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564 First Exploration of the Auxiliary Universe
As he walked in the dark void, Xu Jingming suddenly caught a whiff of a special smell. He felt his entire body heat up as a result.
His instincts told him that there was danger ahead.
“Nine, something up ahead doesn’t seem right,” Xu Jingming said.
“This aura should be from somewhere in the auxiliary universe,” Nine replied.
“I’ll first observe it using high-dimensional traveling.” Xu Jingming tried to escape spacetime in the auxiliary universe with a thought, but he found something about the spacetime layer different.
If the spacetime layers in the actual universe were said to be vaster and more tolerant, then the spacetime layers in this auxiliary universe were thicker and more restrictive. The spacetime layers were several times more numerous, and when they intertwined, their binding strength was more than ten times stronger.
Huh? Xu Jingming made attempts, but embarrassingly, he couldn’t enter high-dimensional space.
Again.
The restraints are that strong?
Xu Jingming tried more than ten times, but he couldn’t escape spacetime.
Why are there so many more spacetime layers in this auxiliary universe than in the universe? Xu Jingming found it unbelievable. The restraints of this spacetime layer feel at least ten times stronger.
“This is very rare,” Nine said.
“Rare?” Xu Jingming asked.
“Yeah,” Nine replied. “The universe and even the other universes in high-dimensional space… are formed in similar environments, so the spacetime layers are usually similar! They don’t differ much. For example, although the spacetime contained by the Spacetime Star Sand is from another world, it’s similar to our cosmic spacetime.”
Xu Jingming nodded.
“When high-dimensional lifeforms establish their inner universe, they usually use the cosmic spacetime they live in as a reference.”
“And the spacetime of this auxiliary universe is very different from our universe,” Nine speculated. “It’s possible that the high-dimensional lifeform who created it came from afar. The cosmic spacetime structure he’s familiar with is completely different from ours.”
“From afar?” Xu Jingming thought.
“Some high-dimensional lifeforms aren’t from our universe. For example, the Hellion Progenitor and the high-dimensional lifeform, Heavenly Python, that Eternal Academy’s Tower Master killed… are all from beyond our universe,” Nine said. “The creator of this auxiliary universe might also be beyond our universe! It’s just that he ultimately died in our universe.”
“He might’ve been killed by a high-dimensional lifeform in our universe, or he might’ve fled to our universe before his death,” Nine said. “There are all kinds of possibilities, but it’s obvious that his understanding of the spacetime layers is different from ours. It’s more complicated and heavier, and the restraints are stronger.”
Xu Jingming nodded. “I’m still not strong enough. I can’t carry out high-dimensional traveling in different spacetime environments.”
“Master, you have to be more careful then,” Nine reminded.
“Yeah.”
Xu Jingming traversed the void repeatedly as he attempted to adapt to it.
It feels different. Our universe is more tolerant, and teleportation is easier, but it’s also easier to produce spacetime fluctuations. Spacetime here is more stable, and the fluctuations are smaller. Although my teleportation distance has decreased, it isn’t easily interfered with. Xu Jingming also noticed the differences.
Different spacetimes also had an effect on the spacetime lineage’s moves.
As he advanced, he familiarized himself with the area.
Not long after…
A fiery-red world appeared in front of Xu Jingming.
Gu! Gu! Gu!
This fiery-red world had volcanoes that constantly spewed lava. The lava flowed after the eruption, basking the entire world in a red glow. The surrounding temperature was no less than the center of a star.
Xu Jingming found it getting hotter by the minute.
That is? Xu Jingming carefully observed and immediately discovered a relatively special existence in this fiery world—trees!
Trees grew in the flowing lava. The height of the trees was astonishing—they were more than 10,000 kilometers tall. If they were placed on a planet, they would be a World Tree.
There are hundreds or thousands of volcanoes, but there are only six giant trees surrounding them. Xu Jingming noticed that every one of these six trees seemed to be the center of a volcanic cluster.
The six trees had black-red fruits of varying sizes. The smaller ones were visually close to a kilometer in diameter, and the larger ones were close to three kilometers in diameter. The six trees had more than 100 black-red fruits.
“Nine, what fruit is this?” Xu Jingming asked. “There’s no such fruit among the cosmic wonders I know.”
“Normally, fruits produced by auxiliary universes aren’t that big,” Nine said. “In my memory, I once saw a super-large fruit. It’s a fiery-red fruit with a diameter of more than a kilometer, and it’s worth about eight million credits.”
Xu Jingming came to a realization. “Its value isn’t high. The black-and-white fruits that Eternal Academy previously opened up for exchange are only the size of a fist; each one cost five million credits.”
“You can’t just determine the value of a cosmic wonder by its size,” Nine said in puzzlement. “However, such a huge cosmic fruit is indeed very rare. I’ve never seen a fruit with a diameter of three kilometers.”
“I’ll try plucking it.” Xu Jingming was tempted.
Whoosh.
Xu Jingming teleported and arrived at the crown of the nearest tree. He extended his hands, and dozens of colorful threads of the Primordial Battle Armor flew out, instantly wrapping around two huge black-red fruits.
Buzz.
