Chapter 144: Overlapping Worlds

Xi Fu Lin in the image tilted her head in confusion.

“What does ‘打 call’ even mean…? Never mind, I wasn’t really urging you. The Divine Tree taking over a hundred years to fully mature is quite normal. I honestly expected it would be impressive if you could plant the first branch tree within three years, so there’s no need to rush. The reason I suddenly contacted you was that I noticed some things that caught my attention and wanted to give you a heads-up.”

“Things that caught your attention? Are they related to the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons?”

Without answering immediately and not directly addressing the Priestess’s curiosity, Xi Fu Lin considered for a moment and countered with a question.

“Vilyric, I’ve already learned about your situation through Tilysha’s perspective. When you communicated with those magical beasts today, how much information did they share with you?”

Several magical beasts?

Oh, they must be talking about Min Chen and Chief Vanessa and the others.

“A fair amount. If I were to explain in detail, it would probably take quite a bit of time. How about you just get to the point, Xi Fu Lin?”

“Is that so… Alright then, listen closely, Vilyric. Over there, the barrier between your world and another is weakening. Although this process is slow and just beginning, it will take a while to fully complete… But the ripple effect of this change has already caused many abnormal phenomena in that area, and you should have noticed some of them, right?”

“Abnormal phenomena?”

The Priestess was surprised and then turned to the torrential rain that suddenly descended from the pitch-black night, realizing immediately.

“You mean this incessant downpour, right?”

“That’s just one aspect. Many more changes have likely occurred quietly in places you can’t see, like the flow of magical power in the ley lines, and abnormal fluctuations in climate and temperature. You should see them soon. Although I’m not physically present there and can’t make an accurate judgment, as far as I know, the Mountains of Ten Thousand Demons are indeed spatially very close to another world, so you need to take this seriously.”

Another world… Regarding that, Vilyric had indeed learned quite a bit not long ago. Min Chen seemed to have mentioned something similar, such as how the abnormal rain was a harbinger of some impending change…

Thinking about the various pieces of information she had received during the day, the Priestess decided to pose a question that had been troubling her to the well-informed deity.

“Thanks for the heads-up, I got it. But Xi Fu Lin, how many worlds are there outside our own? How do they exist in relation to each other? Isn’t this world barrier a bit too flimsy?”

The Life Goddess nodded thoughtfully.

“That’s a good question. To be honest, even the gods from the Age of Gods couldn’t fully decipher and understand everything in this world. But one thing is certain; the world we inhabit is definitely not alone. At least several other worlds with confirmed life exist, connected to this one in some form, just like the underworld of Aibus that you know of.”

“In fact, Aibus isn’t really located directly beneath our world. In the age before Xi Fu was sealed, when the Sky Islands hadn’t formed yet, the vast emptiness beyond the land was collectively known as the ‘World’s Edge.'”

Maybe sensing that this explanation might be difficult to understand, Xi Fu Lin grabbed a square wooden box of unknown purpose nearby and pointed to the side that was facing up.

“You see, if we compare our world to one side of this box, then the World’s Edge is the meaningless parts that extend beyond the box’s surface, while Aibus’s world is right here.”

As she spoke, the Lady Goddess turned the wooden box, changing the adjacent face from earlier to be the one facing up.

“See? This is Aibus, a world that touches this one but is different in nature. By extension…”

Xi Fu Lin continued to rotate the box repeatedly, showing all six sides before finally flipping it back to the original side.

“Our relationship with other worlds is like this; they’re connected in some form, but it’s difficult to reach them directly. Of course, the actual structure between true worlds is certainly not as simple as this box, but it’s a fair analogy.”

“Hmm hmm…”

Thoughtfully tapping the armrest with her finger, Vilyric leaned back lazily, unconcerned as she crossed her long, smooth legs beneath her white robe, and tried to add to the conversation.

“So, there are four other worlds connected to ours, like Aibus? Does Xi Fu Lin know what kind of worlds those are?”

“Incorrect. In fact, there are far more than four, Vilyric. The first point you need to understand is that my previous metaphor was just that. In reality, the worlds connected to this one do not only link to us but also connect to many different worlds.”

“Like Aibus, it contributes to forming our six-sided figure while also being one face of another six-sided figure, or perhaps multiple six-sided figures. Most of them might be desolate and devoid of life, but who can say for certain that there isn’t a vibrant land among them?”

“Worlds overlap and extend in this manner, which is why I said that even during the Age of Gods, we couldn’t fully grasp everything in this world. Additionally, during the time you were away, I’ve combined some new information and contemplated…”

Xi Fu Lin’s tone suddenly turned grave and serious.

“That terrible disaster that nearly wiped out the gods likely originated from outside our world. After all, while traveling between worlds is incredibly challenging, it’s not entirely impossible. The gods likely ventured to other worlds to combat some threat, only to meet their demise there.”

“The evidence is that now our world’s boundaries are almost entirely sealed off by restrictions, something that simply did not exist in that former age, perhaps intended to block certain external elements.”

“Is that for real…?”

The Priestess raised an eyebrow in shock.

“Could there be beings more powerful than gods, who possess a divine nation, nearly equal to the concept itself? Why haven’t they appeared in the past?”

“I don’t know… This is just my conjecture. As far as I was aware, gods, or rather, the supreme god, are the pinnacle of existence among all beings. The supreme god’s divine nation can almost be viewed as an entirely independent world, capable of single-handedly annihilating the entire world without other deities to hinder them.”

Xi Fu Lin frowned, as if talking to herself.

“Order-aligned deities tend to prefer stability and rarely leave this world for others, while it’s the chaotic and destructive chaotic deities who would be idle enough to invade the external world, spreading madness through their worship. Therefore, my understanding of other worlds isn’t extensive; I’ve only descended into the nearby Aibus a few times in the past.”

“Decay believes that the destruction of the gods is due to the ‘Malice of the World,’ but while the world is indeed powerful, it is by no means insurmountable for the deities. This malice must have a carrier, and thus it is bound to manifest as an entity or through certain individuals.”

“Vilyric, in your opinion, what form do you think this might take?”

   

---