Start from a baby to become a Taoist

Chapter 504 Sequence 000
Chapter 512

A person's spine is the foundation that supports the body. The spine of a sacred body, however, is the "ladder to heaven" that supports its myriad functions. The "spine" Xu Ran needs must be something that has borne the core laws governing the operation of a great world.

His gaze locked onto a star field that had long since died out.

That place was once the cradle of an incomparably glorious cultivation civilization, during its heyday it gave birth to more than one quasi-immortal emperor. But now, only darkness remains there, all the stars have been extinguished, and all life has vanished.

But in the center of that dark star field, something remained.

That was the remnant left behind after the collapse of that civilization's "Heavenly Dao"—a gigantic crystal spanning tens of thousands of light-years, shaped like a dragon's skeleton. It was pitch black, yet within it shimmered billions of tiny points of light, each a fragment of a law that had once truly existed.

"The remnants of the Heavenly Dao... very good, enough to serve as my backbone."

With a thought, Xu Ran's dilapidated body transformed into a streak of light, instantly tearing apart the barrier between the Void and the real universe, and teleporting towards that desolate star field.

His speed surpassed that of light and the limitations of space and time. This was a "conceptual leap" based on his understanding of the fundamental rules of the universe.

However, even so, when he actually arrived in that star field, he still felt immense pressure.

This star field is a severely polluted area by the "Dust of the End." Countless "Void Beasts" float in the void. These monsters have no fixed form; some resemble distorted nebulae, some resemble shattered planets, and others are aberrant variants born from the fusion of the obsessions of dead gods and demons with the "Dust of the End."

They are the scavengers of the universe, instinctively attacking all matter that still "exists".

"Roar!"

A colossal monstrous beast, comparable in size to a star system, discovered him. It was an aggregate composed of countless shattered warship wrecks, the bones of dead immortals, and solidified resentment; at its core was a black hole that had been completely corrupted by the "Dust of the End."

It opened its gigantic maw, large enough to devour stars, and let out a silent roar at Xu Ran. It wasn't a sound wave, but a direct annihilation command acting on the level of "existence".

If an ordinary Celestial King were here, he would probably be stripped of his very existence and vanish completely in an instant.

Xu Ran's eyes remained unwavering. He raised one hand, his fingers spread wide. His fingers were dry and cracked, as if they would shatter at the slightest touch.

"To fight end with end."

he said softly.

The next moment, a deeper, purer gray color appeared on his withered palm. It was the primordial aura of the "Dust of the End" that he had just expelled from his body!

Instead of using his faint golden light to resist, he used his understanding of the "Dust of the End" to pry open the "Ending" power within the Void Beast.

Just like a skilled programmer who finds a fatal flaw in the other party's code.

hum-

The colossal, destructive roar of the Void Beast abruptly ceased. Its massive body began to tremble violently, and the countless fragments and resentments that made up its form began to annihilate itself at an incredible speed. The "Dust of the End" within it lost control and began to devour itself madly!
There was no earth-shattering explosion, no dazzling light effects. That Void Beast, comparable to a star system, silently "evaporated" in just a few breaths, turning into the purest nothingness, leaving not even a speck of dust behind.

This is what makes the "Watcher" so terrifying. He fights his enemies not by relying on simple energy levels, but by relying on an absolute understanding of the "Tao".

Having dealt with the Void Beast blocking his path, Xu Ran continued flying towards the "Heavenly Dao Remnant" in the center of the star field without pausing for a moment.

The closer one gets, the more terrifying the oppressive force emanating from the collapse of the "Heavenly Dao" becomes. It is a lament and curse originating from the very root of the world, enough to shatter the primordial spirit of any living being.

Xu Ran's body trembled slightly, and more and more gray dust seeped from the cracks. This was not just a pressure, but also the "information imprint" belonging to that civilization remaining in the "remnants of the Heavenly Dao" rejecting him, an outsider.

"A dead Heavenly Dao dares to roar at me?"

Xu Ran snorted coldly, and the golden light between his brows shone again.

