635 A Long 700 Years
“Nine! Nine!” Xu Jingming was furious.
Nine ceased all replies and didn’t respond.
Xu Jingming fell silent. He looked at the Dark Primordial Star Spear Art on the wall and said in a deep voice, “My lucid self is too careful. Afraid of injuring my family when I go crazy? But I’m imprisoned! I can’t contact the outside world, so how can I injure anyone?”
“Xu Jingming, oh Xu Jingming, you can forbid me from replying, but you should at least let me read the letters. Reading the letters can’t harm my daughter…”
“I have to change the protocols the next time I pass the sobriety test.”
Xu Jingming extended his hand and condensed Cosmic Force into a spear, immediately practicing his spearmanship.
…
“Master, there’s a letter from your daughter,” Nine reminded Xu Jingming again in the lonely Spacetime Prison.
“Oh.”
Xu Jingming’s hair had lengthened. He sat cross-legged and looked at the distant Primordial Star with his mind and consciousness from a high-dimensional point of view.
This was the only scenery in the Spacetime Prison.
“Master, it’s time to practice your spearmanship. Temper your mind with your spearmanship and refine the impurities as soon as possible so that you can gain lucidity earlier,” Nine reminded.
…
Many years passed.
“Who am I?”
Xu Jingming stood in the prison in a daze and swept his gaze around. A large number of chaotic memories impacted him. Some of these memories were what Xu Jingming experienced during his ‘possessions,’ while others were purely delusional.
Am I Yu Fang? No… I’m Exorcist Wu Ming? I also have Uncle Qi… No, that’s the virtual world. It’s fake! I’m Ningway? Xu Jingming’s chaotic memories made it impossible to determine his real identity.
“Master, you’re Xu Jingming—Xu Jingming. Do you still remember?” Nine was extremely anxious.
“Xu Jingming?” he murmured.
“You are the most dazzling genius of the human race. You were recruited into the Primordial Research Institute, and your alias is Wu Ming,” Nine continued.
“Oh?” Xu Jingming came to a realization. “I think I remember.”
“You have a wife named Li Miaomiao and a daughter named Xu Lixing. You only started coming into contact with the virtual world at the age of 29…” Nine immediately gave more information.
Xu Jingming listened attentively.
Xu Jingming stood in the prison and sneered. “You made up quite a good story. You are trying to fix my memories while my memories are in a mess? Trying to plant an identity? You made this Xu Jingming up; it’s fake, right?”
“Master!” Nine burned with anxiety.
“You might be lying to me by calling me Master. You’re more likely a prison guard AI.” Xu Jingming sneered. “No matter what you say, I won’t believe you when my memories are in a mess.”
“Xu Jingming, you don’t even know who your wife and daughter are? You care about them the most,” Nine asked.
“Do I? A wife? A daughter? How can I be sure that it’s not a fake memory you fabricated?” Xu Jingming scoffed. “Shut up and stop annoying me.”
Then, Xu Jingming extended his right hand and held the spear before continuing his spear practice.
He spent most of his time practicing his spear every day—this had become a habit over time!
Sigh, Master. Nine observed this scene and sighed inwardly. When Master wakes up, I have to change the protocols. At the very least, I should let Master read his family’s letters. This way, he can repeatedly solidify his memories of his family; otherwise, it will be complete chaos. It will be over once he stops practicing his spearmanship one day.
…
He practiced his spear every day and night with sincerity, hoping to refine and accommodate the Dark Primordial Star.
As time passed, the impurities in his mind decreased. Xu Jingming’s memories became more and more stable and clear.
“Nine, the sobriety test,” Xu Jingming said.
“Alright, Master.” Soon, the sobriety test was provided, and Xu Jingming quickly replied.
“There were 1,000 questions, and there were a total of 983,201 words. Master, you didn’t miss a word, but there were still five mistakes,” Nine informed.
Xu Jingming nodded slightly. “I should be able to apply for a small bottle of Ice Wine?”
“Sure,” Nine replied.
Once my memories are messed up to a certain extent, I’m to be forbidden from consuming Ice Wine again. Xu Jingming held a small wine bottle and smiled. I’ve saved quite a bit of Ice Wine.
He immediately tipped his head and took a sip.
The frosty power spread in his mind and consciousness, and Xu Jingming jolted. He felt the chaos and abnormality being suppressed, and his lucidity increased greatly.
The answers to every one of the 1,000 questions appeared in his mind. He even remembered the detailed scene of him creating the questions clearly.
“I remember now.”
Xu Jingming immediately answered the questions.
“Congratulations, Master. Everything is correct.” Nine was overjoyed. “Master, you’re finally fully awake.”
“How long have I been imprisoned?” Xu Jingming asked.
“122 years,” Nine answered.
I’ve only been able to condense my mental strength once after 122 years? Xu Jingming shook his head slightly. When I established Wu Ming’s World, I condensed my mind three times in 50 years. Now, I’m only close to condensing once every 122 years…
Yes, he was still a little short of the 12th condensation. There were still very few impurities, but it was enough to provide Xu Jingming with lucidity.
And according to my understanding of Heart Realm Force, I might not even succeed on the 22nd or 32nd condensation, much less the 12th. Xu Jingming sighed inwardly.
The transformation of mental strength into Heart Realm Force didn’t depend on the number of condensations. Instead, it was whether it was accommodative enough to evolve into a Heart Realm!
“Let’s modify the protocols first,” Xu Jingming said. “Nine, even if I’m not sober enough in the future, you can allow me to read letters for not more than five minutes a day, right? I don’t want… to forget my family!”
