As to how parallel universes were born, the scientists had put forward a lot of hypotheses and conjectures. The most popular one was the ‘Observer Hypotheses’, which suggested that the observation of the observers caused the collapse of the quantum state and the birth of parallel universes.

The simplest example was the thought experiment named ‘Schrödinger’s Cat’. According to the ‘Observer’s Hypotheses’, before the box was opened, the universe was in the quantum state where two probabilities overlapped. When the box was opened and the ‘Observer’ saw the result inside the box, the universe would split into two. The two universes were almost identical, except that the cat was alive in one universe and dead in the other.

It was hard to accept the theory that the life and death of a cat could create a whole new universe. However, if it were a more important historical decision, it would be much easier to understand. The civilization of mankind had walked on the fork of history countless times. If the monkeys in the beginning had not looked up at the starry sky, if the tribe that had first learned to roast food with flames had been destroyed in a flash flood, if Emperor Qin Shihuang had been assassinated by assassins during the unification of the six kingdoms, if Newton had been killed by a terrible and common infectious disease before the famous apple fell, if Nazi Germany and not the United States had developed nuclear weapons in advance… If—if—the civilization of mankind in the current universe had only chosen one of the countless forks, the other countless forks could still lead to countless colorful and completely different universes.

Or rather, the ‘theoretical explorers’ of part of the parallel universes believed that any decision that everybody made every second of every day would trigger a tsunami of the quantum level that would divide the entire universe and give birth to a new parallel universe.

In other words, even if an ordinary person went out in the morning with their left foot or right foot, it was possible that a series of chain reactions would occur, leading to the birth of a new parallel universe.

Such an idealistic argument placed human beings at the center of the infinite universe. Naturally, it was hard to accept.

However, from a different perspective, ‘the universe exists because of me’ seemed to be an undeniable truth.

It was simple. When people talked about the concept of ‘universe’, they often thought of the vast space, the shining stars, the brilliant sun and the gentle moon, and perhaps the various magnetic fields, waves, and forces, as well as black holes, neutron stars, nebulas, and all the cosmic dust.

However, the reason why people believed that the universe was a ‘glittering sea of stars’ was because human beings were ‘observers’ who had ‘eyes’, could observe light, receive radiation, and were adept at all kinds of calculations. They could infer the orbit of a planet thousands of kilometers away with the most fundamental mathematical formulas.

If there were no human beings but a different kind of intelligent creatures who did not have light-sensing organs and could not even perceive the waves and the heat radiation as observers, their universe would certainly not be the ‘glittering sea of stars’, but something else that human beings could not understand at all and might be even more chaotic and splendid.

On second thought, was it possible that the universe was billions of times richer, brighter, more splendid, and more splendid than what human beings had observed? There were all kinds of waves and force fields and celestial bodies, too. But human beings lacked the ‘organs’ to observe and calculate them. Therefore, they had been dwelling in the colorful ocean of fertility without knowing anything.

It was like a primitive tribe that had lived in the deepest part of an underground cave their entire life and had never seen light before. They did not know or need to know the meaning of color. To them, the world was a completely different form.

Finally, what if there were no human beings?

There were no human beings, nor were there any intelligent creatures that could serve as ‘observers’. Did the universe still exist? Even if it did, what was the significance of a universe that had never been observed and might remain in the superposition forever?

Therefore, in a ‘meaningful universe’, the ‘Observer’ must be the center of the universe. The universe would be exactly what the eyes and other sensory organs of the Observer looked like. It could turn into whatever the Observer wanted it to be. When the Observer was full of hope, the universe would be infinitely bright. When the Observer fell into desperation, the universe would sink forever.

Such information flooded into Li Yao’s soul like a raging ocean.

What do I do?

Li Yao’s face was gloomy as if he were faced with a great enemy. “I don’t quite understand what Hong Chao is talking about. It seems a bit awkward. What should I do?”

Hardly had the thought occurred to him when he felt that the information flooding into his brain became clearer and concise.

The specific theories and complicated conjectures, hypotheses, theorems, and formulas were not important. After all, Li Yao wouldn’t understand them even if they were explained to him. In short, Li Yao only needed to understand that the ‘Observer’s Hypotheses’ were partly valid under certain conditions. Parallel universes did exist, and their birth was related to whether or not Schrödinger’s cat was alive.

