New Surroundings

Deep in slumber, as he floated through the void like a boat in the ocean, Xue Bai quickly lost track of time. Only after a very long time Xue Bai opened his eyes, but even as he did, he knew he wasn't truly awake.

The reason?

He wasn't anywhere in the Baishen Plane, but instead, he was back in his hospital room from Earth.

However, he wasn't on his bed this time but instead standing at the doorway.

Yet instead of exploring the odd dream he found himself in, he had his eyes on the figure lying on the bed he had stayed on for so long in his previous life.

The figure was one he was familiar with. After all, it was 'him' in a sense.

More specifically, the him that was in 'Children of the Plane,' the game. The frail, black-haired scholar version of himself.

The version of himself if Xue Bai hadn't eaten the Celestial Void Fruit and stayed a mortal.

The two Xue Bais stared at each other for a very long time until Xue Bai spoke up.

"I thought your soul would've dissipated after I transmigrated over." Xue Bai broke the ice casually.

There was no need to keep up the secret of his transmigration to literally himself. So when he broke the ice, it was to question how the previous owner of his new body was still alive.

"Why do you say that?" 'Xue Bai' asked with a broad smile.

"I took over your body," Xue Bai answered with an odd gaze, "You died, and I took over. If not, how could I not be in control of the body without any resistance?"

"That's a good guess about what happened." 'Xue Bai' nodded with a smile as he stood up from the hospital bed.

"What do you mean by a good guess?" Xue Bai wasn't a fool and caught the odd choice of words his other self used.

However, 'Xue Bai' didn't answer his question but instead just walked around Xue Bai as if he were inspecting a new car he wanted to buy.

"You've done well in the short time you've been in this world. However, you do know things will only get harder from now on, right?" 'Xue Bai' said.

"How can I not know?" Xue Bai replied.

Xue Bai during his life in the Southern Continent was peaceful and filled with nothing but cultivation. The biggest problem he faced on a day-to-day basis so far was figuring out what he would want for dinner.

Beyond that, there was no problem whatsoever.

But Xue Bai did know that the Central Continent was going to be his true trial ground on whether he could beat Xiao Mo or not.historical

"So, are you going to answer my question or not?" Xue Bai suddenly recalled that his question was dodged completely.

"I can't answer that question." 'Xue Bai' shook his head.

"Why not?"

"It's because it's the wrong question." 'Xue Bai' answered, "You never took over my body."

Xue Bai was immediately taken aback by the response. However, before he could say anything, his other self spoke up.

"Aw damn it. We're running out of time." 'Xue Bai' suddenly said with a comical knee slap, "Well, we'll meet again soon. Remember to get the right questions to ask before you reach the Spirit Awakening realm. That's when we'll meet next."

And with a wave, like a pane of glass met with a rock, the dream shattered, and he opened his eyes once more, this time in a different area.

However, as he did, he started questioning his surroundings.

Like his transmigration so many years ago, Xue Bai now found himself in a random bed in a random room and even going as far as to look out the windows at a random place he couldn't recognize.

Confused, Xue Bai tried to remember what had happened before he woke up.

He had over-exhausted his entire body, killing the escaping Wang Clan, and lost consciousness after being sealed in the void. He also had an odd dream with his other self, which left him with more questions than answers.

But beyond that, he remembered nothing.

Yet now he was somewhere he couldn't even remember.

Realizing that he needed more information about his surroundings, Xue Bai tried to get up from his bed, but as he put his elbow down on the soft bed to lift himself up, he fell.

His arm was too weak to support his own body, and he collapsed in on himself.

After cursing at his own weakness for a moment, Xue Bai looked inside himself and soon figured out the problem.

Over 70% of his blood essence was gone, and because of that, his body was far weaker than any Bone Strengthening realm cultivator. In fact, it was weaker right now than most Blood Exchange realm cultivators.

However, Xue Bai was in the Bone Strengthening realm, which meant that his body was far heavier than any normal mortal human would weigh. So because his physical strength was weakened, he was far too weak to even hold himself up.

To make matters worse, he couldn't even reinforce his own body with Spiritual Qi, as his dantian was completely dried up. Not even a single wisp of Spiritual Qi was in it.

Annoyed at his misfortune, Xue Bai quickly rolled out of bed without his hands and quickly caught himself with his legs managing to stand up, albeit with a struggle. Unfortunately, his legs were weak, too, so he had to wobble like a newborn deer for a few seconds until he stabilized.

After Xue Bai got his balance, he started to walk around the room, hoping to find something that would give him some intel on his whereabouts.

Quickly finding a mirror, Xue Bai walked over to see if anything had changed about himself physically. And to his slight shock, there was.

His hair was far longer than it was before, and it stretched all the way down to the floor, where it dragged slightly against the ground. Other than that, his hair had also completely changed colors, turning into the same purple color as his eyes were when he activated his bloodline. On a side note, his eyes also changed colors, turning the same color.

Yet that wasn't what grabbed his attention most about his physical changes, but rather his height and face.

Xue Bai was previously 13 years and ten months old while being at an average height of 1.65 meters tall. His physique was visibly frail, but he still had defined muscles, and his limbs were full of explosive power.

However, now looking at himself, Xue Bai stood, from what he could tell, 1.8 meters tall, but now let alone defined and explosive muscles, his body was all skin and bones. Furthermore, and most shocking of all, Xue Bai was no longer 13, but instead, he looked much older, around 16 to 17 years old.

Though sunken and hollow looking from his blood essence deficiency, Xue Bai's chin was much more defined and sharp, he lost much of his androgynous looks, only looking to be a slightly feminine-looking teenage boy.

