‘I guess this is it, no looking back anymore but before that…’

Zhang Dong heaved a sigh as he observed the path leading to the next realm unfolding before him. It was a significant leap that he still hesitated to take. Fortunately, he had gained insight into some of the truths of the world he resided in, courtesy of absorbing the tree of knowledge that had flourished within him. Additionally, Bob had secured control over the Overseer, a puppet that at this juncture posed no threat to his well-being, providing him with new information.

To validate some of the newly acquired knowledge, he resolved to ascend into the clouds, a realm previously prohibited to him. A familiar wind, which would have previously torn him apart, obstructed his way, but his current cultivation level left him with nothing to fear. With ease, he passed through the invisible barrier that had previously confined him, granting him access to the true world beyond.

“So this is it…”

For a moment, he experienced the sensation of being a deity, gazing down at the entire empire that filled his entire field of view. Yet, there was more to behold, as he ascended even higher, allowing him to survey the entirety of the world and planet on which he had resided for over three centuries.

“That’s probably the Emerald Phoenix Empire… and that must be the great wide sea the Cerulean Empress came from…”

From this elevated perspective, he could take in the grand scope of it all. Even from a high vantage point, the entire planet remained vast. It resembled a huge sphere that closely matched the size of the sun around which his old planet had orbited. However, one thing became evident shortly after leaving the atmosphere and ascending to this height: this world was perhaps not intended to be observed from such a distant viewpoint.

“There really isn’t anything out there, this whole place is just a miniaturized universe…”

The planet he had lived on was not part of a larger cosmos; it was the entire cosmos itself, contained within a self-contained bubble of existence. The sun, the moon, the stars, and the galaxies were all nothing more than celestial ornaments within this constructed reality. It just confirmed some of his older theories that all of this was a setup for something and that soon he would probably discover what it was all for.

His senses had now been heightened to the point where he could peer into the void and discern that there was not as much empty space as he had initially assumed. He accelerated his pace and reached one of the apparent celestial bodies that actually orbited their planet. It was not the only one, for it appeared that each Empire had its own version, resembling nothing more than phantoms suspended in an intricate pattern above the sky. These celestial bodies were akin to glowing lightbulbs that emitted minimal heat on their own. It became apparent that the entire planet was held together by spiritual energy that simulated everything.

Everything appeared illusory - the moon resembled a hologram that mimicked the real celestial body, much smaller than he had anticipated. Attempting to stand on it proved futile, as his feet simply passed through as if it were insubstantial. The other stars above were nothing more than sizable luminous dots against a dark, shadowy canvas radiating the Dao of darkness. As he approached it, he could glimpse beyond, leading to a truly astonishing revelation.

“There is nothing there… just an empty void…”

Beyond this canvas, there was an absolute void - no other stars, galaxies, or planets. It was a barren expanse devoid of life, where even spiritual energy failed to penetrate beyond the shroud of darkness. Even his efforts to perceive anything were met with an impenetrable barrier, which likely marked the boundary of this realm. There was nothing out there; the entire world was an isolated planet with nothing else surrounding it.

While this knowledge wasn’t truly new, he had at least hoped that there was something more out there. He couldn't help but think about the countless lives that existed within this constructed world, each living their own stories, pursuing their own dreams, and facing their own challenges. The thought that all of them were part of an experiment or some grand design left a heavy weight on his heart.

Even more so when he realized that his whole family was stuck here and just like this fake world was established, it could probably be eradicated easily. With his current cultivation level, he felt that it would be possible for him to bring this planet to its doom. If he focused all of his energies together, it would probably be enough to create a cataclastic event to end all life on this planet filled with trillions of lives.

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“It was a good idea to take over that puppet instead of destroying it. I should probably return and continue with the plan.”

Bob was waiting for him down on the surface of this world for an order. He had been tasked with trying to block out any signals to outside beings that would normally be transmitted during an ascension event. This approach enabled him to progress steadily through the transition of cultivation realms without raising suspicions as an anomaly. Without this strategy, he would have had to expedite the process, moving quickly to advance to the next stage without being detected.

