The paradox of the void.

Liang Chen took several deep breaths but failed to calm his mind, a somewhat irritable sensation spreading through him. He acted calm and composed in front of Yan Ling so that she wouldn't worry about leaving him, but in the end, he still couldn't prevent it from affecting his emotions. Luckily he had something to occupy his focus, namely the voice of Ning Hao echoing out in his head thanks to the Bloodwind Code.

"Heh, that one's a bit of a strange man, but you can consider his words a compliment, something not a lot of people in this multiverse have ever gotten. But he's fucked off already so he can't interrupt us anymore, so let me answer your questions about the Void Born and the law of the void."

Liang Chen immediately focused all his attention on Ning Hao after he chuckled. Yu Jiang, who Liang Chen killed in Green Rivers city, became incomparably shocked and terrified when Liang Chen used his new law against him, uttering the words Void Born and void. From his reaction, it was clear that these two things were far more shocking than his identity as a Sebettu so Liang Chen couldn't help but be extremely curious about them. There was a short silence from Ning Hao, who seemed to be ordering his thoughts before he started talking, teaching Liang Chen about things he was technically too weak to come into contact with.

"Let's start with the Void Born themselves, the race usually born from nothing. There are actually four different types of Void Born, Minor Void Born, Major Void Born, Merged Void Born, and Ruler Void Born. Minor Void Born are those born by the vast emptiness that separates planets, usually only in spots where Qi or matter is so sparse that it is basically gone. Major Void Born are those born in the void that separates the different universes in this multiverse, the space there is much closer to an actual void so they are stronger than minor Void Born."

"Merged Void Born is the name given to the children between two Void Born, their strength can vary so greatly that some are weaker than Minor Void Born while others are stronger than Major Void Born. And the final ones, and the most terrifying ones, the Ruler Void born, they are the only ones that can actually be called real Void Born, birthed by the nonexistent nothingness that separates the various multiverses in our Sphere of Existence."

Ning Hao stopped talking for a short moment after speaking up to here, seemingly to give Liang Chen the chance to absorb everything he had heard so far. Liang Chen was rather curious why Ning Hao called it a 'nonexistent nothingness' quietly waiting for him to continue talking.

"Young man, I was there when the first minor universe of this multiverse was born, I helped it grow and aided the various races living there, so you can imagine how long I've been around. But even after all these years, I have only ever encountered two Ruler Void Born. The first one entered this multiverse shortly after the birth of the 3rd Major Universe and killed the Boundless Heaven Universal Heart while the other one entered and completely destroyed the multiverse closest to ours. Make no mistake, Void Born are born of nothing and are nothing, their only purpose is to turn everything else back to nothing."

This was the first time Liang Chen heard about the age of the Bloodwind Code creator, and the sheer magnitude nearly caused his head to spin. Just how old did he have to be to witness the birth of the first major universe, did that not mean that he had been born at the very dawn of this multiverse? Hearing about the Ruler Void Born, and digesting the rest of the information, also caused his head to buzz, there was more than one multiverse, and they could even be destroyed? And by just one being no less? Just what sort of bloodline had he drunk and merged with? Ning Hao didn't give Liang Chen too much time to revel in his shock, continuing to talk.

"Looking at the strength of your bloodline, what you swallowed should have originally been the concentrated blood of a Merged Void Born that had pretty decent strength. But thanks to the fact that your own bloodline is such a special mixture of bloodlines, even containing a mutated bloodline, it allowed the bloodline to evolve and reach its peak. Otherwise, you wouldn't have gotten a hold of the Law of the Void, which only the Ruler Void Born can use."

The more Ning Hao spoke, the more Liang Chen felt his head buzz, his fingers already massaging his temples. There was no telling where Ning Hao was right now, he probably wasn't even in the same universe as him, yet he was still able to clearly see Liang Chen's bloodline? Liang Chen had seen parts of a battle containing several Universal Hearts, but now it seemed like he had far underestimated their capabilities. Ning Hao gave Liang Chen several breaths of time to digest the information, opening his mind for the next batch of information.

"Now then, the law of the Void. Young man, do you know what the Void, the true Void, is? It's nothing. No matter, no space, no time, no Qi, no laws, it's nothing at all. Now tell me, can such a place, a place that is nothing, exist? No, no it can't, it shouldn't possibly exist. And yet it does, hidden away between multiverses, it is one o the paradoxes of our Sphere of Existence. And just like the Void itself shouldn't exist, neither should the law of the Void, and that is what makes it so terrifying."

Liang Chen found Ning Hao's words reasonable, if a void was characterized by a lack of everything, then it shouldn't technically exist. But the rest of his words, Liang Chen failed to understand, why would the supposed impossibility of its existence make it terrifying? Ning Hao swiftly gave him his answer, his voice sounding a touch graver than previously.

