Chapter 110

“System, do you mean the risk of returning to the real world this time is extremely high?” When the system accumulated enough energy, Ding Shuang took out the limited-time return card and prepared to return to the real world. However, the system stopped Ding Shuang, informing him that there were risks involved in traveling back to the real world.

“Yes, host, due to your dangerous time travel, the system has lost your previous spacetime anchor point in the real world. You must return through spacetime turbulence, and you may be teleported to the beginning or end of spacetime.” The system explained the source of the risk to Ding Shuang.

“Where are the beginning and the end of spacetime?” Ding Shuang asked curiously.

“Host, that’s not a location. The starting point of spacetime is the origin of all spacetime. Everything in the universe started from that moment, which is also known as the beginning of the universe. The end of spacetime is the direction in which spacetime ultimately flows, where there is only eternal stillness.” The system gave Ding Shuang a simple introduction to the starting point and the end of spacetime.

“I feel like I understand but not quite. Just tell me the consequences.” After all, Ding Shuang’s education level is not high, and he only vaguely understands the system’s introduction.

“If the host is transported to the beginning of spacetime or the end of spacetime a moment later, you will be lucky and die instantly without pain. The most terrifying thing is that if you enter the beginning or the end of spacetime, you will live a lonely and eternal life in endless darkness. For you, there is neither beginning nor end. You have consciousness but can do nothing, not even die,” the system told Ding Shuang about the consequences.

“Holy crap! That sounds terrifying. What are the odds of getting in?” The thought of lonely immortality sent a chill down Ding Shuang’s spine.

“According to calculations, the probability of the host being teleported to either the beginning or the end of spacetime is 1.3 out of 72,580,143,829,447. The probability of being teleported to the original spacetime anchor point is 1.7 out of 16,840,000. The probability of being teleported to any spacetime within 10 billion years before or after the original spacetime anchor point is 99%. However, given the host’s bizarre luck, all the probabilities mentioned by the system are for reference only.” The system was frightened by Ding Shuang’s bizarre luck and felt somewhat insecure.

“Wait a minute, let me think this through. Putting aside the issue of one in trillions or billions, the key point is what you mean by ‘the probability of being teleported to any point in time within 10 billion years before or after the original time-space anchor point is 99%’? You mean I basically have no chance of returning to my original time-space?” Ding Shuang’s biggest concern was Ding Fei. If she couldn’t return to where she left off, what was the point of going back? What if she went to the future and the nightmare came true? Wouldn’t it be too late then?

“Host, you simply cannot be directly teleported to the original timeline anchor point. After returning to reality, the system can relocate through the timeline wormhole. Once the relocation is complete, the host can use the secondary world as a springboard to return to the original timeline’s real world.”

The system’s words made Ding Shuang fall into deep thought. He looked at the limited-time return card in his hand, knowing it was a gamble. The last thing he wanted was to return to reality only to find it was too late. What would be the point of killing the Doctor then, even if he became powerful?

Although the system tells him he can return to the original timeline, can things that have already happened be changed? Ding Shuang, despite his limited education, has heard of the grandfather paradox from watching TV dramas, movies, and anime—the idea that what has already happened cannot be prevented. Of course, there are also films and television shows that can change history, such as *Back to the Future*.

“System, I have a question. If I go back to the past, can I change the future?” Ding Shuang decided to ask the system to see if she could get an accurate answer.

“Host, you can’t. What’s done is done, and you can’t change it,” the system replied emphatically.

“Is there a way to return me to the timeline before my original timeline anchor point?” Ding Shuang asked.

“Yes, but that would increase your chances of entering the starting point of time and space by 0.77%. If you use up all your current time travel points, you can reduce that probability to 0.49.”

“Okay, let’s do it this way, I’m betting!” With that, Ding Shuang used the Reality Return Card.

After the white light faded, Ding Shuang found himself in a primeval forest, surrounded by lush vegetation. Looking at his surroundings, Ding Shuang knew he had returned to ancient times, because even the smallest trees were much, much taller than the towering trees of modern times.

“I wonder what era I’ve returned to?” Ding Shuang muttered to himself. It was clearly daytime, but the surrounding trees blocked out the sun, making him feel somewhat oppressed. Ding Shuang had a feeling that he had returned to ancient times.