“I’ll keep it in mind,” Nine replied.
“Let me read the letters from my family.” Xu Jingming pulled up all the letters and read them one by one. He couldn’t help but smile when he read them.
Xu Jingming read the 100-plus letters very slowly and took more than half a day.
“They’re worried about me.”
I didn’t refute the rumors, nor did the officials. I don’t care about the rumors coming from the various factions in the cosmic human race, but it must be quite stressful for Miaomiao, Lixing, and the others, Xu Jingming thought.
Xu Jingming immediately wrote another letter.
“Nine, send it to Miaomiao,” Xu Jingming said.
…
Earth, Pearwood Group Building.
Xu Lixing sat at her desk coldly.
Although rumors of Xu Jingming being imprisoned for his craziness were rampant, all the human civilizations and factions still respected the Pearwood Group. Although they didn’t curry favor with the Pearwood Group like in the past, they avoided it respectfully and didn’t want to offend it.
For a crazy and terrifying powerhouse, everyone had one idea: Don’t offend him, don’t befriend him, and keep a distance!
“Dad.” Xu Lixing shut off the projection and began missing her father.
Her father—who had practiced martial arts with her since she was a child—had always protected her like a mountain. She never expected her father to be on the verge of collapse.
I don’t believe that you’re crazy. I don’t believe what they say, Xu Lixing thought. But when will you be back?
“Thousands or tens of thousands of years? I’m afraid. I’m afraid that I won’t be able to see you until my death.” Xu Lixing felt sad.
Whoosh!
Suddenly, the door opened, and Li Miaomiao rushed in.
“Lixing, it’s a letter from your father.” Li Miaomiao was extremely excited.
Xu Lixing was stunned. “A letter from Dad?”
Li Miaomiao nodded immediately.
“Dad took the initiative to send us a letter?” Xu Lixing found it unbelievable.
“Yes, he usually only replies when we write. This is the first time he’s taken the initiative to write in all these years.” Li Miaomiao was excited. “Take a look.”
A letter from Xu Jingming appeared on the projection.
The mother and daughter read with tears in their eyes.
“Your dad must’ve suffered a lot,” Li Miaomiao said as she read. “It’s just that he’s not mentioning it.”
“We’ll wait for Dad’s return,” Xu Lixing said.
“Yeah.” Li Miaomiao nodded.
They had to wait until he returned.
******
Time passed.
As he continued to accommodate more high-dimensional information, the impurities in his mind increased again, and Xu Jingming gradually went crazy.
Xu Jingming was alone in the Spacetime Prison and could read letters for five minutes a day. Although he only received one letter a year from his family, Xu Jingming read it over and over again.
He read it every day. This was the happiest time of his day.
No matter how chaotic his memories were, he didn’t forget to read letters every day.
“My daughter Lixing…”
“My wife Miaomiao…”
Xu Jingming still remembered his family while his crazy memories were in a mess.
“Master, your daughter sent you a letter.” Nine’s voice sounded.
“Show it to me quickly.” The crazy Xu Jingming immediately stopped and focused on reading the latest letter. The latest letter from his family was the most precious thing in the world.
…
“Master, I have news for you. The cosmic human race has an additional cosmic legend,” Nine said.
“Who is it”? Xu Jingming stopped his spearmanship.
“Primordial One!” Nine replied.
“Not bad,” Xu Jingming praised and continued practicing his spear.
Although the genius Primordial One—who had once been on par with Redmond—had been stuck at a bottleneck for tens of thousands of years, she had finally broken through and successfully grasped high-dimensional powers, becoming the eighth cosmic legend of the human race.
All the factions in the cosmic human race congratulated her!
The Hunter Cosmic Sector’s Cloud City Association faction also increased greatly. After all, a faction with a cosmic legend was naturally different. The Pearwood Group—which had once been in the limelight—had long lost its former reputation.
Everyone respected the Pearwood Group but kept their distance from it! This also caused the Pearwood Group’s commercial trade to decline significantly.
Doing business wasn’t about maintaining distance, but to interact closely with each other! Once everyone kept a distance, it would naturally be much harder for the Pearwood Group to operate.
…
In the blink of an eye, Xu Jingming had been imprisoned for more than 700 years.
Earth had another piece of good news.
“Our Earth civilization finally has a second Origin lifeform!”
“Meng Tian!”
“Meng Tian!”
Countless planets in Earth’s civilization were delighted and discussed.
“Junior Brother Meng Tian, you’re an Origin lifeform now. Are you sure you want to marry Xu Lixing?” In the virtual world’s personal space, Meng Tian sat opposite a middle-aged man. The middle-aged man smiled and said, “We’ve known each other for more than a thousand years. Let me give you a piece of advice—there’s no need to get married! Many Origin lifeforms don’t get married.”
“I promised Senior Sister,” Meng Tian said. “This is what I’ve been looking forward to.”
“You can spend the rest of your life with her, but don’t get married. Once you get married, the two of you will be husband and wife, and you will be completely implicated by her family,” the middle-aged man said. “Her father is Wu Ming! Nobody knows how much trouble a lunatic will cause in the future. You’re a Lv. 9 Origin lifeform. How can you get involved in that? You’ll die without even knowing why!”
“The Primestar civilization’s emperor, Lunarstar, has a grudge with him. The Void Celestial’s cosmic legend has been spying on him… You really should avoid it,” the middle-aged man persuaded.