A world.
In that instant, Pan Long felt as though he had seen an entire world.
The world had several layers, inner and outer, with a clear boundary between each one.
Outermost lay the Endless Void. Something seemed to exist in its farthest reaches, but he could not make it out. Next came the vast Sea of Stars, its countless stars stretching without end: nebulae, suns, planets... On some planets, he could even see signs of life. Closer still was the star chart he knew, with the stars visible on ordinary nights scattered through it at varying distances. Then came the mortal realm, separated by Astral Wind. Worlds large and small floated around it like patches of color on a painting. And at the very center was...
He felt that he had seen something, yet he retained no memory of it. Every impression slipped away like water through a sieve, leaving only a trace of dampness to tell him something had passed through.
That must be the world's "source."
He could clearly feel things on his body like ropes tying him to the World Source. The other "ropes" flickered in and out, seeming both real and unreal. Only two were undeniably real.
One was powerful and secure, though a thin barrier remained. It seemed he could break through it simply by reaching out.
He knew it came from the immense Merit he had accumulated.
The other "rope" did not feel as powerful, but it was steady and reliable. More importantly, it was the only connection that truly reached all the way through.
Through that "rope," Pan Long was already joined to the source of the Nine Provinces World. No matter how seas turned to mulberry fields in the ages to come, as long as the connection remained intact, he would