Suddenly, a long cry made Ding Shuang look in one direction, and he was so frightened that he stood still! There, a giant monster, more than ten meters tall and covered in fur, was eating leaves not far from him. Ding Shuang had been focused on the tree, and most of the monster’s upper body was also covered by leaves, so he had not noticed this huge monster that looked like a dinosaur!

“System, I…I…how many billions of years ago did I travel back to? This…this…this huge monster, what…what is it?” Ding Shuang was so frightened by the monster that he stammered out the question he could have asked the system in his mind. It looked a bit like a dinosaur, but this wasn’t some ancient creature! It was a prehistoric creature!

“Host, the giant creature in front of you is a dinosaur. The system is currently locating your position and time, which is expected to take 20 minutes. Host, you don’t need to worry. Most dinosaurs are herbivores. If you encounter a ferocious carnivorous dinosaur…” The system calmly replied to Ding Shuang, though Ding Shuang had rarely seen the system act so calmly.

“Uh, are you sure? No, don’t we need to find a safer place?” After all, with such a huge dinosaur nearby, even if it doesn’t eat him, it could easily crush this insignificant little guy if it moves.

“Host, the system cannot determine a safe location at this time. We can only know after the location is completed. Please do not move during the location process, otherwise the location will fail.”

Ding Shuang stared at the dinosaur eating, too afraid to move. The dinosaur in front of him was nothing like the ones in the movies and TV shows he’d seen. If he told the archaeologists what dinosaurs really looked like, they would be incredibly excited. But who would believe him? “I’ve been to places hundreds of millions of years ago, I’ve seen dinosaurs, and they’re nothing like what you’ve described!” he thought. He’d probably end up in a mental hospital.

“Host, location has been completed. You are now…” 20 minutes later, the system completed the location.

“Stop talking nonsense, just give me a clear path! Find a safe place!” Ding Shuang interrupted the system. He just wanted to leave this place and find a place without any scary creatures.

“Host, there is a mountain range 967 kilometers to the southeast. It is very safe there.” The system pointed out the direction to Ding Shuang. Although Ding Shuang did not know where the southeast was, a navigation arrow appeared in his eyes.

Ding Shuang raised his flying sword and soared into the sky, flying at full speed in the direction indicated by the system. The sword light he unleashed startled a dinosaur that was feeding, causing it to flee in the opposite direction, trampling many giant trees along the way.

Two hours later, just as Ding Shuang was about to give up, she finally arrived at the mountain range marked by the system. There were many natural caves in the mountain, and Ding Shuang randomly chose one and flew into it.

He was terrified throughout the journey, encountering all sorts of dinosaurs—those that flew, ran, swam, and even hopped from the bushes. Ding Shuang knew nothing about these dinosaur species, nor did he want to. All he could think was, “Mom, I want to go home!”

Upon entering the cave, Ding Shuang looked around. The cave entrance wasn’t large, just big enough for two people to walk in side by side. The interior space wasn’t large either, about five meters high and twenty square meters in area, and there were no strange creatures inside.

“Okay, system, tell me how many years ago I’ve traveled back in time? How do I find the time wormhole?” Ding Shuang, still shaken, asked the system after confirming that there was no danger in the cave.

“Host, you have traveled back 5.2 billion years. Your current location corresponds to the Taklamakan Desert in modern times,” the system informed Ding Shuang of the location.

“Are you fucking kidding me? You think I don’t know science? 5.2 billion years ago? I’m a man who’s seen documentaries! There wasn’t even a solar system 5.2 billion years ago!” Ding Shuang was really on the verge of a breakdown. This damn system was taking advantage of his lack of education, wasn’t it? He clearly remembered a documentary saying that the sun was less than 5 billion years old.

“Host, you are indeed on Earth 5.2 billion years ago. What kind of science are you referring to?”

“That’s modern science, of course…” Uh, screw science! Can science explain the system in my head? Ding Shuang stopped talking and slowly calmed down. His focus now wasn’t arguing with the system about how many billions of years ago Earth was here; his focus was finding the spacetime wormhole.

“Okay, okay, it doesn’t matter how many billions of years ago. Where can we find a spacetime wormhole?” Ding Shuang asked the system.

“Scanning. Ding, an unstable spacetime wormhole has been detected, located 671 kilometers due east of the host.” Almost instantly, the system found a spatial node.

Ding Shuang was just about to fly on his sword when he discovered that his dantian sword energy sea was almost completely depleted. He had just escaped here at full speed, using up all his sword energy.

