Zheng Zha and the others easily passed the checkpoint guarded by thousands of troops. In fact, compared to Zheng Zha's slight worry that this army might cause trouble, the entire force was terrified of being silenced by Zheng Zha's group. Thus, after handing over control of the checkpoint, the army retreated with remarkable speed, exiting the valley entirely—an efficiency rarely seen among the national forces.

“...It seems you’ve been busy around the world, look how scared everyone is,” Zheng Zha remarked as they walked.

“Nonsense. Do you really think Chu Xuan, who thrives on danger, knows how to hold back? Or even possesses such an emotion?” Cheng Xiao retorted casually.

“...Ugh, I guess I asked a stupid question.”

Zheng Zha spent the journey continuously initiating conversation, taking the opportunity to inquire about the team’s experiences over the past seven days. Although asking now was slightly late, as the captain of the Central Continent team, caring for his comrades was always his focus.

(The rest of them were manageable; Cheng Xiao was glib but trustworthy, Wang Xia was a qualified soldier, and Zero Point was calm, the most reliable person on the team. Only Zhang Heng... his strength didn't match his temperament. He was the most worrying presence, and with Ming Yanwei recently resurrected, heaven knows if he could handle the responsibility...) Regardless, the Central Continent team entered the tomb—an entrance resembling a cavern, though the mouth showed faint signs of carving. While the exterior appeared dilapidated, the interior was surprisingly dry and clean, clearly having been maintained.

Jonathan stated proudly, “Haha, when we first arrived, this whole cave was filled with collapsed rock debris, weeds, decaying animal remains, and insect shells. We spent a very, very long time cleaning this place up.”

Excluding the three plot-related characters, the remaining members of the Central Continent team carefully surveyed their surroundings. Despite its cleanliness, the entrance looked utterly ruined. Although faint traces of excavation were visible on the ground, this was a relic thousands of years old, and the carving marks were so subtle they were nearly impossible to discern—easily mistaken for natural wind erosion without professional expertise or keen observation.

Chu Xuan’s reaction was highly unusual. He knelt on the ground, closely examining the marks. After a long pause, he looked seriously at Jonathan: “These marks are indeed man-made, correct? They are heavily weathered. With your specialized knowledge, can you discern the age of these carvings?”

Jonathan blinked, staring intently at the ground. After an unknown duration, he finally replied, “These carvings should date back thousands of years...”

“Thousands?” Chu Xuan continued to watch him intently.

“Thousands... perhaps over two thousand years. I’m not entirely sure. For an exact date, I would need instruments and time. I can’t tell you definitively in such a short period...” Jonathan scratched his head.

“That’s enough.”

Chu Xuan rose from the ground and approached Zheng Zha. “Do you remember what this place is?”

“Shanxi? China? Asia?” Zheng Zha rattled off several locations, but Chu Xuan shook his head each time. Zheng Zha stopped guessing and looked at Chu Xuan with curiosity.

“It’s the Reincarnation World,” Chu Xuan adjusted his glasses and looked down at the floor. “This is the Reincarnation World, the place co-created by Saints and cultivators. If this cave was left by a cultivator, then I am intensely curious: is this place also subject to the effects of time’s passage in this world?”

“So what?” Zheng Zha’s expression of bewilderment deepened.

Chu Xuan rubbed his temples. After a while, he said, “Let me use an analogy. Do you think the existence of the Reincarnation World is logical?”

This immediately drew the attention of everyone nearby. Zhang Heng casually asked, “What’s illogical about it? Why haven’t we noticed?”

“The very existence of the entire Reincarnation World is illogical... This is my second greatest doubt regarding the ‘Main God’ space: why would an independent world exist? It’s completely impossible! If this independent world truly exists, then a question arises: are the Saints and cultivators already omniscient and omnipotent? Capable of creating life and the universe itself? Or, perhaps, is the Reincarnation World just another planet in the universe? One that the Saints and cultivators merely reshaped to resemble Earth? If that were the case, it could explain the brief period of disorientation when I first entered the Reincarnation World—a moment where we were tossed onto another planet... However, if we assume this, several aspects become inexplicable. One aspect is the problem of spatial distance, the second is the constellations we observe, and the third is the problem of historical contingency. Even if this is a simulated world, it’s statistically impossible for the same civilization and history to evolve over several millennia. Therefore, the possibility of it being a virtual world can essentially be ruled out.”

