To avoid being drawn into the spatial-temporal illusion, Zheng Dong took out the Corridor of Time and Space and unfurled his divine kingdom.
He hoped this would ensure he wasn't inexplicably pulled into the spatial-temporal illusion.
Zheng Dong vigilantly observed the changes around him.
Spatial-temporal illusions appeared one after another, continuously.
He witnessed scenes of many god-level transcendent beings battling.
Many of these god-level transcendent beings, after falling, transformed into undead.
Before long, he also saw the first generation Hell Demon Emperor and the Fallen Angel Emperor.
They did not die fighting for resources or a divine artifact, nor were they killed by any supreme being.
Instead, they fell into terrifying spatial-temporal illusions, became lost within them, unable to escape, and met a tragic end inside.
Zheng Dong felt this was no ordinary spatial-temporal illusion.
Within the spatial-temporal illusion, the power of destiny governed everything.
This made the spatial-temporal illusion more realistic and difficult to discern its authenticity.
Even falling into a spatial-temporal illusion could result in sealed memories, leaving one unaware of their own identity, making it even easier to get lost.
The first-generation Hell Demon Emperor, having mistakenly entered a spatial-temporal illusion, was soon lost within it, becoming a commander on the divine battlefield within the illusion.
It seemed to be dreaming, yet everything felt real. It desperately commanded its subordinates in battle, defeating enemy after enemy.
It was greatly depleted and exhausted.
However, on the divine battlefield, both sides were mortal enemies, and no one would grant it a moment's rest.
In its fatigued state, it was even harder to distinguish reality from illusion.
Moreover, its memories were sealed, and it had no idea who it was.
It was only when it exhausted its strength and had its head severed by an enemy that it collapsed.
Just as it was about to fall to the ground, a deeper spatial-temporal illusion appeared before its eyes, and it was unknowingly drawn in again.
This time, it became even younger, joining a legion and undergoing selection.
In the arena, it encountered a formidable rival and was defeated.
This scene felt strangely familiar.
Everything seemed as if it had truly happened to it.
Just as it was about to be defeated, it fell into an even deeper spatial-temporal illusion.
These spatial-temporal illusions were like nesting dolls, causing it to become increasingly engrossed until, finally, its strength was depleted, and its divine soul and divine personality could no longer endure, leading to complete collapse and death.
Zheng Dong was startled, never expecting such a terrifying spatial-temporal illusion.
As he watched the scenes unfolding before him, he too unknowingly fell into a spatial-temporal illusion.
He suddenly found himself transformed into the Hell Demon Emperor.
This was his first time here, searching for resources. His luck was quite good, as he found several god-level resources consecutively.
However, before long, he encountered a spatial-temporal illusion and became trapped.
Just as his memories were about to be sealed and he was about to lose himself in the illusion, a deeper spatial-temporal illusion appeared before Zheng Dong.
Zheng Dong inwardly exclaimed, "Not good."
His current state was very similar to that of the Hell Demon Emperor who had just fallen into the spatial-temporal illusion.
Before he completely lost himself, he had to find a way to maintain his clarity.
Zheng Dong attempted to use the Corridor of Time and Space.
However, the Corridor of Time and Space could not immediately free him from the spatial-temporal illusion.
As he was about to be completely lost, he activated the law of destiny.
Under the influence of the law of destiny, he maintained his clarity, and his memories were not sealed.
However, he fell into a deeper spatial-temporal illusion.
In this spatial-temporal illusion, he became the young, first-generation Hell Demon Emperor.
He had not yet created the Hell Demon race and aspired to become the greatest Hell Demon.
Zheng Dong frowned.
His memories were not sealed, and his consciousness remained clear; he had not lost himself in the spatial-temporal illusion.
Yet, he could not escape it.
He could only be trapped within it, experiencing the life of the Hell Demon Emperor.
He felt that with each deeper layer of the spatial-temporal illusion he entered, the pressure he endured increased, and his consciousness would gradually become confused.
Sooner or later, he would be unable to distinguish who he was, forever lost in the spatial-temporal illusion, meeting the same fate as the Hell Demon Emperor.
What should he do?
Why did spatial-temporal illusions appear here?
The Hell Demons and Fallen Angels who had been searching for resources here with him must have known that spatial-temporal illusions would appear here and left in advance.
Unfortunately, the information he had gathered was limited, and he had not obtained more information about this place from the Hell Demons or Fallen Angels.
What he could do now was perhaps to constantly maintain his clarity and prevent his consciousness from becoming confused.
This also required him to mobilize the law of destiny and exert its greater power.
To this end, he continuously comprehended the law of destiny and cultivated the power of destiny.
