# 1577
Chapter 1577: Truth
An Qingyu was silent for a moment. "Beyond the Gate of Truth lies, naturally, 'Truth'..."
"What exactly is 'Truth'?"
"The essence of how the world operates—that is 'Truth.' From the microscopic to the cosmic, everything is composed of countless overlapping 'truths.'" An Qingyu pointed at the emptiness before them.
"Why does wind exist in this world? Because wind is the manifestation of air in motion. But why does air move? One major reason is that solar radiation heats the Earth's surface, causing warm air to rise and cool air to sink, creating airflow.
"Why does warm air rise? Because warm air has lower density, higher energy, and larger molecular spacing. Why does heat increase molecular spacing? Because..."
"Stop, stop, stop!" Lin Qiye called an end to this endless chain of "whys" and spoke thoughtfully. "What you're saying is that the world operates because of countless combinations of 'truths' stacked together?"
"Mm. Humans call the parts of truth they've mastered 'science,' but that's merely a drop in the ocean. The full picture of truth is virtually infinite. Take the microscopic world—no matter how far you explore, there are always smaller particles.
"The truths encompassed by wind alone are nearly infinite, so what about the Earth's entire operation? What about the universe's movement? And beyond this world, how does everything else operate?"
An Qingyu paused briefly before continuing. "No one can truly master 'Truth' in its entirety. These endless knowledge would shatter every living being's cognition. That's why, once someone glimpses Truth, they fall into madness, their personalities shift dramatically, or they even die from their bodies exploding.
"Even gods are not exempt."
"Even so, 'Truth' still makes many beings envious, because even if they glimpse and understand a corner of Truth, it brings tremendous power. Master a portion of Truth, and you can deduce the trajectory of anything you wish to know—the past, present, and future all fall within Truth's calculations.
"That's why, before Truth, there are no concepts of time or space. Time is merely a point to it. Similarly, as long as you control Truth, you can exploit the entanglement between things to accomplish whatever you want across vast distances—so the concept of space ceases to exist as well.
"That's also why the Guardian of the Gate of Truth, the [Key to the Gate], is called the embodiment of time and space itself. Possessing a fraction of Truth's power, He can freely穿梭于任意时空，全知全视."
Hearing this, Lin Qiye's expression grew increasingly grave.
"The [Key to the Gate] is actually that terrifying?"
"I didn't know it either, originally. But after I made contact with the Gate of Truth, I truly experienced His authority... That's also why I asked Heavenly Court to kill me directly." An Qingyu spoke calmly. "If the [Key to the Gate] reappears, Earth won't be far from destruction."
"Qingyu..."
Floating in mid-air, Jiang Er gently cradled his palms with her ethereal hands, her eyes filled with reluctance.
"Don't worry about me." An Qingyu smiled faintly. "Perhaps this is my destiny... Being buried alongside you isn't so bad either."
An Qingyu glanced downward. Beneath the overcast clouds, a gem-like lake nestled between mountains and city, its surface clearly reflecting the sky.
"We've arrived." He murmured to himself.
Jiang Er perched on the edge of the Somersault Cloud, her gaze sweeping across Erhai Lake below. Her dim eyes brightened with a gleam as she pointed somewhere and said:
"There."
"Go ahead. We'll wait nearby." Lin Qiye said to An Qingyu.
An Qingyu hummed in acknowledgment, his ethereal hand clasping Jiang Er's wrist, and the two leaped down from the Somersault Cloud.
Watching the two figures plummeting toward Erhai Lake's edge, the silent crowd on the clouds sighed helplessly.
...
The howling wind brushed past An Qingyu's ears. With a light tap of his fingertip, his rapidly falling body immediately halted, descending slowly onto a shallow shore.
After actively making contact with the Gate of Truth, he had completely shattered the seal the Heavenly Lord had placed on his soul. Everything about him had returned to normal—indeed, surpassing his original state.
"Finally back..."
Jiang Er drifted above the shallow shore, gazing at the crystal-clear, gem-like lake before her. Her gloomy expression vanished, replaced by liberation and excitement.
The person she loved most had followed her back to this land she cherished most. She couldn't wait to share all its beauty with An Qingyu—to tell him how warm the wind was here, how clear the water, to show him every wonderful thing about this place... Because here lay her past.
She wanted to transform this beauty into An Qingyu's memories, so that whenever he thought of her, it would be as clear and beautiful as Erhai's waters.
"Look, isn't it beautiful?!" Jiang Er drifted to Erhai's edge, spreading her arms wide.
"Mm." An Qingyu instinctively reached to adjust the glasses on his nose, only to touch his nose instead. His glasses had shattered at Heavenly Court, but for him now, glasses served essentially no purpose. He'd only kept wearing them out of habit.
Whether it was the absence of glasses or his predetermined fate, An Qingyu felt lighter than he had in a long time. He slowly swept his gaze across the scenery before him, a smile curving his lips.
"Truly beautiful."
"This isn't even the most beautiful time. It's a shame the sky is so overcast today. If it were sunny, you could see the gradation of white clouds, sky, and lake water..."
Before Jiang Er could finish speaking, a low rumble erupted from above the clouds, like thunder crashing down.
But strangely, after that thunder, the sky didn't grow darker. The clouds pressing over the city were forcibly dispersed, and a massive circular shaft of sunlight poured down, coating all of Dali in pale gold.
This sudden change in weather made pedestrians on the distant streets look up in bewilderment, their faces full of confusion... They had lived here for years and never seen such a bizarre phenomenon.
But at this moment, by Erhai Lake, two people simultaneously broke into smiles.
"It seems today we're the luckiest people in this city." An Qingyu smiled. "After all, even the gods are on our side."
"Then... can they hear what we say?" Jiang Er asked quietly. "That would be so embarrassing..."
"Don't worry. After you said that, they stopped listening."
"Fair enough."
An Qingyu took Jiang Er's ethereal hand, and the two walked forward unhurriedly along the sunlit, shimmering shores of Erhai Lake...