Let me sort out the sequence of events a bit.
Before, at the headquarters in Taoyuan Village, I had a fierce battle with Huang Quan and Xu Gou, and at the climax of the fight, I was exiled into the void beyond this world.
After spending an unknown amount of time in the void, and guided by a "firefly" from some location I couldn’t discern, I narrowly escaped that nothingness.
After escaping, I came to my senses and found myself in this room.
It’s a messy room, with piles of garbage scattered across the floor and bed, dust covering every corner. The desk lamp tossed on the bed seems to be battery-powered, and the battery is nearly drained. The flickering light was irritating, so I simply turned it off and summoned a fireball to float in the air and provide illumination.
Back in the void, using superpowers was impossible. Or rather, all the elements necessary to sustain the existence of superpowers were absent there. Just as software cannot exist independently of hardware, fire cannot manifest in a place where all concepts cease to exist. Thankfully, I’ve regained my ability to use powers now—one of the signs proving I successfully escaped the void.
But have I truly returned to the real world?
The answer seems to be no.
In the real world, I have "fireflies" scattered everywhere, and once I returned, I should be able to re-establish contact with them. However, I can’t do that now. It’s as if all those "fireflies" have vanished completely.
I’m more inclined to believe that I’m still in a zone where I can’t reconnect with the "fireflies."
Perhaps I’m on some alien planet light-years away from Earth, or in a Different Space with strong isolating properties... Of course, it’s unlikely that alien civilizations would have bedrooms resembling those of humans on Earth. I even saw both Chinese and English on the packaging of some garbage nearby. Based on these observations, the latter seems more plausible.
Another piece of evidence stems from my perception feedback. This space feels bizarre to me. As Impermanence, I could originally perceive the expanse of a province-sized area centered on myself with ease. Although I can’t achieve feats like the Old Fist God, who could "hear conversations from anywhere on Earth," I could, if I pushed myself, expand my perception range to the scale of national territory, provided precision wasn’t a concern.
But here, I can’t do that. This space seems to be in constant chaotic flux, and most of the information fed back to me is just noise, preventing me from naturally perceiving scenes beyond my line of sight. Even within this room, confined to my immediate surroundings, the same strangeness persists. The seemingly static environment gives me the eerie sensation that if I were to close my eyes for a few seconds and then reopen them, it might morph into an entirely unrelated scene.
It’s utterly baffling. Even Different Spaces formed from dreams probably aren’t this chaotic, though I have yet to set foot in one personally.
While confirming the spatial state of my surroundings, I also checked the state of my own being.
Upon arriving in this peculiar space, my body and soul automatically recovered, and my consciousness became far sharper compared to when I was in the void. My memories also remain intact, with every moment—every hour, every minute—seamlessly connected.
As for the state of my True Spirit, while I cannot directly sense its presence, I can indirectly confirm its condition through the state of my consciousness. Currently, my True Spirit should still bear the injuries sustained from the battle with Huang Quan. Though the damage isn’t as severe as when I fought Ming Zhuo previously, it’s still something I should take the opportunity to heal and recover.
If I were to re-enter battle, it wouldn’t be a problem. The Furnace Slag Straight Sword can now be summoned again, its stored flames still two-thirds full, more than enough to activate the Third Form’s luminous body.
And then, there’s the matter of the "firefly" that "guided" me to this place...
I tried once more to focus my mind and sense its presence. The signal from the unknown "firefly" was incredibly faint. Without prior knowledge of its existence, I definitely wouldn’t have noticed it. Even as I am now, it took me several minutes of concentration to barely detect its presence.
This unknown "firefly"... Could it also be in this Different Space?
I wasn’t entirely sure. Its signal was intermittent. It was equally possible that it was outside the Different Space but located so close to its boundary that I could faintly detect it. I couldn’t establish a connection with it, nor determine the distance between us.
Taking a step back, my consciousness is clearer now than it was in the void, so I no longer prematurely assume that it must be a "firefly." It could just as easily be a trace of heat or something else... Regardless, one thing is certain: it must be something transformed from my spirit.
Regrettably, probably due to the influence of the surrounding chaotic space, I now find it even harder to pinpoint the "firefly’s" (let’s call it that for now) location. I wouldn’t even know how to move toward it.
In any case, I should first explore beyond this room.
Turning around, I reached for the bedroom door, only to feel something on the other side push the door open as I turned the handle.