Within the Secret Realm.
At Heart Lake, everyone was resting.
Since there's no way out, it's better to rest; how could one possibly cultivate?
Who are they putting on this for?
Anything can happen in such a short time.
You can't achieve anything significant through cultivation.
Li Chen sat cross-legged on Mirror Lake, his eyes slightly closed, his heart already calmed down.
In the darkness.
He returned to the Throne Space once again.
This time, he came to find answers and to see if his previous guesses were correct.
The once-bright white door no longer shines brightly; instead, it is dim and completely devoid of luster.
There seemed to be streaks of blood wrapped around it.
It seems that the White Door only became like this after the man completely transformed into Eldritch God.
Li Chen narrowed his eyes and looked towards the distant top, where the shattered throne still stood motionless, just as before, but without its former glory.
The Red Door remained open as before, but Li Chen had no idea how far the stairs behind it led to the end.
"Having broken through to the Withered Sea Realm, I should be able to open another door."
What lies behind this door?
With a hint of anticipation, Li Chen walked towards the emerald Green Door, a faint life force drifting into his body.
It resembles Ji Mumu's flames, yet it's different.
This force is purer.
Li Chen touched the door, then pushed it inwards, and the door slowly opened.
Sure enough, he was right.
Only by improving one's own cultivation level can these doors be opened one by one.
There are seven doors in this space.
If each door corresponds to a threshold.
From the Dripping Water Realm to the Looking River Realm, and finally to the Wasteland Realm, there are only five realms.
Does that mean he needs to become a god to unlock the next level?
Li Chen pondered for a moment, then looked at the open door in front of him and went inside.
An extremely rich aura of life enveloped Li Chen, as if he had entered a pool of life-giving water.
It's very warm.
In this deathly silent space, there is actually such a place.
However, it wasn't another road inside, just as Li Chen had imagined.
The roads here are completely broken.
Those emerald green steps were already floating in the air, one by one.
And that life force emanates from these broken roads.
There was no reward given to him.
It was all just his fantasy.
Indeed, with Vector Manipulation and the King's Power, he has already dominated the entire Academy Tournament.
As long as he lives, he will surely become a powerful figure.
He was already satisfied.
But is this really all there is to it?
Doesn't that mean it's not even turned on?
What is the purpose of this door? Is it just for collecting life force?
Just as Li Chen was thinking this...
A ball of white light floated behind him and quickly merged into his body before he could react.
In an instant, his whole world changed.
He arrived at an extremely old and dilapidated house.
The ceiling has a yellowish tinge.
There were unwashed dishes and a noisy street outside the window.
Li Chen was stunned. Where was he?
"You've arrived."
The sound broke Li Chen's thoughts, and he turned to look.
He saw a man who looked almost exactly like him looking at him.
"Are you... the Lord of Rules?"
"The Eldritch God?"
The man smiled, sat down on the sofa, patted the person next to him, and said...
"Sit down, it's very clean here."
Li Chen hesitated for a few seconds before sitting down.
He had so many questions he wanted to ask him.
The man conjured two cups of tea out of thin air, still steaming.
"Have some tea first, then we can talk."
"No rush."
Li Chen had never drunk tea before, but he picked it up in a serious manner and downed it in one gulp.
The man laughed and said, "You really are exactly the same as I used to be."
"But it seems that they really are the same."
Li Chen looked at him and asked, "Who exactly are you, or rather, who am I? And do you know all of this?!"
The man took a sip of tea and smiled, "Didn't I say that before?"
"I am you, and you are me."
"We are one."
"My name is Li Chen, and your name is Li Chen."
"The collision of reincarnations brought me back to life, but that's all I've done."
"What's the meaning?"
Li Chen was somewhat bewildered.
Li Chen smiled and said, "You should understand reincarnation, shouldn't you?"
"You were originally my reincarnation, but because I am a god, I cannot enter the cycle of reincarnation, which is why you were born."
Li Chen asked, half-understanding, "So, you're already dead?"
Li Chen laughed and scolded.
"If I die, you will be gone!"
He paused, shook his head, looked out the window, and said...
Do you believe in yourself?
"Or do you believe you can defeat an unknown enemy?"
"Our universes are actually one universe. Because of me, everything has fallen into a cycle, returning to its origin."
"But I never imagined that Trajectory in my world would be completely erased."
"And I survived thanks to the Authority Power, but this is not what I wanted."
"Because the Authority Power can bring unwarranted calamities, or perhaps it is the watchful eyes of those gods from beyond the universe, the ancient gods."
Li Chen hesitated for a few seconds before speaking, "The Authority Power is the key to becoming a god, right?"
Li Chen nodded slightly.
"You now possess a total of six keys within you, which represent six Authority Powers."
"It also contains my divine power."
"But all of this has shaped the world you live in now."
"No, it should be said that I created it using the power of reincarnation."
"You should have possessed the Authority Power within you, but now the Reincarnation Authority has completely dissipated, the Rule Authority, which is my divine power, is about to be devoured by the Forbidden, and you should have seen the Life Authority as well."
"The Authority Power within you is almost entirely damaged and on the verge of shattering."
Li Chen frowned, looked at Li Chen, and said, "Then why are you speaking to me in this form?"
Li Chen smiled wryly and said, "When you open the Life Door, it will trigger the power of the rules I have imposed."
"I am nothing more than a memory, a conscious memory."
"I may have already become a monster that devours everything."
"This is the power of the Forbidden."
"Forbidden?"
Li Chen nodded, looked at the black mark on Li Chen's right hand, and said, "That's right, it's the Forbidden."
"Forbidden is an unsolvable substance; it can corrode everything, plunging everything into madness and Mutation."
"Theoretically, this power shouldn't exist, but its source is the Old Gods."
"Those ancient gods are the culprits who destroyed the world, and even reincarnation cannot erase them, which is why there is the endless Black Mist in your world now."
"In order to fight the Old Gods and to allow you to grow rapidly, I used the last bit of power of the rules to integrate the Forbidden into your body, which is why you have the power to control Forbidden Substances."
"But you should have also felt it; although it's control, your rationality will continuously decrease, turning you into a complete killing machine."
Li Chen frowned. After all, he had experienced that feeling before. Indeed, once the Forbidden Substance was used, his body instinctively became cold-blooded, and even more insane.
"What are some ways to solve this?"
Li Chen smiled and said, "Of course there is, and it's the safest one I could think of."
"That is to make you a god!"
"God born from the Forbidden!"
"Every world gives birth to a Main God, but this universe, this world, has never given birth to God, because all the Authority Power has already been born in many other universes."
"But it was precisely because of this that I discovered that Forbidden Authority has no Gods!"
"Because Forbidden Authority was possessed by the Old Gods, by all the assimilated beings—what you call Eerie Monsters —they were born of the Forbidden, but never truly grasped it, and could only allow the Forbidden to erode them."
"Do you understand, Li Chen?"
"I've found the most terrifying... and also the most powerful path for you!!"