462: Chapter 461 The Jade-Transformed Chains Town's Backstage: Absolutely Existing to Suppress the Void

The over-fermented, sour scent of inferior yellow wine, carrying the damp, earthy smell unique to a small Jiangnan town, spread brazenly throughout this restricted backstage area, which should have been the purest and most deathly silent place in the Universe.

Zhou Wannian held the rough earthenware wine gourd high, a slight, tipsy flush coloring his cheeks.

The sentence he had just shouted did not use earth-shattering True Qi, nor did it contain the pressure of the Great Perfection Space Law; it was merely a dense breath of wine exhaled from the depths of his lungs, transforming into a gale that swept through the Void Realm.

The warm, gentle jade light that broke out from within his body was the sharpest blade of this gale.

The light was no longer a blinding white, nor was it that cold, rigid fluorescent glow; it exuded the warm yellow hue of a living person's flowing blood.

Shining into this Void Realm, it was like a red-hot branding iron pressed forcibly onto a massive block of eternal black ice.

"Sizzle— Sizzle—" The teeth-grating sound of melting erupted one after another in this space.

Bearing the brunt of it was the black silhouette standing ten zhang away from Zhou Wannian, formed from pure black light and the concept of "Nothingness."

The silhouette's face, originally smooth and capable of swallowing even light, was like it had been splashed with a basin of boiling acid the moment it was illuminated by this warm light smelling of wine dregs.

The deep black light that made up its body began to boil violently.

Layers of black mist steamed up from its surface, and before these mists could dissipate in mid-air, they were directly purified into nothingness by the gentle jade light.

Its tall, upright figure, which had originally been identical to Zhou Wannian's, now began to hunch and twist involuntarily under the scorching light.

The black light peeled away, and the edges of the silhouette became blurred, like a snowman about to melt in the scorching sun.

"You... are crazy..."

In the black silhouette's voice, the aloof, absolute rationality was finally lost, replaced by a discordant note of terror.

Its featureless face tilted upward in pain, attempting to evade the pervasive warm jade light.

"You are using this low-dimensional emotional trash to pollute the ultimate Origin of the Universe! Do you have any idea what you are doing! You are destroying the Foundation of this machine!"

The silhouette struggled in the light, stretching out its incomplete black arms, attempting to grasp the transparent Law threads surrounding it, wanting to use the power of the Universe's underlying code to resist this erosion.

However, when its black hand just touched those threads, the originally lifeless, somewhat grayish Law threads suddenly erupted with a joyful vibration, as if they had been connected to high-voltage electricity.

Those threads illuminated by the warm light were not assimilated by the silhouette's Death Qi; instead, they conducted that aura of human life along the texture of the threads.

The threads rejected the silhouette's approach.

They were resisting this "Nothingness" that represented heat death and returning to zero.

Zhou Wannian stood at the very center of the light, watching the black silhouette that was constantly melting and raging impotently in the warm glow.

He did not immediately beat a dog that was already drowning.

He flipped his wrist and tightly resealed the earthenware wine gourd with its blackened, swollen wooden stopper.

The stopper rubbed against the mouth of the gourd, emitting a dry "creak."

Zhou Wannian leisurely hung the gourd back onto the hemp rope belt at his waist.

He patted the hem of his cyan shirt, his movements as casual as an idler who had just finished resting at a roadside tea stall and was preparing to continue his journey.

"Destroy the Foundation of this machine?"

Zhou Wannian raised his eyelids, and a cold, sharp blade-like light flashed in his eyes, which still held a tipsy flush.

"This broken machine spends all day thinking about how to turn living people into dead ash, how to turn hot soup into cold water. This Foundation should have rotted through long ago."

He slowly lowered his hands from his waist, letting them hang naturally at his sides.

The washed-out cyan cloth robe, in the windless Void Realm, fluttered as if in a gale, snapping loudly.

"I already said it just now."

Zhou Wannian's voice was no longer that careless, flat tone.

