All Realms and Worlds: The Lost Home

Just as the rules of spacetime were slowly spreading and signs of a world reset were beginning to appear, Chen Su's expression suddenly changed drastically.

His gaze turned grave as he stared into the void, then cried out in alarm, "No! The negative energy of all realms is still accumulating; it's fighting against the rules of spacetime!"

Upon hearing this, everyone looked up.

Sure enough, they saw that the remaining negative energy in all the heavens and myriad realms was frantically gathering together like a madman.

It formed a massive gray-black torrent that crashed violently against the purple-gold halo emanating from the Time-Space Wheel, attempting to hinder the spread of the Time-Space Rules and prevent the world from being reset.

"How could this happen?" Jiang Wuchen asked, his face filled with shock and his voice filled with anxiety.

"The negative energy was clearly suppressed, so why is it suddenly accumulating and resisting the rules of spacetime?"

Ao Chen frowned, continuously channeling spiritual energy into the Time-Space Wheel while intently sensing the surrounding power fluctuations.

A moment later, a hint of surprise flashed in his eyes, and he slowly spoke: "The Observer has appeared."

These words stunned everyone. They all looked at each other, their faces full of doubt and confusion.

"An observer has appeared? But no observer has been selected yet!"

Ao Chen didn't explain, but his gaze slowly moved down and landed on Lin Nuannuan and Yue Meng, who were floating in the air.

As the wheel of time and space continued to spin, and as the purple-gold halo continued to envelop her, a golden gardenia pattern slowly appeared on Lin Nuannuan's fair wrist.

The design is incredibly lifelike, radiating a soft, pure golden light that contrasts sharply with the surrounding negative energy and destructive power.

The golden gardenia pattern seemed to come alive, slowly spreading out.

Following Lin Nuannuan's arm, it slowly climbed onto Yue Meng's body, and small golden gardenias bloomed gently on the two of them.

It dispelled the last trace of negative energy remaining in their bodies.

Then, a shocking scene unfolded—Lin Nuannuan and Yue Meng, who had been staring blankly and unconscious, slowly woke up as their eyelids trembled.

They slightly opened their eyes, and the turbidity and emptiness in their eyes gradually faded, restoring some clarity.

Yet he was still unable to move, hovering in mid-air, his eyes filled with confusion and weakness, clearly not yet completely free from the effects of what had happened.

"Nuan Nuan! Yue Meng! You're awake!" A look of wild joy flashed in Shi Si's eyes as he tried to step forward.

However, they were blocked by the clash of spacetime rules and negative energy, making it impossible for them to get close.

Lin Nuannuan and Yue Meng exchanged a glance, their throats bobbing, and with all their might, they managed to speak with difficulty.

The voice was weak but unusually firm: "Pour all the negative energy... into both of our bodies!"

As soon as he finished speaking, everyone was stunned.

Only Xiaoyaozi's pupils contracted sharply, and in an instant he understood the two's intentions—they were once the vessels of the power of the Demon of Greed and the corruption of the evil god, and now they wanted to use themselves as containers to bear all the negative energy and clear the obstacles for the reset of the time-space wheel.

But Xiaoyaozi quickly frowned, shaking his head with a solemn expression: "No! Although you two are the two major sources of negative energy, the negative energy accumulated in all realms at this moment is too enormous. The two of you alone simply cannot bear it!"

As soon as he finished speaking, Xiaoyaozi's gaze slowly turned to Yaoguang, who was still suppressing her anger not far away.

His eyes held a hint of reluctance, yet were filled with unwavering resolve.

Yao Guang caught his gaze, her whole body trembled, and then she slowly loosened her clenched teeth.

The restraint in his eyes faded, replaced by determination: "I understand! Then count me in!"

After speaking, Yao Guang slowly raised her head and looked towards the space-time passage that belonged to her.

A hint of tenderness and longing welled up in his eyes, as if he could see his wife and daughter smiling and watching him from the other end of the passage.

He murmured softly, "Wait for me, wait for me to protect all of this, then I'll come home to find you."

Just as everyone was moved by this resolute decision, yet filled with worry, Wen Yan suddenly stepped forward and spoke softly.

His tone was calm yet carried an undeniable firmness: "I think, besides Yaoguang, my sister and I are probably the only ones missing."

Upon hearing this, everyone turned to look at Wen Yan, their faces full of confusion.

—Wen Yan is just an ordinary cultivator who has never been tainted by negative energy. Why would he take the initiative to join?

Before anyone could ask further questions, a pale white phantom of a soul suddenly emerged slowly from Wen Yan's body.

The illusory figure's eyebrows and eyes were seven parts similar to Wen Yan's, but with a touch more gentleness, and its body was surrounded by a faint spiritual light.

"It's Wen Xuyan!" Shen Jianxin exclaimed in disbelief.

"Wen Yan's younger sister was actually hiding inside him all along!"

Wen Xuyan's illusory soul looked gently at Wen Yan.

