The three pets were not living beings; thus, they were unable to form any karma with Niu Chang.
Without their true names, they would be unable to leave the infancy state and would remain the same forever.
...
The passage of time brought no changes.
However, the outside world underwent several shocks that were strong enough to reach the abandoned area where Niu Chang was sealed.
He was like a social outcast who lived near a social butterfly, locking himself away, where he could occasionally hear the loud cheers and party music from his famous neighbor.
'Sigh, I wonder how long I must wait like this,' Niu Chang said the same line as if it were a natural instinct of his mind to ease his boredom.
'If only the system…' His speech slurred as he struggled to smoothly process his own thoughts.
Like a supernova exploding in the depths of his mind, his entire worldview shattered in that instant.
Various curses in different languages awoke, even Niu Chang unknowingly cursing with the false truth language he possessed.
This caused the deepest layer of space to tremble under its weight; even his three pets trembled in great fear as they became rabid.
'Impossible,' Niu Chang tried his best to deny the fact he had just realized.
'It can't be,' he assured himself once again.
'This can't be!' He engaged in the most intense mental activity since entering this minuscule level of existence, just to come up with better excuses.
The system had two functions: active and passive. The passive one allowed Niu Chang to harness unlimited energy from those who formed karmic bonds with him.
The active function allowed him to do three things: increase cultivation level, enhance proficiency, and fuse skills and techniques.
'Yes, that must be it!' Niu Chang's eyes lit up as he finally came up with better excuses.
'The 'time' I spent in the void of nothingness... it should have affected my mind!'
'The same goes for when I was searching for the truth; it must have left some hidden impact on my mind as well.'
'Then in this place, the Land Dao Spirit must have placed some seal that affects my mind and changes my thought trajectory, causing me to forget about something!'
'And lastly, it was because I didn't depend on the system very much, except for its passive usage. Look, everything that I have right now is a result of my own hard work.'
The thing that Niu Chang had forgotten was the fact that he could gain an energy boost from the system when he used it to increase his cultivation level.
But since he was adamant that he hadn't forgotten such a function existed, naturally, it was the fault of an external force.
With a calm mind, he called out to the system.
'System,' he said in an unnatural way.
The first 's' was high-pitched, followed by a low tone before prolonging the second 's' and ending with an inaudible sound.
[Host: Niu Chang]
[Karma points: 7,549,922]
[Cultivation: Qi - Qi Refinement, Body - Fourth level, Soul - White level]
[Skill: More.]
Seeing that he had already accumulated seven-digit karma points, Niu Chang clicked his tongue in acknowledgment.
'It is impossible for me to make a major improvement in my cultivation realm.' Niu Chang, who still believed that his system would be nerfed to fit the story's development for better drama, causing the readers to feel the tension.
Thus he chose to enhance his cultivation in another aspect; with his current level, he could come up with some unorthodox cultivation methods easily.
'It's not that I can't cultivate some qi or body techniques; rather, they don't have any restrictions. Since my Transformation Energy would just incorporate this new technique, the same goes for the Impossible Idea.'
'System, increase the level of the White Breathing technique.'
[Increasing White Breathing technique to the peak of the Qi Refinement level. Requires 2875 karma points.]
'Proceed.'
In his minuscule level of existence, where he solely depended on two followers that were in a hard-to-explain state, Niu Chang suddenly felt the dry pipe that connected with the system filled with rich energy.
'This is it!' Niu Chang exclaimed in excitement.
But he didn't stop there; he told the system to upgrade more techniques to supply the energy needed to restore himself.
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …]
[Congratulations for …] x 10000
With his seven-digit karma points, he could easily increase the level of his techniques to the limit of the Qi Refinement realm with ease.
However, his movements were not hidden at all, and the Heavenly Dao was aware of his restoration.
"Hah," Niu Chang audibly snorted as he activated one of his skills.
In The End Nothing Remains.
This skill was also a peculiar one; it stated that everything would end up in nothingness.
Every job, attempt, and journey would result in empty achievement.
For those who seek revenge, they would only end up killing their enemy. After that, what?
For those who seek great adventure and become the king of a country once they reach their goal. After that, what?
And for those who seek immortality and become omniscient and omnipotent. After that, what?
Thus, this skill was created in an attempt for Niu Chang to justify his boring life of being overpowered. Whether it was the present or the future, nothing would excite him anymore.
The skill had only one effect, which was to solve everything at once.
You want to be a king? Solved.
You want to be a protagonist? Solved.
You want to be immortal? Solved.
However, it was not that kind of positive resolution; instead, it stemmed from oneself.
For example, if someone wanted to be a harem king with every beauty in the world to be his woman, this skill would either kill his lust for women or castrate him for good.
See, it solved the problem, right?
Without lust for women or having a small brother, how could he continue his journey to become a harem king?
Because whether he succeeded or not, it would be meaningless for nothing to be achieved.
So when Niu Chang activated this skill, it cut all karma he had with this world.
Therefore, any attempt that the Heavenly Dao made, whether it was mystical and intricate in ways better than what the Land Dao Spirit was capable of, didn't matter.
A mere thought was enough to form karma since Niu Chang had now become a clean slate that could easily be tainted.
He had planned to use this skill right after he obtained the benefits of war while fighting the seven saints, but who knew the Land Dao Spirit was more powerful than he thought and sent him into the shadow realm.
However, Niu Chang couldn't relax yet, as his newly formed body was sealed in the deepest layer of space.
So if he wanted to stretch his body, it would be impossible.
"Tsk," he clicked his tongue in displeasure as he willed his thoughts to utilize the false truth he knew.
The whole space trembled as if something big and hard was expanding rapidly in its confines.
The layers of space and their seals shattered like glass, and various runes and energy crumbled along the way, paving a path to the outside world. Niu Chang walked slowly, feeling the intense gaze from the void fixed upon him.
The corner of his mouth curved in response.
"Old dog, old dog. This is what you get for meddling in something you shouldn't," Niu Chang said casually.