298: Chapter 296 An Unpainted Scroll

The flying boat sailed through the sea of stars for a full three months.

When the last familiar stars were left behind and the Void Realm ahead grew increasingly empty and silent, the Disciples finally realized that they had stepped past the boundaries of the New Universe.

Here, there was no pulsation of Spiritual Veins, no faint glimmer of stardust, and even the passage of time grew hazy—as if this Void Realm had existed for too long, so long that even time could not be bothered to leave a trace.

Shen Nian stood before the porthole, gazing at the gray space ahead.

Director Su Yun's data was not wrong; the edge of the Ruins of Return indeed presented a peculiar form—like two different Laws tearing at each other and yet undergoing Fusion at the boundary, forming a distorted band of light.

"Everyone, get ready. We are about to cross the boundary of the Ruins of Return."

Shen Nian's voice spread across the three flying boats through the transmission Formation.

The Disciples walked to the portholes one after another, gripping their longswords.

Some began to whisper protective incantations, while others silently circulated their spiritual energy.

As the flying boat passed through the distorted band of light, the entire hull shuddered violently, as if plunging into thick mud.

The scenery outside the porthole began to warp and stretch, and a grayish-white glow surged from all directions, almost swallowing the entire flying boat.

Then, at a certain moment, everything fell silent.

The shaking of the flying boat stopped, and the light outside the window stabilized.

Standing before the porthole, Shen Nian looked at the scene ahead, his breath catching slightly.

It was a world he had never seen before.

There were no stars, no Void Realm, and none of the familiar darkness and silence.

In their place was an endless expanse of Chaos—gray, churning, translucent Chaos, like stirred mist or a frozen sea of clouds.

Countless massive fragments floated within the Chaos.

Some rolled like mountain ranges, some floated in the Chaos like islands, and some presented regular geometric shapes, as if deliberately carved.

The materials of those fragments varied—some resembled rock, some metal, and some a kind of translucent crystal.

Further away, the color of the Chaos began to change.

Gradually transitioning from gray to light blue, pale purple, and warm orange, it looked as if it had been dyed by some force.

At the boundaries of those colors, blurry shadows of light could be faintly seen flowing, as if something were passing through them.

"Is... is this the Ruins of Return?"

Lin Yuan's voice carried a hint of shock, his eyes wide open, almost pressed against the porthole.

Shen Nian did not answer.

Because he did not know how to describe it either.

This was different from any scene he had ever imagined—it was not a ruin, not the Void Realm, not a relic.

Rather, it was a Chaos currently in the process of "gestating."

It was like an unfinished scroll; the paint was still wet, the brushstrokes remained, waiting for someone to complete it.

"Uncle Zhang, what has the detection Magical Artifact discovered?"

Shen Nian turned to look at the console.

Uncle Zhang was busy before the pile of Magical Artifacts, his fingers flying, fine beads of sweat breaking out on his forehead. "Senior, the energy composition of this space is extremely complex."

"This Disciple has captured at least seven different spiritual energy fluctuations. Four of them share the same origin as the spiritual energy of the New Universe, but the other three... this Disciple has never seen before."

"They seem to be something more primal, like the state of spiritual energy before it was differentiated into the Five Elements."

Shen Nian's hand paused slightly. "The state of spiritual energy before it became spiritual energy?"

Uncle Zhang nodded, pointing to the jumping data on the Magical Artifact. "Look here."

"The frequency of these fluctuations is much lower than that of ordinary spiritual energy. It is like... like the state of spiritual energy when it is asleep."

"This Disciple speculates that this Chaos might be some kind of 'Place of Origin'—a primal state where spiritual energy has not yet been awakened or differentiated into various attributes."

Shen Nian walked to the porthole and looked out at the Chaos once more.

If this Chaos really was the Place of Origin for spiritual energy, then everything here might be the earliest form of the Universe.

Those floating fragments might be the embryos of the earliest stars; those flowing shadows of light might be the prototypes of the earliest Life.

"Lower our altitude. We're going down to take a look."

Shen Nian ordered.

The flying boat slowly descended, passing through layers of Chaos.

The grayish-white mist churned around them, and occasionally, tiny specks of light flew out from the mist like startled fireflies.

The Disciples leaned against the portholes, watching those specks of light, their eyes filled with wonder.