"I once wielded the complete laws of the universe. Your mere small world's Heavenly Dao, even if perfect, is nothing more than a firefly's light before me, let alone now that you are just a corpse!"

His will transformed into an invisible sword, piercing fiercely into the core of the "remnants of the Heavenly Dao".

Boom!

The entire desolate star field trembled. The massive crystalline dragon bone, spanning tens of thousands of light-years, began to flicker wildly with billions of points of light representing laws within it, seemingly putting up a final resistance.

Fragmented images flooded Xu Ran's mind like a tidal wave.

He witnessed the rise of that cultivation civilization, with countless cultivators soaring through the heavens on swords, seeking immortality. He saw the birth of a quasi-immortal emperor, whose brilliance shone through the ages, suppressing an era. He also saw the descent of the "dust of the end," where stars withered, immortals and gods wept blood, and ultimately, the entire civilization, along with its heavenly Dao, was dragged into the abyss of death.

"How tragic... How lamentable..."

A hint of pity flashed in Xu Ran's eyes, but his actions were without the slightest hesitation.

"Your era has ended, but your strength will become the cornerstone of a new life! In my name, return!"

He stretched out his hands, embracing the enormous "remnant of the Heavenly Dao." The empty shell of the "Myriad Dao Furnace" within his body was activated to its limit at this moment. An indescribable suction force erupted from his dilapidated body.

Click... click...

The enormous "remnant of the Heavenly Dao" began to break apart inch by inch. Countless fragments of the laws transformed into streams of light, which Xu Ran forcibly absorbed into his body.

This process is a hundred times more painful than purifying the "Dust of the End." It's like forcibly stuffing the "skeleton" of an entire world into a person's body.

Xu Ran's body was constantly cycling between disintegration and reconstruction. His skin, flesh, and meridians shattered into dust time and time again, only to be forcibly pieced back together by those fragments of laws.

He could clearly feel a brand new "spine" slowly taking shape within his body. It was no longer flesh and bone, but a "Dao bone" forged from billions of fragments of laws!
As his Dao bone took shape, an unprecedented sense of power began to awaken within him. Although still faint, it was brimming with vitality and potential.

"Not enough... just the spine, not enough!"

Xu Ran's ambitions extend far beyond this.

His gaze swept into the deeper reaches of the universe.

"Having bones is not enough; flesh and blood are also needed... The flesh and blood of the universe are the flowing galaxies, the chaotic energy that constitutes all things!"

He set his sights on another region—an ancient nebula undergoing a “Great Collapse.” There, matter was being swallowed by a supermassive black hole, spacetime was being distorted to its extreme, and countless stars were being torn apart, reduced to the most primordial chaotic energy.

That place is a forbidden zone for life, a forbidden land that even the Celestial Emperor is unwilling to easily set foot in.

But in Xu Ran's eyes, that place was the best place to reshape the "sacred body and flesh".

However, just as he was about to set off for the collapsing nebula, his movements suddenly froze. A chill that sent shivers down his spine descended without warning.

This chill doesn't originate from any corner of this universe. It... comes from beyond the universe!
Xu Ran slowly raised his head, his gaze seemingly piercing through the dimensions of time and space, seeing an indescribable scene.

Beyond the "membrane" of the universe, in that true, undefinable "nothingness," an unimaginably vast shadow slowly loomed in.

The mere existence of that shadow accelerated the collapse of this dying universe by more than tenfold!
The concentration of "Dust of the End" surged instantly!

"Finally...has it arrived?"

Xu Ran's eyes turned icy cold in an instant, filled with murderous intent.

He had always known that there was a mastermind behind the "Ruins of Oblivion." It wasn't an accident, but a premeditated "murder."

And at this moment, the aura of the "murderer" finally reappeared.

At the same time, a cold, emotionless will transcended dimensions and resounded directly in his mind.

This will, without using any language, directly instills "meaning" into his consciousness in the form of a higher-dimensional information flow.

"...The remaining 'coordinates'...have awakened?"

"Universe numbered Gengchen, 'Watcher' sample, information pollution self-cleaning program failed to start..."

