Concept for a New World

Lu Zhiyu formulated his plans for the future of the Universe Scroll space according to his own ideas. Since he possessed 1,368 units of Source Substance, he decided to make this framework larger. Otherwise, having to constantly revise and adjust it later would be troublesome and disrupt the overall layout. Of course, this was only the framework. Designing an entire large-scale world at present was still beyond Lu Zhiyu's abilities.

Lu Zhiyu pondered for a long time. He had considered the universe, planes, parallel worlds, timeline worlds, game worlds, and a whole host of spatial models. But in the end, he found that those settings were either too difficult to realize or failed to match his ideas and expectations.

In the end, Lu Zhiyu chose a more practical type of space: a Crystal Wall System world, a world composed of countless planes. It was entirely different from a universe of planets. Beyond the planes lay what could be called the Ether Sea, or the Astral Realm!

Lu Zhiyu had originally wanted to create an immortal-cultivation or fantasy setting, but after thinking it over, he felt that framework was too vast and difficult to control, and the system itself would be hard to establish. Most importantly, he was afraid some absurdly overpowered figure might emerge within it, chase him across dimensional gaps, and go around threatening to destroy heaven, slaughter heaven, stab heaven, or whatever!

That was a joke, of course. Still, immortal-cultivation settings really did lean more toward individual cultivation systems. What Lu Zhiyu wanted was a system where everyone could evolve and cultivate, driving civilization forward—a world that would make it easier for him to harvest Source Substance. Its high-end combat power should not be too strong, either. It would be better if it developed gradually.

So, in his design, Lu Zhiyu wanted to create a low-magic world that combined with technology, one that could continuously provide him with Source Substance and offer him countless ideas and approaches to evolution. After all, one person's thoughts were limited no matter how hard he buried himself in contemplation. Many minds were better than one. Lu Zhiyu's current gains had, after all, originated from those few ants back then!

Lu Zhiyu filled an entire notebook with plans and settings. Once he had finished, he closed it and took out the Universe Scroll he had hidden away. Upon opening it, he saw that the world within the Universe Scroll had turned into a barren desert, completely empty.

Lu Zhiyu closed his eyes, cupped his face in his hands, and completely immersed his consciousness in the Universe Scroll. His consciousness connected with the silver Hourglass, granting him control over the Universe Scroll. At once, he saw the conditions within it begin to change.

The original Painting Space world steadily shrank, and the entire scene turned dark, like a vast black vortex that gradually swallowed everything. As the world was adjusted, Lu Zhiyu could sense a Crystal Wall System world being born within the Universe Scroll. The original Painting Space world had become one black speck within it, one tiny bubble, and was gradually cast from the center of the world into a corner.

Lu Zhiyu let out a breath and opened his eyes, knowing that everything in his setup process was functioning normally. However, the Source Substance units in his mind instantly dropped by 930, leaving only 438. A mere framework, without anything substantive at all, had consumed such an enormous amount of Source Substance. Lu Zhiyu's expression darkened. Source Substance was not easy to obtain; every bit spent was one bit less.

Lu Zhiyu acted again. At the center of the Universe Scroll, within that dark vortex world, a bubble was constructed. Lu Zhiyu stabilized its spatial structure, but as for how large the space inside would be, he would need to expend matter and energy to fill it.

Lu Zhiyu immediately went up to the rooftop. There, he saw a strange symbol drawn on the roof. Its complexity rivaled a detailed architectural blueprint covering everything from a building's exterior to its interior furnishings. It had taken Lu Zhiyu several days to draw it successfully.

When Lu Zhiyu's authority had advanced earlier, he had gained control over the method of opening the Dimensional Gate. This was that method. The drawing itself held no significance; what mattered was how it guided mental power. Only by following this diagram and channeling his mental power into it could Lu Zhiyu activate the Dimensional Gate.

As his mental power flowed into it, there was no visible change. Yet Lu Zhiyu could sense the ground beneath his feet continuously trembling. The instant his mental power completed the structure, he immediately saw a gigantic black opening extend from beneath his feet and spread toward the sky!

"Rumble!"

At that moment, people all over the world stopped what they were doing, at a loss for what to do. The sky had suddenly gone dark, and the entire world was plunged into darkness.

"What's going on?"

"Is there a solar eclipse?"

"Why did it suddenly get dark?"

At the Chinese Academy of Sciences Institute of Astronomy, several scientists gathered together. "What is going on? How could a solar eclipse suddenly occur? Why didn't we calculate this beforehand?"

"It isn't a solar eclipse!"

"If it isn't a solar eclipse, how is that possible? Then what is happening?"

"It seems the sunlight has disappeared!"

At NASA in the United States, a group of people of various ethnicities in work uniforms gathered together—white people, Asians, and Black people alike. Several men hammered away at keyboards while the others stared at the large screen in shock. "It isn't a natural phenomenon. The Sun's energy has been devoured by some unknown entity!"

"Devoured the energy emitted by the Sun? How is that possible? Are you sure you haven't gone insane?"

"Damn it, I want to say I've gone insane too, but that's what the data shows!"

"How large is the affected area? Was it man-made?"

"The affected area is undetermined, but it certainly extends beyond the entire Earth. It may cover part of the Solar System. Man-made? If a human could accomplish this, then it could only be God. My God, it could effortlessly destroy the entire Earth in an instant."

"Maybe it's aliens!"

At the same time, the Netherlands Radio Astronomy Institute, astronomical institutions around the world, and major space agencies were all left helpless by this sudden celestial anomaly.

Countless people stuck their heads outside and looked around. The whole world had fallen into darkness, and traffic descended into chaos. People on the streets screamed and crouched down. The darkened world filled them with boundless fear. More people turned on their lights, looked up at the sky through the darkness, and held up their phones and telescopes, hoping to observe the spectacle of a solar eclipse. Yet they could see nothing at all.

"Why can't the phones get through either? What is happening?"

"The lights are getting dim too!"

"The internet is down!"

Those who knew the truth were now gripped by panic. The Sun's energy had been devoured, plunging the entire Earth into darkness, and they could neither find the cause nor know when things would return to normal. If this continued, human order would completely collapse in just a few days. Within less than a month, humanity would march toward extinction.

"My God, is this the end of the world?"

"It still hasn't recovered. What exactly is happening? Find the cause immediately! We cannot lose the Sun!"

"Is this punishment from God?"

Standing on his rooftop, Lu Zhiyu immediately began continuously narrowing the entrance to the Dimensional Gate. He had just wanted to open the entrance to its maximum size, but he had not expected the enormous opening and its devouring force to have such a tremendous effect. The entire sky had gone dark. This was far beyond what Lu Zhiyu had intended when he sought to absorb external energy!

It took several full minutes before Lu Zhiyu closed the entrance. After waiting a few more minutes, light returned to the entire world. Lu Zhiyu could not help wiping away a cold sweat. Fortunately, he had configured the Dimensional Gate to absorb energy and aimed it toward outer space. If he had aimed it beneath his feet, he truly feared it might have swallowed the Earth!

Lu Zhiyu looked at the gradually brightening sky and let out a breath. He wondered how far the disturbance had spread. Would anyone set their sights on him?

Lu Zhiyu would never have imagined that the dimensional passage he had just released, following his instructions to absorb external energy and devour photons without limit, had plunged Earth into darkness for more than ten minutes. It caused panic among institutions around the world, and everyone was speculating over what had caused the scene just now. Was it a natural phenomenon, or had God truly played a joke?