Ding Shuang took out a pill and swallowed it. This pill could quickly restore his sword qi sea. Ding Shuang’s current level had dropped to level 25. Fortunately, the system preserved his realm, but his dantian sword qi sea had shrunk significantly.

“Host, why don’t you just circulate your cultivation technique to absorb spiritual energy?” The system reminded Ding Shuang in his mind as he took his medicine that he could directly absorb spiritual energy.

“Are you still not recovered? There are no spirits on Earth…” Ding Shuang retorted to the system while subconsciously circulating his cultivation technique. Instantly, he felt a large amount of unknown energy from all around surge into his dantian through his meridians, transforming into sword energy and flowing into his sea of ​​sword energy.

“Holy crap! What’s going on? I could never sense any spiritual energy on Earth before. Cultivation could only hone my sword heart. This… did I come to a fake Earth?” Ding Shuang was bewildered by the dense spiritual energy around him.

Since Ding Shuang obtained the Azure Heaven Sword Manual, he had attempted to cultivate it. However, he couldn’t sense any spiritual energy on Earth, so he couldn’t even restore his Sword Qi Sea, let alone cultivate. After his Sword Qi Sea was depleted, he could only recover by consuming his Qi and blood, replenishing it through large amounts of food, or by using elixirs.

“Host, you are now on Earth 5 billion years ago, where the spiritual energy is extremely abundant. However, the reason why Earth’s spiritual energy disappeared is something you need to find the answer yourself. Ding ding ding, mission issued: Find the mystery of the disappearance of Earth’s spiritual energy. Mission reward: Super lottery x1. Mission deadline: 5.2 billion years. Mission failure: Annihilation!” The system gave Ding Shuang a mission, which was also the first mission Ding Shuang received after all his missions were cleared.

“Let’s talk about that mission later. The most urgent thing is to find the spacetime wormhole. Although my luck has been restored, the speed is too slow. I only have two limited-time return cards, which will only give me a maximum of 14 days of spacetime.” With the help of pills, Ding Shuang had recovered and flew out of the cave on his sword towards the spacetime wormhole.

“Host, your limited-time return card is not only for 7 days, but for 343 years,” the system announced.

“Huh? What’s going on?” Ding Shuang was dumbfounded again. Was this system reliable or not? The card instructions clearly stated 7 days. She had used it before.

“Host, when you collided with the Naruto Sub-World, you have already fused with it by 49%. In other words, 49% of the Naruto Sub-World is within your body. Therefore, when you use the Limited-Time Return Card, 7 will be used as the base, and the fusion progress will be used as the number of years. Multiplying these together will give you the time and space you can stay in the real world. So, you can currently stay for 343 years,” the system explained to Ding Shuang.

“Why didn’t we merge back in the Dou Qi Continent?” Ding Shuang asked the system as he traveled.

“Because you didn’t collide with the secondary world of Battle Through the Heavens when you transmigrated there, you can only fully merge with it after completing the ultimate mission. After 100% fusion, you can freely enter and exit that secondary world, so there’s no need to use a limited-time return card,” the system explained.

“Understood.” Ding Shuang was overjoyed. This way, he could save a limited-time return card. Once the system located him through the spacetime wormhole, he could directly return to the Naruto world and then back to the present world, thus staying in the present world for over three hundred years, which was equivalent to a lifetime. Thinking of this, Ding Shuang felt a surge of excitement.

“Ding, the spacetime wormhole has disappeared. Searching again…” Just as Ding Shuang was feeling happy, the system delivered a bad message.

“System, what’s going on? Can spacetime wormholes disappear?” Ding Shuang stopped flying and asked the system, but the system did not answer Ding Shuang.

“Ding, an unstable spacetime wormhole has been discovered, located 1190 kilometers northeast of the host.” Ten minutes later, the system notification sounded, informing Ding Shuang of the new spacetime wormhole.

“Why did the system’s spacetime wormhole disappear?” Ding Shuang urged his flying sword again and flew in the direction indicated by the system.

“Host, the spacetime wormhole is actually the point where the five-dimensional world is tangent to your four-dimensional world. Only from there can you enter the spacetime wormhole and reposition spacetime.”

“What is the five-dimensional world…” Before Ding Shuang could even ask what the five-dimensional world was, the system notified him that the spacetime wormhole had disappeared.

