294: The universe's antivirus program

Toying with the Heavenly Dao?

Lin Fan's consciousness almost froze at this moment.

What did he have to show?

That [Parallel Spacetime Death Experience Card] was a one-time consumable, the only ticket that temporarily pulled him from a "certain death" game to the "Backstage Observation Room."

Now the ticket had been torn; he was a ghost visitor stripped of all permissions, able only to watch but not move.

And now he was expected to toy with the "Heavenly Dao" again?

That wasn't toying; that was throwing his life away, sending this last wisp of conscious spark into that "Formatting Program" to be deleted cleanly!

Before this ancient existence that had survived for countless eons and was a top-tier BUG itself, any lie seemed pale and laughable.

But, confess that his "cheat had expired"?

The end for a small BUG that had lost its utility value probably wouldn't be any better than a common program error.

In a flash, countless thoughts rose and fell within Lin Fan's consciousness.

Survival instinct told him to be humble and show weakness.

But the death-seeking instinct was screaming wildly—this was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to exchange "wool-shearing" experiences with a "Senior"!

An absurd thought emerged.

Facing a "big shot" of this level, the best way to communicate might not be concealment or boasting, but... asking for guidance.

Lin Fan's consciousness struggled to condense, fluctuating as it transmitted a humble thought tinged with a thirst for knowledge.

"Great existence, my 'toying' was merely a blind cat stumbling upon a dead rat—the reckless steps of an ignorant person at the edge of a cliff, full of chance and luck."

"Even I myself cannot replicate it."

"Before an existence like you, who truly understands the essence of 'Cycle' and 'Reset,' my methods are truly not worth mentioning."

"Rather than making a fool of myself, I... I am more eager to listen to your teachings."

"You, as a survivor of the previous Cycle, must understand this 'Anti-Virus Program' far beyond my imagination. I want to know, how... does it actually operate? Is there really a possibility for 'BUGs' like us to... survive?"

These words were spoken with utmost sincerity, lowering his posture to the absolute minimum.

It both explained his predicament of being unable to "perform again" and smoothly threw out the question he cared about most, kicking the ball back beautifully.

That grand "eye" composed of collapsing galaxies gazed at him silently.

For a long time.

A stream of information once again flooded into Lin Fan's consciousness.

"You are very clever, little BUG."

"Cleverer than all the life forms I have seen that tried to challenge the 'Cycle'."

This evaluation made Lin Fan's consciousness relax slightly.

He had gambled correctly!

"You want to know the possibility of survival?"

The voice of the Ancient Will carried a hint of reminiscence and an indescribable desolation.

"A possibility... there always is."

"The activation of the 'Anti-Virus Program' is not without omen. When the 'information' in the Universe becomes redundant to a certain degree, and the power of 'variables' begins to touch the Foundation of the 'Cycle,' the 'Great Formatting' will descend."

"This is what you call... the Era Calamity."

As expected!

Lin Fan's consciousness fluctuated violently; he had finally obtained the most direct answer.

"For the vast majority of life in the Universe, this is the end, destruction, an irresistible natural disaster."

"But for us..."

The Ancient Will paused and transmitted a concept that Lin Fan found inconceivable.

"For BUGs like us, the 'Era Calamity' is the only... opportunity."

Opportunity?

A formatting that clears all data in the Universe is an opportunity?

"When the 'Anti-Virus Program' clears data, it consumes a massive amount of the most primal Origin energy. At the same time, to execute the 'delete' command, it will temporarily open a crack in the Universe's bottom-most 'Lock of Rules'."

"At that moment, the Laws are at their weakest, the Origin is exposed, and the energy is infinite."

"That is the only moment in the entire Cycle when you can touch the 'System Source Code'."

"An... opportunity for Transcendence."

Boom!

Lin Fan's entire consciousness seemed to buzz from being struck by these words.

What was the core purpose of his constant, cautious yet death-seeking behavior?

It was to save his life, to get stronger, to farm rewards, and to live a more stable life!

But now, this ancient BUG was telling him that his behavior of constantly provoking the "Anti-Virus Program" and shearing the System's wool had, by a twist of fate, aligned with the Universe's only "Path of Transcendence"!

Fear of death was actually linked to the ultimate opportunity of the Universe!

An indescribable sense of absurdity and fate surged in his heart simultaneously.

"Is this... the Ascension that cultivators pursue?" Lin Fan's consciousness asked subconsciously.

"Ascension?"

The information transmitted by the Ancient Will, for the first time, carried a hint of... what could be called "disdain."

"Jumping from one folder to another—does that deserve to be called Transcendence?"

