have obsessive-compulsive disorder.) (To be continued. If you work, you are welcome to vote for its recommendation and provide support at Qidian (qidian.com). Your support is my greatest motivation.)