No sooner had he finished speaking than another strange event occurred—a faint layer of gray mist slowly rose from the surface of Wen Xuyan's illusory soul.

A strange and obscure power slowly surged from the depths of her soul, and the spiritual light around her was enveloped by this power, gradually becoming dark.

"What... kind of power is this?" Xiaoyaozi's pupils shrank as he focused his attention on sensing it.

A moment later, his expression changed drastically, and he cried out in disbelief, "The power of the Demon of Ignorance! It's the most mysterious of the three demons—greed, anger, and ignorance—the power of the Demon of Ignorance!"

Upon hearing this, everyone was shocked and their faces were filled with disbelief.

No one expected that Wen Xuyan's soul harbored such mysterious negative energy, which was the power of the demon of ignorance, one of the three demons of greed, anger, and delusion.

Wen Yan stood there, gazing at the gray mist on her sister's soul, a bitter smile playing on her lips.

He murmured to himself, his tone filled with sorrow and relief: "Perhaps, this is the secret of my birth... twins... twins... hahaha, I should never have existed in the first place."

He slowly turned his head, his gaze falling on Wen Xuyan's illusory soul image, his eyes filled with tenderness and guilt.

A voice softly sounded: "Xuyan, silly girl, if you hadn't been born to give birth to me, perhaps you would have inherited the power of the Demonic Obsession long ago and become a powerful figure."

"Instead of being able to reside within me only in the form of a soul, as it is now."

As Wen Yan spoke, a long-buried past slowly surfaced before everyone's eyes—it turned out that back on Earth, the real Wen Yan had already passed away from cancer.

Wen Xuyan was heartbroken. In order to save her brother, she traveled all over the world and searched for all the gods and Buddhas in the world, exhausting her efforts, but still to no avail.

Even a wisp of her brother's remnant soul could not be kept.

Until one day, she found a dilapidated temple in a remote mountain.

The Buddha statues in the temple were already incomplete and covered in dust, except for one slightly eerie Buddha statue standing in a corner.

The Buddha statue's face was blurred, and it was surrounded by a faint gray mist, making it completely different from ordinary Buddha statues.

Wen Xuyan stared at the strange Buddha statue. His originally sorrowful eyes suddenly became empty, as if he were being controlled by an invisible force, as if he had been possessed by a demon.

His feet moved forward uncontrollably, and he knelt down step by step toward the Buddha statue.

Her movements were stiff and mechanical, her eyes devoid of any clarity; only her obsession with saving her brother sustained her through each kneeling gesture.

Just as her knees were about to touch the dusty ground, and she was about to complete the prostration, a loud and urgent shout suddenly came from outside the temple gate, slamming into her ear: "What are you doing?!"

The voice was full of authority and urgency, carrying an undeniable rebuke: "How can you kneel and worship this strange and evil god in such a dilapidated temple! It is by no means benevolent; this worship will only lead to your eternal damnation!"

The shout was like a thunderclap, instantly shattering the strange power controlling Wen Xuyan.

She jolted violently, her empty eyes instantly regaining their clarity, her knees dangling in mid-air, unable to fall.

He was as if he had just woken up from a nightmare, panting heavily, his face still showing signs of shock.

Wen Xuyan, still shaken, collapsed to the ground, his clothes soaked with cold sweat.

Just then, a slender figure slowly entered the temple, dressed in a worn-out monk's robe, holding prayer beads in his hand, with an aged face but clear eyes, and surrounded by a faint sense of Zen—the person was an ascetic monk.

The ascetic monk walked to Wen Xuyan's side, sighed softly, and slowly turned the prayer beads in his hand. His tone was gentle but tinged with solemnity: "Female benefactor, you almost made a terrible mistake just now."

Wen Xuyan raised his head and looked at the ascetic monk in front of him, his eyes filled with lingering fear and doubt.

With a trembling voice, she asked, "Master, what exactly is that Buddha statue? Why is it controlling me?"

The ascetic monk's gaze fell on the strange Buddha statue in the corner, his expression instantly turning solemn. He slowly spoke, "Female benefactor, you may not know this, but when wandering in the wilderness, there is a saying: 'It is better to sleep in a lonely grave than to enter a dilapidated temple.'"

He paused, then continued, "In these ruined temples, the original statues of gods and Buddhas are now broken and incomplete, and the will of the gods and Buddhas has long since departed."

"What remains are nothing but a pile of lifeless rocks, no longer true gods or Buddhas."

"But that Buddha statue is intact..." Wen Xuyan murmured, his eyes filled with even more doubt.

The ascetic shook his head slightly, his tone growing increasingly heavy: "It is precisely because it remains intact within the dilapidated temple that it is all the more eerie."

"Those that can retain their complete form among the broken statues are not gods or Buddhas, but evil spirits attached to the stubborn rocks."

"By using the form of a Buddha statue, it deceives the world, extracts obsessions and life essence. Your obsession just now became the opportunity for it to control you."

The ascetic monk looked at Wen Xuyan's eyes, which were filled with lingering fear and sorrow, and sighed softly.