“But if it is a real world, then if Saints and cultivators can create real worlds, what kind of enemy could threaten them? Unless there are creators external to this world.”

“External creators?” Zheng Zha and everyone else asked in unison.

A strangely fervent expression flashed across Chu Xuan’s face. He spoke excitedly, “This is just a hypothesis held by a tiny fraction of the scientific community. Our universe is too harmonious—countless laws, theories, axioms... If even one tiny law were altered—if the relative strength between atoms and electrons increased or decreased slightly, if gravity erred even a little, if the structural composition of atoms and electrons changed infinitesimally—our universe would cease to exist. The entire cosmos exists only due to an accumulation of extremely coincidental circumstances. If a single coincidence failed, the universe wouldn't form. In chaos theory, such an outcome is impossible. Therefore, a few suggest that our universe, and everything within it, might just be a program.”

“Imagine this: as human technology advances, we will eventually develop Artificial Intelligence. If we programmed an AI to simulate the formation of the entire universe on a massive supercomputer, eventually forming intelligent life—remember, true intelligence, not the imagined robots of our era—their entire world would be contained within that supercomputer. How would they perceive their universe? How would they perceive our world? Similarly, how can you be certain that we aren't simply stories playing out in a confined box, or perhaps within someone’s book? In that case... could the enemies that the Saints and cultivators once faced be the very creators of our ‘box’? Or perhaps, like when we introduce a virus into a supercomputer for an experiment, are we the ‘virus’ introduced into our ‘box’ by those original creators?”

Chu Xuan walked at the very front, speaking these words aloud. He sighed when he finished: “So, it’s a deeply frustrating thought—that the universe we perceive might just be the byproduct of a high-level entity’s prank. But conversely, if this hypothesis is true, the level attained by the Saints and cultivators becomes highly intriguing. Creating worlds, creating life—they might have triggered the taboo of the ‘box’ creators, reaching a terrifying height, which is why they were attacked by those ‘box’ creators... Actually, proving the reality of this world is simple: even the ‘BUG’ locations laid down by the cultivators are subject to the weathering effects of this world’s time flow. Therefore, we can conclude this isn't hypnosis, nor is it the ‘Main God’ projecting our minds into a virtual space—like The Matrix. This is a real space, a real world. The Saints and cultivators... they have already achieved the ability to create a ‘box,’ or rather, they have found the preliminary method for creating one! The ‘Main God’ space must be the nexus point of the ‘box’!”

Chu Xuan’s assertion was staggering, yet as Zheng Zha and the others contemplated it, they realized this explanation perfectly resolved most of their current doubts. For instance, the few messages left by Saints they had encountered all expressed profound terror regarding life forms bursting in from elsewhere. Even demons or fierce gods were, at most, on par with Saints. For Saints, beings who had reached the apex of life, to exhibit fear and terror meant that the life forms they dreaded must definitively surpass them. If Chu Xuan’s explanation were true, everything made sense: the Saints and cultivators were facing the creators of the entire universe!

“That explanation is quite astonishing...” Zheng Zha murmured as they walked. “But thinking deeply, it might be true... Do you think the cultivators recorded the truth within that suspended pavilion?”

Chu Xuan’s expression shifted suddenly. After a long moment, he spoke with a hint of reluctance, “Even if the truthful record exists, we likely won’t be able to access it... Alas, we must do our best regardless!”

As they spoke, the group had descended several hundred meters down the cave. Suddenly, intense light erupted ahead, where crystals emitting a white radiance studded the cavern walls. A broad plaza appeared before them, but strangely, this plaza was the very bottom of the cavern... There was no path forward! Leaping to the

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