“Ding, an unstable spacetime wormhole has been detected, located 14,441 kilometers due west of the host.”

“Ding, the spacetime wormhole has been detected as disappeared…”

“Ding, an unstable spacetime wormhole has been detected…”

“Ding, detected…”

“Ding, one found…”

And so, Ding Shuang flew aimlessly through the sky until nightfall. Fortunately, he had taken all of Ding Shuang’s belongings, leaving him with a considerable number of pills to restore his sword energy. That day, Ding Shuang didn’t encounter a single spacetime wormhole, essentially just circling in the air. Each time, he would fly a certain distance before receiving notification that a wormhole had disappeared, and only after discovering a new one would he continue his journey.

After flying for almost half an hour, the system hadn’t found a new spacetime wormhole. Ding Shuang looked down and saw that the mountain range beneath her feet was where she had previously hidden.

Looking up at the sky, Ding Shuang longed to utter the line, “I raise my head to gaze at the bright moon, then lower it to think of my hometown.” But there was no bright moon for him to look at.

“Ding, detected one, ding, the spacetime wormhole has disappeared.”

Holy crap! It just disappeared after being detected?

“A large amount of information on spacetime wormholes has been collected, and the system is currently analyzing it…”

“System, what’s going on? Is it possible to find a stable spacetime wormhole?” The system didn’t answer Ding Shuang’s question. Frustrated, Ding Shuang could only return to the cave where he had hidden during the day.

After a day of flying around, Ding Shuang was no longer afraid of dinosaurs. The system was right; most dinosaurs were herbivores, and the few carnivorous ones mostly stayed on the ground. Moreover, dinosaurs weren’t particularly strong offensively or defensively; he had even killed a few dinosaurs that had tried to attack him from the air during the day.

“Sigh, I should have taken the Golden Jade Sword too. This Azure Frost Sword flies way too slowly.” Ding Shuang sat cross-legged on the ground, looking at the Azure Frost Sword in his hand. The Azure Frost Sword was a B-grade sword, which was definitely inferior to the A-grade Golden Jade Sword, and its flying speed was also much slower.

“Huh, how did I get to level 28? I was only level 25 before!” Bored, Ding Shuang opened her character panel and noticed her level had increased. Could this be the benefit of abundant spiritual energy? Is leveling up this easy?

Without saying a word, Ding Shuang closed his eyes and began to cultivate. Since he couldn’t find a stable spacetime wormhole, he might as well cultivate and level up instead of wasting time and space!

And so, Ding Shuang closed his eyes and cultivated for three days and three nights. On the third day, he was finally awakened by a system notification.

“Ding, data analysis complete. The system has detected the existence of an unstable spacetime wormhole.”

This is good news for Ding Shuang, meaning he no longer has to fly around aimlessly like a headless fly.

“Ding, an unstable spacetime wormhole has been detected. This node will remain for 79 hours and is located 18,824 kilometers directly south of the host.”

Ding Shuang excitedly flew south. He was currently flying at a speed of about 500 kilometers per hour. It would take about 38 hours to reach the newly discovered spacetime wormhole, which meant that there were still 41 hours left before the new node disappeared.

Ding Shuang pressed on at full speed, not even resting at night. Under the starry sky, the white sword light flashed like a shooting star. Ding Shuang looked up but still couldn’t see the moon, but he seemed to see his hometown.

Ding Shuang has been flying for 30 hours straight, and he’s almost used up all the recovery pills in his backpack. However, at this rate, the remaining pills should be enough to get him to the spacetime wormhole.

The ground beneath his feet swept past Ding Shuang as he flew out of the primeval forest and onto a plain. Looking at the distant horizon, Ding Shuang wore a smile.

A small black dot suddenly appeared on the distant horizon, catching Ding Shuang’s attention. Since leaving the forest and arriving on the plains, dinosaurs had become increasingly rare, and now they were practically extinct. What exactly was that small black dot ahead?

The black dot slowly approached Ding Shuang as he flew at incredible speed. When Ding Shuang saw the black dot clearly, his eyes widened in shock! It was actually a city! A city surrounded by black walls! The city was so large that it was almost as big as some second-tier cities!

“Ding, an advanced formation has been detected above the city. Please take a detour.” Just as Ding Shuang was about to approach the city, the system notification sounded.