The speed at which the prayer beads spun in his hand slowed down, and his tone was gentle yet insightful: "The female benefactor must have something to ask for, otherwise she wouldn't have come to this dilapidated temple to worship, nor would she have been controlled by evil spirits."

One sentence struck a chord with Wen Xuyan, and her nose tingled, tears instantly blurring her vision.

Choking back tears, she recounted her ordeal to the ascetic monk—her brother, Wen Yan, had passed away from cancer, and she had searched everywhere for immortals and Buddhas to no avail. In desperation, she stumbled upon this dilapidated temple, where she was overwhelmed by her obsession and nearly knelt before evil spirits.

The ascetic listened quietly, his expression growing increasingly solemn.

After Wen Xuyan finished her tearful plea, he slowly began to advise her: "Female benefactor, life and death are preordained, and wealth and honor are determined by fate. Your brother's departure was ordained by heaven, and cannot be forced."

"If you are too attached to something, you will only be vulnerable to evil spirits, ultimately harming yourself and others. Letting go of your attachments is the only way to find liberation. If you are obsessed with resurrecting the dead, you will only fall into an endless abyss."

As Wen Xuyan listened to the ascetic monk's advice, tears silently streamed down his face. Although the grief and obsession in his heart had not completely dissipated, they had eased somewhat.

She bowed deeply to the ascetic monk: "Thank you for your guidance, Master. I will remember it forever."

The ascetic monk nodded slightly and reached out to help her up: "Let's go. This place is not safe to stay any longer. This evil Buddha statue will ultimately be a hidden danger if it remains in the world."

"I will take you away from here. Never again step into danger because of your obsession."

Wen Xuyan nodded and followed closely behind the ascetic monk, walking step by step towards the temple gate.

No one dared to look at the eerie Buddha statue in the corner again.

Just as the two were about to step out of the temple gate, Wen Xuyan subconsciously looked back.

This glance sent chills down her spine and made her scalp tingle—the Buddha statue in the corner, whose face had been blurred, had somehow slowly revealed a strange smile.

His lips curled up, his eyes were empty yet seemed to be staring intently at the two of them, exuding an indescribable chill and eeriness.

"Master... Master! It's laughing! The Buddha statue is laughing!" Wen Xuyan trembled with fear, clutching the ascetic's sleeve tightly, his voice filled with terror.

The ascetic monk suddenly turned his head, his gaze falling on the Buddha statue. His expression changed instantly, and the prayer beads in his hand spun wildly.

He hissed in a grave tone, "This is bad! This evil spirit has developed sentience! Run!"

The ascetic monk grabbed Wen Xuyan and turned to rush out of the temple.

But a cold, eerie voice suddenly came from deep within the temple, blocking their path. It was mocking and sarcastic: "Go? Go where? Didn't you want to resurrect your brother, Wen Xuyan!"

The voice came from the eerie Buddha statue in the corner. As the voice faded, the gray mist around the Buddha statue thickened, and its face gradually became clearer.

A pair of empty eyes stared intently at the ascetic monk, his tone suddenly turning sharp as he rebuked, "Huiming! Don't you know you're wrong?! You killed your master! You brought those thieves back to the temple!"

"It was you who killed your fellow disciples, your master, and your senior masters! Everyone died because of you, and you were the only one who survived! You are guilty!"

The Buddha's voice was like a sharp blade, piercing the ascetic's heart.

"If it weren't for you, I wouldn't have come into this world! You begged me, you wanted me to resurrect those who died because of you! You wanted revenge! And I merely granted your request!"

Its gaze shifted to Wen Xuyan again, its tone becoming eerily gentle and seductive: "Wen Xuyan, your destiny is that of the chosen one of this world. I was meant to come here because of you, to fulfill your wish to resurrect your brother."

"But it's all because of Huiming—it was him who stole your opportunity and destroyed your hope!"

As the Buddha statue finished speaking, the entire temple space began to distort violently, and the hazy mist surged wildly.

Indistinct figures slowly emerged from the mist—they wore tattered monk robes and had haggard faces; they were the monks of the temple who had died because of Huiming.

Huiming (the ascetic monk) looked at the familiar figure before him, his whole body trembled violently, and his face turned ashen instantly.

His eyes were filled with pain and guilt, tears streaming silently down his face. He choked out a sob, "No...no...this is a sin I caused alone, it has nothing to do with anyone else! I will bear all the guilt myself!"

But the monks did not respond to him. Their bodies gradually twisted and swelled, and their originally gentle faces became ferocious and terrifying.

Its skin turned bluish-black, and it grew sharp fangs and claws, gradually transforming into a grotesque evil god.

Surrounded by dense negative energy, it rushed towards Huiming and Wen Xuyan.

At the same time, Wen Xuyan felt a chill run through her body as a strange power spread through her soul—the evil power emanating from the Buddha statue.

Her eyes gradually became vacant, and the power of obsession and evil intertwined around her, slowly corrupting her entire being, causing her body to tremble slightly.