Friday, October 4, 2013 (Evening)

Hunter walked briskly through a long stretch of bush and struggled up a hill. To his surprise, the sight before him was not what he was familiar with—beneath his feet, a narrow valley stretched out, and directly opposite stood a dense forest of aspen trees that looked like steep walls. ”

In the spacious and bright bedroom, Xu Mingshan's slender ten fingers are constantly tapping on the keyboard, and his dexterous movements are quite a bit of artistic performance. As early as when Du Mu began to write "Confession", he had already begun to prepare to write his prequel "Reincarnation". Now that he was almost at the end of his idea, he began to turn the outline and setting into lines of text.

"'Where am I? Oops, it's completely wrong. Hunter stopped in confusion, looked around, and thought to himself, 'Something is wrong. As he made his way through the winding valley paths, a cold aura gradually enveloped him. This coldness is not a feeling of low temperature and dampness, but an evil aura that penetrates deep into the bone marrow......"

Xu Mingshan's thoughts were like springs, and he coded out more than 4,000 words with enthusiasm, and then took a long breath, ready to go and see how Du Mu was doing. He saved and closed the document, stood up and stretched, then got up and went out the door, thinking about the rest of the episode as he went.

"Next is Hunter's adventure that leads to the heroine Nina...... And then there is the [Lord of the Nether] who comes and goes without a trace......"

In his setting, the [Lord of the Nether] is the embodiment of the [Nether] spirit vein, one of the most powerful spirits, and is often used as a man in a black robe, holding a pitch-black spirit sword, and surrounded by nether ghosts. And the other Spirit Clan powerhouse is the incarnation of the [Dragon] vein, known to the outside world as the "Sword Immortal" Ling Qingming. However, these high-ranking characters will not be able to come out for a while, and the plot in the early stage is basically none of their business.

Xu Mingshan came to Du Mu's bedroom and knocked on the door with his fingers.

"Eh, come in. ”

Du Mu pushed open the door with a big grin, hooked his shoulders and walked to the desk.

"Ha, I was inspired just now, my hand speed was fast, and I wrote out the plot of Du Liangjun and Zeng Haozong vs. the Death Emperor in a few clicks. ”

In the worldview setting of "Confession", the cultivation realm is from low to high, which can be summarized as the eightfold martial arts realm, the three saints realm, and the five realms of the void yuan, with a total of 28 levels. The two Du Liangjun and Zeng Haozong he mentioned were the peak powerhouses of the second level of the Void Yuan Realm [Infinite Realm], and they were respectively titled [Space Venerable] and [Burning Flame Venerable], and the [Death Emperor] was the powerhouse of the third level of the Void Yuan Realm [Void God Realm], which was even higher.

"Listen to me, that [Burning Flame Venerable] did not hesitate to take out the Supreme Treasure Spirit Object, and the realm of Du Liangjun's reincarnation and fall was quickly restored...... Well, I know there's a little bit of a transitional chapter in the middle, and small problems don't hurt. The strength of the Saint Yuan Realm is too far behind, so I won't participate in the battle for the time being. ”

Xu Mingshan looked at the other party helplessly and shrugged his shoulders, meaning to acquiesce to the degree of this funny thinking jump.

"I saw the wind and clouds change, and one side of the time and space was gradually expelled away, and two illusory figures appeared in the void. One person was dressed in green clothes, his long silver-gray hair was wantonly scattered, and his black pupils were so deep that it was impossible to look at him directly, it was none other than [Space Venerable] Du Liangjun, and the other was wearing a white brocade robe, his short jet-black hair was neatly trimmed, and the fire flickered in his azure starry eyes, which was obviously the [Burning Flame Venerable] Zeng Haozong. ”

"Du Mu, you use this pair of sentences well. Xu Mingshan complained with a smile. His style of writing is quite different from that of the other party, paying more attention to the writing scenes and details, but he has a little less sense of enthusiasm.

"Don't worry about the minutiae. ”

Du Mu slapped his thigh violently, and then continued to preach, "What lingers around them is the law that points directly to the origin. The radiation of their will has eclipsed the universe, and the cultivation of the peak powerhouses of the Infinite Realm has been fully revealed. But even if they were so powerful, the two people standing side by side were still staring closely at the other world in front of them that was gradually collapsing and disappearing. Over there, a pair of dark and deep eyes appeared at some point, showing a bottomless vortex inside, faintly beating with white light, as if connecting the endless world of death. ”

Xu Mingshan had a smile on his face - the other party's colorful storytelling was really funny.