He hoped his cultivation speed could keep pace with the gradual confusion of his consciousness.
Zheng Dong, deeply trapped in multiple layers of spatial-temporal illusions, paid no attention to the changes in his surroundings, nor did he care about his current identity or what was happening. He simply focused on cultivating.
A vast power of destiny enveloped his entire body, protecting his divine soul and divine personality.
Under the threat of life and death, his comprehension of the law of destiny accelerated.
As his mastery of the law of destiny grew stronger, the power of destiny he could wield also increased.
He soon detected fluctuations of destiny within the spatial-temporal illusion.
These fluctuations were very difficult to detect.
Even if detected, without a profound understanding of the law of destiny, it was difficult to grasp the principles and functions of these fluctuations.
Zheng Dong discovered that every god-level transcendent being lost within the spatial-temporal illusion had their destinies replayed within it.
For example, the Hell Demon Emperor, the Fallen Angel Emperor, the commander on the divine battlefield, and other transcendent beings trapped in the spatial-temporal illusion.
If he were to die here, his destiny would also be replayed here.
Others would feel the crises he faced and his growth experiences.
Why did this change occur?
Zheng Dong also found that the destiny power here, within the spatial-temporal illusion, could exert a special effect, stripping away destiny.
The destinies of both the Hell Demon Emperor and the Fallen Angel Emperor were altered; their destiny lines were stripped away.
They could be forcibly imposed upon others.
If Zheng Dong could find the destiny line of the Hell Demon Emperor and bestow it upon another Hell Demon, that Hell Demon would grow into a new Hell Demon Emperor.
Furthermore, all its experiences would be extremely similar to those of the first-generation Hell Demon Emperor.
He himself was deeply trapped within the spatial-temporal illusion and found it difficult to understand why such a unique place existed.
He could only continue to comprehend the law of destiny, maintain his clarity at all times, and hope to eventually escape this spatial-temporal illusion.
Unknowingly, over five months had passed.
Zheng Dong could no longer ascertain how many layers of spatial-temporal illusions he was trapped in. He had already experienced the life stories of several god-level transcendent beings.
He gradually began to forget how he had entered and his purpose for coming here.
His memories were also becoming hazy, and his consciousness was not as clear as before.
Fortunately, his comprehension of the law of destiny had reached a new realm.
Using the power of destiny, he discovered the Destiny Codex hidden within the spatial-temporal illusion.
The Destiny Codex was a treasure born from the natural environment.
It was located in the depths of the spatial-temporal illusion and possessed the ability to strip away destiny.
However, it was not the cause of the unique environment here.
Instead, it was a divine artifact born within this unique environment.
If he could obtain the Destiny Codex, Zheng Dong might have a chance to leave the spatial-temporal illusion and even understand the reason for its formation.
Unfortunately, the Destiny Codex was not easily obtained.
It seemed to exist between the void and reality.
Without mastering the law of destiny, one could not even discover its existence; it was as if it inherently did not exist.
Let alone refining it, even holding it was difficult.
It was like the moon in the water, visible but untouchable.
Zheng Dong wanted to use the power of destiny to weave a large net to capture the Destiny Codex.
However, this would require mobilizing a large amount of destiny power.
This, in turn, might leave his divine soul and divine personality unprotected by sufficient destiny power, risking a relapse into confused consciousness.
Despite this, Zheng Dong decided to take the risk.
After repeated efforts, he finally managed to capture the Destiny Codex with the net woven from the power of destiny.
Then, he attempted to refine the Destiny Codex.
The Destiny Codex appeared like a thick dictionary, with an image of a transcendent being on each page. The transcendent beings in the images were lifelike because they preserved the destiny lines stripped from them.
A destiny line was the survival trajectory of a life form.
Like a train on a track, it always moved forward along the track, and every life would grow along its destiny line.
After refining the Destiny Codex, Zheng Dong flipped through it.
He discovered that his own image appeared on the latest page, though his destiny line had not yet been stripped.
Besides stripping destiny lines, the Destiny Codex could also view the attributes and past experiences of any life form.
However, doing so required a significant consumption of destiny power.
But, unfortunately, even after refining the Destiny Codex, Zheng Dong still could not leave the spatial-temporal illusion.
However, he was no longer in danger of having his destiny line stripped.
If a destiny line were stripped, it would be like a train derailing and causing casualties.
Since he could not leave, he had no choice but to continue comprehending the law of destiny and observing the changes in the spatial-temporal illusion, searching for the cause of its formation and a way to escape.
Thus, several more months passed.
Fortunately, with the mastery of the Destiny Codex, Zheng Dong was no longer as vulnerable within the spatial-temporal illusion. Otherwise, he would have died here just like the Hell Demon Emperor and the Fallen Angel Emperor.
