Chapter 916: A new look at the universe

From afar, Li Qi calculated with his fingers.

He had a nagging feeling that something wasn't quite right, but he couldn't deduce it himself, which meant the matter likely involved something on a higher level.

It was normal; the Universe was in troubled times, and with so many things happening, it was only natural for him to feel that something was off.

But there was a problem.

However, now that he was a Third Grade, he couldn't just wait for things to come to him. To create a safe environment for himself, he had to take the initiative.

Moreover, he didn't have much time left. Tens of thousands of years had passed since his Breakthrough to Third Grade, and his cultivation was almost stable. He estimated that he would soon be participating in the war.

As for his Disciple... there shouldn't be any problems. With Yao Ji there, he could be called over if anything happened.

Shen Shuibi and Yang Ning, the two sisters, had left, probably for some private girl talk, which Li Qi found inconvenient to eavesdrop on.

So then...

It was time to set off, to resolve past issues, and to get acquainted with the current Universe.

Li Qi's body vanished from Mystic Radiance Mountain and reappeared outside the domain.

However... it could no longer be called 'outside the domain' now.

The structure of the Universe had completely changed. The current Universe no longer had the concept of 'worlds'; all matter was evenly distributed.

There was just one problem.

The total mass of matter had increased by at least nine trillion times, and this was only Li Qi's estimation; it could only be more, not less.

"Is it because the annihilation rate is different?" Li Qi speculated.

In the Early Stage of the Universe, matter and antimatter were equal.

The reason was simple: if we create a particle of matter, it will leave a corresponding 'hole' in the vacuum, and this 'hole' is its antimatter.

If matter and antimatter particles collide, they will quickly annihilate, filling the hole and leaving a 'ripple' in the sea of vacuum, which is new 'energy'.

This was a manifestation of the Universe's symmetry; everything was symmetrical.

However, symmetry breaking led to the problem. A symmetry breaking caused matter and antimatter to no longer be symmetrical, with one side having one billionth more. This one billionth of residue formed the visible matter Universe.

The reason why only 'matter' was left in the end was simply because matter was left behind. In essence, matter and antimatter were completely equal in status; neither was prioritized over the other. They were each other's antimatter, much like the mutual transformation of Yin and Yang fish.

Although they were initially equal in quantity, during the cooling process of the Universe, the Universe, interfered with by Great Powers, ultimately broke the law of conservation, leading to an asymmetry in the quantities of matter and antimatter.

By controlling this annihilation rate, the total amount of conventional macroscopic matter could be controlled.

And not just that.

At the very beginning of the Universe, when the earliest symmetry breaking occurred, the differentiation of superforce was completely reversible.

When the Great Sage Qitian struck out with his staff, he produced superforce, and under subsequent influence, the superforce expanded and re-decomposed into different fundamental forces. Therefore, by controlling the decomposition of superforce and manipulating the ratios between various fundamental forces, one could adjust the annihilation rate of matter and antimatter, the speed of matter creation, chemical properties, and even more fundamental things like the speed of light.

The ratios between fundamental forces controlled the most basic physical constants. By controlling these, everything in the matter Universe could be manipulated at will.

No matter how fantastical the Materials, they could be crafted. No matter how mysterious the substances, they could be created through different proportions.

Alchemists who reached the Third Grade could create incredible Spiritual Artifacts by utilizing this property, directly creating brand new super Spiritual Artifacts from the fundamental level of matter.

Therefore, in the complete reshaping of the entire Universe, the annihilation rate was adjusted, causing the total amount of matter to increase by nine trillion times.

Truly...

Amazing.

The gravitational constant also changed, and the Schwarzschild radius born from the Return to Nothingness also had problems as a result. Neutron degenerate matter became more abundant, making the formation of Return to Nothingness even more difficult.

Generally speaking, such a large amount of matter would certainly lead to widespread collapse, but due to the change in constants, matter was able to be evenly distributed in space.