This voice now carried the weight of a blacksmith, and a domineering aura precipitated over eons of time.

"Today, I am not only going to smash that whetstone. I am also going to overturn all the rotten rules of this place!"

The moment his voice fell, Zhou Wannian no longer suppressed the throbbing deep within his Divine Soul.

He straightened his back and firmly planted his feet in the Void Realm in the simplest horse stance.

This was a stance technique that any Mortal martial artist would know, without any of the profoundness of immortal Spells, but as Zhou Wannian executed it, it was as if the center of gravity of the entire Universe had been nailed firmly beneath the soles of his two cyan cloth shoes.

"Rise!" A deep shout, like a thunderclap exploding on flat ground.

Within Zhou Wannian's body, that Absolute Mass, so vast it could not be measured by numbers, ushered in the most thorough, unreserved, and comprehensive eruption since he had comprehended the Great Perfection Space Law.

But this eruption did not, like before, turn into a destructive black dot collapsing inward.

Because of that inferior yellow wine.

Because of that mundane obsession, belonging to the muddy spring rain of the small Jiangnan town, which he had branded deep into his bone marrow.

This Absolute Mass changed its form of existence.

"Hum— Rumble!" In his Divine Soul inner universe, those ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine ancient chains, which had completely shed their bronze luster and transformed into warm mutton-fat white jade, emitted a Dragon roar at this moment that shook the All Heavens and Myriad Worlds.

They were no longer shackles curled up in the inner universe used to suppress power.

They became the most perfect carrier for this Absolute Mass.

Following Zhou Wannian's deep shout, the first white jade beam of light pierced directly through Zhou Wannian's chest, rushing out of his body from the deepest part of his Divine Soul!

This beam of light was as thick as a mountain, presenting a translucent, warm yellow color throughout.

On the surface of the beam, countless fine textures faintly flowed.

Those textures were not high-dimensional mathematical codes, nor were they any ancient divine scripts.

If one looked closely, one would find that those textures looked exactly like the black tiles on the roofs of Mortal homes, like the moss on bluestone paths, like the coarse cloth wine banner fluttering in the wind outside that dilapidated wine shop.

This beam of light was filled with the aura of human life.

The first white jade beam of light shot into the sky, its speed reaching the extreme.

It ignored any remaining Death Qi obstacles in this backstage space, piercing straight upward, and smashed fiercely against the invisible dome of this Void Realm space.

"Dong—!" A dull, vast roar, as if a giant hammer had struck eternal basalt, reverberated in this space.

This loud noise shook the neatly arranged transparent Law threads, causing them to tremble in unison.

The black silhouette, which was melting, was shaken by this sound so violently that its body dissipated by another large circle, and black ink splattered everywhere in mid-air.

The beam of light was not repelled by the dome.

The top of its thick beam was forcibly driven into the underlying logical barrier of this space, wedged in tightly.

It was like a pillar supporting the sky used for building a house, standing steadily in the center of this Void Realm.

But this was just the beginning.

Zhou Wannian stood where he was, his eyes wide with rage, his black hair dancing wildly backward in the reflection of the jade light.

"Rise again!" Following the urging of his will.

Ten! One hundred! One thousand! Ten thousand!

Countless white jade beams of light, like a volcanic eruption, erupted continuously from all parts of Zhou Wannian's body.

Some of these beams rushed toward the dome above, some plunged fiercely into the endless abyss below, and some pushed out horizontally toward the Void Realm on the left and right sides.

In just a few breaths.

This cosmic backstage area, originally empty, dim, and illuminated only by cold fluorescent light, was filled with a dense, boundless forest of white jade.

Each of these white jade beams represented a portion of Absolute Mass of the Great Perfection Space Law.

A full ninety-nine thousand nine hundred and ninety-nine beams!

They crisscrossed, connecting end to end.

After rushing out of Zhou Wannian's body, they did not run about in a disorderly manner.

Instead, with Zhou Wannian as the center, they quickly constructed a three-dimensional matrix in this vast, boundless backstage space that made one's Divine Soul tremble.