"'The tiny creatures of the human race, following my will to die, deprive you of the right to live. ''Hmph!' Emperor of Death, the deity is here to meet you!' Du Liangjun was not happy at that time. 'You know nothing about death. The voice of the Emperor of Death seemed to come from the six in one of the universe, and the heavens and the earth suddenly fell into darkness, as if they had fallen into an ancient dark age. Boom! A force of death enveloped the heavens and the earth, and the terrifying power seemed to suppress all things. ”

Du Mu was so excited that he stood up from the seat and stomped on the floor: "Life and death are downplayed, if you don't accept it, you will do it!"

"Well said! Don't be cowardly, just go up! Yue Tagang!" Xu Mingshan immediately slapped the table and shouted.

"Du Mu, Mingshan, what are you two doing in the room?" Du Qingwei's voice came from outside the door.

"Well, it's Dad...... It's okay, it's okay, I was so excited to talk about the book just now. ”

Du Mu was slightly embarrassed, smiled wryly, and then continued to talk about the battle scene behind: "The great power in Du Liangjun and Zeng Haozong's bodies unfolded in an instant, and the mighty power rolled up. 'Grip of Fire!' Zeng Haozong's Infinite Battle Body had already unfolded, and the runes of the Law of Fire erupted, and the devastating Fire Fist directly enveloped the Emperor of Death. 'Scythe of Death!' That low and desperate voice sounded, and the Death Emperor's body was surrounded by the power of Death Death, and a giant scythe of black mist and death power appeared above his palm, and the death qi that slashed the heavens and the earth surged out. ”

He picked up the water cup from the desk, poured a large sip of it, smacked his lips and continued: "It seems that the ruthless death cold has carried out the will of the emperor, and it is amazingly powerful. 'Death Battle Skill!' Du Liangjun immediately reacted, and the rune of the law of space shone brightly, "Let's try my dimensional blade!" He opened his five fingers, and a silver-gray giant blade slowly pulled out of the space, and the overwhelming dimensional power cut directly towards the Death Emperor. ”

Du Mu walked to the open space in the bedroom, and practiced a fist splitting as he spoke: "Boom! The attacks of the two peak venerables, a peerless emperor, and the three powerhouses collided, and the time and space of the entire universe were seriously disturbed. An awe-inspiring aura of death rushed in, and both of them snorted, as if a ruthless death chill, the emperor's will was really domineering!"

"Du Mu, you don't have any details!" Xu Mingshan habitually twisted his fingers and reminded lightly.

"Do you need that kind of thing? It's the momentum, the momentum!Understand?"

The other party's words seemed to have great magical power, bringing Xu Mingshan's consciousness into another time and space.

Where is this? I am...... I, yes...... What is "I"?

(Scene from "Sanctification")

"Death-God-Shadow!" A hoarse voice came from afar, and the dark eyes of the Emperor of Death lit up with a deep and cold void flame.

"Burning pupil power?" Du Liangjun and Zeng Haozong were taken aback.

The opponent's whole body was wrapped in the Void Flame of Death, and the emperor's coercion was overwhelming. The Death Void Flame expanded further after enveloping the Death Emperor's body, turning into a vast and boundless "Death Shadow".

"That's ...... The Law of Void Death?"

The hearts of the two of them trembled, and they were both shocked by the forbidden aura of death that dominated the heavens and the earth.

"Let's send you two Terran boys to hell!"

The unruly voice of the Emperor of Death rang out. The scepter in his hand slowly fell, and the heavens and the earth suddenly fell into darkness and dead silence. The "Shadow of Death", composed of Death Void Flames, wields a giant scythe, merging with the dark and dead world. At this moment, time and space were all succumbed to the unparalleled power of the Void God Realm.

"If you master the law of time again and dominate time and space, even if you don't advance to the Void God Realm, I will have to be afraid of you. The Death Emperor's voice was cold and merciless, but the next words were full of disdain, "As for that bullshit [Burning Flame Venerable], a guy who has attained enlightenment by the Law of Fire, he also dares to be presumptuous in front of a Great Emperor?"

