Chapter 1553: From Never Before

"They're all malevolent spirits, their faces covered in blood, wandering outside..." Jiu Daoyi's voice was faint, as if from a great distance, yet to many, it sounded like a clap of thunder.

Chu Feng's body stiffened. At that moment, he involuntarily recalled a past event: a peculiar night when he had met a man who jokingly claimed he was "out on parole from hell."

That man was imposing and possessed a unique, otherworldly aura. As he sighed with a sense of regret and melancholy, he murmured to himself that he had once reigned supreme across the heavens and earth for ten generations.

At the time, that man had said that on that particular night, the Human Realm was filled with the dead, wandering with blood-stained faces. Now, Jiu Daoyi's words bore an uncanny resemblance to his.

Had Old Man Skin also realized something? To utter such similar words!

If what he said was true, how could one not be utterly shattered? The entire world was an illusion, a fabrication, and they were merely figures in a painting, all long dead.

Now, it was clear why Jiu Daoyi had suddenly descended into madness. His worldview had collapsed, all his prior understanding overturned, and even his very existence denied!

Who could face such a revelation calmly?

Jiu Daoyi stretched out his hands. Standing on the Path of Reincarnation, facing the shimmering golden light, he suddenly surged forward, as if heading towards the very end of this eternal, boundless scroll.

"Everything is an illusion. I'm slowly understanding why I couldn't find... that one. We are all dependent on his dream, which is why he doesn't appear in any ancient history." Jiu Daoyi murmured, his words growing more confused and imbued with endless sorrow.

Those people of the past, the deepest memories from ancient times, were all but sorrowful relics. In truth, they had all perished, having vanished countless eons ago.

And so had he!

Was everything in the present merely dependent on that individual's memory?

"The world no longer exists. The heavens perished long ago. Nothing is real." Jiu Daoyi spoke with a trembling voice, his body hunched, looking significantly older. With faltering steps, he slowly shuffled forward.

He reached out to touch the golden ripples in the depths of Reincarnation, finally exclaiming, "Perhaps the entire world *is* that one! We are all just faint... traces clinging to him!"

By now, the Two Realms Battlefield was far from tranquil. Hearts were filled with dread, and a cacophony of panicked voices rose. Especially upon hearing Jiu Daoyi's murmurs, people grew even more terrified, their hearts pounding in fear.

They had all been negated; they weren't even real living beings?!

"Old Man Skin, you've truly gone mad! Perhaps you died long ago, but look at this Emperor — I have always been real!" At that moment, a loud roar shattered the prevailing fear.

From beyond the Human Realm, within the boundless void, a massive black dog paw descended from the heavens. Imposing and terrifying, it plunged directly into the Human Realm without pause, swiftly vanishing into the golden light in the depths of the Path of Reincarnation.

And then, from that spot, a piteous howl echoed!

It was utterly terrifying, filling everyone with immense dread and a bone-chilling sensation. It made the hair stand on end for all cultivators, sending a shiver of fear down their spines.

For the dog's cry was too wretched, utterly horrifying.

"Why?" the Dog Emperor wailed in agony.

Its scalp tingled as it witnessed its massive paw, which had extended as far as possible into the Human Realm and deep into the Path of Reincarnation, revealing its true form in the golden light: it was rotten, pitch-black, reeking, and covered in foul blood!

The sight made its jowls tremble uncontrollably, and its broken fangs clattered.

"Am I dead? I'm an Emperor's body, immortal and imperishable, yet now all my fur has fallen out, and my flesh is nearly rotten through!?"

Dead? The Dog Emperor's massive black paw didn't resemble a living thing at all; in the shimmering golden light, it reflected boundless death energy, already long rotted!

Was this the truth? Had it already died, no longer existing in this world?!

"To think, you're actually gone. You've truly become a dead dog, how saddening, how sorrowful." The Corpse sighed, sitting on a bronze coffin lid in the void outside the Human Realm, and gently patted the Dog Emperor's head.

After a long moment, the black dog finally came to its senses, then, furious and embarrassed, snarled, "Get lost! You're the one who's dead!"

Then, it swatted a paw at the Corpse, intending to knock him into the Human Realm and into the Path of Reincarnation, wanting to see his current state and true form as well.

The Corpse blocked the attack, but ultimately couldn't resist. He voluntarily extended an arm, which tremblingly reached into the Human Realm, straight into the Path of Reincarnation.

