Chapter 654: Something That Feels Just Like a Program

“Alright, get up.”

Jiang Li released his grip.

The Lord of Saha shivered, his gaze toward Jiang Li filled with dread.

Since he gained consciousness, he had never encountered such a powerful opponent: “Who are you?”

“You don’t even know yourself, so don’t worry about who I am yet. Let’s talk about who you are first.”

Jiang Li gave the Lord of Saha a look. The Lord of Saha understood the implication and sent everyone else back to their original positions.

Only Jiang Li and the Lord of Saha remained on the altar.

“Have you ever seen Him?”

Jiang Li used a spell to form a statue of the Venerable Shenzang, a likeness that bore some resemblance to himself. The Lord of Saha shook his head.

“No, I haven’t seen Him. I’ve forgotten a lot of things—maybe I saw Him before.”

“Tell me what you can still remember.”

Jiang Li now had a rough guess about the Lord of Saha’s origins.

“Eight hundred years ago, I awakened inside a small asteroid. With a gentle push, I shattered the rock that wrapped me.”

“Facing the dark, silent void, I was lost. Who am I? Where did I come from? Where am I going? I didn’t know any of that.”

“I was like a child; everything was unknown to me. Instinctively, I swiped my hand and a tear in space appeared. The Dao of space felt like something I was born knowing, requiring no instruction.”

Jiang Li looked at the Lord of Saha with a touch of envy.

“I stepped onto a life-bearing planet and learned for the first time that I wasn’t the only living being. There I learned language, mathematics, and communication.”

“But the people on that planet were different from me. They were very weak; they couldn’t even travel in space, nor could they traverse spatial rifts.”

“I also discovered that this planet had a culture that celebrated suicide and self-destruction. I couldn’t understand why. Life is so precious—why would anyone willingly give it up?”

“After that I visited other planets, and whether in technological civilizations or cultivation civilizations, I found the same problem.”

“I never understood that culture, and I felt it was wrong.”

“So I created the Saha Land, pulling those on the brink of death to this place and giving them various life-and-death trials, so they would realize that life is beautiful and should not be casually abandoned.”

“Those who pass the eighty-one life-and-death trials learn to cherish their own lives and the lives of others. I then allow them to fully leave the Saha Land and return to their original planets.”

“Through this honing, these people’s strength and will become exceptionally strong. When they returned, they influenced society and helped reverse this trend.”

“I was afraid that the public would panic if they learned of my existence, so I ordered that no one from the Saha Land speak of me.”

“After centuries of effort, the suicide and self-destruction culture gradually diminished, almost disappearing.”

“Recently, as fewer people took their lives, I expanded the scope and dragged those who murdered others into the Saha Land as well.”

“It was then that a man claiming to be a Celestial Immortal crossed the realms and inspected several planets. He muttered to himself that it shouldn’t be like this—how could the world not have self-destructed?”

“I appeared behind him and asked where he came from. He was startled and didn’t answer; he raised his hand to kill me. I countered and struck him flying in one blow.”

“I followed that Celestial Immortal to a vast world filled with countless immortals—many existences not inferior to me.”

“A man wearing imperial robes appeared before me, frowned, and said I was a former incarnation of a revered figure. He had no authority to deal with me; the revered figure had important matters and couldn’t attend to me. The imperial-robed man threw me back to the Changliu World.”

“I wanted to return to that world of countless immortals to ask who I was, but I couldn’t find it again.”

“The imperial-robed man was powerful. He sealed space and imprisoned me; I could not resist.”

The Lord of Saha sighed. It was no surprise—the imperial-robed man had known his identity. That had been his closest chance to learn of his own origin.

“A few days ago I sensed people from another world arriving here. Out of curiosity, I pulled those people into the Saha Land as well.”

“Later I encountered you.”

Jiang Li understood. The Changliu World had been invaded by the Immortal Realm, with tendencies toward self-destruction. The Lord of Saha had awakened, uncovered the plot, and driven off the Celestial Immortal.

“Show me your use of the Dao of space again.”

The Lord of Saha opened the Saha Land and brought Jiang Li out into the outside world.

“Indeed, there was no use of immortal power.”

Jiang Li suddenly remembered something and asked, “Earlier I asked if you could retrieve my system and you said ‘cannot afford.’ What did you mean? Can you sense my system?”

This was the first time Jiang Li had met someone who could perceive the system. He had asked Venerable Sumeru Buddha, the Brahma Tower, and Immortal Elder Changcun whether they detected anything unusual within him; they all said no.

“I don’t know what you mean by ‘system,’ but I can sense something inside you that’s like a program.”

“How should I describe it? It’s layered and deeply wrapped, hidden not within your body, but in a space synchronized with you. This space moves as you move. It involves exceedingly profound Dao of space, Dao of time, the Hundred Cultivation Arts, and more. If one is not simultaneously proficient in the Dao of time, Dao of space, and the Hundred Cultivation Arts, one cannot perceive it.”

“So the system isn’t actually in my body,” Jiang Li had suspected as much. He had tried to call the system while in the River of Time, but it had not responded.

“Although I understand the Dao of space, compared to the space-related Dao involved with this thing, I’m a mere novice.”

“This thing gives me a sense of chaos—its construction is messy, its relation to the Dao of time is chaotic, and there are elements I cannot comprehend…in short, many parts are tangled like a ball of yarn. You can find the thread ends but you can’t separate them.”

“The levels involved are extremely high. It shouldn’t be something I could perceive, but I always felt an inexplicable connection to it, which is why I could sense it.”

The Lord of Saha frowned, unable to grasp what this program-like thing truly was.

Jiang Li pondered the Lord of Saha’s words and nodded: “I roughly know who you are.”

The Lord of Saha rejoiced. His origin was his torment; he had thought he would never learn it in this life, and now unexpectedly met someone who could help: “Please, sir, enlighten me.”

“How much do you know about the Immortal Realm?”

“Nothing at all.”

Jiang Li agreed. The Lord of Saha had gone to that world of countless immortals without realizing it was the Immortal Realm—he truly knew nothing.

The Lord of Saha’s knowledge came from what was learned in the Changliu World; what Changliu didn’t know, he also didn’t know.

“Wait here. I’ll find a specialist to explain it to you.”

Jiang Li contacted the Brahma Tower and had himself sent back to the Nine Provinces.

After returning to the Nine Provinces, Jiang Li hurried to Secluded Cave.

“Immortal Elder, I may have found Mortal World Celestial’s brother.”

“Mortal World Celestial?”

“…You’re quite good at getting to the point, old sir.”