But it wasn't perfectly even, as gravity still existed. The presence of Great Attractors pulled some matter, tearing it apart and forming a special network structure.

Due to the speed of light, the edges of this network structure were 'event horizons' that Mortals could not Breakthrough, points of spatial-temporal division, absolute barriers that could not be breached without exceeding the speed of light. To them, this was the 'edge of the Universe'.

Great Attractors and absolute barriers formed individual 'single Universes', with the edges of the Observable Universe forming separated regions.

The existence of 'worlds' was completely gone. There were no longer world barriers to define other things; all matter was distributed throughout the cosmic space, freely forming celestial bodies and then freely aggregating together according to gravity.

Countless single Universes combined to form the current cosmic landscape.

And...

Mortals also changed.

The history of this Universe from its very beginning changed, and the history of Mortals completely changed. All of this was due to the changes in the Third Grade.

During this process, dozens of Third Grades had their possibilities zeroed out. In Li Qi's view, it was highly likely because their history anchored the history that the First Grades wanted to change.

Their existence blocked the way, so they were directly removed, so that the history they fixed would not cause an obstruction. This was actually a form of 'collateral damage'.

However, such unlucky Third Grades should only be a very small minority, just those few dozen. Most Third Grades would be fine, just like Li Qi.

One couldn't exactly say they were fine. Reality was relative and interconnected. Li Qi's past was indeed altered, but they weren't unable to accept this change. After all, it wasn't a big deal, and they still maintained their subjectivity.

Although in the eyes of Mortals, the Third Grade was an unchangeable reality, in fact, history was information engraved on the Third Grade as a basic unit. The Third Grade was the cornerstone of reality.

Space and time could only form based on the Third Grade as a basic unit. For beings of the Third Grade and above, there was no history, only the present.

And the existence of the Third Grade was the cornerstone of the present.

The same applied to Li Qi and other Third Grades. If history was changed, it meant they accepted the change. If they didn't accept it, history would be anchored by the Third Grade's own reality.

So, to put it into practice, if the First Grades wanted to change the present and make reality lean towards their desired future, they had to change past information.

In other words, changing history required changing the Third Grade, which served as the cornerstone of history.

This was essentially the same as the Third Grades' 'choosing the future'. In fact, many Third Grades themselves constantly changed things, which was also the reason for continuous recursion. A Third Grade battle would begin infinite recursion and create extreme environments to interrogate the opponent.

In this sense, as long as the Third Grades were willing to concede, they would never die. As long as they were sufficiently reclusive, no one would bother them.

What was involved were all trivial matters. If they changed, they changed. Li Qi had been choosing the future every day even before he reached the Third Grade, and there were no problems.

But some unlucky ones were different. The things they wanted to be changed would be major changes to themselves.

If they accepted these changes, they would no longer be themselves, or rather... it would go against their Dao.

That might be a huge choice in life.

That was an unyielding bottom line.

Regardless, they could not possibly accept those things being changed.

As mentioned before, history and the present are essentially the same. Time does not exist; everything is 'now'.

If that change were allowed, then the Third Grade's true self would naturally change along with it, only causing them to 'greatly change in temperament' and become another person.

Even their 'Dao' would be changed. Even if their reality remained, even if they were still alive, what meaning would there be?

Therefore, they could only engage in battle.

This didn't necessarily mean certain death. It could also mean finding a way to refuse the First Grade's changes, or finding a way to transform oneself from a 'critical node' into an 'unimportant thing', or relying on the protection of other Great Powers to allow oneself to escape.

However, it was clear that some unlucky ones couldn't do it. So, they were 'affected' and became sacrifices in this First Grade war.

Their history was confined, their experiences became an obstacle to 'the present', so they just needed to not appear at that critical node.

If one had to describe it, it would be...

To achieve the 'present' desired by the First Grades, in the year 2000, there was a critical node that needed to be changed. This critical node involved a Third Grade, and one who could not retreat.