"Senior, what is that?"

Lu Qing pointed to a pale blue speck of light slowly drifting past the window.

Shen Nian looked in the direction she pointed.

The speck of light was only the size of a thumb, and fine patterns could be faintly seen flowing inside, like a miniature heart.

It swam slowly through the Chaos, as if searching for something, yet also as if drifting aimlessly.

"The detection Magical Artifact shows that there is an extremely weak fluctuation of Life inside."

Uncle Zhang's voice came from the console. "It... it seems to be alive."

Alive.

A thumb-sized speck of light, swimming slowly in a Chaos where no human had ever set foot, with fine patterns flowing inside and carrying an extremely weak fluctuation of Life.

Shen Nian stared at the speck of light, watching it swim through the Chaos as if searching for something.

It would pause from time to time, as if "listening" to something, before continuing to swim forward.

"What is it looking for?"

Lin Yuan could not help but ask, his voice carrying a bated breath that even he did not notice.

Shen Nian shook his head. "This Disciple does not know."

"But this Disciple feels like it is looking for a companion."

The speck of light outside the window continued to swim.

It bypassed a floating fragment, went around a slowly rotating crystal, and finally stopped at a place where the Chaos was churning quite violently. Then, it slowly merged into it, as if dissolving into a larger mass of light.

Shen Nian looked in that direction, his pupils dilating slightly.

Within that larger mass of light, some objects with more complete shapes could be faintly seen—not fragments, not specks of light, but things with clear structures.

Some looked like unfinished buildings, some like half-formed skeletons, and some like the wreckage of some machinery.

"Senior, there's something over there!"

A Disciple cried out in surprise.

Shen Nian had already seen it.

In that violently churning Chaos, a massive skeleton floated quietly.

It was a full hundred Zhang long, shaped like some ancient giant beast. The lines of its spine were smooth and elegant, and each segment of bone presented a translucent texture, as if carved from the purest crystal.

Its chest cavity held a dark red speck of light that beat slowly—like a heart, though the owner of that heart had dissipated for an unknown number of ages.

"This is..."

Lu Qing's voice carried a hint of trembling. "Was this once a living thing?"

Shen Nian did not answer.

He had the flying boat continue to descend, getting closer to the skeleton.

The closer they got, the more they could feel that ancient and majestic aura.

It was as if, even though the owner of this skeleton had dissipated countless years ago, the remains it left behind still radiated a certain majesty—as if declaring that it had once existed.

"Senior, the detection Magical Artifact has captured new data."

Uncle Zhang's voice came from the console, carrying a hint of disbelief. "This skeleton... it has existed for at least a billion years."

"It is older than any known cycle of the Universe."

A billion years.

Older than the Tribunal, older than The Designers, older than any known civilization.

This was an existence that lived at the very beginning of the Universe's birth.

Countless thoughts flashed through Shen Nian's mind—what was it?

Why was it here?

Was it naturally born, or was it created?

"Senior, look at its spine."

Lu Qing pointed to the back of the skeleton.

Shen Nian looked in the direction she pointed, only then noticing that some fine patterns were carved on the skeleton's spine.

Those patterns were very faint, almost merging with the bone, and could not be discovered at all without looking closely.

But they indeed existed—like some deliberate mark.

Shen Nian had the flying boat approach that part of the spine, then stepped out of the cabin door himself, floating in the Void Realm as he drew near the skeleton.

The bone was warm and moist like jade, cool and smooth to the touch.

Those patterns glowed slightly under his fingertips, as if responding to his touch.

He carefully examined those patterns.

They were not words, but rather resembled a kind of diagram—complex, layered patterns that looked like some structural blueprint or perhaps a map.

"Senior, can you understand them?"

Lu Qing's voice came from the flying boat.

Shen Nian shook his head. "This Disciple cannot understand them."

"But this Disciple feels that this might be some kind of mark."

"Like an imprint left behind by the owner of this skeleton."

He withdrew his hand and returned to the flying boat.

The Chaos outside the window continued to churn, and the skeleton floated quietly in the sea of light, as if it had been waiting there for hundreds of millions of years.

As Shen Nian looked at the Chaos, a much grander question surged in his heart: an era older than the Tribunal, an epoch more distant than any known civilization—what exactly had happened there?

Where had those existences gone now?