Chapter 697 The Life of Stardust (8600, Seeking Monthly Tickets!)

What does death truly feel like?

The vast majority of lives in the mortal world cannot answer this question, because the dead do not speak. Even if they could, their perceptions would be the soul's sensations, incomprehensible to ordinary humans.

And true death is the nothingness where even the soul and memory dissipate, and inheritance and bloodlines turn to ashes. It is impossible for any information to be transmitted that can be perceived by others.

Therefore, all living beings can only imagine.

Some say that the dead enter the underworld, where they await the arrival of reincarnation. This life ends, karma is decided, and the true spirit continues its journey into the next life.

Some say that after death, there is only emptiness and silence, embraced only by endless darkness. There is no thought, no perception, difficult to describe, and sleep in the void of the void.

Still others say that death does not exist at all, because death is the beginning of something new. After the end, there is a completely new creation.

They say that in this world, there is no 'death,' because no one truly dies, and no one truly disappears.

Because, in this gentle multiverse, 'love' exists.

There are great beings who watch over all things. Everyone, even the most insignificant life, will be eternally remembered, as eternal as correctness itself.

The so-called 'dead' are merely sleeping, having left the grand stage of the multiverse. As long as the great beings are willing, anyone can return to the world.

Therefore, this cannot be called 'death.' There is no death in the world, only a temporary departure.

Therefore, there are many opinions, but no answer.

However, if we do not discuss 'absolute death' exclusively.

If it's just a simple death of the flesh and the dissipation of the soul, there is a being in the universe who can describe His feelings, and not just once.

He believes that 'death' is the end that one craves but cannot reach, the endless cycle of birth and destruction.

He believes that 'death' is the elimination of all meaning of life. Even if one is still alive, it is nothing more than a soulless, walking corpse in the void.

He believes that 'death' is actually two-way. Life may exist forever, but the old world has long since died and will never return.

That is the answer that the life born from stardust, which has died and been reborn countless times, can give.

In the magnificent and splendid early universe, filled with countless lights and heat, in the era when neutrons and protons had not yet merged, the initial universe shone with light trillions of times more brilliant than supernovae today, proclaiming the creation of everything, the beginning of 'life.'

And this light rapidly cooled under the arrow of entropy, with the quark-gluon plasma condensing into neutrons and protons, eventually transforming into endless heavy hydrogen molecular clouds.

That is, the original 'stardust.'

The first element to be born was hydrogen... and the aggregation and collapse of large amounts of molecular clouds formed the first things in the universe that could be called stars.

The collapse and aggregation of molecular clouds releases fusion heat, and when the energy released can stably counter the gravitational collapse caused by its mass, the first-generation stars are born, and with the continuous collapse of molecular clouds, they continue to release terrifying energy.

But because of the non-extreme nature of hydrogen, the efficiency of releasing energy through radiative transitions is very low. In order to counteract this constantly accumulating energy, they can only rely on greater mass to stabilize, so the mass of first-generation stars is generally extremely large, and their lifespan is very short.

Therefore, the first supernova explosions and black holes, as well as 'stardust clouds' constantly spreading under the amplitude of the universe, were born.

Life can be born as long as there is a stable environment that can self-replicate, self-spread, and produce evolution.

Whether it is a star, a gas giant, a close-in planet, a distant planet, or even in the dark dust, life can be born as long as the conditions are met.

So, in a corner of the universe, when the first-generation stars had almost dissipated, and the huge Great Attractor black hole of the galaxy cluster level stirred the heavens, and infinite negative entropy spread, a life originating from stardust was born.

The most primitive life seemed no different from a cellular automaton that only automatically replicated itself, but it was indeed born and possessed intelligence in a high-spirit environment.

Because the opening of spirit (kai ling) is a truly random process, countless stardust lives were born in the endless torrent of negative entropy.

It is difficult to describe what those days were like. Stardust lives devoured each other, united with each other, and even developed social structures similar to feudal slavery. Most stardust lives relied on electromagnetic waves and spiritual power to communicate and store information, and their perceived time was thousands of times faster than that of humans. They even established a united ruling society, almost like a country, in the hot regions where supernova torrents were not very frequent.

