This fact does not deny the existence of things, but denies that they can be owned or controlled, that they can be the owner or controller, in any but a relative, conventional sense.
Conditioned things are ever-changing, constantly arising, manifesting, and ceasing.
This is the first fundamental characteristic of conditioned things. When a defilement occurs, it makes the later occurrence of a similar defilement more likely. The more these tendencies build up, the more we react to experiences in defiled ways. One, there is no second. The most original cause of all dukkha.