Ding Shuang immediately changed direction, bypassing the city. At the same time, he also saw the creatures within the city—humans similar to himself, dressed in clothing resembling that of ancient Chinese people. Long queues formed at the city gates, and occasionally he could see three or five people taking flight on swords, just like him.

Ding Shuang seriously doubted whether she had actually returned to the real world. Could she have entered another secondary world, a fantasy version of a secondary world?

“Host, you don’t need to doubt it. You are indeed in the real world, Earth, but it’s Earth from 5.2 billion years ago.” As if sensing Ding Shuang’s doubts, the system explained to her.

“No wonder, no wonder.” Ding Shuang remembered the mission the system had given him, which asked him to find cultivation sects. It seems that cultivation sects did exist on Earth in ancient times.

Ding Shuang had no interest in studying what this ancient world was like; he just wanted to go home. Besides, all his previous tasks had been cleared, so there was no point in trying to understand it.

After bypassing the city, Ding Shuang continued flying towards the spacetime wormhole, finally arriving near it when his pills were completely used up.

“System, where is the spacetime wormhole? I can’t see it.” Ding Shuang looked around but couldn’t find anything in the air.

“Host, the spacetime wormhole is hidden in a one-dimensional point, so of course you can’t see it. Preparing to dock with the spacetime wormhole, please wait in place during the docking process. It is expected to take three minutes.” The system explained to Ding Shuang and then began docking.

Ding Shuang sat down on the spot to begin his recovery. The previous journey had left him with very little sword energy left in his body.

“Ding, a divine artifact has been received from the host’s true clone and has been placed in the host’s infinite inventory.” Just as Ding Shuang began to recover his sword energy, he received a system notification.

“Hmm? I can contact Ding Shuang now?” Ding Shuang is trapped in the Dou Qi Continent, and there is a huge time-space difference between them. Even many divine artifacts cannot be shared. For example, the Infinite Backpack. The system can only divide the Infinite Backpack into two. Fortunately, it is infinite, and both of them are infinitely large.

“We are not able to make full contact yet. We only received the items from the host’s real clone when we entered the spacetime wormhole.”

“What exactly is going on with Ding Shuang? Even if the spacetime flow is different, surely the infinite backpacks can’t be shared?” Ding Shuang hadn’t asked Ding Shuang about the specifics beforehand.

“Because the host forcibly used the random teleportation card in the Doupo Cangqiong sub-world, this sub-world has been enveloped by spacetime turbulence, making it impossible to accurately locate the spacetime of this sub-world. Therefore, all information transmission is restricted. The spacetime turbulence is equivalent to hundreds or thousands of spacetime wormholes intertwined. The system cannot pull the entire sub-world out. It can only wait for your real clone to complete the ultimate mission of the Doupo Cangqiong sub-world and integrate the sub-world into itself. After that, the system only needs to pull your real clone out of the spacetime turbulence, which is very simple.” The system explained the predicament Ding Shuang was currently facing to Ding Shuang.

“Then why don’t you just pull Ding Shuang out?” Ding Shuang said matter-of-factly.

“Host, your true clone can remain in the Battle Through the Heavens sub-world because you used the Golden Cicada’s Remains. This is equivalent to your true clone being completely bound to that sub-world. Pulling your true clone is the same as pulling the entire sub-world.” The system patiently explained to Ding Shuang.

“Sigh, I wish Ding Shuang good luck, and of course, I wish myself good luck too.” One mistake has caused Ding Shuang’s current predicament. Ding Shuang and I are one, and if she dies, I cannot live either.

“Host, after the system’s attempts, it will take at least 50 years to re-anchor to your previous spacetime. The spacetime in which the space-time wormhole exists is insufficient to support that for that long. Host, would you like the system to continue trying?”

“This…” The system’s words instantly plunged Ding Shuang’s mood to the bottom. It takes 50 years to locate successfully. Is there a spacetime wormhole that can exist for more than 50 years?

“The system suggests that the host remain in this era, as this is an era of active spacetime wormholes, and theoretically, stable spacetime wormholes could appear for more than a hundred years. Continuing to try may damage the system and spacetime-related modules,” the system advised.

“Alright, then let’s wait a bit longer. Let’s stop trying.” Having already made a mistake once, Ding Shuang didn’t dare to do it again. It was always better to follow the system’s advice.

Just as the system stopped trying, five people on flying swords flew towards Ding Shuang from the horizon.