But this was, after all, the beginning of the universe. As the universe expanded and spread, the environment upon which stardust lives depended began to dissipate. The hot interstellar dust began to cool, and new generation stars were born—because of many supernova explosions, the number and types of elements in the universe increased, and the possibility of light radiation increased, so stars did not need to be supermassive to maintain stability.

Therefore, conversely, many large-sized stardust lives felt very uncomfortable in this gradually cooling cosmic ice age.

They began to gradually become cold because the efficiency of energy release from energy level transitions became higher, and the essence of coldness, that is, energy loss, would cause the 'collapse' of stardust lives.

To this end, they could only constantly abandon their mass, and the memories and history retained in their stardust bodies.

In some ways, this was actually a suicide, a case of drinking poison to quench thirst.

But they had no choice but to do so.

Even so, in the increasingly dead and cold universe, most stardust lives dissipated and died.

They either never thought about the difference between life and death, so they disintegrated themselves when they felt uncomfortable, or they were indeed unable to adapt to the current cosmic environment and were frozen to death in the vacuum.

But in any case, these first plasma lifeforms were indeed nearly extinct.

Except for a stardust life whose mass was just right and happened to form a stable star.

Perhaps it wasn't just Him, but for stardust lives at that time who did not have means of over-the-air communication, they could not communicate with each other, so for both parties, the other was almost non-existent.

And in the very beginning period after becoming a star, this stardust life actually did not have much feeling, but He was clearer than anyone else about the result of using power recklessly. Breaking the balance was equivalent to suicide, so He fell into silence, self-sealing most of His consciousness, and maintaining the stability of the star's form.

In this process, He gradually figured out a reliable method of controlling a portion of His power while maintaining His stellar body.

He did not know, but this was essentially a kind of 'cultivation method' (xiu fa), a kind of 'inheritance' (chuan cheng), a method to continue Himself, which could increase the knowledge of similar beings.

A kind of, the earliest 'Daoist Law Inheritance' (dao fa chuan cheng).

Therefore, it was engraved within the essence of the endless spiritual energy in the universe.

Immortality was born from this.

But He did not know this.

In short, compared to other natural stars, as a living star, He did very well in this aspect. The stable planetary system environment surrounding Him was more suitable for the birth of life.

And such stable time passed in an instant for hundreds of millions of years.

The discrete stardust wandering around the star eventually condensed into planets, and compared to the turbulent environment of the early universe, even with countless geological movements, the environment of rocky planets was very stable and pleasant.

Under the gaze of the star, life appeared.

Then it was destroyed again.

Under the long gaze of the star, various lives that appeared because of high spirit (gao ling) were destroyed and appeared again because of the turbulent geological movement of the planet. The corpses of the previous generation of life could even become the raw materials for the next generation of life.

This cycle repeated countless times.

This not only reminded the stardust life of His compatriots, those who had either collapsed into black holes, or disintegrated into nebulae, and every molecule of whose bodies had reconstructed into new matter.

Today, a significant portion of all matter in the entire universe originates from the ashes of His compatriots—those small initial lives, or the starlight that streaks across the cosmic curtain, without exception.

Did They die?

Or were They always there, just in another form?

It is difficult to imagine the logic of a star's thinking. He was not confused, but constantly asked questions, and then fell into His nearly eternal contemplation, bringing about faint solar flares.

But the universe is always dangerous, and even stars are nothing more than a drop in the ocean in this vast entity.

Especially in primitive galaxies, the orbits of celestial bodies are not completely determined.

Even galaxies will collide with each other.

Just as a rocky elemental lifeform that had existed for more than seven million years had finally evolved on the planet and was about to evolve into a true intelligent life, the collision and fusion of primitive galaxies, originating from the core of the surrounding galaxies, the collision of two large-mass pulsars caused multiple celestial bodies to shift their orbits, and triggered a large collision event.

The star life was among the ranks of the stirred celestial bodies.

Being involved in an astronomical collision is a disaster even for star lives. In the heart of the life that collided with other stars and eventually collapsed, the last thought was not to lament His own 'death.'

Instead, He felt pity for those planets, those small lives that He had watched for billions of years, only to see them germinate.

—It was so difficult to stabilize, but it was destroyed by this unreasonable catastrophe. They probably couldn't understand why they disappeared, right?

Stardust himself found it difficult to understand.