In an instant, he felt as if he had been stung by the most virulent, calamity-level insect from beyond the Thirty-Three Heavens. His arm trembled violently and was quickly retracted, for in that brief moment, he had seen his own arm as putrid, with even disaster-grade maggots crawling in and out of it. Was it truly... completely rotted and dead?

While he currently appeared to be a decaying corpse, he still possessed vitality.

However, the moment he extended it into the golden light deep within the Path of Reincarnation, the truth revealed was a hundred times more severe: it had long since lost all signs of life.

"Are we all dead? How is that possible? I'm clearly still alive!" the Corpse murmured, gazing at his arm, somewhat dazed.

Had everyone died? Had they merely been imagined into existence by someone? Was the entire expanse of mountains and rivers, the boundless cosmic void, merely a painting?

The Dog Emperor said, "Impossible! How powerful are the Three Heavenly Emperors? They have already ascended to the pinnacle, becoming supremely strong. How could they possibly be creations of someone's imagination?"

The Corpse quickly nodded, as if trying to find a reason for his own existence. "Exactly," he said. "If the world were truly illusory, my body would still be here. Even if it appeared rotten in the golden light deep within the Path of Reincarnation, that at least proves it's not a mere illusion. Perhaps only Old Man Skin and other such monsters are the illusory beings imagined into existence."

From the depths of the Path of Reincarnation, Jiu Daoyi turned, gazing outward. "Not just you," he said, "but many others have rotting corpses and faces covered in blood. Yet, they are all merely dependent on that one's energy; ultimately, they are dead."

"You old man skin, why must you insist that we are all dead?!" The Dog Emperor was enraged; he simply could not accept this assertion.

"I merely revealed the bloody reality, the very essence and truth of this world!" Jiu Daoyi sighed.

Even the short, elderly creator of the Time Sutra was lost in thought, silent for a long time. He had revived from a famous mountain; could it be... that he was merely the lingering obsession and final glance of a corpse?

And the black shadow, suspected to be a Fallen Immortal King, was also silent, staring into the deepest part of the Path of Reincarnation, deducing, suspecting, his heart filled with immense conflict.

Jiu Daoyi murmured, "Perhaps that one never truly transcended ancient history, never left. Because this very ancient history *is* him. And the ancient history he belonged to has already been destroyed. His wounds and sorrow, his yearning, his grief and the eternal anguish, they are what constructed us."

My... God!

People felt their scalps almost splitting from sharp pain, then a chill like cold electricity coursed through their bodies, making them intensely uncomfortable. Could such a conjecture truly be made?!

Suddenly, the Dog Emperor's eyes sharpened, growing increasingly brilliant. "You're deluded," he declared. "Come and see if this person is truly a living being!"

Then, with a sweep of his paw, he swatted Chu Feng into the depths of the Path of Reincarnation, where he was illuminated by the vast and sacred golden light.

"I am still... me!" Chu Feng said, reaching out. He saw his own body of flesh and blood, vibrant with life and energy, not an illusory entity.

Long Dayu, who had been watching the commotion while simultaneously trembling with fear, now found his neck seized by a furry dog paw. He let out a terrified shriek as he was swiftly tossed into the depths of the Path of Reincarnation.

In that instant, his body shimmered with shifting light, changing several times. He was a true body of flesh and blood, not only appearing as such but genuinely real. Furthermore, some mysterious energy deep within the Path of Reincarnation seemed to trace his past lives.

In his earliest, distant past, in a certain lifetime, he had actually been a golden silkworm?!

Later, in another life, he became a strange dragon. During this time, he consumed the Thirty-Three Heaven Grass, an act sufficient to allow him to live for three lifetimes!

"Ah? I'm... Ouyang Feng, too?!" the strange dragon exclaimed.

Next, he was flung out of the Path of Reincarnation, stumbling and falling beside Old Gu, completely dazed.

While in his dragon form, after consuming the Thirty-Three Heaven Grass, his physical body had remained in a dormant, deathly silent state for a long period.

This was far more than simply living three lifetimes; the Thirty-Three Heaven Grass was astonishing and mysterious. At that time, it not only allowed him to undergo nirvana, but also enabled half of his spiritual consciousness to reincarnate, eventually arriving on Earth and becoming the divine beast toad, Ouyang Feng.

It turned out he had known Chu Feng for a long time, having been with that "human trafficker" in the Lesser Underworld, causing quite a stir and pulling off one grand scheme after another!