Xu Jingming suddenly pulled, but he failed to yank it out.
Chi! Chi! Chi!
The threads of the Primordial Battle Armor severed the connection between the black-red fruits. Instantly, Xu Jingming put the two huge fruits into the Primordial Battle Armor’s space.
Just as he put away the fruit—
Huh? Xu Jingming felt the world around him freeze. He was like a frozen worm.
I have to leave immediately. Xu Jingming tried Spacetime Travel, but he couldn’t teleport at all. He could only escape into the distance as quickly as possible.
I just came to take a look and took two fruits. My probing was just the tip of the iceberg of the auxiliary universe… I don’t deserve death for that, right? Xu Jingming thought.
It wasn’t a big deal to die in an auxiliary universe; he wouldn’t lose the items! It was just a little embarrassing.
Trust in my strength and Nine’s protective abilities, Xu Jingming thought as he turned into a beam of light with all his might and flew into the distance.
“Who are you?” An invisible fluctuation sounded in Xu Jingming’s mind.
At the same time, the ground in the fiery-red world churned as massive figures crawled out one after another. There were a total of six juggernauts, and every figure was more than a million kilometers tall. They were like upright apes, and their fur was burning with flames. The combined heat of hundreds or even a thousand stars couldn’t compare to the heat and horror of this figure.
Whoosh.
The towering figure closest to Xu Jingming suddenly waved his huge arm. With a wave of his arm, he tore through space and traversed a million kilometers.
Although Xu Jingming was flying at high speeds and changing directions agilely, he couldn’t match the speed of the arm’s swing.
Go.
As Xu Jingming fled, he controlled Cosmic Force and suddenly formed Cosmic Prison.
A Cosmic Prison spanned only 300,000 kilometers, and it only trapped a portion of the arm. This Cosmic Prison was also Xu Jingming’s move that had the might of a peak Lv. 10.
Boom!
The arm of the towering upright ape trembled slightly, crushing the Cosmic Prison, but its speed was also affected.
Boom.
Xu Jingming’s entire body emitted light.
Infinite light shone in all directions as he tried his best to stop the interference.
A large number of colorful threads burst out of his body and enveloped his surroundings. The flow of time around him changed, and space distorted.
Bang!
The huge palm crushed everything, including Infinite Light and the colorful threads.
Xu Jingming instantly disappeared and entered a spacetime gap.
Boom!
More than half of the spacetime layer in the area was shattered, so Xu Jingming naturally couldn’t escape through the gaps. He couldn’t avoid the strike as long as he didn’t enter high-dimensional space.
The huge finger swept past Xu Jingming, who was protected by countless colorful threads. The moment it swept past, the threads immediately diverted the force to deflect it.
Whoosh!
Xu Jingming was sent flying with a single slap!
Huh? The towering ape was slightly puzzled. Perhaps it was puzzled. Why isn’t he dead?
However, Xu Jingming was sent flying out of the fiery-red world and into the dark void. The towering ape didn’t chase after him.
The six huge towering apes looked around before returning to their original spots. Ever since they were born, they had been maintaining the order of this fiery-red world.
…
Xu Jingming was a little stunned by the slap. He stopped in the dark void and blinked.
“Master, don’t worry. The cosmic spirit won’t leave their ward,” Nine said.
“No matter what move I used—Cosmic Prison, Origin Disintegration, Infinite Domain, or even my escape into a cosmic gap… It was useless. All of them were crushed by a single slap.” Xu Jingming shook his head. “They’re too strong.”
Nine agreed. “Yes, we encountered six cosmic spirits while exploring only the starting area of the auxiliary universe. All of them are more than a million kilometers tall. I don’t remember seeing such huge cosmic spirits.”
“The fruit is very big, and so is the cosmic spirit. I don’t recall ever seeing one,” Xu Jingming whispered.
“I guess the creator of the auxiliary universe is an especially large high-dimensional lifeform,” Nine said. “Moreover, the six ape-like cosmic spirits have terrifying might. Under normal circumstances, cosmic spirits are the strongest in the core regions of the auxiliary universe.”
Xu Jingming nodded.
He originally planned on taking a preliminary look, but he never expected the cosmic spirits he encountered in the beginning to send him flying with a single slap.
“However, I’m best at blocking frontal attacks. I can even block the attacks of cosmic legends for a period of time,” Nine said. “I can’t completely block some attacks that target mental strength.”
“Yes, the slap looked terrifying, but I wasn’t really injured.” Xu Jingming smiled; he only felt a little stunned by the slap.
As he spoke, Xu Jingming returned.
“Master, what do you plan on doing next?” Nine asked. “Do you want to get help with the excavation?”
“There’s no need.” Xu Jingming smiled and said, “When I reach Lv. 10, I can better unleash the Primordial Battle Armor’s strength. That’s when I’ll come back and take a look.”
When that happened, he could also do high-dimensional traveling in the auxiliary universe while his strength would’ve been raised in every aspect. He would also have the confidence to reconnoiter. He wouldn’t be sent flying with a single slap like today.
Whoosh.
When he returned to the high-dimensional door, it naturally opened. Xu Jingming flew out and returned to the universe.