This was a physical takeover that was brutal to the extreme.

This backstage space was originally the private preserve of the Universe's underlying logic.

Those transparent Law threads were the sole masters here, and that black whetstone was the scavenger here.

Together, they maintained the cold program of the Universe heading toward heat death.

But now.

Zhou Wannian had forcibly broken into this server room with these ninety-thousand-plus white jade beams.

He did not need to crack any high-dimensional passwords, nor did he need to modify any underlying code.

He directly shoved his own weight, this "Absolute Existence" that was not constrained by the Universe, forcibly into every crevice of this space.

"Creak... Creak..." As the white jade beams were wedged firmly into the Void Realm one by one, this backstage space groaned under the unbearable load.

The cold, rigid spatial rules were forcibly propped open and squeezed by these thick jade pillars.

Those transparent Law threads arranged like bookshelves.

Originally, they were suspended in the Void Realm, relying on their own tension to maintain the operation of the outside world.

When that black whetstone turned, they had no power to resist and could only passively accept the friction and breaking.

But at this very moment.

When those white jade beams were interspersed and set up around the threads.

A strange change occurred.

These jade pillars, emitting a warm luster, did not cut these fragile threads.

On the contrary, their thick pillars actively leaned toward those threads.

The transparent Law threads, upon feeling the warm, solid physical touch coming from the jade pillars, were like vines that had found their backbone.

They automatically bent, wound themselves, and gently attached to those white jade pillars.

With these ninety-thousand-plus sky-supporting pillars composed of Absolute Mass as support.

These Law threads no longer needed to bear the pulling force brought by the Universe's expansion alone, and they no longer needed to face the death threat of that whetstone.

They unloaded all their weight and their tension onto these white jade pillars.

"Hum, hum, hum—" An unprecedented, grand, and cheerful symphony played in this backstage space.

The Law threads attached to the jade pillars had their vibration frequency become stable and powerful.

Those parts originally contaminated by Death Qi and presenting a grayish-white color, under the illumination of the jade pillars' warm light belonging to the aura of human life, quickly shed the Death Qi and restored their original transparent and clear appearance.

And in the outside world.

Within those vast All Heavens and Myriad Worlds.

Those worlds that were collapsing, those Star Domains where the Spiritual Qi was exhausted, at this moment, seemed to be gently held up by a warm, large hand.

Stars that were about to extinguish regained their vitality, spewing out scorching flames. From deep within the dried-up Spiritual Veins, streams of clear, sweet spring water gushed forth. Those Cultivators who had been fighting in despair suddenly felt the anxiety and baleful Qi weighing on their hearts dissipate, and the surrounding space became unprecedentedly stable.

Because, at the very bottom of this Universe.

That leisurely scholar, using his own body, using all the strength he had accumulated over these tens of millions of years, held up this tottering world for these gods and buddhas, for these hundreds of millions of living beings.

Over ninety thousand white jade pillars of light completely filled his entire field of vision.

Zhou Wannian stood at the very center of these pillars of light.

There was a slight sheen of sweat on his face. Even with Absolute Mass, distributing this mass precisely into every pillar of light to anchor the underlying Law of the entire Universe was an immense drain on his mental energy.

But he didn't even frown.

His eyes, glinting with cold light, looked past the overlapping white jade pillars and locked onto the vast, boundless black whetstone in front of him.

"Aren't you fond of grinding?"

Zhou Wannian sneered.

He raised his right hand abruptly, fingers curled into a claw, and pressed down hard through the air toward the black world-destroying boulder.

"Boom!"

The thousands of white jade pillars closest to the whetstone, under Zhou Wannian's control, suddenly changed direction. Their thick bodies, carrying the sound of whistling wind, were like rows of battering rams that smashed fiercely onto the black whetstone from all directions.

"Clang! Crackle—"

The massive sound of impact echoed through the Void Realm.