"Ascension... is merely moving from one plane to another higher-energy plane within this closed 'Spacetime Island.' It is still within the 'Cycle' and will still be 'formatted'."

"The Transcendence I speak of is jumping out of the 'Cycle' itself! It is completely breaking free from the surveillance of this 'Anti-Virus Program' and entering a Domain beyond 'nothingness' and 'existence' that even I cannot describe!"

Lin Fan's consciousness was completely overturned.

So, the ultimate goal of "Ascension" pursued by the countless Prodigies and mighty beings of the entire Cultivation World was nothing more than a joke in the eyes of this ancient existence.

A self-amusement of jumping from one side of a cage to the other.

"Is Transcendence... very difficult?" Lin Fan's consciousness asked with difficulty.

The Ancient Will did not answer directly.

In the next instant, this pure white space shattered!

Lin Fan's "perspective" was forcibly dragged to an unimaginable height.

Before his eyes appeared a vast and boundless sea of stars. No, that wasn't a sea of stars.

That was a... living being.

A sacred existence of extreme majesty, with a body composed of countless divine kingdoms, star rivers as Bloodlines, and worlds born and destroyed with every breath, impossible to describe in any form.

Lin Fan could feel that this was the original body of the "Ancient Will" from the previous Cycle.

It was so powerful that its very existence constituted a complete universal System.

However, at this moment, the Era Calamity descended.

No enemies, no attacks.

It was the "rules" of the entire Universe itself coming to life.

Timelines began to scramble, spatial dimensions began to overlap, the Law of Karma turned into chains of strangulation, and the concept of matter itself began to collapse toward "nothingness."

The entire Universe was rejecting this powerful "BUG"!

That majestic sacred existence let out a silent roar. It tried to break through the barriers of the "Cycle" and punch through the framework of the "System."

Its power shattered the Laws and reversed spacetime.

But the power of the "Anti-Virus Program" was infinite.

It was the Universe itself.

How can you be an enemy to the earth beneath your feet?

Lin Fan "watched" as that majestic figure was bit by bit ground down and decomposed in the endless tide of Laws.

Its divine kingdoms shattered, turning into fragments of death ruins floating in the Universe.

Its divine blood spilled, becoming cursed lands breeding weirdness and ominousness.

Its bones cracked and split, the largest piece of which fell into the Void Realm and, after eons of evolution, eventually formed... the Divine Silence Ruins!

Shock!

Unparalleled shock!

This showed the terror and despair of "Transcendence" more directly than any words.

Even such a majestic existence was heartlessly decomposed before the "Anti-Virus Program," becoming "nutrients" for the next Cycle's Universe.

What right did a tiny BUG like himself have?

The images faded, and everything returned to that absolute pure white.

"Now, you have seen."

The voice of the Ancient Will rang out again, carrying a weariness and indifference that had seen through life and death.

"I failed."

"The countless brilliant ones before me also failed."

"And the 'Anti-Virus Program' of this Cycle seems to have become more 'alert' than ever before... because of your appearance."

Lin Fan's consciousness was ice-cold.

Does this mean I increased the game difficulty?

"But..."

The Ancient Will's tone suddenly shifted.

"Your way of existence is something I have never seen. Your 'BUG' does not follow any logic. It seems... capable of converting 'delete' commands into 'nourishment'."

"This is a characteristic that I, and all the predecessors, never possessed."

The grand silhouette, that "eye" composed of the Universe, focused once again on Lin Fan's tiny spark of consciousness.

"I am already a flickering candle; when the 'Great Formatting' of this Cycle arrives, I won't even have room to struggle."

"All that I am will return to the void."

"Since that is the case..."

Within that will, a hint of madness and an unwillingness that spanned billions of years emerged!

"Then let me place a bet at this final moment!"

"Little BUG, I bet that your 'illogic' can create a 'miracle' that even I cannot foresee!"

Before the words had finished!

From deep within that grand silhouette, a point of extremely brilliant yet restrained light suddenly split off!

That light was not energy, nor was it a Divine Soul, but a 'concept,' a 'characteristic'!

"This is the root of how I survived the previous Cycle, the core of my 'BUG'... a wisp of the 'Indestructible' characteristic!"

"I shall brand it upon your true spirit!"

"Take my 'Indestructible' and go devour the Heavenly Dao of this Cycle!"

"Let me see what kind of... monster will be birthed from the combination of two BUGs from different Origins!"

That point of light instantly crossed the distance of dimensions.

Before Lin Fan's consciousness could react, it slammed fiercely into his True Spirit Spark, which had just barely been condensed by the System's remaining power after being erased by 'eternal nihility'!

Buzz—!

At that moment, Lin Fan's consciousness fell into a blank void.