Ch. 1652 - The Mysterious White Line

The Dao of Oblivion can erase all forms of power, yet it cannot erase its own origin. The reason those who enter cannot leave is because they fail to see through this truth. And even if they do see through it, without the Dao of Oblivion, they still cannot escape. Only someone like Xu Zimo, who can comprehend the myriad Daos of the world, can freely enter and exit this place.

This idea came to him earlier when he was speaking with the Thunder God, Qiangliang. Since absolute force could not break the abyss, what if the Dao of Oblivion was used instead? Over the past year, he had roamed the depths of the abyss, working to perfectly merge his own “departure” with every part of this place.

Besides this accomplishment, he also discovered something else.

His Ten Forms of Demon and the Ten Primordial God-Scriptures were missing something. Every time he used them, he could never push these techniques to their true peak, greatly reducing their power.

At this moment, the Dao of Oblivion around him had become indistinguishable, for he had completely merged into the abyss’s darkness. Wherever he walked, powerful currents of the Dao of Oblivion surged.

When he passed by the white-robed young man and the red-clothed woman, they showed no reaction at all, as if they could not see him. But when he walked past the Thunder God, Qiangliang, the latter narrowed his eyes and barked, “Who’s there?!”

Xu Zimo stepped out of the darkness and smiled. “How did you sense me, senior?”

“There are few things in this world that can escape my perception. My God-Soul may be gone, but my body has already gained divinity,” Qiangliang replied. “Seems you’ve found your answer.”

“The method to break the Dao of Oblivion lies within the Dao of Oblivion itself,” Xu Zimo explained.

“I should have realized that long ago,” Qiangliang said. “But so what if I did? I devoted my life solely to lightning. This is a dead end.”

Xu Zimo fell silent. It truly was a dead end. Too few people in this world cultivated the Dao of Oblivion. Even if you knew the way out, you would still be helpless.

“Are you leaving?” Qiangliang asked.

“Will you come with me?” Xu Zimo asked.

“No. This broken body of mine can only remain in the abyss. This is my fate,” Qiangliang replied.

Xu Zimo said nothing more.

He bowed deeply to the Ancient God of Thunder; after all, Qiangliang had granted him his legacy, which was a tremendous favor. Then he left.

After walking out of the radiant passage, Xu Zimo stopped concealing himself and approached the white-robed youth and red-clothed woman.

“I’m leaving the Abyss of Oblivion. Do you wish to come out?” he asked.

“We’re living corpses here. We cannot leave,” the woman said with a bitter smile. “If the abyss stops forgetting our deaths, we’ll die the moment we step outside.”

The white-robed youth followed with, “I knew you weren’t ordinary. Didn’t expect you to really figure it out. If only I’d met you tens of thousands of years earlier… how great that would’ve been.”

“Perhaps that’s fate,” Xu Zimo said, remembering Qiangliang’s words. “Farewell.”

The Dao of Oblivion surged ever more fiercely around him until, with a thunderous boom, a vast ocean-like power completely submerged him. His vision went dark as the void swallowed him whole.

He offered no resistance, fearing that struggling might cause an accident. He simply let the power of the abyss envelop him, unsure of where he was being taken.

This state lasted for about half an hour. Gradually, the surging currents around him began to calm. He raised his head. In the darkness surrounding him, a silver-white line drifted slowly.

The line pulsed with the aura of the Dao.

Dao melodies whispered softly by his ears, like murmurs. The line continuously transformed, sometimes becoming mountains and rivers spanning ten thousand miles of empty space; sometimes becoming a divine beast soaring through the sky, ruling all beasts; sometimes becoming an ethereal immortal residing in the southeastern mountains. Though it was only a single line, it carried infinite transformations.

Xu Zimo walked toward it. He felt instinctively that this was an incredibly powerful treasure. But the moment he drew close, the line seemed to sense intrusion. A mighty pressure burst forth, pinning him in place. Then a wave-like force struck, flinging him away.

The line shot toward him. For some reason, Xu Zimo suddenly felt that the line wanted to devour him, and he, too, felt a desire to devour the line. It was a mutual urge.

Xu Zimo frowned. Something was clearly wrong. Yet the pressure from the line froze him in place; even his strength could not be used. His spirit energy stopped flowing entirely. This startled him.

“What are you?!” he roared.

The line wrapped around his neck, tightening with a force that could snap it. His breath grew strained, and his consciousness began to fade.

At that moment, a burst of power suddenly surged from within his body. He didn’t know where it came from, but it tore apart the line’s restraint. Grabbing one end of the line, he bit down.

They tangled in the void, he trying to devour the line, and the line trying to strangle him. His mind grew increasingly faint, and soon only a single instinct remained.

Devour the line.

He didn’t know how long they struggled. Eventually, he felt a warm current flow from his mouth into his body. Then, like a vast ocean, it crashed into his abdomen with unstoppable force. Under this impact, his consciousness completely blacked out.

Months passed.

“You’re awake,” the familiar voice of San Dao sounded beside him.

Xu Zimo’s eyes snapped open. He looked around and saw he was inside the Dragon Sea. San Dao sat cross-legged nearby, guarding him.

“What happened?” Xu Zimo asked.

“I should be asking you that,” San Dao laughed. “What did you encounter in there?”

“The Abyss of Oblivion…” Xu Zimo frowned. He remembered only the line; everything after he fainted was gone.

“Did you rescue me?” he asked.

“After suppressing that High Leviathan, I realized you had recklessly gone to the end of the Dragon Sea,” San Dao replied. “Since the situation inside was unknown, I informed the Progenitor and called him over.”

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