# Chapter 2861: That Answer… A Dreamlike Reality!
Just by absorbing a droplet of energy from the Energy Sea, he directly updated the version of his Eternal Glazed Body?
Spiritual power going offline—how was that even possible?
Originally, the total amount of spiritual power within Jiangnan was vast as an ocean, but after being replaced by this silver-gray energy mist, it was only about the size of a clump…
Yet even with just this little bit of energy, Jiangnan felt a strange sense of fullness. Instead of dropping, his rank had actually increased slightly!
Moreover, among that single drop of energy, there was plenty that Jiangnan hadn't managed to absorb—most of it had actually been wasted!
So from now on, he could just absorb energy from this Sea of Energy to cultivate?
Looking at the boundless Sea of Energy before him, Jiangnan cackled with glee!
Wasn't this a perfect setup?
Why worry about energy accumulation anymore? There was an entire sea right here!
(͡°◠͡°)✧ "Decided! I'm definitely going to drain this sea dry in the future! Make it mine!"
Mm~ What you see is what you get!
After expressing his grand ambition, Jiangnan rested his chin on his hand, deep in thought.
Since this sea would eventually be his, he might as well give it a name. He couldn't just keep calling it the "Energy Sea" forever, could he?
Calling it "silver-gray energy mist" didn't sound impressive at all.
Staring at the rippling Energy Sea, Jiangnan recalled the feeling he'd had when he first absorbed it. A strange urge to speak arose from the depths of his being.
Without realizing it, the words slipped out.
(｡･ˇกˇ･) "Realm Source Forbidden Sea…"
"Mm~ Let's go with that. A sea suspected to be the origin of the Starry Sky World."
And the energy ancestor taken from this Realm Source Forbidden Sea would naturally be called Realm Source Energy.
By now, the Realm Source Forbidden Sea, which had just stirred up monstrous waves, had calmed down. The energy mist on its surface had grown thicker due to the earlier turbulence.
Jiangnan was just thinking about grabbing another droplet of energy to strengthen himself.
But the feeling of fullness hadn't faded. Recalling the terrifying sensation of nearly being worn down earlier, Jiangnan shuddered violently.
Better hold off for now. Play it safe. Settle for absorbing this energy mist instead.
Once his body adapted enough, he could try absorbing droplets again.
With a goal in mind, Jiangnan was full of motivation. Alone in this Life Forbidden Zone, he busied himself.
Plunging into the energy mist, he sucked it in wildly, accumulating energy and increasing the concentration of Realm Source Energy within his body.
Jiangnan completely lost track of time. Only when the feeling of fullness faded did his thoughts start stirring again.
His attention turned back to the Realm Source Forbidden Sea.
Just like the first time, he used his foot to test the waters, flicked up a droplet, reached out to catch it, and sucked it in with a small sip.
Smooth entry, straight down the throat~
And every time he absorbed a droplet of Realm Source Water, it was a test of life and death—a battle between will and erosion!
As usual, most of the energy from each droplet was wasted, but Jiangnan managed to keep a little.
Even just that little gave him a feeling of fullness.
So Jiangnan alternated: absorb a droplet, feel full, absorb energy mist, feel hungry again, then absorb another droplet. The cycle repeated endlessly.
Jiangnan had no idea what his current rank was. He only knew that the Realm Source Energy mist inside him was growing, thickening, but showed no sign of liquefying…
Normally, Star Devourer rank cultivation involved energy accumulation, qualitative change, more accumulation, then another qualitative change!
Each qualitative change raised the energy level to a higher tier.
Until the energy level reached the peak of what the individual could endure, and there was nowhere further to advance—that was considered Star Devourer Peak.
At that point, one would study how to create worlds and such, preparing for the Cosmos Realm.
But Jiangnan was different. After his version update, he no longer used spiritual power. The energy in his body had been replaced with Realm Source Energy.
And this energy was very likely the original energy used to create the Starry Sky World!
It was already the highest form of energy, with no room for qualitative change.
If there was nothing above it, what was there to change?
So Jiangnan's rank couldn't be defined by Star Devourer stages either. There would be no process of qualitative change.
But Jiangnan figured: since the energy couldn't advance to a higher tier, he might as well measure it by concentration, right?
At the very least, this Realm Source Energy could become liquid. Later, if he got stronger, it might become viscous, or even solid!
