181: Chapter 178 You're still too weak

"It is precisely because of this cruel reality that those so-called 'Taboo' experts have undergone such drastic changes in temperament."

The voice of the prison suppressing pagoda was like a cold carving knife, etching this bloody truth, stroke by stroke, into the depths of Chen Zhiwen's Soul.

"Think about it. A person who has chased after light their entire life, only to discover when they finally reach the end that the end of light is eternal darkness. How would they feel?"

"An expert who firmly believed they could be the Dominator of their own fate, only to find when they stood at the Peak that their destiny had been written in a predetermined script from the very beginning. How would they feel then?"

"Their Dao Heart, at that moment, was already... shattered."

"Therefore, when faced with this desperate situation, some people chose a way of self-deception to cope.

They resolutely sealed their six senses, completely isolating themselves from the outside world, and then entered a state of self-extinction, falling into an endless state of solitude.

In this world of solitude, they silently waited for the moment of harvest to arrive.

This is what you refer to as those experts who chose self-extinction. They used this method to escape reality, or perhaps it was just a helpless choice."

"However, there were others who did not believe in the arrangements of fate, and were even less willing to easily accept their lot! They longed to break free from their shackles, wanted to rise up in resistance, and even attempted to shatter this cage that trapped them!"

The voice of the prison suppressing pagoda revealed a complex emotion—it seemed to contain both praise for these people and a hint of pity.

"These people were the experts who unleashed monstrous slaughters, or those who mysteriously disappeared. Although their actions were extreme, they displayed incomparable courage and determination.

Their disappearance was not because they were erased by the heavens and earth, but because they suffered a crushing defeat when they attempted to challenge the owner of the 'pasture,' and were easily erased."

Erased!

Chen Zhiwen's heart twitched violently.

He thought of the towering Yao Race holding a giant axe, splitting the firmament in the tattered painting, and the Great Human Powerhouse pointing at the falling stars...

Was their death truly because of the Era War?

Or was it that they... were also among those predecessors who were unwilling to be cattle and sheep, and rose up to resist?

"As for the claim that the 'Heavenly Dao is incomplete'..." The voice of the prison suppressing pagoda pulled Chen Zhiwen back from his boundless shock.

"It is even more ridiculous."

"Because in this world, from the very beginning, there never existed any so-called 'Heavenly Dao'."

"In a cage world artificially created for 'farming,' how can one even speak of... Heavenly Dao?"

Chen Zhiwen's body swayed. He felt his worldview, at this moment, completely overturned, then shattered, and then rebuilt.

No Heavenly Dao...

The world is a cage...

All living beings are cattle and sheep...

These keywords were like ancient divine mountains, pressing down on him so hard he could barely breathe.

He had always thought that the enemies he faced were the Heavenly Spirit Sect, the North Sea Demon Clan, and those villains hiding in the shadows.

But only today did he realize that his true enemy might be this sky, this land, and that... never-seen-but-omnipresent... 'Pasture Owner'!

For a long, long time, the shocking scene kept echoing in Chen Zhiwen's mind. His body trembled slightly, as if he had not yet recovered from that intense shock.

Finally, he took a deep breath, struggling to make his voice calm, and asked: "Then... who exactly is that 'Pasture Owner'?"

Immediately after, he asked again: "What exactly is that massive secret?"

Chen Zhiwen knew he was touching upon a Domain that perhaps he should not be touching at his current Realm, a restricted zone filled with unknowns and dangers.

The curiosity in his heart and the desire for the truth drove him, making it impossible for him to stop asking.

This time, the spirit of the prison suppressing pagoda did not immediately answer his question as it had before, but instead fell into a long silence.

Its deep and heavy aura seemed to have retracted significantly, and the entire space became exceptionally quiet, with only the sound of Chen Zhiwen's heartbeat echoing in his ears.

It seemed that merely mentioning that existence was a Taboo, an unspeakable Taboo.

After a long while, the voice of the pagoda spirit finally sounded again, but the answer it gave made Chen Zhiwen's heart sink.

"You are too weak." The words of the pagoda spirit were concise and direct, without the slightest circumlocution.

"Right now, the more you know, the more disadvantageous it is for you." The voice of the pagoda spirit continued to echo in his ears, sounding like a warning, and yet also like a helpless sigh.

"That existence in the dark might notice you, this ant attempting to peek at the scenery outside the pasture."

The words of the pagoda spirit made Chen Zhiwen's heart instantly sink to the bottom.

He understood that the pagoda spirit was not lying.

Even those powerhouses who stepped into the Taboo Realm met the fate of being easily erased when they resisted.

With his current cultivation, in front of such an existence, he was likely not even worth as much as a speck of dust.

"Wait until... you can truly step into that 'Taboo' Realm."

"Wait until you are qualified to see that desperate truth with your own eyes."

"I will naturally tell you everything, exactly as it is."

"For now, restrain your mind and guard your Dao Heart."

"Do not let what you heard today become your... Heart Demon."

After saying this, the aura of the prison suppressing pagoda receded like a tide, returning to silence once again.

As if it had never awakened at all.

Chen Zhiwen stood in place, unmoving.

The wind of the ancient battlefield blew against his robes, making them rustle loudly.

On his face, there was no more shock, no more horror, only a kind of... extreme calmness.

However, in the deepest part of his eyes, that originally domineering and unparalleled flame seemed to be covered by a layer of bottomless ice.

He slowly raised his head and looked toward that gray, hazy sky.

In his eyes, this sky was no longer the sky.

It was a... cold, ruthless... net that enveloped the entire world!