This Spiritual Energy is Lethal!
Chapter 468 Echo

Chapter 468: Chapter 468 Echo

When the darkness before his eyes dispersed, Chen Ke found himself standing on a cliff.

The dusky green sky churned with clouds, yet he couldn’t feel a wisp of wind. A narrow path meandered downward, leading to a small, circular plateau; on the cliff behind the plateau, there was an apartment building.

He looked down from the edge of the cliff and saw only a roiling sea of green clouds, much like the sky above.

The corner of Chen Ke’s eye no longer displayed a countdown, only a blue phrase that read "Deep Sleep Land."

The items he carried with him remained. The Holy Diamond in his wallet and the dark stone in his heart were still in his hands.

He wanted to test if his Spiritual Power was still usable, so with a thought, he attempted to summon the Moonlight Greatsword and the Black Gun.

His hands were empty; nothing appeared.

He then tried to gather An Helei’s ashes and the soul gun in his right hand, even attempting to use his murderous intent and Future Vision, but all his powers proclaimed their failure.

"Damn," Chen Ke cursed.

He followed the narrow path down the cliff, intending to check out the apartment building, which from a distance looked somewhat like the one where he had lived before crossing over.

When Chen Ke reached the circular plateau, he discovered an old man with white hair, clad in a white suit, sitting on a large rock, facing the cliff as if he were admiring the scenery.

Chen Ke subconsciously thought of Colonel Sanders.

He grew cautious, slowed his steps, unsure whether to sneak past him from behind, or to creep up and choke him or give him a push, seeing as anyone who could come to this place was far from normal.

"It’s quite a view, isn’t it?" the old man suddenly said. He turned around and was not wearing black-framed glasses.

"You don’t seem surprised," Chen Ke said, bending over in a posture as if he were about to reach behind the old man; he then straightened up, hands shoved into his pockets.

"This is your domain, not mine. The one who should be surprised is you," the old man said.

"Heh... my domain... This is my first visit. You seem to know much more about this place than I do. Where are we?" Chen Ke asked.

"This is the frontier of dreams. Perhaps you are familiar with another name," the old man smiled.

"Illusion Dream Center..." Chen Ke thought to himself.

"I’ve been waiting, waiting for the master of this place to show up. I just didn’t expect it would take so long. Fortunately, time doesn’t exist here, or else these old bones of mine would have died of old age," the old man chuckled, walking towards Chen Ke.

"Then who are you? The caretaker of this place?" Chen Ke asked.

"Me? My name isn’t important. But I have a question for you first, have you visited Base Reality?" the old man countered.

"You know about Base Reality too? Are you with the Foundation?" Chen Ke was taken aback.

"It’s hard not to know. After all, I come from there. And... I’m not a member of the Human Cradle Plan Foundation, but from the Human Connection Plan Foundation," the old man laughed.

"Human Connection Plan..." Chen Ke was familiar with this Foundation; it was Lin Yaying’s organization.

"So, you’ve been to Base Reality. Tell me, how are they?" the old man asked.

"They’re all dead. The last one summoned me there... Wait, how do I know if I should trust you?" Chen Ke said warily.

"I’ll tell you all you need to know, and you certainly don’t know as much as I do. Young man," the old man said with a smile.

He turned around, facing the unpredictable clouds beyond the cliff, and said, "You should know your mission by now, right? They have told you about the current plight of humanity and their choice. And you, you’re their daring gamble."

"That’s right... they..." Chen Ke sighed.

"The HCP Foundation’s Mechanical God Descent Project, I know, they’re hoping to restart the world, to fight for another chance for humanity," the old man nodded.

"Is there really a way to kill the gods?" Chen Ke asked.

"There isn’t," the old man answered quite bluntly.

"That means..." Chen Ke hesitated.

"The Foundation has tried 999 times, and luck has not been on their side. You are their last chance; I must say they at least had good fortune this time around. When they sent out the power, at least the person who received it was a young man. I had anticipated a much worse outcome," the old man said.

"This isn’t fair to me," Chen Ke shook his head.

"That’s why I’m sitting here waiting for you. Young man, aside from restarting the world, there is another path you can choose," said the old man.

"Another path..." Chen Ke was taken aback.

"Don’t worry, I’m not like them, eager to push the responsibility onto you," said the old man, inviting Chen Ke to sit down together on a rock at the edge of the cliff.

"In our reality, it was not until the year 2100 that we first made contact with the gods. Human civilization is still too young, from using hand tools and fire to the era of information, it’s been just over 5,000 years, so when we first faced that power, the uncontrolled abuse and the reckless demand were inevitable," the old man said.

"And then, what’s the deal with those gods? What exactly do they want to do?" Chen Ke asked.

"Who knows? They suddenly appeared there, then used their mighty power to influence us. The gods’ purpose is simple and direct; they just want to create their own offspring," the old man answered.

"Having children? Just for that?" Chen Ke was somewhat incredulous.

"Don’t misunderstand, the gods having children is not the same as us mammals. Have you ever encountered the Clan?" the old man asked.

"I’ve killed two," Chen Ke replied.

"Ah, that’s good, it seems the Foundation really hit the jackpot this time. You know and have experienced more than I had anticipated. I should have guessed at your ability to kill Members of the Clan. You must have an Old Dominator in your possession," the old man said with a smile.

"I’ve heard of that, Dominators, and those that come from outside," Chen Ke said.

"You’re correct, the gods are divided into Outer Gods and Old Dominators. They are all gods, but their forms of manifestation and their relationships with humans are completely different," said the old man.

"Old Dominators are eternally existing gods from Earth’s billions of years of history, and they have played significant roles in our myths and history. They have a symbiotic relationship with humans and have contributed to the great deeds of heroes. As for Outer Gods... they are gods from outside Earth, and their sole purpose is to make all of humanity their Clan," the old man elaborated.

"Can Old Dominators not kill gods either?" Chen Ke asked.

"Not even a god can kill a god. The Foundation has always been trying to find a way to slay the gods, but we don’t have much time, which is why they want to advance the timeline of human contact with the gods when restarting the world," the old man said.

"But that didn’t seem to do much good," Chen Ke said.

"It’s hard to get the timing right, too late and there’s not enough time, too early and people are more susceptible to corruption. I am opposed to this plan," the old man shook his head.

"How would you explain these... Holy Relics? At least on our side, that’s what such things are called," Chen Ke took out the Holy Diamond from his wallet for the old man to see.

"999 restarts have shaped 999 timelines, among which there are many heroes who employed Spiritual Power. You must understand, this is the dream of a god, and a dream is also a complex memory. When a world is reset, the things that heroes possessed form an echo that drifts into the new world. The deeds they did also create unique spaces, floating in the new world. Those remnants are merely echoes of the past," the old man explained.

Chen Ke finally understood the origins of the Holy Diamond and the Great Void; these things came from the timelines before the previous 998 restarts.