"You're right, it's really hard to pose a threat to you with the law of fire alone. Zeng Haozong's expression was unfazed, "But...... What if you add that?"

Death Shadow's eyes snapped open, bursting out with two beams of death. It was the indifferent divine light that ruled over life and death, looking down on the heavens, but this powerful divine light was burned by the blooming blue flowers.

"What is this powerful force?" the Death Emperor looked terrified for the first time, "This is not an existing law!"

"Hehe, the [Lord of the Netherworld] of the previous reincarnation seems to have left a lot of good things behind. ”

"Cut, if I hadn't explored the Void, where would it be your turn to get this thing?" Du Liangjun said angrily, but his words made the Death Emperor even more frightened, "The power of the Netherworld Ghost Fire is not something that you can deal with with this law of death, can you still fight it?"

The Death Emperor was silent for a moment, dissipating the black mist around him, revealing a handsome face. His facial features are as distinct as carvings, and his appearance seems to be debauched, but there is a subtle light in his lifeless eyes.

"Xu Mingshan, what are you doing in a daze?" the handsome and dashing Emperor of Death shocked the four of them when he opened his mouth.

……

(Friday, October 4, 2013; Du Mujia, California)

Xu Mingshan woke up suddenly, but found that he was sitting at the desk, and Du Mu beside him shook his palms in front of his eyes.

"Have you finally come to your senses? What's wrong?"

"Yike...... No, it's okay, maybe I'm too sleepy. I went back to sleep first. ”

He shook his head, went back to the bedroom, turned off the chandelier, took off his coat, and lay quietly on the bed. There's absolutely something wrong with that scene, what about "me"? Is there a lack of self-concept?

The bedside lamp next to the pillow glows a warm orange glow. He touched his phone from the side, found the "Hell Girl" series in the playlist, and then secretly pressed the "play" button. The lonely and ethereal music sounded in my ears, and the girl's voice was like a grievance, like a cry - the first song was "Blood Spreads". The lingering sound lingers in the bedroom, and the pleasant sound is endless.

Xu Mingshan sighed softly.

"I'm really unwilling......"

From a very young age, strange thoughts sprouted in his mind, which were deeply rooted in his soul. When he stood in front of the mirror, the figure in the mirror was like a familiar stranger, unable to evoke the slightest thought of "this is me".

On the surface, this unusual phenomenon seems to be [loss of self-concept], but he is well aware of the reason behind it—the existence of the "I", or consciousness or something, restless in this body, unable to restrain himself from dreaming of breaking free.

The idea is so ingrained that when Xu Mingshan reads books on psychology and neuroscience, it grows like a monster devouring knowledge. He knew that his IQ was not low, but he was not a real genius, but even a real genius like Akiyama Sora, no, it should be said that it was a ghost and a monster, they were still limited by the slow speed of nerve signal transmission, and the evolved primitive brain.

He couldn't help but think of the rapid development of science and technology in the past decade, especially the field of cognitive science studied by Sora Akiyama and others. Yes, at the current rate of technological development, it won't be long before I can get rid of this fragile mortal body!

He recalled the excitement he felt when he shared his work with Du Mu a few minutes ago. Happy? Of course happy. But...... Perhaps all this no longer belongs to him from the moment he becomes an inhuman being. After all, the nervous system cannot be simply generalized as binary, and another life form, even if it is a notch above, can hardly perfectly support the existing mind.

"Liu Ruoxue? It turns out that more than a year has passed. ”

He turned off the bedside lamp and rolled over, the quilt wrapped tightly around his body.

……

(Xu Mingshan's dream)

The sky was gray, and the gloomy sky was like an inverted gray cauldron, overwhelming people. The school was shrouded in a hazy fog, and the scenery inside the campus seemed to be veiled. Looking out through the crack in the iron fence, you can only see a sea of fog.

Xu Mingshan walked on the school road in a daze, not thinking about how he got here. The old radio played the intermittent bell for the end of school, and the students who left the school building hurried to their dormitories or cafeterias.

He thought about it—no, maybe not at all—and followed the flow into the dormitory. It was a strange building, with passages like cobwebs, stairs that were crooked, and corridors that had irregular corners, not even the usual ninety degrees.