That whetstone, which represented the ultimate heat death of the Universe and had destroyed countless civilizations, let out a shrill scream under the impact of these white jade pillars.

Its rough, pitch-black surface was instantly smashed with thousands of huge, deep pits.

The white jade pillars did not retreat upon contact.

They drove deep into the interior of the whetstone, and then, the warm yellow light emanating from the pillars, which carried the scent of distiller's grains, acted like strong acid sprayed from a high-pressure water gun, beginning to frantically purify and dissolve the Death Qi contained within the stone.

The whetstone trembled violently, attempting to turn, attempting to resist.

However.

Thousands of pillars of light bearing Absolute Mass were pinned firmly onto its body, holding it as tightly as a toad pressed onto a chopping block, unable to move even an inch.

In the center of this massive stone.

The dark brand representing the character "Nothingness" was currently bearing the fiercest concentrated fire.

Dozens of the thickest white jade pillars thrust directly into the strokes of the "Nothingness" character. The gentle jade light and the deep black light engaged in the most brutal slaughter.

"Sizzle! Sizzle!"

Black smoke billowed.

The "Nothingness" character, which had once been able to swallow even Zhou Wannian's dense black dots, was now retreating step by step before these pillars of light, which were filled with the atmosphere of the marketplace and a brutal will to survive.

The dim light was ground away bit by bit. The outline of the "Nothingness" character began to become incomplete and blurred, like low-quality ink washed away with clear water.

And in front of the whetstone.

The silhouette composed of black light and the concept of "Nothingness" was now in a miserable state. Its originally upright body had melted under the radiance of the jade light, leaving only a tattered half-body outline. It lay in the Void Realm, black liquid constantly dripping from its body and turning into nothingness.

It raised its incomplete, featureless face, looking at the surrounding background space that had undergone a complete transformation.

Looking at those threads of Law that were happily vibrating as they clung to the white jade pillars.

Looking at the black whetstone that was pinned firmly and constantly dissolving.

An emotion called "despair" was, for the first time ever, born within this cluster of pure underlying logic of the Universe.

It did not understand.

No matter how its cold, rigid mathematical model performed its deductions, it could not calculate such an absurd outcome before its eyes.

"This is impossible..."

The silhouette's voice became intermittent; the originally cold tone was now filled with incredulous trembling. The black light on its body was dissipating, and every utterance consumed its remaining concept.

"You... your mass... is clearly a collapsing singularity meant to destroy everything..."

Its half-severed arm pointed at the white jade pillars emitting warm yellow light.

"Why... in this mass... is there such a thing?"

The silhouette seemed to smell the scent emanating from the pillars of light.

It was the scent that a product of absolute rationality like itself detested and feared the most.

"The smell of sweat... the smell of soil... the sour smell of cheap wine..."

The silhouette writhed in pain on the ground, that scent of human life acting like invisible poisonous needles, stabbing inch by inch into the core of its concept.

"This is filth! This is the most selfish, worthless emotional excrement of low-dimensional life!"

It shrieked shrilly at Zhou Wannian, who stood in the center of the pillars of light.

"You use this kind of thing... to anchor the underlying Law of the Universe? You are using trash... to build the Foundation of this edifice!"

"You are blaspheming! You are polluting this Holy Land of absolute rationality!"

Listening to the silhouette's wails like a stray dog.

Zhou Wannian slowly lowered his right hand that had been pressing against the whetstone.

His green robe, against the backdrop of the jade light, seemed a little less cold and lonely, and a little more solid, providing a sense of reassurance.

He took a step.

Treading on the light and shadow cast by the warm, glowing white jade pillars, he walked step by step to the front of the incomplete black silhouette.

Zhou Wannian looked down from above at this shadow that had once been high and mighty, attempting to brainwash him.

In those eyes, tinged with a slightly tipsy flush, there was no pity of a victor, only the coldness of an old farmer looking at a pest killed by a hoe in the field.

"Blasphemy? Pollution?"

Zhou Wannian snorted coldly.