Not believing reality for a moment, Xue Bai raised his hands up to touch his cheeks, and to his surprise, it connected, and he truly saw his reflection.

"How much time has passed?" Xue Bai could see that he stayed unconscious and drifted in the void for a much longer time than he previously estimated, "Could I have ended up off of the Southern Continent?"

Shaking the straying thoughts out of his head, Xue Bai grabbed a stool nearby to sit on before recalling something important.

Xue Bai remembered that before his stupid move, he had somehow comprehended a Dao, and as he did, a wealth of information about not only the Dao of Space but also about Daos themselves entered his head.

Daos were core building blocks of reality that, whenever comprehended, allowed its user to change reality to their whims. And Xue Bai's Dao of Space was a supreme Dao at that.

Xue Bai's Dao of Space had seven floors of comprehension.

1st floor: Void Tearing

Having the ability to sever space open and enter the void whenever he'd please. Also, gain a small protection against the terrifying power of the void, being able to survive in it for a short amount of time.

It can also use the severing power of space to slice clean through any object within the cultivator's Great Realm without any resistance.

2nd floor: Spatial Manipulation

Can manipulate space to a large degree, using it however you'd wish. Whether it be to fold space for speed advantages, create weapons made of the penetrative element of space, or even create walls of space that would block all incoming attacks, space will obey your commands, and your strength is only limited to your imagination and comprehension.

3rd floor: Spatial Disruption

4th floor: Spatial Inception

5th floor: Black Hole Creation

6th floor: Spatial Dimension

7th floor: World Creation/Destruction

Currently, Xue Bai's comprehension of the Dao of Space was at the second floor, meaning that he could sever the void as easily as one could a piece of paper and manipulate space without the need for Spiritual Qi, purely relying on his comprehension.

He also gained the names of the next five floors but not their abilities. Most likely, he'd only understand what they do once he actually comprehends them. Until then, however, he'd be in the dark.

Beyond that, Xue Bai also learned that while the Dao of Space only had a higher form of comprehension, there were branch paths of the Dao of Space that could be understood in a Law form.

Like his own Sword Law, it was based on the branch path of the Dao of Space, the Law of Spatial Severance. Or his own Gravity Field Array Formation was on the Law of Gravity.

The universe was boundless, and there were Laws and Daos of everything in existence. As the knowledge he was bestowed said, the only thing that could limit him was his comprehension and imagination.

After digesting the information, Xue Bai suddenly felt even more stupid.

When he was killing the Wang Clan, if Xue Bai hadn't stupidly slashed open the Void Traversal Array using brute force, he could've just sent out a pulse of disturbance into the void. This would make the Wang Clan either have their teleport fail or have them end up somewhere far away from their proper destination.

Sadly he had neither a teacher to tell him this nor the time to experiment with his available options then and could only do the direct method of stopping the Wang Clan.

Now that he sat down and truly grasped his Dao, he regretted his previous stupid move. Then, wistfully, Xue Bai could only shake his head and start to focus on the present.

But just as he was going to walk out of his room to check out his surroundings, he felt something odd about his body.

It felt different. As if something important inside of him was changed or instead upgraded. There was something inside of him that wasn't there before, like a button that he could switch on and off.

Curious and scared at the same time, Xue Bai took a deep breath before 'flipping the switch,' and to his shock, his body left the normal plane, and he entered the void!

Fearing he had just killed himself, Xue Bai quickly 'flipped the switch' back to normal, and to his shock, he returned.

However, as he did, another stream of information entered his head, giving him a quick rundown of what the hell had just happened to him.

'Low earth-grade physique: Void Traversing Physique. Roam free around the void like a fish in water. Be able to enter the void on command and still see the normal plane of existence.'

"So I have a physique now, I guess?" Xue Bai muttered oddly.

He truly hadn't planned for any of this, yet now he had a physique.

Now with a belly full of curiosity, Xue Bai activated his physique, and true to the information he had just received, he was able to enter the void on command. Yet he could still see the normal plane of existence: the bedroom, the mirror, and everything inside of it.

Still curious, Xue Bai tried to move around to see if he could go through walls and scout the area around him.

He could.

Floating around the void, Xue Bai could go through any obstructions the normal plane of existence had.

But after floating around for a few minutes, and other than getting a tour of a rather grand imperial palace, Xue Bai found not a single human being.

Not resigned, Xue Bai tried to go further until he found a person. Only, just as he reached a total of 10 minutes in the void, he found himself completely out of breath and gasping for air.

Panicked, Xue Bai quickly deactivated his physique and fell out of the void onto the ground gasping for air.

"There is a time limit." Xue Bai mentally noted down, "Most likely, the physique will get stronger as I do, but for now, I can only stay in the void for 10 minutes."

Still, even with the time limit, Xue Bai knew his physique had boundless potential.

Now that his physical body was weakened, Xue Bai knew that he wouldn't be able to be a swordsman for a while, but now with the Void Traversing Physique, he could be a prime archer or assassin.

Imagine fighting a man who wasn't even on the same plane of existence as you for most of the fight. And in the short time he was in the same plane of existence, he would only send an arrow at your weak points before quickly leaving once again.

And even if Xue Bai didn't use the physique offensively, he could use it defensively to dodge attacks or to escape without a trace since he was more than twice as fast in the void as he was not.

Happy, Xue Bai quickly caught his breath before floating back to his bedroom.

It was obvious Xue Bai was unconscious for years at the minimum, and if the people who saved him hadn't killed him yet, it was for a reason. So it was obvious that someone would come eventually, and until then, Xue Bai needed to get his situation sorted out.