Xu Mingshan was stunned in the dormitory room for a while, then took out his clothes from the dirty and dilapidated iron cabinet and walked towards the place that was called the bathroom in his impression. It was a small space about a meter square, with two walls and doors forming an irregular triangle, and the structure was strangely designed. There was no light in the bathroom, and it was so dim that I could barely see.

He hesitated for a moment, threw the clothes back into the cupboard, and turned to walk towards the cafeteria. Probably because of the complexity of the dormitory, he walked alone in the dark passages without meeting any of his classmates.

Xu Mingshan played a bowl of rice noodles under the gaze of his aunt's zombie-like dead fish, and carefully carried it to find a seat and sit down. The students around him were all eating with their heads bowed, no one talking to each other, and the sound of chopsticks plucking and chewing and swallowing echoed in the silent space.

There was a wall clock in the middle of the wall above the cafeteria window, but it seemed to stop beating at the moment. He glanced in that direction and threw himself into a mechanical eating activity. I don't know how long it has been, but the rice noodles in the bowl have not decreased at all, and his stomach has not felt full at all.

"Something is wrong, there must be something wrong. ”

Xu Mingshan put down the dishes and chopsticks, looked down at the mottled palm prints on his hands, and then muttered to himself. He then walked out of the cafeteria and walked in the direction of the school building. Staff and students in the cafeteria turned a blind eye to his actions, and no one tried to blame him for the dishes and chopsticks he left behind.

It was completely dark as he stepped into the classroom. The chandelier in the hallway was said to be in disrepair - he didn't think at all about who it was, but the inside of the school building was now in darkness. Less than half of the students sat in the classroom of Class 2 of the second year of junior high school, and he walked between the seats of his classmates before finally coming to his own seat in the back row.

"I should know them...... But I really can't remember the name. ”

Xu Mingshan sighed lowly, took out the exercise book from his schoolbag, and began to write like a clockwork machine. The process was lengthy, but he didn't have a clock to refer to determine the time. He wrote, wrote, and wrote, line by line in his exercise book, but he couldn't remember what he had written a moment ago.

"Well, I kind of want to go to the bathroom. ”

He stood up and looked around the dimly lit classroom. The hanging on the ceiling was crumbling, and the dim yellow light showed no warmth to speak of. To his surprise, only about a third of the students in the classroom remained.

"Huh, what about the others?"

"I don't know. ”

Xu Mingshan shook his head and pushed open the classroom door. The shadows outside seemed to have great power, suppressing the light in the classroom into a semicircle less than a meter in diameter, and the darkness beyond was not visible. The door of the classroom in the next class was less than two meters apart, and from this side there was only an abyss-like dark night. All of a sudden, the situation became strange.

"Class 3 next door, is there anyone?"

He put his palms to his mouth and shouted in the direction of the third class. His voice was engulfed in darkness, and the expected response was not there.

Xu Mingshan's legs began to tremble slightly, but he bit the tip of his tongue lightly and bravely stepped out into the darkness. He felt as if his body was submerged in the icy seawater, and the cold breath of yin and cold ran down his mouth and nose, and his internal organs seemed to freeze.

"No, no!"

The floor beneath his feet disappeared at some point, and his body kept falling and falling in the endless abyss.

……

(Saturday, October 5, 2013, early morning; Du Mujia, California)

Xu Mingshan woke up suddenly, his pajamas were soaked in cold sweat, and he felt very uncomfortable when he was wet and sticky. He looked at his phone at the bedside, which showed that the time was 6:23 a.m.

"Everything just now...... Is it a nightmare?"

He sat up straight from the bed, feeling full and strong, and the essence in his eyes seemed to be about to turn into substance, without any weakness or headache from nightmares. His mind was clear, the obscure mathematics opened to him, and the complex and vague forces seemed to come naturally.

"That school...... Well, it's not Qiulan, but it vaguely feels like it. Forget it, it's just a dream. ”

Xu Mingshan shook his head, put aside his unrealistic fantasies, rummaged through the change of clothes in the closet, and then carried them to the bathroom and began to wash his body. After a comfortable warm bath, he felt refreshed and in better spirits than ever, but his stomach was unexpectedly hungry.

Because of this, he did not practice with Du Muchen as usual, but made some breakfast by himself in the kitchen. After breakfast, he picked up the "Methods of Mathematical Physics" and felt that the numbers and symbols were uncharacteristically friendly and friendly.

……