"The law of the Void encapsulates the nothingness of the Void, it does only one thing, and that is to turn everything else into nothing. Let's take the law of destruction as an example, it has the ability to destroy everything, even the multiverse itself can fall to the law of destruction. But the laws belong to our Sphere of Existence, so should anything fall to the law of destruction, it will turn into energy that once again is fed back into the multiverse. The same is true should a multiverse fall, it will turn into energy that is either fed into a different multiverse or the Sphere of Existence so that it can birth a new multiverse. But the law of the Void shouldn't exist, it cannot exist, so it isn't a part of the Sphere of Existence. Anything ruined by the law of the Void will truly become nothing, it will not even become energy that is fed into the Sphere of Existence. As such, whenever a multiverse is ruined by the law of the Void, it vanishes forever, the Sphere of Existence shrinking. As such, it is theoretically possible for the law of the Void to swallow even the Sphere of Existence itself."

Ning Hao didn't explain what this Sphere of Existence was, but Liang Chen was able to guess at it based on what context he used it in, it should be what he called the collection of all the multiverses. But Liang Chen didn't spend much time lingering on this Sphere of Existence, he was much more occupied with the explanation of the law of the Void. It seemed like what he originally thought to be a rather strong new law was far more terrifying than he could have possibly imagined, the enemy of all existence.

At the same time, he couldn't help but wonder if the nonexistent state of the law of the Void was the reason it could merge so easily with his body and soul. Sadly he had already gotten an answer to the three questions he could ask, the voice of Ning Hao letting him know that this was the end.

"Let me give you a few parting words, Young Man. Power itself isn't evil, it will never be. The law of destruction and the law of death can be used for good, only the intent behind the power matters, nothing else. So you can feel free to use your law of the void as you please, just know that I will have to interfere should you become a threat to the multiverse. And don't get complacent, you have plenty of strong laws, but getting negligent and lazy will still lead to your downfall, I've seen it far too many times. Work hard in your cultivation and walk forward on your own two feet, I will be keeping an eye on you and hope that there will be a day where you can stand in front of me as an equal."

The voice of Ning Hao vanished after he left behind his words, leaving Liang Chen to sit alone in silence to think over everything he had just heard. Liang Chen spent a bit of time trying to calm the waves in his heart and organize his thought and feelings, but he ended up making no progress, eventually standing up.

"Let's go for a change of pace."

Liang Chen left the room he had occupied for his cultivation and made his way out of the palace, his footsteps slowly taking him away from Green Rivers city. He didn't plan his path, immersed in his own thoughts as he let his body move on its own.

Before he knew it, he found himself entering Sky Piercer forest and ascending the mountain that served as the center. He walked up the mountain until he reached a small outcropping, his steps eventually halting at the edge of the outcropping, his gaze sweeping across the forest stretching out beneath the outcropping.

This place was somewhat special to Liang Chen, it was here that the ashes of his parents had been scattered to the winds, it was here he acquired the only image he had of them. Liang Chen sat down and swiped his interspatial ring, taking out a yellow crystal and inserting some Qi into it, an image of him as a child and his parents projecting above the crystal.

He placed the crystal at his side and let his gaze drift across his surroundings absentmindedly, removing the Heaven Altering Mask that was changing his appearance. When he was here, he wanted to at least be here with his own appearance. A few strands of hair fell over his eyes, his hand unconsciously moving to push them aside before his hand suddenly stopped. He lowered his hand and swiped his interspatial ring, taking out a small handheld mirror and holding it up in front of his face, a somewhat subdued chuckle escaping his lips.

"Heh, you kill my entire past only to bring back a tiny sliver of it as a reminder? Too bad, I don't play by your tune."

The color of Liang Chen's hair and eyes had once again changed, but this time it was in a direction he hadn't expected. There were no more extravagant colors, his hair had turned completely black and his previously heterochromia eyes had turned emerald green. For the first time since he started cultivating, Liang Chen had regained the appearance he had as a child. But his past was dead, as was the Liang Chen of that time.

The Qi within his body started to move, flooding his eyes and hair and permanently changing them. He mixed some of his poison with an increased flow of time and had it enter his hair, draining its color until it had all turned a silvery-gray, the poison within it causing it to shimmer slightly. His eyes were flooded with a mixture of poison and lightning, a thick coating of them surrounding his pupils and sinking into them. Liang Chen grit his teeth and ignored the pain, and using the principles of the Ocean God Physique, both his pupils quickly turned golden, lightning of various colors flickering around in them.

Liang Chen let out a deep breath once the changes were done, he wanted to draw a line between him of the past and who he had become. Liang Chen observed himself in the mirror for a bit before putting it away again and sucking in a deep breath of fresh air, the simple act of drawing the line allowing his mind to clear up. He picked up the yellow crystal and looked at the image for a bit longer, a smile slowly suffusing his lips as he spoke to the picture.

"It's just like she said, I'm not a god. I can only decide what I want to do and then do just that, no matter whether it's right or wrong. It doesn't matter how many people deem me a monster or reject me because of my laws, I will keep walking forward until I can walk no more, until I've accomplished all I wish for. You two just wait, I'll bring you back someday, I still hope to have you there at my wedding after all."

It didn't matter if his laws were considered the enemy of all existence, it didn't matter if people rejected or hunted him because of his bloodlines, he was who he was and he would keep walking his path proudly. Liang Chen placed the crystal into his interspatial ring and brought out the Heaven Altering Mask again, putting it on and taking on the appearance of Zhong San again. It wouldn't be too much longer until the tri-monthly competition started, that would be when he had the best chance of entering the Nightshield sect dungeon to look for Yan Ying.