He raised his foot, clad in a clean cyan cloth shoe, and calmly stepped onto the silhouette's incomplete black chest.

The mass of the Great Perfection Law pressed down; although it did not crush it immediately, it pressed the ball of black light until it emitted a shrill, explosive sound.

"You things that hide underground, never seeing the light of day."

Zhou Wannian's voice, at this moment, became incredibly clear and heavy; every word was like a heavy hammer, striking every corner of this background space.

"All day long, you only know how to hold onto those cold numbers and formulas. You think everything not in your calculations is trash, is filth."

He applied a little force with his foot.

The silhouette let out a painful groan, and a large portion of the black light dissipated again.

"What the hell do you know about the Universe!"

Zhou Wannian pointed to the endless sea of stars outside, pointing to the common living beings surviving by relying on the threads of Law.

"Without those Mortals rolling in the mud, without those butchers arguing over a few coppers, without the sour-smelling cheap wine in that broken tavern."

"No matter how clean or rational this Universe is, it's nothing more than a giant coffin filled with dead stones!"

Zhou Wannian's eyes grew brighter and brighter; that vibrant breath of the human world gushed out wantonly from his pores, from his words.

"The reason this house is called a house is because living people live inside!"

"Living people have to shit and fart, have to sweat and bleed, have to have those seven emotions and six desires you look down upon!"

He looked around at this background space, completely filled with white jade pillars.

This machine room that had once been dead silent and cold.

At this moment.

Under the radiance of those white jade pillars.

In the air, there was actually a faint fragrance of peach blossoms, mixed with the moisture of freshly turned soil. The sound emitted when the pillars of light vibrated was no longer a monotonous hum, but was extremely similar to the long, lingering hawking of vendors walking through the streets of the marketplace.

This place of absolute rationality and deathly silence.

It was thoroughly "polluted" by Zhou Wannian with that Absolute Mass tainted with the atmosphere of human life.

Or rather, it was forcibly awakened by him with vitality.

"You think this is pollution?"

Zhou Wannian withdrew his gaze, looking at the black silhouette under his feet that was almost transparent.

A wild, arrogant smile tugged at the corner of his mouth.

"I'm here today specifically to dump trash."

"I've been unhappy with your clean, rigid rules for a long time. Since I have nowhere to use this strength of mine."

Zhou Wannian's foot suddenly erupted with a burst of Absolute Mass.

"Then I'll use this vulgarity, this scent of human life."

"To marinate your broken stones and rotten rules from head to toe!"

"Bang!"

As this heavy, powerful foot stomped down.

The black silhouette that represented the Universe's decay program and was condensed from the concept of "Nothingness."

It couldn't even let out a final scream.

Under Zhou Wannian's cyan shoe sole, it was thoroughly crushed into a pool of nothingness powder by that Absolute Mass carrying the obsessions of all living beings.

This ball of black light, along with its high-and-mighty fatalism, vanished into thin air.

Zhou Wannian withdrew his foot.

He turned around, facing the black whetstone that was pinned firmly by thousands of white jade pillars and was constantly wailing and dissolving.

The "Nothingness" brand on it had been ground away by the jade light, leaving only a few faint shadows.

Zhou Wannian reached out and felt for the earthenware wine gourd at his waist.

He pulled out the wooden stopper.

Tilting his neck, he drank the last mouthful of sour yellow wine remaining in the gourd in one gulp.

He casually tossed the empty wine gourd into mid-air.

"Hic—"

A wine burp with a heavy scent of distiller's grains echoed in the Void Realm filled with pillars of light.

Zhou Wannian raised his arm and wiped the wine stains left on the corner of his mouth with the wide sleeve of his green robe.

He looked at the whetstone that was about to collapse completely, looking at this background space of the Universe that he now firmly controlled.

On that handsome face, there hung a satisfied, leisurely smile.

"Although this wine is sour."

He put his hands back behind his back and stretched comfortably in this human jungle that belonged to him.

"But the terrestrial Qi of this place has finally been connected."