182: Beyond the Universe

The moment Lin Ye's figure passed through the profound door, the scene before him instantly transformed.

Here, there was no longer any perceivable space or time. All that met his eyes was a boundless, colossal light. It had no fixed form, constantly shifting yet eternally unchanging; its very existence constituted the entirety of this unknown space.

That must be the true form of the Supreme Being.

Following this, Lin Ye's body also began to change.

His mortal body, reconstructed by Divine Energy and laws, seemed to shed all material shackles at this source of concept, beginning to wildly expand and extend upward in a manner that violated all laws of physics!

His form quickly surpassed mountains, surpassed stars, surpassed galaxies, and finally, surpassed the size of the universe itself! His existence similarly transformed into a colossal figure equal in size to the light and shadow, with two Brilliant Star Rivers slowly rotating within his eyes.

He looked around.

Within this boundless Primordial Singularity, countless brilliant spheres of varying sizes floated. Each sphere was a complete and independent universe, and upon its Crystalline Wall, it reflected the magnificent panorama of the rise and fall of civilizations and the creation and destruction of all things within its respective universe.

And outside every universe light sphere, there was an invisible framework composed of billions of golden data streams.

Was that the Myriad Worlds Hegemony System?

Lin Ye's will swept across these universes, instantly comprehending their interiors.

He discovered that the vast majority of these universes were undergoing a peaceful and orderly natural Evolution. Some universes had birthed brilliant magic civilizations, others had developed incredible technological creations, and some were even still in the most primitive Desolate Era.

Among them, a few universes also had Players implanted, but they coexisted harmoniously with the native civilizations and had not suffered any invasion from the Void.

Those golden data frameworks merely wrapped around them silently, like observers, recording everything within but refraining from any form of interference.

Just then, the enormous light and shadow, which was equal to him, slowly retracted its glow, transforming once again into the appearance of the young man in white robes from before.

"You may call me Ji Liang," he said slowly, his voice gentle. "If I recall correctly, you are called Lin Ye, right?"

Lin Ye nodded slightly.

He was not surprised that the other party knew his in-game name.

Ji Liang looked at the universe light spheres quietly undergoing Evolution around them, a hint of bored desolation appearing on his face, like a collector who had grown tired of all his exhibits.

"These things..." He spread his hands, his tone carrying a weariness known only to the Eternal Being. "They were originally just little trinkets I casually created for amusement, to see what interesting sights different civilizations would evolve into by taking different paths. It was decent entertainment."

"But unfortunately," he shook his head, "as countless centuries passed, even the most interesting scripts became dull after seeing them too many times. If it weren't for you 'Big Shots' occasionally coming in to experience life, I probably wouldn't bother maintaining them anymore."

Hearing this, Lin Ye frowned slightly, and the light projected from his eyes seemed to sharpen.

"You seem to know a lot about me." His will transformed into clear words, echoing in this space of concepts. "Can you elaborate?"

"Well..."

Just as Ji Liang was about to speak, his gentle face suddenly froze! He once again sensed that vague yet omnipresent gaze!

A chill instantly spread throughout his body!

The words that were on the tip of his tongue were forcibly swallowed back!

*Sigh*, these Big Shots sure know how to play. Another one came in to experience life after having their memory wiped... they won't let me say a single extra word.

Thinking this, Ji Liang laughed awkwardly and said, "Actually, I don't know much either. For matters like this, it's best if you explore them slowly yourself."

Seeing that Lin Ye merely looked at him silently and didn't press further, Ji Liang secretly breathed a sigh of relief.

However, just then, Lin Ye's gaze moved away from him and landed on the universe light sphere closest to him.

That sphere was completely different from the brilliant and bright existences surrounding it.

Its surface was shrouded in a lingering, dark purple ominous halo, and its interior was filled with war, destruction, and... endless Void Rifts!

That was... the Reality Universe he belonged to!

He could even clearly perceive an invisible, dimension-spanning Karmic Channel firmly linked to this universe.

And the other end of that channel, if his guess was correct, should be the Void Branch responsible for the invasion.

Lin Ye focused slightly.

His will instantly bypassed the obstruction of the Crystalline Wall, completely enveloping this dark purple universe light sphere.

In an instant, all information regarding this universe at its current time node —from the macroscopic movement of galaxies to the microscopic existence of individuals—all its states and connections were revealed before his eyes in minute detail.

This was an unprecedented perspective, entirely different from the view he had when he was inside the universe.

From this angle, he saw that the interior of this universe was dotted with countless starlight-like points. Each point represented a burning spark of civilization, like bonfires in the night, radiating light and heat within this dark universe.

However, the interior of almost every flame was, to varying degrees, shrouded in an ominous dark purple halo, greedily eroding and weakening the already faint fire.

What truly surprised him was the framework wrapping this universe—the Myriad Worlds Hegemony System. Its mode of operation was completely different from the frameworks of other universes, which only performed passive observation.

This System was actively and continually interfering with the internal rules of the universe. It forcibly implanted concepts that did not originally belong to this universe—such as 'Player,' 'Level,' 'Skill,' and 'Equipment'—into this Reality, changing its most fundamental operational logic.

Following Lin Ye's gaze, Ji Liang also looked at the light sphere, and his heart instantly sank to the bottom!

*Sigh*, I specifically chose a universal location back then that essentially ruled out the possibility of a Big Shot existing, but I overlooked the universe chosen for the Player. Now I'm screwed. I don't even know how to appease the future version of this person on the timeline to make them satisfied.

"Can you tell me about yourself, the Void, and... everything?"

Lin Ye's gaze still hadn't left the dark purple light sphere, and his faint voice slowly drifted over.