As his comprehension of the law of destiny deepened, he also discovered the cause of the anomaly here.
He saw the River of Destiny.
The River of Destiny was a river constructed from the destiny lines of all life forms.
Even for transcendent beings who had died many years ago, whose divine souls and divine personalities were destroyed, their destiny lines still existed within the River of Destiny.
Destiny lines were not easily destroyed, unless there was an epochal shift.
This also explained the existence of past and future selves.
Zheng Dong was currently living in the past temporal dimension. From the perspective of the present temporal dimension, Shen Bing, Shen Xue, and even the entire Yanhuang had been destroyed.
However, in the past temporal dimension, they still existed because their destiny lines remained, and their lives within the past trajectory were still present.
When Zheng Dong awakened Shen Bing and Shen Xue's memories, he altered their destiny trajectories, but not by stripping their destiny lines, thus giving them the possibility of resurrection in the present temporal dimension.
It was precisely because of this alteration, coupled with the epochal shifts, that the River of Destiny, which spanned the present, past, and future, experienced anomalies.
This, in turn, led to spatial-temporal distortions and the continuous appearance of spatial-temporal illusions.
As for why they always appeared here,
It could only be said that they could appear anywhere, and appearing here was merely a coincidence.
As for why they had not moved elsewhere, it was because the River of Destiny spanned the present, past, and future, and at this moment, time was constant and unchanging for the River of Destiny.
Even if Zheng Dong returned to the present temporal dimension or the future temporal dimension, or even a more distant past temporal dimension, the problem would still be here.
In the present temporal dimension, the spatial-temporal illusions here had been appearing for a long time, while in more distant past temporal dimensions, the spatial-temporal illusions caused by temporal distortions had only just begun to appear.
After understanding the situation, Zheng Dong was still unable to escape.
The spatial-temporal illusions that appeared here would likely never disappear.
They would persist as long as the River of Destiny experienced problems, becoming increasingly severe, affecting the entire world, and becoming another force that could destroy the world.
This was also a sign of accelerated epochal shifts.
Of course, in the midst of this, there was a sliver of hope.
Under these special circumstances, the Destiny Codex was born, and perhaps it could save him.
However, the Destiny Codex seemed incomplete. He had obtained it too early; it had only recently evolved into a high-level divine artifact. If it became a top-tier divine artifact, it should give him a chance to leave.
Fortunately, Zheng Dong still possessed the Corridor of Time and Space.
If he could merge the two divine artifacts and forge a more powerful divine artifact, could he leave faster?
But how could he forge the two divine artifacts together?
Zheng Dong rubbed his head, feeling a headache.
He began to search through the memories left by the Starry Sky Supreme.
Because he now possessed the strength of a main god, he could access more of the Starry Sky Supreme's memories.
Forging divine artifacts was difficult.
Lower gods who had just condensed their divine personalities could not forge divine artifacts.
According to the memories left by the Starry Sky Supreme, to fuse two divine artifacts, he needed to use the power of his divine kingdom.
Moreover, it was not something that could be accomplished overnight.
But this gave Zheng Dong inspiration.
He might be able to use his own Destiny Divine Kingdom to fuse the powers of the Destiny Codex and the Corridor of Time and Space, and find a way to escape the spatial-temporal illusion.
As for fusing the two divine artifacts, he could do that slowly later.
Thus, Zheng Dong began to experiment.
He unfurled his Destiny Divine Kingdom.
Within the divine kingdom, it was like a new world, with a sun, a moon, and countless stars. Zheng Dong's bloodline avatars were also within the divine kingdom, managing subordinate divine kingdoms.
According to Zheng Dong's plan, his divine kingdom would later be merged with his beast-taming space, making the beast-taming space more perfect and giving him the opportunity to break through to become a mythical beast-tamer.
However, his divine kingdom was not yet complete. He planned to consider merging it after becoming a Dominator.
Next, Zheng Dong took out the Destiny Codex and the Corridor of Time and Space, mobilized the power of his entire divine kingdom, activated the two divine artifacts, and guided the fusion of their powers.
The powers released by the two divine artifacts were like the black and white fish of a Tai Chi diagram, chasing each other and constantly attempting to fuse.
The entire process was very slow. After multiple attempts, there was only a slight breakthrough.
But the fused power was terrifying. Zheng Dong felt he could use it to break through the spatial-temporal illusion and leave this place.
Unfortunately, it was not easy to control.
He found it difficult to control the two divine artifacts and activate the powers they released, and after they fused, to help him break through the spatial-temporal illusion.
In simple terms, his realm was not yet sufficient.
It was like a child, unable to wield an axe.