Chapter 450 - 447: The Glass Tree

Chapter 450: Chapter 447: The Glass Tree

They were in yet another mirror space, this one completely different in shape.

Mo Ling led the rabbit and the dog through the mirror, arriving here.

As soon as he arrived, Mo Ling noticed a tree in the center of the space.

It was a glass tree, standing perfectly still.

"The mirrors here are spherical..."

This space had no flat surfaces, nor any edges or gaps; it was a completely hollow sphere. The glass tree sat perfectly at its center, creating a rather peculiar sight.

While Mo Ling was still observing, the dog had already charged forward eagerly.

"The Outer God has descended! Surrender at once! Join the glorious transcendence!"

"Don’t be ridiculous!" the rabbit quickly interjected.

"I’m not being ridiculous. Before the Outer God, all resistance is futile. Once exposed to that advanced ideology, one will inevitably be infected. I just want it to stop wasting time."

"We didn’t come here to fight, and we don’t want to ’infect’ anyone..." the rabbit said with a sigh.

"This isn’t a matter of ’wanting to’ or not. It’s a foregone conclusion. It’s like the reflections in the mirrors—as long as we’re here, they’re here. Ideology is the same. As long as an advanced ideology exists, the backward fools will certainly be infected."

The dog earnestly explained its philosophy. The rabbit, realizing it was talking to a brick wall, decided to ignore it.

"Have you made your decision? Will you surrender?" The dog turned back to the strange tree, asking pressingly.

The surrounding spherical mirrors distorted the objects within the space into bizarre shapes, making their original forms completely unrecognizable. All that remained were clumps of stretched, formless shadows, constantly writhing.

"Why aren’t you answering?"

Seeing that the tree still wasn’t responding, the dog grew anxious.

"It’s just a tree. It’s not going to answer you," the rabbit explained in exasperation.

"Why wouldn’t a tree answer me?" the dog retorted.

The rabbit was about to explain, but then it froze.

"That’s right... Why would I assume a tree can’t answer? Where did I even get an idea like that?"

The dog, seeing the rabbit lost in its confusion, spoke earnestly, "Your thoughts are illusions, just as that tree is an illusion. We are all nothing more than appearances. You are a rabbit, and I am a dog. These appearances are fundamentally meaningless. If you want to achieve transcendence, you must not get attached to them."

"But how do you know you’re a dog and I’m a rabbit?" the rabbit shot back. "We were born in this world of mirrors. We’ve never been exposed to this kind of knowledge..."

"And yet, I somehow know that trees don’t answer questions, what dogs and rabbits look like, what a god is, what followers are... It’s as if I’ve known these things from the very beginning."

The more the rabbit spoke, the more confused it became.

"Why do you care about things that are inherently false? We are meant to transcend. Don’t let these falsehoods blind you. We shouldn’t get hung up on them."

"Do you think I’m right, Outer God?"

Mo Ling glanced at the conflicted rabbit, then at the dog’s expectant face. After a moment’s thought, he replied, "Overthinking is not a good thing."

"The Outer God is right!" the dog quickly agreed. "Overthinking is not a good thing."

"Overthinking is not a good thing."

The great tree on the other side echoed the sentiment.

"See? The tree also says you shouldn’t overthink," the dog said excitedly.

Hearing the great tree actually speak, the rabbit stopped agonizing over its thoughts and looked at the strange tree in surprise.

"Did I hear that right? Is the tree talking?"

"I told you, that’s just its appearance. It’s not *really* a tree, so of course it can talk." The dog leaped in front of the tree and patted its trunk. "It seems you’re also willing to join the glorious transcendence. Excellent! Excellent!"

"But, you have to tell me your perspective. I need to see if you truly understand transcendence." The dog began speaking to the tree on its own, acting like a seasoned veteran.

However, to everyone’s surprise, the great tree actually began to slowly explain.

It was just that its understanding seemed... rather unique.

"There once was a little pony who came upon a river..."

The tree, it seemed, was telling a story.

"The pony saw the river was very swift and was terrified. It hesitated by the bank for a long time, not daring to cross. So, it asked an old ox that had just waded through the river if it was deep."

"The old ox said it wasn’t deep at all. So the pony summoned its courage and walked toward the rushing water."

"However, just as it was about to step into the river, a squirrel stopped it, telling the pony that the river was very deep and that many squirrels had died in it."

"After hearing the squirrel’s warning, the pony retreated again. It was so scared it no longer dared to cross. So, it had no choice but to go back and ask its mother. Its mother told it that to know if the river was deep, it had to try for itself."

"And so, the pony returned to the riverbank and stepped into the water..."

"And then it was eaten by a crocodile."

"The large tree by the river watched this whole scene unfold and laughed heartily."

The tree paused for a moment, then said calmly:

"The tree is transcendence."

After finishing the story, the tree fell silent.

The dog, however, was extremely excited after hearing the tree’s story.

"Yes! You are worthy! Your understanding of transcendence is profound. I permit you to join us."

The dog turned its head and looked at Mo Ling. "Outer God, what do you think of its understanding?"

"Very creative," Mo Ling said, unsure of what else to say.

"Yes! The Outer God has also approved of you! Now, let me explain the structure of the world to you in detail! This is forbidden knowledge I learned from the Outer God. First, let me tell you about specular reflection..."

And just like that, the dog earnestly taught the tree the knowledge the rabbit had taught it, adding its own embellishments.

The rabbit listened along, helplessly correcting the dog’s lecture to keep it from straying too far off course.

"Did you get all that?" After imparting its knowledge, the dog patted the tree’s trunk and asked cordially, "Now, do you have any new understanding of transcendence?"

The great tree stood motionless, not answering the dog’s question for a long time. It seemed to be digesting the new knowledge.

After some time, its voice was heard once more.

It seemed to be starting another story:

"There was a great tree that was always pondering the true nature of the world it existed in..."

"It thought for a very long time but came to no conclusion. Then one day, a dog and a rabbit found the tree."

"The dog told the tree that the world was false, that everything was an appearance. But the rabbit told the tree that the dog was exaggerating, that most of it was real, and that the tree shouldn’t blindly trust anyone."

"The Outer God, watching from the side, laughed heartily at this scene."

The tree paused again for a moment, then continued:

"The Outer God is transcendence."