"To use these things to intercept me… are you not underestimating me a little too much?"
Xin Yu gazed at the endless tide before him—a wave formed from the husks of the Imaginary Tree and the power of Nihilism. The temporal forces generated by this torrent were already attempting to affect him.
If he were still in his previous realm, he might have indeed been drowned by this human-sea tactic, this attempt to use quantity to trigger a qualitative change. But for the current him, who had already transcended the essence of life and created a celestial chasm between himself and mere material existence…
This was no longer a problem that could be solved by a simple qualitative shift born from quantity.
"Therefore, you are untouchable."
The power of time, the slash of a sharp blade, the interference of matter, the torrent of energy—all of it passed through Xin Yu's body like a reflection in a mirror, a moon on the water, leaving no trace whatsoever.
Xin Yu simply kept walking. Along this path, the heavens collapsed and the earth sundered. The enemy's attacks surged like a roaring tsunami in a storm; there was even energy capable of shattering planets and extinguishing stars washing over him.
Yet, none of it could halt Xin Yu's steps. He walked within a golden world, moving step by step toward the root of the Imaginary Tree, toward the very depths of this cosmos.
"I will rewrite the base logic of this world called Honkai. I will inscribe my own Way and its laws into this world. I will make the world change because of me."
Xin Yu trampled upon the rules of the world. His actions had thoroughly enraged it. The playful, probing attacks were over; now, Xin Yu had to truly face the fury of a multiverse.
Suddenly, Xin Yu felt his body disintegrating at an incredibly slow rate. This was not damage inflicted by any material attack, but an attempt to erase his very existence.
"An entire world is denying the existence of a single person. If it were a native being, born and raised here with their entire past and future fixed within this world, they would indeed be erased with ease. But unfortunately for you, I am a transmigrator, a visitor from an outer cosmos who has mastered time and can interfere with fate."
"Moreover, I am a transmigrator who managed to swindle some higher-dimensional fragments from a System."
His body was slowly breaking down, but it was also slowly repairing itself. It reminded Xin Yu of his training days when he was powerless, of the tearing pain in his muscles. The sensation was strikingly similar.
Perhaps sensing that this method of attack, while effective in the short term, would not be enough to deal with Xin Yu in the long run, the world switched to another form of assault.
In that instant, endless light and heat bloomed before Xin Yu, manifesting the awesome power of the universe's creation—the dawn of heaven and earth.
"The Big Bang Theory, so widely accepted in human society. Before an attack of this magnitude, so-called spacetime, so-called causality and fate, are truly no match for pure numerical power."
"It's just that… I don't only have esoteric mechanics. Before achieving Apotheosis, I was always cultivating my numerical strength."
A power that seemed nonexistent began to surge from Xin Yu. The power he possessed in every single moment, every single second of his past and future, was mobilized to this very instant. An infinite and boundless torrent of energy surged forth, carried on the reversed flow of time.
Shielded by this immense power, Xin Yu walked out from the glorious light of the cosmic dawn, completely unharmed.
After that, all manner of rules, laws, theorems, constants, and a series of fundamental cosmic logics were leveraged, creating a variety of derivative attacks in an attempt to block or erase him.
But Xin Yu had already revealed his true form, his complete, higher-dimensional essence, allowing him to calmly face this series of changes and chaotic assaults.
He walked upon a path that seemed paved with thorns, but those thorns were ultimately just scenery by the roadside, incapable of halting his advance.
The scenery of this heaven and earth seemed as if it had never changed. Even he himself did not know how far he had walked, nor how far he was from that so-called root. It was as if this realm was just an endlessly vast space, where no matter how you traveled, you could never reach the destination.
Perhaps this was the final gambit of the Imaginary Tree: to use an infinitely vast, infinitely distant space, woven from countless worlds and universes, to isolate him layer by layer.
Xin Yu's gaze remained placid. He was not like those beings who possessed the essence of long life but lacked the corresponding state of mind, who grew weary of their endless existence and abandoned it. After he had attained the realm of Apotheosis, his own heart and mind were permanently fixed in that moment. No matter what changes the future held, no matter how long the erosion of time, it would be nothing more than a light frost to him, incapable of changing that plain and ordinary heart he had locked into place.
That heart which always held anticipation for life, always held attachment to his family, always held reverence for his lovers, always held respect for life, and always maintained his sense of self.
Finally, this infinitely vast world collapsed. Xin Yu took the final step. He had arrived at the root, the terminus of this cosmos, the deepest part of the Imaginary Tree.
Xin Yu sat down cross-legged. He then allowed the surrounding roots to extend and wrap around him, enveloping him completely. The Tree wanted to use its own existence to assimilate him, but was he not, in turn, using this opportunity to comprehend the Tree's own changes and mysteries?
Simultaneously, as the phenomenon of his assimilation began, the Tree inevitably began to be tainted by his presence. It inevitably began to be dyed in the colors of Xin Yu.
Thus, Xin Yu began to transmit his Way.
He did not choose to resist, nor did he even attempt to conceal his own intentions. He magnanimously offered up the path he had walked, allowing the Tree to completely understand the Way he had cultivated, the road he had traveled, and the scenery he had witnessed along this journey.
At this moment, the Imaginary Tree witnessed the Way perfected by the fusion and advancement of an external law with its own rules.
And this was precisely what Xin Yu intended to do.
"I gift the Way I have cultivated to all of creation, to all sentient beings. From this moment forth, all things can walk my path and cultivate my law. If you desire long life, if you desire power, if you desire liberation from suffering, you may all walk upon my road."
"It is just that to walk this path means you must cultivate your heart and your virtue. It means you must clarify your mind to see your true nature, and cultivate your true self."
"This law does not make one a saint, but rather a person—a person who possesses kindness, who understands compassion, who understands gratitude, who understands how to help others, who understands self-improvement, who understands respect, and who understands how to love."
"Once this law is learned, any living being in this world will inevitably walk further and further down the path of good."
"And the greed inherent in intelligent life ensures that they will embark upon this path."
"The seed has been sown. After the passing of spring and the coming of autumn, it is destined to grow into a towering tree."
A contented smile appeared on Xin Yu's face, just before his figure was completely obscured by the roots.