“Illegal ‘aggregation’ behavior was detected at ‘Coordinates’… This is considered a threat.”

A stream of information made Xu Ran understand many things in an instant.

Watchmen...sample?
The Gengchen Universe?

In the eyes of the other, are you, along with the entire universe, merely an experimental subject? Is the so-called "contamination" just a "program" in an experiment?
An unprecedented rage ignited in Xu Ran's heart, almost burning away his newly formed "Dao Bone"!

He is not a guardian; he is a prisoner of this universe, a "sample" abandoned after an experiment failed! Everything he protected, everything he witnessed the birth and death of civilizations, was nothing more than a farce in a petri dish!
Threat Level: Low.

Recommendation: Start the 'cleanup' process.

That cold, hard will made the final judgment.

The next moment, a "hand" slowly reached in from outside the universe.

That wasn't a real hand.

It is composed of the pure concept of "annihilation," and its appearance instantly turns the surrounding laws of spacetime into nothingness. Its five fingers are five completely different paths of "end," and any existence, once touched by it, will be completely erased from the causal level, as if it had never existed.

This hand is the so-called "cleaning process." Its target is Xu Ran, who has just condensed his "Dao Bone."

Faced with a blow that would make any Immortal Emperor despair, Xu Ran revealed a strange smile.

"I've been waiting for you... for a long time."

He muttered to himself.

His choice to awaken at this time and his elaborate efforts to rebuild his sacred body were not solely for self-salvation.

It's all for... fishing!
He wants to use himself as a "sample of awakening" to lure out these "experimenters" hiding behind the scenes!
"Do you think that I introduced the 'remnants of the Heavenly Dao' into my body merely to rebuild my spine?"

Xu Ran's smile grew increasingly sinister.

"What I truly desire is what it embodies... the final 'resentment' and 'hatred' of a civilization!"

The moment he finished speaking, the "Dao Bone" within his body, composed of billions of fragments of laws, suddenly erupted with endless resentment and black light!
Those lights are no longer the sacred light of law, but the "light of the end times" that has been distorted, polluted, and filled with destruction and curses!
"With the grievances of civilization, let us curse and kill all ages!"

"With hatred for the ways of Heaven, we will defy the heavens!"

In that instant, Xu Ran unleashed all the negative power he had absorbed from the "Remnants of the Heavenly Dao" without reservation!

Instead of using this power to attack the "Hand of Annihilation," he poured it all into the eternal "golden light" deep between his eyebrows!
What he needs to do is not to fight, but... "sacrifice"!
He sacrificed the last resentment of a civilization, along with his newly reconstructed Daoist bones, to his original core as the "Watcher"!

Om-! ! !
That point of golden light, after absorbing this enormous power filled with negative concepts, did not become stronger; instead, it began to shrink and collapse violently!
It is leaping towards an unknown, deeper "state"!
"Warning! An unknown mutation has occurred in the 'coordinate' information structure!"

"The 'cleanup' process has been blocked... The target is undergoing hyperdimensional self-dissolution..."

For the first time, that cold will showed a hint of "confusion".

It could not understand Xu Ran's behavior.

In its calculations, Xu Ran should use this power to resist, only to be easily crushed.

But he didn't. He chose self-destruction, a self-destruction that it couldn't decipher.

Just as that "hand of annihilation" was about to touch Xu Ran, the golden light between Xu Ran's brows finally collapsed to its limit.

then……

A faint sigh, seemingly from another time and another era, drifted out from the collapsing golden light.

"Ugh……"

With just this sigh, the giant hand made of the concept of "annihilation" trembled violently, and cracks appeared on the surface of the "end" path!
For the first time, that cold, aloof will gave rise to an emotion called "fear".

"...Impossible! How could the seal on 'Zero' have loosened?!"

"Alert! Alert! Primal causality weapon reaction detected! This is not a 'Guardian' sample! This is..."

The voice of will abruptly ceased.

Because, from the point where Xu Ran's brow had collapsed, a finger slowly extended out.

(End of this chapter)