But not understanding, being meaningless, is the essence of the universe.

The star life disappeared in the turbulence caused by the chain collision of multiple stars. His brilliance collapsed and flowed, turning into a magnificent nebula.

This, perhaps, can be called death.

Stardust himself thought so too. It was time for Him to die, He should die—all His compatriots had already died out, and this cold and dark universe was too far from the bright and happy, initial hot universe in His memory, so far that He could only feel unfamiliarity, even fear.

He did not love this universe.

Moreover, those lives that He cared about, the lives on that small rocky planet, also eventually dissolved into light, returning to the original stardust.

He had no attachments.

The star dissipated in a dazzling explosion. His remains began to change under the violent collapse. The star composed of primordial hydrogen molecules began to turn into gold, into iron, into the gold coins in the hands of some creatures billions of years later, and the swords in the hands of some creatures.

Just like the fragments of His former compatriots scattered throughout the universe, no one knew that before other civilizations gave these metals meaning, they, and they, were originally the product of stardust that shone billions of years ago.

He should be like all the 'initial giant gods,' His body transforming into a part of the heavens and the earth.

That was the ending He deserved.

But He was reborn.

From the void, from the flow of stardust, from endless time, from the 'immortal inheritance.'

The life of stardust, from the imprint engraved in this spiritual energy universe, was resurrected and returned.

In a random corner of the universe, the original nebula swirled, condensed, and collapsed. A star that had just conceived a prototype, because of the structure extremely similar to that star of the past, thus possessed consciousness. Fragments of thought belonging to stardust condensed here, and eventually converged into the complete Him.

As long as there are similar spiritual energy fluctuations, the inheritance engraved in the spiritual energy will spontaneously condense and revive Him.

As long as there is no obstruction from a strong person of the same level, the revival will not have any omissions.

This is true immortality.

The celestial life, confused and at a loss, clearly having begun to enjoy the peace of death, was forced to revive in the world, and surveyed the dark starry sky.

He did not know what death was, nor did He understand the meaning of life.

He had come alive, but did not have the ecstatic joy of those who pursued immortality after their first rebirth.

He was so confused and lost, not understanding the reason and meaning of all this.

Life... what is the meaning of life?

It is nothing more than earth and ashes that will eventually dissipate, and light flakes that condense and then scatter after the stardust fills the sky.

【Why am I alive?】

Such confusion plagued the celestial life for all the years that followed.

In this long time, He died countless times, lost many memories, and then picked up many fragments.

Although He was ancient, He was not the strongest. Rather, because He was too incompatible with the stable and cold universe, and His weaknesses were too great, the celestial life was even occasionally regarded as excellent scientific research material by some powerful races that rose later, and was captured or killed.

Because He had no compatriots, so there was no cooperation, no unification, no related knowledge exchange, and He did not have the probing consciousness to surpass Himself and become stronger, He did not even have the instinct of curiosity, He simply did not have the instinct to transcend Himself and become stronger.

Everything was meaningless.

The stardust life was just confused.

For example: a human being, born in the autumn of 1895. The taste of his hometown in his memory is the rice fields on the plains of Jiangnan, or the rich fruit fragrance and the腥味of grass and mud in the western mountains, or the cold and heavy snow in the northern regions. Humans remember this day. He lived with his own kind for a long time, grew up, grew old, and died in the soil of his hometown.

Whether he was happy or willing is another matter. When he died, he was in a world that he could understand.

But a hundred years later, in 1995, he was resurrected again, with the body of his childhood, and looked around blankly at the world that had changed dramatically.

The rice fields were filled in, the mountains and forests were cut down, and the snow was replaced by solid cement buildings and heating, and all the familiar things disappeared.

Of course he can adapt to the new world.

Just as the 'stardust life' can adapt to the unstable universe that is no longer filled with hot stardust, and adapt to this gradually cooling and stable universe.

But again and again, because of the engraving of 'Dao,' He, who returned again and again after death, was always confused.

Just as a person can adapt to new environments again and again, but he will always remember the taste of his hometown.

Everything familiar no longer exists.

Even those fragile little lives have built a cosmic age of great exploration called the 'Glorious Era,' and have begun to drive spaceships to explore the other side of the distant starry sky.

Life still exists, and creates the appearance of a new world.

