"Your divinity has not only not weakened, but has instead been 'purified.'" A trace of inquiry flashed through the God of Destruction's eyes, "As if removing impurities and returning to the source. This is very rare—at least in the Divine Realm's historical records, no god has ever accomplished this after losing all power."
The Goddess of Life took over the conversation, her gaze gentle yet thoughtful: "Wulin, when you were resisting the Eye of Annihilation, what exactly did you experience? What changes occurred in the depths of your consciousness?"
The courtyard fell quiet, even the wind seeming to still. Qian Renxue looked at her husband worriedly, fearing this question would touch upon painful memories. But Tang Wulin's expression was calm. He merely pondered for a moment, then slowly spoke.
"I saw 'Nothingness.'" he said.
Two words, yet both God Kings' expressions changed simultaneously.
"Explain in detail." The God of Destruction's voice grew low.
Tang Wulin organized his words, trying to describe that experience beyond verbal description: "When the Eye of Annihilation's will invaded my consciousness and dragged me into darkness, at first it was indeed a tide of negative emotions—despair, anger, hatred, everything capable of destroying a person's sanity. But when I held firm to my heart, using memories as a lighthouse to resist the erosion, something changed..."
He closed his eyes, as if returning to that moment: "Those negative emotions suddenly faded—not dissipating, but being 'replaced' by something more fundamental. I lost all perception—couldn't see, couldn't hear, couldn't feel my body, couldn't even feel my own existence. That wasn't darkness; darkness is at least 'something.' That was true 'Nothingness,' a state where even the concept of 'nothing' itself didn't exist."
The Goddess of Life's breathing imperceptibly quickened for an instant.
"In that state, the only proof of my 'existence' was those warm memories." Tang Wulin continued speaking, his voice very soft yet exceptionally clear, "My parents' smiles, Xue'er's tears, children's calls, companions' trust... these memories didn't present themselves as images or sounds. They were 'existence' itself—anchor points, coordinates, the only things that could prove 'I' am 'I.'"
He opened his eyes. In the depths of his azure pupils, it seemed stars were rotating: "Then, the Eye of Annihilation's will manifested—not as a concrete form, but as a 'tendency,' a tendency to pull everything into 'Nothingness.' It collided with my memories, or rather, with 'existence' itself. At that moment, the Dragon God ember in the depths of my soul was ignited."
"That wasn't a confrontation of power." Tang Wulin summarized, his tone certain, "That was a confrontation between 'existence' and 'non-existence.' The reason the Dragon God ember could heavily wound the Eye of Annihilation wasn't because it was stronger, but because it represented the extreme of 'existence'—life, creation, order, everything that constitutes the foundation of this world."
The courtyard fell into prolonged silence.
After a long while, the God of Destruction slowly exhaled, complex light flashing in his eyes: "So that's how it is... no wonder, no wonder..."
"No wonder what?" Qian Renxue couldn't help asking.
The Goddess of Life answered for her husband, her voice carrying a trace of shock: "The Divine Realm's research on the Eye of Annihilation has continued for countless ages. We always thought it was some kind of existence beyond understanding, requiring stronger power to confront and seal. But now it seems, we may have been fundamentally wrong from the beginning."
She looked at Tang Wulin, her gaze as if looking at some inconceivable miracle: "It isn't some kind of 'existence,' but the opposite of 'existence.' The key to resisting it isn't the magnitude of power, but the intensity of 'existence'—the more pure, the more firm, the more unshakable the 'existence,' the more it can resist its erosion."
"Like in darkness, however faint a candle's light, as long as it doesn't extinguish, it can prove light's existence." Tang Wulin said softly.
"Precisely so." The God of Destruction nodded. He paced back and forth a few steps, then suddenly stopped, his gaze toward Tang Wulin becoming burning, "Boy, have you considered recultivating, walking a different path?"
Tang Wulin was slightly startled: "Senior means..."
"Your soul power is now meager, but your divinity is pure, your perspective on understanding laws unique." The God of Destruction's speech quickened—clearly this idea excited him, "Why not abandon traditional cultivation methods and start from the beginning, constructing a cultivation system completely suited to your current state? Not pursuing the accumulation of power, but pursuing the deepening and expansion of 'existence.'"
The Goddess of Life's eyes brightened: "Exactly! Traditional cultivation is from outside to inside—absorbing energy, strengthening oneself, finally touching upon laws. But you have the opportunity to reverse it, from inside to outside—using pure divinity as the core, using profound understanding of laws as the framework, reconstructing your power system anew!"
Qian Renxue's heartbeat accelerated listening. If the two God Kings' speculation was correct, that meant Tang Wulin could not only recover, but possibly walk a path never before traveled, reaching realms even God Kings hadn't touched.
But Tang Wulin fell silent. He lowered his head looking at his hands—those hands that once wielded the Golden Dragon Spear, tearing sky and earth asunder, now trembled even lifting a bucket of water. Starting from the beginning—easier said than done. This meant abandoning all familiar paths, groping forward in complete unknown territory.
"I..." He had just opened his mouth when hurried footsteps suddenly came from outside the courtyard.
Tang Xuanyu quickly walked in, his expression grave: "Grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, something has happened."
"What is it?" Tang San's voice came from outside the door—he had clearly sensed the unusual fluctuation, arriving together with Xiao Wu.
Tang Xuanyu took a deep breath: "At the Abyss Gate, a crack has appeared in the Tree of Life's barrier. Though very small... something is seeping out from inside."
The gods' expressions changed dramatically.
Before the Tree of Life, the Divine Realm gods gathered.
The massive ancient tree still emitted vast life aura, but below its canopy, that rift spanning the Divine Realm's edge—the Abyss Gate—was now undergoing bizarre changes. The portal originally completely sealed by the pale golden barrier now had a hair-thin crack in its center. Pitch-black as ink, some substance slowly seeped out, like viscous petroleum, dripping onto the Divine Realm's land.
That wasn't a physical entity, but the materialization of some "concept." Where it dripped, grass didn't wither, rocks didn't corrode, but everything there became "blurred"—not visually blurred, but blurred in terms of existence, as if those things were "fading out" from this world.
"Fall back!" The God of Destruction shouted in a low voice, waving his hand to lay down a purple barrier, isolating that seeping substance within a ten-zhang radius.
Tang San stepped forward, the Sea God Trident appearing in his hand. Azure divine light swept across that region. Where the divine light passed, the blurring slightly receded, but quickly re-diffused—it wasn't being dispersed, only temporarily suppressed.
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