"In the end, under the concerted efforts of my fellow cultivators and enemies, I abandoned everything. The world was destroyed, and only my consciousness was eternal. My soul broke through the boundary of space and time and stayed here forever. No matter how time passed and how the universe changed, I have been here, watching the destruction of this world over and over again. In the deepest spiritual world, I explored the unknown path."
The old man poured another cup of tea for Jiang Ming. He looked down and saw that the world in the tea bowl was still being destroyed. Powerful creatures rose to the sky again to resist whatever was destroying the world, like moths to a flame.
"This field is my mental anchor point. Even if my world is destroyed, I'll still stay here. I abandoned my world to live here forever, and my world abandoned me as well! A few years ago, I dug out the black sword from the depths of the void and then visualized the starlit path in my deep sleep. Thus, in my dream, I killed one terrifying monster after another and finally found the starlit path and stepped into it."
Jiang Ming was dumbfounded.
"At first, I thought that I was still dreaming and moving forward on the starlit path. I thought that I was trapped here when I woke up." The old man smiled calmly. "However, after so long, I can't tell which one is the real me. Maybe the current me is in a dream, while the real me is struggling forward on the starlit path. Or perhaps, both versions of me are a distant dream. Perhaps my real self was destroyed along with the world and no longer exists!"
Jiang Ming thought about the legend of the butterfly dream. At the end of the day, who could tell?
"The intersection of the two starlit paths allowed me to see a corner of the future. Perhaps, because of your arrival, I'm really going to find my way forward! I just don't know if the real world will be waiting for me if I really break through the shackles."
The expression in the old man's eyes changed. He stretched out his hand and waved in the air. A rain of light circulated in the void. Countless runes were interwoven in his hand. The farmhouse and the starlit path began to shift and twist before their very eyes.
Jiang Ming was shocked. This old man was a terrifyingly powerful cultivator.
The scene in front of Jiang Ming's eyes suddenly became somewhat transparent before it shattered. The farmhouse gradually went away, and the two starlit paths seemed to be gradually diverging.
"Our space and time are intertwined. We can meet each other. However, we can never truly leave each other."
The old man stood on the starlit path, his eyes cold and crazy, as if he was preparing for the ultimate transformation. "If I survive this tribulation, I will be reborn. There's no need to thank me. This is the invincible technique we found, and we'll give it to you."
He raised his hand, and a flowing golden light penetrated the void and fell into Jiang Ming's hand.
The old man sat in the farmhouse, calmly drinking tea, and looked at Jiang Ming with a smile. "After being alone for countless years, it's not bad to suddenly have someone to chat with. I hope that we can meet again in the future. Oh right, remember your firewood!"
He grabbed the bundle of firewood with his calloused hands and threw it at Jiang Ming.
The old man's figure suddenly disappeared. Jiang Ming stood alone on the starlit path, and the surroundings were silent.
He was carrying a large bundle of firewood in a daze. Then, he looked at the golden bone in his hand. There were complicated words and patterns engraved on it.
Jiang Ming did not recognize these words at all. However, the moment he looked at them, he understood the meaning of those words.
On one side of the bone, the four largest words seemed to be the name of the technique.
It was the Hundred Tribulations Sacred Body!