In his current state, he knew how to depart from this realm, yet there were multiple routes to exit. With the Overseer under his control and all its knowledge at his disposal, he decided to make his way to what appeared to be the central command center. Similar to other such locations, it was concealed behind a hidden door that could transport him into a parallel dimension.

It became increasingly apparent that there might be no actual transcendence to upper realms; rather, it seemed to be an event that transported a system holder once they reached the immortal stage. Upon achieving this milestone, they were forcibly moved to the subsequent stage of the scenario. This mechanism likely served to prevent them from seeing the world outside the planet, as doing so would have easily revealed the artificial nature of their existence.

He was presently experiencing the influence of this mechanism, which tugged at his very essence and attempted to draw him away from this realm. Its strength intensified the farther he ventured from the planet. However, although he could follow this compelling sensation and allow it to carry him away, his intention was to utilize the alternative method.

The Overseer possessed a connection to the creator of this realm and access to all the hidden doors within it. There had to be one leading out of this place, and he just needed to pinpoint it. When he arrived back on the ground, Bob was already waiting before the door that would lead him inside. Without the Overseer puppet present, he wouldn’t be able to go inside without force.

“Hm, could you turn to something different or are you locked in that form?”

Zhang Dong asked Bob who still had sharp blades for his arms. After he posed the question his AI started shifting around to take the appearance of an old acquaintance, the Azure Empress.

“It is possible to shift into forms the Overseer had previously absorbed, is this form satisfactory, or should this unit change again?”

“... I guess that’s fine. I didn’t really talk with her much… better than Long Qing I guess…”

While it was a bit distasteful to have the puppet assume a person that had died he didn’t want Bob to circle through everyone the Overseer had killed. With Bob now in a more familiar guise, Zhang Dong approached the hidden door that led to the central command center. The door looked a bit more robust and metallic than the others that he had witnessed but it was easily opened with Bob’s help.

What greeted them was a familiar-looking tunnel, very similar to the one that he encountered when he was out adventuring with Liena, Huo Qiang, and Zhang Zhi. It led to other rooms that were labeled and probably connected to various junctures in this world. With his currently enhanced spiritual sense, he could just instantly read the labels to discover that some of them even led to other empires.

“I guess these are some types of persistent teleportation spots, everything is connected but it’s also abandoned…”

The further he went, the more he realized that this central tunnel was a hub for control, monitoring, and management of this entire artificial universe. They passed rooms with elaborate machinery and vast screens displaying the lives and events of the people living in this world. It was a surreal experience, seeing the lives of countless beings played out like scenes in a movie.

It was probable that the puppet normally wandered through these corridors and continued to monitor the beings to push them into a certain direction. Perhaps when he arrived into this world this being was already watching. Maybe it was the thing that triggered his first boss encounter or left it there for him to discover. There were a lot of questions that were being answered and soon he arrived at a small chamber that seemed to not have been used for a while.

“This should be it, the back door that should take me there…”

This was his way out of here and it was somewhat unique and outdated. The other corridors were very sterile and modern looking while this place even had a wooden floor that seemed to have been handcrafted and not just copy-pasted with the help of some creation technique.

“Instead of the door, it’s a mirror huh? Is it going to be a mirrored dimension or is this where I’m currently in the mirror world?”

Zhang Dong approached the ornate mirror with caution. It was unlike anything he had encountered in this artificial world. As he stood before it, he noticed his reflection shimmering, but something about it was different. The reflection seemed more vibrant, more real, as if it were a gateway to another world.

Taking a deep breath, he reached out and touched the mirror's surface. His hand passed through the cool glass, and he felt a strange sensation as if he were being drawn into it. Instinctively he pulled back his hand just to see the surface of the mirror ripple around like the surface of water. When looking at it he could see that his reflection had disappeared and instead, he could see another area behind it.

“I guess this is it…”

It was time to move on beyond the threshold. Thus he initiated one of his techniques to hide his presence. After giving Bob some orders he finally stepped through into the unknown…