Of course, this was not to say that if such a cat existed, its life and death would really create a new parallel universe.

It was even more impossible for an ordinary person to go to work in the morning with sleepy eyes, yawning, and stepping out of the door first to create a new parallel universe.

No. It was not that simple. The key lay in the conservation of mass and energy and the conservation of heat. Creating a new parallel universe required a huge amount of energy, and the simple, low-level observational behaviors such as ‘cat’s life and death’ and ‘first step left foot right foot’ were not enough to trigger enough energy to ‘push’ the birth of a new parallel universe.

Only when enough observers triggered the strongest energy stored inside their bodies and performed high-level observational actions could a new parallel universe be born.

In the universe where the flood tide was located, the observers were all human beings.

On the other hand, the highest level of energy contained in the human body might even be able to break the ‘conservation of mass and energy’ or even the ultimate force to break the barriers of dimensions and the universe, which were emotions, will, and imagination.

Parallel universes might be endless, but the emotions, will, and imagination of all the observers in the infinite universe were the same.

Therefore, as long as the observers were placed in an extreme environment and triggered their strongest emotions and strongest imagination, it was possible to create a new parallel universe!

What was a “very extreme environment”?

The answer was obvious. It was when the world was coming to an end and the earth was going to be destroyed!

So that was the case!

Li Yao finally understood what Hong Chao was doing.

At first, it created countless Earths by manipulating materials and energy with the power of more than half of the universal ocean that could almost be called ‘Quasi-God’. Billions of heroic spirits were trapped inside.

Then, the planets would be destroyed one by one. The intense stimulation of the apocalypse would trigger the strongest emotions, will, and imagination that were hidden inside every heroic spirit.

As long as the forces were strong enough, they could trigger the ‘Observer’s Effect’, which would divide the current universe and give birth to a new ‘parallel universe’.

However, creating new parallel universes was still not the ultimate purpose of the tides. On the contrary, when the new parallel universes were created and were about to explode and expand, the tides confined and sealed the parallel universes in a way that Li Yao could not understand!

The division of atoms would generate tremendous energy, and the division of the universe was even more so.

Gathering and sealing the forces of atom division and outputting them steadily and continuously was the mechanism of some nuclear power plants. The flood tide, on the other hand, triggered the ‘fission chain reaction’ on purpose and turned countless newly-born parallel universes into its ‘energy source’!

The flood tide was not lying after all.

What it was really trying to make use of was not the emotions, will, and imagination of human beings. Such an ‘energy source’ might be powerful, but it was nothing compared to the ‘energy source for cosmic fission reactions’.

The power of human beings as observers was merely the fulcrum of the cosmic splitting energy.

The flood tide that controlled infinite quantum energy was indeed not something that Li Yao, Ding Lingdang, or the remaining forces of the Primeval Civilization could deal with.

However, Li Yao discovered that the flood did not intend to destroy them with quantum energy at all. Instead, most of the quantum energy, as well as the forces of countless parallel universes, had been dedicated to something more mysterious and inexplicable than a black hole.

In the words of the Cultivators, it seemed to be a piece of magical equipment at the level of the universe. No. It was the core of the magical equipment!

“What are you doing exactly?”

Seeing the ultimate picture of the universe, Li Yao felt that his blood was freezing. He mumbled, “You created countless parallel universes and sealed them at the moment of their birth. In such a way, you acquired countless ‘energy sources’, countless ‘cosmic batteries’, and countless ‘world engines’. You—you control such enormous energy. What are you going to drive them to achieve your purpose?”

“I’m already old.

The tide spoke behind Li Yao in an ancient voice. “As you said, time has left too many scars and wounds on my body. Even a real god-level civilization could not resist the erosion of time. If you consider me to be a human being, I will be a grey-haired, dying old man.

“For an old man who is about to die, even if he has all the wealth and power in the world, it is meaningless, isn’t it? If there is an opportunity where he can exchange all his wealth and power for a wish, what kind of wish do you think he will make?

“That’s right. There won’t be a second answer even if there are a hundred, a thousand, or ten thousand old people. What I want is none other than to turn back time and regain my youth!

* * *

If there were no accidents, the main story would be finished today. It would be so easy… to miss everyone. Boohoo!