But the old world has been killed by the unceasing entropy, the eternally expanding universe, and by time.

【Why do I exist?】

He asked himself: 【If the essence of the universe is nothingness, why am I resurrected from death?】

【If the essence of the universe is not nothingness, then what is the purpose of my resurrection from death? Is there some kind of meaning?】

【I am immortal, an indestructible life, but why?】

【If I chase after death, will death embrace me?】

The answer is no.

Immortality cannot be refused.

The stardust life did not know how He had obtained immortality.

Therefore, as long as there is still the possibility of 'stellar opening of spirit (kai ling)' in this world, He will not disappear.

In the confusion of bewilderment, the stardust life wandered in the universe, and in the wanderings calculated in millions of years, in the cycle of death and rebirth again and again, He began to try to copy and transform into the forms possessed by other lives.

This was not difficult. All things were derivatives of the stardust life. As long as the stardust life abandoned His mass, He could imitate those small lives and integrate into their prosperous societies.

Then, the stardust witnessed the destruction and end of countless civilizations.

These small lives can build great civilizations that surpass planets and stars. They can build terrifying fleets that can easily destroy a planet. Their power can pull several galaxies into subspace, and assemble gigantic buildings that are so incredibly large that they surpass the laws of physics.

Artificial stars are not difficult. They even created new star lives... but they are not the same kind as stardust lives, just a big ball of plasma.

Of course, not every race and civilization can accomplish these miracle-like spectacles, but in nearly eternal time, stardust can always encounter such civilizations.

And such civilizations will also be destroyed.

Because of war, because of infighting, because of self-division, because of cosmic disasters.

Even, just because they don't want to live, they can die—a death that stardust envies.

Everything will disappear, great civilizations will also self-destruct, or be destroyed by war...

The glorious era ends, and the chaotic era begins.

More and more civilizations are destroyed, for some strange reasons, some inexplicable karma.

In order to prove who is stronger, for some ridiculous resources, for the greed of some people... the destruction of life continues to occur.

These reasons are far more empty and sad than the pulsar collisions that destroyed the bodies of the stardust life and the lives on the rocky planets in the past.

—Life is meaningless.

—Otherwise, if someone deliberately created these beings, and then destroyed them for such reasons, wouldn't it be a great irony?

—I would rather believe in nothingness than in malicious stupidity.

Thinking this way, such thoughts took root in the mind of stardust.

And in this time, He encountered such a group of people.

A group of wanderers in the starry sky, but like ghosts, never interacting with any life, just quietly watching, and then quietly leaving.

They found the stardust life hidden among the crowd, not conspicuous at all, and politely began to communicate.

【We are the Nihility Order, ancient stardust life, we have been looking for you】

They said so, their tone gentle and kind: 【Confused by meaning, not wanting to exist but still eternal, life of nothingness, we are your kindred】

The stardust life could sense that the people in front of Him did have a similar aura to His own.

That was an aura of being equally nihility, but not bewildered, not confused, but at peace.

【...Kindred?】He slowly stood up, and then said with some confusion: 【Kindred?】

【Here we have the last survivors of a dying civilization, warriors exiled by their race, and beasts wandering the starry sky aimlessly】

The leader of the group, a brain floating in a psychic tank, said softly in a synthesized psychic tone: 【And there is me, who can't tell the difference between illusion and reality, and feels that everything is meaningless】

【Life is not necessary. Ordinary lives desire to survive, which is the instinct of genes. But you are not a product of evolution. Life of stardust, you represent the initial existence, and also the final nothingness】

【Therefore, after learning of your existence, we have been searching for you, hoping that you can join us】

【Join...】Muttering softly, the stardust life said dazedly: 【What meaning is there?】

【None】

The brain said calmly: 【So why not?】

【It will be meaningless in the end. We will just wander the entire universe like this, searching for kindred, until the arrival of death, or the end of all things, waiting for nothingness to descend together—why not?】

—Indeed.

—Why not?

Nihility has no reason to do it, and no reason to refuse.

Just as there is no reason to want to do good, and there is no reason to want to do evil.

Nihility is like this, always extreme, always wandering, always confused.

So the stardust life agreed to the other party, accompanying this group of silent people to travel between many galaxies, and the corners of the surrounding cosmic structure.