So, let this Third Grade forever remain in 1999.

Lock his possibilities forever before 1999, so that no matter how he recursed or resisted, he could only arrive at 1999. Then the node in 2000 would develop in the desired direction, leading to a different outcome.

There could be many such nodes. Each change would bring about a massive shift in the world. For example, the most classic... the 'Silver' of the Human Dao has already returned to the Universe, so the Human Dao's high-ranking official in the Ministry of Revenue has a high probability of having his 'possibility zeroed out'. The five metals he released naturally caused a change in the fundamental composition of the Universe, and his 'Dao' also changed as a result.

Although this minister still lived in his Reincarnation cycle, was he truly the same person?

That's really hard to say.

However, these should be one of the reasons why the Universe became what it is now.

All factors hindering the change of the Universe were isolated, including the Third Grade. The current situation would naturally lead to the outcome desired by the First Grades.

Li Qi looked at the current Universe. The reason it became what it was now was because the Third Grades who had previously obstructed it had disappeared. Without their interference, reality would naturally advance in another direction.

Li Qi surveyed this world while making his own conjectures.

These were the results of his observations and speculations.

Then, Li Qi found a world...

No, not a world. It should be, he found a planet.

This planet was a standard Earth-like planet, also the most ordinary planet for life. There weren't so many flashy physical environments here; there was only the temperature, humidity, and atmosphere suitable for ordinary life.

However, Li Qi's current definition of 'suitable' was slightly broader.

Temperatures from minus one hundred degrees Celsius to three thousand degrees Celsius were actually considered 'suitable'. They could all give birth to ordinary carbon-based life, only the composition of their bodies would be different.

Of course, this 'ordinary' was also relative to Li Qi.

Compared to the Manifold Race or the neutron life forms of the Swift Realm, this was indeed ordinary.

The reason he chose this planet was because there was someone he wanted to find here.

Li Qi descended onto this world. This was also a typical humanoid creature world. After all, the influence of Heavenly Gods was too great, and resembling a Heavenly God was indeed a great advantage.

The temperature of this world was around minus seventy degrees Celsius year-round. The sun was very dim. This place could only be said to barely be within the habitable zone; cold was the main theme of this world.

Li Qi arrived next to a child.

This child was tall. Although Li Qi knew the other party was only five years old, he was a full 1.8 meters tall.

It was normal; the colder the place, the larger the body, which was more suitable for survival.

The child's body was very thick, with thick muscles and fat. He wore layer after layer of clothes. The innermost layer was made of scraped fur sewn with sinew, covered by a thick fur outer layer. The hat was made from an entire animal hide, and his feet were wrapped in fish-skin boots, with the inner layer turned outwards. The shoes and clothes were also filled with down feathers from a penguin-like species and coated with grease.

A string of teeth, drilled with small holes, hung around his neck.

It was very primitive, consistent with the local ecological level. This was a Mortal world. The strongest life forms were only Ninth Grade, and they were giant beasts without advanced intelligence. Humanoid creatures were the top predators.

However, this was excluding the one Li Qi was preparing to visit.

The entire land was covered in ice. The ice mountains on the horizon were captivating, and paired with the evening twilight, one could see a pure white line, extending infinitely into the distant horizon, dragging along magnificent light.

Li Qi's appearance here was very abrupt, because he wasn't wrapped in thick fur, but was wearing only a thin long gown.

Li Qi's appearance startled the child next to him. Almost instantly, he bared his fangs, letting out a threatening growl at Li Qi, while preparing to retreat.

Although he was only five years old, for a race that survived in this absolutely frozen land, this was actually already adolescence. Their average lifespan was only thirty years.

Li Qi glanced at the other party, and then he already knew everything about this world.

So, Li Qi disappeared from where he stood, leaving only the Mortal in a panic, rubbing his eyes, thinking he had seen an illusion.

The next second, Li Qi had already put on thick fur, just like the natives here, and then walked into a tribe.

The person he was looking for was here.