Chapter 419: Nothing at All
Faced with the gazes of the three deities fixed upon him, Uchiha Dali suddenly felt an overwhelming discomfort throughout his entire body.
At that very moment, vast amounts of energy were surging continuously from within him.
It was a natural reaction of his body cells—responding instinctively to external pressure and an immense sense of threat.
That also meant Uchiha Dali's body cells were still continuing to evolve.
Now, the choice was in his hands.
Shibai didn't seem inclined to intervene in the grudges between the three of them.
No—more precisely, the grudges among these three gods.
So whether to fight or not was entirely up to Uchiha Dali.
At that moment, although the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe remained silent, the clear wariness in their eyes spoke for itself.
Obviously, both of them were fully aware that there was still a gap between their power and Uchiha Dali's.
Just the fact that Dali had been able to perceive Shibai's existence earlier was proof enough of that difference.
And so, deep down, neither of them actually wanted to continue fighting him.
When Uchiha Dali stayed silent for too long, the Ōtsutsuki King couldn't hold back any longer and spoke first.
"Uchiha Dali, let's make peace."
"Now, Aoshe and I have both become gods. We stand on the same level as you. Continuing to fight benefits no one."
"Besides, Lord Shibai has something to say to all of us. Instead of wasting time, why not join forces and explore the higher dimensions together? What do you think?"
"Lord Shibai, what do you say?"
This one was smart—trying not only to persuade Uchiha Dali, but also to drag Shibai into supporting their side.
After hearing him out, Aoshe immediately followed up, "Lord Shibai, what is it that you wanted to tell us?"
Neither of them wanted to clash with Uchiha Dali. They were making their intent clear to Shibai.
Shibai, however, didn't respond right away. Instead, he turned to look at Uchiha Dali.
Clearly, he was leaving the decision to Dali himself.
"I'm curious about something," Uchiha Dali said, his eyes fixed on Shibai.
"What are you curious about?"
"Whose side are you on?"
At those words, Shibai instantly understood what he meant.
He merely smiled faintly and cast a meaningful glance at the Ōtsutsuki King and Ōtsutsuki Aoshe.
The two of them looked both expectant and uneasy.
"Though I am their ancestor," Shibai said softly, "I have no intention of competing with anyone. As I've said before, I came here to find a suitable candidate to accompany me into the higher dimension."
"So, even if I were to kill those two right now, you wouldn't interfere?" Uchiha Dali asked immediately.
Shibai froze for a moment, then turned to look deeply at the Ōtsutsuki King and Aoshe.
He had indeed just said he wouldn't intervene in their personal grudges.
But now, with a helpless smile, he replied, "If you must do so, I won't stop you. But I would still say this—why not let go of old grudges and join hands to explore the higher dimension together?"
He spread his hands and smiled warmly at Dali.
Hearing that, Uchiha Dali asked curiously, "Then why did you say earlier that you wanted to invite me to the higher dimension? You should know that at our level, even without your invitation, we could reach it ourselves."
"What's in that dimension, anyway?" asked the Ōtsutsuki King curiously.
Now the three of them turned their gazes on Shibai.
Shibai gave a bitter smile and shook his head. "There's nothing there."
"What…"
"Nothing at all?"
All three of them were stunned.
"That's right—nothing at all," Shibai confirmed with a nod.
He didn't explain further. Instead, he raised his hand—
—and in an instant, heaven and earth shifted.
The starry sky where they had been standing vanished, replaced by utter darkness.
In every direction—front, back, left, right, up, down—there was only pure void and endless blackness. Nothing existed there at all.
Only beneath their feet could they still see the shattered fragments of the starry sky—the very same universe where Uchiha Dali had just battled the Ōtsutsuki powerhouses.
"This… this is the higher dimension?" Aoshe asked, almost disbelieving.
Uchiha Dali and the Ōtsutsuki King also looked around curiously, spreading their senses outward in all directions to probe this mysterious realm.
But before long, they realized Shibai hadn't been lying.
Though this place was vast—no smaller in scale than the universe below—it truly contained nothing at all.
"This is the higher dimension?" Uchiha Dali asked in disbelief.
Shibai nodded. "Yes."
"That can't be… Why is there nothing here?" Aoshe questioned.
This time, Shibai raised his hand again.
A terrifying surge of energy blasted forward into the void.
In an instant, the boundless blackness was torn apart—revealing a real world before their eyes.
There were mountains and rivers, deserts and plains—everything one would expect of a living world, no different from the planets Uchiha Dali, the Ōtsutsuki King, and Aoshe knew.
But strangely, Shibai's energy did not act directly upon that world. Instead, it spread out into rippling waves that dissipated into nothingness.
As the ripples vanished, so did the world they had just seen. Darkness swallowed everything once more.
Witnessing this, the three were stunned.
"This is…"
"It's as if there's an invisible barrier there. Could that be an even higher dimension?"
"It should be," Shibai replied with a nod.
"When I first ascended dimensions, this was where I arrived."
"For all these years, I've tried everything—every method imaginable—but no matter what I do, I cannot break through the barrier of this dimension to reach that world beyond."
"So I've been waiting. Waiting for new Ōtsutsuki to grow into gods, to come here and join me in breaking this dimensional wall. Unfortunately…"
Here, Shibai turned his gaze meaningfully toward the Ōtsutsuki King and Aoshe.
The look in his eyes said everything.
Both of them immediately lowered their heads in shame.
If not for the division and infighting that had split the Ōtsutsuki clan under their leadership—years of open and secret conflict, endless schemes—perhaps someone would have long since evolved into a god and reached this place.
"So this is why you wanted to invite me here," Uchiha Dali said. "You want us to join forces to try to break the barrier of this dimension?"