This is the oldest Nihility Order.

This is a very long journey.

So long that the members of the Order returned to nothingness before the arrival of nothingness.

So long that the life of stardust became the oldest member of the Nihility Order, and became the new Nihility Pope.

The eternal stardust wandered among the stars, this cold universe, the bystander of the complex cycles of reincarnation.

His confusion has never been answered.

【Why do I exist?】

Meaningless nothingness.

But this question is no longer important.

Because, relative to this question, 【Why should I die?】, is also meaningless nothingness.

Filled with emptiness and loneliness, the heart of stardust gradually gained peace.

But confusion still exists.

So... all this is not the end.

Therefore, until that day.

He heard the voice of the 'Great.'

Everything changed because of it.

…

Trade Capital, the core.

The aura of the distant past was guided, causing the stars to turn and illusions to transform.

The Nihility Pope closed His six pairs of eyes. These pupils simulated from a certain race in the universe can see through all illusions and changes, and observe every energy fluctuation in the universe.

Eternity, can witness all nothingness. He firmly believes that this is the meaning of His long-lasting immortality.

【Lord, please guide us on the path to the future】

The scattered stardust aggregates revolved around the complex aggregate floating in front of Him, and a calm voice murmured: 【Zhuzhou—the apostles of the other Lords, are now hindering our plans. We cannot accelerate the shattering of the barrier, nor can we destroy this universe】

He hoped that the Lord could tell Him—as it has been for billions of years.

Those who are Nihility are most easily bewildered.

Therefore, they are most easily guided.

The purpose of the Nihility Order has always been very simple, which is purely to destroy the 'barrier' Great Seal, and destroy the entire universe.

And then, it is the next thing.

The stardust life believes that destruction is creation, the death and nothingness of life are already too normal. He simply wants to know, where exactly is the end of everything, and whether there will be a new beginning after the end.

If He does not destroy the universe, He cannot see the more vast goal of the future.

And can His immortality disappear with the disappearance of the universe?

As long as there are still questions in the heart of stardust, He will always wander.

And also crave guidance.

But, He is always dissatisfied.

To the Nihility Pope's calm prayer, the illusion composed of several extremely complex geometric figures rotated slightly.

【Do what you want to do】

There was a hollow voice, harmonious like the autumn wind with a bit of tranquility: 【If you want to bring the end, then end this universe that makes you feel pain and cold, has no kindred, and is only filled with nothingness】

【If you want to create, then go create a world that can make you feel warm, create an era that you have missed for a long time, but can only look back and say goodbye to】

Although this voice was not loud, it seemed to be able to eternally resonate, until the end of the mind: 【Stardust, what Zhuzhou does, what Chaos does, is not important, all the Lords' ideas are not important】

【What is important is, what 'you' want to do.】

The stardust body, nesting between the artificial stars, hovering around the star core, paused for a moment.

Then, accompanied by a rumbling vibration, the surface of the entire Trade Capital, all the areas with cracks, began to light up with layers of colorful, overflowing light dust.

【Why?】

He almost asked angrily, bewildered once again: 【Why is it always like this?】

For billions of years, such questions and answers have always been like this.

The stardust's formless, wandering body condensed into huge claws, grabbing towards the complex illusion, as if wanting to hold it in His palm: 【Lord, I just want to know the answer, I want to know the correct guidance—I just want to know, what do you want me to do, and I will do it】

At this moment, the entire Nihility Order fell into silence.

Although no one knew what the Pope was saying, what He was doing, whether it was the Annihilation Envoy, the Conquest Envoy, or the Shepherd Lord, all the powerful beings could not help but hold their breath and stop moving at this moment.

Because, the rainbow-like stardust light, like the sun, covered the Trade Alliance capital's dim yellow sun, illuminating the entire galaxy.

But after the colorful stardust rainbow, behind the illusion's totem, there was still calmness.

【Everything you do is correct】

The voice, which was originally as peaceful as the autumn wind, transformed at this moment, like a space-time storm that breathes between worlds, with endless stability and grandeur in its agitation: 【Everything you do is wrong】

【Guidance, we will no longer guide... Stardust, choose according to your will, fulfill your correctness... whether you think it is correct or wrong, as long as you want to, go on】

【And the only thing we will do...】

The voice changed once again. This time, the voice sounded like strings wrapped together with countless dense nets, the sound of countless strings vibrating was calm and long: 【Is to give you the key】

【Power, authority, and the right to choose, we will give the past and the future into your hands—the hands of everyone】

【You will use power to carry out your will, correct, or wrong】

The voice began to change.