For now, Jiangnan was determined to first turn the Realm Source Energy in his body into liquid.
If he could stuff this entire Realm Source Forbidden Sea into his body, wouldn't that be wonderful? Hehe~
And the Realm Source Energy in his body was indeed increasing.
Jiangnan's philosophy was simple: more is better, and more means stronger.
So he sucked even harder.
Jiangnan didn't know exactly how powerful this Realm Source Energy was. But it was energy from the Fifth-Dimensional Life Forbidden Zone!
Shouldn't it be stronger than the energy of the Third and Fourth Dimensions?
Just suck it up. If he ever got a chance to go out, he could test it then~
Originally, Jiangnan thought that with this method of absorption, liquefaction was definitely possible.
But after absorbing 69 droplets of Realm Source Water, the feeling of fullness simply wouldn't disappear.
The Realm Source Energy inside him also had erosion properties. The reason Jiangnan felt full was twofold: one was a physical limitation, and the other was that the absorbed Realm Source Energy had already reached the limit of Jiangnan's current willpower.
If he insisted on absorbing more, the Lock Spirit Method might no longer be sustainable. Like a dam bursting, the Realm Source Energy inside him would overflow, and Jiangnan would be eroded and poisoned, directly purified, perhaps becoming a heartless, emotionless god…
Jiangnan shuddered violently, looking at the Realm Source Forbidden Sea reluctantly.
(•́ω•̀٥) "I thought humans had limits, so I stopped being human. But who knew even after becoming non-human, there would still be limits?"
Knowing when to stop was also a kind of wisdom.
Now, the silver glow radiating from Jiangnan's body was even stronger, and it emitted an aura of the same origin as the Realm Source Forbidden Sea, as if transcending everything.
With nowhere further to advance, Jiangnan once again turned his gaze to the page of reality.
His expression turned fierce!
(ꐦ°᷄益°᷅) "I'm this powerful now. I refuse to believe I can't get out!"
In that moment, Jiangnan transformed into a glazed meteor, charging straight at the page of reality!
"Boom!"
As expected, the resistance appeared again.
Jiangnan's eyes widened as he channeled his Realm Source Energy, pushing forward with all his might!
But the resistance grew stronger the harder he pushed, always preventing him from entering.
Jiangnan grew furious, his aura becoming even more terrifying!
"Don't you dare stop me! I'm going back! Let me go back!"
His aura exploded. Jiangnan used almost all of his strength.
But suddenly, Jiangnan froze…
He could absorb Realm Source Energy, couldn't Jiang Fan do the same?
How long had Jiang Fan stayed in the Life Forbidden Zone? How much Realm Source Energy had he absorbed?
"There exists the truth of the world within the Life Forbidden Zone."
These were words Jiang Fan had once spoken. If he hadn't absorbed Realm Source Energy, he wouldn't have developed such a notion.
And with Jiang Fan constantly cultivating using Realm Source Energy, what kind of height had he reached?
Was that the source of his confidence to slay Ancestor Xun?
But even a Jiang Fan so powerful couldn't break through this resistance.
The disturbance caused by the Final Black Hole had only sent back his will avatar…
Absorbing Realm Source Energy and strengthening oneself to break through the resistance—that wasn't the correct answer to the problem.
Otherwise, Jiang Fan wouldn't have needed over three thousand years to return.
It seemed the only path left was to look toward the future.
Jiangnan: !!!
In that moment, Jiangnan's eyes turned red!
"I don't believe it! I refuse to believe it! Let me out! It's just a Final Black Hole barrier—it can't stop me!"
Jiangnan pushed again, the silver glow on his body growing even heavier!
He rammed desperately against that page of reality!
Just as Jiangnan was using all his strength, the entire page of reality suddenly rippled, becoming illusory!
As if it might disappear before his eyes at any moment, collapsing into nothingness!
Jiangnan was stunned. What was happening?
This had never happened before!
Had he pushed too hard and broken it?
Pages could be broken?
Startled, Jiangnan quickly pulled back, afraid to use any more force.
But the page before him continued to grow illusory.
Jiangnan's eyes turned red with panic. He reached out to grab it!
"No! Don't! Don't disappear!"
"If it disappears, I'll have no home to return to. Don't…"
But before Jiangnan could catch it, the page suddenly became real again!