It was not until Heavenly Venerate Taiwu descended and killed them that Chu Feng sent them into the Path of Reincarnation. Only then did Ouyang Feng's portion of spiritual consciousness return to the strange dragon's body, effectively a unique form of reincarnation back to the Human Realm.

However, upon returning, he had not awakened his memories from Earth and the Lesser Underworld. It was only now that he had truly revived.

In the distance, Chu Feng was also surprised. The strange dragon was actually Ouyang Feng? No wonder he had always found its temperament unique and familiar, so much like that old friend!

Long Dayu also murmured, "No wonder, when I saw Sister Yaoyao fighting, it felt familiar. I was also one of Earth's heroic spirits!"

Ouyang Feng was filled with emotion, inexplicably shocked.

Then, his gaze towards Chu Feng changed, becoming quite unfriendly. To have been tormented and bullied by this "human trafficker" across two lifetimes, constantly made to bear the blame, was truly pitiful.

Old Gu was startled and uncertain, watching the strange dragon's erratic behavior. He couldn't help but tap its shoulder and ask, "What's wrong with you?"

"I," Ouyang Feng replied, letting out a sneeze, "only today do I know I am truly myself; my true self has returned!" As he spoke, saliva splattered everywhere.

In that single moment, Old Gu was practically soaked, his face completely darkening. "What kind of style is this? What sort of demeanor? Are you talking? You're thundering and raining!" He wanted to strangle the strange dragon Ouyang Feng to death.

Ouyang Feng had only just recovered his memories from Earth, and some of his old habits resurfaced, manifesting as an uncontrollable tendency to spray saliva when he spoke.

"Bang!"

Old Gu showed no mercy, slapping the strange dragon hard on the back of its head, sending it flying hundreds of feet away. "I don't care if you're Long Dayu or Ouyang Feng," he roared, "just be quiet in front of me!"

At that moment, Chu Feng also tumbled out.

Zhou Xi was also sent into the depths of the Path of Reincarnation. The result reflected her as a genuine living person, her flesh and blood sparkling within the divine light, not a blood-stained malevolent spirit.

Next, Yaoyao voluntarily entered, and what was reflected was also a vibrant, living body.

"Old Man Skin, what do you think? Isn't what I said true? Perhaps you died, but this world is not fake; there are many living beings!" the Dog Emperor shouted.

Jiu Daoyi stared blankly, his body rigid. He still felt something was amiss; many people in this world truly were corpses, merely... traces of the past.

He suddenly looked up, gazing beyond the realm, and replied to the Dog Emperor, "But you certainly died! You've been rotten for a long time!"

The Dog Emperor seemed as if its tail had been stepped on, or as if it had been choked. It let out a low growl but could say nothing, as the reflection of its own paw just moments ago had sent chills down its spine.

Jiu Daoyi suddenly exclaimed, "No, there must be something wrong! Someone is obscuring the truth, showing me an incomplete world. Who? Is it the power behind the Reincarnation Hunters? What force do you belong to, daring to act in that one's backyard? Do you wish to die without a burial place?! Or, were you originally connected to that one, something he left behind, but now you've been exploited by outsiders who are dominating this place!?"

After a long silence, the Dog Emperor spoke. His voice was very low but incredibly powerful, lingering in Jiu Daoyi's ears, his whispered words striking fear into people's hearts.

"You say we are all dead, all illusory bodies, mere figures in a painting. But have you ever considered that the truth might be precisely the opposite?!"

The Dog Emperor's voice was mesmerizing, imbued with a mysterious power. He continued, "Have you ever considered a truly terrifying possibility? What if that one never existed at all? What if *he* is the void, that person never having been real in the first place!"

"You... what are you saying!" Jiu Daoyi exploded in anger. Regardless of anything, he harbored profound emotions, admiration, and reverence for that one, to an unparalleled degree.

The Dog Emperor's eyes were profound, and his voice was low as he said, "Perhaps, everything is simply because our world, the heavens of that era, suffered an irreversible great calamity. Blood and chaos destroyed everything; we were powerless to resist, no one could stand against it. And that one is merely the hope in all our hearts, the aspiration of all races' spirits, a person completely imagined into existence, in the hope that he could pacify the world, quell the bloody chaos, annihilate all ill omens, slay all enemies, sweep through the eternal heavens, overturn the past, rewrite all battles, and rewrite the entire ancient history!"

Such words were like chaotic lightning, shattering the heavens and earth, utterly astonishing.

The Dog Emperor whispered, "In truth, that person never existed!"