【And you, the most bewildered in the universe, you who clearly do not believe in the Lord, you who have no faith but joined the Nihility Order, you who are indeed the most lonely, the most empty】

Whether it was grand, or peaceful, or long, the voices resonated.

【It is precisely because you are like this that you can bear all the wrongs and rights】

And finally, They sang together: 【And what choice will you ultimately make?】

The stardust life listened to all this in bewilderment.

He tried to understand, but He could never understand.

【Why don't you tell me the correct answer?】

He asked in confusion: 【Lord, why don't you bestow the gospel? Your great power, I know very well, if you are willing...】

【True correctness does not need guidance. Stardust, make your own choice】

But, the distant totem in His palm slowly dissipated, without answering.

It finally only left a little spark, which sank into the stardust life's body: 【Do not try, do not ask, we only give the key】

And at the end, all the voices disappeared.

Only a faint heartbeat remained, floating in the heart of stardust.

【Even if it is nothingness, you must choose your own nothingness】

【And not 'Twilight of the Gods' (Huanghun Bo Mu)】

The six pairs of pupils were closed for a long time.

The vast body, surrounding the entire star core, slowly tightened, causing the entire planet to shake.

After a long time, a long sigh could be heard, as well as a resolute command.

【Terminate the 'Galaxy Star' capture plan】

He said, announcing to the high-level members of the entire Nihility Order: 【Contract the main force of the Order, we are going to change the main target】

【Notify Kong Yu and Youhun, let Them go to the 'Twilight Starfield' (Bo Mu Xingyu)】

【And the Conquest Envoys, all go to the subspace rift】

…

At the same time, at the other end of the starry sky.

The Judgement Death Star, which had merged with the Celestian Golden Fleet, had now been replaced with the most advanced biological leap engine, and was now returning to Earth at the fastest speed.

Su Zhou's feat of defeating an Annihilation Envoy and startling away the will of the Flood, was now spreading throughout the entire galaxy. The commander of the Golden Fleet, a member of the Celestian Elder Council, had originally been somewhat contemptuous of the Earth Fleet that had been chased and beaten for two years, but now, when facing Su Zhou who came to visit, He directly set up the best tea to entertain Him.

【I apologize for the poor hospitality!】

Contrary to what all Earthlings imagined, the Nihility Order's Annihilation Envoys were ultimate demon kings who had been infamous in this galaxy for hundreds of thousands of years. Without exception, those who could eliminate Them were the strongest Ω-level spiritual energy users in the galaxy at that time.

And now, although Su Zhou had not yet advanced, everyone had already regarded Him as one of the strongest in the future.

—That's not wrong.

"Yala."

During the leap, in the middle of subspace, Su Zhou slowly asked in His heart: "Do all the Great Beings not lie?"

"It's not that They don't lie... but it's not necessary."

After being asked, the Snake Spirit thought for a while, and then gave an answer: "Let me put it this way, if it was fighting monsters back then, not to mention lying, we would have used whatever vicious methods as long as they were useful, and we wouldn't mind it at all."

"But between Great Beings, it is essentially a debate of fists and feet that gets more intense when They start fighting. If you use any dirty tricks at this time, it will not only damage your correct image and confidence, but also be ridiculed."

"Speaking of which," He flicked His tail, as if shrugging His shoulders, "especially for existences who haven't even reached the Transcendent level, and have never spread the correct gospel, lying... hey, I can't imagine how pathetic such a Great Being would be, you know, even Destiny doesn't do this kind of thing!"

"As long as someone asks, He will directly give absolutely accurate prophecies—even He doesn't do it, so it's basically impossible."

Taking the opportunity to criticize Destiny, Yala's attitude was very clear.

"Is that so…"

Su Zhou closed His eyes, He said softly: "That's right."

But then, He opened His eyes again, His tone confused: "But if that's the case, how has the Nihility Order been distorted by other Great Beings?"

"Or rather... have other Great Beings really distorted them?"

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