Yet its state seemed unstable. It began flickering rapidly!
As if it might collapse at any moment!
And this situation wasn't limited to just this one page of reality.
All the pages belonging to Jiangnan's timeline were flickering, as illusory as bubbles!
Real, yet like a dream!
Jiangnan went crazy!
"Impossible! I belong to this timeline, this reality. Why is this instability happening? As if it's about to collapse?"
"If it collapses, then everyone… everything in reality…"
But within the Fifth-Dimensional Life Forbidden Zone, everything was unknown. No one could fathom its mysteries.
Jiangnan desperately wanted to know the reason. This was his reality. Though it wasn't perfect, it was beautiful and joyful.
Jiangnan loved everything in this reality.
No matter the cost, he had to protect it!
What was the reason? What caused this flickering, this near-collapse?
Jiangnan urgently looked back through the past!
He discovered that not all of this timeline was flickering.
The earlier pages were fine.
It started from the time when he was sixteen years old. All the pages after that point were flickering!
As if they might disappear at any moment!
Jiangnan's eyes widened. Was the reason there?
What had happened that year?
Why had all the pages after that become unstable and started flickering?
Jiangnan rushed madly to the pages of the past!
That year, he was sixteen. He had just moved out of the welfare home, rented a room at Zhou Yuqing's house, and was studying at Jiangcheng No.1 High School.
That was also the year he awakened his Space System. Nothing particularly special had happened.
So why…
Jiangnan suddenly froze. He clearly remembered that because of the rent and tuition fees, the money the welfare home aunt had given him was almost gone.
With no other choice, Jiangnan had started to make a living on his own. He set up a food stall, selling hand-grab pancakes and grilled cold noodles. That was when he started making money by peddling.
Was it because of this?
Jiangnan suddenly thought of something!
He searched frantically further back!
Sure enough, he found the scene from back then!
When he was planning to set up a stall to earn money, he had nothing. Buying things himself would cost money.
So he asked Aunt Zhou if she had any useless cloth at home that he could use.
Seeing how pitiful Jiangnan was, Aunt Zhou gave him the keys to her storage shed and told him to find whatever he could use, and she'd just give it to him.
So Jiangnan rummaged through the pile of junk in the storage shed and found a square piece of worn cloth, which he used as a vendor's cloth.
He also found a dusty little stool in the storage shed.
Jiangnan took these things to ask Aunt Zhou. She said she didn't remember having such items, that they were useless, and told Jiangnan to keep them.
Later, Jiangnan used that vendor's cloth and little stool, along with some start-up capital, to buy wholesale goods and set up his stall to make money.
Jiangnan had thought about the origin of the system before.
Back then, someone had beaten him, and blood got on the vendor's cloth, which was how he bound the system, his precious.
But why him specifically?
Where had the vendor's cloth and little stool come from?
How could Aunt Zhou, an ordinary person, have such things?
Jiangnan locked onto the vendor's cloth and little stool in the storage shed from the past pages!
They were covered in dust among a pile of junk, completely inconspicuous.
Before he found and took them out to use, they had been quietly lying in the storage shed all along.
Jiangnan, with red eyes, kept searching backward!
He had to see where these things had come from!
And Jiangnan directly found that flickering time point!
In the pages before that, which didn't flicker, the storage shed didn't have the vendor's cloth or little stool!
But in the very next page, the little stool and vendor's cloth were lying in the junk pile!
Nothing had happened in between!
Yet those two items had simply appeared out of nowhere in Aunt Zhou's storage shed, as if waiting to be discovered by him!
Jiangnan's face turned pale. He staggered back a few steps, shaking his head as he looked at everything before him.
"The reason… I've found it…"
"The appearance of the system is the reason why the entire timeline after this point flickers, nearly collapses, like a dream…"
"The system shouldn't have appeared in the past. It was something extra, something that didn't originally exist…"
"Because of its appearance, too much was changed… That's why…"
And at that moment, Jiang Fan's words suddenly echoed in Jiangnan's mind!
"I hope you can find your own answer quickly. Otherwise, everything now will be in vain—like bubbles in a dream, flowers in a mirror, the moon's reflection in water…"
"This can only be asked of yourself. You've had a premonition in your heart all along, haven't you…"
Jiangnan's hands and feet… were ice-cold, ice-cold…